Chapter 1: Different Is She From The Rest Of Us

Hange, a chaotic young woman, is taken prisoner by a beast in its castle. Levi, an intimidating hunter, is left with no choice but to save the frenzied maiden from the hungry beasts known as Titans.

Prologue

Once upon a time, in a faraway land, lived abnormal gigantic beings that were the rarest species there was. They were known as Titans. Amongst the Titans, there was a hierarchy, a special class that had the ability to shift forms. They were known as Titan Shifters. A young heir lived in an enclosed castle, barbed with traps to ward off any threats that may endanger her. One winter’s night, while the heir and her people were devouring poor unfortunate souls, a stranger appeared, dressed in a long robe of grey.

“What is an outcast doing in my castle?” The heir spoke, interrupting the feasts’ activities.

“Lend me shelter from the bitter cold.” The stranger asked, “And I will grant you one desire.”

“Grant me?” The heir cackled at the stranger. “I am the heiress of this castle. There are no desires that I don’t already have.”

“Clearly you are mistaken,” The stranger looked pointedly at the heir’s guests, with their mouths full of tendered limbs and bloody drools. “I’ll ask one more time. Lend me shelter from the bitter cold.”

“I will crush you with my foot,” scoffed the heir and turned the stranger away.

“Suit yourself. However, your greed will become your destruction. There will be only one Titan Shifter and it will not be you. In this castle, this Titan Shifter will save mankind from the likes of you.” As this was being said, the stranger turned into a sorcerer, waving a hand in the air and one by one, each of the beasts turned into tiny humans. “Because not only have you rejected me once but twice, you and everyone in this castle will change into humans.”

“Doesn’t matter to me.” The heir sneered at the sorcerer and turned a chin up, “You’re forgetting I’ve already the ability to shift forms.”

“You’re right.” The sorcerer said, narrowing its eyes. “Then, I will conceal the true heir’s identity from you to prevent you from becoming the rightful heir of Titans.”

And before the heir could crush the stranger out of anger, the sorcerer disappeared leaving a scroll with the oracle written in it. Ashamed of her ruined fate, the heir hid the oracle within the deepest part of her castle. Being an heir to the Titans, the heir seamed a strong bind of her power into a crystal ball that showered over the whole castle and the people whom resided inside it; only to sustain the possibility to shift into Titan form in prevention of revealing the true heir.

“If I can’t become heir to the Titans, no one can.” She whispered to no one in particular, and looked off into the distance as the bitter cold took a turn for the worst.

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Chapter One

:Different Is She from The Rest of Us:

Hange snapped the seventh volumn of The Procreant Structure of Titans with an ideal shut of both hands as she leaped to her feet from her window seat. “Up until now, Titans were made to seem like a fairy tale" but to think Titans could be actual beings, like us humans!” She thought, undoubtedly. From her readings, she learned that Titans are gigantic figures that roamed the face of the Earth looking for humans to prey on; an instinctive survival trait. Just like her and all that lived within the Walls, she concluded.

As a young girl, Hange was sent to Wall Rose by a group of priests. She couldn’t remember much of her past and even her background was unknown to her and everybody that associated with her. So, she made up an incredible, stoical version of how her family was killed by a band of bandits outside the walls leaving her the only survivor. With such details coming from a child, the townspeople couldn’t believe such a feeble story and since there wasn’t any background proof, they deemed her a poor liar. But that didn’t stop Hange from spinning tales, whether they were fact or hypothetical; just like dreams and premonitions, though it’s an inventive hunch, that doesn’t mean it couldn’t be a factual occurrence. 

In her years of adolescence, Hange came across a sorority called the Survey Corps, that had stopped by her side of town and was recruiting members to help fight against the Titans that intruded the other Walls outside Wall Rose. In the trial mark, Hange sold herself as a researcher and after taking an aptitude test, she came out as the smartest person amongst the citizens in Wall Rose.

Skipping to her desk, she opened a drawer full of scatter feather pens, empty ink bottles, skewered materials and crumbled white pieces of paper. Grabbing some paper and her writing utensils, Hange mapped out the food chain between humans and Titans.

Humans: Hunters, Feeders, Learners, Reproducers

Titans: Hunters, Feeders, Learners, Reproducers…Clones? …But how?

She tapped the quill pen, ink blotting the paper as her mind circled around for an answer to her question. It didn’t make sense; from all the books that she read up until now, Titans were horrid monsters who weren’t attracted to each other but to their preys. There were numerous of them mentioned, of all shapes and sizes, per to what she read in the books she borrowed from Wall Rose’s library.

Hange sat back into her chair, her eyes wandering up to her floorboard ceiling. No one she knew could understand why she turned out the way she did; why she was so intrigued with Titans and what made her even join a ragtag of avengers.

It wouldn’t change her weird personality if she did explain herself, though one good thing came out of being in the Survey Corps. Every soldier had a purpose. Whether it’s a reason, an escape, fate or whatever, they all shared that one good thing. Hange let out a short chuckle, “And from that good thing came with people I grew fond of.”

Moblit Berner, Hange’s assistant and messenger is a loyal and panic-ensued mother hen that would take a shot for his comrade. The first time Moblit assisted Hange, he was in for a whole new experience, a lot more trouble than he expected. In almost every study expedition they went on, Moblit had saved Hange’s hide. There was no man like Moblit Berner that she could tease and catch them off guard. It was her specialty, alike most maidens in distress. 

Though she wasn’t a maiden in distress, so claimed Levi. Levi Ackerman, Corporal of the Survey Corps. Another soldier Hange grew fond of teasing. A man of strength and cleanliness, there was absolutely no guy that could compare to him, unless their commander Erwin Smith came into the picture. But unlike Erwin who was a man of his word, Levi was a promising strategist, hunter and an interrogator. No matter how many times he found her revolting, he would always lend an ear for an unlimited time that she spoke.

Mike Zacharias, second to the strongest man living, had a distinct sense of smell. If everyone thought Hange was strange, Mike was stranger. He has a bizarre way of greeting people, a direct sniff to the neck crease, Hange learned, that holds a bodily scent in which helps Mike detect someone’s identity.

Speaking of identity, when the townspeople heard of her position in the Survey Corps, rumors started spreading like wildfire. She was surrounded by most of the male population in the Corps. She was unsafe, or rather maybe her intention was to get as much attention from the men so they could “understand” her philosophy. But Hange paid no mind, because other than the men that associated with her, there was one other woman who sparked her interest.

Petra Ral, a skilled and experienced assassin, whom dubbed herself a respected fan of Levi, once admitting to Levi that he didn’t live up to the legend of “Humanity’s Strongest Soldier” due to his many personality quirks and flaws. Although Hange and Petra worked in different departments, that didn’t stop Hange from observing the young maiden and connecting the dots between Petra and her comrades, and vice versa.

Sighing, Hange looks back at her drawn map and drops the quill pen. There must be more… She thinks. Maybe a breath of fresh air would do her some good and who knows, maybe another Titan book is waiting for her. Standing to go, she grabs the borrowed book and exits her room with a determined look.

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Outside was just as bright and beautiful and brown and dusty as any other morning. Walking from the dorms, she leaped down some flight of stairs, humming an apt tune. Strolling to the gated entrance of the courtyard, Hange began her journey to Wall Rose’s library.

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[Hange]
Wall Rose, it’s a lively village.
Every day like the ones before.
Busy town full of little humans, waking up to say.

 

[Soldier #1]
Titans!

 

[Soldier #2]
Titans!

 

[Soldier #3]
Titans!

 

[Soldier #4]
Titans!

 

[Soldier #5]
Titans!

 

[Hange]
There goes the Survey Corps with their morning PT
The same old routine yet to cease
Every morning just the same,
Since the morning the Titans came,
That invaded Titan Walls and humanity.

 

[Mike]
Good morning Hange!

 

[Hange]
Good morning Mike.

 

[Mike]
Where are you off to?

 

[Hange]
To the library.
Just finished reading up on the reproduction system. Did you know that there’s a high probability that Titans could have carnal"?

 

[Mike]
Hange, as much as that excites you. I must return to my duties. Good day!

 

[Soldiers]
Look there she goes
That girl is strange, no question.

 

[Delivery Man]
I wonder if she’s mentally ill?

 

[Soldier #1]
Never part of any crowd.
Her voice is always loud.

 

[Soldiers]
But we can’t deny her genius when in need.

[Soldier #1]
Squad Leader!
Good day!
Moblit is missing.

 

[Hange]
Morning!
Is that so?
Thanks for the report.

 

[Soldier #1]
My pleasure. Ten four.
I’ll return to my duties.

 

[Hange]
I hope today I will get more clues and results.

 

[Hange enters the library]

 

[Library Clerk]
Ah! If it isn't the only bookworm in town!
So, what do I owe the pleasure to?

 

[Hange]
Morning. I’ve come to return the book I borrowed.

 

[Library Clerk]

Finished already?

 

[Hange]

Oh, I couldn’t put it down.

Have you got anything new?

 

[Library Clerk]
We’re still salvaging what’s left in Wall Maria. 
So, no.

 

[Hange]
Oh. Well what about Wall Sina?

 

[Library Clerk]
Nope.

 

[Hange]

Hah. Well, that was a waste of time. Alright, then I guess I’ll just hold onto this book for another day.

 

[Library Clerk]

Sure. It’s not like anyone besides you is eager to read it.

 

[Hange exits the library]

 

[Group of Soldiers]
Look there she goes
That girl is so peculiar.

 

[Woman #1]
I wonder if she's feeling well.

 

[Group of Recruits]
With a dreamy far off look,
And her nose stuck in a book,
What a puzzle to the rest of us, is her.

 

[Hange]
Oh! Isn't this intriguing? I have learned that Titans are just like us. Here, in this section of female misconceptions. If there’s no anal then there must be one more hole.

 

[Woman #1]
Now it's no wonder that our Corporal insults her.
Her looks are best on not to tell.

 

[Soldiers]
But behind those nerdy specs,
Is what we didn’t expect.

 

[Woman #1]
A spinster is what I got from the fuss...

 

[Women]
She's not as clean like the rest of us.

 

[Villagers and Soldiers]
Yes, different is she from the rest of us, is her.

 

[Levi]
Oh look, there’s four eyes.

And of course, she’s reading again.

What’s the use of having glasses if its stuck behind a book?

[Erwin]
An acquired taste, is what I’d call her. 
And you, give her a chance, she may surprise you.

 

[Levi]
Her? Ha! Never!

 

[Erwin]
Never judge a book by its cover.

 

[Levi]
She's not a book. In fact, she may as well be an open one, at that.

 

[Erwin]
Levi...

 

[Levi]
The messiest girl in town.
And she never takes a bath!
And have you seen her glasses?!

 

[Erwin]
Okay, that’s probably going a little too far but, you know...

 

[Levi]
Right from the moment when I met her, saw her,
I said she's revolting and I knew...
Here in town there's only she,
Who is grossly fond of me
Now I’m stuck with her, with Squad Leader Hange.

 

[Petra]
Look there, he goes, isn't he dreamy?
Corporal, Levi, oh he's so cute!
Be still my heart, I'm hardly breathing.
He's such a short, dark, strong and handsome brute.

 

[Townspeople talking]

 

[Hange]
Oh hey, Levi! Levi! Do you see me waving at you?

 

[Levi]
Oh crap! She spotted me!

 

[Levi flees the scene]

 

[Villagers]
Look there she goes, that girl that's strange but special.
A most peculiar scientist.
It's a pity and a sin,
She doesn't quite fit in.
But she really is an oddly girl...
A nifty but a funny girl...
She really is an oddly girl...
Hange!

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As soon as the villagers dispersed back to their daily morning routines, Hange caught up to Levi and smacked a hand on Levi’s back, letting out a wide grin, “Hi Levi!”

Feeling the impact to fall over, Levi straightened himself upright and grunted, “Four eyes.”

“What are your plans today?”

“Cleaning the stables.”

“Oh?” Hange put a finger to her chin. She wondered why Levi made a big deal pushing chores to clean into his schedule when he could be doing something more productive. But if he were to stay busy cleaning, he wouldn’t mind hearing what she had to say about her new discovery! “Can I join?”

Levi looked up at her, disbelief clearly showing in his eyes. “You, help clean the stables?”

“Well, why not?” Hange began, placing a hand on her hip and leaned towards Levi. “It would make the job go faster.”

She smiled. But he wasn’t convinced. She probably just wanted to bother him like every chance she got. He narrowed his eyes and turned away, “No thanks.”

Pouting, Hange mewled over Levi, bringing a hand around his shoulder and sagged off him. “But Levi, I wouldn’t get in your way!”

Levi felt the hairs on the back of his neck stand. What was this girl thinking, he thought? They were in the middle of town whilst everybody is roaming around, pretending not to notice and this girl thinks she can belittle him by showing this kind of display? Hell, to the No! “What do you want, you greasy mongrel?”

“Just your fully and undivided attention.” She answered, unaffected by his name calling. She thought it cute that he’d come up with all these nicknames for her. She lifted away, taking some of her weight off the short man.

He rolled his eyes and turned slightly to her. “Don’t you have more important, pressing matters to return to? Where did your assistant even run off to?”

“Moblit?” Hange questioned. Now that she thought about it, she hasn’t seen him since the day before. Where did her assistant run off to? She thought hard and remembered that a soldier did stop her before she entered town saying that Moblit had gone missing. But she was too excited to see if a new Titan volumn had been restored to even think of her assistant’s whereabouts.

“He probably couldn’t stand how defiled your stench is.” Levi added, and turned to leave. But the next he knew, Hange had taken ahold of his arm, sliding her hands from his biceps to his wrist. He looked at her inked smudge hands for a moment before tearing away and glaring up at her.

“What now, four eyes?”

“Alright, I’ll go find Moblit. But later, you must lend me your ear!” Hange locked her gaze with Levi’s, a curious swing wavered in the way she stared at him. At that, Levi yanked his arm out of her grip and turned around. Huffing, he crossed his arms and kicked dust under his foot. “I’ll lend you more than just an ear.”

He heard her hum in response to his retaliation. “A bath would suffice,” He continued, his chin up as he thought better of himself. Hange, taking a bath would be a dream come true! For one, how could that girl even see through her glasses which were covered in filth? But before he could go into explicit detail of his deal with her, he turned and his face turned into a dark expression.

Hange had disappeared, leaving dust in her wake.

“That stupid, idiotic girl!” He growled under his breath, and thought, she’s so going to get an earful of me later!

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TBC

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