Chapter 3: Rascal

Disclaimer: I do not own Shingeki no Kyojin

Previously: Levi eventually resigns to being abandoned. He accidentally injuries a boy, distancing himself further from the other kids. He considers going the military route.

Levi will be taller since factors such as lack of food and high stress won't stunt his growth. He'll also get a lot of exercise and sleep in the Training Corps. I'm picturing him around 5'8" max. Also, Petra won't be showing up until Ch.5. Gotta be patient a little longer :)

Levi angrily shoved his hair out of his face. As he neared the orphanage, he all but broke out into a run. It didn't take him long to find what he was looking for. He took the scissors and went to the boys' showers. Grabbing a bunch of his long hair, he snipped it off. Much of his long strands of hair had been hacked off before he was interrupted.

Levi?" Ms. Biel called out, knocking on the door. "Can I come in?"

No other boys were in there so he let her into the large bathroom.

"What are you... Why are you cutting your hair yourself?" She knelt before him, taking the scissors from him.

"They're too long and stupid and get in my face," he grumbled, head down.

It wasn't the entire truth. Six months had passed since he was abandoned at the orphanage. It was a lonely half a year filled with him ignoring the other children and being ignored by them in turn. Most of the neighborhood kids were either too involved with each other to approach him or looked down on him for being an orphan. The latter had learned quickly not to mock him for it.

For the first time though, an outspoken neighborhood kid, part of a group of children Levi often saw running around, had called him over, asking if he wanted to fill in the spot of a girl who had moved away recently, so their numbers could be even again.

Levi had been thrilled.

But then a boy started complaining he was creepy looking. The girl next to him said she didn't want him on the team either. And some mean-faced girl had then tried to pull his hair, saying something rude and he had shoved her, knocking her down. The group had told him to leave if he was going to pick fights.

"It gets in the way," Levi said, scowling at his feet.

"You should have just told me and I would have cut it for you. Now you've made a bit of a mess." She ran her fingers through his hair, checking his hack job. "But I think I can fix this. C'mon, let's clean up the hair on the floor first, then I'll see what I can do."

Levi sat in a chair, a towel wrapped around him. He watched the clumps of black hair fall to the floor, wishing he'd cut it sooner.

Eyes closed, he enjoyed the touch. While he didn't like people getting close to him, he liked it when Ms. Biel patted his head or pinched his cheeks despite the fact he would pretend it was annoying and complain about it. He wondered how nice it would feel to get a hug. He'd forgotten what that felt like.

"Here we go," she said, combing his hair. "We can just part it in the middle here." He felt her comb half his hair one side and half the other. "There. Done." She fished out a small mirror and gave it to him. "Take a look."

He observed his reflection curiously. He had to admit it looked better than his previous hairstyle, which was essentially letting his hair fall loose.

"I feel like I can finally see your face!"

It was true. Without the long bangs falling into his eyes, more of his face was visible and hopefully, it made him less creepy looking. Maybe it would make him more approachable.

The dark gray sky began to weep, causing the people underneath it to scramble for shelter. Rain had been a novelty the first few times he experienced it. Levi had stood and let the cool droplets soak him, closing his eyes and enjoying how it felt. He loved the smell afterward, too. It was strangely clean and good and relaxing. Now used to the cool showers, rain had lost its appeal and Levi hurried to find a place to hide.

In an alleyway to his left, there was a backdoor to a bakery. Above the door was a little cover and Levi went for it to keep out of the rain until it became less intense. When he reached there, a scruffy brown dog also got there at the same time. The animal froze and stared at him before deciding he wasn't a threat and sitting next to his feet.

Meanwhile, Levi was making the same assessment. Dogs could be found in the Underground City too. Some were domesticated, but some were wild mutts. Levi was glad this one didn't try to bite him. And that he wasn't smelly. From what he'd heard, wet dog was not a pleasant odor.

The rain refused to let up for a while. Sighing, Levi crouched as he waited, arms hugging his legs, tired of standing. The dog tilted his head to look at him. "What?" Levi asked him.

The dog yawned and looked away.

A few days later, Levi was walking by the same alley when he saw the dog again. Smart mutt, he thought, realizing the dog was waiting for the baker to throw out the garbage to rummage through it to find some scraps to eat.

Levi wandered toward the edge of Trost, standing yards before the forest. Countless, dark green trees loomed before him. Trees were nonexistent in the Underground. Seeing them now, especially an entire forest, was both amazing and freakish.

The city of Trost was comfortably familiar to him now. Months and months of exploration had made the place feel more welcoming. Levi had learned how it worked. The only place left unexplored was the forest. Because it intimidated him. At least Trost was a city and so it wasn't entirely foreign. But a forest? It was alien to him. But he was determined to venture into it. Starting today.

First day, he made a couple of yards in before the looming trees made him chicken-out, sending him fleeing with his tail between his legs.

Second day, he made it a little further before running back out, scared of a weird noise.

Third day, he spent the longest in the forest.

Every time he visited, he went deeper and deeper until he was no longer afraid.

During one of the days, he paused in his resolute march to the forest when he saw the brown dog again.

"Back again, you little rascal?" The baker glowered when he came out. "Get out of here! I don't need you biting one of my customers and scaring them away!" He made a beating motion with his broom.

The dog let out a pained yelp when the broom connected once and ran off.

Levi's heart was filled with pity for the poor little animal. Starvation was something he was all too familiar with. Levi glared at the baker. Making up his mind, he went in and grabbed a small loaf of bread with speedy hands. It took a few minutes before he found the dog. "Here," he said, leaving half the bread on the ground for him.

After a bit of hesitation, the dog came over and began eating.

Levi watched him, biting his own share. "You're a hungry little guy, huh." Once he was done, Levi went on his way, clutching a piece of chalk in his pocket. He wanted to go deeper into the forest than he had and planned to mark the trees so he wouldn't get lost.

As scary as it could be, the forest was also very pretty. He had seen furry little rodents, strange birds, and colorful wildflowers. He liked the smell of the forest, too. There was a strange peace to be found there. Sunlight broke through the foliage and made the leaves look greener and brighter. Levi was excited when he found a berry bush, happily picking off the little fruits and eating them, staining the tips of his fingers with the juice. Finding his way back was easy and he mentally patted himself on the back for his genius idea of using chalk to mark his way.

He ran into the dog again the next day and gave him some peanuts he was munching on.

On the third day, Levi fed him spinach he had snuck out. Spinach was gross but Levi didn't want to waste it either so it was the perfect solution. The dog ate it happily.

Not long after Levi entered the forest, a thunderstorm started. A massive tree caught his eye and he sought shelter in its hollow base. It was chilly and he rubbed his arms to warm them up. At least he was protected from the worst of the winds and not being soaked to the bone.

When the rain finally let up and the skies cleared, he came out. The forest smelled even better than the city did after a storm. Levi's enjoyment of the scent withered when he realized the rain had washed away his chalk marks on the trees.

His stomach dropped. How was he supposed to find his way back home now?

Suddenly, all the trees seemed to loom over him like they did the first time he saw them. Strange and foreign and terrifying, they made him feel terribly small and weak.

Everything began to blend together. He hurried in the direction he thought the city was in. It all looked the same. The trees were becoming a dizzying vortex around him. Calm down, he told himself, thinking about the landmarks. The fallen tree. A large patch of wild purple flowers. One half-fallen tree leaning against another. If he just found one of those landmarks he would know where he was and be able to find his way back to town from there.

A brilliant idea came to him then. Levi snapped his head around, trying to find a good tree to climb. Most of them didn't have branches sprouting until halfway up. He tried scaling a few to see if he could spot Trost from the peak. While his hands could find a good grip, his shoes kept slipping, unable to find purchase against the wet bark. After another couple of futile attempts, he gave up.

Maybe he had gone in the wrong direction when he came out of the hollow tree. Maybe he should have gone east instead of west. Fear made his head spin when he realized he couldn't remember which direction he came from. Too busy trying to find a good tree to climb, he'd forgotten to make note of which direction he was going. Levi stood there, frozen. If he picked the wrong direction again, he could end up going further into the forest, making it harder for anyone who might come searching for him to find him. But he couldn't stand around doing nothing, either. Inaction made him feel vulnerable and he was antsy to do something instead of just waiting for someone to stumble upon him.

Who knows how long that might take? Hours? Days? And what if a bear ate him?

On cue, he heard some rustling in the bushes. Levi immediately pulled out his switchblade. It wouldn't do much against a bear, but it made him feel better to have it in his hands. Fighting his body's reluctance, instincts telling him to run the other way, he slowly moved in the direction of the noise.

A metallic taste of fear in his mouth, he peeked around the tree. "Doggy?" Levi said, startled.

Not ten feet away stood the scruffy little brown dog he had taken to giving out scraps to. The dog barked when Levi stepped out. He came and sniffed his hand.

"I don't have anything," Levi said, kneeling before the animal, petting him. A strong odor hit his nose. "Ew," he gagged. So that was what wet dog smelled like. Gross. But Levi was too happy to be too bothered by it. He was just glad not to be alone anymore. To see a familiar face. Even if it was furry one and trying to lick him. "What're you doing here?" Levi asked, continuing to pet his wet head. "Did you follow me?"

There was no way the dog had run into the forest when the storm started. He would have run for cover under a building or something, like he did the first time Levi met him. Maybe, he wondered, the dog had followed him into the forest before the storm and got caught in the rain.

"Do you know how to get out of here?"

Unsurprisingly the dog did not reply.

They walked around aimlessly. Levi was calmer now, trying to figure a way out. A lot of his fear was gone thanks to the presence of his four-legged companion. A gust of wind blew again, making him shiver.

The dog suddenly let out a bark and ran. Startled and scared to be left alone, Levi chased after it. "Hey! Wait for me!"

He kept his eyes focused on the dog, so terrified of letting it out of his eyesight that he didn't even realize they'd approached the edge of the forest until suddenly they were out of it. Levi let out a happy little whoop of joy and scooped up the barking dog when he stopped, not caring that he was soaked and stank.

"You did it!"

The animal stared down at him, tail wagging quickly. He let out a happy bark.

"You're my friend now, even if you stink." Levi paused and considered. "I should give you a name." The baker's word came to him and he knew just what to name the dog. "I know! Rascal. Your name is Rascal."

"Ms. Biel, do dogs eat people food?"

She looked up from her sewing and smiled. "Why yes, they do."

"Really?"

"We used to have a dog when I was a kid. We fed him some fruits and vegetables and meats."

"Like what?"

As soon as he returned to his room, he opened a notebook and wrote it all down, what food he could feed Rascal and what he shouldn't.

All the kids were either out playing or helping with chores. The caretakers were doing their duties. After making sure no one was around, Levi grabbed the necessary supplies then moved to the kitchen. Sticking his head out the door and ensuring both ways were clear, he rushed out the front door of the orphanage. Rascal was waiting for him in an alley a block down the road. Levi had followed the dog to his "home" the other day. It was an old cardboard box. Levi had picked it up and brought it closer to the orphanage, leaving it in an abandoned, rundown alleyway that didn't seem to get much foot traffic.

In his arms were two spare pillowcases and a ratty old blanket, and he lay them inside the cardboard box. Hopefully, they would help keep the dog warm at night. Levi knew where all the supplies were stored from helping Ms. Biel and the lock had been easy to pick. "This is yours now," he said to Rascal, setting a bowl full of water in front of him, liberated from the kitchen. "I'll fill it every night so you won't get thirsty."

Rascal began lapping up the water eagerly.

From his pockets, Levi pulled out a carrot and snapped it into smaller pieces to make it easier for the dog.

A genuine smile came over his face as he watched the dog eat hungrily. "You don't have to worry now, Rascal. I won't let you starve."

Three hours of Levi's life each day were devoted to schooling. Rose Heart Orphanage had split the children into classes based on age. As a twelve-year-old, Levi was in a class held for those between ages ten through thirteen.

Arithmetic was his absolute least favorite subject. The teacher droned on and on and he wished Ms. Biel taught all the subjects, but she only taught reading and writing. The history teacher wasn't very good either but Levi was curious enough to pay extra attention. Human history was something he knew little to nothing about and he was interested in learning more about the Walls.

It had stunned his young mind to learn just how enormous the lands above the Underground City really were. The geography stretched out further than he was capable of imagining. It had made him feel insignificant, thinking about his small, cramped life in the Underground compared to how big the Walls were. Levi wondered why all those people had to live in that dark, miserable pit when there was so much room to fit them up there. But he knew better than to bring it up.

While he did well both in math and history, reading and writing were the biggest challenges to him. His mother had taught him the bare minimal and Kenny hadn't done much to help improve his skills. Ms. Biel would secretly help him out and he was grateful for her discretion in giving him extra lessons, never making him feel stupid or embarrassed for them. It had taken hard work but he'd managed to get himself to the same level of the students his age, even surpassing them in math and history. It helped that without friends to play with and distract him, he had much more time to spare on his homework and studying. There was also the motivation of not wanting to look stupid in front of them. Not to mention the other big motivation of not being associated with the Underground. No one would believe that if he had good grades.

Levi yawned. Mrs. Schultz must have noticed because she called him up to solve the problem on the board. He was nervous before he scanned the equation, relaxing when he realized he knew how to solve it.

"Looks like you were paying attention, after all," she said, pleased when he wrote out the answer.

He only nodded, carefully and subtly scanning the kids' faces as he went back to his seat. They looked as bored as he felt a minute ago. He felt silly for being disappointed that they weren't impressed at how easily he'd solved the problem. He sat down, doodling in his notebook.

Wonder what Rascal's doing. He was almost envious of the dog just then. Levi wanted nothing more than to run outside and play with his four-legged friend. Rascal was so lucky in some ways. There were so many dumb human things he didn't have to worry about. All that mattered to him was food, water, his cardboard box, and the toys Levi had given him.

Levi was glad when the teacher began passing back the graded homework. It meant class was almost done.

"I noticed you never write your last name, Levi," Mrs. Schultz said, giving him his paper. "Great job as always, though. Keep it up!"

He nodded, distracted momentarily by the nearly perfect score at the top. Wait, what did she mean... He glanced at her as she kept handing back homework. He always put "Levi A." on his work because he'd noticed the other children wrote out their full names. Since he didn't have a last name he used what Ms. Biel had stitched into his clothes. Mrs. Schultz probably didn't know his situation. But shouldn't she know? Wasn't that what the "A." meant? Without a last name, they'd use it to differentiate them if another Levi came to the orphanage. Eager to go play fetch with Rascal, though, he shrugged it off.

A skip in his step, Levi returned to the orphanage for dinner. He and Rascal had spent the evening running around playing tag and other games with a group of children. Sometimes his four-legged friend attracted other kids and they'd run over to pet him. Occasionally they'd invite him to join in their games. The first time it had happened he'd been thrilled. Then the cracking of Finn's ribs filled his ears and he had made an excuse and left. Using his full strength against Kenny in spars and against thugs in the Underground was one thing, but he had to be careful up here. Having learned that lesson the hard way, he always took care when he did accept invitations to play. Those days were the best.

He was heading toward the mess hall when he heard them. The two girls were so busy gossiping they didn't realize he had just turned the corner and was behind them.

"...really true."

"So Darren was lying? He's not really from the Underground City?"

Levi felt his stomach fill with dread. They had to be talking about him. But the next words confused him.

"No. I asked Mr. Gartner."

Mr. Gartner was an administrator at the orphanage. As far as Levi knew, the man's job was to do paperwork. Levi wondered why he had told the two girls he wasn't from the Underground. Why did he lie to them?

"I was really scared cause Darren said Underground people were all evil."

Chubby little jerk. Levi thought sourly. He really didn't like that kid.

"But Mr. Gartner said it wasn't true and Levi was born in Trost so Darren was making it all up."

Their words were cut off when they entered the mess hall while he stood frozen in the hallway.

It was one thing for Mr. Gartner to tell them he wasn't from the Underground City—he probably thought Levi wasn't—but to say he was born in Trost? Why would he tell them that? Mr. Gartner works in the office. He'd know, wouldn't he? That Levi was really from the shithole below the capital.

Several questions sprang up in his head and he knew where he might find some answers.

Levi waited until he was sure everyone at the orphanage was in bed, fast asleep, before slipping out of bed. His roommates continued to breathe slowly and deeply. A small lock-picking kit in hand, he snuck out. Feet bare to avoid making any sound as he crept around in the middle of the night, he went to the office where all the records were kept. It was laughably easy to gain entry and he shut the door behind him.

Moonlight guided him and he found a candle, striking a match. He paused, listening for anyone walking by.

Everything was silent.

With the candle in one hand providing him with light, he opened the drawer that held files of those whose names began with L. Even after checking two times, he couldn't find his name among them. There had to be a file for him. At the very least it would contain his medical card, the one filled out by the doctor who given him all the injections had, so they'd have a record of his medical history. Levi let out a soft, frustrated noises. It was then he noticed it. The drawer was organized by last name.

Did that mean his would be in the first drawer? Because of the "A." attached to his name in place of a real last name? Even if he was wrong, he needed to go through all the drawers to find his file and he would have to start from the beginning anyway. When he opened the drawer, the first file caught his attention.

Ackerman, Levi.

It had to be his file. He was the only Levi there. Gently, he plucked it out and sat down on the floor. He opened the file and laid out the three things that were in there: birth certificate, citizenship papers, medical card. Only the last one was familiar to him. The other two documents he had never even known existed.

Everyone in the Underground knew that to get to the surface you needed to get citizenship. The passes only allowed you to roam for a little while in the sunlight. He'd assumed Kenny had gotten temporary passes that would allow them to stay aboveground for longer than what was normal while he took care of his business. After his mentor had failed to retrieve him, he'd thought the Military Police probably didn't care enough for one missing brat to bother searching for him. Or, Levi had also considered since passes to the surface were extremely expensive and if Kenny had gotten the money to buy two for a long period of time, that maybe Kenny had enough to bribe the guards not to come looking for him.

Yet there lay an official-looking document stating Levi Ackerman was a citizen of Trost, his birthplace.

Then there was the birth certificate. His breath caught up in his throat. The name on it was his and the slot for father was empty. For mother, it said Kuchel Ackerman. That's...her name. It's Mom's name. Did that mean Ackerman really was his last name? Why hadn't his mother ever told him? Suddenly, he recalled one of the first things Kenny said, more to himself than Levi.

"Just Levi, huh? I get that, Kuchel. No reason in giving him your name."

He had so spoken quietly. It had been difficult to understand him. Now it made sense.

Levi wondered if Kenny had taken him in out of some obligation due to whatever connection he shared with his mother. But he'd grown tired of it and dumped Levi at the orphanage without explaining himself.

"Levi Ackerman," he said out loud, staring at the papers for a long time.

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