Chapter 6: Taking names and making friends (3 July 2015)
Three months later, age 7...
'Oh, this is not happening! I'm dead! We're dead! We already have a reserved spot in hell and everything. Why this?! Why now!? Oh, please this can not be happening!; Hange tried her best not to panic as she frantically searched the crowd of the buzzing market place, but given the situation, it was proven hard.
"Levi's gonna kill us! EREN!" She called their missing ward for the umpteenth time in the last hour.
Ness pushed passed another merchant. "It's hopeless! He can't hear us in this crowd. He can be anywhere by now!"
"Well, I'm sorry if I haven't quite resigned myself to a prolonged and painful death!" The hysterical woman exclaimed earning herself a few startled looks from the surrounding people.
For the people of Trost, seeing two frantic, terrified looking members of the ever-so-courageous Scouting Legion so distraught was strange to say the least. The two said frantic Scouts were supposed to have been looking after Eren who, when he discovered that they where going to the marketplace to buy groceries, nearly burst out in tears begging to come with them. However, they hadn't expected the market to be so busy and before long, the boy was no where to be found. Now, they had to find him before he got hurt, lost or worse- Levi finds them!
Only Heaven knew what would happen to them if he found out. Their bodies would probably never be found. She grabbed a startled passer by and demanded to know if he had seen the tiny little runaway. The man, as soon as he was released, ran for his life afterwards. She growled in frustration and turned to her colleague. "Where the hell can he be!"
-xXx-
Meanwhile...
Eren happily wandered in the streets of Trost. He had long since lost sight of Hange and Ness, although at the moment, he didn't care much. He had never seen so many people all at once- it was strange and amazing all at once. Seeing people going on about their ordinary lives was very interesting.
Some people spared him a curious glance, while others simply ignored him. He rounded a corner and went down an alleyway. A cat suddenly shot past him, startling him. He looked at the fury beast curiously. He had seen cats outside the walls before, but those where bigger and were better left alone. Although, for some reason, most animals generally avoided him. Deep down, he knew the reason- the very reason was probably clawing at the walls right now.
Craving for human flesh...
He wiped the thought from his mind. Never again- he was safe, at least for now. That is, until he could join his brother and retake what was theirs. He'd kill every Titan on his path. He'll be the best scout out there, just like his brother and they would never have to know.
He started walking on again in an attempt to rid himself of bad thoughts, gradually picking up his pace. He went down a series of alleyways and streets, no real destination in mind. The sound of laughter reached his ears- not the happy kind, but the savage and vile kind. The kind he imagined the titans made with their sickening grins.
He peeked around the corner, curious of what would make someone make such a sound and his blood boiled- three boys surrounded a smaller blond boy, screaming insults and hurting him. One punched him in the gut.
"What is it, refugee? Have enough!?" One mocked. "Why don't you hit back, huh? Or have you still not stolen enough of our food yet?"
"I'd rather take a few hits than brawl like a beast!" The younger boy spat.
"Oh, so I'm a beast now?!"
"Take a good hard look at yourself and tell me you're not acting like one. You resort to violence because your brain is the size of a walnut!" If Eren wasn't so mad he would have burst out in laughter- he liked this kid. "So, pummel me all you want. I've already won!"
"Yeah, well, you know what? I'm a sore loser!" The bully raised his hand to strike at the younger boy again...
"Back off!" He appeared from his hiding place, fire in his eyes. The boy's assailants turned their attention to him. "Well, well, looky here. Someone decided he wants to play hero."
"Leave him alone! He did nothing to you!"
The boys laughed. "Oh, what a tough guy! This is going to be fun."
Eren ignored them and prepared himself to fight. Unfortunately for them, he had picked up a few things from Levi. The scum wouldn't know what hit them. They charged. He went on the defensive, dodging and blocking blows in a dance of movements. The boys quickly started getting frustrated with him.
"Stand still, dammit!"
One swung a fist at him again. Eren ducked and twisted out from under him, but this time he struck. The larger boy was hit by a series of quick jabs, followed by a kick to finish him off. He stumbled back wheezing for air. His companions looked at their friend in shock. However, this was quickly replaced by rage.
"You little shit!"
They charged at him again. He tried dodging their blows, but accompanied by their anger, it was starting to get difficult not to get hit. This became even more so when the downed assailant re-joined them. He managed to take down another one, but the bully was quickly back on his feet. Eren was tiring out and they knew it. After all, the boys were all a couple of years older than him- they were stronger and bigger than him. But he didn't let this stop him from fighting back.
He'd faced worse.
He was pushed back, stumbling and losing his footing. The leader smirked and prepared to hit him. "Not so tough now are ya, hot shot!"
He lifted his fist and Eren prepared for the inevitable...
Getting hit in the face felt a lot like not getting hit in the face- perhaps, that was because he wasn't. He opened his eyes to see the leader's face twisted in pain. His fist was caught in the hand of a smaller girl. She sneered. "I wouldn't do that if I were you."
She twisted his fist, making him scream in pain, and pushed him back. He fell hard, clutching his hand. His friends helped him up.
"You're all freaks!" He screamed at the two kids, before the three took off running at full speed.
The mystery girl turned around and offered him her hand. He took it and got back on his feet. "Thanks."
She nodded. Then, he suddenly remembered the reason he started the fight in the first place. He proceeded to look for the boy and found him still in the corner holding on to an old-looking book for dear life. He ran over to him, followed by the girl. "Hey! Are you alright?!"
"Y-Yes. Thank you." He helped him up. The boy stumbled a bit.
"Where did they get you, Armin?" The girl asked. Armin whimpered, but shook it off. "I'm fine. Thank you."
Eren grinned and stuck out his hand. "Hi! I'm Eren."
He smiled and shook his hand in return. "Armin Arlert."
-xXx-
Back in the Market Place...
Section Commander Hange and Ness had all but resigned their lives. They had searched for hours on end and yet there still was no sign of the boy anywhere. They had pestered every vendor, merchant, passer by and local for information, but to no avail.
"We're never gonna find him! He could have been snatched by human traffickers by now!" Hange screamed.
"Calm down, it's not like he could have gone far..." Ness tried to reason with her. Really, he only did the opposite.
"Calm down? CALM DOWN?! We are DEAD! D. E. A. D! DEAD! When Levi finds out-"
"When Levi finds out what?" A voice asked from behind them.
Hange's blood ran cold. Her heart skipped a few beats. She almost thought that it would stop all together. Slowly, they turned around to come face to face with a very irritated-looking captain.
"Haha, hey Levi! There you are..."
He raised an eyebrow. "Hange. Where is Eren?"
"Eren? Oh, he's here, somewere... Completely fine. Nothing to worry about!" She said nervously, fidgeting with her hands.
He didn't buy it. He grabbed her head, looked her in the eyes and asked verrryyy slllowlyyy. "Hange. Did you lose my little brother?"
Hange nearly burst out in tears. "I-I'm sorry Levi! We looked everywhere for him! He was here the one minute and-and! He was just gone! Just kill us already!"
Levi pinched the bridge of his nose and growled- he'd deal with their insolence later. Right now, he needed to find his brother. He glanced at a food wagon near him and an idea came to mind. He climbed onto the cart, and from there he climbed up to the roof, leaving the panicked Hange to herself.
"Hey! What do think you're doing?!" The merchant's protests were cut off by a glare. Hange stopped her rambling and noticed what he was doing. Levi gazed across the market place, looking for any sign of the boy. When he found none, he resorted to plan B.
"EVERYONE SHUT UP!"
The market place fell silent, all attention to the scout on the roof.
"Who the hell do you think you are?!" Someone yelled at him, only to be slapped by the person next to him. "Shut up, you idiot! That's Captain Levi, Humanity's Strongest Soldier! He's killed more titans than you can count!"
The crowd seemed to find a new understanding and listened intently to whatever the man had to say. "I'm looking for someone. He's about this high, red scarf, brown hair. If anyone of you idiots saw him, you better speak up, unless you want to face a death worse than being titan chow."
Fear crept its way into the faces of those in the crowd who knew of the man's reputation (namely, everyone). Finally, someone spoke up. "I think I saw him! Bright eyes, brown hair. Went that way."
The man pointed in the direction of the houses. Levi nodded and gave the man a quick salute. "Carry on."
With that, he jumped off the roof and started moving in the direction the man pointed, dragging the two imbeciles on the way.
-xXx-
Laughter filled the air. "No, that actually happened! I promise!" Eren laughed.
"Wow. That's just- I don't know." Armin shook his head, They had taken a seat at the edge of the river that ran through the three walls. If you looked long enough, one could see the clouds make different patterns on the water's surface.
When the laughter died down, Eren turned to the girl next to him. "You don't talk much do you?"
She didn't respond. Instead, she simply continued to stare at the river. Eren saw her shiver slightly. He reached for his scarf and wrapped it around her neck. "Here, this will keep you warm."
She felt the fabric between her fingers and looked up. "Thank you."
He smiled. "Keep it- you need it more than I do."
The group was left in a comfortable silence once again.
"Your fighting style is strange."
"What?"
He looked up surprised to see that Mikasa had spoken again.
"Your fighting style... It's strange."
"Yeah. My brother taught me- I'm a bit rusty, though. Mostly because I don't have someone to spar with. Hey... maybe you and I can sometime!"
"...I'd like that."
He grinned. "Maybe, we can even teach Armin a few moves!"
Armin shifted uncomfortably next to him. "Um, I don't know, Eren..."
"Come on, Armin! Just a little self-defence. Besides, you don't have to use it if you don't want to."
"Alright, I guess it can't hurt to do just a little..."
Just then, a peculiar thought unexpectedly crossed his mind. "Yeah, Armin. What kind of name is that?"
Armin rubbed the back of his neck nervously. "Err...My grandfather gave it to me."
"Well, if you see your grandfather again... could you ask him something for me?" Eren asked innocently. He looked up, not catching on the mischievous glint in the boy's forest-green eyes. He could have sworn those were blue. "Sure, anything."
"Ask him why he called you Armin and not Armout."
Mikasa almost choked. She had to hold her mouth shut to keep herself from bursting out from laughter. Instead, only a snort came out. Armin rolled his eyes at his friend's joke.
"Haha Arm-in, Arm-out. I get it. Very funny." He replied sarcastically to the grinning maniac next to him.
"Well~" He snickered, almost in a sing-song voice. "At least it wasn't Leg-out!" This time, neither of the three could hold their laughter. Too engrossed with the joke, none of the trio noticed the raven-haired man and his two companions approaching.
"Eren."
The boy's head snapped in the direction his name was called to see the familiar faces of his brother, Hange Zoe and Horse Dude aka Ness approaching. The last two looked rather relieved albeit terrified at the same time.
"Levi!" He cried happily and ran over to the waiting man. "Levi, Levi! Meet my new friends!"
The mentioned two nervously walked over, not sure what to make of the situation. Levi kneeled down to their level.
Armin spoke first, stuttering. "Y-you're Captain Levi!"
He nodded. "I am. And you are?"
Armin snapped awake from his daze and quickly glanced at both his friends. "Oh! I'm Armin Arlert-" Eren snickered. Armin sent him a quick glare before turning back to the Captain. "-And this is Mikasa Ackerman. Sir." he said, gesturing to the oriental next to him. Levi faltered a bit when he heard her surname, but thought nothing of it. He knew they weren't the only Ackermans out there, but he was under the impression that they had all been murdered. He'd ask Eren about it later.
Mikasa merely nodded. Levi returned the gesture with a salute, understanding the way of the silent language.
"Nice to meet you. My brother needed a friend who is his own age and not a bunch of military idiots." He sent an accusing look at Hange, who sheepishly pretended to look away. "It was an honor to meet you both."
Levi raised again to his full height of 5"3" before turning to Eren. "Come on, Eren, we have to go."
Immediately, Eren started to complain. "Awww! But, Levi!"
"No . I promise you can visit your friends another time. If you behave, they might even be allowed to come to the base."
Eren's face lit up at this. "Really?!"
"Yes. But you have to say goodbye for now." Levi said. Eren sighed in defeat. "Okay, fine..."
He turned to his friends. "So...I'll see you guys later?"
Armin, still shocked at his new revelation, simply nodded. Eren was just about to run to Levi, who was waiting over with the two guilty looking miscreants, when Armin stopped him. "Wait! Is Captain Levi actually your brother?!"
"Yup! The short leviathan is my brother. I have to go now, but I'll tell you all about it someday, I promise." With that, he ran off to his brother, waving goodbye at his flabbergasted friends. Armin watched them go, his mind still racing.
...Did that just happen?
"Yes, it did." Mikasa answered him calmly as if she could read his thoughts. She turned around and walked the other way.
"WAIT! MIKASA!" Armin quickly found his numb feet and ran to catch up to the leaving girl.
Levi found Eren sometime around February, Eren's birthday is March 30th so three months after February Eren is 7.
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Until Next Time!
-Ziixx