Disclaimer: I don't own Shingeki no Kyojin.


Chapter Seven

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Underground District~June 26, 840

It had been three days since Levi and Farlan stumbled upon Isabel lying almost dead in the alley, and she still had not woke.

The two of them had tried to go about their lives like normal. The day after they rescued the girl, and after Levi had cleaned her, they had shown her to Mikasa. As Levi had suspected, the five-year-old was confused and scared by Isabel's starving, sick look and had kept Levi's collar in a death grip the entire time she had been in the room with the redhead. (Truthfully, Levi hadn't been much better, squeezing Mikasa almost desperately, still irrationally half-afraid that she would end up like their new charge.) Nevertheless, Levi and Farlan knew that the little girl still hoped that the teenager would get better. She had taken to demanding updates whenever one of them left the redhead's room.

Due to the instability of Isabel's condition though, Farlan had ordered that one of them remain home to watch her at all times, while the other went out to work. After throwing a fit about how they needed money now more than ever, Levi had reluctantly agreed.

It was currently Levi's turn to watch the girls. Farlan had left just over an hour ago, to go deliver a request from one of their business partners. After checking to make sure that Isabel hadn't changed, Levi made himself a cup of tea and sat down in the sitting room. He had only been unoccupied for maybe a minute when Mikasa dashed in, running up to Levi and climbing on his lap with a wide grin.

Although Levi didn't like being stuck at home feeling useless, he supposed that this was adequate compensation. There was really nothing in the world that he loved more than his adorable baby sister.

"Levi!" she exclaimed cheerfully, reaching up her arms towards him. Since she was already in his lap, Levi gave her a short hug before returning to his tea.

"Hey Kasa," he said simply and smiled back.

Mikasa sat silently for a couple minutes before her grey eyes suddenly went wide and she turned urgently to Levi. "Hey onii-san?" she ventured.

Levi, in the middle of a sip of tea, raised his eyebrows at her in acknowledgement.

The little girl bit her lip and twisted her hands as she answered, aware of the solemnity of the subject she was about to bring up. "How's Isabel?" she asked.

It was Levi's turn to bite his lip (like younger sister, like older brother), but he only did so for a second before schooling his expression. There was no reason to scare the five-year-old.

In an attempt to be reassuring, Levi ruffled his sister's hair as he took time to formulate an answer. Mikasa though, was not deterred, and seemed to take his hesitation as confirmation of the negative. Slowly, her gray eyes widened and her mouth formed into a tiny "o" shape.

Seeing this, Levi attempted to rush out an answer that was at least somewhat reassuring, but before he could, Mikasa again spoke up.

"Is... is Isabel gonna die, Levi?" she asked, voice quiet and timid.

Levi sighed internally at her response. He wished he could give his sister a positive answer, but if she was going to survive in the Underground, he couldn't afford to shield her from the harsh realities of their lives. It had been a while (since before they moved in with Farlan), but Levi felt the still-familiar anger at both himself and their world that little Mikasa had to grow up this way.

Turning back in in an attempt to control his emotions, Levi noticed that the five-year-old's eyes had narrowed dramatically and she was eyeing him, clearly suspicious of the time it was taking him to answer.

Resigned, the nineteen-year-old let out a quiet sigh and ruffled the girl's hair again. "I don't know, Mikasa. She hasn't woken up yet."

"But that doesn't mean she won't, right?" she demanded. "Farlan said she looked better!"

It could wait, Levi decided. She was still young. He could wait a little while before having to show her how unfair life was. No matter her chances, Isabel wasn't dead yet. Mikasa could still believe.

"Maybe, Kasa," he eventually settled on. "She might wake up."

It was a testament to the influence she'd already been subjected to when the little girl merely looked at him skeptically. Sometimes Levi forgot how much she'd already experienced. She'd already been through the same hardships as he had. Levi just tried to ignore that painful truth because he knew she was unlikely to have concrete memories of it.

But, he suddenly realized, their experiences could exert their influence by means besides memory. Mikasa could be traumatized by their past in a way that wasn't possible for Levi.

When he realized this, Levi felt a sudden wave of tears rise behind his eyes, and he had to squeeze them shut and grit his teeth to keep them at bay. His arms reflexively wrapped around his sister and he pulled her to him. He cursed repeatedly in his head even while trying to calm himself down by reciting his philosophy. Don't regret. Keep moving forward. You can't change the past, so what's the point of dwelling on it? But as he sat there, he found this normally motivating logic hard to follow.

Levi didn't doubt Mikasa's confusion, but she could tell he was upset and still tried to calm him down. She snuggled into his chest and said, "It's okay, onii-san. It'll be okay."

This of course, only set him off further, but Levi used all of his strength to hold back his tears. He would not cry now. He would not. Their lives were better now. He hadn't felt that way for so long, and soon enough they would gain passage to the surface and he would never have to feel that way ever again.

Gradually, Levi calmed down enough to stop crying (if he had ever even started). When his hold on Mikasa loosened enough for her to move again, she stood up in his lap so they were roughly eye level and determinedly turned her gray eyes to his. "Onii-san? Are you okay?" she asked in a voice both afraid and strict, like the only acceptable answer was yes.

Despite himself, this made Levi laugh a little. He let out a small snort and felt his gaze soften as he looked into his sister's. After a moment, his hand came up one final time to ruffle her hair. "I'm okay Kasa."

Mikasa's solemn expression instantly vanished, replaced with a sunny smile. "Good!" She knew better than to ask what had been wrong.

Slowly, she slid back down until she was again seated in his lap. "Levi?" she asked a minute later, not looking at him. "Can... can I go see Isabel?"

That was not what Levi had been expecting. Sure, Mikasa had over the past few days gotten more concerned about their charge, but after she had almost passed out from fear the last time they were in the same room, Levi didn't think she'd want to go anywhere near Isabel until she got healthier.

Skeptically, he eyed the little girl. Mikasa continued staring at him in wide-eyed determination though, and he sensed that she was sure of her choice. Even though Levi was her brother, not her father, he was convinced that she had somehow inherited his strength of resolve.

After another moment, Levi sighed. Mikasa, for all her skill at reading him, assumed that that meant yes, and grinned triumphantly, standing so he could.

The older sibling lifted himself from the chair and picked up the girl. He hesitantly walked into Farlan's room, where Isabel was staying, hoping against hope that she had somehow miraculously recovered.

Of course, he saw as he opened the door to Farlan's room, that was not the case. Isabel was still lying unconscious, in the same position she had been every other time Levi had gone to check on her.

Nevertheless, he slowly brought Mikasa over, sitting down on the bed with her in his lap once he reached it. Mikasa gradually released her tight grip on Levi's collar, instead wrapping her hand around his arm as she scooted closer to Isabel. Levi wrapped his arms around her stomach, supporting her in his lap, then turned his attention to the teenager lying in the bed.

When Levi and Farlan had brought her back three days ago, she had been filthy, pale, starving, and just generally sickly. They had washed her body and clothes and treated her exterior wounds, so as a result, the girl looked a bit better. Without her waking though, they couldn't do anything about the starving, and they lacked the medicine to treat her while she was unconscious (they may have been better off than many in the Underground, but not that much so).

So, Isabel's condition was still bad enough to be concerning to the doctor in Farlan and the overprotective big brother in Levi. And the five-year-old and still mostly innocent girl in Mikasa.

To his surprise though, she did not freak out when she finally got a good look at their redheaded charge. The girl merely stared at her in silence for a while before slowly reaching out and placing a hand on Isabel's arm, just as Levi had done that night in the alley. He had to stop himself from reaching out and snatching her hand away.

Mikasa gasped quietly when she touched the teenager, and when she turned back to Levi, her eyes were wide. She only held his gaze for a second though before turning it back to Isabel, unconsciously rubbing her small hands together.

"Levi?" she ventured after a moment, still staring at the sick girl. "She's so warm. And her arm is really... bony."

An uncomfortable twinge ran through Levi's gut at Mikasa's words, and he pulled her closer to his chest, reassuring himself that she was okay. "Isabel's sick, Mikasa. And starving. That's why Farlan and I aren't sure if we can save her."

Mikasa half turned so she could see into his eyes, and immediately fixed him with an accusing glare. "Did you give her food or medicine? Farlan always makes me eat it when 'm sick!"

Levi raised an eyebrow at the unwarranted accusation, but still explained himself. "She's unconscious, Kasa. We can't give her food or medicine until she wakes up. Until then, her body has to heal on its own."

The little girl's eyes immediately grew apologetic and her mouth formed a tiny "o". She cast a quick glance back to Isabel before returning it to Levi. "Can she get better without waking up? And will she wake up?"

Absentmindedly, Levi began stroking Mikasa's chin-length black hair as he studied Isabel. "She can get better to an extent, but if she doesn't eat soon, she will die. But I don't know if she'll wake up before that happens."

Mikasa fell silent at his response, only leaning further back into his chest. It seemed that she needed his comfort as much as he needed hers. For several long moments, the two simply observed Isabel, their eyes following the rhythmic rise and fall of her chest.

He quickly lost track of time and was about to grab Mikasa to leave when it happened. Suddenly, Isabel let out a weak gasp, the quiet noise startling the two Ackermans, and began to twitch back and forth in her sleep. Levi and Mikasa shared only a fleeting look before Levi quickly scooted closer to the sleeping girl's head.

Gently, he laid a hand on her red hair, hoping his touch alone would provide some form of comfort, as it did so often for Mikasa. At first, Isabel's state wasn't calmed, but when Mikasa followed her brother's lead and placed her hand beside his, the girl slowly began to relax.

At first, this seemed to be all, for after Isabel calmed, she returned to her previous motionless state. Disheartened, Levi slowly removed his hand, Mikasa following after another second.

The lack of touch seemed to affect Isabel, though. She began to whimper and squirm, although her green eyes remained firmly closed. Seeing this, Mikasa reached out to replace her hand, but Levi caught it before she could, not removing his gaze from their charge as he held it still in the air.

Eventually, Mikasa withdrew her arm and the two watched fascinated as the redheaded girl drew nearer and nearer to waking. Finally, she gasped again and her green eyes snapped open, wide and full of fear.

They had been expecting it, but neither Levi nor Mikasa could keep from jumping at the sudden movement. Mikasa curled reflexively into Levi's side and he held her tighter as Isabel studied the two of them.

After her eyes darted around the room frantically, they finally came to rest on Levi's, immediately identifying him as the larger threat. He noticed that they contained no trace of recognition, though. Not surprising. She had been so weak already by the time he and Farlan rescued her, of course she didn't remember him.

Keeping that in mind, Levi did something he probably wouldn't have done had Isabel not reminded him of Mikasa and Mikasa not been sitting on his lap.

Shifting his sister onto the knee further from the redhead, Levi scooted closer to her, so he was sitting next to her head. Gently, he rested a hand on her upper arm.

"Isabel. My name is Levi. Don't worry, you're safe here. My friend Farlan and I rescued you in an alley a few days ago. We're not going to hurt you, and we've been trying to help you get better."

As he had expected, Isabel at first looked skeptical and fearful, her eyes still desperately scanning for a way out. Slowly though, as she studied them, her expression relaxed and she stopped panicking. (Levi was pretty sure that it was seeing little Mikasa that did it.) Her green eyes locked on Levi, studying him. To his surprise though, they eventually lit up with recognition. He hadn't expected her to remember him.

Isabel opened her mouth to speak, but before she had an opportunity, a coughing fit overtook her and she bent double. It quickly reached the point of retching, and Levi wished Farlan was there.

But sadly he wasn't, and Mikasa had had jumped at Isabel's violent coughing and was currently hiding her head in Levi's chest. Thinking fast, he ordered Mikasa to go get a glass of water for the teenager. She would need medicine soon, but Levi didn't trust the five-year-old with getting that.

Mikasa gladly obeyed, jumping off Levi's lap and practically bolting from the room. Once she was gone, Levi turned his attention back to Isabel. Thankfully, her coughing fit had passed, but it resulted in her curling up on her side on the fetal position, whimpering as her eyes squinted shut. The uncomfortable memory of a sick baby Mikasa flashed in front of Levi's vision, and instinctively he moved closer to Isabel, stroking her hair as he made soothing noises. He had found it to be a strategy that worked quite well at calming Mikasa. Thankfully, it seemed to work for Isabel too, for she eventually unclenched and turned her green eyes to his gray ones.

She remained silent for the longest time. For a large part of that, she looked like she wanted to speak, but after so long of sickness, Levi was not surprised that she was having difficulties.

Eventually, through what looked like sheer willpower, she persevered. "T-thank you... Levi," she whispered. Levi gave a small smile in return and resumed the soft stroking of her hair. Content, Isabel closed her eyes and laid back on the pillow, both of them silent until Mikasa returned a few minutes later with a glass of water and a bowl of soup.

The small girl looked more confident than she had upon leaving, and slowly walked up so she was standing beside Isabel's head. The redhead opened her eyes, and when Mikasa saw that she had her attention, the five-year-old offered her the bowl and cup.

"Here, Isabel," she said with an attempted bright smile. "It's water 'nd soup. You should eat it. Levi always tells me to eat when 'm sick."

Isabel smiled softly at Mikasa in thanks, attempting to sit up and take the food. She was still so weak though that her arm gave out when she tried to use it to push herself up. Seeing this, Levi quickly scooted forward, gently pulling Isabel into a sitting position and leaning her against the headrest. Then, he took the food from Mikasa, placed it on the bed beside Isabel, and pulled his sister onto his lap.

With no small amount of struggling, Levi's charge managed to grab the cup and took greedy sips of water, quickly draining it. Once she had finished, Isabel paused, turning her wide green eyes to Levi and Mikasa.

"Thank you," she whispered, her voice stronger now. "Thank you. But... why would you help me?"

At her question, Levi's mind flashed through his reasons from her rescue. Unconsciously, he drew Mikasa closer towards him on his lap as he tried to come up with an answer.

"You were dying. And there was no reason for that to happen," he settled on eventually.

A strange emotion flashed through Isabel's eyes at his answer. Levi was about to question her about it, but it vanished before he could and the teenager turned her attention to Mikasa.

"Who are you?" Isabel asked the little girl, wide green eyes meeting equally wide gray ones.

Mikasa flashed an almost undetectable look back at Levi before leaving scooting closer to Isabel, almost off of Levi's lap. She had over the years become a bit more comfortable with other people. Due to living in the Underground, it wasn't as if she became overly social, but she had begun acting more independently, no longer seeking his approval before speaking to people she hadn't met.

"Hi Isabel," Mikasa said with a bright smile. "I'm Mikasa Ackerman. I live with here with Levi and Farlan. Levi's my brother. But Farlan's my family too."

Isabel's eyes widened and she looked between Levi and Mikasa, seemingly trying to find the similarities. He wasn't really mad, but Levi's eyes narrowed. It wasn't as if he and Mikasa looked so different... they both had gray eyes, black hair, and pale skin (although Mikasa was much more expressive than Levi...).

Once she contented herself, Isabel turned back to Mikasa, who was still staring at her. "Mikasa Ackerman, huh?"

Mikasa nodded enthusiastically. "Yep! 'nd this is my onii-san, Levi Ackerman. But he and my other brother Farlan Church rescued you, so you already know them."

Levi could tell from Isabel's eyes that she didn't really remember Levi well, and Farlan not at all (which again, given her state upon rescue wasn't really surprising). But she didn't press the subject, instead asking, "How old are you, Mikasa?"

It reminded Levi of three years ago, when Farlan had asked the same question. But this time, Mikasa raised her whole right hand as she chirped, "'m five!"

Isabel's eyes widened. "You're only five? Where are your parents?" Levi knew that Isabel couldn't possibly be a stranger to the harsh reality of life in the Underground, but he also knew that it was one thing to be used to hardships yourself, but another thing to see them afflicted on someone so young. Indeed, it was probably part of what had drawn him to Isabel.

The question seemed to flip off a switch inside Mikasa, and she immediately lost her perky, upbeat attitude, becoming silent. Her shoulders hunched from a weight she was too young to understand, and she averted her gaze from Isabel's, seeking the somber-yet-reassuring presence of her brother.

Levi drew his sister onto his lap, stroking her hair and murmuring reassuringly as she curled into him. He could see the apology shining in Isabel's eyes, but answered her question before she could vocalize her feelings.

"Our mother died shortly after Mikasa was born," he explained, looking between the teenager and the child. "Even I never knew our father. I may have seen him twice in my life, if that."

Isabel's mouth dropped into an "o", the way Mikasa's did so often. She looked a few times between the siblings. "So you raised her, huh?" she asked Levi.

The black-haired man looked down at the black-haired girl, whose face was still buried in his chest. "Yeah. It was just us for two years. Then we met Farlan three years ago and have lived with him ever since."

He looked back up to see the redhead smiling softly. "That's really sweet. I can see how much the two of you love each other."

Levi didn't respond verbally, just looking down to his lap, watching the little girl snuggled against his chest, calming down as he stroked her hair and rubbed her back.

Eventually, Mikasa peeked an eye out of Levi's chest and turned it to the redhead. "D'you have a fam'ly, Isabel?" she asked shyly.

It was Isabel's turn to avert her gaze. She looked down at her fingers, twisting them together as she answered. "No," she responded, barely a whisper. "My parents abandoned me when I was young. I've been on my own on the streets for almost as long as I can remember."

Levi felt another sharp pang of guilt and anger when he saw his baby sister's face soften in a sympathy she should be far too young to be able to understand. The two girls shared a look of understanding for several minutes as Levi watched cursing himself. Suddenly though, he was ripped from his thoughts by Mikasa doing a complete attitude revolution and letting out a squeal of excitement, squirming in Levi's lap and turning to face him.

"Levi!" she exclaimed, gray eyes sparkling. "Isabel could stay with us 'nd Farlan!"

For several minutes, both Levi and Isabel were so shocked that all they could do was silently gape at Mikasa (who quickly lost confidence in her idea by their reaction).

Isabel recovered first, but Levi noticed that she kept her gaze on her hands as she spoke. "No, Mikasa, I couldn't possibly stay with you. Your... family has already been so generous, just caring for me for now and helping me get better. It would be way too much to ask for you to take me in. I... would just be an unnecessary... burden."

Levi's sister quickly opened her mouth to protest, but a guarded look from Isabel and Levi's resting a hand on her arm stopped her before she could get the words out. Instead, she returned her gaze to Levi's brown vest, clenching it in one hand and running a finger from the other hand over it shyly.

Levi watched her for a little bit before glancing up at Isabel, whose eyes were still on her hands, deliberately avoiding him and his sister. For several minutes, the three of them sat in silence as Levi alternated his gaze between his companions. He tried to ignore the intense guilt he could feel mounting as he thought about finding Isabel in the alley three days before.

When he first saw her, Isabel had reminded him of Mikasa. After finally speaking to her, his reasons for it had changed, but they were still there. Levi's sister and his new charge both were (from what he could tell) cheerful and optimistic, and caring and generous. But most importantly, despite everything they had been through in their short lives, both Mikasa and Isabel still had a sort of innocence to them. And over the nineteen years of his life, Levi had found that there was nothing that could bring out his overprotective side more than when he was confronted with that.

And abandoning Isabel alone to die because she had no one to protect her (unlike Mikasa at least, he supposed) went against a philosophy that had strengthened every day for the five years he had raised his sister.

Levi desperately wished for Farlan to come home, so that he could talk to him about taking in Isabel. Because he was so close to doing so, regardless of the what he knew would be numerous consequences.

Luckily, after a few (extremely awkward and silent) minutes, the trio heard the sound of the door opening, and a few seconds later, Farlan's voice called, "Levi, Mikasa, I'm back!"

Mikasa perked up when she heard his call and began squirming on Levi's lap. Seeing this, he cast a quick glance at Isabel before saying, "Mikasa, go tell Farlan that Isabel's awake."

The girl needed no further encouragement, jumping off of Levi's lap and racing out the door.

Once she had gone, Levi turned all his attention to the teenager in the bed, noticing that she was still avoiding his gaze. She must not have been ready to accept what she had said about herself to Mikasa, he assumed.

Slowly, Levi scooted closer to Isabel, resting a hand on her cheek one he was close enough. Startled, the redhead looked up, her green eyes meeting his gray ones.

It went against his natural instincts, but Levi forced himself to maintain eye contact as he spoke. "Farlan and I are talented with the 3DMG," he told her. "And he has a bit of a reputation for being overly generous."

For several moments, Isabel just continued staring at Levi, her green eyes clouded over. Suddenly, they cleared and she gasped, pulling away from him. "Are... are you saying that I can l-live with you?" she whispered, her voice almost painfully hopeful.

Levi looked down to his hands when he saw the look in her eyes. Even after three years, displaying emotions did not come easily to him with anyone except Mikasa.

"You're too young to have to face the hell that is the Underground. I was younger than you when Mikasa and I were abandoned," he responded eventually.

For several long moments, there was silence. Levi kept his gaze firmly fixed on his hands.

Suddenly, an ecstatic squeal that sounded only slightly different from Levi's five-year-old sister's sounded through the room. Startled, the black-haired man jumped and snapped his head up for an explanation, only to be assaulted a second later. Somehow, despite her sick and weak state, Isabel had thrown herself at Levi, her arms wrapped tightly against his stomach, pinning his arms to his sides. His first instinct was to shove her off, but he was unable to move his arms enough to do so.

So instead, Levi sat motionless as Isabel broke down into sobs, her head buried in his chest.

"Thank you," she kept repeating between her cries. "Thank you."

Finally, Levi was able to free his hands, but instead of shoving her off of him, he hesitated for a moment before slowly wrapping his arms around her, stroking her hair the way he often did to comfort Mikasa.

"You're going to have to pull your own weight though," Levi warned, feeling an overwhelming need to dissipate the intense emotion. "We can't afford to support both you and Mikasa."

Isabel raised her head enough to look into Levi's eyes and nod in eager reassurance. "Of course! I won't be a burden! I promise!"

Levi merely nodded, and Isabel looked back down, suddenly shy as she sat up properly.

"But..." she began, looking between her hands and Levi, "I... I can't believe that you would do this for me. Thank... thank you so much." She paused for a moment before looking determinedly into Levi's eyes. "I won't let you down! I promise, Levi-anaki!"

Levi was shocked. "Anaki?" he questioned.

Isabel nodded, the same determination in her green eyes. "Anaki."

Levi sat stunned for a few more minutes before his lips slowly curled up into a ghost of a smile. "Mikasa's always wanted a sister," he said eventually, reveling in the look of pure joy that formed on Isabel's face at his response.

When Farlan entered the room a few moments later, led by Mikasa, Levi simply stood up and said "Isabel's awake. And she's living with us," before scooping up his sister and walking out.


A/N: Long time no see everyone! Wow, I'm sorry about that. Things have been absolutely crazy recently, but on the bright side, I graduated from high school last week! Hopefully I'll have more time to write over the summer. Yesterday I finished outlining a timeline for this entire story, so at least now there's a concrete goal to shoot for! I don't want to spoil too much, but this story will end up having twenty-eight or twenty-nine chapters, depending on if I decide to split one of the longer ones in half. So far, I have fifteen written, so I hope no one is exasperated with this story yet, because there's still a long ride ahead of us. :P

Thanks to Nekm573 (Guest), IWasHereAMoment (Guest), 1-10 were taken, RachelGarfield12, LunaBloom, Marilus (Guest), DustyBooks, Navy Bow, KnightOwl247, juliaslater286, and Karli1252 for reviewing Chapter 6, and EvilSquirrelsFans for sending me a PM to remind me that people still read this story. :P You guys are awesome!