Attack on Titan: The chosen one

**Chapter 2: Dead Men Tell No Tales**

I woke up to warmth. That was the first thing I noticed, a steady, unfamiliar warmth that spread throughout my body. Not the crushing heat of a city summer, but something softer, more comforting. The feeling of grass beneath me was disorienting, and I could hear the wind rustling through the leaves of nearby trees. My body felt light, too light, like I was floating just above the ground. For a second, I let myself wonder if this was what death felt like.

But then reality hit me.

'No, this isn't death.' I didn't believe in peaceful afterlives. If anything, I'd be rotting in some hellish pit. So, what the hell was going on?

I forced my eyes open. The sunlight stabbed at them, sharp and unforgiving, and I squinted against the brightness. It took a few seconds, but when my vision adjusted, I blinked and found myself in the middle of a lush, green forest. Towering trees surrounded me, their branches swaying gently in the breeze, while the sky above was a piercing blue.

I frowned.

'This isn't right. Where's the noise? The city? The people?' I wasn't in the road anymore nor was I in a hospital, that was for sure. The sensation of floating started to fade as my mind caught up with what was happening. My body felt strange, like it didn't belong to me. Slowly, I sat up, rubbing my face with my hands, trying to shake the grogginess.

Then, I stopped.

The hands I was looking at… they weren't mine.

"What the hell?" I muttered, my voice cracking, but not like how it used to.

My hands were small. Child-sized. I flexed my fingers, watching in disbelief as the unfamiliar hands obeyed me. They were mine, alright, but they weren't the ones I'd lived with for 17 years.

"No way…" I said, looking down at my body. I was tiny, barely five feet tall, and my clothes were baggy and worn, definitely not what I remembered wearing. Panic started creeping in, clawing at the edges of my mind.

'Assess. Think.'

I sat still for a moment, forcing myself to calm down. Something had happened something beyond what I could explain. My heart pounded in my chest as I tried to make sense of it. This wasn't a dream. The clarity of the world around me, the smell of the forest, the sound of the wind was too real. But my body, my surroundings, none of it made sense.

Before I could piece things together, a sharp pain exploded in my head, and I groaned, clutching my skull. A flood of memories crashed into my mind, but they weren't mine. They belonged to someone else. Someone named August Terunomi. Images of another life flashed before my eyes a boy abandoned by his family, left to fend for himself in the wilderness near the massive outer walls of Shiganshina.

'Wait. Walls?'

The headache faded, but the memories lingered. The boy's name, the walls, the Titans. I felt a cold pit forming in my stomach. This wasn't just any random world. This was the world of Attack on Titan. The same one Mineta had rambled on about endlessly, trying to get me to watch.

'Why does the world have to do me so dirty? Fuck my life.'

I stared down at my small hands again. This body… it wasn't just a child's body, it was August Terunomi's. I'd been dropped into his life, into his memories, into his messed-up world. I felt like I was going to throw up. Of all the places I could have ended up, it had to be here, where humanity was trapped like cattle, surrounded by monsters.

"Great," I muttered, sarcasm dripping from my voice. "This is just very fantastic."

The boy's memories were a jumbled mess, but I sifted through them, piecing together the important bits. The walls, the Titans, the Scouts, yeah, this was definitely the world of Attack on Titan. I remembered Mineta mentioning that Eren Yeager, the main character, had some crazy power to transform into a Titan, but that didn't help me right now. I was stuck in the middle of nowhere with a body I didn't recognize and no idea what to do next.

I stood up slowly, wincing as my legs wobbled beneath me. I had to figure this out where I was, what the hell happened to me, and how to survive. My old life had taught me enough about survival, and from the boy's memories, I knew this world wasn't going to cut me any slack with how much corrupts is in this walls.

The first thing I needed to do was get my bearings. I glanced around the forest, my eyes landing on a river in the distance. Rivers usually lead to civilization, or at least to food and water, so I started walking, following the river's flow.

Quick lesson, if you somehow got lost, then you should go and try to find a river and follow the flow of the river since that would have the greatest chance of finding a civilization

Seeing my reflection in the river which is a kid's face that have black hair and purple eyes I think? It is basically the same face as my past life just younger and not scarred in anyway

'Think, August. The boy's memories were a mess, but he'd known about the districts, the places within the walls where people lived as well as the near district I was dropped off which is Shiganshina District. If I could make it to Shiganshina, maybe I'd have a chance to figure out what was happening.

As I walked, the sun started to get covered with clouds as rain started dripping everywhere, I was slowly getting wet from the rain wtih nothing to protect myself from it. If a wild animal showed up, I'd be as good as dead right now. But that wasn't what bothered me most. What gnawed at me was the thought that this wasn't some random nightmare.

I was stuck here. In a world where death was a constant companion.

"Perfect," I grumbled. "I've gone from one hell to another."

The forest grew darker, and a cold breeze picked up, sending a shiver down my spine. I'd been walking for hours, my small body already starting to feel the strain. I wasn't used to this being a kid again, having such little strength. But I kept moving. I had to.

After what felt like an eternity, I spotted a flicker of light through the trees. A house. I quickened my pace, pushing through the underbrush until I reached the edge of a clearing. There it was, a small, run-down house nestled in the woods, with smoke rising from the chimney. Relief washed over me. I might be able to find shelter, or at least figure out where the hell I was.

I approached cautiously, glancing around for any signs of life. The house looked abandoned, but the light inside suggested otherwise. I knocked on the door, my small fist making a dull thud against the wood.

"Hello?" I called out, my voice shaky. "Anyone home?"

No answer.

I knocked again, harder this time, but still, there was no response. Frustrated, I reached for the door handle, but before I could open it, a voice came from behind me.

"Hey! What are you doing here?"

I spun around, my heart skipping a beat. Standing behind me was a man with dark hair and glasses, dressed in a long coat. Beside him stood a boy, no older than me, with short brown hair and intense eyes. The boy was staring at me with suspicion, while the man's expression was more curious than anything.

"What are you doing out here in the middle of the forest?" the man asked, his tone surprisingly gentle.

"I-uh," I stammered, trying to think of an excuse. "I got abandoned. My parents… they left me here."

The man's eyes softened, and he crouched down to my level, giving me a kind bitter smile. "I see. People like that really does exists within this Walls huh...?" He muttered to himself before looking at me kindly, "Well, my name's Grisha Yeager, and this is my son, Eren. You're welcome to come with us for now. We were just visiting a friend and a patient, you're actually facing their house right now."

Grisha Yeager?' The name hit me like a ton of cold water. This is the Mc's Daddy? And that kid… that is Eren Yeager. The same Eren who'd one day become a Titan-shifting monster hell bent on revenge.

What kind of shitty luck is this?!

"Thanks," I muttered, keeping my tone neutral. "My name's August Siegmund."

There's absolutely no way that I'm taking in the surname given to me by this body's parents. I'd rather my own name being used after all.

"August," Grisha repeated, standing up and gesturing for me to follow. "We're heading to the Ackermans' house. They should be able to help you for the time being."

Eren glanced at me, his suspicion fading slightly. "So… you're abandoned? That sucks."

"Yeah, thanks" I said, not meeting his gaze. "But they did save me from the trouble of escaping them."

Eren didn't respond but just looked at me in puzzlement, and the three of us waited in silence as Grisha knocked on the door in, the only sound being the falling rain and thunder strikes as well as the knocking. Eren kept glancing at me like he was trying to figure me out. But I ignored him, my mind racing. If I was here, in this world, with these people… what did that mean for me? Would I be swept up in the chaos that was about to unfold? I had to prepare.

Mr. Grisha became impatient and decided to intrude inside the house without permission after warning the people inside the house

He then opened the door slowly, creating a creepy creaking sound, it sounded the same as the ones from the horror movies

Eren stepped inside first, but the moment he did, he froze.

"Dad…?" Eren called out to his Dad behind him

I pushed past him, my heart sinking as I saw what had stopped him in his tracks.

Two bodies lay on the floor, soaked in blood. A man and a woman, their faces twisted in agony. Grisha rushed forward,

kneeling beside them, checking for any signs of life, but it was clear they were already gone.

Eren stood beside me, his face white as a sheet, unable to tear his eyes away from the scene.

But I wasn't surprised.

In this world, death seems like it was in a bargain sale which everyone took everyday

"Looks like some lover's quarrel gone wrong," I muttered, my voice colder than I intended.

Eren turned to me, his eyes wide with horror. "W-What?"

Grisha shot me a look, clearly unsettled by my casual tone. "This is serious. We need to figure out what happened here."

I shrugged, stepping over the threshold and into the room. "Dead's dead. The only question now is what we do next, bury them maybe?"

Eren yelled at me angrily

"How can you say that! We should find whoever did this and castrate them!" He angrily said clenching his fist

The weight of the situation settled around us, but I already knew one thing for sure.

In this world, mercy was in short supply.

Grisha stood slowly, his face pale and his hands trembling. "You two, did you see a little girl your age? Mr. Ackerman and his wife have a little daughter named Mikasa but she's not here." he said, his voice panicked and raspy

Eren didn't respond so I did for the two of us and shook my head which he nodded to and kept on checking on the two bodies, his hands a lot more steady after calming himself down a bit

Eren hadn't moved, his body stiff with fear. His eyes stayed glued to the bodies, his mind clearly trying to process what had happened. I could see the gears turning in his head, his confusion slowly being overtaken by anger.

"Why... why did this happen?" Eren muttered, his voice shaking.

I didn't have an answer for him, nor did I care to offer one. My mind was already moving on. These deaths were just a preview of what this world had in store. If we lingered here, it was only a matter of time before we became the next victims.

Grisha grabbed Eren by the shoulder and started to pull him toward the door, but Eren resisted. His small fists clenched, his jaw tight.

"They can't just die like this," he said, his voice filled with a rising fury.

"That's exactly how it works here," I said bluntly. "People die. Sometimes for absolutely no reason at all."

Eren glared at me, his eyes burning with anger and disbelief. "You don't understand! We have to do something! We can't just-"

"Enough," Grisha cut him off sharply, his voice steady despite the fear in his eyes. "There's nothing we can do for them now except for a proper burial. I need to leave and inform the Military Police Brigade about this. Eren take August with you and head down the mountain and wait there for me"

For a second, it looked like Eren might lash out, but then his shoulders slumped but still had a glint on his eyes. Eren, and I looked over at the scene for a bit more, my mind racing. The shock on Eren's face reminded me of how I used to feel in my old life.

Unfortunately such feelings are useless in the long run.

__________

Short Story (Cannon)

-A few hours after August's death

In a sparse, no-frills apartment, a slightly chubby boy with unkempt hair lay sprawled on his stomach, his nose buried in a manga. The quiet hum of the fridge was the only sound in the room, apart from the occasional rustle of a page being turned. 

"Damn... Mikasa really did became a widow," Mineta muttered, frowning as he flipped to the final page of the volume. "Attack on Titan is so wild, man. They didn't have to do Eren dirty like that." With a dramatic sigh, he closed the manga and stretched like a cat, his joints popping faintly. 

"Now, where is that stingy August?" he grumbled, sitting up and rubbing his eyes. "It's been hours since school ended, and it's his day off, too. What, did he join the a club or something? Nah, that's way too far fetched." 

Then, like a light bulb going off in his head, Mineta's eyes widened. "Wait... He only comes home late when he's buying food! That cheap bastard must've found something good today!" A grin spread across his face as he stood up, his earlier irritation evaporating. 

"I guess I'll eat here tonight," he said with a mischievous chuckle. "He won't mind. After all, I'm his best friend! And after a little persuading... okay, maybe a lot of persuading... he always shares!" 

With that, he grabbed the TV remote and flicked it on, filling the quiet room with the comforting buzz of chatter and background music from a random news channel. "There we go. A little noise makes this place feel less like a prison cell," he muttered, heading to the kitchen. He rummaged through the drawers, grabbing a couple of plates and utensils, whistling a tune as he imagined the feast August would bring home. 

The news anchor's voice played faintly in the background as Mineta set the table. "...a tragic accident earlier today near Park Avenue, where a young man reportedly pushed a child out of harms way of an oncoming truck. Eyewitnesses say-" 

Mineta froze. His hand hovered over the drawer, a fork slipping from his fingers and clattering to the floor. His head turned slowly toward the TV, where a shaky smartphone video was being shown. 

Mineta slowly felt chills at the back of his head as a bad feeling invaded his whole self

The video displayed a small crowd surrounding the scene. Paramedics worked frantically while a distraught woman held a crying little girl in her arms. And there, lying motionless on the pavement, was a familiar figure. 

"No," Mineta whispered, his voice trembling. He took a shaky step toward the TV, his chest tightening as the words of the reporter hammered into his skull. 

"...heroic act of bravery by a young man named August Siegmund, who tragically succumbed to his injuries. The child was unharmed thanks to his actions. Authorities are working to contact his family..." 

Mineta's knees gave out, and he collapsed onto the couch, staring blankly at the screen. His throat felt dry, his mind struggling to process what he had just heard. 

"This has to be a joke," he muttered, his voice cracking. "August wouldn't - he couldn't..." His mind raced, grasping at straws, hoping for some explanation, some mistake in the report. But the grainy footage and the gut-wrenching truth left no room for denial. 

Tears began to stream down his cheeks, his breath hitching as he clutched the edge of the couch. "You idiot..." he choked out. "Why... why'd you have to play the hero? That isn't like you at all... Stupid idiot!" 

The plates and utensils on the table felt like a cruel mockery now, a reminder of the meal he had expected to share with his best friend- No, his big brother. The silence that crept back into the room was suffocating. 

Mineta buried his face in his hands, his muffled sobs breaking through the quiet. "You said you'd come home, you stingy bastard... Please come back big bro..."