(snk) Ways to Say Goodbye

Chapter 5: Forgive but Never Forget

A/N: Hello! How was the last chapter? Yay? Nay? (Neigh? Like Jean?). Anyway in this chapter you'll get in a fight with Levi! This is a moderately short one, but it's jam-packed full of excitement!  Enjoy :)

Age: 11

Year: 847

The days of the next year passed the same. Cleaning, learning, fighting, begging to use the maneuver gear. You had mostly forgotten about your past, no longer giving it any thought, yet it still nagged at you so far. But it didn't matter to you, because despite the fact that we don't have the power to choose where we came from, we always have the  power to choose where we go from here. 

It had been a tough day so far. You had been tasked with cleaning the whole house while Levi, Farlan, and Isabel went out on a mission. Your hands were becoming numb from the the circular motion of scrubbing, and your fingers had long since shriveled up. About halfway through you had decided to make a game out of it- 1 point for each object you cleaned, 2 if you could do it with your foot, and 3 if you could use some kind of acrobatic motion. Since then you had taught yourself how to do sloppy somersaults, handstands, and cartwheels while simultaneously scrubbing a window or mopping the floor. 

You pushed up into a handstand next to a window, a sponge tied to your foot. You began to shake your foot methodically but swiftly, applying pressure against the glass. You rested the other foot against the wall for support, laughing at your achievement and counting the points that you had earned so far. You had almost reached all corners of the window, nearly finished, when you heard a key in the door. Panicked, you immediately ceased humming. You attempted to dismount, but somehow your sponge got caught on the window, leaving you dangling like a prisoner from one leg. The key turned. You thrashed furiously, trying to dislodge yourself, putting a hand down for extra support. The door began to open. With quick jerk of motion, you wrenched your foot from its confines, tearing the sponge and falling to the floor with a thud. You heard three pairs of footsteps, two that stopped short, and one that kept walking towards you. As fast as your hands could move, you tidied the area, then jumped up and began heading towards the kitchen. You met Levi in the hallway, nodding and smiling nervously at him, hoping that your three partners didn't hear your fall. He just looked at you suspiciously, and kept walking. You walked in the other direction, entering the kitchen. 

Isabel and Farlan were seated across  from each other, Isabel propping her head up with one hand, the other slumped on the table. You could tell that Farlan fairing better than Isabel, yet his straw-colored hair was all messed up, pale eyes weary.

"How did the mission go...?" you asked quietly, looking at them worriedly. It was Isabel that you were concerned for. She was always excited and curious, a ball of boiling energy, but now your oneechan was desolate and exhausted. What had happened? You hadn't been informed on what the mission was, and that worried you very much. Suddenly, a gasp came from Isabel and she crippled to the ground in a coughing fit. 

At that precise moment, Levi walked into the room."Isabel-" he cried in alarm, rushing over to the girl, Farlan close behind. You came around the table, dropping to the ground before Levi could reach Isabel. You took her by her shoulders and shook her hard. "ISABEL!" You shouted, trying to get to her through her coughing fit. Levi reached the two of you two seconds later and grabbed you ferally, tossing you to the side. You hit your head on the edge of the counter top, and instantly pain exploded inside your head. You closed your eyes trying to block the pain, fading in and out of consciousness. Through the noise in your head you heard thumping, and after a minute, the coughing finally ceased. You heard the slurping of water, and then silence. Your head began to clear, your brain telling you to get up, but your body disobeying.