Chapter 1

sounds of leaves crunching underneath two male's feet could be heard. They climbed the windy road near the base of the mountain, unable to take the horse due to the uneven road.

"Now Eren." The older male spoke to the now named shorter male. "The Ackermans have a daughter named Mikasa. She is the same age as you, so try and get along, okay?"

The younger boy gave a sigh. His eyes looked like a dead fish, without the hint of emotion. It wasn't because he simply couldn't feel, but because everything around him bored him.

The boy, Eren, was with his father Grisha to do a check up on Mrs. Ackerman. Apparently, she was pregnant, so Grisha had often taken trips up to their little abode to check on the health of the Misses.

After a few trips, Grisha decided to bring Eren to meet Mikasa Ackerman. She was around the same age as him, so Grisha thought that they could be friends.

"It depends on her attitude." Eren said in an almost monotone voice, a clear sign he was bored.

"See," Grisha groaned. "That is why you only have one friend."

"Oh?" Eren arched an eyebrow as he looked at his father. "I thought Armin was plenty enough as a friend. Even if I did have others in my little social clique, would they really be friends?"

Grisha frowned at his son's behavior. As Eren grew older, he displayed more of his pessimistic attitude…

No, that wasn't quite right. His attitude was more of that uncaring, or perhaps waiting. As if a demon resided within the boy, waiting to just release its terror upon the world.

Grisha mentally reprimanded himself for having such thoughts about his son. But it was hard to look at the boy and think that there wasn't something unique about him.

Ever since he was born he was always quiet, as if observing his surroundings. He was reclusive, yet when he asked a question he would not let it go until he was satisfied with it.

Such was the case with everything around him. He questioned the giant walls that protected them. The humanoid monsters that feasted on them. He questioned the rule of the king, and if it was justified.

It was scary, downright horror levels of what Eren had thought of. Sometimes he would hear Eren muttering to himself in his room. Thoughts about what was outside the walls. Thoughts of what was inside the walls.

Grisha gave an audible gulp as thoughts of his son ran through his head.

There was no denying it. It pained him so to think it, but Eren was a monster. However, he would be the monster to complete his mission.

"Something wrong, old man?" Eren question in response to Grisha's gulp.

Yes, even if it was wrong for the father to give such a burden to his son, it had to be done. For the Eldians inside the wall and outside.

"Nothing." Grisha said as a small smile formed on his face. "Perhaps I am getting to old for such climbs?"

Eren looked skeptically at Grisha, as if seeing through his lie. However, a simple shrug ended the conversation as Eren deemed it not worth the effort to pursue.

"Ah," Grisha let out a sigh as he saw the Ackerman's house. "It looks like we finally made it."

As Grisha walked up onto the porch, Eren immediately knew something was wrong.

As if sensing the aura, mother nature decided to send down a light sprinkle. While not outright downpour, it still was enough to get one wet.

Eren gave a tsk at the cliche setting. Knowing what must have already happened, he let Grisha confirm his suspicions as he knocked on the door.

"Mr. Ackerman?" Grisha called out as he continued to rap his knuckles on the door. "It's Doctor Yeager. I'm here about the house call?"

When no answer came, Grisha decided to try the door. Opening on request, he was greeted with an unsightly image.

Two bodies laid on the ground, one stabbed in the chest while the other was hacked with an axe. They were Mr. and Mrs. Ackerman respectively.

Eren gave them a look of pity before he turned around, not really in the mood to be staring at a corpse.

"Eren!" Grisha suddenly shouted as he grabbed his son by the shoulders. "I am going down to get the Military Police! The closest station is on the opposite side of the mountain. I need you to go down to the horse and wait for me there! Do you understand?! Don't stray from the path we just took!"

Eren just gave Grisha a bored look. Perhaps he should have shown some form of emotion, just so Grisha wouldn't think him odd. But at this point in time, Eren really didn't care.

Giving a nod as his answer, Grisha immediately smiled with relief.

"They could still be out there. The road I am taking is probably a common road, so they might have taken it. That is why I am sending you by yourself."

Giving Eren a hug, he wished him well as he took off for the station.

Eren gave a sigh. He couldn't fault Grisha's reasoning. The culprits could have taken the more sturdy road in order to traverse the mountain faster.

If they were amateurs.

Most likely, Grisha had probably thought that the group just killed them because they resisted when they were getting robbed. In the commotion, Mikasa, the daughter, ran out and escaped.

But that was not what Eren saw. Firstly, the house wasn't in too much disarray. The culprits, if robbing the place, would have turned it upside down.

The most likely thought was kidnapping. The mother appeared oriental, which was rare inside these walls. And rare could also be defined as exotic…

So why kill the mother? Eren thought of the chance that the mom had resisted. Deciding it was too much trouble, they offed her, taking the kid instead.

A loss, but they still made a profit.

There were probably sick people in the underworld that would buy such a young child as a sex slave.

Eren gave another sigh as he tightened his red scarf around him. The drizzle was getting a little heavier and starting to give him a chill.

Upon adjusting his scarf, his eyes wandered down to the pavement. Specifically the mud near it.

He noticed footprints etched into the earth, the rain slowly washing it away.

They were jumbled together, so Eren couldn't get a good enough read on how many people had left them, but one thing was certain.

These were the people who had killed the Ackermans and took their daughter.

Eren stared at the footprints for a brief second. Grisha had gone the opposite way to get help, but it appears that the criminals went off the road in a completely random direction.

Walking forward, he decided to ignore it. It sounded like too much of a hassle to save just one girl. Plus, the Military Police would be here soon if Grisha has any say in the matter. The corrupt Military Police.

Eren stopped as he gave a dejected sigh.

The Military Police would be too late. The men who kidnapped Mikasa would most likely get away by the time they get here. The MPs would call the case there, saying they will look into it, but never will.

It was already set in stone. Mikasa would become nothing more than a doll for the pleasure of perverted men.

Unless Eren did something about it.

Conflict arose within Eren. He was still young, but with the knowledge of his past life, he could kill the grown adults who kidnapped Mikasa.

But would it be worth it?

He could risk all the plans he had because he jumped the gun and tried to be a hero, only to die in the process.

It was a matter of faith. Could he take them out and rescue the girl? Risking the possibility of death and wasting all his efforts that he took toward his goal?

Yeah, it was better to just leave it at that. One little girl would be the price to pay for his safety.

Bruder... ich wünsche mir eine sicherere Welt…

…

Eren stopped as the language from his past life assaulted his mind. The memory from a past life resurfaced. No, it was like it forced its way into his cerebrum, making him relive those vivid memories.

Brother... I wish for a safer world…

Damn it.

Eren gave a sigh as he changed course, following the footprints that would lead him to his destination.

Eren lucked out. There appeared to be only two men.

He had followed the footsteps to this rundown house. The rain, leaving a coat of liquid on the ground, had since now stopped. Peering inside the window, he noticed that a man sat in a chair, while another stood over the form of a little girl.

Mikasa.

It appeared that he wasn't too late. She seemed mostly unharmed. A bruise here and there, but it looks like the main thing she would suffer from is mental trauma.

Eren narrowed his eyes at the men who were in the room. They didn't look too athletic, so they probably weren't trained killers. They must have taken the Ackermans by surprise…

Well then, guess he'll do the same.

"Hm," The man standing gave a groan. "She doesn't appear all that energetic. She seems just like a broken doll…"

"Whatever," The man sitting in the chair groundout. "Some people like emotionless dolls as their toys."

"You seem upset?" The man crossed his arms as he glanced over at the sitting man. "Is it because I killed the mom?"

"What? No of course not." The sitting man said sarcastically. "It's not like she would have fetched a higher price or anything."

The man who was standing glared at the man who was sitting.

"What was I suppose to do?" He spat out as he flung his arms out. "She came at me? Was I suppose to let her kill me?"

"Yes, with a pair of scissors that were used for knitting. You were suppose to restrain her. Ugh," The man let out a groan as he rubbed his face. "What's done is done. Although she is a half-blood, I am sure the kid will still fetch a high price."

It was at this point that they heard the sound of glass shattering.

Silence engulfed the two men as they stared expectantly at the door. The man looked over at the person sitting down when he noticed no one was going to come through the door.

Crossing his arms, the man waved him off with a frown. Frowning in return, he headed for the door to check what that noise was.

Opening up the door, he went into the hallway. Noticing the front door open, he saw pieces of shattered glass on the ground. Bending down to observe it, he shouted back toward the room.

"Just a bunch of broken glass. I think an anima-?!" His conversation was cut short as he soon found a shard of glass was slid across his throat.

Blood spilling out from his throat, he gave a panic yelp that was nullified by the blood gurgling in his throat.

Slamming his body into the wall, he scratched desperately at his throat, trying to stop the bleeding. It was at that moment that he happened to glance up. Wanting to call for help, he instead came eye to eye with the God of Death himself. He took the form of a child with brown hair and gray eyes.

The last thing the man saw was the sadistically amused smile on the child's face.

Eren gave a slight smirk as the man collapsed on the floor dead. He had waited until their conversation to end before he struck. Wanting to get as much information as possible, he finally figured out why they killed the mother.

After causing a ruckus by breaking the glass, he grabbed a few shards to use as weapons.

Hearing frantic footsteps, he turned toward the doorway that led into the room Mikasa was in. The man who came out of it was the same one who was sitting in the chair. He had an axe in hand and stared with wide eyes at the smiling child.

Eren didn't let the man respond as he took a shard of glass and placed it in between his fingers. Flicking his wrist, he sent the makeshift shank flying toward the man with the axe. Not even a second past as the glass embedded itself in the forehead of the man. Blood dripped down his face as he brought a shaky hand to the wound. Looking at his now red painted hand, his eyes rolled back before he slumped over the wall.

Eren walked over to the body, kicking the axe out of his hand. Noticing a knife in his pocket, he took it to replace the remaining shards of glass.

Walking into the room, he noticed that Mikasa had an emotionless face as she stared at the boy who had just rescue her.

Eren rose an eyebrow at this. Most girls that age would be crying messes. Shrugging, he opted to conclude that not all girls acted the same in these types of situations. Some simply succumb to the insanity and are forever broken.

Hoping that she was just in shock, Eren moved over to undo her bindings.

"I'm Eren Yeager." Eren decided to introduce himself. "I'm Doctor Yeager's son. We came to your house… well, in any case, you're safe now."

Mikasa simply stared into space as she mumbled softly.

"...ird." It was soft spoken and Eren didn't quite hear it.

"Pardon?"

"...third." It was hard to hear once again, but Eren heard the last bit.

Eren's eyes widening as he berated himself. How could he make such a mistake? There was no guarantee that those were the only two guys. Clutching his knife he stood up to look around for the last man. Only to have a boot meet his chin.

The force rattled his body, causing him to drop the knife on the floor.

"You!" The man screamed in blind rage. "You did this! I'll kill you!"

The man rushed Eren before he could fully recover. Grabbing him by the neck, he lifted Eren above the ground and pounded him on the wall.

"I'll kill you! I'll kill you!" Spittle flew from his mouth as he shouted at Eren.

Eren, desperate for escaped, tried to release the hold that encompassed him. Hitting, clenching, and scratching, he did all that he could. But it wasn't enough. His body, so young, was too weak to fight against a grown man.

This is exactly what Eren had wanted to avoid.

His vision started getting blurry near the edges as he desperately gasped for air. His gaze wandered over to the girl that, for the first time, showed some form of emotion. She had a horrified look on her face as she witnessed Eren start to foam at the mouth.

Clenching his eyes shut, Eren prepared to do the last thing that could save him.

Angling his legs, he shot them out and hit the man right in the crotch. It was weak, and not strong enough for him to bend over in pain. But it still disturbed his hold on Eren. With a little of breathing room, Eren held the hands that were around his neck. Using all the strength in his tiny little body, he tried to pull the hands free.

Of course, he knew that he couldn't release the hold, but what he had wanted was to be able to breathe and, most importantly, speak.

"Fight!" Eren yelled as the hold began to tighten again. "If you don't… fight… you won't… win!"

Eren began to see dots in his vision. Nearing the verge of passing out, he knew it was over for him.

How foolish of him to get involved with a situation that didn't even mattered to him. His arms went limp as his eyes began to lose the light they once had.

But before he could pass out, he heard the snapping of wood and a yell. Mikasa came running with the knife he had used to cut her bonds toward the man. The man, too focused on Eren, didn't even notice Mikasa come up behind him. He felt the force of the stab resonate throughout the man.

Eren was dropped to the ground as the man could no longer support himself. Coughing up blood, the man who had his heart pierce slid down, face toward the corner of the room. He gave his last breath as he died in that awkward position facing the corner of the room.

Eren, on the other hand, was coughing up a lung. The sudden release of the hold had allowed him to finally breathe in fresh air. Intaking too much, he was reduced to the sputtering of coughs.

After a few seconds of gaining control over his breathing, he looked over to Mikasa. She was staring at the corpse, with a look of understanding on her face. It was as if she had just come to a conclusion about something. Perhaps it was realizing just what kind of world this was.

"Beautiful…" Her sweet voice said.

Eren's breath hitched and eyes widen as he gave her a look of astonishment. She had just killed a man and she said it was beautiful. Eren had to wonder if he had just created a monster.

"This world is beautiful… yet very cruel…" She finished what she was saying.

Eren stared at her as he finally regained his breathing. Giving a sigh of relief, it appears that she was only jostled about the situation.

Whatever psychological nonsense she was spouting, it would be best to just allow her to. It could be a fine coping mechanism.

"That may be true." Eren said as he walked up to the man who had been stabbed. Eren gave a slight expression of shock at the handle of the knife. It had been broken. Looking back, he noticed the flooring was also cracked in the position Mikasa had been standing at before she had rammed the knife into the man.

"However," Eren continued as he wrenched the knife out of the man. "I think beauty and cruelty can be interpreted in different ways."

Mikasa just stared at him as he tossed the knife on the ground.

"...What do you mean…" She hesitated to ask.

Eren went outside the room and began to drag one of the men he killed in the hallway into the room.

"I mean, we all look at things differently, and are subject to change our views." Eren said as he let out a grunt, trying to drag the heavy man from one end to the other. Finally releasing the man, he wiped his brow with his hand as he gave a sigh.

"What I mean is not to get pulled into this one situation. Don't let this encounter control who and what you are. Don't let this situation control how you see the world."

Eren, once again, went out into the hall and dragged the other man into the room.

With that done, he gave a sigh as he once again looked at Mikasa. She seemed downcast, most likely the reality of the situation hitting home.

She was now an orphan.

Eren gave a frown. At least she was silent, but he hoped not to deal with an emotional child.

Walking over to a lit lamp, he picked it up. Throwing it on the ground, he allowed the flames to escape their compound. The now small fire would soon spread.

"Come on." Eren grabbed the girl's hand. Leading her outside the door, he released his hold on the hand to grab the empty case near the door they just walked out. With a little strain, he tipped it over, causing it to block the door to the room the three now dead men were in.

All the while Mikasa looked at him with confusion.

Taking her hand again, Eren led Mikasa out of the now burning house.

"It looks like a lamp tipped over and started the fire."

"Yeah, and somehow in the commotion the bookshelf tipped over, blocking their only escape… Although I wonder why they didn't jump out the windows?"

The MPs looked at each other as they discussed the case that had recently happened.

"Well, they were probably idiots." One MP said as he put up his notepad, ending his notes he was taking. "Two of them are near the door, so they probably desperately tried that as their only option of escape. Either way, these guys had it coming to them."

The MPs looked at the three silhouettes near the edge of the house.

"So you're saying that you were walking and just found her?" Grisha questioned his son once again. He had come with the MPs to the Ackermans house when, on the road there, they had run into both Eren and Mikasa.

The story that Eren had given was that a fire had started in the house the culprits were using and, in the commotion, Mikasa escaped. Eren had found her and decided to lead her to the MPs.

"Yes." Eren gave a curt reply as his only response.

"Mikasa, is this true?" Grisha asked the only witness to the scene.

However, Mikasa didn't say anything regarding what had happened. When she was questioned by the MPs, she hadn't even given them the idea that she recognized them.

Grisha gave a sigh as he rubbed the bridges of his nose.

"Well, I suppose we can discuss this later. Come on."

"Where…" For the first time since they met up with the adults, she spoke. "Where am I suppose to go? Where am I suppose to call home? What am I suppose to do? I'm… so cold..."

Grisha gave her a look of pity while Eren just rolled his eyes, not really wanting to deal with traumatized kids.

"You can come with us. We'll offer you a home, a bed, food, and a family." Grisha talked to Mikasa at eye level.

She just looked at him, as if wondering if such words were true, but not holding out hope.

Eren, giving a sigh, decided to intervene. Unwrapping his red scarf, he took it and placed it around Mikasa's head in a sloppy manner.

"There," Eren said in an unconcerned voice. "You were cold, right? It's warm, right?"

Mikasa gave a slow nod as life began to enter her eyes, looking at Eren, he said the words that would forever change her world.

"Well, then, let's go home. To our home."

Although she had a privileged life, living comfortably with her mother and father, this one incident had changed her forever. She would never come back the same, and a part of her wanted to disappear. But the boy who had just wrapped his scarf around her changed her mind.

She would stay in this world and protect the person who protected her. When no one came, he did.

Warm tears of joy slid down her face as she ran up and hugged Eren. Giving him a tight squeeze, she didn't let go even when a large amount of time past. She stayed like that, in Eren's embrace, listening to his heartbeat as she sobbed quietly into his shirt. Soon, sleep overtook her, and Grisha had to help lift Mikasa up so they could leave. Yet Eren stayed close, holding her hand to reassure her that he was still here.

Grisha glance over his son, noticing the red hand marks on his neck. He was about to say something when Eren glanced over at him. His words got stuck in his throat and he hesitated to say anything as he stared into those eyes of his son.

Swallowing hard, he cast his gaze back up front as they headed to the horses.