Levi Has A Pet
Summary: Levi has a pet, an unusual one, but it's a pet and he likes it with all of his dark little heart. It's small, undemanding and, most of all, clean. But it's a blast from the past and when word gets out, everyone wants it. Levi has to make sure his unique pet remains his and free. Eren, already done with this BS 2000 years ago, gets dragged into it. He's not complaining, despite his complaining.
"Put your gun away or I will not hesitate," Levi said practically in Misaki Azumabito's ear, blade just shy of cutting into the skin of his neck and drawing blood. It's been a while since Levi threatened someone. Well, Zeke didn't count, as that was the only way Levi knew how to interact with the blond Jaeger brother. And Misaki was an easy target, really. He hadn't even suspected his little threat attempt on Eren could be met with resistance or consequences. It was clear he wasn't used to being paranoid, which explained why Mikasa was the favored heir for the yakuza regardless of age or gender. Mikasa might not be as strong as she'd once been, but she still remembered what it was like living in hell and being one of the few who rushed into it with the intent of taking it over. She's lived through more than almost anyone in this modern world - except her fellow Eldians who remembered, of course - and it stuck with her, so she knew never to let her guard down.
Her younger brother had no such experience to fall back on and so he was naive in a way he'll never be able to make up for until he has to fight for his life at least ten times.
"Do you really think you are faster than a gun?" Asked Misaki, trying to sound confident but his voice had an edge to it that Levi easily recognized as fear.
"Misaki, what are you doing, man!?" Barked Jean, no one daring to make a single sudden movement, barely breathing at all for fear of potentially setting Misaki off and accidentally making him pull the trigger. Eren wouldn't come back from that, not even if he still had his Titan powers. Well, actually, there is a chance that he'd be able to survive, like how Reiner had survived his head being blown to bits, but it's dangerous and iffy at best. A risk they couldn't afford two thousand years ago, let alone now. "Put the gun away!"
"Misaki-"
"Do you even know what that is, aneki, Jean-nii?" Misaki asked, subtly indicating towards the Hallucigenia on the table, making everyone stiffen up even more as they realized the catalyst behind this whole situation. Levi ground his jaw but said nothing. "You know we're in huge financial debt after having to extract Mikoto-obaasan from jail last month and with your wedding expenses. That thing," he jerked his gun just the slightest to emphasize the Hallucigenia again. "Could cover more than those debts combined and then some if we sell it to the right bidder. I'll even let Levi-san here go instead of selling him, too, since I know you're sensitive to human trafficking, for some reason, aneki."
"I'm covering for half the expenses for the wedding," Jean intervened, eyes trained on the gun pointed at his friend's forehead. "I said I'd cover the whole thing but your folks insisted. My offer still stands-"
"I don't care about your money," the younger Azumabito interrupted, making Jean's jaw snap shut at the cold tone he used. "This is an opportunity for the Azumabito to extend their influence outside of Japan and all it would take is to sell a worm and some random foreigner."
"Do you really think we'd let you do that?" Asked Annie, her hand hovering over a gun Levi knew she was hiding beneath her loose hoodie.
"I'm the one with the gun," pointed out Misaki as if it was obvious.
"Do you really think you have control here?" Levi asked, all but purring dangerously in his ear, pressing his knife harder against Misaki's neck, nicking the skin and letting blood flow.
"Do you really think you're faster than a gun?" Asked Misaki again, mockingly.
Eren, the certified suicidal maniac too used to being able to regenerate whole missing body parts, pressed his temple harder against the gun, a challenge glinting in his eyes. "Go ahead," he taunted, eyes that scary intensity that would probably make any beast back down and have any lesser man running. Or, well, wiser, at least.
Misaki, in his ignorance, just stared at Eren incredulously. "You'd trust him-"
"Yss," Eren answered immediately, without an ounce of hesitation. Levi was both touched and annoyed by that, because Eren either really lived up to his old nickname or he had too much trust in Levi. Then again, it was probably both. It was borderline naive and Eren Jaeger was anything but. "The thing is," the former Titan Shifter said. "That I've seen him do it. I have confirmation that he can slit your throat before you can even think of pulling the trigger."
"I'm surprised the infamous Levi-san even needs someone else to save him," retorted Misaki, but he sounded considerably more unsure of this whole endeavor.
Levi leaned in even, all but rubbing cheeks with his target. "I don't." And that's when Misaki became rigid, realizing completely just what type of situation he'd found himself in. Eren used this opportunity to swipe the gun from his hand in the familiar maneuver they taught in the Training Regiment on Paradis and soon Misaki also had a gun planted right between his eyes with two of the deadliest men in Eldian history surrounding him in a lethal sandwich.
"If you were anyone else besides Mikasa's little brother, I would kill you on the spot," Eren said with the same burning rage as when he'd said he'd kill Bertolt and Reiner upon finding out that they were traitors. Well, you simply don't mess with the friends of the guy who was ready to destroy the world for said friends. It tends to get really ugly really fast. "Consider yourself lucky that she loves you and that I don't want to see her grieving or sad ever again."
"Again?" Misaki asked before Levi applied the right amount of pressure in a specific place on his neck, knocking him out cold. Neither Eren nor Levi made to catch him and even Mikasa didn't seem to care.
"Well, that was unnecessarily dramatic," commented Zeke after a short silence following the thud of Misaki's collapsed body.
"And stressful!" Snapped Marco in a sharp tone, glaring at Eren as though it was his fault he had a gun pulled on him. "What were you thinking, taunting him like that!? He could have shot you!"
"He wouldn't survive Mikasa."
"He is Mikasa's younger brother, of course she wouldn't-"
"Oh, I would," interrupted the said woman. "In a heartbeat, if not less."
"At least some things never change," Connie said with a snort.
"Hey! You're supposed to be marrying and to love me," jokingly complained Jean, though there was definitely an undercurrent of real insecurity belying his words. But Mikasa just waved him off.
"Of course I will and I do, Jean, but it's practically instinct still to protect Eren - or any of my friends from our past life, for that matter - over the people in my life this time around, be they friends or family. Besides, you have nothing to worry about with Eren."
"Yeah, he's freedomsexual," Armin piped in and Levi would really like for someone to explain to him why everyone had this look of understanding on their faces before they nodded and just went on with their lives. The 104th were weird, there's no doubt about it. "That aside," the blond said as he turned on Eren. "You really need to be more careful, Eren! You don't have your Titan powers anymore to heal you And even then, that could have been a fatal wound!"
"Well, actually-"
"Shut up, Reiner," Pieck interrupted. "That's not the point."
"Thank you!" Exclaimed Armin, giving Pieck an appreciative nod, before going back to chewing Eren out for his recklessness. Levi just looked to Mikasa, trying to judge whether he should say sorry regardless of what she'd claimed earlier.
"Help me set him up in his room," the woman said before he could decide and so he just nodded. He offered to carry him but Mikasa insisted on helping, so it was with combined efforts that they carried Misaki to the master bedroom, took all of his communication devices from his person and the room before getting out and locking and barricading the door. They had made sure there were no weapons left in there, too, of course, just to be sure they can avoid another stand off the likes of which had just ended. "There's an intercom to the living room, so when he wakes up, we'll convince him to behave himself and let him out. If he doesn't, I guess you can always discipline him."
Levi arched an eyebrow at her. "Wow. Do you hate your brother or something? You were always ready to throw hands with me for the slightest of disapproving looks thrown Eren's way, let alone what you suggest me to do if Misaki acts out."
Mikasa shook her head. "It's nothing like that. I love my brother, he's just annoying and needs a few life lessons taught to him by someone who will be brutal but won't kill him. If it comes to that, anyways." A dark look passed over her face. "Besides, he threatened Eren."
Levi snorted at that but let it be. He knew perfectly well what it was like to be protective of someone to the point of discarding new ties from this life. After all, Levi would have probably been the same if someone he'd once considered a friend or even the family he now technically had in the Reiss tried to harm one of his comrades. They have all long since laid down their green cloaks but they were still Scouts, still comrades, still friends. And Mikasa had spent a lot of time focusing completely on Eren. It was probably a hard habit to kick, even in this new world where the only danger Eren normally faces would be some drunk idiot driving under the influence.
When they returned to the living room, everyone seems to have calmed down and the Hallucigenia seems to have been returned to Levi's backpack so no one else who might barge in would see it and cause a scene. Armin was still berating Eren, who wasn't even pretending to listen anymore, instead playing some game on his phone. Connie and Sasha had moved to the kitchen to get some snacks, Hange and Pieck were trying to go over their memorized notes of what had been discussed before Hange's house had been broken into with Jean and Reiner trying to follow through but failing while Marco seemed to be rather interested in the topic. Falco seems to have dozed off and Gabi was talking with Annie about something or another. Bertolt was gone from his seat, probably in the bathroom, puking out his stress caused by the scene earlier, and Zeke had just taken out a cig for a smoke when Levi glared at him in warning.
Levi hated the stench of cigarettes. Many of his mother's clients reeked of them when they would come to her and Levi would either have to hide in a closet if they didn't get a heads up from a new customer or he'd return to their small room full of that awful scent after one of her regulars left. That had been one of the things he'd hated the most about that time in his last life, besides, of course, the things his mother had to do to get food on the table. Kenny had once stank of the same nauseating scent but he'd stopped frequenting shady places after he taught Levi how to fight well enough that the kid could pick a fight with anyone smoking a cigarette - though there weren't actually all that many who could afford them in the Underground - and come out as the undisputed winner. Kenny had even supported Levi's hatred for the things since he wanted Levi to remain healthy, probably as a tribute to Kuchel. And goodness forbid Erwin try to drag Levi to one of the nobles' fancy sit-ins or whatever it was where they drank and smoked until whatever room they were in was full enough of fumes to make a Titan tipsy. Levi usually made sure to drink everyone under the table at such gatherings and then go around the citadel doing the nosiest things he could the next morning to torture the idiots, especially Erwin.
Having to babysit Zeke only made that hatred for cigarettes greater, as the blond reeked of them and asked non-stop to be given one until Levi threatened to slit his throat and stuff a smoking piece of firewood down his windpipe if he liked smoke so much.
The dislike transferred to this life, too, especially since Rod Reiss was a heavy smoker and didn't care that he was smoking around Kuchel, even when she started battling lung cancer again, or Uri, who seems to have had some thyroid and blood work problems, therefore smoking around them should have been strictly forbidden. Levi and Kenny had been this close on far too many occasions to gauge his eyes out and fill them with the ashes from his ashtray. He thinks Historia had had the same urges, too.
He was distracted from his inner rant about the evils of cigarette smoke and its smell when he heard a distinct sound coming from the direction of the elevators. There wasn't a ding to announce someone asking for permission to come down into the penthouse and most people would remain completely oblivious to the near noiseless sound of the smooth doors rolling open, but Levi wasn't like most people, or anyone else left alive, for that matter. He heard. And after the incident with Misaki, he knew he couldn't just write it off as a coincidence or as 'nothing important'. Misaki was also one of the heirs to the Azumabito, even if he wasn't the first, preferred choice. That means he must have had bodyguards escorting him to his home.
Now, Levi didn't know if bodyguards went into their bosses' homes or not but he wasn't going to risk it. One of his (former) brats had already been threatened, he wasn't about to let it happen again. He'll apologize later if he has to.
Before whoever it was that had exited the elevator could round the corner to the living room, Levi drew the swords attached to the gear Hange had made and lunged forward. He crossed the blades and positioned them at the neck of the newcomers, one blade at each throat, making them freeze. It didn't take long for Levi to realize it was Farlan Church who had been preparing to pull a gun on him and who looked so terrified of him right now and Isabel Magnolia, who's eyes were sparkling in awe at Levi's speed and control to stop before he seriously harmed them. Or killed them.
'Same old, same old,' he thought to himself with an inward snort before he sighed and stepped back, resheathing his swords.
"Holy crap, that was awesome!" The redhead exclaimed immediately, her emerald eyes huge, excited and glimmering as she made to follow Levi as he put some distance between them. Farlan's hand reached out to stop the young woman from approaching the clearly dangerous teen, which once again made Levi almost snort. Seems like they really hadn't changed since their last life. "What are those things? How sharp are they? Where did you get them? And what's those things on your hips? And-"
"Magnolia-san, please don't get closer without the armed person's permission," Farlan said with a deep, exasperated sigh. It got deeper and even more exasperated when Isabel ignored him and started jumping around Levi.
"Isabel, enough," Zeke said as he came over and moved as if to scoff Isabel and drag her away from Lev, but the Ackerman's reflexes were faster and he caught his wrist inches away from Isabel, turning his head up slightly to glare at the former Beast Titan, who immediately brought his other hand up in surrender. Isabel stared at Levi with even more awe. There were practically stars in her eyes at this point. Levi let go of Zeke's wrist and ruffled her hair, which caused her to blush and beam at the same time, looking utterly precious.
"Are you sure this girl reminds you of the suicidal bastard?" Annie asked, studying Isabel from beside Mikasa as she, Jean and Eren moved to see this new stranger, the others craning their necks but not crowding around the elevator.
"Mikasa-sama, please do lock up after yourself, especially when things are this tense," Farlan admonished the woman, who rolled her eyes. "Don't you roll your eyes at me, young lady! Just because you have some ninja acting as your guard dog does not mean you shouldn't take more precautious for your safety."
"I'm neither a ninja nor a guard dog and it was her brother who left the doors unlocked," Levi told Farlan as he gently pushed Isabel away from him when she started poking at his 3DMG.
"How was the questioning? What did they want?" Mikasa asked as she gestured for everyone to go back into the living room while she locked up the elevator again.
"There's this guy, Erwin Smith from MI6. He asked the standard questions, I suppose: why and where we were flying, who we worked for, if we saw anything strange. Particularly, if we've seen a quick, short young man with dark hair and pale skin with a big backpack and strange things on his belt. I'm guessing he means you?" He directed that at Levi, who gave him no answer, just an assessing yet blank look. "Apparently, this man is extremely dangerous, an international criminal."
At that, the former Heichou snorted. "Fugitive, sure. Petty thief, I'll admit to. International criminal? I don't think I've ever done anything to earn that title."
"He said you killed people."
Levi actually had to pause to consider that. He can't honestly, one hundred percent surely claim that he hadn't killed anyone in his many escape attempts and maneuvers while he was on the run. He was a bred and raised killing machine and all those memories and skills were passed on to him in this life as well, especially after he was bitten by the Hallucigenia and his old abilities came back with it. Not that he hadn't honed his body into a weapon before that. After all, underground fights paid a hefty load and had helped greatly to pay for the bills. It would seem Levi and Kenny were both doomed to always have some kind of blood on their hands. Levi just didn't know for sure if the blood on his had come with the price of lives this time around.
"Well, he's never killed any of my people or on our watch," Zeke suddenly said and Levi's head snapped in the blond's direction, confusion filling his eyes at the reassurance(?) of his once sworn enemy. "Zeke Jaeger, CIA," he introduced himself when Farlan shot him a confused look. "Thank you for safely esorting my protege, Mr Church."
Farlan nodded to him before turning to Mikasa. "CIA, MI6 ... What is going on here, Mikasa-sama?"
"A huge misunderstanding," replied the woman with a sigh. "One that seems to be endangering a dear friend of mine."
"I was unaware you are friends with teenage Americans," he countered, arching an eyebrow at Levi, who returned the look with one of his own.
"It's complicated," she said before trying to dismiss him. Only Farlan didn't go. "Is something the matter?" Mikasa asked with a slightly annoyed tone to her voice.
"Are you sure it's safe to be around someone being chased by two of the biggest secret services in the world?"
"Hey, Smith is only after me here in Japan because he was a representative at the science fair and saw me by accident," Levi countered, once again batting Isabel's hands away from his gear when she tried to sneak up on him. "And Jaeger is a stalker-"
"I am not-"
"-so he doesn't count," he finished as though the elder Jaeger brother hadn't said anything. "Besides, it's not my fault they one day crashed into my house and tried to kidnap me for having a pet."
"... Secret services are after you because you have a pet?" Farlan asked incredulously and Levi shrugged.
"I mean, it's a one of a kind pet and I'd understand the curiosity regarding it, but I don't think secret services invading my house is the way to go."
Farlan didn't seem like he was buying the story - even though it was the truth, if a bit abridged - but Mikasa stopped him from trying to puzzle it out by physically pushing him towards the elevator. "You don't need to get yourself involved with this any further. You have a wife and a son to think about, so don't do unnecessary things that might endanger you for no good reason. If you don't want to accept my recommendation letter for a safer, more legal workplace, the least you can do is stay out of danger and trouble."
"Aw! I'd never want to stop working for such a generous and caring employer, Mikasa-sama! Besides, we're practically family, anyways! But I guess you are right," Farlan hummed as he was shoved into the waiting elevator. "My dearest Yami-chan is worried enough about Levi-kun as is-"
Levi's eyes nearly popped out of his head.
Hange looked ready to start either cackling or cooing.
Armin, Eren and Pieck looked confused while Falco and Gabi seemed baffled.
The rest, the ones who have lived with Mikasa's family long enough to know about her eccentric honorary uncle and godfather and his family, just looked amused at the newcomers' reactions.
"-what with him being an early born, but he's so strong already that I don't know why she's worrying so much," mused Farlan to himself like a proud, doting father. "I mean, the pregnancy had been so risky and all our failed attempts before ... Clearly he's stronger than a normal baby! For goodness sake, we named him after Humanity's Strongest from those weird legends! She needn't fret so much anymore! He doesn't get sick and he's developing just fine, all his doctors are impressed, even if he's a bit on the small side, but that's nothing to worry about! And I'm a grown ass man, I can take care of myself and I know Mikasa-sama would never endanger me-"
Mikasa, thankfully, pushed the close button on the elevator, cutting off the rest of Farlan's - uncharacteristic, in Levi's mind - rant before it could go on for too long. That didn't stop from Levi and his group gawking at Mikasa, who shrugged, not meeting Levi's eyes.
"They've been trying for years, nearly gave up, when Yami-san got pregnant last year. The pregnancy was risky since Yami-san has diabetes and her condition seemed to have suddenly gotten worse a couple of months before she got pregnant so it was a surprise. They stressed about it a lot, as it was probably their last chance. Then the baby was born prematurely with a C section because her blood pressure was high and her sugar levels were baby was given very low estimates of survival. He spent seven weeks in an incubator, since he was so small. But he kept fighting. He survived and when he got out of the incubator and was finally in his mother's arms, Farlan insisted that he should be named Levi, after one of Paradis' heroes, Humanity's Strongest Soldier. Yami-san agreed, said he deserved such a strong name for surviving what he did." She paused, turning her head in the completely opposite direction of Levi. "We thought it was you, Heichou."
Hange finally started cackling.
Now everyone else looked embarrassed, cheeks red and not meeting Levi's gaze.
Levi, though, was doing his best to fight off tears. Farlan named his own son after Levi, even without his memories. Levi didn't know what to say, if he should say anything. He wanted to race out of the room, find Farlan, hug him and never let go, hide him from the rest of the world, him and his family, so no one could ever hurt them. They'd take Isabel, too. Probably Eren, also, since he's so trouble-prone. Hange had Moblit, Gabi and Falco had each other, as did most of his comrades. But maybe he could rope them into going with them, too? Then he'd have everyone he ever cared about in one place, after kidnapping his mother and uncle, of course. Hell, Uri and Historia might even finance them!
Levi just wanted his loved ones to be safe.
"Well, that's just adorable," gushed Hange, wiping a tear from under their eye. "If I ever have a kid, I'm naming him Levi, too! So both little Levis can bother less-little Levi." She started rolling on the ground on her not so funny joke but Levi let it slide. He wasn't in the mood to be pissed at her right now. He had proof Isabel was safe, that Farlan had a family and was living a mostly safe life, he'd met almost all of his closest comrades from his past life, he knew his mother, uncle and the rest of his 'birth' family were okay for the most part and he had a solution to the Hallucigenia problem. Maybe he won't have to be a fugitive anymore in the near future.
Maybe he could return home. Maybe he could make something of his life.
Maybe he could have some fucking peace again.
"So, what are you doing here, Mr Jaeger, sir? Why am I here? Why aren't you detaining this guy if you've caught him? I mean, sure, he's clearly awesome, but-"
"First of all, Levi caught Zeke, not the other way around," Eren interrupted with clear amusement. "Second, Levi is awesome and there's no 'but's to it. And third, you're here because Zeke is our ally and we're working towards the same goal. As for you, you're here because Zeke says you'd track him down and the rest of the CIA would follow after you, which would make life extremely difficult for us. You got that, kid?"
"I'm twenty one!"
"And I'm turning twenty three soon. Therefore, I can call you 'kid' if I want," the brunet said with an amused snort, only to yelp when Levi whacked him over the head for teasing Isabel. She may not remember him or what they'd been to each other two thousand years ago, but he did and Isabel would always be his honorary younger sister. "Ow! What was that for, Heichou?"
Isabel sticks out her tongue at Eren as she moves to hide behind Levi, who turns around and pinches her cheek as punishment for childish behaviour, too. "You're both physically older than me but you act like fucking brats, so I'll treat you as such. Now stop with this nonsense and someone get her up to speed. I'm tired of all this shit and it's not even dinner time yet."
"Speaking of, I'm hungry," Sasha declares and no one is surprised when they see her sprint into the kitchen despite having some snacks just a handful of minutes ago.
"I'll go after her to make sure she doesn't eat everything," Armin said with a tired sigh, familiar with this routine and Annie went with him.
"I guess I'll make us all some sandwiches or something," Bertolt said as he moved towards the kitchen but Levi had them all sprinting out in a second.
"GO WASH YOUR FILTHY HANDS YOU BRATS!"
"SIR, YES SIR!"
Levi just shook his head and sighed longsufferingly. "I used to be paid for this shit." Pieck laughs and pats him comfortingly on the back before going to wash her own hands to help with the dinner preparations.
"I'll go make some tea," Falco offered but Eren was all but flying across the room already, to which the blond huffed and hurried after him. "Hey!"
"You got tea for him last time!"
"Are they for real?" Jean asked as everyone slowly returned to what they were doing before. "I half expected Gabi to be the one getting competitive with Eren," he admitted and Levi couldn't help but shrug.
"Falco has a side of him that he doesn't exactly show to everyone. Being competitive in certain areas is part of it."
"Wait, Falco can be competitive?" Reiner asked, clearly surprised at these news. "The little boy who always trailed after Gabi and did his best to just keep her out of trouble? Who only wanted to see her safe and happy? That Falco can be competitive?"
Levi couldn't help but snort at his incredulity. "I wish Onyankopon was here to tell you all about Falco's and Gabi's little competition for the first Christmas we spent together. I didn't have a moment's peace."
"Why would they bother you so much on Christmas?" Isabel asked and Hange, who was finally calming down, answered.
"Shorty's birthday is on Christmas!"
"I'm going to go check up on my brother. No, I don't need help," Mikasa said and interrupted Jean and Levi who were about to suggest to go up with her. "It's best if Levi is down here in the near impossible chance of Misaki getting past me to protect the Hallucigenia. After all, that's their primary target, right?"
"Just yell if you need help," Jean insisted while Levi just let her be. He knew Mikasa was more than capable of taking care of herself, even with the lack of her Ackerman powers. "So, when do you guys want to do this? The whole Mariana Trench thing and all," the man asked, looking more towards Levi than anyone else despite a lot of the logistics of their upcoming 'mission' depended on quite a few other people who were most definitely not Levi. "Because Mikasa and I would really like you guys to attend our wedding. Well, excluding Zeke."
"Wait, why me?" The blond Jaeger asked and literally everyone around paused what they were doing to give him a Look. Connie even looked ready to murder him, most probably for what happened to his village or just the war Zeke had half-started or at least had a hand in starting. "Okay, I get it, I get it! No need to give me those looks! I might piss my pants."
Levi grimaced. "You're disgusting."
"Says the man who talks about shit," countered Zeke.
"Yeah, well, at least his shit jokes are funny while your talk of piss is just plain disgusting," Eren retorted as he and Falco got back with the tea, coffee and some dry crackers or something. Eren took up his old spot beside Levi while Falo and Gabi moved to comandire one of the freed up couches before the others came back.
"Only you think his shit jokes are funny, Eren," contradicted Reiner but Eren just shrugged.
"Nah, you just don't own a single funny bone in your body."
"I'm sure you've had several so you can lend us a few," Pieck said as they all finally made their way to the kitchen to start preparing some light dinner for everyone. Eren shot her a dirty look at that while Reiner and Jean snickered. Levi couldn't help but wonder how these people were more childish now when they were older than him than when they were literal brats that had just become part of his squad.
"But seriously, though," Jean began. "When are we going to do this? We will definitely need at least a couple of days to prepare, so we need to decide on a date."
"We can't wait for long," Hange reasoned. "Knowing Erwin, he'll be combing through Tokyo in search for us until he finds a lead on Levi. And we probably can't hold Mikasa's brother hostage for that long, nor can Zeke be away without people getting suspicious. We need to do this as quickly as we can, otherwise there's no telling when our next opportunity may come."
"Isabel and I can get everything ready in two days, if that's your limit," Zeke offered as he sat down on one of the couches. The redhead in question followed suit, making herself comfortable just as the guys in the kitchen started bringing in sandwitches. Sasha, of course, had a whole tray just for herself and only Isabel looked at her a bit weirdly when they saw it. Everyone else either saw or heard about her insatiable appetite. "Though you are right that, although I tend to disappear on and off on my own at times, I rarely stay away longer than a couple of days. A week at best. So you have a week at most if only Isabel and I are your time constricts."
"Misaki will need to go home in three days at most," Mikasa said as she made a reappearence. "My parents were already pissed enough when we thought he'd miss my wedding. Plus, he's a bit annoying and likes to call our aunt all the time, trying to get on her good side so he'd have her support him if I were ever officially made the heir. If he doesn't call her by tomorrow afternoon, she could get suspicious."
"Are you suggesting we let him out?" Connie asked incredulously as he took a seat next to Sasha once all the food and drinks were put on the coffee table and everyone reclaimed their seats so they could eat and discuss shit. "Isn't that, like, a huge risk?"
"He wants money and recognition, right?" Levi asked, taking the cup of tea Eren offered him. "International influence for the Azumabito or some shit?"
Mikasa nodded. "He thinks that if he somehow betters our clan's financial or influential standing, he might be considered a better heir candidate."
Levi nodded. "I'll pay all your wedding expenses and the debt your aunt or whatever made." Half the room did a spit-take right there, while another quarter started choking on their own food.
"Aren't you a fugitive?" Asked Marco suspiciously but Hange grinned.
"Yes, but it appears he's also one of the stock holders of his uncle's husband's international company, making him filthy rich," the scientist explained and the others gawked. Hange started cackling. Levi just sipped his tea.
"How did that happen?" Annie asked, since her boyfriend seemed to be too stunned to speak after learning he'd been living with a millionaire of some sort for weeks without any of them knowing. Well, Levi doubted his 10% were worth millions, but considering there was an ongoing legal battle over who would get the rights to the company and Levi's stocks could tip the balance either way, they may as well be.
"Long story short, Historia," Eren said by way of explanation and quite a few of the others just nodded as if that explained everything. Maybe it did. Hsitoria was a rather competent leader, knew when to be gentle and when to be relentless. She was probably the best support Uri could have ever gotten in a legal fight against someone as rotten and willing to do rotten things as Rod. "There's a huge family feud. The Fritz are also involved-"
"Wait, how does any of this have anything to do with my family or Levi?" Zeke asked, looking confused all of a sudden.
"Right. You're probably not informed about all the details," Hange commented, more to herself than anyone else. "Well, you see, Levi is Uri Reiss' nephew." Zeke's eyes widened as he apparently understood the whole picture. "So, yeah. Uri gave him 10% of his shares so that his husband's family would survive the inevitable shitstorm Rod would throw at them in case Uri died, which would leave them penniless after paying off all of Kuchel Ackerman's medical bills."
"Wait, does this mean Levi and I are cousin-"
"No," Levi and Eren shut that down immediately. "That aside," Levi continued. "Back to the main topic, if you can convince your brother that I can help you financially," he said to Mikasa. "Do you think we can buy his silence and cooperation?"
The woman pursed her lips.
Translations:
-nii - a way to address an older male you are close to or respect, short from nii-san
-san - honorific most often used when addressing politely a person in Japan
-chan - a way to affectionately address someone
-kun - a honorific usually used for males, or really close friends