Basic summary: Sasha is saved by Levi, suffers a bump on the head and things change.

This is a quick, light story, humor and some romance. Levi x Sasha, and whoever else I come up with along the way.

This is set just after training so Sasha and her teammates are still inexperienced during the Trost arc, and here is where I take the story in a different direction.

As for names, I researched and looked at the Japanese names and English translations and went with the most used or ones which I prefer.

Enjoy!

~Dwellin

In no way does Dwellin own, produce, write, draw, or participate in the creative process or production of Shingeki no Kyogin (or, if you prefer, Attack On Titan) in any way, form, or manner. It is the brainchild of Hajime Isayama.

Chapter 1

The sky overhead was one of those rare days where everything about it was perfect, being the oft-looked for brilliant shade of blue, clouds high and fluffy, and with the sun shining brightly overhead. To accent that, the air was crisp and clear, yes indeed, it was the perfect day for being out and about with friends to enjoy life and the day. Except for one thing—

If one lowered their eyes from the sky and turned to the sights and sounds below, the sight was a stark contrast: a town in shambles with pillars of smoke ascending smudging the skyline while below were piles of carts, stalls, and the debris of smashed buildings littering the streets making a few of them difficult to traverse.

What appeared to be oversized human beings moved slowly through the broken bones of the city, giant demented beings with the wits of small murderous children. The damage they left in their wake was devastating but it was a sight wasted on them. Their focus was only on finding and snatching up unfortunates unable to escape.

When any human lifted their gaze to the house roofs of the town, the immediate scene of wreckage was less evident outside of the plumes of smoke obscuring whole sections of the damaged city. However, it was impossible to ignore the mountains of moving flesh, most head and shoulders above the buildings, some smaller but all with the same horrifying appetite.

Then there were the sounds. Beyond the dreaded sound of the massive foot treads were screams of those not quick enough to evade the swooping of hands wider than the height of a tall man. Their fate was inevitable; raised to devouring mouths to be eaten but never consumed by the terror of humankind: Titans.

Sasha Braus took in the scene through wide, alarmed eyes, taking in the devastation from her perch on top of a roof, one hand braced against the chimney. She had momentary lost sight of her squad for this was her first encounter and no matter how one prepared for the battle, the real thing was traumatizing. She just had to take a moment and get herself back under control.

"Just take a deep breath." She admonished herself in a hoarse whisper while her eyes scanned the horizon. "Keep it together, people are counting on you." Truth be told, right at that moment Sasha would have liked nothing more than to disappear into the shadow of the chimney she stood resting in. At the shocking reality of the situation a rush of fear and self-doubt welled up from unknown depths that she had not known even existed. It was a sobering moment of self-realization. The weight of it all caused her to drop her face to stare, uncomprehendingly, at her feet as thoughts overwhelmed her.

Sasha had no illusions about herself and knew if any civilian that happened to see her silhouetted against the sky they wouldn't see the image of a brave soldier surveying the battle before her. If they had the time, what had to be obvious were the quivering legs, hunched shoulders, and crouched figure ready to dart off to safety. If there was such a place.

She didn't even bother to berate herself for lack of what she regarded as courage, there just wasn't time and this wasn't the place, maybe later. Sasha knew she wasn't the traditional and courageous female heroine like those in books, she left that for those who were, but she was loyal and fierce when it came to her friends and teammates, and she wasn't about to let them down. Gathering what shreds of self-control she expected herself to have, she heaved a sigh and lifted her head again to regard the battle.

Just then, out of the corner of her eye she saw a tall Titan; not Wall-Maria tall, not Colossus-tall, but Titans didn't haven't to be that huge in order to do a snatch and snack on those too slow to escape. She held her breath, willing it to shamble off in another direction hoping it couldn't distinguish her hiding in the shadow for she was about out of fuel, hope, and sure to be was scraping the barrel of luck.

The newly graduated member of the one hundred and fourth training corps, kept her eyes trained on the Titan whose shoulders were roof-level. If he turned his head right then, he would be staring giant eyeball to minuscule eyeball with her, but thankfully, that last scrap of luck held true and he continued his mindless amble wearing the ever-present creepy grin on his face.

Watching his ear pass and then the back of his head, she slowly let out the breath she had unknowingly held in. That last scrap of luck at the bottom of the barrel had held true.

Good riddance, she thought as she huffed a sigh, stared down at a ruined blade in her hand and then straightened her shoulders. Time to get back to work and earn her paycheck. Well, after getting back and getting more fuel, more blades, and then hook up with the others.

That's when Sasha turned and found herself facing an eye. A. Really. Gigantic. Eye. And one that was centered on her. "How… when"… was all that came out of her mouth.

A bad day just got worse.

Even as Sasha instinctively whirled away, all the long hours of training ground into her gave Sasha a near innate ability to search and aim for a landing spot to regroup. However, when snapping the trigger of the 3-D device she had expected to hear the familiar sound of hooks being released and feel the instant lurch and pull of her gear . Instead all she heard was the sound of a hiss that faded into dead silence. Sasha knew then that not only was she out of fuel but obviously, also out of luck.

"No no noooooo!"

Sasha sensed more than saw, a shadow pass overhead but ignored it. Her old escape plan of launching away in a graceful arc changed hastily to racing away along the rooftop as fast as she could. That was the plan. It was too bad that the intended execution of said plan didn't live up to expectations.

The brown-haired girl spun, intent on distancing herself as far as possible from the danger of being snatched and eaten, but as luck would have it, being the fickle bitch it is, the boot she pivoted on slipped causing to fall and tumble. The next thing Sasha was aware of was rolling uncontrollably down the tiled roof.

It was the unexpected action of falling that saved her from the huge hand smacking down where a moment ago she had been. Shattered pieces and shards of roof tiles went flying off in all directions. Sasha barely had time to be thankful she had evaded being squashed due to clumsiness. The immediate concern was stopping herself from descending toward the upcoming fatal plunge at the end of the roof. Frantically she threw her arms out, desperately scrabbling for nonexistent holds.

Sharp edges from the tiles ripped into and snagged her clothes, scraping her face and tearing at her hands. It slowed her slightly but couldn't halt the gathering momentum. Even as her chin came down hard causing her to grunt from the pain radiating up through her jaw and head; what occupied her thoughts was what action could be taken to keep from pitching over the side of the roof.

Despite frantic scrabbling, desperate grabbing trying to stop herself, however even as that flashed through her mind, Sasha was already mid-air and still rolling. In a fair fight, gravity always won.

"I'm gonna die and I haven't eaten dinner yet!" She wondered if that would be her last thought; it should, she was that hungry.

Except….

She wasn't falling, instead, what felt like an unyielding bar of hard steel slammed into her side and curling around her midriff. Air whooshed from crushed lungs leaving her gasping. It took a moment before she realized it was an arm that had wrapped around her saving her from a downward plunge to leave a Sasha-sized splat on the pavement below.

Or maybe gravity was feeling generous today.

Sasha looked up to see which one of her teammates had saved her.

Levi heicho.

Her heart plummeted. Gravity had a sucky sense of humor, just like her luck.

Look on the bright side, today I'll get to eat lunch instead of be lunch. That's what she told herself but that sinking sense of doom in her gut wasn't convinced. Not yet anyway. . Still, she was grateful, extremely thankful to not being dead and she should show her gratitude.

"Thanks so much! I can't think how to thank you properly, but for starters, I'll share my next fruit-puff pastry with you. Honest! Survey Corps pinky swear!"

He wheeled them around a tower, roofs while streets flashed past underneath but the only sign that he even heard was the brief disinterested glance he gave her. Not that she had time to notice as the arc put pressure on her stomach and lungs again making chitchat of any kind difficult. She was doing good just concentrating on breathing at this point. If she was honest, scenery passing by in quick flashes was making her just a wee bit nauseated. A real first for her.

Sasha heard another grapple shoot out and felt it engage and pull them through the air, skating away from imminent danger. The recent graduate could tell the gulf of difference between them as his grace and expertise had them flying along in an agile and neat arc without any of the jerking movements she was used to in her own flights.

Sasha marveled at how smoothly they were moving and found herself deeply envious of his skill.

He's so good at this! I want to be exactly like him when I grow up! She thought as she watched with wide-eyed wonder as the scenery skimmed away below her feet.

Then he spared her a sharp look and spoke his first words, "You're a ripping she-ass."

Okay, maybe not exactly like him.

First chapter finished and delivered. This is my first foray into another anime/manga in a long time.
Any HELPFUL criticism will be accepted, all nastiness will be shoveled into a Titan's mouth.

~Dwellin