A/N: Hello, hello, and welcome to my new story! Okay, so I feel kind of guilty for starting this story without having finished Simple Gifts or The Tangled Mist, but it's okay. As always, there's this really long author's note in the beginning to introduce the story :3

Before you read the story, here's the background info: A couple of my friends have been telling me about this lovely little anime called Attack on Titan and asked me to write a fan fiction about it. Now, when they told me about it, I hadn't watched Attack on Titan yet, so I wasn't really up for the challenge. But then I went and watched all 25 episodes in one day, and now I'm COMPLETELY hooked. I am aware that there is a manga, but I have not read it, so I do not know every little detail about the world of Attack on Titan. If you've read the manga, bear with me if I write something that seems AU compared to it. I will try my best to not make this AU, but, like I said before, I confess that my knowledge is a bit limited. As soon as I find a good quality manga reading website, I'll read the manga, okay?

Words about OCs before you meet them: There are two main OCs in this story, but there are a LOT of minor OCs that make up the race I created. If you're one of those people who are suspicious of OCs, I ask that you give this a chance. I try my absolute best to create healthy characters, and I would love to know your thoughts on them. At least read until the fourth chapter or so, okay? As of this chapter, the main OCs, Estelle and Luna, do not make an appearance. At earliest, they will probably be introduced in the second chapter, not including this one since it's the prologue.

That's quite enough from me, don't you think? Now, enjoy the story, and leave a little review for me, please. Otherwise I'd just be talking to myself in these author's notes ^_^;

In Humanity We Trust

Prologue: The Plan

The sound of dozens of voices arguing and murmuring echoed loudly off the ceiling of the great mansion. Humanity's most renowned commanders, captains, elites, and scientists were gathered here to discuss a final strategy to defeat the Titans after so many failed attempts at eliminating the ultimate threat to their race. This Plan, produced by Erwin Smith, was said to be the last hope for the future of man. Too many had died in futile struggles to subdue the Titans, and supplies are quickly running short after such a long fight to recapture the land that was taken from them. If a new, fresh strategy wasn't acted upon soon, doom will crash down upon humanity.

The room where the conference was held was spacious and had an elegantly vaulted ceiling, thick marble columns supporting the roof, a magnificent crystal chandelier, and a floor made of colorful chunks of quartz that was so shiny that one could see their reflection in it. Expensive curtains fluttered sleepily from the cool breeze that blew into the room from a few tall open windows. The smells of various flowers drifted in from the garden outside, making the great hall seem like a pleasant and safe place.

But the men and women here cared not for the finery of the mansion, but for the Plan that they were soon to be introduced to. They sat at a long, wooden table at the center of the chamber, some fidgeting nervously with their gear and some with their hands calmly folded on the table with only a glimmer of interest on their faces.

Though the Plan had not even been explained yet, the occupants of the conference were already arguing and speculating about what sort of tactic the commander of the Survey Corps would come up with. Some had already lost hope and had high doubts that the idea would be any different than the many suicide missions before it. However, there were also a few very desperate attendees who were willing to try any sort of proposal, no matter how insane it may be. And in the middle were the small number of warriors who had not been driven mad by the past few months of bloodshed, famine, and sheer terror of the Titans. These were the ones that Erwin knew would help him carry out his Plan when the time came.

The room quieted as Erwin stepped through the grand entryway and into the view of his comrades sitting at the long table. He stood at the head of the table in silence for a moment as the last of the murmuring and whispering faded like the end of a spring rainstorm.

All eyes at the table stared at him as he looked back out at them. While his ice blue eyes scanned the room thoughtfully, he caught the sight of Hanji, a ridiculously eager smile on her face, and Levi, looking bored as always and as if he had much better things to do than attending this conference.

At last, Erwin spoke, his calm eyes looking straight ahead at the king who sat at the other end of the table in an elaborately decorated chair that made all the other occupants of the room look like they were sitting on rocks. "Thank you, my comrades, for gathering here today," the commander began, his clear voice echoing off of the high ceiling. "You are humanity's finest, and so you were chosen to be presented with this Plan. I know that many of you will not think that this strategy is wise, but I ask each and every one of you to hold your questions until the very end and to keep an open mind. The situation concerning the Titans has gotten to the point where I think it is time that we started considering more nontraditional ideas of dealing with them once and for all."

Erwin gazed at the faces of his colleagues again before going on, "If any of you here have trouble thinking outside of the box, I advise you to leave now. I do not wish for there to be riots before I am even finished speaking."

Silence hung in the air as Erwin waited, and nobody moved. If anything, most of the attendees who were uninterested before were now very curious as to what the Plan would be after listening to the commander's foreshadowing introduction.

Nodding, Erwin went on, not caring that no one had made a move to leave the chamber. "It is my belief that the key to defeating the Titans is for humanity to truly be united as one force. Though we have fought together bravely and saved the lives of our comrades, it is not enough. We still fight amongst each other, and there is still distrust in the human race."

"Wait a minute," the king demanded, looking slightly offended. "Are you saying that the government – my authority – is corrupt?"

"Not at all, your majesty," Erwin replied, never losing his cool. "Actually, what I speak of has only a small amount to do with the government of the Capital."

When the king only stared at him in confusion, the Survey Corps commander elaborated patiently, "I speak of a population of human beings who do not live within the Walls and whose loyalties do not lie with us." Erwin braced himself for the shouting and arguments before saying, "The Aquila Ninja Clan."

The room was still as the words sank in, and Hanji quickly broke the calm, "Oh, I simply adored that story when I was a kid!" she exclaimed, clasping her hands together excitedly.

As anticipated, the room immediately erupted with laughter and criticizing remarks and argument. Erwin looked up at the ceiling as he waited for it to get quiet again.

One old Garrison captain from the eastern side of Wall Rose was laughing so hard that tears were beginning to form at the corners of his small eyes. "The Aquila Ninja Clan, Erwin?" he said after calming himself down. "That is a legend we tell our kids to keep them out of trouble. Have we fallen so hard that we are considering believing the objects of our children's fairytales?"

"It is not a fairy tale!" a middle-aged captain of the Survey Corps argued. "I have seen one of them, once when I was young. She was hiding in the shadows, and she was wearing all black, and she could climb trees really well, and – and – "

The Garrison captain smacked him behind the head irritably, "Oh, please," he addressed the younger man harshly. "You probably just saw a monkey or something, 'cause that's what it sounds like from what you've been describing her."

Erwin remained composed and dignified as the two captains continued to quarrel. "I have reason to believe that they are more than simply a fairytale to tell children, Robert," the commander said to the Garrison captain. Then, he motioned to a servant standing near the exit of the meeting room, who nodded and left the room.

"Are you going to give us proof of your wild speculation, or are you just going to stand there and let these idiots walk all over you?" Levi questioned Erwin in monotone, his eyes narrowed with calculation. He had not laughed when Erwin announced his judgment, not simply for the reason that he rarely laughed in general, but because he had somewhat of respect for the commander. Also, Levi was a clever man, and so he did not make judgments before knowing all the facts, lest he wanted to look like a fool like everyone sitting around him.

Erwin caught on to Levi's intentions and was grateful that at least someone in the room had the maturity to wait until he was done before laughing at him. Even though he knew that people were going to see his proposal as a joke, he knew what he was doing, and he had his evidence.

The servant, a little lady with light brown hair, returned at that moment with two books: one, thick and covered with dust, the other, newer and notably thinner than the first. The sniggering and accusations had stopped at this point, but most of the people gathered at the conference had a bit of trouble taking Erwin seriously as he took the two books and opened the thicker of the two while setting the other down of the table in front of him.

"In order to properly explain the Plan, I must point out something in our written history." Turning to a certain page near the beginning, Erwin looked up at the council, "Here in the pages of The History of the Walls, I noticed something strange a few weeks ago. On page twenty-three, paragraph three, line five, the volume reads, 'Though the Walls were meant for all of mankind to take shelter in, a small population remained on the outside. Some chose the freedom of the outside world over the safety of the Walls, while others were criminals who were forced to stay out as punishment for their sins, but a large portion of the population were people who were simply left behind or were too late. Once the gates were closed, they were not to be opened again until at least ten years later when the Survey Corps went on their first expedition. The 1st expedition of the Survey Corps found that there was evidence that human life still existed outside Wall Maria, though there is still debate as to whether these are the marks of the humans left behind when the gate closed, or simply evolved, intelligent animals. The former, however, is the more dominate argument among modern scientists and with it comes the debate of how these unprotected humans survived for so long.'"

He finished reading the small section and snapped the book shut, sending a puff of dust particles into the air. He put the big manuscript down and looked at his comrades. Though he did not expect them to quite understand the meaning of the fragment yet, he had expected them to at least show some sort of reaction to what he just read, but they were all looking at him blankly.

Honestly a bit disappointed at the slowness of the council, though he didn't show his dissatisfaction, Erwin moved on to the smaller book that had a green cover. The title on the front, embedded in gold lettering, read The Complete Collection of Traditional Fairytales for Children.

"The story of the Aquila Ninjas is a classic story from childhood," Erwin said as he turned page after page until he found the correct story. "But as I compared The History of the Walls and The Complete Collection of Traditional Fairytales for Children, I couldn't help but notice a connection between the two in that paragraph I just read to you and this one: 'In a great forest far away, lived a group a black-cloaked people. They were rather small in stature – '"

"Hey," Hanji, her glasses gleaming with delight, nudged Levi and whispered loudly to him. "That sounds like you, don't you think?"

"Shut up, shitty glasses," was his agitated reply, causing a few people to look in their direction curiously. However, they quickly snapped their eyes away and turned their attention back to Erwin when Levi glared at them dangerously.

" – and had an almost inhuman ability in stealth. And for that, they were called ninjas, named after the old Japanese covert agents who were known to for their espionage and infiltration skills. These black-cloaked people were cursed people; they were punished to never enter the Walls and to forever be at the risk of being devoured by humanity's natural enemy. Some were too prideful to hide from the Titans. Others were evil-doers who did not deserve the mercy of the three great goddesses, Maria, Rose, and Sina. In order to survive, the black-cloaked people were united by two brothers, Cato and Columbus Aquila, to form the Aquila Ninja Clan and hide away into the Great Forest. To this day, they remain beyond the Walls, hiding from and spying on the Titans. Though they hate Titans as much as we do, they are no friend of ours. If one should venture into ninja territory, only death will await them."

As Erwin finished, a young female officer from the Military Police shuddered and whispered to her friend, "I hated that story when I was little. It only brought nightmares. Who the hell would put a creepy legend like that in a children's book?"

In contrast, Hanji leapt from her seat and proclaimed with much enthusiasm, "That was one of my absolute favorites!" She then pointed a finger at the MP officer who had just spoken, "I found it simply fascinating when my mother first told it to me. Oh, wouldn't it be wonderful to meet one of them?" a dreamy look entered her eyes. "How can something like that give you nightmares, I would like to know."

The MP officer's face flushed with color a little upon hearing the bespectacled woman's words. "I-it doesn't matter anyway!" she argued. "It's just a fairytale, a story parents tell their kids to teach them not to go beyond the Walls and not to be too prideful, lest they want to be punished like the ninjas. If you're so interested in this sort of rubbish, by all means, be my guest. I'm not going to stop you from going beyond Wall Maria and getting yourself killed while looking for something that doesn't exist."

Hanji was about to retort when Erwin cleared his throat at them. They both looked at the commander for a second before slowly sitting back in their chairs.

"As I was saying," Erwin continued his presentation. "Am I the only one here who thought it odd how striking the similarities between the people who were left out of the Walls…" – he held up The Complete Collection of Fairytales for Children – "…were to the black-cloaked people in this manuscript?

"Both groups never made it into the Walls when they were built. There have been no confirmed sightings of either of these two supposedly different races of people, although some have claimed that they've seen a ninja but have offered no evidence to make their claim valid. The first Survey Corps found evidence of continued human life over a hundred years ago as explained by The History of the Walls. And not to mention…" Erwin flipped the pages of The Complete Collection of Fairytales for Children until he came to the story he had just read. "… 'The Aquila Ninjas' is the only story in this book of which the original teller's name is unknown."

And, indeed, while many other tales in the volume had an indication of who was believed to have first told the story, there was no name under this one.

Erwin, knowing that the background information has been given to his colleagues, decided to go straight on to the Plan. "From these signals, I believe that there is a small population of people living out in the forests beyond the western side of Wall Maria. Whether they may be skilled ninjas or homeless, starving cowards hiding in holes in the ground, my strategy is this: the Survey Corps will venture out to the forest and look for them."

There was a roar of disapproval from the council at once, but Erwin didn't stop, knowing that he had to get everything out before people stop listening altogether.

"To have survived on their own without the protection of the Walls for this long, they must have abilities and knowledge that would be greatly helpful to us. If we can find them and convince them to unite with us, we will have an advantage, and if it's true that they are adept in espionage, that will be a massive aid to our scouts."

"You appear to be basing much of your Plan on 'if's, Commander Smith," Dot Pixis, the commander of the Garrison regiment stated not unkindly.

"I know, Commander Pixis," Erwin answered, "for I cannot promise that it will do well or that the Aquila Ninjas even exist. But even you must agree that if it does succeed, it would be worth the hardships."

"No, no, no!" the king shouted while shaking his head in exasperation. "This Plan of yours is too risky. Who would agree to carry it out? Who would go on a senseless mission of this magnitude? There is no one here who would be so foolish – so insane – "

For the second time that day, Hanji jumped up from her chair, flapping her hand frantically in the air. "I would go, your majesty! I would give anything to go on this mission!"

The king indifferently waved her offer away. "No, no, you don't count, Squad Leader Zoë. We all know you've been insane since day one. It's not a surprise." he deadpanned, covering his eyes with his hands tiredly.

Hanji stood there for a moment, her mouth hanging slightly open. "O-oh…"

Erwin gave her a pat on the back to show that he appreciated her effort anyways. Then he glanced at Levi who sat beside Hanji.

The shorter man hadn't made any insulting or inappropriate comments during the time Erwin was speaking, and the commander deemed it to be a good sign. It meant that Levi was actually taking the time to very carefully think about what he had said.

Erwin had not told Levi about the Plan before explaining it to the entire military council, so he had no idea what the corporal's reaction would be. Erwin hoped that Levi would trust him and agree to carry out the Plan, but he could not be certain of whether he consider it folly or genius. In both cases, he would find something rude to say.

Erwin secretly took pride in being practically the only person who can hold a casual conversation with Levi. The man was hard to approach, and almost every sentence that came out of his venomous mouth was meant to mock, insult, or strike fear into the hearts of just about everyone within hearing distance. But nonetheless, Levi was a good and skilled soldier, and Erwin would need his talents in case the ninjas refused to negotiate. And if Humanity's Strongest agreed to the strategy, it may give others the motivation to take part in the Plan too.

"No, I repeat, no," the king was shaking his head violently, snapping Erwin out of his thoughts. "I will not stand for it! Commander Smith, I am sorry, but your Plan is unacceptable. I will not allow my men to walk out into Titan territory driven only by a crack-pot theory of yours. Those of you who wish to go, you may go, but you will not force unwilling men to join you; I won't allow it!"

Erwin restrained himself from telling the king that he knew the ninjas were out there. Long ago, he met a black-cloaked man in the forest outside of Wall Maria, with whom he became acquainted with. He never saw that man inside the Walls, only three times while he was on expeditions. Though Erwin could not be sure that the man was a ninja, he speculated, and the evidence seemed clear. It's been seven years since then, but Erwin knew that if he found the man, he'd be able to find the ninjas.

Clenching his jaw against spilling out that story to his colleagues, the Survey Corps commander was aware that if he claimed he saw the ninja now, it would make the story look like a desperate attempt to get people to reconsider his Plan. He wasn't going to do that. The king might deem him to be seriously mentally unhealthy and have him stripped of his position as commander. That was something he could not risk. Even if the Plan is bitterly disapproved and discarded by the council, he could not put it into action in secret from the cell of a nuthouse.

The king was still ranting about his dissatisfaction with the Plan, and Erwin knew that if the king didn't pass it, the rest of the meeting would not approve either. The king's vote was worth at least ten votes more than that of everyone else.

"And even if the ninjas do exist," said a Garrison captain, worriedly, "how can we even be sure that they'll help us? If they're really people who were left behind when our ancestors retreated through the Walls, there's no telling if they'll hold a grudge against us for leaving them to die."

The king nodded in agreement. "The council does not approve upon your tactic, Commander Smith," he announced as expected. "It has been dismissed, and so are you."

Erwin gave a small sigh. He hoped that it would not have come to this. He had hoped that he would not have to use Plan B, but since he did not have the support of the king, he had no other choice. He would have to execute the Plan in secret, behind the backs of the Military Police and royal family.

A/N: Did I mention that I love Hanji? I have so much fun writing her! Eren and Levi might be a little harder... but I'll get used to their personalities soon, I'm sure. It's a bit hard to make everything that comes out of Levi's mouth seem mean. I don't have the talent that some authors do at keeping canon characters perfectly in character. That's something I need to work on. If you've got tips or opinions for me, leave a review, and tell me if you want more, alright?

Next time: *Gasp* Is Erwin seriously going to sneak out? And who would go with him to carry out his Plan (Hanji, obviously)? Will Eren, Mikasa, and Armin come too (duh...)? Learn more about the Aquila Ninja Clan, and the answers to these very cheesy questions next chapter!