Alterations
SUMMARY: Sometimes, a chain of events can be altered by what is seemingly the most minute detail. In this case, a very different boy stumbles upon a certain cabin deep within the woods. AU where Levi saves Mikasa from the traffickers.
AUTHOR'S NOTE: My NaNoWriMo project. Initially, I wasn't going to post this just yet, but I figured I should get it out here while it's still in production just to see how people react to it. This will be a multi-chap and it will span into Mikasa's years as part of the Scouting Legion. It will heavily deviate from canon. Think of this as a prologue.
DISCLAIMER: I don't own SnK.
It all started with a crest carved into the palm of a young girl's hand, a red scarf, and a smile. Later, when all is said and done, it ends with cobblestone roads so deeply sodden with blood that every step is mushy. It ends with broken bodies hanging from trees, and the unexpected death of an unexpected player. The grand finale is bittersweet, tinged with the sadness of loss.
But for now, it begins.
Mikasa should have known when the men knocked on her door that fateful afternoon that something wasn't quite right. Bounding off her chair and ignoring the heavy sighing of her mother—who was probably irritated with Mikasa's lack of progress regarding her sewing—she unlatched the heavy bar on the door and swung it open.
A man, clean shaven and handsome stood outside. When he saw her, he cocked his head. "Is your mother around?" Mikasa felt an odd pit gather at the bottom of her stomach, roiling like the calm before a storm.
Her father put his hand on her shoulder. "Go to your mother," he whispered into her ear, his voice uncharacteristically stern and almost…frightened? Mikasa immediately complied, her feet padding against the silken wood of her home. When she reached her mother, the woman threw an arm around her shoulder, trying to usher the child into the next room.
"What's wrong?" Mikasa whispered, sensing the irregularities of her parent's behaviour. She slipped her hand into her mothers, feeling the faded scar of their clan mark on the woman's palm. "Is everything okay?"
"Stay here," her mother pointed her to the closet in their shared room. "Do not come out until I tell you to."
There was a crashing noise from the kitchen. Mikasa saw her mother's shoulder hitch. "Mama?" She asked, hoping for her mother to turn around and promise her that everything would be alright. "Mama, what's going on?" She tried to edge toward the door, but her mother's body concealed the open crack.
"Promise me, Mikasa." Her mother grasped her by the hand. "Do not come out until I tell you it is safe."
"I promise," Mikasa said. She wasn't quite sure why, but tears had begun to flow from her eyes. They streamed from her face, hot and stinging like when you touch something before it properly cools down and although it doesn't burn you, you're left with the tingling sensation for the rest of the day. "What about you and papa?"
Her mother shook her head and giving Mikasa one soft push inside, shut the door behind her. That was the last Mikasa saw of her parents.
"Where's the kid?" A man's voice echoed from outside the door. Mikasa stuffed her fist into her mouth, trying to keep her breaths calm and steady. She remembered the time her father had taken her hunting, how he'd instructed her on how to stay as quiet as possible to not scare away the prey. Mikasa wondered if this was what it felt like to be a deer, cornered by hunters and knowing that there was little chance of escaping.
"She's gotta be around here somewhere," said another. "There's no way she could've gotten that far." Footsteps sounded on the wood floor, coming closer and closer until Mikasa heard the click of the door. The man was right outside the closet.
"Please," she whispered, hoping that somebody would save her. "Leave me alone." Her nails dug into her palm, burning deep scratches into the skin.
The man flung the closet door open. He smiled at her. "Look what we've got here."
Mikasa shrank away from the man's gaze, trying to make herself as tiny as possible. The man reached forward, dragging Mikasa out by the scruff of her neck. "The woman had a daughter."
Had? Mikasa craned her neck, wondering where her parents were. Instantly, she wished she hadn't. Her father lay face down near the door in a pool of rapidly spreading blood. Her mother was just off to the side, crumpled as if hit over the head with her hands covering her stomach. Mikasa went limp, the fight immediately going out of her. "Mama…? Papa…?"
The man dropped her. Mikasa slumped to the ground. "Should we take this one, instead?"
The other shrugged. "She's an Asian, isn't she? At least half of one. That'll do."
"Boss won't be pleased."
"I don't care what the boss thinks."
Mikasa heard their words, but failed to register anything. She was numb. One of the men stuffed a wadded up cloth into her mouth. She struggled at first, but his hold was too strong and eventually, her vision grew dark.
When Mikasa awoke, the first thing she noticed was the twine of rope tied around her wrists and ankles. The next thing she noticed was a figure sitting in a chair by the door to the plain wooden room she was in. Upon realizing that she was awake, the man sighed. "Don't bother screaming. Nobody here is going to hear you."
Mikasa looked down at her bonds and back up to the man. "What's going to happen to me?"
The man blinked, surprised. "You're awfully calm about this." She stared at him with eyes like obsidian. The man nearly recoiled from her icy gaze. There was hardly any expression, as if the girl had chosen to block off all emotions. "You're going to get handed off to other people," he told her. "I don't know what's going to happen to you after that."
The girl inclined her head, regarding the ropes wound around her wrists with curiosity.
A knock sounded at the door. The man grumbled and stood up. "Didn't I tell you—what the hell?" A boy stood outside, wringing the bottom of his shirt between his hands. "What do you want?"
"I think I lost my parents," he said pitifully. "Can you please help me?"
"Well, I can tell you that they're not here," said the man. He began to shut the door when the timbre of the boy's voice dropped.
"I asked you to help me," the boy said coldly, thrusting outwards with his hands. Judging by the look of surprise on his face, the man hadn't expected the knife. Still, he slumped to the ground all the same. The boy yanked the knife out, grimacing, and turned to the only other occupant of the room. "Are you okay?"
Mikasa, who'd been watching the entire exchange with dull eyes, nodded vaguely. "Did you find your parents?" She asked, her voice raspy from lack of use.
The boy kneeled down, sliding the blade of the knife under the ropes. He accidentally brushed past Mikasa's skin somewhat indelicately, opening up a small cut. "Sorry."
She barely responded.
The boy looked at her with strange eyes, but continued cutting until the ropes that had previously kept her limbs immobile, were sawed through. "We have to get out of here."
Mikasa massaged her wrists. "Where are we going to go?"
A new voice sounded. "Nowhere." The boy was suddenly lifted up by another man who'd, unbeknownst to Mikasa or the boy, entered the room. The boy began to choke, trying to gulp down breaths, but the man's grip was too strong.
The boy waved his hand at Mikasa. "Fight!" He wheezed. "Fight!"
Mikasa saw the knife the boy had dropped. It lay on the ground innocently, the blood staining the blade faded to a dark rusty colour. Reaching toward it, she picked it up by its handle and aimed it at the intruder. Her hands shook, betraying the look of cool confidence on her face.
"You have to fight!" The boy choked out, clawing at the man's hands.
Fight? The word echoed in Mikasa's mind. Looking at the scene in front of her, a boy just a few years older, slowly getting the life drained out of him, she felt something deep within her shift. This wasn't something she was entirely unfamiliar with. Images of her father after a hunt, dead bodies of animals dangling from his arm and hanging in the smokehouse, drifted through her mind's eye. The one time she'd witnessed wild dogs hunting rabbits, sinking their long canines into the soft necks of their prey. This was survival. I must fight. Steeling herself, Mikasa's fingers tightened around the grip of the knife so much so the wood handle cracked. Shifting her weight to her back foot, she took off in a burst of speed, aiming for the man. I must fight.
When the blade sank into his back, the man dropped the boy out of pure surprise and wheeled around on Mikasa. "You little brat," he growled, reaching his meaty hands out towards her. Mikasa, still strung on pure adrenaline, darted out of his way. The man lunged after her, managing to grab her by the hair. She yelped and taking a page from the boy's book, sank her nails into the calloused hand.
Then, the grip loosened and with a dull thud, the man fell forwards. Mikasa looked up and saw a girl pulling the very knife she'd dropped earlier out of the assailant's neck. "Are you okay?" She asked.
Finally, Mikasa's face crumpled and she began to cry. "My parents…my home…" Snatches of phrases and words punctuated her sobs.
"You can come live with us."
Mikasa lifted her head at the voice. The girl bent down and handed Mikasa a handkerchief to wipe the tears from her face.
"You can live with us if you'd like," repeated the girl. "It's just me and my brother." She pushed one of the bodies out of the way, letting Mikasa and the boy exit first.
"It's a small house," said the boy. "A really small house."
"Levi," the girl chastised. Then, she turned to Mikasa. "What do you say?" Mikasa nodded silently. Taking the older girl's outstretched hand, she followed her to their horses. "We usually hunt around this area," she explained. "I was just getting ready to go back when Levi saw the light from the window."
Mikasa looked down at their feet, watching the indents their shoes made in the soft soil. "It's very cold," she said, curling her hand into a fist around the cloth of her dress. She felt a warm hand slip into her own. Looking over to her side, she saw Levi walking alongside her, but staring pointedly in the other direction.
"Don't get lost," he said brusquely.
The girl took Mikasa's other hand in her own. "You can come home with us," she promised. The smile on her face was at odds with her harsh features, but it lit them up all the same. "My name is Reya."
"Mikasa." She said quietly. She looked over at the boy.
"I'm Levi," he said. "Reya is my older sister."
Mikasa smiled at him. "Thank you," she said.
Levi's face grew red, the tips of his ears tinged with the colour. "I should be thanking you," he muttered. "You saved me."
"You saved me, too. I guess that makes us even. And you too," said Mikasa to Reya. "Thank you."
Reya brushed her hand through Mikasa's hair affectionately. "You're going to be okay. Don't worry. We'll take care of you."
Leave me a review and let me know what you think! Input is greatly appreciated, as I'm still parsing out future chapters.