Carla and Grisha laughed adoringly as Eren squealed, small hands clutching his blanket tightly, bright eyes gleaming with childish wonder. Across the city, Mikasa sat eating, her mother and father quietly speaking as they sat and sewed together. Mr and Mrs. Arlert peeked into their son's room, lovingly watching as their son napped, snoring quietly. Outside, snowflakes danced their way down, creating a small layer of snow outside. It was cold, but not too cold, and the three families each had a small fire lit inside, and the smell of warm broth and vegetables cooking. It was February 836, and the three who would become a trio in later years were living their second year. For now, all was peaceful.
Deep down in the underground, Kenny Ackerman could not be more confused. He stood just inside the walls of his crumbling home, arms slightly trembling and eyes desperately following after the woman who was sprinting away. He wanted nothing more than to run after her, screaming for answers, but he couldn't move. Slowly, he looked down into his arms, down into her sleeping face. He eyed her suspiciously, her small frame held in just one of his arms and swaddled with the remains of a blanket. There had been but a few words exchanged between Kenny and her mother.
"What?" Kenny had grumbled at the small figure standing in his doorway. He had been drinking himself into another stupor when she had knocked.
"I'm sorry, you won't remember me, we had a n-night together almost a year ago. She's yours, I can't look after her, I'm sorry." she had stumbled, before shoving the bundle into his arms and running.
Now, he watched her sleeping face. She was quiet, not a single mumble or groan, and her face was smooth, small tufts of brown hair peeking from under the blanket. There was no denying she was his, a fact he wasn't quite ready to admit. Emotions were hurtling around him, but for the most part, he was annoyed. What was he meant to do with a kid? He didn't have a clue how to change a shitty nappy, to feed her, clothe her, fuck, he could barely look after himself. He sighed and turned back on his heel, laying her down on the remnants of his couch. She still didn't stir.
He gave her one last look before heading back to his liquor bottles. As he walked, the old bottles, smashed glass and food remains crunched under his feet, and he cursed quietly to himself. A kid. He has a fucking kid. What the fuck was he meant to do?
She slept for several more hours as he fought with himself.
He couldn't keep her.
But what would happen if he didn't? He knew what the people down here were like.
So? He didn't have the time to care.
But she was HIS. flesh and blood. Not only that, but she's an Ackerman. One of the last.
As he pondered, his mind wandered to Levi. How old was he now? He didn't know. It had been years since he had left the boy. He smiled slightly at the memories of watching him learn to fight and live for himself. The kid could easily survive on his own now, and as much as he hated to admit it, Kenny was proud to admit that he is the reason Levi knows how to fight.
As the baby started to stir and whine, Kenny went and stood over her. Her tiny eyes fluttered open, bright green eyes watching him as she whined quietly. He picked her up awkwardly, resting her on the inside of his arm, her head in his massive palm. He noted how small she was compared to him.
"You and me now kid." she just stared at him and he chuckled. It was funny to him; he was an assassin, a ridiculously dangerous and feared man. And he had a fukin' kid. A tiny little thing, so helpless and reliant. "I guess I gotta give ya a name, right?" he pondered to himself. As he thought, he sat down, laying her on his legs. She wriggled and whined, knocking the blanket off her tiny shoulders. "Aha! Elysian. Sounds pretty cool tah me." he said.
"So, Elysian, better fukin' feed ya, eh?" he said and picked her up again, holding her against his chest with one arm and trying not to stumble in his semi drunken daze. He knew better than anyone that Elysian would be in the way of most of his missions, and he also knew that he wouldn't hesitate to kill her if needed. But for now, he would try. The idea of having a mini him to fight alongside one day was, in that moment, appealing.
Hours later, Kenny stumbled back into his home, Eli resting over his shoulder as he held her with one hand, his other holding a bag of food, baby clothes he had found in a corner and of course, liquor. He had hid her in his coat for the majority of the time they were out. Kenny knew that if anyone caught wind of her existence, she could and would be used against him in some way. He didn't have any attachment to her, but he didn't want a barely newborn getting killed, not yet. Not while she could still be useful to him. He laid her down on the couch and shoved the bags onto the side, pulling the baby clothes out and quickly changing Eli into them. It took him a good ten minutes to be able to wedge her arms into the loose fabric correctly, but he sighed constantly when he managed it. He then spooned her some baby food (supposedly a substitute for breast milk. He didn't really hang around to find out) and then laid next to her as she slept again, drinking peacefully.
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Eren and Mikasa sprinted as fast as they could towards the town centre, barreling down narrow streets as the arrival of the scouts was signalled by the massive bell. The chiming rang out as Eren and Mikasa continued running, sticks falling from their backs as they did. They clambered up onto boxes at the back of the crowd, Eren grinning as he craned his neck to watch the Survey Corps arrive back. The grin quickly fell as he watched the wounded be brought back, bloody bandages covering almost every soldier, and wagons piled high with dead bodies. At the front, a blonde haired man looked down solemnly, defeat spread across his sullen features. He listened in as the townsfolk groaned at the small number returning, complaining that their tax money was going to waste. He continued watching in shock as the remainder of soldier Moses' arm was handed back to his mother and one of the soldiers broke down crying, blaming his incompetence for Moses' death. Soon enough, the Survey Corps continued riding on, misery heavy in the air around them, and before they knew it they were out of sight. Despite being only nine years old, Eren knew exactly what he was going to do in the future. One day, he too would ride a horse wearing the same green cape, with the wings, and he would fight. But for now, he had kindle to take home, so he jumped off the box and headed back, closely followed by Mikasa.
Meanwhile, eight year old Elysian was tottering towards her father, knife in hand, and lunging towards him, tripping over as she attempted to land a hit on him. Kenny grunted and took a mere step back, watching as his daughter crashed face first into the ground, grazing her knees and cheeks again. Her clothes were torn and dirty from hours of tripping, falling and being knocked back as Kenny taught her to fight. He was beginning to get bored and annoyed. Elysian stood back up, knees weak and with small tears running rivers down her cheeks. Her hair was matted and filthy, eyes sore from dust and had small cuts, bruises and scrapes all over her. She was very clearly exhausted and starving, her body craving nothing more than sleep and cold water, but they both knew she was getting nothing until she landed a hit on Kenny, something she had failed to do in their hours of training.
She picked the knife back up, gripping it tightly in her left hand, knuckles white from the deathly grip she held. She stared her father down, and he chuckled lowly. Once again she gritted her teeth and hurtled forwards, quickly changing between her left and right foot to dart around Kenny, and land the smallest slice to his shin before he leapt away. Kenny felt the small sharp pain before it left, and bent around to see small beads of blood forming where his trousers had been cut, and Elysian had left a small slice, no bigger than a papercut but deep enough to draw blood.
Kenny drew out a large, almost smug grin as he looked at the small, exhausted body of his only daughter collapsed on the floor, heaving breaths with heavy eyes. A small slither of pride crept into his heart. It had been difficult raising Elysian but now she was shaping up how he had hoped, and he knew she'd be a great warrior one day, as long as she kept it up and learnt how to fight remorselessly. She could be a vital weapon in helping him get the power he wanted, and he wasn't going to give up on her anytime soon.
"Get up, Elysian." she sighed a soft sigh of relief, knowing that this meant they were finished for the day. She herself felt a little pride that she had managed to land a hit on her father, but the thoughts of the bread and vegetables waiting for her soon swallowed any positive thoughts she had, as she scrambled to her feet and ran after her quickly disappearing father. Next to Kenny, a well built figure, Elysian was tiny, frail and covered in small bleeding cuts. Her almost-grey-almost-green eyes were deep and sunken, heavy bags drooping underneath them from nights of relentless endurance training. Kenny wasn't raising Elysian the way he raised Levi, oh no - he raised Levi to survive by himself, but was raising Elysian to be a warrior. Not a woman, not a wife, not a friend - an almost mindless, strategic warrior, a fighting machine. Her only purpose was to fight, and to help Kenny in gaining the power of the titans.
Kenny couldn't have expected how badly his plan was going to backfire.
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Hello lovelies!!
Thank you all for reading this first chapter, I know it was a little fast but I just wanted to get the basic outline set.
I hope you enjoy the rest of the story :)