A/N: This one is a tad bit shorter, but it also wraps up this sequence. :p
[Prologue II…And I'm Stayin' Alive... ]
Why had she let go?
Okay, they had been fighting against a crowd of adults, but why did she let go?
Yui's brown eyes stared up at the sky while the people around her shouted in uproar as the boat left. They said that there were none left, which meant that they were stuck there.
The Garrison had failed.
Those were the first words that Yui had heard coming out of the frantic towns folk's mouths. She blankly stared at the adults and few kids that remained. A majority of them were crying, it seemed that there was no hope.
As the giant footsteps grew nearer, Yui sighed. Was there even a point anymore? Here she was, nine years old, and willing to die since there was no hope left.
I watched Gran die in order to save me and Ui...only to lose Ui in the crowd. Who knows if she's even alive right now.
Yui sniffled before quickly rubbing at the tears in her eyes. Her life had been short, but she could happily admit that she had at least saved someone from the titans.
That's right, Azunyan would have died if I didn't take her to the docks.
The brunette sadly smiled to herself before she felt someone crash into her. She glanced up and saw a woman looking down at her.
It was Ritsu's mother.
"Yui-chan? Why are you still here?" The amber-eyed woman gasped as she glanced at the ship that was getting farther and farther by the second.
Yui slowly shrugged before glancing away. The tawny-haired woman who looked like an older version of her daughter sighed before picking her up.
"We're going to try to get a group of horses and transport people to the nearest town up the river. They're hoping that the titans haven't gotten too far in," She said.
Ritsu's mother wearily smiled at her before she glanced up and her eyes widened in horror. Yui felt the woman let her drop to the ground before shoo'ing her away.
"Go Yui-chan, quickly run to the stables!" She shouted.
"B-but Tainaka-san," Yui began.
"GO NOW!" The woman screamed.
It was then that a giant hand picked her up. Yui remained frozen for a few seconds and watched in horror for the second time that day as a titan went to eat someone that she knew. The small girl slowly began to back up, her eyes did not stray from the titan as it made a movement that led to a loud crack coming from Ritsu's mother before bringing her up to its mouth.
Yui looked away at the last second and began to sprint. She quickly wiped away the incoming tears in her eyes as she ran toward the stables.
The adults that were already there glanced over at her and then at each other.
"Is it okay to take her? I mean there's barely enough horses for any of us," one of the men said.
"She's just a child, I think that we should," a woman said.
One of the men walked over from the group and knelt down in front of Yui. He looked at her in the eyes before softly asking,
"Little girl, why are you still here? Where are your parents?"
Yui sniffled before glancing down at the ground.
"My parents are in another wall…" Yui softly said.
"Oh...see this poor girl was abandoned! We HAVE to take her," the woman said again.
The man facing Yui grimly nodded before picking her up on putting her on a horse. He then got on it behind her and signaled for the others to go.
"Don't worry, little girl, we are going to get through this," he said.
Yui slowly nodded before glancing back at the town. As she watched the titans surround the crowd of people that had stayed by the docks, she couldn't force herself to look away. The screams slowly became quieter and quieter as the titans consumed people and the group of people riding away on the horses got farther.
"Don't look that way," the man who was behind Yui said.
The small girl glanced down at the horse instead. Nine years old and she had witnessed the cruelty that resided in this world. Had the others even managed to escape or did titans along the way stop their ship?
Yui sighed before resting her head on the horse's mane. She was tired, icky, and covered in gran's blood. The young girl wrinkled her nose and blankly stared at the other people that were with them.
She recalled the early days where everything had been happy and bright. She and the others were always playing and joking about what they'd do if the titans broke through. Yui bit her lip hard enough to taste a metallic liquid in her mouth.
If anything this would drive her to want to get back at the titans. The small girl glanced back in time to see a large figure in the distance sprinting toward them.
Wait...sprinting?
"What the hell, that titan's running!" One of the horseback riders said.
"Speed up everyone and then split up! It can't catch us all at once," the man behind Yui said.
The small brunette watched in shock as the titan grinned at them and watched with those lifeless eyes before quickly reaching out and grabbing for one of the people on the horse. When it missed, instead of recoiling, it immediately swung its arm and knocked three people off of their horses.
"Keep going! Don't look back!" One of the men who was still riding shouted.
Yui watched as a woman wrestled with one of the men on her horse as she shouted.
"STOP, THAT'S MY HUSBAND. LET ME GO BACK!"
The nine-year old could not keep her eyes away when the woman suddenly fell off the horse and rolled onto the ground. A sickening crack cut through the air as she landed badly on her neck.
"Do not stray from formation. Unless you want to die, LISTEN TO WHAT WE SAY," the man whose horse the woman had fallen off of said.
Yui glanced away, the horror that engulfed her small body was too much for her to think properly. She closed her eyes and muttered soothing words in order to block out the screaming.
"Shit, there's another abnormal one straight ahead!"
Yui glanced up and met the titan's lifeless eyes. Its grin seemed to widen as it reached out toward her. Then everything had happened quickly.
The horse that she was on quickly turned right, thus causing Yui and the man to fall off. Yui hissed in pain when she landed. She glanced at her arm and saw that she had a pretty nasty looking cut on it.
The titan had not stopped moving though, Yui watched in horror as its hands wrapped around her small body before everything went dark.
- Attack on K-ON! -
The sounds of the city seemed to be amplified as people wandered around aimlessly searching for their family.
"I-I...I hate to say this, but...I don't think either Yui or Ui made it," Ritsu said.
The group of girls was in the middle of the town square. They had been going around for the past few hours in hopes of seeing their friends and family, but to no avail.
Azusa whimpered before bringing her hands up to her face and letting her tears stream down her cheeks. Next to her, Mio was huddled up on the ground and already sobbing.
"I want my mama," Mio wailed.
Ritsu and Mugi seemed to be the only ones who had managed to keep calm.
"I'm sure she's here somewhere, Mio! Like my mom and dad! I'm sure they're searching for us right now," Ritsu cheerily said.
"Ya, my papa is big and strong! When I was younger he told me that he would take on the titans with his fists if they ever got through!" Mugi stated.
"But my mama's dead, Mugi-senpai told me that," Azusa whined.
Ritsu tensed and met Mugi's eyes. The blonde looked away before frowning. At this rate, there was no hope of possibly finding any of their parents.
"Mio, is...is that you?"
Azusa watched the grey-eyed girl glance up before they all gasped when they saw the grey-eyed woman standing in front of them.
"M-mama!" Mio gasped as she stood up and ran toward her mom.
As Mio was then comforted by her mother, Azusa saw Mugi hold her hand out to her. The small girl sighed before taking it and allowing herself to be pulled up.
"Everything will be okay, Azusa-chan. I'm sure that Yui-chan and Ui-chan are alive and kicking somewhere, I just know it," Mugi softly said before encouragingly smiling.
Azusa nodded before allowing herself to be led to the shelter where they would be sleeping. When nighttime fell though, she couldn't sleep; she was terrified of the nightmares that would possibly haunt her in her slumber.
- Attack on K-ON! -
The sounds of people freaking out was what woke Azusa up in the morning. After realizing that she had fallen asleep, the small pigtailed girl glanced around her and noted that the others were sleeping.
Curiosity got the best of her though and she walked out of their shelter to see what was causing the commotion. As she neared the center of the square, she saw that people were huddled by the entrance to wall Rose.
"How is it possible? And alone too?"
"Unbelievable!"
Azusa managed to maneuver herself into the crowd and weaved herself enough to see what they were talking about. The crowd was staring at a horse. At first Azusa was confused, what was so special about a horse?
Once one of the people stepped out of the crowd and picked what looked to be a bag off of the horse, Azusa realized that it wasn't a bag, but a person, well, a small child at least.
It was only when the man shifted the hood from the child's head that Azusa saw brown locks of hair matted in blood.
"Is this the real life?" She heard a woman off to the side mutter.
"Is she...alive?" One of the other townsfolk said.
The man holding the girl carefully laid her down on the ground. Once Azusa saw the girl's face she gasped. It was then that the crowd became aware of her.
"What, kid why are you up so early?"
Azusa ran out of the crowd and toward her friend. She knelt down next to Yui and then glanced up at the people in front of her.
"Do you know who she is?" A woman in the front called.
Azusa's garnet eyes landed on Yui's resting face before she took her hand in her own.
"Y-yes, her name is H-Hirasawa Yui," Azusa shyly whispered.
The group of people simultaneously gasped as they realized who it was.
"Daughter of Dr. Hirasawa? That Hirasawa?"
"Idiot, what other Hirasawa could it be?!"
"How the hell did she survive out there alone?!"
The raven-haired girl took Yui's hand in her own and sighed in relief when she felt that it was warm. She had read somewhere that when people died, they would feel cold.
"We will find that out as soon as she wakes up. For now this poor child needs a warm bath and medical attention," a man stepped out.
Azusa met his blue eyes and noted his thick blonde eyebrows before smiling.
"Kotobuki-san!" Azusa happily said.
"Hm, you know who I am?" Mugi's father said.
"Yes! Mugi-senpai is going to be so happy when I tell her that you're okay!" Azusa said.
She saw the man's blue eyes twinkle before he chuckled and wiped away a stray tear.
"So my daughter is alive...that's...a relief," He happily said while trying to prevent himself from getting choked up.
Azusa followed the tall blonde man as he picked Yui up and brought her to their shelter. When he laid her down, Azusa sat next to the sleeping brunette and watched her as she slept.
For some reason, she felt a lot happier now. She didn't know why, but seeing that Yui was safe and sound brought her spirits up higher.
I can finally make it up to you for being so mean and saving my life…
When her vision began to blur, the garnet-eyed girl quickly wiped her eyes. It was then that she realized that she wasn't crying of sadness, but due to happiness because there was hope that the missing people that she cared about were alive.
The eight-year-old reached out and gently stroked Yui's cheek.
"Thank you for everything... Yui-senpai."
A/N: Y'know, this is making me wanna write for this AU again…
~Mei out.