Hello All! So this isn't the first fan fiction I've ever written, but right now it's the first that might stay published... I'm a bit paranoid about putting my work on the internet or even having the slightest internet presence at all, but at my sister's urging, I decided to finally publish one of them. I'm not sure where this story will go or if it will go (finishing is hard, okay?), but I'm going to give it a try. Some side notes: while this story is rated T for now, the rating may change. Attack on Titan is an anime that has copious violence and gore and well as some very mature themes, so please keep that in mind while reading. Also, I apologize for any typos or mistakes! Without further ado, here is the first chapter of "One of the Dead."

Chapter One

The sun was setting on the horizon. It was a pretty picture, certainly, but Kira Zeffren only stared past the dark orange and purple hues that colored the sky. Nightfall meant safety. In an hour, the Titans that roamed the land would be slowing down, falling into their sleep mode: meaning Kira and Dante would be free for a few hours to get some sleep themselves.

"Only an hour now," Kira said gruffly, her voice strangely deep for a girl's. She patted the black stallion's neck, narrowing her green eyes at the landscape ahead of her. It had been awhile since the pair had run into any Titans, and on the outskirts of the Wall, that was a frequent occurrence.

Though apparently, Titans on the insides of the Walls now wasn't so unheard of anymore- not since the invasion of Wall Maria in 845. If her parents and their renegade group of citizens hadn't fled eighteen years ago, they might have been caught in the disastrous slaughter that cut down the population by nearly twenty percent. It didn't matter much now: they were all dead anyway. Her parents might have lasted longer if they had stayed within the Walls, but life there was not a life at all: constantly bound within a cage without any freedom.

Kira coughed, her small, muscled frame shaking violently with the onslaught on hacking. Her short dark hair fell over her watering eyes, partially blocking her view for a moment. "Stupid…" she hit her chest with her fist, trying to loosen it, "Lungs…"

After a few moments, the attack subsided. She shook herself and continued onward, spurring Dante into a brisk trot. They'd have to find somewhere high up to rest for the night, far out of the reaches of any Aberration Titans that might still be awake. There wasn't anywhere here that looked even remotely safe for a nineteen-year-old rogue and her stallion. The sun continued to set, and Kira couldn't help but wonder where on earth the last of the Titans were. Typically by the end of day Kira could rack up a few more Titan deaths with those who still wandered around when the day neared the dark.

Voices. Kira heard them all at once, yelling and shouting orders to one another. She heard the telltale screech of 3D movement gear ricocheting off the skin of Titans and the whistle of swords whirling through the air. Kira pulled her black hood over her head, looking out from under dark brows as she and Dante crested a hill.

Green capes flew through the air: six different bodies all flying at massive group of twenty Titans. Kira widened her eyes at the skill of these soldiers, seeing Titans drop one after another. Her Titans… She hadn't reached her kill count for the day by a long shot, probably because of these Scouts trying to steal her glory. Kira's face morphed into her standard scowl, glaring out at them. With twenty Titans, they would certainly pay for their arrival on her territory…

"Should have stayed in your stupid walls," Kira grumbled under her breath darkly, turning Dante abruptly back around.

Out of the corner of her eye, however, she saw one of the Titan's grotesque hands wrap around one of the flying green capes. A woman with light ginger hair struggled in the beast's grip as she screamed, her eyes wide with terror as the Titan slowly brought its fist towards its mouth.

Kira could barely control her next actions. She set her jaw and her face darkened, horrible memories hitting her in an onslaught. Kira swung Dante around and spurred him forward, sending the stallion into a breakneck gallop unrivaled by any horse she'd ever encountered. His legs churned under him as they tore towards the battle, dodging the Titans in their way with precision.

Kira reached for the sword holstered on her back, drawing it and riding towards the offending Titan's ankles. She leapt from Dante's back, spinning in a tight circle to gain momentum. On her final whirl, Kira jabbed out her sword, slicing the Titan deep on the back of its ankle. The Titan let out a noise before stumbling forwards, crashing down onto its knees. Kira ran along its calf before taking another flying jump into the air, stabbing her sword into the Titan's thigh. She hung from her sword before swinging herself up once more, gaining height on the Titan. It dropped the woman it was holding, distracted by Kira's stabs. In a few seconds Kira reached the back of its neck, slicing it clean through in one blow.

The Titan collapsed to the ground and Dante galloped by just as Kira fell, catching her on his back in perfect sync. It had taken years and years of failure and training to achieve her Titan kills in such a scientific manner, but now Kira barely even had to think anymore.

The woman that had been grabbed had barely recovered, gasping for breath as she stared at Kira with wide eyes.

"A… A rogue?" she whispered.

Titans continued to drop around them, and Kira couldn't help but scold herself for her rash intervention. She tried to interfere as little as possible with any other humans she saw outside the walls, especially anyone who was affiliated with the military. And now? She had thrown herself into a battle with six military elites no less. Idiotic.

But she had looked at the woman and seen the terror in her eyes… The moment just before death, that look of pure horror and unbelievable regret. Kira had seen it many times before on faces of those she had once loved, but now forced herself to forget. She hadn't been able to stop herself when she saw that look on someone's face, even if it meant getting far too close to these government lackeys.

Another Titan collapsed beside her, sending Dante skidding away from it, narrowly avoiding being crushed by the foot of another. The Titan force had been reduced by half in a short amount of time, and Kira knew it was her time to leave. A Titan's hand moved towards her and Kira had to throw her body away to avoid it, turning Dante in a small circle before charging the other way.

Kira glanced back to make sure she had evaded the hand, only to turn back and find herself face to face with a fifteen-meter Titan. It stared down at her with its wide, vapid eyes and huge teeth bared at her. Kira jerked the reins back in panic and Dante reared up, his powerful hooves punching skywards. He landed in the other direction, surging forward as the Titan moved to bite the two of them.

"The hell you'll touch my horse," Kira snarled, leaping from Dante and swinging her sword towards the Titan. It reached a hand out towards her, getting its fingers sliced off almost immediately. It didn't phase the Titan as it put another hand out, its grubby fingers snapping Kira up in its grasp. Kira took a huge gasp of air as the Titan put pressure on her body, trying to crush her bones together.

In another second, Kira snapped her wrist backwards, sending her sword through a sensitive point of the Titan's hand. It let out a small cry, loosening it grip on Kira and giving her just enough time to lunge onto its shoulder. She ran across its back before leaping again, spinning in a circle that gave her just enough momentum to slice through the Titan's weak point. The creature fell almost instantly, forcing Kira to crash onto the ground. Her body skidded to a halt just before another Titan stepped towards her, forcing her to roll out of the way of its giant foot.

Black hooves moved towards her, and at the sight, Kira jumped back to her feet somewhat shakily. She grabbed Dante's withers and pulled herself back aboard as he cantered next to her, turning away from the battle. She had already involved herself too much as it was – her only goal was to get away as soon as possible and get them to a safe place before night fall. Before she could act at all, however, Kira was hoisted straight off the back of her stallion.

She could feel massive fingers curled around her body as a Titan lifted her up, apparently getting the better of her and her horse. Kira's face drained of color and she stared at the gaping mouth she was sure to be thrust into in a matter of seconds. She braced herself against the crushing force of the Titan's hand, trying to wedge her sword from where it was caught between the creature's fingers.

Not like this.

Death could not be for one small oversight, just because she had made the mistake of trying to help some other worthless human beings who meant nothing to her. Not because she had been controlled by her weak emotions of empathy. That was not how Kira Zeffren had intended to go.

The teeth came closer to her as the Titan moved its hand near its mouth, and Kira leaned even further back in the beast's grasp. She could feel it try to tighten its grip on her and she let out a yelp of pain, feeling her leg twist abnormally in its grip. "Damn you, damn you to hell," she coughed out, her eyes wide as the beast clamped down on her. She could feel the bones in her leg snap and she let out a real shriek this time, her fingers turning white around the hilt of her blade. "No!"

She slammed her weight against the sword, trying to dislodge it to no avail. Teeth loomed closer yet as the Titan had regained its hold on her, prepared to eat her just like thousands and thousands before her. Her green eyes widened as she glared into the cavern of the Titan's mouth, unable to do anything to save herself.

This was it, was it?

She'd come close to death before, but never like this. Never had she felt the Titan's hot, putrid breath blowing on her entire body like a storm gale. She had never stared down a Titan's vile throat, knowing that her mangled body would soon slide down to its stomach. At the thought, her entire being shook in fear. How pathetic. Dying like a coward.

The sound of 3D maneuver gear whistling through the air pierced her ears louder than before, and a whirlwind of a green cape suddenly flew past her. Blue flashes hit her vision – of a sword moving so quickly that she couldn't make out anything but its previous path. The Titan's grip loosened after the barrage of this new attacker, and Kira threw herself from its grasp. She smashed into the ground, her eyes filling with tears as she landed hard. She let out a garbled cry, dropping her sword and holding her throbbing leg.

The Titan that had stood above her suddenly swayed on its feet, blood spurting from the back of its neck. Kira looked up with wide eyes, watching as the Titan began to fall towards her. She struggled to stand, letting out a pained scream as she put weight on her broken leg, falling once more. No! She had been rescued from death and now she would be crushed? No! She threw herself forward, trying to get out of the way with her ruined body.

She caught a glimpse of Dante standing meters from her, his ears pricked forward as he saw her. Kira threw up her hand almost wildly as Dante started forward. "No! Halt!" she screamed, looking back up at the Titan that was coming tumbling down.

There was a sudden swoosh and a snap, and then everything was black.

Author's Note: There you have it! Really hope you enjoyed, as I very quite literally just wrote this I have no idea how it turned out! Thank you so much for reading, and if you enjoyed, I would be absolutely thrilled if you left a review. Also, shout out to Flicker the Light for encouraging me to post my work. Happy reading :)

Miss E. TG. Shire