Kenny wasn't sure what he'd been thinking taking in Levi like that, but he'd just looked so pitiful sitting there on the floor with that dead look in his eyes, more like a corpse than a human child. Maybe he still had some shred of compassion, maybe it was a favour to the sister he hadn't checked up on in years, but he'd taken the kid in nonetheless. That did jack all to explain why he was, for the second time this decade, leading another child back to his house.

He hadn't meant to, really, just like with Levi, finding the girl had been an accident. Kenny had been carrying out a visit that deviated from his routine, years ago it had been a visit to his departed sister, and now it was a trip to the house of a tricky acquaintance who was bragging of their so-called friendship. His knife had made quick work of the guy, along with the man who'd witnessed him do it too. He could've left, he should've left, but when he heard noises down an alley he had to check it out. There was evidence of a scuffle, the dead body laying there made it particularly obvious, what was more surprising was the child.

A child.

Another fucking kid.

She was pale, and had features he'd only seen in a rare book or painting. She was wearing a long dress, it was slightly ripped but was nicer than anything an underground brat should own. Her wrists and ankles had rope burns and she was holding a bloody knife. A blindfold had been hastily removed and hung loosely around her neck. How a snot nosed kid had untied her bonds and stabbed a man with what appeared to be his own knife was beyond him.

She was swaying like a drunk would, but the look in her eyes told him she wasn't intoxicated.

Her eyes looked dead, too.

He stood 6 paces away, staring at her. "Hey, what's your name?"

"Mikasa."

If that wasn't a dead give away that she wasn't from around here, her foreign looks and abnormal name set that in stone. He wasn't sure why he was talking to her, hell he should've already left the scene, but something about her intrigued him. "Got a last name?"

Her face scrunched, like it hadn't crossed her mind, or maybe she didn't know her last name.

Mikasa spoke again. "Ackerman."

Well, wasn't that a surprise. What were the odds?

He'd heard, maybe 10 years ago, from his grandfather who insisted on keeping that stolen genealogy book updated, that the last member of one of the branch families had taken a wife and moved to the middle of a bumbfuck nowhere farming village as soon as he got her pregnant. He'd never expected to meet that kid, least of all down here.

Mikasa was looking at him with a blank stare, but didn't flinch when he took a step forward. Kenny heard a part of his mind screaming at him. He felt like his skull was tearing in two at the decision he was about to make. He had his dumbass nephew to raise, that was one thing, Levi knew the situation he was in, knew what it would take to survive. Mikasa seemed unaccustomed to suffering, could she carry on down here. Or would she waste away like so many of the surface people who were dragged down to this hell?

Kenny wasn't sure, and he really wasn't sure he wanted to stick around and see it happen again. It might be more merciful to just kill her now and spare her the suffering.

Yet Mikasa, who had only spoken two words to him, was still on her feet and still clutching a knife. Even if she had nothing now, she had a will to live, he'd give her that. The more he looked at her the more he was able to picture who she could be. He couldn't kick this kid to the curb, especially not one who looked like his sister. Like she had when she was younger, the face shape was all wrong, but Mikasa had the same dark hair and dark eyes that Kuchel had. Kenny hadn't had the kid around for more than an hour, and he was already starting to think of her as family. Seemed like she could hold a knife well enough, there was potential there, plus she might have awakened her Ackerman genes if he was lucky.

Levi could use a sparring partner anyway.

Kenny appraised her like she was a piece of meat, or more accurately, a convenient tool. Mind made up, he decided Mikasa would be the newest addition to his household of foster children. Maybe she'd live, maybe she'd die, but he would see this out for as long as it lasted, just like he'd been doing with Levi. It wouldn't cost him much to house her, food and clothing on the other hand… he'd let that sort itself out.

He took another step forward, but before he could grab her, Mikasa rushed forward, arms ready to attack or defend. She was small and didn't seem to have experience fighting. It took Kenny no more than a sweep of his foot to knock her down, she landed flat on her butt and dropped her knife. Kenny picked the knife up in one hand so she couldn't stab him again, and with his other he hauled Mikasa over his shoulder as if she were a sack of potatoes.

She started thrashing almost immediately. Kenny wouldn't have that. "If you wanna survive down here, you'll stop fighting and come with me." He bit out.

He felt he spasm, and maybe, just maybe, a little bit of compassion could do her some good. He wanted her to live with them, after all, and it would be better if she didn't fight him every step of the way. "I didn't know yer folks, but my last name's Ackerman too, we're…" thinking it was one thing, saying it out loud was another, "family."

Mikasa fell limp, as if resigning herself to her fate. Kenny thought she was being rather dramatic. "I got another kid around your age. You two can play or something."

Levi was in for one hell of a surprise.

Levi had come home to find Kenny unusually docile, seated at the dining table, like he was waiting for something to happen. When a girl came out into the hall minutes later and disappeared into an unused spare room Kenny finally explained they had a new roommate.

"Why are you taking in a little kid?" Levi was a little over 15, but age didn't matter in the underground, everyone was a target. He was still a child in most rights himself, and he knew that Kenny couldn't parent for shit, so keeping the brat year old alive would most likely fall to him.

"I had a sudden bout of generosity, that's all." Kenny shrugged.

Levi glared. "You expect me to believe that?"

Kenny quirked an eyebrow and took a drag from his cigarette. "I took you in, didn't I?"

Levi scoffed and turned to leave. "Do whatever, but don't expect me to get along with her."

What Kenny said next stopped him in his tracks. "Don't be so cold Levi, She's your cousin or something."

"What?" The only family Levi knew about was his mother, now he's being told he has a cousin. He wanted to rush up to the smiling bastard and choke him out, but he needed answers. He shot Kenny his nastiest glower.

Kenny waved his hand in the air in dismissal. "Don't look at me like that."

Levi crossed his arms impatiently. "Is she your secret love child or something?"

"Nope." Before Levi could devise a plan to throttle the man who'd taken him in, Kenny spoke. "I never planned on telling you the family history. The less you knew, the better it is for both of us" Kenny said something that sounded like, " and the safer he would be from whatever curse seemed to haunt the Ackerman name" but Levi couldn't be sure.

Kenny took a long inhale of smoke before spilling the beans. "I can't keep secrets with Mikasa around, even if I wanted to, a loose lipped kid like her can't be trusted to keep her mouth shut. She's an Ackerman, she has my family name, it's your last name too."

"Wait, my last name?" Levi had a last name?

"Yup, pretty cool right?" Kenny gave him the kind of grin you'd give your kid after they showed you a crappy drawing they'd made. Excited and a little condescending.

In all the times that Levi had asked Kenny why he'd taken him in, Kenny had never given him a straight answer. Now the truth was revealed with as much fanfare as a funeral and Levi had to find out that the serial killer that was raising him was also related to him.

Since Kenny was in such a generous mood Levi asked another question that had been on his mind, "Are you my dad?"

Kenny choked on the smoke. "Fuck no, I'm your mom's brother."

He couldn't stop staring at Kenny… his… uncle… ugh .

Kenny attempted to reign in his composure, but he still looked like he just ate a lemon. "Don't go calling me Uncle or anything that'll make this weird, got it?"

"As long as you don't call me your nephew, we have a deal."

Kenny nodded, as if he had a reason to be concerned that would ever happen.

Levi had one more question. "So who's Mikasa then if you say she's my cousin but not your kid."

"Eh, she's a really distant cousin, hell you're probably not even remotely related. Her dad was a member of a branch family. Our line split generations ago, most of them are dead now. The three of us in this house are likely the last of the Ackermans." There was clearly more to the story but Kenny didn't elaborate. Levi was satisfied and didn't ask any more questions.