The Crimson Harmony (Shingeki no Kyojin/Attack on Titan fanfic)

Chapter 1

Chapter 1

   The leaves frenzied in fear, bowing to the lashing winds of the storm. It was a peculiar night for me, for as I felt all the shadows concealed by the darkness creeping up towards my back, I thought as though something was wrong. One second I was cowering to the tremor of the forest's whipping and the storm's flashing and then the next few seconds, I was fearlessly bounding down the quivering branches to my home. I felt as though nothing was real and it was all an illusion, all fake. That's right, all my imagination. Nothing... none of this is actually happening. The memories are all there to confuse or comfort me. But at the same time, I felt like I was leaving something... someone behind. Suddenly everything stopped, everything froze, and everything slowed as that lightning struck right in front of me.

~*~

   I woke up to the sound of agony and pain. Darting my eyes to the right of the immense tree trunk, I saw Erik, my giant friend with flat gray hair, lying on the forest floor with steam coming out. "Erik?" My knees started to wobble and fell with tears endlessly streaming down. I've always wondered where my family was and I thought Erik was my family. He cared for me, always gave me a strange piece of meat that was either tough or had an unusual texture with metallic blood. I survived here in this forest of unbelievably thick trees that towered over me with Erik and the rest of the giants. One time, I was picking berries from a bush when suddenly a deer came charging at me. Erik came, lifted me up gently and placed me on a branch softly as if I were a fragile doll that would fall apart with one, strong flick. He would always bring me up to the branches or I would rest in his hand and all I had to do was to lift my hands up. Lifting my hands up, I mumbled, "Erik... I want to go up on the branches." A dreadful, long silence came by as I refused to take the fact that Erik wasn't coming. Even after screaming and shouting, he wouldn't rise and smile with that big mouth of his.

   I had no one now, no family, no love, and no family to go back to. I wandered aimlessly around the forest seeing everyone else dead with one slash in the back of their neck. Why... are they all dead? Another painful punch in the stomach as I realized they were never coming back. Something twisted and turned in my stomach as anxiety took over, eating my insides. Where are they now? Who took Erik away from me and placed them into death's hands? Whoever did this... A couple, salty tears dropped onto my dirtied dress...shall pay.

   An agonized scream erupted from my mouth as I frustratingly punched the tree, twisted my knuckles around until blood trickled down, and pulled at my short, chestnut hair. The pain stung in my hand as I repeatedly punched the bark that reminded me of Erik every time. Punch. Erik was always there for me. Punch. Why did you have to leave now? Punch. What did I do to deserve this? I grasped a handful of pebbles and rocks and angrily threw it at the tree. Placing one hand on the unharmed bark, I sobbed and cried until my eyes throbbed and there was ringing in my ears. My vision blurred and I was lost in thought until I felt someone tap my shoulder. Letting out a sudden, blurting yell, I swiftly pivoted around to see a man there.

   "W-Who..." I started, sniffling and wiping my eyes.

  "There aren't any more titans. Why are you crying? Tch. Here," the man slipped out a white handkerchief from the pocket of his sandy jacket and gave it to her. "Your face is dirty and your knuckles are bloody. Clean yourself up, I don't want to travel with a brat as dirty as you."

   I took the handkerchief and wiped my tears, face, and knuckles but I believe this guy could be nicer to me. What's a titan anyway?

   "What's a titan?" I quaked while taking a step back from the intimidating man that was short but not as short as me.

   He raised his eyebrows in confusion, then quickly regained his composure and his demeanor remained unfazed afterwards. "A titan is one of those filthy giants with interesting faces that's steaming over there," he looked at Erik.

   Then it dawned on me. He must have killed Erik and now Erik could never come back! Anger and sorrow flashed in my hazelnut eyes as I punched him in the stomach only to have my hand hurt instead. "You killed Erik! How dare you! He cared for me, lifted me up into the branches, fed me, and protected me! Now he is dead and can never come back because of you! Why would you do that? He... He was my friend! You're the filthy one with those murderous hands that killed Erik and the others!" I screeched at the man, now unaffected by his intimidation.

   "Oh... You lived with these b*stards that ate my comrades? My men died because of these titans and they all died fighting. I hate it when people die with no cause and die meaningless deaths. You will probably die out here and rot like your titan friends. If you knew something about titans, you should've said something. Come with me. This isn't optional, it's an order." He calmly stated with a gaze that would've made me tremble at his feet.

   He snatched my handkerchief away at the tip that was still clean and neatly folded it back into his pocket. Taking my hand roughly, he started leading me somewhere but he still killed Erik which made me hate him. I tried pulling my hand away but he didn't let go and instead held tighter.

   "Let go of me! You killed Erik my only family! How dare you call them that! They are friendly and they won't ever kill you! What silly nonsense. Erik would never kill people, let alone eat them. Apologize now." I demanded, resisting his pulling.

   "I'm quite sure I can see with my eyes that these titans eat people, would you like to see sometime? I don't need to apologize. What do they feed you, titan sh*t? Disgusting. I bet they feed you humans, my fellow comrades. You named it Erik? Why would you name a heartless monster that eats people not for hunger, but for the fun of it? I've had enough of these titans that eat people," he replied rudely.

   I couldn't answer back because I suddenly felt the taste of the metallic blood parching my throat and the stringy flesh. My eyes bulged as I vomited my meal and fell on my knees right before the thrown up mesh. It can't be... no... An irregular scream left my mouth as it echoed through the huddled trees. All of a sudden my mouth became filled with the taste of blood... human blood, but there wasn't any actually there. Am I... becoming insane? My mind flashed back to those moments, those meals, and I knew my realization was true. I am a cannibal but I won't be anymore.

   Feeling a tug on my hand, I remembered that the man was still there. I gazed up on him with wild eyes but they quickly returned to normal. Then, it came to me that I could've eaten his men. My mouth opened but no sound came out and they began to wobble. A small squeal came out and more tears flowed down. You... you can't do anything more than cry, can you? Stop crying, how do I even have any more tears? Those were my thoughts deep back inside my head and those were the same thoughts that had said those shadows were all an illusion. However, the thoughts of horror still clouded my brain with flashbacks.

   "Snap out of it and calm down," he demanded, giving my hand a firm squeeze to remind me that I still had a life to live in this world.

   I sheepishly nodded and clumsily wiped my eyes. How can he make me calm down even after I found out I was a cannibal? Standing up with the help from him, I asked, "How can you still help me even though I'm a cannibal? I could've eaten your friends and acquaintances! How can you..."

   Leading me to somewhere, he answered, "I can see that an idiot like you obviously couldn't tell that you were eating people."

   Before I could say anything, the deafening sound of branches falling and footsteps stopped me. A titan rushed out of the darkest ends of the forest and was scampering towards us. The man reacted quickly, grabbing me by my waist and used some weird device. It shot out a hook, it grappled the tree, and then it shot some white air, propelling us through the sky. We landed on a tree branch and he used the device to hook and grapple his way towards the titan. With one swift move, he quickly spun around and slashed the titan's neck, killing it. It landed on the floor and he took out the white handkerchief again and wiped the blood off. He then glided towards me and landed me on the forest floor again.

   "I could've befriended it," I mumbled, averting my eyes on the floor. With the same face he always had, his eyes suddenly perked up in interest. "How?" he asked but it seemed more of an order.

~*~ DRAMATIC ENDING! I needed to end it somehow, sorry guys! If you enjoyed this chapter, please leave a vote! I'd appreciate it a lot and please comment below what you thought or any constructive criticism! Thanks! Bye!