Walking Among Spirits (Levi x Reader) [REWRITE]

[ Chapter 25 ]

Content Warnings:

•Season 4 Part 3 Spoilers
•Mentions of Death
•Strong Language
•Violence
•Blood
•Panic
•Gore
•War

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Flashback

"Go away! We don't wanna be seen with a girl. No one even likes you, weirdo!" An older boy scrunched his nose in disgust. "She's always begging for attention." Another boy rolled his eyes before he turned away. "You better move along before you cause us more trouble." The first boy shooed you off, but you hesitated to comply. "Get outta here!" The second boy exclaimed, clearly out of patience with you.

You eventually ran off, mostly frustrated with yourself for once again failing to connect with other kids in your District. You only had one friend, Katsumi, but that was it. You didn't get to see each other everyday, plus you liked to hang out with boys, too. You jogged away to clear your head before sulking back home, no direct path set anyway. That was when you ran down a neighboring street and felt a presence within one of the houses.

"Is that you, Miss Y/n?" An older man's voice trailed from inside his home. You skidded to a stop in front of his open window to look up and see the old man lean out with a growing smile that lifted his nearly white mustache. "Hi, Mr. Roth." You half grinned and waved up at your neighbor. "Hello, Miss Y/n. What brings you here, today?" He asked, his smile never faded one bit. You looked back at the direction you came from, eyes void of emotion after you processed the interaction. You then turned back to the gentleman to confess. "I'm too weird for those kids." You shrugged and scuffed the heel of your shoe against the dirt path.

Mr. Roth rested his hand on the windowsill to ponder, when suddenly, he hatched an idea. "Ah, I know just the thing." He announced before he turned back to go deeper into his petite home. You waited in place with a bit of curiosity. Mr. Roth was your friendliest neighbor, yet, you never knew what to expect from him. He always did kind gestures, but he very rarely repeated the same one exactly.

The old man returned, but that time he opened his front door to step outside with you. In his hand, he held a beige pouch. Your eyes immediately landed on the pouch and wondered what the contents were. "I figured you'd be hungry after all that running, so here's a tasty snack for the walk back home." He beamed and opened the pouch to show you the inside of it. You took a step closer and gazed into the pouch to spot fresh blueberries. "Picked them from my little garden this morning, too." Mr. Roth's caramel eyes crinkled at the outer corners.

"Thanks, Mr. Roth." You looked back up with a little smile, your spirits had already lifted a tad. "Come back when you run out, I'll get you some more." He patted the top of your head, then closed the pouch and placed it in your hands. "Now, let me tell you something before you go. A little piece of wisdom I gained over my long years." He stretched his back out with a sigh. Your patient self remained quiet, anticipating what he would say. "Kids are gonna be mean and that's okay. As long as you're kind, that's all that matters. You know you're a good kid, so continue to be kind, Miss Y/n. Eventually, they'll do the same." He told you.

You thought about his words for a moment as they absorbed in your mind. Those kids didn't understand you and didn't feel pressured to. So, why should you force them to understand you if they don't want to?