Creation began on 02-11-21

Creation ended on 02-12-21

Neon Genesis Evangelion

Hope from the Sky: I knew of him before I even met him

A/N: Realization came upon me after I thought about it; throughout the story, there had been no indication that Eren Yeager and Kaede Sogen had ever met back in their past before the day the Colossal Titan appeared. Here's the reason for why this was so.

Eren Yeager

Kaede Sogen. The girl with gray hair. The only person in Shiganshina District that seemed to stand out for some reason that most people didn't speak of. And the one that became a Titan Shifter of a different kind, able to change the fates of many people once she realized what she could do and learned to accept and embrace her power. In the years past, we never met, but in the years past, I doubt we never heard of each other from those around us.

I mean, she must've heard of me. I stood out like a Titan every time. It would've been next to impossible for her to not know of me. Even during the time spent in the Cadet Corps, there had been minor talk about Kaede Sogen, the girl with the gray hair that was among those that didn't enlist in the military to face the Titans. Some thought of her as strange, and others thought of her as being a strange beauty.

I only ever wondered why someone like her never enlisted after the Titans had attacked and took Wall Maria from humanity. Why did she choose to go down the road of least resistance? Why did she refuse to devote her heart to the cause of defeating the Titans and freeing humanity from their false reign?

-x-

Kaede Sogen

Eren Yeager. The boy people would say that was a problem child from time to time. It was hard to see that boy as anything else but defiant. I don't say something like this to anyone around me, not even my boyfriend yet, but I knew of Eren before I ever met him, and he wasn't someone I could ever see myself being friends with.

I remember the days of running down the street from my house on the days when I never had to concern myself about the Titans I never saw. I would hear talk from some adults about some boy stirring up trouble over something trivial, and then I saw the boy picking a fight with men affiliated with the Garrison division, something I found only to be ridiculous. Who would want to pick a fight with the people that were charged with keeping the Walls from being breached by the Titans I never saw? Or worse, why would anyone want to pick a fight with people that were tasked with keeping the districts safe?

Eren, even from a distance, looked like someone who was relentless in his behavior towards others, no matter what their age or authoritarian status was. It was like he felt compelled to disrespect the adults that did him no wrong, compelled to act out of line. Even from a distance, I just found it difficult to see myself being friends with him like Armin Arlert and Mikasa Ackerman were. He was just so…so unruly and problematic for others.

"Mommy," I remember asking my mother one day while helping her do the laundry, "do you know about the boy that picks fights with the men?"

"Boy fighting with the men? You mean the members of the Garrison that sit around in the district during their breaks? I heard about a boy that picks fights with them and a few other adults, but I found it to be senseless and unnecessary. The Titans can't get inside the Walls, so there's no reason to be concerned about waiting for a day that may never come. And as for the boy that picks fights with adults, he must be this Eren Yeager, the son of Dr. Yeager and his wife, Carla. He's probably not so different from other boys if he's the aggressor." My mother told me.

"What do you mean?"

"He may be trying to be a macho man when it's unnecessary."

"Macho man? What does that mean?"

"It's just a way of saying that…he's trying to prove himself a man when he's still a child…and his behavior towards others only makes his situation difficult because he's deliberately trying to incite unnecessary behavior fueled by negative emotions. When you make a mess in your room, are you trying to incite a sense of conflict with anyone?"

"No, never. Why would I want to make trouble for others when it's unnecessary? That's just ridiculous. I make a mess, I clean it up and own up to it."

"Exactly. But young Yeager… He does something like this, he makes trouble for himself and others. He picks fights with others for whatever reason he feels is justifiable, especially when it's not, he could end up being at odds with everyone around him. His mother once said that he doesn't make friends easy."

"Why can't he just be nice?"

"Sometimes, sweetie…some people are unwilling to accept what is and can be and just want something to happen that changes the present. Some people…just want something to happen, for better or for worse."

"But that's terrible, Mommy."

"Like the Survey Corps returning from their ventures outside the Walls every time with fewer people than before they left. I understand the need to try and face something greater than yourself and to reclaim some territory for people, but when there's a group with so few members and even fewer results, there comes a time where those in charge have to consider that it's time to change and accept the losses and walk away with your dignity."

I agreed with my mother. But Eren Yeager was unlikely to have accepted anything less than what he believed in. Worse was the possibility that my mother was right and Eren was a…macho man, someone trying to prove himself a man when he wasn't a man, just making trouble for himself in front of everyone. I didn't really feel any hate for him during that time; I just pitied him, time after time, for his unnecessary actions toward others. He seemed like a nice, bright boy, but only from a distance, and not every child was bright enough to know when to stop.

-x-

Eren Yeager

For a week or two, after the despair had faded from the previous months after Wall Maria was abandoned by the people, there had been some people that enlisted in the Cadet Corps to train to face Titans or use the ODM gear, I kept expecting others to join the corps. Particularly the Sogen girl. But if the girl made it no point to join, she was content with her life as a mere civilian. Albeit one with a strange look on account of the gray hair. Apparently, her family was among those from Shiganshina District that had managed to get away unscathed with just one casualty that was the death of an elderly grandfather. Well, back before we ever knew how twisted and depraved the guy was, but there was a chance that even if he had survived the attack on Shiganshina, he would have likely been sent out in the failed attempt to reclaim Wall Maria only to die.

"A girl with gray hair?" Connie had asked once. "How is that possible? People don't get gray hair unless they're really old."

"What are y'all talking about?" Historia, back when she was Christa, had asked us.

"There's supposedly a girl somewhere in Trost District that has gray hair," Jean had told her.

"A girl with gray hair? Don't you mean a woman with gray hair? Is she over fifty or sixty?"

"No, according to Yeager here, she's around our age," Connie stated.

"But that's nuts, right?" Ymir had expressed. "Young girls with gray hair are unlikely to be around. Maybe this girl wears a wig to hide her real hair color or maybe she's bald."

Boy, were we fooled by the reality of her hair being real and not a wig. And the fact that she was just trying to mind her own business due to her fear of being exposed as a Titan Shifter. Her relationship with that Shinji Ikari had been a wall-breaker, as the girl was more open and comfortable with her life after she had relocated to the coastal city outside the Walls. Yet…there was still the lingering sense that, despite her loose affiliation with the Survey Corps and later affiliation with Historia after her being crowned the queen, I was unsure of how to address her.

Were we comrades? Friends? Former rivals? I will admit that she was beyond other people with the power of the Titans, as she was on a level that may have exceeded that of the original Titan Shifter, Ymir Fritz.

But just…who was she now? Who was she back then?

-x-

Kaede Sogen

If anyone were to ask me whether or not I was friends with Eren Yeager, I would have to say…that we are not. Even though I had a hand in making sure he was kept in line and made sure he could never have access to the power of the Titans ever again, I am not a vengeance-seeking person in any sense. We might've lived in Shiganshina when we were little, but he was, pretty much by definition, a reckless young man that had to learn more self-control and tolerance towards other people and acceptance of those with authority. If he could change his behavior traits, maybe one day, I could call him someone worthy of being a friend. But, if I'm being honest with myself regarding my feelings toward Eren Yeager…we weren't enemies, and the guy was just a little difficult to put up with.

I wouldn't let him near my baby sister unless he behaves himself; Sumairu wasn't even a month old yet, and she was already precious to me and Shinji as she was to my mother and stepfather. And I just helped put her to sleep tonight and all I could hope for tomorrow was that she would have a good day. I was the Queen of the Titans, and I would do anything to keep my family safe from any potential harm.

To be continued…

A/N: And there you have it. I had to think about the relationship, or lack thereof, between Eren and Kaede, and this was the end result. They lived in the same town, had different views on each other based on events in their lives before and after the day the Colossal Titan appeared, and both made choices based on the aftermath of having to leave their homes; Eren chose the path of a soldier while Kaede stayed on the path of the civilian. And while Eren is unsure of who they are to each other, Kaede is certain in her heart that they are not friends, but she doesn't consider him an enemy, just slightly difficult to be around. What do you think?