Disclaimer : I do not own Shingeki no Kyojin / Attack on Titan nor its characters.

Note: Please read Author's note at the end.


As the Ackerman siblings hid in the shadows while they fled, at the corner of Mikasa's eye, she saw a group of people crowding over something. She then spotted a corpse laying outside the weaponry shop. She then noticed the people grieving, for the weaponry shop owner seemed like a jolly fella who didn't deserve an early demise. But then, she saw a little girl with her mother, crying—not out of despair, but rather out of joy, as if they were free.

Freedom was something Mikasa could only fantasize.

"Don't look." Levi chided quietly, "That isn't our mess that we had forgotten to clean."

Mikasa nodded, facing back front as they continued to sprint to their hideout. Deep down, the raven-haired female knew that the mess Kenny purposely left wasn't because he suddenly desired the spotlight, but to serve as a reminder to both of them. A reminder of their inescapable fate and bloody path they were forced to walk and the consequence that he would inflict on them should they fail.


Meanwhile, on the upper side of things, there was a King-to-be who had snuck away from his daily training. This King-to-be was Prince Eren Jaeger of Paradis, and this particular Prince was playing another one of his hide-and-seek games with his trusted royal guards and the other staff members. Unfortunately for him, he was found. Albeit, not by them.

"I knew… you would… be here." As those words were said, it was quick to be followed by heavy and weary pants.

The Prince remained sitting on the cliff's edge, his emerald orbs staring out at his kingdom beneath him. He was wearing nothing out of the ordinary; plain commoner's clothes. A simple green shirt with black pants. His attire was something that didn't seem that befitting for a King-to-be to be dressed in, but nonetheless the he didn't care so much. It wasn't as if he had anyone to look presentable for at the current moment, moreover he found his current attire more comfortable than the ridiculously long royal red cape he would often be forced to wear when he had to attend important events and national meetings.

"You always know where to find me, Armin." Eren called out as the blonde took a seat next to him after catching his breath. "You just have a terrible hiding spot, your majesty." Armin scoffed, which was followed by a laughter barely restrained when he saw his majesty visibly cringe at the title. "Don't call me that." The brunette groaned, nudging him slightly.

Armin was just a regular commoner who just so happened to work at the royal palace; although, not exactly in a high position even if he was praised for his remarkable intelligence by Eren and one particular advisor.

His and Eren's friendship go way back, and despite the majority of the council discouraging him from overly associating with someone as low as Armin, Eren still continued anyway. He was the first friend he made who treated him normally and was purely genuine. He didn't need to worry about the being judged for the way he acted, he didn't need to put up a façade.

As for Armin, he had always been there for him, and never once had he ratted the prince out for his rebellious behaviour unless it was something very stupid. And maybe that's why they kept him around.

Around Armin, he received the normalcy he craved so much—something no one would've expected for him to want. After all, who wouldn't want to be royalty? They were privileged, they were in control, they didn't need to worry so much… right?

"Yeah, yeah… what's on your mind, Eren? You don't normally come to this hiding spot unless you have something bothering you." Armin said, arching a curious brow.

In response, Eren heaved a heavy sigh which was already an indication to Armin that whatever was on his mind wasn't anything obviously good. It was the small smile that followed after which had flummoxed him a bit.

To Eren, it felt nice, to have someone genuinely be concerned for you—and not because they had other malicious intentions. Living the life of a royal made him realise a lot of things, that people would get close to you just to make you a puppet and fool. It was the ugly truth.

"You always know me Armin." Eren chuckled softly. Then, his smile soon turned to a frown. "You should also already know what's been bothering me then…"

"Your coronation?"

"Yeah, that… and also—"

"Your nineteenth birthday." Armin added, and Eren gave a nod of confirmation.

The King-to-be was to be crowned when he would reach the age of twenty. However, at his nineteenth birthday, a ball would be held, to find a suited future Queen for him, to rule the kingdom with him. The pressure he received from his advisors and other high-ranking members was immense. While there was no law that he couldn't marry a non-royal, prior discussions he had with the council said otherwise because then, what'd be the point? In their eyes, they wanted Eren to marry a royal for the benefits, such as resources, trade and many more. He couldn't help but find that utterly stupid. And what was beyond stupid was that he had to choose his Queen-to-be in such a short amount of time.

A summary of this tradition—that Eren had no choice but to follow— was that on his nineteenth birthday, a ball would be held where many princesses or people of high social status would attend and try to win the Prince's heart. But the 'excitement' wouldn't just end in one night, it would continue for at least a minimum of six months—unless the prince had already made the decision on the woman he wished to wed. In the span of these six months, the women would remain in the Kingdom of Paradis, rested in the castle's guest rooms. In the span of these six months, they'd compete for the Prince's heart, and should they give up—they'd leave. But of course, not a lot of women would give up such an opportunity to marry the Prince of Paradis, especially when Paradis had their fair share of valuable resources to offer.

Rarely would the Prince need more than six months to decide. In history, it never took the Prince or Princess even more than a month or two to decide. Though, Armin was sure that Eren would be that one Prince who'd take a decade, if not, never. After all, he barely (if not, had never) shown any interest with romance at all. If anything, he was fixated on something else; something more grim.

"It's stupid, in the end my marriage probably wouldn't be in the result of love—hell, love isn't on my mind right now! And they expect me to find a partner in less than a year?" Eren vented with a familiar tone of frustration that Armin didn't fil to recognise. "You can always marry Christa." Armin joked, resulting in another nudge from Eren—a nudge just filled with a little more annoyance and playful force.

"We both know that's not going to work out. Hell, she's not into men. She likes Ymir. I don't think I want to get in between them…"

"That's perfect! Think about it. No pressure, no—"

"She isn't royalty," Eren added, "They want me to especially marry royalty. If I don't, there would be several consequences. For one thing, even the townsfolk want me to marry royalty too, to boost our resources even though we have enough to suffice us!" He complained, "And it's not like we have any issues with trade with our neighbouring nations."

"Humans can be greedy Eren." Armin reminded him softly as he pulled his knees up to his chest. "We both know that… anyway, you're not planning to run away are you?"

"You know I can't." There was no hesitance as Eren said this, but there was a tone of disappointment mixed in his voice. As much as he wanted to run away from his responsibilities, he knew he couldn't and he knew he shouldn't. As much as he didn't enjoy being a part of royalty, he cared for his people; people whose future practically depended on him and his future decisions when he'd finally be crowned King. He didn't want any corrupt leaders ruling his kingdom. Moreover, there were just some things he could only do and control as a royal.

"Plus, I still have unfinished business." Eren murmured in a forbidding way.

Armin blinked his ocean-blue eyes briefly. It didn't take him long to know what he was referring to. A frown of his own appeared as he asked, "…You're not talking about them, are you?"

"Who else?" Eren scowled bitterly as he clenched his fist. "Those Ackermans deserve to rot in hell."

Armin glanced towards him with a look of concern and anxiousness, for he knew what danger awaited his brunette friend should he decide to take on the path of vengeance.

The real reason for his parents' death was unknown to many, even to most of the royal guards. The Council had lied to the people that both of them had unfortunately succumbed to an unknown illness. However, Eren had later inevitably found out the real reason behind his parent's death, or rather the people who were responsible for his parents' murder. The Ackermans.

Ever since then, he had made it a personal mission to rid them, completely.

But it wasn't just that reason alone. He knew the terror that these Ackermans caused to his people, and he was determined to put an end to it. And once he was done with that, his next move would be to obliterate the underground district—the place where it was said that the corrupt dwell. Not to mention, the obliteration of the underground district had been in his father's will, where he wrote that it was to be carried out once Eren was to be crowned King.

"…don't you want to check out the underground district first?" Armin voiced out softly, as if he had read the brunette's mind. Unlike Eren, he wasn't all for the idea of destroying that place. Truth be told, not a lot of people dared to venture there. There were children's books and newspaper articles that warned the people of the criminals and monsters that roamed freely beneath—and as a result, it managed to scare away some people. Other people didn't care, and went ahead.

Eren, Armin and many staff members were forbade to travel there—a rule made by the Council. They had claimed it was for their own safety, but Armin begged to differ for reasons other than his dangerous curiosity. For a reason that Eren was unaware of.

"Huh? Why should I? It's a place for criminals to seek shelter. I would tear it down now if I could. But I don't have full control of this kingdom until after my coronation—all my decisions would have to be discussed with the Council and so on. But when I'm King, I can finally have the final say. I can eliminate the existence of underground district and the criminals residing there once and for all." His tone grew dark and so did his expression, "It sickens me that most of my advisors want to keep that place open for… goods. Illegal, fucking goods. Hypocritical don't you think?"

"And suspicious! I'm just saying, we should check it out—"

"No. It's too dangerous… I don't want you hurt, and I don't even want to step foot in that revolting place. Many criminals that our guards have arrested come from there." Eren replied sharply, and that was the end of that conversation—Armin wasn't in the mood to argue, not now.

Granted, the underground district had some unique weapons, drugs and many more resources that the surface dwellers couldn't provide or make. But even so, that wasn't a good enough reason for Eren to keep that retched place open, especially with the many psychopaths that lurked beneath… like the Ackermans.

Eren wanted to rid the world of evil, was that goal so bad?

Though Eren's intention weren't bad, Armin couldn't help but feel a little…uneasy. Though, in all honesty, he felt sympathy for the brunette. Eren had been swallowed up by vengeance long ago, and he couldn't drag him out of it, he couldn't save him or his heart from being consumed whole by his own burning resentment and hatred. Because of that, he felt like he failed as a friend.

As his friend, he was fearful. The path of vengeance always led to no good—especially when it involved that deadly clan, or at least whatever's left of that Ackerman clan.

"… You know… wanting revenge isn't a good thing. I mean, I know… they killed your parents. I know you want to stop them, so the kingdom can be more secure and peaceful…but the other people in the underground… they—"

Before Armin could finish his sentence, another familiar voice was shouting to them from behind. At that familiar voice, Eren tensed while Armin sighed.

"Oi! You two! Everyone's looking for ya! I swear Eren if I could ground you I would! Do you know how tiring it is to climb this bloody hill?!"

From afar, a particular four-eyed women was running towards them, looking more frazzled than Armin earlier when he had just climbed the hill—it was Hanji Zoe, the woman who was in charge of the science side of things for the Kingdom. The woman who was nicknamed the strange scientist amongst the other staff members in the castle.

And she was the woman who also happened to be an advisor as well. An advisor that Eren couldn't bring himself to hate, the only advisor he ever bothered listening to.

Figuring that the earlier topic should be dropped and set aside for now, Armin let out a sigh as he taunted playfully, "I told you this was a terrible hiding spot." Eren only rolled his eyes, groaning quietly, before running his hand in his ruffled hair. "Not the time, Armin."


"You're not going."

The Ackerman siblings hadn't even stepped into their hideout, and Levi was already having the first and perhaps even the last word. "Lev—"

"That's final." He hissed. "You getting involved in royal affairs is the last thing I want. I don't know what he's thinking, but you're not going. I'll go. You're staying here." Levi remarked in a commanding way, as he always did. He was almost always taking charge or making decisions for her. Although for the most part, Mikasa knew Levi just wanted to protect her—she couldn't help but find these 'over-dramatic' gestures irritating.

"You know I don't have a choice, Kenny—"

"Does it look like I give a shit?"

Levi didn't care for the consequences that he would have to face from Kenny should he rebel. He only cared for his dear sister's safety. It wasn't the fact that this mission required the involvement of royalty that bothered him so much, it was more of Mikasa's unstable bloodlust. Till now, he didn't even know what triggered her bloodlust. She could kill three people in a row, and still be sane. At the same time, she could kill one and the next thing you know, she would be on the verge of starting another massacre. The opposite could happen too. It was confusing, and Levi didn't wish to find out what would be her next reason for trigger. Not to mention, till now, she hadn't fully mastered the art of control and suppression.

Levi didn't want to risk her going mad on the surface. Plus, this was a mission that didn't exactly permit them to be unidentifiable behind a mask. So if Mikasa had another outbreak, she would risk the Ackerman's identity being found out. She would risk getting caught by the elite royal guards, which admittedly, were quite strong. Levi wasn't sure if he wanted that, and he didn't want to know what Kenny would do if that were to happen.

"But it's not like I have a choice." Mikasa repeated. However, before she could continue with her reasoning, Levi had cut in.

"Don't lie to me." He snapped, "That isn't the only reason why you seem so insistent on taking on this mission, is it?"

Having been caught red handed, Mikasa flinched and looked away. Once again, Levi read her like an open book. It was true, she had other reasons for wanting to accept that mission. The reasons that Levi knew all too well was something he saw as perilous and foolish.

Mikasa had dreamt of living on the surface, to have a taste of what minimal normalcy that could be offered as she took on a different identity. It was a foolish idea for an Ackerman, she knew. But she couldn't help it. Freedom was something Mikasa could only fantasize, she knew very well the Ackerman blood running in her veins had confined her to this bloody path. But still, there was a small inner desire of hers to be normal, to just have a little brush of freedom before she'd be thrown back into a cage.

Once upon a time, Levi had the same dream as well, to escape to the surface. But as time went by, that dream had been diminished. He had come to the epiphany that such a dream was impossible for people like them, people like Mikasa. His sister had more of an extreme, uncontrollable and unstable bloodlust as compared to him, Kenny and the previous Ackermans. It was sad to say, but she couldn't live a normal life. Fate wouldn't allow it. For people like them, the underground was safer. The underground was like a shadow, a perfect place to take cover away from any unnecessary attention that could probably lead them to a death sentence.

It wasn't that Levi didn't want Mikasa or himself to lead a normal life. He was being realistic. Even if his bloodlust hadn't completely took over him for a while, it didn't mean it wouldn't happen again. The urge was always there when he killed, but successfully suppressed. Despite this, he knew people like them, who had this bloodlust, couldn't live a normal life on the surface.

How could they?

The most Levi could offer her, as her brother, was some normalcy that Mikasa desperately craved. He treated her normally and not like some psychopathic killer and just like he was her family, he was a friend to her as well. In return, Mikasa did the same.

"…Levi, I—"

"You're not going and that's fina—"

"Listen to me!" The younger sister screeched. Mikasa didn't like to raise her voice to Levi, but sometimes it was the only way she could be heard without having his protective aura muffle her. "You can't baby me for the rest of my life, Levi." Rather than a snap, the tone Mikasa had was more… soft. She understood Levi's reason for worry, but at the same time, she had her own reasons of not wanting to be so dependent on him. She didn't want to burden him. "'Problematic case' or not, I have to do things on my own. Whether it be… killing or whatnot. I—"

"Mikasa." Levi had cut her off, sounding harsher and sterner now. He didn't enjoy being harsh, but it was the easiest way to get his sister to back down—either that or it'd be a catalyst for an argument to break out. "I don't care if it's because you want to travel to the surface or whatever. This involves royalty. For all I know, they're probably the reason why our entire clan got wiped out. And it isn't just that, how am I going to protect you if you have another outbreak… in the public or worse, in front of that shitty Prince?"

Biting her lip, the female forced herself to not look away, feeling as if breaking any eye contact with her brother now would be a sign of submission—and she didn't plan to submit.

"I can protect myself. I—"

"Your bloodlust, Mikasa. It—"

"I know I'm a monster!" Now, she snapped. Her tone grew as harsh as hid and colder. There was a hint of bitterness as well, it wasn't like anyone liked calling themselves that— a monster, that is. Mikasa knew her bloodlust was more uncontrollable than normal. She knew this was risky. She knew how highly guarded was the royal palace, she knew that they were probably the reason why their clan got wiped out—why else had Kenny always seemed so against any mission involved with royalty? She didn't know what made him change his mind, and it wasn't like she can ask him now anyway.

But even so, she didn't mind the risk, if it meant that she had the chance to be on the surface, with a new identity—if she could live a normal life, even if it was temporary, even if she would have to reluctantly stain her hands with blood later. However, this wasn't her main reason for wanting to accept the mission; albeit it definitely was a contributing factor.

"You don't have to remind me that I'm a monster." She continued, "It doesn't matter either way… I just want to—"

"Enough with this shitty nonsense!" Levi yelled, before slamming his hands onto the table—that was enough to startle the younger raven. "You've been to the surface before with Kenny. It was short, sure. But that's enough time for you to savour. What if you go on a rampage? I don't even know what triggers your bloodlust anymore! Do you understand Mikasa? People like us cannot live out there! Ackerman or not, majority of the surface people treat underground dwellers like fucking shits! Didn't Kenny teach you this when he brought you up there?! You can't run away from your bloodline, Mikasa—if that's your intention. That dream is foolish and childish! Wake u—"

"I didn't ask to be an Ackerman!" She cried out. "That dream isn't foolish. It isn't childish. You were the one who told me before… that one day maybe—"

"I only said that before I realised how foolish it was—to think of escaping for good. Don't be unreasonable. Don't be a fool. You won't even be able to survive. You can't even control your fucking bloodlust! Remember what happened last time? You—"

Levi stopped there.

Mikasa was now on the verge of tears and Levi noticed, and felt regret sinking in.

'Just fucking great…' He thought. He was supposed to be there for her, give her some normalcy in this chaotic life. Yet here he was, reminding her of something that she couldn't escape.

Here he was, making her cry.

"Mikasa… I—"

It had been too late. The sudden soft tone of his was too late to be used to calm the raven. The damage was done, and she was feeling a number of indescribable things. She wanted to cry, at the same time she felt so… angry. Why did he have to say all that?

Before she knew it, in the tensed moment of hurt, she started to say things she didn't mean as well. Cutting Levi off, she instantly retorted, "I am not like Isabel or Farlan." With that said, she didn't stay to see his reaction and turned away before fleeing to her room.

The moment she reached her room, a sense of regret now extinguished the sadness and anger she had felt just now. It was weird, how a single action can shift her emotions in a blink of an eye.

Why did she say all that? Those words had left her lips before she could even stop them. She should've thought twice. She never enjoyed to have these sort of arguments with Levi, where emotions could actually get hurt. But sometimes fights between siblings were unavoidable, weren't they?

Meanwhile, at the mention of his late friends' name, Levi could feel the agonizing emotions clawing at his heart. His expression morphed into something pained. He didn't like to be reminded of his friends, because it made him feel like shit. But maybe he deserved it, he had probably left Mikasa feeling like this too—hurt.

He had failed to protect them—Isabel and Farlan— and he didn't want Mikasa to meet a similar end.

'You were the one who told me before… that one day maybe—'

She was right, he was the one who had put that idea in her head back when he still had salvageable hope for a better life. There had been a time when he had promised Mikasa that one day they'd live on the surface peacefully. But alas, he should've known not to keep promises if they would be broken afterwards. He shouldn't have promised her that, then maybe she wouldn't have such foolish dreams. He should've known it was a silly thing to think, for people like them to live up there.

Shaking off these thoughts, he exited their 'home'—this hideout. He took a few steps out to get some 'fresh' air, only to be reminded that in a dump like this, 'fresh' was as equivalent to rotten fish. It didn't matter, not now. Just like Mikasa, he needed to recollect his thoughts, calm down. He didn't want to hurt her further.

However, he didn't have the chance to. Someone was around, he felt it. He felt a presence—and the sound of a twig snapping proved his judgement right. But before he could remove a knife from a hidden compartment of his attire, he looked up to see an awfully familiar face that had assured him that the presence meant no harm… probably.

"Why are you still fucking here?" Levi growled.

"Just making sure my nephew doesn't make my niece go against my orders."

Again, Kenny had showed his face—and even though this was the only second time seeing him, Levi already felt like punching him and that irksome smug look off his face.


Author's Note: Well, sorry it took so long to update. When I wrote the first chapter, I didn't really have the full and whole story in mind haha—I just had the concept. So, when writing the second chapter I kept changing it, and to say the least, this chapter is quite different from the first draft haha. ._.

For now, I'm still constructing the story, so there's that—but I have the general and main idea and ending more or less in mind now haha. So if I changed the first or second chapter a little, I hope you don't mind—and I'll be sure to tell you if I did change any aspects of it in the next chapter's Author's Note, so don't worry. For now, take this chapter—and I hope this chapter was okay.

By the way, I changed Mikasa's undercover name from Mikasa Akira to Mikasa Azu; it just sounds nicer? idk haha

I'll try my best to update this once or twice a month. It's a very important and stressful year for me so I apologise if I'm unable to update on time, especially since I'm also currently writing another fanfiction known as 'Love' (AruMika/EreMika love triangle :D self-promo haha…)

I truly hope this chapter is satisfying and actually alright. If not, do tell. Plus, my vocabulary and descriptions isn't that strong as compared to many people, at least in my opinion. So if I seem repetitive in the words I use, do alert me if it's annoying and I apologise.

Please Leave A Review! I would love to hear Your Thoughts as well as Criticism! :)