Child of the Wastelands

Major AU.

Summary: Eren Jaeger is a famous Titan Hunter who happens upon an orphaned child just in time to prevent him from being devoured. He offers to take the child under his wing. With nowhere to go and nothing to lose, the child accepts. Role reversal: adult!Eren and child!Levi.

Chapter One – Eren Jaeger

The earth trembled. Each pound of a heavy footstep on solid ground sent vibrations through the dirt, alerting any living thing nearby to the presence of a Titan – huge, mindless, man-eating creatures possessing grotesque physiques (a sad, demented imitation of the human body), but lacking any form of genitalia. One, two, three – and its hulking figure lumbered into view from the trees, its teeth bared in a horrible parody of a smile. Unkempt strands of stringy black hair hung over its eyes, which swiveled to the ground and honed in on the tiny human child kneeling on the ground beside a severed head and a bloody foot.

The human child froze at the sight of the grinning giant, and hurriedly grabbed the head and the foot. It would be impossible to outrun this thing, but – here, he cast a quick glance towards the enormous rock wall at his back – if he could just squeeze himself far enough back into one of the caves, he might be able to escape death.

The ground rumbled as the Titan began to walk towards him. There was no time, he had to do this fast if he wanted to live. He turned on his heel and rushed into the closest cave mouth, praying that it would be too small for the Titan to follow or reach him. The cave swerved sharply to the left, ending in a small, cramped, narrow space. There was a little hollow that ducked under the wall, which looked to be a perfect fit for his tiny body (and this would be the first time he was thankful for his embarrassingly short stature). He squeezed into the hollow, clutching the severed body parts to him. It was disgusting with the way the flesh squelched and the remaining blood dripped on to the cave floor, but these were the only remnants he had of his parents. They had already been devoured.

The cave shook. His little heart pounded with fear as a loud scrabbling noise echoed from the entrance. The Titan was searching for him. He shrank back into the hollow as far as he could, praying that the Titan would eventually give up and leave him alone. He could see the tips of those enormous fingers stretching around the corner, and he felt utterly paralyzed.

I'm going to die.

The cave's layout was advantageous in the fact that the Titan's arm wouldn't be flexible enough to reach all the way to the end where the child was, but that didn't stop him from thinking of his inevitable death.

I'm going to die. Someone… anyone… help me!

He squeezed his eyes shut and prayed. If nobody answered, then he would die a painful, bloody death as Titan food. The only comfort he could derive from that was the fact that he would be able to see his parents again.

Help me…

The scrabbling of fingers against rock continued.

Twin blades of steel flashed down, cutting out a deep chunk from the back of a Titan's neck. The seven-meter class flopped to the ground, hot steam hissing from the dissipating body. A quick swing-and-grapple maneuver later, another flash of gleaming steel, and its companion's body joined the first.

Eren Jaeger, twenty-five years old, and one of the most famous Titan Hunters in the world, landed on a nearby tree branch. Wiping the sweat from his brow, he cast a searching glance around him, sweeping the perimeter for any other Titans that might be in the vicinity. There had been an unusually large group of them in the area this time, and in the ensuing clash he'd gotten separated from Mikasa and the others. It was near suicidal to be taking on Titans alone, but he wasn't considered one of the best for nothing.

His ears picked up a distant rumble, and instantly he began to swing himself in that direction. As the trees began to thin out, he cursed to himself. The Titan was in an open area, which meant it would be a hundred times harder to kill the damn thing (especially since he was alone and had no back-up). Well, if he couldn't do it, then his name wasn't Eren Jaeger.

The brunet landed on a bough jutting out from a tree right at the edge of the forest. He saw the Titan, a butt-ugly ten-meter class with the worst case of uncombed hair he had ever seen (and, considering his own hair looked like a rat's nest in the morning, that was definitely saying something). His eyes narrowed. It looked like it was trying to get at something inside the rock wall in front of it. His grip tightened on the handles. Whoever was inside had better still be alive!

Eren silently judged the distance between him and the Titan. Damn, it was too far for him to grapple on to the Titan's shoulder from his position. He was going to have to do this the hard way.

Before attempting his daring rescue, he made sure that there were absolutely no other Titans nearby. He wasn't going to do this carelessly; one mistake and he'd end up in a Titan's belly.

Satisfied when his survey revealed no Titans around (and he made damn sure that there weren't any Deviants, either), Eren dropped to the ground from the branch and quickly made his way over to the Titan. It was preoccupied with whoever was hiding inside the wall, so it took little effort for Eren to grapple and swing his way on to its back.

The Titan finally took notice of him as he stood above the nape of its exposed neck. It began to withdraw its arm from the hole it had stuck it in to, but it was too slow. Eren's twin blades slashed its weak point open, and it dropped like a stone in water. Steam began to hiss from the body. The Titan Hunter leaped into the mouth of the cave from its back.

"Hey!" he yelled, cupping one hand around his mouth. "Hello? Is anybody in here? The Titan's dead now, so you can come out!"

His voice echoed in the cave, but he didn't hear anyone reply. Frowning, he began to walk further in. The Titan had been trying to get at someone or something, so obviously the cave wasn't empty. Whoever was hiding must think that he was lying. Tch.

The space began to get smaller, so he was forced to walk at an awkward, hunched angle. When he rounded the corner, he heard a tiny whimper and the uneven breaths of someone forcing themselves to be quiet. He grinned victoriously.

"Hey! I said the Titan's dead, you know," he called out.

It was dark, but Eren's trained ears heard the rustle of fabric and a soft gasp that escaped unbidden from its owner's mouth. There was movement in the darkness, and Eren began to scoot backwards so that the person could come out.

"Who are you?"

A child's whisper cut through the darkness. It was distinctly boyish, although by the sound of it, the voice came from a very young boy since it was still a bit high-pitched.

"My name's Eren Jaeger. I'm a Titan Hunter," Eren said, briefly introducing himself. He glanced backwards to make sure no other Titans had come to the wall.

"I've heard of you," the child declared. As he came out of his hiding spot, Eren began to make out his visible features. "You're a Hunter from Shiganshima."

"That's correct," Eren confirmed, squinting at the tiny boy. He had short, cropped hair that framed his face, which was slightly pudgy and seemed out of place on his skinny frame. His eyes were wide and dark-gray in the dim light. Eren almost blanched when he realized the kid was carrying a severed head and a foot. That would explain the dark splatters on his dirty clothing, then.

He gestured to the body parts, "Were those…"

The child looked down, his grip tightening. "Yeah. My parents," he supplied. "They were eaten."

"Sorry for your loss, kid," Eren said, straightening back up once the cave ceiling began to slope upwards. "Do you want to bury them?"

The boy nodded slowly. Eren smiled and was about to say something when he felt a tremor. Fuck, more Titans. The boy began to look frightened.

Eren peered outside the cave mouth and counted four seven-meter class Titans. It could've been worse. He withdrew back into the cave and prepared to go hunting.

"Hey, kid," he called, standing at the mouth of the cave and watching the Titans draw closer to him. "What's your name?"

The boy looked up at him with a confused expression. Then he looked away shyly and mumbled, "'m Levi."

"Levi, is it?" The kid nodded. "Okay, Levi." Eren gave him a sunny grin, and mouthed, "Watch me."

And then he was gone, a single figure airborn amongst the Titans. Levi blinked, watching Eren swing his way effortlessly around the Titans. A single slash from twin blades killed the one closest to the cave, its huge body falling like a puppet with its strings cut. A hand tried to grab the Hunter's lines, but he twisted out of the way. He landed on the shoulder of the third Titan and sliced out its weak point before grappling out of the way of the fourth Titan. The sunlight gleamed on his steel blades as he cleaved through the second Titan's arm, running up the length of the appendage towards the neck. When the Titan tried to bite him, he leaped out of the way, anchoring his hook to a different part of the Titan's body.

Watching Eren was an experience in itself. Young Levi was in utter awe of the Hunter's superb skills and amazing agility, and the ease Eren seemed to have disposing of four Titans by himself. Levi absently sat cross-legged at the mouth of the cave, holding his parents' severed parts close, and simply watched Eren in action.

One day, I want to be like him.

Eren finished off the last Titan with a deep cut to the nape. As he descended to the ground, the Titans' bodies hissing and decomposing around him, he looked up towards the cave where Levi sat, watching him. He gave the boy a thumbs-up and swiped his hand across his face, making his bangs stick unpleasantly to his sweaty forehead.

There weren't any more Titans coming, so Eren beckoned for Levi to come down. The boy awkwardly scrambled down from the cave while holding on to the severed parts. He approached the Hunter with a small smile.

Eren bent down to the boy's eye level. "Hey, buddy," he greeted. "It must be hard to carry those around all the time. Why don't you bury them here?" He loosely gestured to the open space where they were standing.

"I don't have a marker," Levi muttered, kicking at the ground.

"You don't need one," Eren said. His face took on a somber look. "Just be grateful that you have something to bury." Levi immediately heard the unspoken words: because others only get empty coffins.

"Okay," he replied, trekking over to the base of the rock wall. He gently set the parts down and began to dig, with Eren keeping a watchful eye on their surroundings in case any Titans decided to show up. It was difficult with his small hands, but he eventually dug a hole large enough to bury his mother's head and his father's foot. He covered them up slowly, as if he was trying to hold on to his last memories of them before they were swallowed by a Titan.

"Are you done?"

The words startled him out of his funk. He glanced up at Eren, who was leaning nonchalantly against the rock wall. He looked down to see that he was indeed finished. There was a noticeable bump rising from the surface of the dirt, marking his parents' grave. He would have no marker, but he could remember where it was. Levi stared at it, memorizing it, and memorizing the surroundings so he would be able to return later.

When he finished, he stood up and patted the dirt from his knees. He frowned at his dirt-crusted fingernails; he'd have to wash those as soon as he got the chance to clean himself.

"Levi." The light call of his name caught his attention. He looked at Eren. "It's not safe for a kid to wander around on his own. Do you want to come with me?"

Levi stared. Eren wanted him to go with him?

"Won't I slow you down?" the child voiced. "You'll have to keep protecting me while fighting Titans and I don't want to be a burden on you."

"Nah, it'll be alright. I just need to find my group and we'll all be back to Rose in no time," Eren said cheerfully. "I'll just have to avoid the Titans as much as I can until I can locate them."

"But–"

"Levi, it's okay." Eren smiled down at him, and gently took his hand despite it being covered in dirt and dried blood. "You're not alone anymore. I'll be here for you."

The little boy clutched Eren's hand tightly. It was large and warm, and spoke volumes about Eren's kindness. He wanted so badly to let go, to tell the Hunter that it was a mistake to take him along, but he couldn't. Eren was right, he wouldn't last a minute out there on his own. It wouldn't be too bad to go with him, right? Levi hoped that for once, everything would go right. He didn't think he would be able to stand it if Eren got eaten, and it would be his fault for needing Eren to protect him. He would be alone again.

"Come on, Levi. Let's go," Eren said quietly, leading the boy away from his parents' grave. Levi cast a brief glance back to the small, bare mound at the base of the wall.

Goodbye, Mother. Goodbye, Father. I'm going now, he told them. Then he turned back and faced straight ahead, ready to begin a new chapter in his life.

I have no excuses. I should be working on Blazing Sky, and I am, I promise, but today I was struck with an inexplicable urge to write this SnK fic. So I did. I don't know how long it's going to be or how long it will take me to update ('cause real life is a pain in the ass to deal with), but I hope you enjoyed this first chapter!

See you next time.

MangaFreak15