"I have come here to take you home"
Fear crawls down Kaito's spine hearing the woman's cold voice. Her voice was devoid of emotions and her lackadaisical way of approaching her made her gulp. The woman has this otherworldly aura surrounding her, it demands attention and it speaks power. Brownish blonde hair is tied up in a ponytail on top of her head. Viridian eyes with specs of gold stares right through her. A dark green cape complimented her skin and it covered her whole body except for the arms.
The sword she was holding was pointing at her, she noticed that it looked nothing like a regular sword, it looked like a big version of a cutter blade and it was covered with her old man's blood. The sight of it makes her seethe and shake in anger. If it wasn't for her heaving chest, asking for fresh air she would be shouting countless profanities to the woman already. She wants nothing but to punch her and avenge her old man. This was the woman responsible for the old man's death. Hatred and confusion filled her azure oculars that shines with unshed tears.
Kaito moved to stand in front of this murderer. Countless questions were forming in her mind but she couldn't move her mouth. She was frozen in fear, she knows that she is at a disadvantage here. The woman is clearly out of her reach. She can fight bullies but that is all. Watching her walk towards her slowly is the only thing she can do.
"You are to come with me this instant" she spoke again. The chilling tone of her voice is ever present.
None of this is making any sense. This day isn't making any sense. What does this woman mean she's taking her home? Does this woman know of her father? Or her mother? Is she a relative? No, no that's impossible. This woman killed my old man and I refuse to believe that a relative of mine is a killer. She thought with a scoff.
She looked around one more time, looking for an escape. They are still in the quiet of streets. And no one is clearly going to pass by here unless they want to get hurt. She cast a glance to the otherworldly being in front of her, this woman is capable of hurting innocent people.
A movement behind the woman caught her attention, it started with a wind that seemed to spiral in one area. Until it becomes a harsh wind, their clothes are dancing in every direction and Kaito shielded her eyes with her arms.
The woman didn't even move an inch, she's unaffected by it all. Her cape is flapping around and it gave Kaito a good look on what she was wearing underneath it. She was wearing a white long sleeved top and she has something fastened around her hips that looked like small gas containers. And she noticed that she doesn't have a regular sheath for her sword, instead there were two huge rectangular holders on her thighs.
Where did this woman really come from? She has a bad feeling about this. As this thought entered her line of thoughts a circular gateway materialized behind the woman. It looks like the black hole she saw at the library but bigger. Her heart leaped in her throat, her chest constricts and she falls down to her knees again. A heart wrenching wail escaped her mouth as the tightening of her chest became unbearable. This is too much. A feeling of drowning filled her insides and she desperately gasped for air.
Her eyes landed on the still figure of her old man, he's lifeless and cold. Kaito screamed for him, begging him to wake up and not leave her. She wants to go home with him, his ramen stand needs him, she needs him.
She needs to wake up from this nightmare.
After what it feels like an eternity, Kaito finally succumbed to her exhaustion, her small frame dropped with a thud on the concrete.
Old man... was what her last thoughts were.
The woman watched as the child finally gave up and fainted. She watched her with disinterested and cold eyes. The child's eyelids are swelling, no doubt a result of her useless crying. She glanced at the old man lying not far from the child. Blood is covering him, his mouth is slightly open in desperation for air. What a pathetic sight.
She sheathed her sword and approached the child.
If she had come to her without being stubborn she should have been breathing freely now. After all, her body is rejecting this world's oxygen the moment she laid her eyes on the portal earlier this day.
This world is nothing but a childish world, she does not belong here. An uncharacteristic frown of worry painted the woman's face. As childish as this world can be, she knows everyone back home would do anything to live here. But that wasn't the reason why she was here, she has a mission to complete. A mission that is long overdue. Lifting the girl in her arms the woman casted her viridian at the small girl's serene expression, she noticed that her features are mostly from her father, while she got her fierce azure eyes from her mother.
Her mother... would not forgive her.
A sigh escaped from her lips when she started to feel sorry for the child.
This is for humanity's own good.
And with that the woman with an otherworldly aura turned around and entered the gateway to hell. The child she carries lets out a silent whimper. The moment Kaito was born, she was bound to the fate of slayers.
She's drowning, the pressure of water is determined to crush her, every time she would think that she escaped the clasps of the unending water it will double its waves to eat her again and hug her with its cold arms. She tries to let out a scream, her mouth's wide open but she produces no sound.
I'm dying.
She holds back a sob and flails her arms wildly trying to swim away from this nightmare. She can't die here. Fuck them all. Then a smile in front of her seized her attempts to break free from the clutches of waves.
Huh?
"Old man?" Is he here to save her? She missed him so much. Where has he been? It feels like it has been a while. Bubbles caused by their own breathings surrounded them and her beating heart slowed down. The sight of her old man being here with her gave her an enormous amount of warmth. He looks peaceful. He has this smile he was always ready to give to her. A smile of content to have a precious granddaughter. His gray hair is flowing with the waves, eyes crinkling with happiness to her.
"Wake up" a voice called out. It echoes through this endless sea. The voice sounded so much like her old man, but the old man didn't move an inch.
No, I don't want to.
A shake to her shoulders made her jump and gasp desperately for air. A smell of wood and the sound of crackling fire greeted her still drowsy mind. She took a few more deep breaths to fulfill her needs of air and her lungs gladly accepted them all. After the wind passed by she chanced a glance to her surroundings.
Everything around is unfamiliar.
What happened?
Where am I?
Is this a dream?
She was sitting in the middle of the woods. The fire beside her is giving her warmth to the otherwise cold wind. Crickets and hoots of owls serve as a distraction to her drumming chest. The cloudless sky is covered with a sheet of twinkling stars and it gives her an unknown peace. Wherever she is, she felt at peace looking up at the darkened sky.
I think I'm dead.
A rough voice didn't let her continue her wandering thoughts. It made her aware of the presence of another. She looked at the other side of the fire and saw an old man watching her with concerned eyes. For a moment she thought she saw her old man, but she knew better. Flashes of images entered her chaotic mind.
Quiet street, heaving chest, blood, too much blood, her old man's lifeless body.
Kaito abruptly stood up and the strange old man flinched at her movement. He tried to call out to her and that was when she noticed it, he's speaking to her in a language she cannot understand.
Alarm bells are ringing in her disoriented mind. She tried so hard to make sense of her absurd situation. How did she end up here? The woman… "I have come here to take you home" she bit her lips at the memory. That woman who killed her old man, she's the reason why she's here.
"Where am I?" she asked the stranger who looked at her with confused eyes, the concern is still evident in his gray eyes and she couldn't care less about it. She needs to get out of here.
She repeated her question and it bore the same result, it seemed like he didn't understand her at all. And so she attempted to speak in English.
The old man still did not understand her. What the fuck is happening? She looked around to the unfamiliar place. She's in a forest.. She can see a light in the distance that looks like a residential area. She would ask for some help from the local police there.
She left the old man with a silent gratitude for waking her up at the back of her mind and then she started running.
Please tell me I'm dreaming.
Children and adults walked leisurely around her. Her feet carried her in the middle of this busy street. The houses adorning the area are unfamiliar to her. The architectural design of this residential area is unbelievable, she only saw these kinds of designs in books. Red roofs, stoned walls, and potted plants in front of the houses, welcoming everyone who will enter. People of all ages are wearing comfortable clothes, it looks old and cheap but it sure looks comfortable to wear. Some people who noticed her are looking at her strangely, her crumpled school uniform was alien to them.
Her uniform stood out to this otherwise bland looking clothes that everyone wears. Dark blue skirt that reaches her knees, her government issued penny loafer shoes are dirty with dust, her white socks are muddy, the red ribbon on her chest is crumpled and sideways, and some parts of her sailor styled blouse is covered in blood.
Yeah, she too would look at herself weirdly.
A man with a brown cropped top jacket caught her attention, he's talking to a woman with his cheeks tinted in pink. He has short brownish blonde hair and it sits comfortably on his head. Kaito approached him and her presence made their chatter stop. The first thing she has noticed is the strong smell of alcohol that came from the man and she has the urge to cover her nose but didn't.
He looked at her curiously and he eyed her up and down, probably noting her unfamiliar clothes. He talked to her but she didn't understand a thing he uttered, she suspects that he had asked her a question.
"May I know what country this is?" she asked. The man and the woman only stared at her with mouth agape. They look around, probably trying to avoid this strange girl in front of them. She had a hunch that they could not understand her. Just like the old man in the woods.
Does anyone around here know how to speak in English? She thought and sighed. Frustration starts building up in the pit of her stomach. She wanted to cry, she's all alone here.
The man and the woman she spoke to already left, leaving her standing there all alone with her thoughts in this busy street. The gravity of this situation starts to weigh heavily on her shoulders. She's all alone in another country, she's all alone again.
Ignoring the stares that drilled holes on her is an easy task for Kaito. She learned to ignore everyone's eyes on her the hard way. Spending her days being bullied taught her how to endure prying eyes. She's currently walking around this town, trying to get ahold of her weird situation. The people around here are all talking in unfamiliar language. Not once does she hear an English word uttered. She has decided to look around and see if there's a police station, a bookstore or a library around here, even though she cannot understand the language, she's hoping that at least there will be a picture book for her to understand where she is.
While on her way, whenever she will spot a lone stranger she will approach them and ask what country is this. And out of a total of six people, no one has understood her question. Well, that sucks. She's been here for 2 hours already, as far as she knows and her determination to go home has not waned.
This day has gotten really weird. She has no idea how long she passed out. Had it been days? Hours? Where is that strange woman who killed her old man? Thinking about her is tasking and she hates her with every fiber of her being, after killing her old man, next, she has left her in this strange country? She doesn't even have any idea who that is.
I have to find her.
And she will find her. She will go home. Home? Where is her home anyway? Her home in Japan will be empty without her old man. But then again, she never has someone or something to call her home. What did she do to deserve all of these fucked up situations... It's unfair. I'm only a child. And I don't even know where I am. How am I going to survive here?
After flipping through countless of pages, Kaito stepped out of the old bookstore that she spotted. As expected, there were no clue on where she really is. Or there was, she just could not understand it. The shopkeeper who is a middle aged man with a mustache eyed her warily when she entered the establishment but didn't do anything to kick her out. She didn't know how long she was in there frantically flipping pages, her azure windows are glued on the books looking for any clues and she has miserably failed.
The smell of books stuck on her skin and it made her wince. I smell like a hag.
Kaito then began her walk around the town again, thinking about the pictures she saw. A lot of books that have pictures on it include giants. She wondered, why would anyone write a storybook about giants and it was a lot. She's pretty sure that she was in the fiction section. Maybe their culture likes giants. She hummed.
The smell of meat made her stomach grumble and it stopped her on her tracks. Now that she thinks about it, she still hasn't eaten anything today. Colors quickly drained from her face as she started feeling hungry and weak. Her knees are shaking, ready to give up, she's tired, so tired. She sat on the sidewalk to rest and hugged her knees to her chest.
After a little while, she noticed something cold was sticking on her chest and she held it. It was a beautiful silver rose pendant with specs of dark pink on its side. She runs her thumb on it, wondering where it came from. It's so pretty that's why she let it hang around her neck. Weird, why do I feel kind of emotional all of a sudden.
Kaito watched everyone around her, they are happy and living in peace. They are content in this town. Uniformed men are laughing and others are strolling around like they don't need to fight any crimes. Children are running and playing without a care even if it's probably late now. Moms and big sisters are shouting at their door calling for the kids to come home. Couples are walking hand in hand whispering sweet nothings to each other. They are all wearing a contented smile.
This is what peace looks and feels like.
And it made Kaito lonelier than ever.
A gentle shake on her knees woke Kaito up. The old man from the woods is what greeted her, he's with a woman with graying hair in a bun. He's crouching on her field of vision while the woman is behind him, bent down with a hand on her chest. There's a worried look in her eyes that annoyed her a little, why are they worried about her anyway? It was not like they knew her or something. She wondered what their relation to each other is for a moment. Then she noticed the signs of incoming dawn are their backdrops.
When did she pass out? She had no idea. The last thing she could remember from the night before was the cat who decided that it was a great idea to sleep beside her. Not that she's complaining.
The two in front of her talked silently to each other, she watched as the woman fished something out from her bag and it made her tense. A sigh slowly escaped her lips when she noticed that it was only bread and a cup of water with a lid. Kaito accepted the food gladly and smiled at them. This wasn't the time to become suspicious, she is in fact very hungry. The old man and woman seemed to like her reaction with the way they nodded their heads. A comfortable silence enveloped them, her eating gratefully while the other two watched her adoringly.
One year later. . .
Time indeed flies. It has been a year since Kaito has been abducted and left here. It has been a year since her old man died. It has been a year and she still hasn't gotten ahold of her abductor. She spent her days for the past year scouring the streets to search for that woman. Alleyways, restaurants, inns, and even bars she searched for her. But there were no signs if she's even from here. An acquaintance of hers even made her a portrait of the woman as a payment. Everything was a blur. She mourned her old man the first months that she was here. She misses him everyday. She missed her old life.
The old couple that gave her bread and water a long time ago, adopted her. They taught her how to read and speak their language. She learned that the couple were a school teacher for kids, teaching them how to write and read. Lucky her because of that their patience for her is immeasurable. They have been patient for her to teach everything that she needed to learn in this country- no, in this world. Once learning this absolute mind blowing situation, she decided not to tell them where she really came from. No one will believe her. She couldn't even believe it herself.
Kaito spent the first four months that she's been here learning how to read, write, and speak their language. She'll wake up to help the old couple with their chores, they will go to the market, and when they get home she will start her lessons. It was not that hard since she has written how the words are pronounced or their meanings in her language. That is why she still got the chance to roam around and look for her abductor. The failed attempts of her finding that vile woman made her buy a map. She remembered how it feels so incomplete in her hands. It was a map with circular walls, and according to the old couple, they are residing inside Wall Rose, inTrost District to be exact. This world can't be this small, right?
In her fifth month in this world, the old couple officially adopted her and gave her their last name. They walked to the capitol one sunny afternoon with a bated breath, she'll become their daughter as long as she lives here. There wasn't a long process for her to become their daughter, all the three of them had said that she was an orphan. Technically she really was. And they'd like to adopt her. The old couple has a good reputation in this town, thanks to their profession as teachers so her adoption was not really up for debate. And everyone knows their story, how they lost their daughter to an expedition. She did not pry any further and she knew that it was a war with otherworldly creatures as they explained. This couple deserved to have a second chance. They deserved to have another child, even though she wasn't good enough. Even if she wasn't deserving of it.
And she's still thankful, she finally has something to complete her.
Once she was fluent enough in the language, she started reading books. And there she learned how she's not in some unknown country but another dimension or world. In her own world there have been talks about different dimensions that coexist with us. Scientists and professors attempted to study that possibility for decades. The universe is vast, it was so big that it was not impossible for other dimensions to exist- well, now that she is in one, different dimensions really do exist. And Kaito was unfortunate enough to be transported to one. She's so unfortunate that the dimension she's in now is literally hell.
The books have told her enough why this world is an incarnation of hell. The otherworldly creatures her adoptive parents have said were giants or titans as they call itc, they exist here. At first, she didn't believe any of it because who would believe such things? She once thought how foolish everyone in this world is to even think that man-eating giants exist. How foolish people can be to risk their lives for others. But evidence is everywhere. The sadness and horror in her adoptive parents' eyes are enough. And her acquaintance once even told her stories about how it really exists.
And these stories gave light to what an expedition is. It gave light to what really happened to Yves; the daughter of Amanda and Gabriel, the old couple who love and adore her just like their own flesh and blood.
This world is definitely cruel but beautiful.
"Kaito!" her mother's sweet voice broke her to her trance, she's reading a book about titans and some facts about the royal blood the whole afternoon and paced out. She's having a hard time understanding the book as it has many loopholes. Her desk is a mess and her fingers are covered with ink. The map that she bought is hanging on her wall just above her desk. She was taking notes about titans and the walls. How frustrating.
"Coming!'' She replied to her mother and stood up to leave her room, which was Yves' room when she was still alive. Kaito doesn't have any plans on removing Yves' things from this room even though her parents insisted on doing so. It was proof that she was here. A proof that this room was once full of life due to its former inhabitant's love for singing.
Kaito walked out of the room and saw Amanda laughing and talking to someone at the door, she cast a glance at her father Gabriel to ask who it was, and he just shook his head slowly, mirth dancing behind his gray oculars.
"Oh! Your friend is here!" Amanda shouted gleefully and Kaito sighed. "He's not my friend" she drawled while she walked towards the door. He is just an acquaintance, she sighed inwardly. She cannot afford to have that many links here, because once she finds the woman responsible for her being here, she'll go back to her world. Amanda and Gabriel are too much for her already. And she let them in her life because they deserved to be happy, and they completed her. And.. she's actually planning to bring them with her to her world, if it was possible. God, she hopes it is possible.
"I will leave you two now," Amanda smiled at Kaito. She really wanted her daughter to make friends here. Having friends will make her live her life normally. They still didn't know where she came from and who she was, and her husband saw her lying in the woods long ago. So small and so frail. She reminded them of their late daughter, they both have jet black short hair and wide eyes. Amanda looked back to the two who are now chatting animatedly, her Kaito has this scowl on her face that seemed to pop out whenever she's with him. But she knew that with all this strong façade of hers, she knows that Kaito appreciates her friend's presence.
Like Yves, Kaito is strong willed, smart, stubborn, and unbelievably kind. Whatever ugly fate this girl might have endured in her life, Amanda is willing to top it all up with her motherly love. Hoping that one day, the sadness in this girl's beautiful azure eyes will vanish.
"I don't remember agreeing to that" Kaito said with a bored tone. Making the boy in front of her whine loudly.
"What do you mean! You agreed to it!" this boy, she met this boy long ago when she was walking around in every corner of this town, trying to find her abductor. She saw him getting bullied by a bunch of good for nothing boys. When it comes to bullying and stepping on others just to feel something, this world is no different from her world.
Kaito picked up a rock and tossed it to the boy who was beating the poor kid down. They stopped and glared at her. "Do you want to die?" the boy who was leading the assault shouted at her. That didn't faze her. She has seen all kinds of bullies already and this wasn't new to her.
"Oh, I'm so scared" she cried out, sarcasm reeking in each word she uttered. She threw another rock with great force this time and it hit him hard causing a skin tissue to rip open on his forehead, blood dripped down on his cheek and he touched it. When he saw his fingertips coated in blood he screamed at her. Veins popping on his neck. His friends are backing down slowly but this one only glared at her menacingly.
"You!" he shouted as he launched at her.
With a bruised face and knuckles, Kaito crouched down to the boy who was cowering in fear at the corner. Police officers or the Garrison soldiers as this world called them stopped the fight from escalating any further. They said that they would report this incident to their parents and left. The boy left the two of them with tear streaked cheeks. Telling them how this isn't over yet.
Now that they are alone, she made sure that the boy is alright. Once she got a good view of his face and saw that he only got a mild injury she began to walk away, but his soft voice stopped her from walking.
"Thank you," he said to her. She faced him again and gave him a halfhearted thumbs up and started walking again to leave.
But the boy rushed to her and she let him follow her around town.
"My name is Jean," he said after an hour of complete quiet.
"I didn't agree to come with you, Jean. And I told you already that my parents and I will visit a relative in Shiganshina District. You know that it will be my first time to leave and explore other towns." His shoulders dropped immensely and she felt bad for him for a second. It quickly went away when he insisted that they'll just have to go the day before she leave.
"It will be fun I promise! My mom agreed to cook an omelet for our picnic too" Kaito groaned and buried her face in her palm. He had been begging for her to come with him for a picnic and how he wanted to draw a picture of her.
She was his first friend and as much as Kaito hated to admit it, he's her first friend too. Even in her world. That's why with a nod of her head, Jean beamed at her and hugged her really tight. "You're squishing me!" she screamed and he just laughed at his friend.
The weekend has come, the day where Kaito would have another chance to search for her abductor, she will have a chance to see the other wall too. Rumor has it that you can hear and see titans on top of the wall but of course only the authorized people were allowed on the wall. She badly wants to see one, it's a bummer that Jean has an errand to run. If only he's with her, she'll have him distract the guards and climb up the wall herself.
You know you can't do that. Jean's 'what the fuck' voice echoes on her head. But she wanted to see one and she will do everything to see those monsters.
The Abendroth family boarded on the boat that will bring them to Shiganshina and Kaito ran to sit beside the window, the old couple followed her shortly. She gripped the soft fabric of her favorite peach colored skirt that goes all the way down to her ankles, she's beyond excited and she can feel that her abductor is in this town. Kaito stares at her shoes. She wore her government issued penny loafer shoes today because she missed wearing this pair. It's shiny and looks brand new. She wiggled her feet and watched the sunlight reflects on it and shine. Her parents chuckled beside her and she gave them a small shy smile.
They will visit Amanda's last living relative. She wanted them to meet her, their adoptive daughter. And honestly, she's excited to meet them. This would be her first time to travel with a family and this would be her first time to meet someone whom she can call her relative. Actually, this is her first time traveling.
This weekend will be the best day ever!
No, no, no, stop! This can't be happening. Screams, everyone is screaming, blood, everywhere she looks at there is splattered blood. Her parents- she has to go to them. Kaito was frozen and cold in shock, she had to go to her parents. She willed her heavy limbs to fucking move and run to find her loving parents but she can't.
Tears silently rolled down her cheeks as she watched the Shiganshina District get destroyed.
This is hell, this is the new reality she's living in.
