...

"So, how long have you lived here?" Erwin asked.
"My entire life." Mikasa replied.
"Really?? Do you travel a lot?"
"Not that often. So my life has been pretty boring. I drown it out with videogames, though."
His eyes lit up. "Like what?? Fire emblem?"
"Fire Emblem, Pokemon, Zelda, you name it, I play it." He smiled and pulled out his handheld..
"You should add me."
Mikasa pulled out her own. "Sure." "Pokemon."
"Pokemon is the shit." He felt at ease around her, and he liked it.
"It is. Fight me."
"You're on," he quickly changed his cartridge from fire emblem to his Pokémon game and was ready within minutes.
"okay, did you wanna start it?" He remembered that he didn't even get her name.
"Oh, I'm Erwin."
"Mikasa."
Erwin nodded, and the battle started. The two went at it for a while. Occasionally Mikasa would get the upper hand. But Erwin would smack her down and turn the tide in his favor. When the battle ended, Erwin groaned when it ended with a tie. He was content nonetheless knowing someone shared his interests.
"GG. I have to go somewhere. Do you want to come with?" He stood up and grabbed a small bag, filled with his games and paperwork his mother instructed to take. He knew he was late but didn’t care about the time. It was okay as long as he got there right?
"Sure, why not?" Mikasa saved the game and shoved her hand held the back pocket of her jeans.
"I need a side job anyway." she whispered as she followed Erwin. The tall man led her to the garage where he had a low to the ground white sports car waiting. He opened the car door for her and Mikasa found his chivalry amusing. Mikasa laughed, mock curtsying before stepping into the car. "Such a gentleman." she chuckled as he sat in the drivers seat.
“Shut up, it’s just how I was raised.” Erwin chuckled. He handed his phone over to Mikasa with the route set. When Erwin pulled out of his garage safely. The blond looked around and drove off at full speed knowing no one was around to catch them.
At the location, parking right outside of it. Annie noticed that the “club” people talked about was actually a ware house. It was old and blended in with the surrounding brick buildings. The place was vacant of normalcy and filled with outcasts of the city. Along the way there she noticed drunks and drug addicts hiding away like rats. Apparently this place once thrived hiding in plain sight. Now it was in shambles, broken glass from windows, bullet shells and syringes littered the pavement. She found it hard to believe this was the was the club that was sought after the most. It felt strange knowing this was where her grandmother worked. But she wasn’t alone, 'Erwin, Hanji, and Levi...' she thought processing their names. Images came to mind and somehow linked their names with faces. Though they weren’t clear, she shook off the thought and walked into the building. The main hall was destroyed, drapes were torn, debris that mainly consisted of parts of tables, broken glass and unknown substances were hard to miss. On the broken and fogged windows cobwebs and dust hung like decorations. It looked like the place hadn’t been cleaned in years. The place wasn’t in too great of shape, the seemingly desolate atmosphere made her skin crawl. She scratches at her back, brushing against the gun in her waistline as she further explored the building. Finding a set of staircases, the young woman walked up to the top floor. Silently, Annie crept along the walls, she peered into each office carefully and stopping in them when the coast was clear. She did this to every room on the floor. She was both relieved and disappointed only finding some drug addicts that took shelter there. They looked her face and ran outside in a crazed frenzy. Both confused and annoyed she ignored them and when about her business. One of the many rooms on the floor was locked. She shot the hinges of the door and knocked it down with a kick. The room was vacant and awfully more modern than what she expected it to be. It felt natural when she sat down in the seat behind a giant tarp that was left atop some object. She turned her attention to the window behind her. She gazed out the window, it was wide and allowed sunlight to pour in. Annie turned her attention back to a what she assumed was a desk. The girl carefully lifts the tarp and lays it on the floor. A grand desk is revealed and a few stacks of papers with two intact picture frames. There was not a speck of dust on them as she inspected them. in one of the two images, the faces she that appeared in her mind earlier were in the picture. The first of the two had grandmother with two men and a woman "Erwin, Levi, and Hanji...." she spoke softly touching the the frame carefully.
She buckled up, and leaned back onto the seat. He continued to drive, rolling the windows down and enjoying the feeling of the wind. "You should show me around sometime. Give me a tour." He joked, stopping at a red light. "Like I said, nothing interesting except Game Stop and maybe that food place." "Food place? We'll have to go there sometime?" He smiled, pressing the gas a little harder once the light turned green. "Are you asking me out or is it just a friend thing. Because I'm fine with either." He shrugged, continuing to drive. "I guess we'll find out soon."
Annie first stared at her grandmothers face till the man in the middle of the picture caught her eye. His features resembled the boy in the coffee shop she had locked eyes with earlier.
“So he was in the coffee shop..” She narrowed her eyes. The girl shook her head and looked at the second frame, it was Annie and yet another woman “...mikasa??”
Before she could try to look further into her office, she hear a loud car engine outside the building. It stopped and the sound was followed by someone slamming their car door. She kneels down and peeks out the window, directly below it she could see a male figure open a door for another person.
Erwin, seeing a car already there, Thought it must belong to the person he was supposed to meet. He gets out and opens Mikasa's the car door for mikasa. Looking at the building, Erwin felt nostalgia wash over him. Though he'd never been here before in his life. Something about the place felt like a second home despite its damages.
"It looks nice." He smiled, looking around. "I don't know what I'm supposed to do, apparently this place has been in my family for a while. But it’s only now being used again?" He looked around for the person who was nowhere in sight.
"Huh, I guess they aren't here." He muttered as he walked up to the old rusted door. He unlocked it and entered the seemingly empty building. As he pushed the door made a shrill noise. The two entered inside cringing from the sound. They weren’t surprised to find the place a complete mess. At least, Mikasa was unphased and knew the place would in shambles. The look on Erwin’s face was priceless. He was both amazed and horrified by the job that was ahead. All this was his, but it was a giant mess he didn’t know how to deal with yet. He secretly wished there was someone who knew this place just as well if not better than he did.
“Guess the druggies must have gotten their hands on this place.”
Mikasa mumbled as she kicked a syringe out of her way. Erwin's emotions got the best of him. He stomped down the hallway with a determined look on his face. The sudden change in attitude caught Mikasa off guard.
“Erwin?” she called out to him. She wondered what came over him and followed after the man. Even after not responding to her she knew he might have had his reasons. Still, something about the place felt abnormal. She couldn’t quite put her finger on it. Though, she knew it ignited something within her as well. Erwin after walking through the vacant hallways. Erwin had stopped in front of two black steel doors. The paint on them was cracked and could flake off by only a mere touch. He was unsettled by his sudden actions and didn’t enjoy this new side of him. He was hesitant at first but knew this was his place now. Something called to him as mikasa caught up. He didn’t enjoy the idea of moving to this city. That was until he had met Mikasa and had some company for once. Mikasa grabbed Erwin's hand trying to encourage him.
"Just do what feels right."
He smiled, gripping her hand softly. He felt comfortable being around her even in a situation like this. The blond gripped the handle on the door and pulled it open. The two carefully wandered inside they didn’t want to stumble upon anything or anyone who could be dangerous. Looking around, thoughts and memories flooded inside Erwin’s mind. An apparition of a small blond came and left looking distraught. What was he doing? He thought walking towards the desk with a sheet placed over it. Dust flew into the air as he pulled it up and off. He was expecting someone to pop out at any second and murder him. Though to his surprise, it only revealed a few picture frames, papers that were finished, and a small pile that still had to be taken care of.
After watching the two enter the building. Annie slowly drew her gun, disappearing back into the shadows. She silently made her way next to the door that she had kicked down earlier. Two voices echoed down the hallway and bounced into her office. Annie darted down the hallway hiding behind the black door. She took a peek through a small opening and found the two people she had seen earlier. She could make out the shape of a tall burly blonde with strong dark haired woman.
“Hopefully this is the guy i’m supposed to meet,” she thought to herself listening in on their conversation.
"Are you okay?" Mikasa asked in a soft tone. The look on his face was one of a man that was almost brought to tears. Mikasa wondered why the photos had this affect on him.
"Just fine." He whispered, looking at the photos. His grandfather stood in each of them, Unknown people surrounded him. However he did recognize Mikasa’s face. She was in one of the frames hugging a blonde girl. Erwin was always next to a small blond boy.
“A lover? Cousin?” He thought further examining the image. There was a small French man, a woman with glasses, another blonde, with a redheaded girl, and finally a brunette boy.
“Who were these people?” Erwin mumbled under his breath.
"Hey, is that me?" Mikasa pointed to a woman whose features closely resembled hers. "The only difference is my scar..."
“I’m sure you pull it off better than she ever could.” He glanced from the photo to her, chuckling softly. His hand still held onto hers, he had forgotten about it and smiled enjoying the warmth of it.
Annie sighed, guessing that it was an appropriate time since they had stopped talking. She strutted into the room, and stood near the doorway of the office. Her breath escaped her lungs as gasped softly taking a good look at their faces.
Erwin's eyes darted in the direction of the small gasp he had heard. He was startled at first, but after seeing Annie the man calmed down.
"Are you the person I was supposed to meet?"
"It was only supposed to be you, who's that.." she asked flatly.
"I'm Mikasa, Ackerman on my mom’s side, Herondale on my dad’s."
"The deal was for us to meet here to discuss business," the girl takes a step forward, the shadows pulled back uncovering her face.
"I wasn't informed about her."
"It seems you don't know my history." Mikasa snapped.
"Sorry about that, But I think you two knew each other at one point. We should just get on with our business.” Erwin apologized setting down the picture of two women hugging.
"Her hair is different." Mikasa replied slightly irritated by the unwelcoming dirty blonde.
"That's my grandmother in that picture, were near carbon copies. I wouldn’t expect you to know that fact though." She stops a few feet away from the two as she pulls her gun out and removes the clip from her gun after she rules the two out as harmless.
"I think that's my grandma as well. she was one of heads of the mafia. Well, until she was killed. That's why I'm here, to find my grandmother's killer and give them a fate even worse than death."
"Well it seems that I outrank you" she mutters and kicks away the clip
"Annie Leonhardt, my grandmother was the Boss of the American Mafia, right hand man to the Russian mob and /was/ till the day she disappeared. I am the heir who will someday take control of the Mafia. I was sent here by my father to reclaim territory."
"Its nice to meet you Annie, I'm Erwin, and I own this, club, is what you called it correct?" He moved to shake her hand. Mikasa didn’t trust the woman one bit, she pulled a knife from her belt. She was irrational, her mind was sent back to the day she was executed in her past life. The details were obscure but she knew that her death was unjust.
“They took what I cherished the most, I'll take their life one day I swear...." Mikasa croaked. Returning back to consciousness she hesitated. Annie shook the man’s hand gazing out the window and watched the cityscape.
"Don't let your anger cloud your judgement Mikasa, though you think you’re able, are you capable of taking one’s life is the real question."
"I- I..."
"Put that pathetic thing away Ms. Ackerman, you're only humoring me."
"It could be a light saber."
"Stop trying to make pop culture references, they're getting you nowhere."
"Actually, I'm just a nerd."
Erwin chuckled, lightly touching her elbow. "It’s a pretty small light saber." Mikasa laughed along with Erwin.
"True, true. But I guess it could be helpful to find hidden areas."
Annie sighed and walked to the front of the room. "Is this /seriously/ what I have to work with.." she muttered under her breath.
"That's true." He wondered if there were hidden rooms here.
"That's true." He wondered if there were hidden rooms here.
"Do you want to check for some? There's a lab down stairs apparently, the lady Hanji used it to manufacture drugs along with a man named Armin Arlert." The mention of that name tugged at his heart.
"Really? Drugs? But Armin is such a cute name."
"You two knock yourselves out with that while I'll handle the other stuff." She left to go find more things that'll be good to know in her grandmother's office
"Okay you do that, we’ll miss you, bye." Mikasa sarcastically responded.
Annie walked back to her office bothered by woman’s awfully rude tone. When she arrives she sits on the floor. She shuffled around the papers that she knocked on the ground, trying to find anything of use.
Erwin walked out of the room with her, searching for anything hidden. He pulled books, touched mirrors and statues. There were endless possibilities and theories he had from movies he watched as a child. Mikasa looked closely at the floor for any hidden trapdoors. The two were a comedic pair and kept on their quest. Meanwhile, Annie was tired of constant information being shoved into her mind with no answers. she sighs as she shreds each document out of frustration and deeming them useless. She gets up from her spot on the floor and steps behind her grandmothers desk. Thinking nothing of it, she pulls open some of the desks drawers. She was still disappointed by the useless documents and braces herself for more to come. As she opened each drawer she comes across nothing but a few stacks on paperwork her grandmother had signed. sifting through them, she comes across a medical file stolen from a hospital.
"Now why would this be here.." She sighs leaning back in her chair. across the green folder was a dark stamp that read "Confidential." A note had slipped out from it and fell onto the girls lap.
I hope you know what you're doing Annie.
-hanji
"The woman I thought of earlier?" she whispered as her eyes glanced at the picture frame on her desk. She debated for a moment about reading its contents. If this was something her grandmother wanted to hide it must be crucial. Taking a deep breath the young woman opens the folder finds a picture of her grandmother staring into her soul. The blonde doesn't back down and looks over each document. as she reads through them her curiosity soon fades into shock.
"...This can’t be…” The girl whispered horrified.