{LeviHan} What Hides Beneath...

Chapter 17: Black-Tailed

Hanji's POV

I couldn't stop panting heavily after that little thing with Levi. Our things were finally in the lake house... and we were starting a new life. Apparently, Moblit disappeared and never came back. He was no longer at work and his accounts were all inactive. Of course, we put down a police report because we were worried about him. Turns out that he's taking a lot of time off. Levi had explained to be that he was actually a merman from his old pod... and something like Moblit wanted to keep an eye out. Moblit was actually the one who sold Levi out.

Levi panted heavily over me, kissing me ever so passionately. He smiles softly, nearly chuckling. "I love you..."

I pulled him close and onto me, smiling softly. "I love you too..."

We kissed passionately until little Iris began to cry. We both groaned in disappointment when she cried. It was like we could read each other's thoughts. Simultaneously, we pulled ourselves out of the bed and into clothes. Once I was dressed in some baggy clothes, I ran over to Iris.

Her pale face was completely red as she cried. I picked her up, gently bouncing her in my arms. I undid my bra and began to feed Iris. She slowly stopped her crying and began to feed. I smiled softly, humming gently to her as she was being fed. A smile slowly crept on my face when I saw the little babe in my arms. 

"She looks beautiful..." I chuckled when I heard Levi's deep voice creep behind me. I nodded my head in agreement. "Just like her mother..." A kiss was pecked on my cheek when Levi said that. Now my cheeks wouldn't stop growing red with embarrassment.

"T-That's... oh... Levi..."

He chuckles softly, walking into the living room. "Is it alright if I can take a swim in the lake?"

I nodded, smiling softly as I walked out with him. "Yeah, it's alright. I'll walk and watch you swim."

Levi smiles softly, going outside and diving into the cold waters. Seconds passed and suddenly, he pops up. He pulls himself onto shore, just pulling me close to him. We exchanged a kiss, and  I watched him swim almost freely in the waters. 

I turned my attention Iris, who was slightly awake after being fed. Her eyes were as brown as mine- almost like this milk chocolate tone. But there was little specks of gray in them. Her tufts of hair was dark brown- just like mine. Iris took too much genes from me...

"When you're a bit older, Iris, maybe we can go swimming together. I wonder if you also inherited his genes... and you could be a mermaid. How sweet would that be...? Being able to swim with your father..."

There was this loud splash in the water, and I got a bit fearful. Levi was the only one in the lake. I stood as close as I could to the water, seeing the splashes get intense. The water began to ripple on the shore. I whispered Levi's name softly; he appears on the shore with this dark brown tailed merman. Levi was panting heavily, growling as he pinned the merman to the shore. I could hear that pinned merman screech in pain. Was a rock being embedded in his skin?

"Who are you, and why are you here?!" Levi shouts, continuing to pin him down.

The merman breathes in deeply before whimpering out his words. "I-I'm E-Eren... and I was h-here to... f-find you..."

"Find me?! For what?!"

"T-To help..."

"You smell like from my pod..." Levi looked up to me and saw Iris slumbering softly in my arms. His mean composure soon faded as he pushed himself off of the boy. "Help me for what?"

"To help you hide..."

"Why would I need your help?"

The merman, who was named Eren, pushed himself off of the rocky shore. "They... they want proof of your death. They won't stop finding you."

Levi scoffs, shaking his head. "I... I don't understand. Why would they want to have me? I'm no longer a part of their lives. I won't return to the pod. I won't return back home. No... this is my home now. Why would they want me back there? A Black-Tailed like me doesn't even matter over there."

Eren shook his head. "You do matter... and they won't stop hunting for you and your family. Trust me, alright?"

"Give me proof."

"Give me one of your scales."

Levi seemed taken aback from this, looking up to me. "You need... one of his scales...? What for...?" I asked, sitting down on the soft sand as I looked at both the mermen. "I still have his old scales... you can have one of those."

"That's a better idea than trying to get one off of me." Levi looked over to me, nodding his head in approval. "Go and get the scale, Hanji. Don't leave Iris' side."

*   *   *

"Levi... the reason why they're hunting you is because... of your black tail." The merman, Eren, says as he grabbed a nearby rock and started to rub it against Levi's old scales. Levi was looking like he was gonna strangle Eren, but he held himself as Eren continued. "It's original color was hidden because of the blackness from this old plant underwater. Merpeople eat it to hide the colors of their tails..."

"I was never fed any type of plant. I was born like this."

Eren looked at Iris, trying to see if he could do something with her. "Put her gently in the water then. We can see her tail color. All hybrids would have inherited the merperson gene. It's dominant among humans. Of course, tail color is always inherited by the original merperson. In other words... if I'm lying, her tail will be black. But if I'm telling the truth, she would have a tail color that's sea green and see blue."

"You're not touching my daughter, Eren. I know she's gonna have my black tail-"

"Then let's prove it, Levi."

Levi went to object, but I interjected. "To turn back into a merperson..." I started of slowly, looking down at Iris. "You just need water... how cold is the water?"

Eren looked at me with his green eyes- nearly determined. "Since she has a merman as her father, she will be able to turn into one. It's not gonna shock her at all. I promise you."

"If something bad happens to her, I won't hesitate to hurt you in return, Eren." Levi says with his deadly eyes. 

Taking a deep breath, I simply dipped Iris into the cold, murky water. She didn't even flinch or cry in the water. Not like an ordinary baby would act... we were in shocked when we saw her tail forming in the water. Eren... was telling the truth. Her tail wasn't black like her father's, but it was a mix of green and blue. 

Eren seemed to have smiled softly about it, chuckling even. "And she is proof that your tail was dyed black by that plant, Levi. Her tail should've been black, but it wasn't." He held up Levi's old scale, and it seemed to have the similar colors to Iris' tail color. "And that's just even more proof. The reason why your tail was dyed black was because... you are part of the royal family. Distant, perhaps, but it's true. Everyone is aware of the plant that dyes tails black... and that's why they hunt all Black-Tailed ones. All Black-Tailed are royalty."