They shoved his face into a puddle. Ironic, considering how he loved to stay nice and clean. But he was shoved by a soldier, someone who was supposed to be helping rather than hurting. Government systems are corrupt, but seeing it first hand was something Y/N never experienced.
She stood behind a crate, barely as tall as it, watching the scene before her take place. Her whole body trembled as she gripped the edge of the wood in her small hands. Beads of sweat formed on her face as she held herself back from crying out. She wanted to do something, but one wrong move could jeopardize the people she came to know as family.
In the middle of the small crowd of soldiers, three people knelt. They wore standard clothes, especially in the Underground, and contraptions on their waists held up by belts that wrapped from their thighs up to their chests and shoulders. They also had metal handcuffs placed on their wrists, behind their backs.
On the side farthest from Y/N sat Furlan Church, a blond man who really only wanted his friends to be safe and happy in the harsh world they lived in.
In the middle was a young woman, Isabel Magnolia. She had red hair in pigtails and a fiery glare that could've scared little Y/N any day.
On the side nearest the young girl, was the man who brought her into their group. Levi, the one known as leader, and the big brother to the rest. Y/N didn't quite know if he allowed her to join the group out of pity or adoration, but she was safe and she wouldn't put up a fight with someone who saved her from the harsh conditions of the Underground.
She watched as Levi was pulled up from the puddle and the man in front of the group, who she suspected was their leader, knelt down in it.
"My name is Erwin Smith," he began after taking off the hood of his green cloak. "And yours is?" He asked.
"Levi," was the simple response he got in return.
"Levi," Y/N whimpered quietly. She had her back against the alleyway and was facing the group, still trembling when a hand grabbed her upper arm and pushed her forward. The small girl let out a shriek as she was dragged across the stone ground, toward the group. Tears pricked at the corners of her eyes, waiting to be released.
This gained the attention of the three in the middle. Furlan and Isabel's eyes widened in fear and their lips parted, wanting to make some sort of effort to stop it. Levi, on the other hand, shot Y/N a pointed look. Anyone else would see his resting expression of hatred, but the young girl knew better. He was worried, but he wasn't going to show that to Erwin or the other soldiers.
"Levi... why don't we make a deal?" Erwin offered as he stared down at the man kneeling in front of him. The height difference would have been funny if the situation had been less dire.
"A deal?" Asked Levi. He was suspicious of Erwin, that was for sure. What else would one expect from someone who grew up in a place that was so sketchy? Levi and the others have been through hell just by living in the dark city known as the Underground, it should be expected that he would be skeptical.
"I will let your crimes go unpunished and bring the girl to an orphanage on the surface. In return, lend me your strength," Erwin began, his blue eyes staring straight into Levi's. "Join the Survey Corps."
This caught the four of them by surprise and as young as she was, Y/N knew what Erwin was offering. He was offering freedom. He was offering a life beyond the dark stone encasing them. He was offering the chance to do something and be important. To be of some use rather than just rotting away down under the surface.
But Levi's eyes remained trained on the blond man in front of him. His silver eyes, still unwavering.
"And if I refuse?" He asked bluntly, his glare staying trained on Erwin.
"Then the Military Police will have you," Erwin said simply. "Considering all your crimes, you and your friends won't be treated very nicely," he stated as he stood up from his kneeling position. "Either way, she," he gestured to Y/N, who was still being held onto by another soldier, "will be sent to an orphanage."
Y/N gasped, her whole body stiffening as she stared at Erwin and Levi with wide eyes. If she lost them, she would never get them back. Her family would be taken away from her forever.
"Choose whichever you prefer."
A moment passed and Furlan, Isabel and Y/N stared on in anticipation, but were shocked to hear Levi's response.
"Sure."
The tears that were pricking out of the corner of Y/N's eyes came flooding down her cheeks. She watched as Levi spit out muddy puddle water to the side before glaring up at Erwin once again.
"I'll join the Survey Corps."
The sun flooded through the window, allowing the occupants of the room to wake up to the bright light. Children of different ages began to sit up in their raggedy beds, their thin covers sliding off of them.
In the bed in the corner, Y/N laid, facing the wall. The cracks in the stone were representative of what happened that day, only a few months ago. A crack in the relationship of a family she strived to find once more. She could've had one again, but nobody would want a girl who came from the Underground.
'I haven't dreamt of that day in a long time. Why now?' Y/N thought, her eyebrows furrowed and a frown made her lips tug downwards.
"Time to get up, everyone! We all have chores today!" A friendly voice chimed from the doorway of the shared bedroom. The rest of the kids got up with little to no effort being wasted on such an easy task, but Y/N couldn't seem to move.
She faced away from the door, her (h/c) hair sprawled out behind her on the pillow. Her thin blanket reached her abdomen due to how short it was. Her arms almost act as a shield for her face. She couldn't help the tears that pricked at the corner of her eyes.
Her home was gone and nothing could be done about it. It's not like she could do anything.
"Another bad dream?" The same friendly voice asked, this time from the foot of the bed. The lady in charge of the orphanage, Aria Samson. Y/N kept her eyes trained on the wall and her mouth shut. "Y/N, you can't heal unless you talk about it," she tried, moving to sit on the foot of the bed. The bed began to dip by where she sat due to the newfound weight.
"I don't want to talk about it," Y/N muttered, her voice was soft but harsh, just like Levi's had been. Aria let out a sigh.
"I'll tell you what, you can skip out on your chores for the day. Go out, enjoy the sun, think," she offered, a smile grew on her lips. "Days like this can do a world of good. Maybe you could even make some friends."
Y/N turned to face the ceiling before pushing herself to sit up. The tears that wanted to escape were wiped away as she turned to look at Aria, whose carmel hair was pulled back into a low ponytail, with some locks out to frame her face. Her blue eyes were warm despite their cool color.
"Yeah, fine," the young girl grumbled and began to move out of bed when she heard Aria giggle softly. She shot a glare at the woman.
"You shouldn't go out like that, your hair is a mess. Come here and turn around," she turned to face Y/N, bringing her legs onto the bed to kneel. Y/N did as told and knelt, facing the headboard of the bed.
She felt long slender fingers rake through her hair before they began tugging locks into different sections. Aria had begun weaving the hair into a braid of sorts.
"Your hair has grown a lot since you first came here. You've grown taller, too," Aria's sweet voice commented as she continued to tug gently at the hair. " You had to do what it took to stay safe down there, I'm surprised you had the strength. I'm kind of jealous," she continued sullenly.
"How come?" Y/n asked after a moment, she glanced to the side in an attempt to look at Aria, but was only able to stare at the wall.
"I'm too dependent on others, unlike you. I'm not strong enough." She tied up the end of Y/N's hair, completing the braid.
The small girl couldn't find the right words to respond with. She settled with an 'oh' before Aria had to leave to check on the rest of the kids. With her gone, Y/N changed from the night clothes she was wearing to her dusty black pants and gray shirt, putting a maroon sweater on over it. She slid on her short black boots and began to make her way out of the room.
"Ugh, she gets to leave early," a kid mumbled from not too far. They were cleaning the window, talking to their friend who was sweeping.
"I bet she doesn't even know how to keep clean," the one with the broom responded. The two shared a small laugh but abruptly stopped when they caught sight of Y/N's piercing glare, something else she copied from Levi.
"You're cleaning the window wrong. It'll leave streaks," said Y/N before walking to the door and leaving the building. She felt the glare of the two kids following behind her as she left.
As she stepped through the door, she immediately squinted to see through the bright rays of the sun. Even after a few months of being on the surface, Y/N had a hard time adjusting to the light. She kept walking though, eventually getting used to the light the sun had to offer. It provided not only a warm glow, but a warm temperature, but there was a light breeze. Her boots thudded softly against the paved walkways, but it was almost completely washed out due to the chatter of the townsfolk.
The dull color of everyone's clothing and their carts were overshadowed by everyone's cheeriness. It was a great escape from the orphanage Y/N was usually cooped up in, but she would never say it outloud. What's the point of having secrets if you couldn't keep them for yourself?
The walk was overall peaceful and almost everyone was rather friendly. Almost everyone. Out of the corner of her eye, Y/N watched as three rowdy boys began to pick on a smaller, blond boy. She put her walk on pause and moved to the edge of the path to not block the foot traffic. Through her peripherals, she watched as the three larger boys began to push around the smaller one. Her eyes narrowed on the group of boys as she contemplated her actions. She could leave the boy to get beat up or help. The blond boy didn't seem to be putting up a fight, instead he just continued to try and talk to them.
Y/N clicked her tongue, annoyed.
The boy needed to learn how to stand up for himself and actually fight. But that day wouldn't be today and they all knew it. She supposed he was trying to take the moral high ground rather than fall as low as the rest of the boys. If there's one thing she learned during her time in the Underground, it's that life doesn't work to your favor. In order to be free, you have to fight and not let up. Letting out a loud sigh, which earned concerned glances by others nearby, she began making her way over to the group of boys.
"You know, most people would prefer it if you didn't cause a racket like this," she shouted to the boys as she neared them. The three paused their roughhousing to glance over and the blond boy used the distraction to get out of range of his bullies. He was covered in dirt and scratches and Y/N couldn't help but think back to just a few months prior.
"Do you always need a girl to come save you, Arlert?" A boy, who seemed to be the 'leader' teased. The others let out gross chuckles of amusement before heading over to the blond boy again.
"Last I checked, I'm the one that's talking to you, not him," Y/N chided. Her hands remained at her sides, fingers slowly curling up to form fists. Violence was going to come in her direction, there's no doubt about it, and she wasn't going to get caught off guard.
The boy let out another ugly laugh. "What do you want?" He took a few steps toward the girl. There was a good difference in height between them, probably because of the lack of sunlight in her life.
She wasn't going to let that stop her from kicking the ass of a bully.
"Leave him alone," Y/N ordered, her (e/c) eyes narrowing slightly. Her fists tightened and she parted her legs to get a wider stance.
The boy laughed again. "What are you going to do? Call for mommy?" He taunted, a disgusting grin growing on his face.
"I don't have a mom. But I can do this." Y/N quickly closed the gap between the two with a raised fist before throwing it to the boy's cheek. It collided with a loud slap. He stumbled to the side but before he could ready himself for another blow, Y/N raised her boot to kick his stomach. He fell to the ground with his arms wrapped around himself, clutching at his gut.
The two other boys were watching from a few paces away from the blond boy. Their eyes narrowed at Y/N and they raised their fists up.
"You asked for it."
"Get ready for thi-"
Before the second boy could finish his statement, Y/N had them eating the grass they were on. With quick kicks, punches and sweeping maneuvers, she managed to take them out. She narrowed her eyes, glaring down at the boys on the ground. Levi and Furlan had to teach her how to defend herself, even at such a young age.
"Get up," she ordered. They only let out whimpers before quickly standing up and running away. Her pointed gaze travelled to the blond boy who sat on the ground. His big blue eyes widened with fear as he made eye contact with Y/N. Her hard glare softened and a small smile grew on her lips and she sat down in front of him. "Are you okay?"
"Yeah, thanks to you," the blond smiled. His grin suddenly fell and he raised a curious eyebrow. "I don't think I've seen you before."
"It's a big city." Y/N replied, shooting a glance to the ground. Her eyes remained on a single blade of grass as it swayed in the breeze.
"Well, my name is-"
"Armin!" A voice shouted from a distance. The two turned to face a brunet boy and a raven haired girl with a red scarf running over. The boy seemed to be struggling for breath whereas the girl seemed to be covering the wide distance with ease. Y/N let out a small chuckle at the sight.
"So your name's Armin?" Y/N asked, causing him to look at her. He nodded in confirmation before their gazes moved to the two who were now standing a few feet away from them.
"Who's she?" The boy asked with a snobbish tone in his voice. He eyed Y/N with his green eyes from his spot. She watched as they narrowed slightly.
"I'm Y/N," she greeted, not too kindly. "And you are?" She asked in the same tone the brunet boy used. The girl beside him tensed slightly, her hands curling into fists at her side. Y/N, on the other hand, made no effort to get ready for a fight. She had just been in one and didn't want to make any more enemies than those bullies.
"Eren," the boy stated, then gestured to the girl. "She's Mikasa." The boy, now known as Eren, held Y/N's gaze in a mutual staring contest. Their hard glares sent a chill up Armin's spine while Mikasa remained unphased. It did nothing but add tension to the once relaxed atmosphere from when it was just her and Armin.
"Uhh, Eren," Armin tried. He reached up slightly, but faltered at the intensity of the harsh glares. If he looked hard enough, he could almost see the darkness surrounding the two. "You just met and you already hate each other," he muttered, looking down at the grass by his knees.
"Eren, stop it," Mikasa finally spoke up to scold. She seemed to understand what Armin was getting at. Eren promptly looked away, but only after shooting Y/N a dirty look. She rolled her eyes in response.
"Thanks, Mikasa." Armin smiled, relief pouring over his features, however, he remained on edge. He earned a nod from the girl before Eren spoke up again.
"How'd you even meet, anyways?" He asked, his lips getting pulled down into a frown. He crossed his arms over his chest as he and Mikasa stood over Armin and Y/N. Armin reached up to scratch the back of his head and Y/N remained neutral.
"She helped me out, scared them away," He pointed past the small group to the three boys from earlier who were picking the fight with Armin. They eyed the group, obviously fearful of them, wearing matching wide eyes and frowns. Mikasa, Eren and Y/N turned to look at them before shooting them piercing glares. The boys tensed and quickly began to run away.
"Yeah! You better run!" Eren shouted, running a few steps after them and raising a fist as if to scold them.
"Sit down. You're only going to make things worse in the long run," Y/N chided. She reached over and pulled down on his sleeve, forcing him to fall to the ground. Her eyes followed Mikasa as she followed him to the ground.
"Hey!" Eren was about to start before Mikasa stopped him. She placed a hand on his arm, gaining his attention and scowled. He quieted down after that and his gaze moved to the grass in the middle of the four of them. The light breeze let up for a few seconds before picking back up again, the blades of the grass swaying softly with it.
"If you don't mind me asking, where did you learn to fight like that?" Armin asked, the thick silence that had grown around the group dissolving with that question. Mikasa and Eren perked up almost noticeably at those words.
Y/N felt herself tense. She wasn't too keen on letting people in on her history. Besides, months had passed and she hadn't spoken much about her life in the Underground. They could be repulsed by her upbringing if she told them. That she had harmed so many people at such a young age.
However, she felt her mind wander to the conversation she had just a few hours earlier with Aria.
'You can't heal unless you talk about it.'
Her words echoed around Y/N's head, almost making it hurt. Her mind wandered to her dream, remembering a dark time of the past where she lost the only family she had. She looked up to Armin, Eren and Mikasa and felt herself relax.
Maybe it's time to at least try to start healing.
"My older brother taught me."
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it has begun-