All characters property of Isayama Hajime...

Day 1 – Childhood

Keep alert. Blend in with the crowd. Those were two of the more important rules Levi had learned for surviving in the underground and on the streets of Mitras. And today he was once again putting them to use as he worked the East Market, alert for any opportunity to pick up some work or steal something from an unattended stall. Pickpocketing could also be good, though of course target choice was all-important.

Levi had found that those from Outside were often easier to target – many of those fools seemed to get overwhelmed by the crowds and bustle, or were just so focused on the business they hoped to get done in the capital that they hadn't any attention to spare for one more small child pushing past them in the crowd. And even at nine years old, Levi was still most definitely small. It could be a bother, like when some of the larger children would try to gang up on him and take that day's yield, but over time Levi had learned to mostly work his small size to his advantage. People naturally assumed he was younger, and therefore were less likely to see him as any sort of threat. Combined with his ever-increasing speed and strength, it meant he could scramble a living more easily than most of the other kids. He was even able to help a few of the younger ones sometimes.

He scanned the rapidly filling market again, intent on choosing his first target of the day. This was the time most of the merchants from outside the capital arrived to either set up shop for the day or deliver their wares to the businesses lining the perimeter of the square. The latter were often easier targets, since the owners would usually go into the shop and leave their cart unattended for a few minutes.

Then a cart rumbled past him, with a small carriage following close behind, and pulled up in front of the draper's shop. A quick glance showed him the cargo was a mixed lot, and not packed quite as well as it could be. If a few small items went missing perhaps it would be assumed they fell out along the way. Levi ducked into the nearest alleyway and waited for the merchant to get out of the carriage.

Moments later the door opened to reveal the man, his wife, and his young daughter. The girl was proclaiming in a decided tone that "Frederick" had to come with her since "it's his first time in the big city and he wants to see it too!" After a bit of half-hearted argument from the mother ("what if you lose him?" etc.) her parents gave up trying to persuade her and the entire family headed into the shop – the girl proudly holding a carved wooden horse which Levi supposed to be "Frederick". The coachman then drove the carriage away, and Levi saw his chance to slip into the back of the cart and see if there was anything worth having.

He was just starting to work open what looked like a crate of silverware when suddenly, Levi felt he was being watched. He quickly glanced over his shoulder to see who had spotted him. It was the girl. The daughter of the merchant he was currently trying to relieve of extra merchandise. She stood there in her yellow sundress and slightly scuffed shoes, her horse statue tucked carefully under one arm (facing forward so it could "see" too, he noticed), and large brown eyes peering curiously up at him from behind slightly-too-large spectacles which had slid a bit down her nose.

"Hullo" she said. "Are you an urchin?"

Levi scowled at the girl. What sort of question was that? Or more importantly, who would ask someone that to their face? Apparently this girl would, and it seemed she took his silence as her cue to keep talking.

"Mamma told me that children who are dirty and don't have any mamma or papa to look after them and don't have enough to eat and are running around the streets are urchins, so when I saw you I thought maybe you were one. I've never met an urchin before."

Levi scowled harder at the annoying brat, then hopped down out of the cart to stand in front of her.

"I'm not dirty."

Her eyes lit up and she smiled. "Ooh, you can talk!" Then she looked him up and down, seeming to carefully consider his appearance. "You're not very dirty. But you're not completely clean either."

Levi took a deep breath. He didn't want to be too mean to the girl, since she was obviously at least a few years younger than him (even though she was almost as tall as he was) and he didn't want her causing a scene. But she was just so annoying.

"Well, you're not completely clean!" He pointed to her stained white stockings.

She looked down. "Oh, that's from when I visited my frog friends at the pond before we left this morning. I had to say goodbye since we probably won't see each other again."

"Huh?"

"Well, we stayed at an Inn last night outside the city since it was too late to get in and we won't be stopping there on the way home, and anyway my heron friend will probably have eaten some by the time we're heading back home, so even if we do stop there again not everyone will be there in a way I can say hi to. Have you ever seen a heron?"

Levi considered for a moment. He wasn't sure he even knew what a heron was. "No."

"Hmm. Well, they're mostly gray and bigger than you and me, well – taller anyway, and have a snaky neck and a beak like a spear so they can spear fish, I saw heron friend do it, and Papa told me that sometimes they eat frogs too – "

His confusion must have shown because when she looked up from her explanation she cocked her head to one side and said "I guess it would be better if I could draw you a picture, but I don't have my notebook with me. Maybe I could go get Papa's!"

"Papa" was the last person Levi wanted to show up at the moment, but before he could say anything about it his stomach growled.

"Oh, are you hungry?"

Levi glanced about. Now that "Papa" had been mentioned he remembered that it really would be best if he left soon. Now that the girl had shown up his chance to get anything from here was gone. He really should be moving on.

While he was thinking, the girl had scrambled up into the cart herself and was opening a wicker basket. "Here's some bread and cheese. That's my favorite breakfast. This is the snack basket, so it's okay if you have some too."

And before he could fully process this latest set of information, she was handing him a cloth-wrapped parcel. Inside it was several small loaves of bread and a wedge of yellowish cheese. Looked like he wouldn't have to worry about food for today.

She hopped out of the cart, and dusted a few crumbs off her dress with one hand. Levi gave her a sideways glance as she did so. Maybe this girl wasn't so bad after all.

"Thanks for the food. I have to go now." He began to walk away.

"Bye, Urchin! It was nice meeting you!" She was waving and smiling as she said it.

Nope. He changed his mind.

The girl was annoying after all.

.-.-.-.

Well, here's my first proper foray into writing for a fandom other than Bleach, and it's for one of my favorite pairings of all time. :)

(In other news... Yes! I'm alive! Just busy and writing slowly as usual...)

Anyhow, saw it was LeviHan Week on tumblr and was inspired to participate (these are/will be also posted over there on my blog). Won't be in order since that's simply not how they're coming to me.