What More Could I Need (Book #2) AOT Fanfiction

House Fire

Saichi Yamazaki

I tiptoe out of my room and go down to the living room. Aki is curled up on the couch while Maki is sitting on the floor beside him, sleeping with his head against his leg. He fell asleep while trying to watch over him. I kneel down next to him and pinch his nose until he squirms awake. I immediately notice the dark bags under his eyes. Ever since Aki came home from the lab, he's been losing sleep. He rubs his eyes and blinks a few times. "Saichi?"

I move same hair from his face. "Maki, you need sleep like the rest of us. You're no good to Aki if you're some drained zombie." I stand up and grab a blanket from the linen closet. He slowly stands up, only to flop down on the couch, no energy to support himself on his feet. "Come on, lie down you idiot."

He yawns loudly and lies on the couch where he is behind Aki, his arms securely around him. Aki slowly begins to wake up. I throw the blanket over the two and begin humming an old nursery rhyme a maid taught me as a child. There wasn't an actual name for it but it was slow, soft and very soothing. It put me to sleep every night. Aki turns over and presses himself into Maki. I wait a little while before the two begin to snore softly. I feel like a mother of two older idiots and a small brat.

I stretch my body, cracking a few bones. I took a week off work at the hospital so I can spend more time looking for a new place. I have yet to find one that I actually like. I hate the process of moving so when I find a place, I want it to be almost permanent. I sneak outside and lean over the railing, looking down at the dark and silent street. I want to smoke so bad. This stress is too much for me. I hear the door open and the scent doesn't belong to anyone besides Takahiro.

I want to turn around and go inside without speaking to him but I realize how immature I have been toward him. No matter what, he is a man that has been with me since I was born. I have to remember that he would never do anything to harm me. He leans against the railing next to me and takes in a deep breath. "I just got off the phone with your father."

"What did he want this time?"

"He said he identified who set the bounty. He assumed it was a threat from an opposing clan but it turns out to be some old perverted trafficker. He's sent me the information and is leaving it up to you as what you want to do." I guess I could squeeze a kill in tomorrow. I can leave Eren with Levi and Maki will be over Aki so the two will be safe for the short time I need to take care of this old bag. "Saichi, I owe you a sincere apology for-"

"Oh, shut up. You don't owe me an apology for anything." Based on his heartbeat, he's a little thrown off. "You were trying to protect me. I was too blind to see that and I owe you an apology for that. I don't want you to ever feel like you have to apologize for doing what's best for me. Be honest, when's the last time you apologized for throwing cold water in my bed when I won't wake up?"

I hear him chuckle. "I guess you're right."

I lean over until my head is on his shoulder. A single tear decides to push out of my eye and streams its way down my cheek. "I've realized that I am nothing without you, Takahiro. I know I need protection but what is it that it has taken me so long to realize that I depend so much on you? You shouldn't have to do the things you do but you do anyway. If you ever betray me...I will never forgive you."

Takahiro Akiyama

I check my watch for the fifth time in the past hour. She's taking longer than usual. She waited until four in the morning to drag the old man to one of her father's warehouses. I did some extensive research before we brought him here. For someone to be able to put a bounty on someone like Saichi, he has a pretty average life. When he isn't trading women's bodies for sex and selling organs illegally, he runs a local supermarket. It was a place that he inherited from his parents once they died.