Riverbank {LeviHan} [Manga Spoilers!]

Chapter 5: Castle

Levi's POV

I waited and waited near the East Entrances for Hanji... but I didn't see her. Class was beginning soon, and I was gonna be late on the first day here. I stayed until I ran up into the east side. I remembered her room number... 318. For some reason, I felt like I shouldn't be doing this... not at all. But in a way, it felt right.

I knocked on her door for a good 2 minutes... and there was no response. "Hanji, it's me, Levi. Are you gonna show me my classes?" Nothing. No response. For some unknown reason, I wanted to stay. But the time held me back from my desire to stay. "Hanji, I'm going..." And that was it. 

*   *   *

Took me just about forever, but I finally made it to class. I saw her face in the crowd- and our eyes met just for a second. Until she looked away, it was my mission to get a seat next to her. Even the cries of other girls called out to me, my eyes were only on Hanji.

"You were at class already?" I say when I took that empty seat next to her. I tried to chuckle softly to make it seem like we were joking, but she shrugged it all off. "Hanji, talk to me, please."

She murmured something under her breath, and continued to work on her notes. I felt my usual scowl forming on my face, and I let it. I wanted to be happy with Hanji, and I wanted to see that nervous girl again... but she was gone and replaced with a stern woman. 

*   *   *

Class had ended, and Hanji was slowly packing her stuff up. "Oi, what's wrong with you?" The class was emptying out, and soon... it was just us left. "Hanji..." My hand reached for hers, yet she jerked her hands away. 

"Please..." I looked into her eyes and saw pain in them. "Levi, don't do this to me..."

"Do what?"

She fixed her glasses and sighed heavily. Her eyes darted around with anxiety. "Don't make me fall for you..."

My head tilted a bit, not understanding another word from her. "Hanji, what's going on...? If you like me, then there's no problem... even if that means I'm willingly gonna take you out." I brushed against her and tried to reach for her hands again... but she stopped me.

"It's not like that, Levi..." Just like that, she took a deep breath and looked away from me. "I-I do like you... but... someone else is just gonna attack me if it means they get you. Best if I don't fall for you and get hurt-"

I sighed heavily, taking her hand firmly and I nearly felt a growl coming through me. "So, you're gonna not follow your heart because of getting hurt? You don't seem that kind of a girl." After that, I tried to bite my tongue to stop myself from rambling about her. "You seem the kind of girl to let her mind loose and not caring about whatever happens afterward. You're the risky type! Why aren't you like her?"

Hanji just looked away, and I knew that look in her eyes: fear.

"Who's saying that they want me?"

"Kelly McFarland."

"Tsk..." I scowled and noted that I would have a talk with her about Hanji. "Anyways, let's get our mind off of this topic. What do you want to do?"

Hanji then looked up with a small blush on her face. This was the girl I was waiting for. In other words, it felt that I knew her in some way. It was like an instinct to know that she was gonna do something she loved. "There's this castle I wanted to see for the longest time... I just never had the time or the funds..."

"I'll pay for it." I say, not controlling anything that comes out of my mouth anymore. "I'll pay for that trip."

*   *   *

Why did I say that to her? I scowled at myself for letting her take control over me. But... it was worth it. I watched her caramel eyes sparkled and gleamed with joy on the bus ride to this... castle. Her little rant was just a bit annoying... but seeing how she saw the joy in that and how she wanted someone to listen, I gave in. 

Once we got to the stop, it was practically empty. It was big news at first, but everyone grew bored of it. After paying the fees, Hanji and I walked down to the castle on the olden dirt road. It felt weird walking down that road. 

Minutes passed, and Hanji was a bit satisfied. We were touring around, until this one hall was... recognizable. Suddenly, there was this small girl walking around so gently that I didn't hear her footsteps. Her hair was a ginger-colored, and she wore this uniform. She walked ever so calmly, and she never looked back.

"Hanji... do you see her?" I say, walking slowly towards the girl.

"What are you talking about, Levi? L-Levi! That's the restricted area! Don't go there!"

I should've stayed... but something compelled me to keep on going. My slow walking changed into this sprint after her. "Wait!"

I followed this girl to the top of the tower, and once I saw the door at the end of the stairs... I instantly knew it was all a vision. There was no girl. "Levi..." I turned around to see Hanji running after me, leaning over as she panted heavily. "What were you doing...?"

"I thought I saw someone here... guess I was wrong. Just...  weird thing that happened..." But I turned back to the door and slowly opened it.

"Levi!"

"Aren't you curious to see what one of the original rooms may look like?"

"I am! But that doesn't mean you should destroy this work of art! Everything was untouched! We don't know if there's anything that would get damaged by oxygen!"

I smirked softly, knowing that she was that kind of girl. "I won't touch anything..."

I opened the door and the door creaked open. At first, I thought it'll be dark- but there was a small pane of glass as a window. Everything was covered in dust, and it got me a bit angry. But everything else was practically... perfect. The bed didn't seem to be used often... but there was this desk with a worn-out chair. I walked over to that area, and saw a cravat on the desk, nicely laid out. A quill was laid next to this ink bottle and there was this paper covered in dust.

"What does it say... I wonder..." Hanji asks as she gently blew dust off of it. "R-Report...? J-Jaegerist... Eren's plan... Survey Corps... danger...?"

"You can read that?"

She nods softly, "Yeah... just a bit. Why is there a report here? This is clearly a bedroom."

"Don't know... but it's alright." I say gently, seeing this handwriting was somewhat similar to mine. "Hey... if I was drawn to this room... what other rooms were you drawn to?"

"The basement area... why?"

"Let's go there then."