Chapter 1: The Fall of Senji Kiyomasa

"Read em' and weep, boys!" exclaimed Senji as he threw down the full house held in his hands. The three other men seated at the small, round table let out exasperated groans as they saw the playing cards, throwing their own onto the table in disgust. The spiky-haired man cackled as he gathered up his winnings.

"Well there goes my spending money for the rest of the week," complained Kan, a tall and lanky man with unkempt brown hair. He gave his friend one of his infamous lazy smiles before saying, "I hope it goes to good use at least."

"Knowing Senji, that's a statistical impossibility," joked Shindo, a shorter man who wore glasses. The three men shared a hearty laughed while Senji simply grinned at them.

"That's right laugh it up, but who's the one pocketing your money? Oh that's right, me!"

"Don't worry about that, with how bad of a gambler you are, we'll win our money back in no time!" said Momoi, a giant of a man who sported a burr cut. "Speaking of which, who's up for another hand?"

"Heh, you guys must really think I'm stupid," Senji said as he pushed his chair out from the table and stood-up. "I finally got the best of you bastards! I'm getting out while I'm ahead."

A chorus of protest followed the spiky-haired man as he left the poker table and went inside the Garrisons' barracks. It was an extremely nice day, so the four had taken their daily card game outside to enjoy the weather. However, they were all still on duty so before he could take off, Senji would have to get permission from the old man.

Walking into the headquarters, it didn't take long for Senji to spot his mentor. Amongst the dozen of men simply lazing around, playing games and telling stories to pass the time, he was the only one actually working. All that was visible of Domon was the top of his grey head, the rest of him was hidden behind a report that the sergeant was thoroughly reading over. The veteran looked up from his paper work as he noticed Senji walking past his desk.

"Hey, old man," the younger man said, not even casting a glance in his superior's direction as headed towards the equipment locker. "I'm going out on patrol."

"Humph, that's strange," said Domon. "Here I was thinking that I was in charge around here. Guess I was wrong. Well then, since you're in command now, looks like you'll be doing the paperwork while I play cards all day."

"Tsk, fine," Senji muttered with a roll of his eyes before turning to face the gray-haired man. "Sir, permission to go on patrol, sir?"

Domon gave his protégé a dismissive wave of his hand as he turned back to the report. Growling his displeasure, Senji turned back to the equipment locker. After a few moments of rummaging around, he was able to find his favorite set of 3D Maneuver Gear and he began the daunting task of getting himself in the damn thing. Several minutes and many curses later, Senji was fully suited up.

"Damn it, gramps! Why do you make us wear this stupid thing every time!?" demanded the spiky-haired solider.

"Protocol, boy," his superior answered without even looking up. "What's the point of patrolling without your gear? If you went out without and ran into trouble, you'd be screwed."

"You obviously haven't met my right hook then," Senji said with a smirk.

"Uh-huh, and you've never met any real trouble," Domon quipped back. "Now get out of here if you're going to go on patrol. Do try and actually make an appearance in some other parts of town besides Hinata's though okay."

Senji, known for his overflowing self-confidence and a knack for letting nothing faze him, stiffened like a board when he heard Domon's taunts. The older man let out a chuckle as he noticed the other soldier's reaction.

"You didn't really think you could fool us with all that, 'I just happen to pass by there,' bullshit, did you? Use to be we couldn't get you to go out on patrol unless you knew you were going to be able to bust some heads. Now you go out every day. We can put two and two together."

The younger Garrison member's face flushed red as he quickly turned away from the sergeant. "It's not like that. I'm just going to see the kids there at the orphanage. Dr. Jaeger was there yesterday and I promised I would come back today to make sure they were okay. Just because Hinata's in charge doesn't mean it's the only reason I go by there every now and then…"

"It is part of the reason though," Domon teased. A growl was the only response he got from Senji, so the veteran continued. "You still taking a shot before all the kids to prove it don't hurt?"

"Yeah," Senji answered quickly, happy to move past his love life. "Some of them still get nervous about it.

"Heh, no matter what all the others say, I know you're really just a big softie, Kiyomasa."

"Maybe, but I can still find it in my heart to kick your ass, old man."

"I'd like to see you try it, you little punk!"

Senji simply shook his head as he walked out of the barracks. That geezer was always going out of his way to poke fun at him. Why was it any of his business what his subordinates were up to anyways?

Even though he was still a little steamed by the elder man's teasing, Senji wondered why it had such an effect on him. Normally, insults and taunts just seemed to bounce right off him, but whenever someone brought up Hinata, he would lose all semblance of composure. Could it be that the old man was right? Did he really have feelings for this girl?

The man paused as he considered this possibility. Ever since he had first laid eyes on Hinata, there had been…something about her that made Senji want to know her better. It was as if there was a tiny voice in his head commanding him to approach her, to talk to her, to spend time next to her. He couldn't quite figure out what exactly it was about her that seemed to draw him in either. Anytime he attempted to pick out his favorite thing about Hinata, another, even more appealing attribute popped into his head. His mind never seemed to think clearly whenever he thought about her.

A bigger question though was: why was he so embarrassed whenever someone pointed out his attraction to the girl? Now that Senji thought more on it, you'd have to be a fool not to be! Hinata was attractive, she was sweeter than honey, and she was the kindest, most unselfish person that Senji had ever laid eyes on. She was…perfect. So why was he so afraid of having feelings for her? Was it because he was afraid of what others might think if the tough, badass Senji actually had feelings for someone?

Senji snarled as he shook his head and continued with his patrol. Damn what those idiots thought! He had never cared what anyone thought of him his whole life and he sure as hell wasn't going to start too now!

Realizing that he had mindlessly made his way into the town's market, Senji remembered that this was his intended destination and he began to look around for the correct stand. It didn't take him long to spot it, and still raging inside, the man stormed over to the stall. The merchant's eyes widened slightly as he saw the angry look on the guard's face and his voice was afflicted with a terrified stammer as he addressed his newest customer.

"He…hello there, goo-I mean good-sir. Can I…interest you in one of my wares?"

"Yup, give me that toy," said Senji, lifting his hand to point at a small, wooden horse that hung on the wall of the stall.

"A…a toy?" asked the befuddled vendor, the fear in his voice fading away thanks to the sheer oddity of this intimidating man asking for a child's plaything.

"Yeah, that wooden horse you got propped up there. I want to buy it."

"Aren't you a little old…"

"Look, it's for this kid I know alright," Senji said, his voice shrinking to barely above a whisper. "He's been talking about that horse for months now and I've finally got the money to get it for him."

"Oh! It's for your son! Of course, I'll get it for you right away." The spiky-haired man simply remained silent as the shopkeeper turned around to fetch the wooden horse. As he was pulling out the money from his poker winnings, another object caught Senji's eyes. Sitting next to his arm on the counter, was a bouquet of red roses. An idea popped into the man's head, and he began to fish out a few extra coins from his pocket as the vendor placed the horse in front of him.

"How much for the flowers?" asked Senji.

"These? They're not really for sale; they just make the place look a bit nicer so I'm sorry but…" the vendor stopped mid-sentence when he saw the venomous look Senji was giving him. "I'll sell them for 10 marks."

Nodding to show his compliance, the spiky-haired soldier handed over the money he owed. Taking the horse and placing it underneath his arm, Senji accepted the bundle of flowers with his other.

"Thanks, I appreciate it," Senji said before turning and beginning the walk to the orphanage.

"I hope the miss's likes the flowers, sir!" shouted the merchant after him.

"Heh, me and you both," the man said to himself as he left the market square. There was an extra pep in Senji's step today, and he began to whistle a tune as he walked down the road. It had really been his lucky day so far, and he was hoping that would continue when he talked to Hinata. Assuming she had the same feelings for him today would be one of the best days of his life. Nothing could possibly damper Senji's mood now.

BOOOOOMMMMM!

Senji was knocked off his feet as a large explosion suddenly rocked the entire town of Shiganshina to its core. The athletic man let out a groan of pain as he landed on the wooden toy, splintering it into dozens of pieces. A frown formed across the soldiers face as he brushed off the fragments of wood from his jacket and stood up.

"Damn it," he cursed. "What the hell was that? An explosion?"

Looking around, Senji realized that everyone had been staggered by the unforeseen tremor. Casting a glance to his hand, the man was relieved to see that the roses had remained unscathed from his fall. He let out a sigh though as he saw the broken remnants of the toy. Izuru would be disappointed, but Senji still had some money left over from the card game. He would take him out and buy him some candy or something to make it up to him.

That was when the soldier noticed something was wrong. It was far too quiet. Normally after an event like that, people would be talking loudly, wondering what had happened or complaining about how the event had ruined one thing or another. Right now, however, it was deathly silent. No one was speaking a word. Glancing around, Senji saw that the dozen other people around him were all looking up and out towards the wall. As the soldier was about to ask the question himself, a small boy with brown hair beat him to the punch.

"What happened? What are you looking at?"

He was about to turn around to comfort the boy, but that's when he caught sight of it. It was just out of the corner of his eye, but it immediately made him stop in his tracks and turn to gawk at it like the rest of the citizens. The spiky-haired man's eyes widened in horror and his jaw dropped as the nightmare of every member of humanity was realized.

A single giant-no colossal-fleshy hand was grasping onto the top of the wall as a blood-red skull peered into the village below.

'This is it.' Senji thought. 'The Titans have come. It's the end of the world.'

Senji was snapped out of his shock when the Colossal Titan hammered its foot into the wall. The roses he held were ripped out if his hands by the hurricane force winds from the Titan's earth shattering kick. Large chunks of the destroyed wall were now crashing down from the sky, leveling homes and crushing humans like ants as they smashed into the town. The worst part about it for the soldier was that he could do nothing to help. People were dying around him and all he could do was stand frozen with horror. Helpless.

That's when something clicked with-in Senji's head. Pure terror filled his entire being as he turned his gaze in the direction of the orphanage.

"Hinata…" he said breathlessly. The home she ran was on the outer edge of the city, next to the opening in the wall!

Without even a thought to the immense danger he was heading into, Senji ejected the grappling hooks to his 3D Maneuver Gear and shot through the air. As soon as his feet touched down onto a rooftop, the spiky-haired man had launched himself off again, making a beeline towards the orphanage. He moved as fast as he could, knowing he couldn't waste a single second if he were to beat the Titans to Hinata and the kids.

Even with Senji's natural ability with his equipment, it still took him almost an entire minute to reach his destination. He let out a small sigh of relief as his first glance confirmed that the monsters hadn't made it here yet. However, the man's reprieve of ill fortunate was short lived as he was met by yet another scene from his worst nightmares.

The orphanage wasn't there.

All that remained was a mound of debris, a cracked bell tower resting atop the pile of splintered wood and stone.

Senji forced back the scream that threatened to tear out of his throat. Overwhelming dread and panic began to take over the man's body as he stared in horror at the wreckage below him. Was he too late? Was fate really this cruel?

The soldier shook his head, attempting to regain his composure and forcing the negative thoughts out of his head. They're could be survivors still in the ruins, or kids who were outside when the building had been demolished by the falling debris. Now wasn't the time to shut down, they still needed his help, and Senji wasn't about to let them down.

"Hinata!" Senji shouted as he leapt down from a rooftop and ran towards the remains of the orphanage. "Hinata! Izuru! Anyone!? Can anyone hear me!?"

As his desperate cries rang out over the flattened building, Senji's eyes scanned the rubble for any sign of life. His breathing stopped for a spilt second when he spotted a tiny hand and arm inside of the debris. In a flash, the soldier had slid to his knees in front of the small appendage and was furiously digging through the pile of rubble to get to the child.

"Hold on kid, I'll get you out!" assured Senji as he clawed through the wreckage. "Don't worry; everything's going to be okay."

After a few more moments, the soldier had removed enough of the rubble that he deemed it okay to try and pull the kid out from underneath the debris. Senji glanced over the ruined remains one last time to make sure that they wouldn't suddenly collapse during the attempted rescue. Satisfied that they wouldn't break, the spiky-haired man took the tiny, delicate hand within his own.

"Alright, I'm going to try and pull you out now. Just try and relax. You'll be out in no time. Okay, I'm going on the count of three. One. Two. Three."

Closing his eyes, Senji put in all of his strength into dislodging the child out of the crevice it was trapped under. He ceased his pulling though when his ears were filled with a sickening, ripping sound coming from where he was tugging.

"Hey, kid, are you o…"

Senji's words died in his throat as his eyes were met only by the blood soaked, severed arm he now held in his hands.

The man let out a yelp of fright as he dropped the bloody limb and quickly crab-crawled away from the wreckage. Almost instantaneously, nausea overwhelmed and Senji was forced to vomit up the content of his stomach as the repugnant smell of decaying flesh hit him like a tidal wave. As he raised his head back up, still coughing and gagging, the soldier gnashed his teeth together in frustration. Even though it was so horrible and so repulsive to behold, Senji couldn't take his eyes off of the last remnant of what once a child. A child he had known. A child he had failed.

It wasn't fair. Why? Why was this happening? What had they done to deserve this? To be squashed like insects. No one deserved that…much less kids.

Shock and dismay had completely taken hold of Senji now. He wanted to run away, to get as far away from this nightmare as he could. Yet, every time he attempted to raise his legs, to lift himself up, his body refused his commands. His muscles were locked into place, keeping him trapped in a quagmire of hopelessness and dismay.

"Senji…"

Outside of his dazed mind, Senji heard a soft voice calling his name. It sounded familiar…

"Senji! Is that you?"

It was so unfitting for this terrible scene, and this led the soldier to dismiss at first as a figment of his shell-shocked imagination. Of course he would want to believe there might be some sort of saving grace amongst all this desolation. That just wasn't the world though. Angels didn't exist within nightmares.

"Senji! Oh thank god you're okay! What are you doing here?"

Wait…

"Hinata?"

Turning to look in the direction of the angelic voice, Senji's heart skipped a beat when he saw Hinata, Izuru, and two of the other children standing a few yards away. Immediately upon seeing this, the spiky-haired man was released from the shackles of anguish that had held him down. He immediately leapt up and sprinted towards the survivors, wrapping them all in a giant bear hug as tears of joy stung the corner of his eyes.

"Hinata! Izuru! Sven! Sara! I'm so glad you're alright!" Senji shouted.

"Mr. Senji, you're crushing us!" complained Izuru, a small boy of about nine with messy, brown hair.

"Oh, sorry," the soldier said, now that the initial joy was wearing off, he regained his senses and the gravity of the situation. Putting the group back onto the ground, he quickly turned to face Hinata.

"You have to get out of here right now! The Titans have breached the wall! You and the kids need to get to the Wall Maria gate and take the boats all the way to inside of Wall Rose."

The children began to mumble amongst themselves as Hinata's normally kind, brown eyes filled with fear. "What about you, Senji? Don't tell me you're going to stay behind!"

"Don't worry, I'll be with you all the way to the boats," Senji assured her. "I'll make sure you and the kids get on, no matter what. Now let's go! We don't have any time to spare!"

Hinata nodded her understanding before turning towards the children and with only a few words, explained the plan. Senji had to give the little ones credit, even though they were completely terrified, he could see the resolve in their eyes. They wanted to cry, but they knew that wouldn't help them now. There would be plenty of time for tears once they had reached safety.

After explaining to the children the need to hurry, Hinata took Sara-a small, five year old girl-into her arms. Knowing that they would move faster if they carried the children, Senji scooped up both of the boys underneath his own arms and then with a nod, the pair began on a dead sprint up the dirt road. Senji made sure to stay behind the short-haired woman, even though he could have run faster. There was no way he was going to leave her behind now.

For almost a whole minute, the group ran into no trouble, but with every step they took, Senji knew they were getting closer and closer to danger. The cries of agony and horror were growing ever louder in his ears, and he knew it was only a matter of time before they would inevitably run across a Titan.

Senji's fears were realized when they rounded a corner, and he heard Hinata let out a scream of pure terror. The man's heart nearly leapt out of his chest, believing that she had been caught by a Titan. Sprinting around the corner, the spiky-haired soldier was relieved to find that the caretaker was fine, but she had been frozen by the horrible scene before them.

Standing in the small square, not a hundred feet away, was a Titan. Senji had seen Titans before when standing atop the wall, but that had been from 50 meters above them. From that height, he had never really been intimidated by them. He had always viewed them as stupid, mindless, creatures that were more laughable than frightening.

Now that he stood so close to one though, he was able to fully comprehend how terrifying these monsters really were. Everything about it had every muscle of Senji's body paralyzed with fear. How it towered over 10 meters high, making the man realize just how small and helpless he really was compared to a Titan. How its soulless eyes just stared at you, sizing you up like a piece of meat. How its mouth was formed into an everlasting, terrifying, grin. This allowed the dozens of dagger-like teeth, capable of ripping through your skin in a heartbeat, to be on full display to its victim. How no matter how much you wanted to scream and run away, something about it seemed to hold you in place, unable to escape from the man-eating beast.

Senji gnashed his teeth together, forcing himself out of the paralyzing fear the Titan had cast on him. He couldn't freeze up now. Hinata and the kids were counting on him! This was no time for him to be wetting himself like some spineless coward! Anybody could feel fear; it was an instinct all humans were programmed with. What made a man a REAL man was feeling that fear, accepting it, then rising up above and conquering it. That's what truly made someone brave or courageous or tough. His entire life, Senji had prided himself on being a "badass". Nothing ever seemed to faze or frighten him. Now it was time to really live up to that label.

Setting down the two boys he held, the spiky-haired warrior curtly said, "Hinata, you and the kids need to take the other way. Stick to the back roads and the edge of town. I'll meet back up with you all in a second."

"Senji, I…"

"Go!" he bellowed "There's no time! Don't worry I'll be fine. You don't think just one of these ugly bastards is enough to take me out do you?"

Hinata was brought out of her shock by the man's shouts. A small smile formed across her face as tears began to stream down her cheeks. Leaning forward, she caught Senji by complete surprise as she pressed her lips against his. The hardened man's eyes widened in shock as he felt her warmth and an unexpected shot of elation was injected into his heart, even in this bleak hour.

"There," the brown-haired woman said as she pulled away from him. "Now you have to come back so we can talk about what just happened."

"Uh-huh," mumbled a stunned Senji. Without another word, Hinata turned her back to him and ran towards the back-street they would have to now take. A stream of tears trailed after her as she and the kids disappeared down the alleyway.

The spiky-haired man lightly brushed his fingers against his own lips. It was the exact opposite of what he had always imagined their first kiss being like, but considering he might be eaten alive in the next minute or so, Senji would take it.

A loud thud shook the soldier out of his day-dream. Turning his head to look over his shoulder, Senji saw that the Titan had taken a single step forward towards him. The giant's eyes were still locked onto him with that same, lifeless stare. However, now it didn't inspire the same sort of fear as before. In fact, the man was even able to summon up a smirk to shot the Titan's way as he said.

"What the hell are you starin' at? Never seen people kiss before? I guess not, don't imagine many people wanting to line up to smooch ya with that ugly mug."

Almost as if in response to the man's taunts, the Titan lunged forward into action. Its arms were outstretched and it tried to catch Senji between its palms. The soldier was too quick for the giant though, and he was able to easily evade the clumsy attack by zipping over to a nearby roof.

"Oh, I guess we started," Senji muttered as he unsheathed his blades and took aim at the Titan's exposed neck. The colossal oaf had stumbled slightly during its lunge, so now the monster's only weak-spot was vulnerable to attack. After picking the best trajectory for his assault, the soldier used his 3D Maneuver Gear to shot forward like a racing bullet. Bringing back his arms so that they were drawn completely overhead, Senji let out a vicious war cry as he brought down his blades against the nape of the Titan's neck.

The naked steel cut through the giant's soft muscle like butter, but just as the blades were about to reach the kill spot, the Titan suddenly jerked up. This sudden movement forced Senji cease his attack and yank his swords out of the Titan's neck or risk losing them completely. There was no telling how many of these monsters he might have to face today, so every set of blades counted. He couldn't afford to lose any inside of a Titan because of a rookie mistake. As he pulled his swords free, the soldier's gear forced him to continue on his trajectory, propelling him away from his enemy and onto another roof across the square.

"Tsk, damn it! I didn't cut deep enough," Senji said with disgust. A slight twinge of pain shot up the man's arm and the man noticed that steam was now beginning to rise into his line of sight. Looking down, he discovered that his swords were now emitting vapor like crazy from being covered with the Titan's blood. A small amount had even gotten onto his hand, causing the flesh under it to burn slightly. With a small grunt of annoyance, Senji flung the crimson liquid off his hand before looking back towards his mammoth-sized foe.

Senji's eyes widened with fear as the only sight he was met with was the huge, open mouth of the Titan about to clamp down on him.

At the very last second, Senji was able to leap backwards and narrowly avoid the Titan's deadly bite. The roof he had just been standing on only moments before was ripped through like it was made out paper by the giant's powerful jaws. In order to put some distance between him and the Titan, Senji quickly shot his grappling hooks and rocketed to the other side of the plaza. The velocity of his landing was great that his boots kicked up the tiles on the roof and sent them crashing to the ground.

Letting out the breath he had been holding onto, Senji mentally berated himself. He should have known better than to let his guard down around his enemy! That was Combat 101 and it applied to any opponent, especially against a Titan. One slip up and he would end up as the monster's dinner. Not to mention, the longer the fight what on the more likely it was that he would be caught by the Titan. Senji knew he needed to end this battle soon.

Determined to fell the Titan with this pass, the spiky-haired soldier sprang into action. He altered his flight path so that he would whip around to end up behind the monster's neck this time instead of charging straight for it. This turned out to be a poor strategy, for as he was attempting to sling shot himself towards the giant, the Titan reached out with one paw and batted him out of the sky.

A wave of pain coursed through Senji's body as he was knocked out of the air and sent spiraling into one of the nearby houses. He crashed through the wooden roof and landed awkwardly onto a kitchen table, shattering it into pieces in the process. Every single muscle in his body seemed to be crying out in agony as he attempted to lift himself up. A severe shock of pain immediately put him back down and Senji gingerly touched his side, the origin point of the soreness. His hand immediately recoiled away after another intense wave of discomfort shot through him.

Yup, it was official. He had a couple of broken ribs.

The bad news just continued to pile on, as the Titan's massive head peered through the hole in the roof. All that was visible through the gap was one of the giant's eyes, but Senji realized that wouldn't be all that he would be able to see soon. Soon or later, the Titan would jam its hand inside the house, snatch him, and then devour him. Since he was adamantly opposed to that occurring, the soldier knew he had to quickly get out of the house. Unfortunately, there was currently only one exit available to him. In a spilt second, a crazy and stupid plan flashed before his eyes. It was sort of an all or nothing deal. Either this idea would allow him to escape and kill the Titan, or it would get him killed faster than standing in front of a firing canon. Whelp…there was only one way to find out.

Steeling his nerves, Senji fired his grappling hooks in the only direction he could. Directly into the Titan's eye.

The Titan roared in agony, jerking away from the hole in the roof as the hook pierced its eye. Thanks to this involuntary action by the giant, Senji wasn't just zipped straight into the Titan's face, but instead of thrown higher into the air by the monster throwing its head back in pain. When he felt the wire beginning to pull him back down towards the Titan, Senji detached the hook and allowed gravity to bring him back to earth. Since he wasn't connected to anything, the spiky-haired warrior was able to direct his body so he would fall behind the Titan's head instead of in front of it. As he fell, Senji began to twirl his body in order to get even more momentum for his swords, which now appeared like a deadly spinning top.

He fell upon the Titan like a dive-bombing crow. His blades sliced through the giant with hardly resistance at all, the added power from the momentum of his spinning and fall making sort work of his target. Not just the nape of the neck, but a slab of the entire monster's neck, was severed by Senji's master strike, slaying the Titan instantly. After the killing blow was delivered, the soldier braced himself before kicking off his enemy's body, propelling his body to land on a nearby roof. The man simply tumbled onto the shingles, unable to make a smooth landing because of his injuries. At the same time, the Titan's carcass crashed to the ground causing a large boom to echo throughout the plaza.

It was over.

A groan escaped from Senji as he pushed himself onto his knees and from there to his feet. Though his side was still throbbing, the rush of adrenaline from the fight was helping to hold back the pain. Besides, he couldn't let a few broken ribs stop him now. He had killed a Titan after all! It shouldn't be any harder to just move around the city!

Gnashing his teeth together in an attempt to block out his the pangs in his side, Senji fired his grappling hooks and began to make his way towards Wall Maria. He tried to keep to the path that he instructed Hinata to take, closer to the outskirts of the city where it would take the Titans longer to reach. As he shot from building to building, the man made sure to constantly scan his surroundings for Hinata and the kids, but also for any Titans that might be on the prowl. He needed to make sure the area was safe for them to pass through. It wouldn't do any good to get all the way to the gate only to be surrounded by Titans after all.

As Senji continued to search for Hinata, he couldn't help but notice that the screams of terror were getting louder and louder around him. Risking a glance over his shoulder, the man saw that almost the entire front half of the town was now teeming with Titans. It wouldn't take long for the rest of Shiganshina to completely overrun. He needed to find Hinata and the kids quickly if they were going to escape this living nightmare.

Looking back up, Senji was forced to come to a grinding halt as he spotted a large group of Titans only a few blocks ahead of him. There were five in total: a small one that only stood about 4 meters tall whose head made up about half of that height, three of your standard sized Titans which were like the one Senji had fought earlier, and finally a 15 meter Titan which towered above the city and its peers. The pack of giants weren't aware of the soldier yet, and Senji's face contorted into a grimace when he realized it was because they were too busy feeding to pay attention to the newcomer.

Blood splattered into the air like a downpour of rain as the gang of Titans chomped into their prey. A wave of nausea swept over Senji as he looked at the biggest one's face. Crimson liquid gushed out of the beast's mouth, spilling out onto its face and staining it with the blood of its victim. The giant wasn't even bothering to hold onto the poor soul it was devouring any longer, simply allowing the lifeless body to dangle over the edge of its mouth.

No matter how much his brain told him not to, Senji couldn't help but look at the Titan's victim. It was a strange, morbid fascination but for some reason his eyes seemed to be drawn to the corpse hanging from the monster's mouth. Telling from the blood-soaked garb it wore, only a few moments ago it had been a woman. Her short, brown hair was now caked with mud and gore and her thin face was frozen in an expression of pure terror. There seemed to be an air of familiarity around the girl and even though her brown eyes were now cold and lifeless, Senji couldn't help but feel that this picture was horribly wrong. Something was telling him that those eyes were met to appear as warm, kind, comforting. Just like…

…

Every nerve in Senji's body seemed to die at the same time as he watched another spray of red liquid fill the sky and the horrible sound of his failure rang in his ears as the Titan took another bite out of…

crunch

Senji's muscles failed him, causing him to fall to his knees and his blades dropped with a clatter at his side as the life left his own eyes as he stared into the dead, hollow eyes of…

Crunch

His mind completely shut down, unable to cope with the heinous sight before him. All sense of feeling completely left him, only leaving soul-crushing despair that pressed down upon him like the weight of the world as he watched the Titan begin to suck down…

CRUNCH

With a flood of tears now flowing down his face freely, Senji feebly raised his arm in a desperate attempt to grab hold of the woman before she disappeared within the Titan's gullet forever. The emasculate effort was in vain though as the corpse began to slid down the giant's tongue, disappearing just slowly enough so that Senji could witness her horrified face disappearing into darkness for an eternity as he stood by incapable of saving…

…

"Hinata…" whispered a helpless, horrified, shell-shocked, and defeated Senji.

The Titan's mouth closed with a loud snap, followed by the disgusting sound of the giant forcing down his meal with a gulp. Senji's empty eyes traced the large bulge in the monster's throat as it went ever downward, before finally sliding completely into the beast's belly. As the last remnant of Hinata disappeared from the world, Senji could no longer hold it all in.

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"

The soldier's howl of agony echoed throughout the entire city as Senji attempted to let all of the horror, anger, sorrow, and despair he was feeling one, climatic moment. His lungs threatened to burst as he continued screaming into the heavens, drawing the attention and ire of the gang of Titans in front of him. Even though the blood of Senji's loved ones was still wet against their skin, their never-ending hunger drove them towards the wailing man.

Through his blurry vision, Senji noticed the approaching horde of Titans. His bellowing ceased as the spiky-haired man's face contorted into one of loathing hatred. An uncontrollable rage possessed the warrior as he leapt to his feet and yelled at the giants.

"YOU WANT ME TOO BASTARDS! IS THAT IT!? WELL THEN, COME AND GET SOME!"

Launching himself forward with his gear, Senji raced towards the Titans. The soldier had fallen into madness, the need to charge the monsters that had stolen Hinata, Izuru, and the others away from him being the only thought in his mind. Nothing else mattered. It didn't matter that he would surely die from facing five titans alone. It didn't matter that even if he killed these Titans, there was an endless army of giants that would take their place. It didn't matter that no amount of violence and death would ever bring back Hinata. Hell, it didn't even matter that he had dropped his swords and was flying into battle weaponless. No, none of that mattered. Not one bit. All that mattered was that one way or another, it was all going to be over soon…

As he flew through the air and towards his death, Senji thought he could hear a voice calling out to him. At first, he thought it was the gentle voice of Hinata beckoning him to join her. However, he soon realized that wasn't the case when he finally heard the words being said by the gruff voice, which had gone from a distant whisper to an angry roar in single second.

"what…the hell Do You THINK YOU'RE DOING!"

Turning his head of the voice's direction, Senji was only able to catch a tuft of gray hair before he was slammed into mid-flight. The spiky-haired man let out a groan of surprise as a set of arms suddenly wrapped around him, pulling him off his collision course with death and spiriting him away from the Titan horde. Within a few seconds, Senji had been dragged completely out of the danger zone and was being thrown roughly onto the roof of a building hundreds of meters away.

"Have you gone insane!?" Wiping away the last remnants of his tears, Senji was shocked to see the angry face of Domon bearing down on him. "I always knew you were a moron, but I didn't believe you were that stupid! For god's sake, son, you didn't have your blades out!"

"Let me go old man!" Senji screamed back after recovering from his initial shock. "Those sons of bitches killed Hinata! They have to pay!"

The enraged soldier attempted to get up, but he was instantaneously kicked and pinned back down to the rooftop courtesy of Domon's boot.

"Like hell I'm going to let you go!" the older man shouted back. "I'm not about to watch yourself get killed. There are still people trapped in the city, being slaughtered like cattle by the Titans and you want to abandon your post just so you can escape the pain you're feeling. Well tough luck, because when you put that uniform on you gave up the right to quit on life! It's your god-damned duty to save as many lives as physically possible and I'll be damned if I'm going to allow you to not uphold it!"

"But sir, what's the point!?" yelled a distraught Senji, tears beginning to stream down his face again. "They're all dead sir! Hinata. Izuru. Sven. Sara. They're all dead and it's because I failed them! I couldn't protect them and now they're dead…What good am to you now? I can't save anyone…"

"The point is that this is what they would want from you, Senji," said Domon, his voice softening as he removed his boot from the other man's chest. "Hinata and those kids looked up to you because you were a strong, caring man. They thought you were a hero. Someone who would also fight the good fight and always persevere no matter what horrors tried to beat you down. The way you're acting now is spitting on their memory. They wouldn't want you to give up. They would want you to keep on fighting and being the hero they believed in. I'm not saying you shouldn't mourn their deaths, or grieve your loss. No, that's necessary; it's something we'll all need to do by the day's end. But for now, you need to honor their memory by being strong. Put aside your sorrow for now, and help the lives you can still save instead of killing yourself over the ones you couldn't."

Senji sat in silence as he allowed his mentor's words to wash over him. His mindless rage was beginning to subside and reason returned to him. The old man was right. Hinata wouldn't want him to throw his life away. She treasured life above all else, that's why she took in every stray kid she found. Nothing would upset her more than Senji trying to callously throw his own away. Shame set into the man's heart, but alongside it, a conviction was born. Never again was he going to fail someone like he had failed Hinata and the kids.

Lifting his arm up, Senji wiped away the last of his tears. Opening his eyes, the man was surprised to see his sergeant's hand extended towards him. Giving the man a nod of thanks, the spiky-haired soldier took his mentors hand and lifted himself onto his feet.

Domon didn't ask for assurances that his comrade was okay or if he was alright now. There was no need. Everything he needed to know was there to see within Senji's eyes. Where moments before there had been nothing but mindless fury in his grey eyes, now there was just steely resolve. Satisfied that the boy's senses had returned to him, Domon clapped him on the shoulder before saying.

"Alright, let's get going. Everyone's waiting for us."

"Sir."

Turning back around, the grey-haired man saw that Senji's gaze was locked onto the wave of Titans that were pouring into the city. A burning flame of hatred sprung to life within the spiky-haired soldier's eye and for a second, Domon feared his protégé was about to charge back into battle. Instead, Senji remained still as a statue as he said in a low voice.

"They need to pay. They have to pay for what they did."

The older man was silent for a moment before answering. "They'll get what's comin' to em', Senji. Don't worry about that. I promise son, one day we'll strike back against these giant bastards and pay them back tenfold for all the suffering they've put us through. Unfortunately, today's not that day. Today, we have a different job to do."

After finishing his small speech, Domon shot his grappling hooks and sped away from the rooftop. For a spilt second, Senji didn't follow him and continued to stare at the hated army from humanity's army. The man's nails dug into the flesh of his palm as he attempted to store all of the hate he felt at that moment, attempting to preserve it for the day when he struck back at the Titan Invasion.

"One day…" Senji muttered before launching his own hooks and racing after his mentor.

Senji's nails once again tore into his palm, drawing blood as his one good eye stared down at the shredded carcass of the Titan he had just slain. His Crow's Claws gleamed wickedly as a small smirk spread across his face.

"Today's the day, old man," he said to himself. "It's finally here…the time for me to strike back."

Thanks for reading! Wow, I have to admit, when I started writing this chapter I didn't think that Senji's flashback would grow to what it did, but I'm glad it did. It's important for establishing his character and the beginning of one of the major storylines so even though it grew to be the whole chapter, I think it fits nicely and hopefully it will help all of the Attack on Titan only readers to get a better feel and connection for Senji's character. He's one of my favorite characters in all of anime/manga, and I really hope I was able to do him justice here. A quick-shot out goes to Roseblade22 again, this time for directly inspiring one of Senji's torment scenes (psst, it was the arm one). She sent me a scene awhile back from her AoT one-shot called In the Absence of Light (go check it out, it's really good!) and when I was writing this it just popped onto my head and I could have sworn it was canon. She was nice enough to let me use it here and for that I'm very thankful! Well, that's it for my rambling, see you guys next time!