Longing to Be Known | Levi Ackerman x OC

50

-Kaisa-

The sun never shines here, but sometimes the people we surround ourselves with would shine brighter than the sun ever could.

What a load of bullshit.

The memory disrupts my thoughts as I walk up the familiar steps which are barely recognizable from the lack of care it received over the years. I pull a pin out of my bag and get to work, unlocking the hidden door while trying to keep quiet. The last thing I need right now is to bring attention to where I am, and where I'm trying to enter.

It'd been just under a month since my last encounter with the Survey Corps, but only recently did I return to see if this place was still in relatively good condition. I spent the rest of my time living in abandoned houses since the last thing I wanted to do was return to this hellhole. Unfortunately, it became clear there was someone tracking me. I'm a bit insulted they sent such a sloppy spy to watch over me and keep tabs on me, especially since they had no obligation to do so.

Thus, in desire to escape that treacherous lifestyle of being consistently monitored, I came back here—the place I used to call home.

After a bit of shuffling, the lock clicks and I've made it in. I sneak through the small door and lock the handle behind me before sliding through the small corridor. I grit my teeth as the ground is so incredibly dirty, but I'm not surprised considering it's been a few months since I've been here.

Here being, my first home.

I slide through completely and open another door to the hidden house, stepping down from the high entry way onto a shelf I placed months ago. It's been a while since I've set foot in here.

Once on the floor of the kitchen, I take a breather and pull out a lantern I bought at the marketplace before I made my visit. The room lights up the moment I turn up the dial, so I place it down on the dusty kitchen table, lighting up the candles with the matches I prepared months before I arrived.

Soon, the small house was lit up completely, and finally, I had returned to my childhood home.

After Kenny brought me to the surface and "gifted" me a passport, I waited a few years before returning to the house my parents died in. When I did come back, the bodies were gone, but the blood stained the carpets we barely could afford and I couldn't bear to look at it any longer. Consequently, I got rid of the rugs, saved up, bought some wooden panels and learned how to install them myself. To be honest, the first time around, it was a shit job, but as I continued, I got better.

The only time I came here before joining the Survey Corps was during the winter when it got too cold to be on the streets above the underground. Every six months after I joined the Survey Corps, I'd come to do some maintenance while also making sure no one had discovered my place and ransacked it. Thankfully, as time went on, I brought items like blankets, canned foods, and candles.

Even though these things were prepared, I wanted to avoid the reality of myself returning to the lifestyle I once escaped from. My pride aches the moment I recognize this reality as my own. Regardless, I keep my head up high and prepare myself to stay here for goodness knows how long. Throwing the bag filled with my belongings on the floor, I fall unto my futon, letting out a sigh.

It's already evening, and the small window I've made by making a hole in the wall lets the moon's light into the room. Since my candles are ablaze, I grab an extra stone slab and shove it into the gap so nobody would see the light radiating from within. I walk into the small washroom with a candle and look towards the little sunroof I constructed to use the water that falls from the sky. Initially, this didn't exist. I had to dig from the topside before attaching a mesh in the middle to filter the water that fell.