Chapter One: The Past
Ah. How long has it been? I've forgotten. The paper I had once used to keep count of the days had long been abandoned and disposed of – it is a natural reaction, I suppose. The anger, and disappointment that is. Once the numbers started reaching four digits, the hope you once harboured and held so closely to your heart decrease in proportion. There was nothing to reignite the spark even if I wanted to. After all, if you had gone through this long without so much as a sign for your expectations, what evidence was there to substantiate your anticipation?
What do you have left to convince yourself of anything but the worst?
... I'm rambling on to myself again, aren't I? It's happening more frequently now than it was before. Maybe I truly am going insane.
"Hey, you – yes, you – do you want to hear a story?
Yes? Good. Let's see, where should I start? Maybe I should do it the traditional way. Here goes:
Once upon a time, humanity faced a tragedy they had never anticipated before – Extinction. Or, at least, the impending doom of extinction. A specie, so used to being the superior beings to others, so used to being the hunters rather than the contrary, faced their retribution after the decades of basking in comfort. Helpless they were as they watched their families, friends, even the strangers they past by during their daily routines get devoured by creatures that were much stronger and taller than they were – at least thrice in height and ranging up to fifteen meters.
Titans.
Ironically, other than the evident difference in built, their appearance resembled just like humans. And humans, with the fear in their eyes and vulnerability were attacked – hunted – just like animals they have pursued prior to this. Yet animals remained unscathed during the process. Perhaps the world had been contaminated by the likes of humans, and some divine intervention was bestowed over Earth – attempting to clean its filth off the surface of itself.
Regardless, since that day, humanity lost its first battle out of the many to come."
"Tch. Why are you telling me what I've already been told?" Erik's voice cut through mine, sitting across the dining table in my house with his hand supporting his head. The face of a bored teenager was with the Garrison situated within the walls of Rose.
"Do they not teach the virtues of patience where you came from?" Throwing the bun I had at him, my palm rested upon the table before pushing myself up from the seat – putting out the fire before grabbing two teacups from the shelf.
"Nobody really knows when it happened now, but these walls were erected to protect the remaining number of us behind a facade of safety. And within these walls lived a family, whose name would ring a bell to many residences.
Evalisse.
They were a young family with both husband and wife serving for the military; Lilia Evalisse from Garrison and Zachary Evalisse from Military Police. An outstanding couple among their peers; Well-liked, responsible, kind and skilful. Which was why, with all of these factors in mind, no one really knew how what happened happened. But – how long did you say it was again? Ah, yes – five years ago, during the attack on Wall Maria, they were charged with abandonment of duty which was punishable by death."
"They chickened out?" Sipping his tea, Erik's posture indicated interests with his body leaning forward on the table as I settled back down on my seat. A finger tracing around the rim of the cup.
"Well, no – Maybe. Nobody knows for sure.
They disappeared on that day, and no one has ever seen them since. Which was queer considering the low survival rate if they had disappeared off the walls – with the fact that their 3DMG would have ran out of gas at some point, and ground travelling without horses was out of question in the world out here... Or so I've been told.
But even after a thorough search of the area, they could not find any traces of their existence, any tracks or any corpses that were theirs. They could not find the law breakers and hence, they could not charge them for their crimes.
...
Which was why they resorted to capturing their child, aged thirteen at that time, a week after the damage was done. Initially, they had hoped that this would lure them to appear and retrieve the only child they have had, and their only family member left. That way, they could capture them and the guards could finish their mission at last, you see.
Unfortunate for them though, it never happened. They never came back for their child."
With a small huff, the smoke emitting from hot tea floated away with the flow of the wind, cooling the beverage before sips were taken to quench my thirst.
"What happened to the kiddo, then?" Erik enquired.
"... Say, Erik. You've only just been assigned here, right? Have you ever questioned why you are here?" A question for a question, and the side of my lip twitched into a cheeky grin at the boy opposite me.
"Tch, why are you asking this now for? An order is an order. As long as you're not a titan, I don't care." Crossing his arms across his chest in a defiant motion, his brows narrowed into a frown. His answer to my question was not one that held an element of surprise. In fact, it was normal – ask any of the Garrison guards and they would probably have said the same thing.
Nobody questions the status quo anymore, not as long as they get to keep their lives.
Reaching out for the empty tea cups, I stood once again, approaching the sink as my eyes held gaze at the boarded window with few beams of light sneaking into the house from its cracks.
"I've never introduced myself, have I?" My voice was soft, memories of the past slowly flooding into my mind, and with a pivot at the heels of my foot I found myself staring into the confused eyes of Erik again.
"Nice to meet you, Erik. My name is Yuka." A sincere smile reached my eyes as I extended my hand out to the boy opposite me.
"Yuka Evalisse."
Authur's Note:
Hi there! Thank you for reading my story! I hope you like the introduction to it so far but I have a few things to inform you about.
I may upload drawings of my story on deviantart under this username. The first one up is the cover page and a scene from chapter three.
First and foremost:
SPOILER ALERT. Proceeding from here on, the story will have spoilers if you're not a reader of the manga. And I do mean, major spoilers.
But of course, I will warn you on the start of manga spoilers (if any) before you read the chapter.
Okay, proceeding on.
I have not written anything further than this.
Okay, see, I wrote this out of a surge of inspiration from the story as I just finished catching up with the manga, and I had this idea for days that I couldn't get it out of my mind. So I apologize if you're yearning to read more. Do leave reviews so I know how you feel though, and it may get my lazy ass into writing. It's not a threat, but merely because I can only feel the sense of urgency if I know there are people waiting.
About Eren and the story plot in general:
I'm basing this entirely off memory and so some things may not be accurate with the manga but it is how this story would go. As for Eren, I know Yuka's family situation is similar to Eren's father and trust me, I've got a plot in mind as to why. I'm not ripping Eren off the story, don't worry.
About Levi
Okay, this is really important. I know he's supposed to be shockingly old, and many speculated he's 34. BUT in this story, he's around 22, okay? I know some might feel that this is ridiculous, but this is also a fanfiction and my imagination. So just... Let me be please. ._. If this offends you, then I'm sorry. But I'll not change this detail.
Alright, I think this is all for now. THANK YOU FOR READING, PLEASE REVIEW, ILY ALL.