Hey, I'm back with chapter 2... thank you all for reading, I have 103 views already. On a side note, this story won't follow the actual story line from the anime/manga, because that would be too confusing for me to include the reader in that way. So I will make up my own plot to follow, hope that it won't be too confusing for you all.

Thank you again, and I hope you enjoy reading

With a start, I woke up. The sun was up, and somehow during the night, I had ended up laying on my side on the hard cobblestone ground. Standing up, I stretched my stiff limbs, wincing slightly as they popped loudly. I should really stop randomly collapsing and sleeping, I thought, before grabbing my pack from off the ground and starting off out of the dark alley into the already busy street. Everything seemed so different, and there were so many new things to see!

So this is what it's like to live in a normal town... I breathed in the fresh air, and smelled the scent of freshly baked bread. There's a bakery nearby! Smiling, I walked towards the heavenly smell. Pushing open the door, I waved cheerfully to the kind lady behind the counter, and walked around. There was so. Much. Bread. I inhaled deeply, taking in the scent. This was much better than the bread at home. The bread there was so fine that it would literally fall apart if I tried to eat it, and the stupid refined flour would fall off, making me look like a ghost. Blech.

"Wonderful day isn't it?" The lady laughed kindheartedly at my actions. I stopped temporarily to smile back at her.

"Yep! I haven't been outside for a while." I found what I was looking for. A small roll seasoned with a few sesame seeds. "I'd like to buy this, please." She smiled gently, before taking the bread, and putting it into a small bag. I looked at her clothes. They weren't in the best condition, and her dress had a few patches sewn on. My throat tightened. People struggle here. Then I made a decision.

"That will be-" I dropped a few gold coins onto the counter. I didn't count, but I knew I paid more than enough. Way more than enough.

"Keep the change." I grinned, and sauntered out of there with my food. She stared, astonished at the amount I left her. Just as I reached the door again, I said back over my shoulder,

"Today's a wonderful day, right? And you're welcome." I heard her stutter "t-thank you very much!", and I walked out of the store. I smiled, and began to eat the bread that I had bought. It was delicious, and I sighed in content.

Until I saw the wanted poster tacked onto the wall of the store.

Wanted: (y/n) (l/n)

Alive

Offering 1,000,000,000 in reward money if found.

Contact Earl (l/n) if found or sighted.

I tightened my grip on my pack strap. He already sent out poster and a bounty?! I sighed. The picture they had of me was pretty recent too. I need to change quickly. NOW. I finished my bread and walked off. Hurrying slightly, I stopped at a tailor shop. Pushing the door open, I walked in, pulling up my hood as I went in.

"Yes? Can I help you, miss?" The tailor looked up from her sewing, and looked at me.

"Uh, I was wondering if I could buy some clothing for my brother? He's sick and mother sent me to get new clothing for him." She nodded, and pointed at the little shelf of boys clothing. "All the boy's clothing is there. If you anything else you need, just ask." Thanking her, I hurried over to the shelf, trying to find something that would fit me.

After much searching, I found something that looked appropriate to wear. A gray shirt with a little stitch up collar, and a pair of dark pants. I decided to keep my hood, as it wasn't that girly looking.

"Is that all?" The tailor asked as I gave her the clothing, and began to put it into a small bag. I fidgeted a little, before speaking up.

"Can I, uh, buy a pair of your scissors?" She looked at me with surprised eyes and raised eyebrows. "Scissors? Why? Don't you have your own?" I swallowed thickly.

"Mother lost her pair, and it's a bit expensive for us to ask a tailor to fix her shirt." I bit my lip, trying to look as innocent as possible. At least the night in the alley and the running away helped with the whole "look at how worn and dusty my clothing is" look.

She sighed and shook her head, but smiled. "Sure. I won't charge you for them." I brightened up.

Regular people were so kind!

"Thank you, thank you, thank you so much!" I paid for my clothing, and left the shop as she waved good bye. With quick steps, I headed towards the nearest alley, pulling off my pack as I ducked behind the wall. I changed into my new clothing, cutting up my old shirt to use as a chest binder, and throwing away whatever high quality cloth I had left. The clothing here wasn't as silky as the clothing I had worn before, but it was comfortable, and I could run in it.

Time for the last step, I thought. Opening the blades of the scissors, I began to cut my (h/c) hair shorter. Strands of it fell, as I snipped away. When I was finally done, my once long (h/c) hair became short and ended in small, choppy waves. I swept a couple strands over my left eye, making me seem less like a girl.

"I suppose this will do." I said, trying to make my voice a little lower and more boyish, before setting off again. As I walked down the street, I saw a crowd gathered up ahead, blocking the road. Curious, I pushed through the people, until I saw what was happening in the middle. There were three children, two boys and one girl, facing a gang of rather intimidating males, who were yelling at them.

"Excuse me, but what's going on?" I asked the man next to me.

"The boy with the blonde hair, he walked into the leader of those thugs on accident, and they started harassing them because of it." He replied, and moved closer for a better look. I strained my ears to hear over the noise of the crowd.

"Leave him alone! He already said sorry!"

"Heh, no one just bumps into the leader of the Mailla and gets away with it!" I stifled a snort. Mailla? What kind of stupid name for a gang is that?

"We're just going to sign up for the Military! So let us go already!" My gaze snapped to the boy who was shouting at the leader. Military?

I just found my guide to where to sign up.

"For a tall, buff gang leader, it seem quite pathetic you're actually trying to scare a couple of kids." The crowd grew with murmurs as they parted to reveal me, a scrawny, 13 year old 'boy'. The leader sneered, as the boy with brown hair turned to stare at me in surprise. He had teal-blue eyes.

"And just what is a short little brat like you doing in a street fight?" Truth be told, I wasn't the tallest person for my age. Probably as tall as the blond kid, maybe even shorter.

"And just what is a tough, macho gang leader like you doing harassing a couple of kids?" I mocked his voice, cocking my head as I crossed my arms. The gang laughed, as the leader began to crack his knuckles.

"Looks like I'll have to teach that snappy mouth of yours a lesson, twerp!" He swung his fist towards me, aiming for my mouth. Typical, I readied myself as I dropped my pack onto the ground. Time to see if self-defense class paid off.

I dodged, rolling under his arm as he pitched forward, and kicked his shin, with as much force as I could. A sickening CRACK! could be heard, and he dropped to his knees, howling with pain.

"My knee!" I brushed off the dust on my pants.

"Yes. Your knee." I retaliated, as I stood up. "Anything else to say?" He glared at me while I stood there, mocking his injury. One of the thugs ran at me, screaming and waving his arms around.

Do these idiots even know how to fight? I sighed as I dropped into a slow spin, and did the same thing as I did to their leader, except this time, I straightened up real quick and kneed him in the place where the sun doesn't shine. He keeled over, groaning in pain at both his knee and his... Er... Manly parts.

It would seem as though I had scared off most of the gang, but there was one more idiot that thought he could take me on, and ran at me with a yell. I decided to go on the offensive, throwing a punch at his right shoulder. He managed to dodge, but I grabbed his other shoulder, kicked his feet out from the right side, and forced him down onto the ground. However, he came prepared, and swiped a knife up at my face. A few people in the crowd screamed.

He managed to nick the side of my cheek, right under my eye. I bit back the scream of pain, and rolled off to the other side of the street. Luckily, it wasn't too deep, but it would leave a scar. He stood up, smiling nastily at the damage he inflicted. I leaped at him, grabbing the side of his head and I head-butted him.

Stars blinked in and out of my line of sight, as he collapsed on the ground, knocked out. I exhaled, and wiped some blood off of my face. The blonde boy rushed to my side, concern written all over his face.

"A-are you ok?" He asked, as he handed me a handkerchief.

"Yeah. I've gone through worse." I said as I pressed it against my cheek, stopping the flow of blood. The brown-haired boy ran over to us, waving a bandage someone from the crowd gave him.

"Hey! You there! I got you a bandage for your cut." He moved my hand out of the way, pressing the bandage against my wound.

"Thanks." I said as I pressed my fingers against my forehead. Still intact, but it still ached a little.

"No, we should be thanking you for helping us." The blonde boy smiled, and I just had to smile back.

"You're welcome. It was nothing." The girl walked over to us with my pack, and gave it to me without any words, although her eyes showed her gratitude.

"My name's Eren. That's Armin, and this is my foster sister Mikasa." The brown-haired boy pointed at his friends, introducing them. "And you are?" Crap. I didn't even think of a name yet!

"Uh, my name is (m/n)! Nice to meet you all." I said, as I shook his hand.

"Nice to meet you too, (m/n)! Is there any way we could repay you?" Armin asked, after shaking my hand too.

"Well, I was going to ask for directions for the Military sign-ups, but I suppose I could follow you guys, if that's ok?" Eren brightened up, and nodded.

"Sure! The sign ups are this way." We walked in our little group of 4, chatting idly as we went. I learned that Armin liked to read, Eren wanted to kill all of the Titans, and that Mikasa's only wish was to protect Eren. Of course, I had to share too.

"Well, I like to read, drawing, and baking! And bread." I nodded, satisfied with my own answer. They all smiled, making me smile back in spite of myself. For the first time in a long time, I felt accepted for who I was.

"So, (m/n), what's your story for joining the Military? Did your parents kick you out or something?" Eren said, as he kicked a pebble away from his shoe.

A pebble.

Suddenly, a voice rang out from inside my head, making me stop in my tracks.

'(y/n)! Well don't you look lovely today? That new dress looks so pretty on you!'

'(y/n), I'm so proud of you! You're such a wonderful child.'

'(y/n) dear, don't worry about it, alright? It wasn't your fault, I know you didn't mean to do it.'

'(y/n).'

'(Y/N).'

"Uh, (m/n)? Are you alright?" Armin's voice jolted me out of my daze. Eren and Mikasa looked at me, their eyes full of concern. I realized I had held in my breath and had stopped walking. I could feel my heart pound violently in my chest.

"Yeah!" I said, trying to stop my chest from aching. "Just a bad memory, that's all." Armin and Eren looked relieved. I don't think I fully convinced Mikasa, though. "Anyways, shouldn't we hurry up?" I tried to redirect their attention. "What if there's a big line at the sign-ups?" Eren looked like someone punched him in the face.

"YOU'RE RIGHT!" He ran, dragging poor Armin along with him. Mikasa sighed before running after them, leaving me behind. That was all I needed to compose myself. You can't think about that incident, I told myself as I chased after them. It's too risky. Forget it, it never happened. A small voice in the back of my head snickered. But you know it's your fault, don't you? Your fault that you- Shut up. I set my lips in a line. It's nothing. Nothing.

Thank you for reading chapter 2, it means a lot.