Chapter 32: Goodbye

Levi’s POV

Earlier, the bastard said that Kenny was always out of their hideout and only Traute knows where he is. It is a bit hesitating to think that he is doing his crimes while he is not in their place cause right now, the gang is laying low while doing their errands in the shadow. That is actually one of the reasons why I didn’t notice their return and definitely, my mistake for failing on protecting Hanji. But if there is one place I know that Kenny will go to, it would probably be our previous home. Our former hide out on the far side of the city, hidden in the middle of the forest. No one dared to go in there since the forest is notorious for its previous stories regarding killing and suicides so this part of the city is actually abandoned for years now. The last time that I have ever heard of this place is when I sold Kenny and the gang cause after that, I already turned my back on my past.

As soon as my foot stepped out of the last bush covering the sight of a cabin, my fist automatically clenched. All of my anger boiled up inside me as my eyes drew towards the man in front of me. He is sitting on the wooden steps of the cabin as if he is already expecting my appearance in this moment. Both of his arms were leaning on his knees with one of his hand holding a very familiar blade. His hat was covering most of his face but underneath the shadow, I can feel his grin gradually drawing on his lips.

His head slowly rose up until our eyes locked with one another. “Welcome back kid” he muttered with a sick grin in his face. My eyes went dark as I throw him a glare, completely stepping out of my spot. His grin widened at my expression. “Is that how you greet your old man? Huh Levi?” Kenny asked while clicking his tongue. He then stood up from the stairs and twisted the knife in his hand. It is almost the same as the one as mine because originally, the blade that I used to wield before belongs to him.

When he took another step closer to me, my right hand immediately went to my back, unsheathing my own knife before I threw myself at him. With a swift move, I pushed my knife forward, targeting his chest. But Kenny already expected my move for he dodged it in a second before drawing his blade at the side, scraping my left arm. The fabric of my hoodie was ripped and a jolt of pain immediately travelled from that spot. Blood was dripping out of my wound but I pushed it aside and just drew the knife in front of me, readying myself to launch another attack.

Kenny disappointedly sigh as he looked at me. “I can’t remember teaching you to be stupid enough to throw yourself like that Levi” he said while shaking his head. “That was a pretty bold and idiotic move”

I gritted my teeth while gripping my knife harder. “Why did you do that?” I asked, my voice filled with venom and my eyes reflecting pure anger as I glower at him.

He smirked at me while raising an eyebrow. “Do what?”

I hissed before I ran forward once again and slashed my knife forward. Kenny jumped a step back to dodge my attack. His hat fell from his head in the process as he clutched his shoulder which I barely wounded. “WHY DID YOU FUCKING DO THAT TO HER?!” I yelled turning the heel of my feet to launch another attack towards him. Kenny crouched down and he kicked me thru my legs making me lose my balance and grip from my knife. I fell on my back and my eyes widened when I coughed out an air. Before I can even stand up, Kenny went on top of me and pushed his blade towards me. I held it back just as it was about to make contact with my head.

Kenny laughed as he tried to push the blade more towards me. “You have really gone weak Levi” he said pushing it further. I groaned while I tried to fight it with all my strength. “The kid that I used to train was more coolheaded and dangerous but the one underneath me right now, is nothing but a pathetic man who is acting on his pure emotions alone” Kenny drove the knife forward and my eyes widened as I turned my head to the side. The blade scraped the side of my cheeks as it is buried right now on the ground. If I was late for even a second in dodging that, it would have been stabbed deep into my head.

When Kenny momentarily let go the knife, I used the chance to pull my knee and kick him from the back. The surprise attack shook him from a moment and I immediately pushed him off before landing a blow in his face. Kenny was thrown a few feet away from me as I crawl towards my knife and took if from the ground. I turned my body back towards him as I stared at his figure which is slowly standing up from the ground. He wiped the side of his lips with his hand before a laugh erupted from him.

"You call that a punch?" Kenny looked at me, his eyes amused and his lips curled. "looks like I have to teach you once again!" He yelled and then he launched himself at me. His movement was so fast that I could just block him by my arms. "Come on kid! You can do better than that!" He laughed as he continued landing continuous punch on me. I waited till I find an opening and immediately, I pulled my body down and dodged.

"I don't need you to tell me you fucker!" I said as I landed a punch straight to his face. He stumbled a bit afterwards and I took this opportunity to kick him. Kenny let out a breath but before he can even move, I grabbed his collar and pushed him by the trunk of the tree. Then I pulled the knife from my hand and slashed it in front but my hand stopped just before it can even cut him.

Kenny chuckled. "It seems like you still can't take another person's life huh?" He grinned while looking at my eyes. "You can't kill even the person who almost took your lover's life" He looked at me with mock as the knife in my hand shook because of his words. "Do it" Kenny muttered. "DO IT!"

I gritted my teeth and pushed him even more on the tree. "I refuse" I hissed pulling the knife away. "Because killing you will just make me the same person as what you want me to be" I said and then I threw him down the ground. Despite the impact of him getting thrown, Kenny still managed to chuckle.

"I can't believe how pathetic you turned out because of that woman Levi" He told me and before he can utter another word, I landed my foot at his face, kicking the lights off him.

Kenny fell down with a thud as I felt my knees go weak and I eventually slumped down. I panted and just at that moment, I felt every  pain that our fight has caused me. The ache in my arm because of the previous slash, the sting in my cheeks due to the stab, and the growing numbness in my body because of all the punches I took. Despite that tho, I still stood up and dragged Kenny's body. I pulled him by the nearest tree and immediately tied him on it before I fished my phone out of my pocket. As soon as the screen was on, I dialed Erwin's number. He answered after a ring.

"Levi. Where are you? We have already detained the gang" He said and I felt relieved with the news.

"I got Kenny too. We're here in the previous hideout" I told him while looking at the unconcious old man in front. His head was still low and judging from how limp his body has become, my kick must have placed an edge on him.

"I'll bring my men there then" He replied. "Give us 5 minutes" Erwin assured before the call ended. I let out a sigh and placed my phone back to my pocket. I turned my back at the cabin when all of a sudden, I heard a cough. I looked back to Kenny, surprised to see him waking up slowly. He looked at me, his face unbelievably calm.

"So I lost huh?" Kenny muttered, looking at his restraints. "I really am getting rusty"

I rolled my eyes at him. "You just think too highly of yourself" I replied, turning my body away.

Kenny weakly cackled from behind. "Kuchel must be laughing at me from her grave" He said after letting out a breath. The name of my mother made me stop and for a moment, I looked at him with a tinge of curiousity. Kenny stared at me from head to toe and then he smirked. "You turned out to be the exact man that she wants you to be because you led your own life, away from the shadows of the ackerman's crimes. But do you really want this Levi? Ackermans are not meant to be happy after all. Even if you succeed today, misery will always come at you no matter how much you try to avoid it" He told me but I shut my eyes and shook my head to push his words away from my mind.

"No Kenny. Our clan faced that kind of fate because they all believed that they should live this way. Because that is what society has told them to do so" I said looking at him with glare. "But I'm not like that. I refuse to be owned by that false ideology"

Kenny looked at me with his eyes wide. Then his expression softened before he weakly smiled. "You asked me earlier didn't you? The reason why I did this?" He said while raising an eyebrow. I grew curious but I hid it thru my usual expression.

"It is because I want my life to end by the hands of an Ackerman" Kenny muttered. "My time is almost up Levi and I refuse to die a boring death" He reasone but that just made my blood boil even more. I stomped in his way and grabbed him by his collar despite his restraints.

"SO YOU DID THAT TO HER?! JUST BECAUSE OF SOME SELFISH, USELESS REASON?" I yelled, all my anger vented out by my words.

"That is right. I want to make you angry enough to kill me" Kenny glowered at me as I gritted my teeth. "But you still can't kill a person. I miscalculated"

I hissed and harshly let go of him. "I will never take a person's life because there is someone that is anticipating for my return. And I can't have her waiting for me outside the cell" I said and Kenny looked at me in amusement, clearly understanding each of my words.

"You leave me no choice then" He whispered and I immediately got alert. Kenny rose his head and as soon as our eyes met, my whole body froze. "See you in hell Levi" He said before a series of slow beeping errupted from him. I ran towards his body, ripping his polo off and just as I expected, a bomb was attached on his torso.

"What the hell were you doing?!" I yelled, pulling the bomb off which is flashing minute left before it explode.

"Theres no use kid" He muttered while looking down at me. "As soon as you remove that, the bomb will go off" Kenny said. I punched my fist on the ground in frustration as the time fell to 30 seconds. "Half a minute left Levi. Choose if you want to die with me as an Ackerman that you should be or if you want to spend your remaining pathetic life in this world"

I shut my eyes close as I hesitated for a moment. Only the beeping of the bomb and my raspy breathing dominated my hearing. But then, Hanji suddenly popped inside my mind. That's right. I can't leave her yet. Not right now. 

"Fuck you old man" I hissed, getting up from the ground to run. There was only 15 seconds left before I took off and I know that if I don't make a distance, I will be caught by the explosion. So with all my strength, I ran forward. But it seems like it was really too late for me because after a few seconds, a loud explosiong errupted from the forest, causing a huge blow which threw me towards a tree. I felt my head spin when it crashed on the trunk and at that moment, my conciousness faded away.

~*~

"Levi..."

"Levi!"

"LEVI!"

My eyes opened and as soon as it did, my chest automatically panted out a breath. In front of me was Erwin looking at me with confusion.

"What happened?" He asked and I just realized that his men was around us right now, investigating the place. I slowly helped myself up thru my elbow, disregarding all the pain all over my body because of the blow I took and the impact from the bomb.

"Kenny..." I panted out before I groaned and clutched my side. "He blew himself up... I failed to stop him" I said hissing in pain. My body hurts like hell.

"So that explains the dismembered body parts near the cabin" Erwing whispered.

"I can't believe it" I said, my teeth gritted in anger. "He is such a coward for running away from his sins by taking his own life"

My fist clenched as my whole body shook from anger. Silence then dominated the place before I felt a continuous vibration in my pocket. I fished my phone out, looking at the caller's id. It was Petra.

I pressed the button. "He-"

"Finally you answered!" She yelled from the other line making me frown. But it was erased when I heard a sniffle from the other line.

"What happened Petra?" I asked, my voice being filled with fear amd worry.

"Its Hanji..." She sniffed and I felt my body froze. "She's-"

*toot *toot

The call ended and I almost threw my phone in anger. It died just before Petra can answer and right now, I can't help but panic because I don't have any idea what happened.

With the last of my strength, I pushed my body up and supported myself with the tree beside me. Erwin was shocked to see me in my state so he also stood up and helped me midway.

"What are you doing?" He asked and his eyes widened when he saw my expression. I failed to control the emotions inside me so for the nth time, it swelled up in my eyes thru pathetic tears.

"I have to get to the hospital" I said and Erwin nodded as he fetched his keys from his pockets.

"I'll take you in there" He said and then we immediately went to his car. Erwin started it and drove us straight to the hospital.

All throughout the ride, my heart was beating fast in anxiousness. I can't help but think of Hanji. Will I arrive in there with her still alive or did she finally gave up while I was out? Will I get to see her again or will my last sight of her be that one earlier when she was unconcious on her bed?

I clenched my fist and gulped my sobbed as I looked out the window. I know that I have been an asshole and I did far too many sins in my whole life. But Hanji has been the only right thing that came to me. So please... Don't take her away... Not when I have finally found my purpose, my missing piece and my life in general...

"Levi" Erwin muttered my name before the car was put on stop. "We're here" He said and as fast as lightning, I got out of the vehicle. Eventhough my whole body was aching from all the injuried I got, I still sprinted towards the hospital. All of the people I ran across was staring at me in shock because of how much of a mess I look right now but I didn't pay any attention on it. I ran till I reached Hanji's room and as soon as I did, I pushed her door open, surprising the person inside.

"Levi?" Petra looked at me in shock. "What happened to you?" She asked but I pushed it all aside as I locked eyes at the other person in the room. She was staring at me with concern as I walked closer to her, tears continuously streaming down my face.

"Hanji...." I muttered and then I enclosed her in an embrace. Petra, who was behind us, smiled at the sight as she slowly went out of the room to give us our privacy. I tightened my embrace on her as I buried my face at the side of her face. She's warm and her heart is beating. Her eyes are open and she is hugging me back. My Hanji is alive and she is awake.

"What happened to you?" She asked before I pulled myself away from her. Hanji looked at me with concern as she ran her finger at the wound on my cheeks.

"I just accomplished an unfinished business" I said, smiling at her warmly. Hanji stared at me with shock but then her expression softened. All of my fatigue and aches rained down on me that I only did nothing but let my head fall down her shoulder. Hanji brushed her hand from my head down to my back, momentarily soothing the pain in my body.

"Its done now right?" She asked and I nodded.

"Yes and I'm sorry if it got you involved" I said raising my head to stare at her. Hanji smiled and then she cupped both of my cheeks.

"I'm your girlfriend silly. Of course I'm involved in everything you do" She said and then she leaned close to me. I met her halfway, locking my lips with her's. I kissed her with all of my desires and relief that she is now with me, alive and well.

Today, I say goodbye to my past and welcome my new future with Hanji. And no matter what kind of misery may come upon us, I know that as long as we stay at each other, we'll be fine. Hanji is the new source of my strength and even if Kenny is on the other side now, I'll still prove him wrong that Ackermans are meant to be miserable just like how this woman in my arms made me realize that.

AN: I am so sorry for the inconvenience regarding the story :(( but seriously speaking tho, I'll miss updating this story cause we only have a few chapters before the ending *sad levihan noises*