Takes place after the titans breach Zhiganshina. K?
START :3
Being a member of the Scouting Legion means you are prepared to sacrifice everything for the sake of humanity.
That's what everyone always said.
But, as the words are repeated time and time again, they begin to lose their effect. Saying that the brave can fight the Titans, the strong can defend their homes and families.
None of these words are even close to entering a soldier's mind when face to face with death.
Unless, that is, you are one of these debatable nutjobs.
"Beautiful! Such a large jump!" Hanji Zoe cried as she skidded along the shaking ground, aided by her third dimensional maneuver gear. A Titan's teeth had come within an inch of her shiny leather boots, and she was elated. The beast took a few moments to recover, then clambered drunkenly to it's feet once more, only to get cut down by an annoyed looking Oruo.
"Stop messing around, Hanji. This is serious. Baka." he said, blandly- imitating Heichou again. Petra, flanking him, sighed, quietly, anchoring her 3DMG in a tree and landing to scope the area. That had been the last one, from what she could see. Another could be round the corner.
Then, all three of them stopped, realising that one of their group was missing. Only four of them remained on this job- a titan had managed to somewhat damage the outside of one of the smaller district's walls, and so they were to guard the small team of people repairing it. Seeing as it was getting close to darkness, fewer of them were needed, so only the four of them remained.
"Where is Levi-heichou?" Petra asked, confused, but also worried. Even though she had full confidence in the Corporal's abilities, it was still concerning for him to be missing. He was usually so careful to watch over his suboordinates.
"He's probably fine." Oruo said, expression firm, "We just need to do our job and he'll rejoin us."
Rivaille, in the meantime, was looking upon a rather curious sight. Being outside the walls, he had not expected anything like this in the slightest, but, unless his eyes decieved him, here it was.
He had seen, from far off, two Titans- Aberrants, to be exact- running in the opposite direction to him and his team. Now, usually, he would have ignored them, and continued his job; it was foolish to go off on your own outside the wall, and even more so to go looking for trouble when it is running away. But he couldn't help but think that they could be targeting some of the Squad members that had gone MIA in the last expedition into the outside lands.
So he followed them. He kept at a decent distance, and followed them.
It was a good three hundred yards before they finally stopped, the two of them clawing at the base of a large tree, along with two other five metre class. Strangely, a few steaming stubs of bone lay beneath their ginormous feet, too.
He frowned, scanning the tree, wondering what on Earth could be so interesting as to attract this many Titans, especially when they were supposed to be growing inactive.
Levi frowned even more as he did so- the tree gave no visible clues as to what was drawing them. The only strange thing about this tree was how thickly headed it was. He squinted- that was odd...
It had different types of leaves. Only one tree, but several different types of leaf decorated it's canopy. By this point, he had to know, so he swiftly moved in and took out the grappling Titans.
What he came upon when he landed on a branch of the tree was a very bizarre sight indeed. From the new angle, haphazardly bound branches could be seen, forming a sort of hut amongst the tree branches. Where the materials came from Rivaille would never guess, but whatever rope held the branches in place was strong for sure- in some places, moss and lichen were growing over it, indicating it had been there quite some time.
Curious, he stepped inside, inwardly grimacing at all the dirt and other assorted grime (blood included) that decorated the walls, ceiling, floor, and occupant. A young girl, probably in her mid-teens, lay on the floor on the far side, partially propped up against the wall, seeming in a deep and- if the relaxed smile on her face meant anything- peaceful sleep. Her arms cradled a rusty harpoon as though it were a newborn child, a pair of worn glasses bare millimetres from sliding off of her nose. Her hair was swept back in a tangled bun of burgundy-brown, her tunic and slacks tattered and dirty. A small pouch was tied around her left thigh, a box of what Levi assumed to be her food resources to one side of her. Raising his eyebrows as she shifted slightly and mumbled to herself, he folded his arms. He was unsure how someone could sleep so fitfully with a crowd of Titans waiting beneath them.
He wondered for a moment whether he should leave her or bring her back with him- perhaps he could decide that he didn't care what happened to her, since she wasn't his problem, and anyway, she'd survived out here on her own for who knows how long already. But, then again, perhaps he would decide that although scruffy, she was humankind as well, and he couldn't very well leave her for the Titans that were beginning to figure out how to scale the trees.
He went to the edge of the hut and looked down at the crowd of Titans. Seeing how close to the top one had reached made his decision for him. He moved back to the girl and nudged her with the edge of his boot.
"Oi. Girl. Wake up." he said loudly. No reaction. "Wake up." growing irritated, he kicked her a little harder. She yelped, snorted, then sprang to her feet and launched herself at the unsuspecting Corporal. Having been caught completely unaware, Levi was knocked to the floor. His eyes were wide in astonishment- it wasn't every day that someone got one up on him. And, since he was of small frame, she pinned him to the floor with ease, harpoon blade at his neck.
He soon regained composure, though nearly lost it again when she gave a large yawn, sitting on him. She looked down at him with tired, yet still somehow alert eyes. "That was mean."
Rivaille was speechless. After all that had just happened, that was all she had to say? At the very least she could get off of him now that she knew he was no threat!
"If you would be so kind as to remove yourself from me, Gaki..." he said dryly, and she sideways glanced at him again.
"Don't feel like it." she replied, then sniffed, blinked, and stood up. She crouched down at the edge of the hut, leaning over the side to peer down at the Titans. One was getting dangerously close. "Whoa, you guys are getting smarter." with that, she aimed her weapon at the closest Titan, firing without any kind of hesitation. Moments later, a crash sounded, and she crowed, "Ha-ha! Right in the eye!"
Levi was beginning to think that maybe he should have left her unconscious.
Standing up and pulling on the rope attached to her gun, the harpoon's arrow came flying back up to her hand, sending a spattering of blood across the walls and her clothes. She reloaded the gun, then turned to the still-disgusted Levi. "So whatcha want, Soldier-boy?"
"It's Rivaille, and just what do you think you're doing?" she eyed him confusedly.
"What do you mean?" she asked, scratching her head, then passing him to dig through her food box.
"Out here. Why aren't you inside the wall?" he asked, as she bit into an apple.
"Wall..?" she sounded more confused than ever, and Levi stared at her. Could it be possible..? Someone existed that did not know of the colony's existence? "I don't know about any wall, so why would I be in it?"
Frowning minutely, Rivaille simply perservered, "What is your name?"
She twitched her lips from side to side a few times, as though debating whether to answer, and pushed her glasses up her nose. She leaned close, eyeing him speculatively. "You aren't a Titan, are you? Awfully small to be a Titan..."
"No, I am Levi Rivaille, Lance Corporal of the Scouting Legion from inside Wall Maria." he answered, hoping that she wasn't entirely clueless. She stared at him, elated, and Levi was hopeful for a minute. Maybe she wasn't a complete idiot, after all.
Then she laughed, and said, "A little guy like you, a soldier! Sorry, but that's too cute." she tossed the apple core out of the hut, aiming at a five metre class' head, hooting when it gained purchase, "My name's Harrison Erevine. I'd like to tell you more than that, but other than the fact that I'm a few months short of thirteen there isn't much else I know." she rubbed her side and scowled, "You know, that kick you gave me is gonna leave a mark, Midget."
"It's Rivaille," he somewhat ground out, calming himself before he could get angry, "How can you not know about the massive colony of humans barely five hundred yards from here? Are you stupid?"
She scowled at him, but forgot it in her awe, "Wait, there're more people?! You have to show me!"
Levi blinked at her sudden enthusiasm, and felt slight relief permeate his being. That was easier than I thought it would be.
"You'll have to go through several security checks to enter the wall, but other than that, yes, I'll take you." the Corporal said, watching her as she hurried around, piling various objects into a ragged satchel. She hooked the harpoon over her back, and Levi rose his eyebrows, but said nothing.
"Which way, Midget?" she asked, and he twitched minutely, but didn't bother correcting her again.
"That way, but I don't see that it matters to you, you can hardly move around like that-" before he could finish his sentence, she was gone. He quickly moved to the side of the hut, looking down. He didn't see her.
Had she been eaten by a Titan?
"Over here, Corporal Shortie!" Harrison waved at him from a branch some twenty feet away.
"How did you get over there so fast..?" he asked, face not expressing his bewilderment.
"Because I am hench." she said seriously, then laughed, a loud, booming laugh, waving her hand. "Naah, I've got a metal leg. It's strong as hell."
She pulled her left trouser leg up to reveal a wired metal fake leg. Levi used his 3DMG to land on the branch next to her, vaguely aware of the Titans that followed their movements with eager eyes.
He crouched to get a better look at the mechanical appendage, taking in the intricate wiring systems and interlocked mechanisms. She wiggled her toes- not that he could see for the boots she wore- and smiled brightly. "Reckon it got bitten off by a Titan when I was young. I don't really remember."
"How can you not remember something like that?" he asked, wondering again if she was stupid. She just shrugged, looking away awkwardly.
"Hey, those Titans are getting antsy, and so am I. I want to meet the other people!" she said, and he sighed.
"Yeah, okay. Just try to keep up." he said, firing the 3DMG anchor into a far away tree. Astonishingly, she kept up with ease, using the mechanical leg to power ginormous and speedy leaps through the canopy, and once even to completely destroy the face of a Titan as it leapt up to take a bite out of her. She laughed in a disturbingly carefree manner as she did so.
Again, Levi wondered if he should have left her unconscious, then stopped. He wasn't one to second guess himself, and he wasn't going to start now.
And anyway, if she had been left unconscious, he would have had to carry her, putting them at a disadvantage, so he just watched her wordlessly as she hopped cheerfully from branch to branch.
I'mma cut it there for now. New chapter soon, hopefull, I can't just leave my little Harry hanging! XD
R&R, Ja ne!