I AM VERY SORRY FOR THE LATE UPDATE!
Seriously, my schedule is just so tight I can't find any time to write. I'm in the middle of my mid-term exam but I decided to update anyway. Actually I planned to write something for the RivaMika week but as you already know my tight schedule just wouldn't allow me to. Sigh.
Anyway, thank you ProdigyMeetsStrongestShorty, Sky Maiden 777, Wintersia, whyspers, sereneskydragonslayer, dot, hamchan, meshi-chan, WanMyBananaONot, solitarycloud, Berry9704, SeraphineHeartfilia, AnimeLoverxxxSinceBirth, Dinendir, Sadaharu-chan, Konota-chan, Shiina Yuki, Nancy Haibara, Seraphicpapilion, Koshiba Kiri, SheeAieN18, Brkrth99, Leavian, felicity2hawt4u, GoodXBad, annifitrah, Black Tofu, Death Appraiser, silentux131, and Guest! If not for your reviews I wouldn't be able to move on (I was having this author block for a while).
To WanMyBananaONot : I'm really touched that an EreRi fan like you would drop by to read this humble fic of him and even go into trouble of reviewing a chapter :'D You don't need to apologize. Just the fact that you're reading this story means a lot for me :')
To solitarycloud : Well, actually I know how to read the cards (I already asked my friend) but I tried to insert Eren's amateurism (since he obviously knows nothing about the art of fortune-telling) by using my thinking before I learned how to read it from my friend. But still, I can't blame you if you think it's weird. I assume that you've been foretold your future before? Or more, are you a fortune-teller yourself? :0 I'd like to have my future told if you are! XD
To Sadaharu-chan : Thank you very much for reviewing, I really love your analysis. At first, when I read your review I was like "What the hell? Does this person think they're so smart?" but then I didn't even realize when I started gawking at your long and amazing analysis! And yes, half of it was uncalled for, LoL. Thank you for your encouragement. I will do my best
This chapter is quite boring in my prespective, but I would like to know your opinions. Please leave me some feedbacks, it would help a lot.
Disclaimer: I don't own Shingeki no Kyojin
Knocking a few times, Rivaille made his way in to the room.
"Hanji, your dad asked me to bring this for you," he said. In his hands was a tray of food for the sick; warm porridge and water.
"Ooh! Thanks, Rivaille! I'm starving!" Hanji beamed and waved her arms, asking for the food.
Despite being bed-ridden, Hanji never lost her perkiness. One would wonder if she was even sick at all, but Rivaille knew better than she herself did. She needed rest—as much of it as she could get. After that kidnapping incident Hanji's health dropped dramatically over the next few days. He knew something was odd with that injection but the culprit would never speak a word of it.
"—Ouch! It's still hot…" Hanji stuck out her tongue to cool it off.
Rivaille looked at her trying to eat the porridge and spoke up, "Hey, don't you think it's better to go see the doctor or something? You don't look so well."
Blinking, Hanji then laughed out loud, "Me? No, no, I'm fine. Do I look sick to you?"
"Actually, no, but I can tell."
"Aww, I'm touched," Hanji teased.
Rivaille stared intently at her, refusing to let her deceive him this time. Maybe she thought she could hide everything behind her smiles but she was wrong. And he would prove it to her.
"It's been a week since you're bed-ridden. I don't think you're actually sick. Mind to tell me the truth?" Rivaille said, this time in a more serious tone.
Hanji's expression dropped. She smiled bitterly and dropped the spoon into the bowl of porridge. Lowering her head, she hid her face behind her bangs, "Can't you let it slide, just this once?" she whispered.
He didn't answer her rhetorical question and waited.
She turned to face him with an apologetic smile and clutched the blanket covering her legs, "…I don't think I can walk by your side anymore…"
Rivaille's eyes widened as he held his breath.
"…I can't feel my legs…"
And he felt his world crumbled.
Chapter 16. The Girl Under the Floors
Mikasa wanted to believe that she had only misheard something from what Mr. Pétit had said previously. There was no way what he had said was the truth. She had just met Hanji yesterday and she was fine and sound like always.
"…Are we talking about the same Hanji?" Mikasa asked carefully.
Mr. Pétit raised a confused eyebrow and retrieved his phone from his pocket. He seemed to be browsing something in his i-phone and when he finally found it, he handed it to Mikasa.
The girl accepted it and looked at the picture shown in the screen.
"That's Rivaille and Hanji on Rivaille's eleventh birthday." Mr. Pétit smiled longingly. "Hanji is the daughter of a good friend of mine. And she was the only friend my son ever had in his childhood. I would never mistake her for anyone."
Mikasa stared intently at the picture. It showed Rivaille's never-changing grumpy face—not much of an expression a birthday boy's supposed to show. Beside him was an all-too-familiar brunette, grinning and pointing two of her fingers as if she was saying "Peace!" as she slung her arm across his shoulders.
It was Hanji, no doubt. But what bothered Mikasa was the fact that Hanji was sitting on a wheelchair.
As if reading her mind, Mr. Pétit answered, "She lost her ability to walk soon after a kidnapping incident when she and Rivaille were still ten."
Mikasa's brain began to process the information involuntarily. Her brain automatically spun whenever there were things needed to be done quickly. It was involuntary, she insisted. However she would never deny that a part of it was her own wish to learn the situation. She never admitted it, especially to Eren, but she extremely hated it when she remained oblivious of something.
"But…" Mr. Pétit spoke up.
Mikasa turned to him.
"…you did say Hanji Zoë, didn't you, Mikasa-chan?" he asked, somewhat emphasizing the Zoë.
She nodded.
Mr. Pétit let out a weak sigh and massaged his temple, "I think I know what is going on. I see… that's why they rarely visit the house…"
From his words, Mikasa knew something was amiss. And she definitely didn't want someone to explain it to her yet, because she had already found out and she would speak her answer aloud. She remembered something that could serve as a clue. Something Hanji said after she broke her arm.
.
"Rivaille and I were visiting the house yesterday, you see. Sonny and Bean had grown so big while I'm away so when I played with them, I accidentally broke a bone or two. This is like their love mark for me!"
.
"Excuse me, Mr. Pétit… are you aware of these pets called Sonny and Bean?" she asked.
"Yes, of course. Our house keeps them."
"Who is their owner?"
Raising a brow, Mr. Pétit appeared amused. So the girl had already found out as well. She wasn't called a genius for nothing, it seemed.
Mr. Pétit opened his mouth and spoke up,
Mikasa grew tense.
"Their owner is Zoë, Hanji's twin sister…"
"Where are you going, Hanji?" Irvin asked.
Twirling around, Hanji grinned at the blond. "I think I'll listen to Rivaille's advice for once. I'll be going home first to buy some groceries and prepare dinner."
Irvin raised a brow at Hanji's unusual behavior. It was very unusual for her to be submissive towards Rivaille. Usually Rivaille had to go all out just o make sure Hanji actually listen to what he's saying. What could have happened to Hanji that made her act like this? Irvin felt a little worried. The cause of this phenomenon might be that, after all.
"Are you sure you're fine? Do you need me to accompany you home?"
"Eh? Nah, I can go home myself, I'm not a child." Hanji laughed while opening the door. "Tell Rivaille about my leave once he's awake. He keeps sleeping, he should be the one taking rest at home instead of me," she said playfully before leaving.
Standing before the tombstone, he looked almost apathetic. Everyone would give him angry look, some even looked disgusted at him. His unchanging expression at the burial being the main reason people looked at him that way.
No, he didn't want to mourn over her death.
He didn't have the right to.
Beside him stood the other person who didn't express sadness in her face; she smiled almost heartily. Half of her face hidden behind the parasol she was holding.
"Why aren't you mourning?" he asked her, voice low and deep. He knew he wasn't the one to say, but the way she smiled really made him think she didn't care at all.
To his annoyance, she beamed at him. "Why should I? Hanji didn't die…"
Somewhat confused, Rivaille knitted his brows at the peculiar statement.
"…she's right here…" she continued, pointing at herself.
.
.
.
His eyes fluttered open as he woke up from his short slumber.
Rubbing his still sore eyes, he looked around the room to find no one but Eren, who was sitting on one of the chairs while sorting out documents. Where were the others?
"Ah. Are you awake, kaichou?" the younger boy asked.
"Hm," he gave a short answer, positioning himself more properly on his chair.
He found himself eventually getting bored by the dead quietness in the room. Eren was busy sorting out god-knows-what documents and here he was, leaning his back against the ironically comfortable back rest of his chair, spinning almost childishly like there was nothing better left to do. When he was about to take a leave to enjoy anything he could find entertaining at the festival, he accidentally caught a glimpse of the manuscript he was supposed to memorize by the end of the day.
That drama his class chose… it was like a painful reminder of his own past.
"Oi, Eren."
The boy looked up, "Can I help you, kaichou?"
Leaning forward, Rivaille rested his elbows on his desk and intertwined his fingers, hiding half of his face behind them. "Will you listen to my story?" he asked in a low voice.
Eren blinked. It was very unusual for the President to tell a story, moreover about himself.
"Uh… If it doesn't trouble you, I'm more than happy to listen to your story…" Eren said politely while setting aside the documents.
Rivaille gave a single nod.
.
.
Winter six years ago…
.
.
"Uwaah… It's White Christmas, Rivaille!" Hanji began stretching her arms into the air, as though trying to catch the falling snow into an embrace. He just hoped she wouldn't fall off her wheelchair with that much enthusiasm.
"Aren't you cold?" Rivaille asked, ignoring her enthusiastic comments about the snow.
"Screw the cold! I can handle this much! Rather than that, look, I can see fog coming out of my mouth!" she said happily despite this not being the first time she saw it. Hanji had always been the kind of girl who cherished everything she saw with her own eyes, treating them all as treasures.
Sighing roughly, Rivaille untied his scarf and threw it to her lap, startling her.
"Hey! Don't startle me like that," she puffed her cheeks.
Rolling his eyes, Rivaille ignored her pout and continued pushing the wheelchair as Hanji initiatively tied the scarf around her neck. She knew he would yell at her if she remained stubborn.
The cold wind hit her face as Rivaille pushed her wheelchair forward. It didn't bother her that much. She wasn't weak to cold, after all. But Rivaille insisted on having her wear thicker clothes whenever she took a step outside. Of course she knew that her health wasn't as tough as everyone's, but why would she wear thicker clothes when she didn't feel that cold?
"Rivaille, look, it's a squirrel!" she pointed at a squirrel running along a tree branch.
When Rivaille was about to turn to look at the direction she pointed, he caught a glimpse of something brown of the size of a Golden Retriever dog on the ground and it soon disappeared into the pile of white snow near the backdoor.
Rivaille blinked it shock but quickly dismissed it and turned to Hanji again when she began rambling because he didn't pay attention to her words.
That night, a huge party was held to celebrate both Christmas and Rivaille's birthday. Hanji would always comment on how Rivaille and Christmas were like a failed chemical reaction, they just weren't meant for each other. Rivaille's grumpy expression versus Santa Claus' toothy grin—a very humorous example. And that was one of the many reasons Rivaille never liked celebrating his birthday.
"Today Rivaille turns twelve, isn't that just wonderful?" Hanji laughed as she raised the glass of juice in her hand.
A tall man who appeared to be in his late 30s patted her head and laughed along. His hand grabbed for one of the glasses of wine and raised it to the air as well. "For Rivaille!" he snickered. "May he get taller next year!"
"Mind your own business, old man!" Rivaille glared.
"That's right, dad, you shouldn't state the obvious too openly!" Hanji defended, though it sounded more like some sick sarcasm.
The man chuckled and ruffled his daughter's already-messy locks, finding it very pleasing. Her locks were never submissive and she had a hard time brushing them only to make it not look like lion's mane.
As the father and daughter continued to converse about Rivaille's height, they didn't notice that the boy had disappeared from sight.
Rivaille opened the door into the dark room, slowly and carefully. As he had expected, the room was empty. Because the head cook, Maurice, Hanji's dad, had already presented himself at the party, it meant there was no one in the kitchen no more. At last he could find peace in an empty room. Why hadn't he thought of this way years ago?
He felt sick attending that ridiculous 'birthday party', which was only a lame excuse by his dad to showcase him to his acquaintances.
He felt sick of it.
He propped himself against a chair, not bothering to turn on the lights. If he turned them on, everyone might know that he was here.
He let out a long, weary sigh and laid his head on the table.
When he was about to drift into dreamland, a soft rustling sound could be heard and he snapped his head up quickly in response. What was that sound?
He looked around. Could it be a burglar?
It's too dark to see anything.
Shit, he cursed. He wasn't holding anything that could serve as a weapon right now. In addition, the dark room didn't benefit him at all.
He clicked his tongue and soundlessly walked toward the light switch. He was lucky he more or less memorized the setting of the room. He held his breath to hide his presence and finally took a deep breath once he turned on the lights. Scanning the room, he looked for the identity of the burglar. In reflex, his hand grabbed for the nearest kitchen knife and held it tight between his fingers.
He saw something brown behind the counters. From there he could judge the height of the person. They were only around his height, perhaps a bit taller.
"You," he said calmly, not losing his cool.
The person stopped moving.
"I've got weapon so be obedient and show yourself. You can get away with this without anything as punishment as long as you don't rebel," he threatened, though he didn't know if the person themselves had weapons. It was a gamble.
The person tiptoed and peeked over the counter.
Rivaille widened his eyes.
It was a girl.
Her bangs were pushed to the side, only leaving some strands of hair hanging between her brown eyes. She looked like she never cut her hair in years. And what bugged him the most was how the girl's face looked extremely familiar.
"…Hanji?" he muttered, unsure.
The Hanji look-alike blinked and walked over to him after circling the counter and he could get a better view of her. Her hair was even much longer than he'd expected. The wavy brown locks reached the girl's ankle and her slightly dark skin in contrast with her white, long-sleeve dress. The dress didn't look really warm, how could she withstand the cold like that?
The girl took a step forward toward him, barefooted. There wasn't any heater on in the room due to it being empty. He was impressed she didn't flinch at all when stepping on the cold tiles.
He didn't notice when the girl had started muttering. "According to my agenda there isn't supposed to be anyone in this room at this time of the year," she said with a voice much like Hanji's.
Rivaille narrowed his eyes, "Who… are you?"
This wasn't just some prank Hanji usually pull on him, he knew. This girl wasn't Hanji.
There was no way Hanji could walk like that.
Yeah, she could no longer walk like that because of him.
Raising a bemused brow, the girl smirked, "Who are you?" she asked back, and it certainly didn't earn a friendly response from Rivaille who loathed people who beat around the bush.
"I asked first," he knew it sounded lame but he said it anyway.
The girl never answered, just looking at Rivaille with a very provoking manner, which Rivaille replied with the same manner. The staring competition would never end if only the door wasn't slammed opened and startled the two.
"Rivaille! Oh, there you are! I've been looking for you everywhere!"
It was Hanji.
She was panting and sweating.
Rivaille searched for a presence from another person but found no one. It meant Hanji went around the house without anyone to push her wheelchair.
"Why did you just disappear!? Your dad's worried!"
Mentally scoffing, Rivaille rolled his eyes. That man would never worry for him. He was just worried about what his acquaintance would think of him.
It took Hanji a while to notice the third presence in the room. "Rivaille, who's that?" she asked, pointing at the long-haired girl.
"No idea. She's being a bitch and wouldn't tell me. Ask her yourself."
Hanji mouthed an "Ooh…" and pushed a button on her wheelchair, moving it forward and earned a stunned expression from the long-haired girl. Giggling inwardly at how funny the girl looked right now, Hanji held out a hand, "My name is Hanji, what is yours?" she smiled.
"…Hanji?" the girl muttered, and Hanji slightly blinked at how similar their voices were. The girl eyed Rivaille and showed an annoying smirk, "Hoo… So this is the girl you mistook me with."
"So what?" Rivaille scoffed.
The girl turned back to Hanji and held her hand, "My name is Zoë."
"Zoë? Wow, what a cool name!"
"I think it's boring."
Zoë glared at Rivaille and the boy avoided it.
"So," Hanji spoke up, completely ignoring Rivaille's rude comment, while Zoë listened, "why are you here, Zoë? Where did you come in from?" she asked, looking around for any way Zoë could have used to enter the house.
Zoë pointed downward.
"From here?" Hanji asked, also pointing downward.
Nodding, Zoë explained, "I live under the floors for as long as I know. And… I'm not supposed to tell anyone but… I steal daily needs from this house."
Hanji widened her eyes but seemed more amused than shocked.
On the other hand, Rivaille noticed how Zoë had grown fond of Hanji after such a short while, shown by how she just exposed a secret to someone she had just met.
"Rivaille, Rivaille! Come over here for a sec!" Hanji waved her hand enthusiastically.
Rolling his eyes, the boy marched forward.
"What do you want?" he asked, a little too lazy to deal with the brunette's enthusiasm.
Almost too quickly, Hanji leaned toward Rivaille, using her hand to support her weight, as she whispered to his ear a little too loudly, "Remember the picture book my dad showed us the other day? Doesn't Zoë's story kinda resemble the book's story? Come on, as the only boy here you have to say that line!"
"Too bad, Hanji, I refuse."
"Aww, come on! For me?" she blinked sweetly.
Rivaille's eye twitched in disgust, "Oh, whatever. Seriously, I just don't care anymore."
"Sweet! I love you! Now, go!" Hanji pushed the boy toward Zoë, making the girl quickly back out warily in response.
Clearing his throat, Rivaille began in the most monotonous voice he could manage "Don't you want to live in the house?"
Okay, that was incredibly toneless, if not robotic.
"Hah? Why would I want to?" Zoë looked as though she was just asked the stupidest question in the world.
And the answer was more or less expected as well. Hanji buried her face in her palm and let out a weary sigh. Rivaille had just crushed her expectation without any meaningful effort at all. The boy was really hopeless when it came to behaving nicely to girls.
"I thought I raised you better than that…" Hanji shook her head and sighed.
"You didn't raise me. Besides, what did you expect?" Rivaille retorted.
"Doesn't matter anymore," Hanji puffed her cheeks and pouted. She then turned to Zoë before digging her pocket and showed the girl a gift box. It was relatively small, only the size of a palm. "I was planning to give this to Rivaille as a birthday present but I think I change my mind. Here, you can have it, Zoë."
Zoë accepted the box and asked, "For me?"
Hanji beamed and nodded. "Open it!"
Opening the box, Zoë could find a silver pocket watch, which she couldn't really identify. Examining the new thing, she couldn't help but feeling astonished. The watch was gleaming as it reflected the moonlight shining through the window. Ticking sounds could be heard as she placed the watch beside her ear. She noticed the visible gears moving as the clock hands moved.
"…What is this thing?" she asked.
"This is called a pocket watch! You can use it to see what time it is. Also, this clock is special. I've casted a magic spell on it," Hanji grinned at the ignorant girl "it will stop ticking if someone close to you dies."
Zoë cocked her head to the side, "…Dies?"
Her eyes were innocent as though it was the first time she had heard of that word. But before she could ask anything further, someone opened the door, causing Zoë to leap off somewhere and disappeared as quick, leaving almost no time for anyone to notice her presence.
"Hanji, Rivaille, there you are. We've been searching everywhere."
"Hi, dad," Hanji waved her hand while grinning, showing no sign of remorse at all after making everyone worry.
"Come on, you almost break your curfew, girl." The main pushed Hanji's wheelchair as she began complaining.
"But we're having party today. The curfew can be overlooked for once, can't it?" she whined.
"No breaking curfew for you."
"Muu…"
Following from behind, Rivaille looked one last time into the now dark kitchen, feeling as though something, no, someone, was peeping from under the floors. Deciding that it might just be his illusions, he shook it off and closed the door.
He just hoped he wouldn't become too paranoid after knowing someone was living under the floors of his house.
TO BE CONTINUED
Okay, I won't start pointing out what's wrong with this chapter because there are too many. Just please tell me if I should redo this chapter. I saw a fanfic which had stopped because of one bad chapter and I don't want mine to end up like that.
By the way, for you who gave the right answer for the previous quiz, please accept these cyber Rivaille plushies~
Oh yeah! I'm planning to write a fic for Halloween so stay tuned. The pairing is still undecided but I think I want to make a comedy fic about the 104th Squad and maybe the Scouting Legion members. No pairing, no romance. Maybe(?)
Oh well, just stay tuned :3
For you who have suggestions for the fic, please write it inside your reviews or PM me, I will gladly consider your suggestions.
See you next time~
