Levi's Daughter

2

The Underground. It lies beneath the capital where the chosen lives in their safe haven protected by all three walls.

It's the ruins of a halted underground colony project.

Those born in the shadow of the glamorous capital may spend their entire lives without ever stepping foot on the surface.

Levi Ackerman sat with his nine year old daughter at the round table, watching as Furlan counted off money to the people sitting paitenly on the couch.

"Here. Sorry to keep you. For today and the last time."

A boy wearing a blue shirt, sitting on the end of the couch, grabbed the money from him, beaming with joy.

"Here." Furlan handed another pile of cash to the man sitting on the single sofa.

"Yeah. Thank-" He paused, seeing extra money.

"Don't spend it all at once, guys. You'll draw attention.

"We know." The three men on the larger sofa replied, standing up.

"Let's go!"

"Yeah."

Furlan watched as the final man stood up, leaving the room.

"Work has gotten loads easier since we got our hands on ODM gear." Levi only eyed the man, continuing to clean his knife. "And everyone gets a better cut."

"Some of us seem to get more of it." Levi finally answered. "Why's that?"

"You've seen him. Yan's leg is only getting worse. The medicine's expensive and the price keeps going up." Furlan replied.

"I think you did a good thing, Uncle Furlan." Sukura spoke up, flashing him a smile from her spot in her father's lap.

Furlan gave her a smile back as he continued on his rant. "These damn underground merchants. You hear that the stair toll went up, too?"

"Yeah."

"Now, even fewer of us will get a taste of sunlight. All the stairs can name their own price, so they charge whatever they want. Even if you pay enough to leave, you just get deported if you're not a resident of the surface. It's why so many people get bad legs here--lack of sunlight. Not that they can do anything about it."

"Your mom was one of them, wasn't she?" At Levi's question, Furlan's head popped up. "So that's why... Still, it looked like a chunk of change."

"It's severance pay. He can't do this anymore. Hopefully, it'll help him find a good hospital."

"I see."

"Just how much more do we need to live above?"

A sound came from outside, and both men were quick to stand up.

"Daddy?" Sukura questioned as he placed her on the wooden chair.

In answer, he put his finger to his lips, walking towards the door, knife in hand.

Another sound was heard, and the two nodded towards each other. Furlan placed his hand on the doorknob, the other gripping a knife.

The moment he threw the door open, a girl fell into their home, landing hard on the floor.

"Ouch!" She grumbled, coughing.

"It's just some kid? Don't scare us like that." Furlan placed his hand on his hip.

"I'm not a kid." The girl told him, panting. "I'm not... a kid!"

"Yeah? Then I won't feel bad for chasing you out." Levi spoke up. "I'll ignore the fact that you got the floor dirty, so get lost."