Chapter 1: Chance

Disclaimer: I do not own Shingeki no Kyojin

Summary: Kenny dredges up all the decency he can manage and uses his connections to get Levi citizenship aboveground, abandoning him at an orphanage in hopes of a better life.

Some of the characters' ages are different from canon.

He was a scrawny little thing.

Bony with long ratty hair and sunken eyes that held no hope for the future.

Just waiting to die like the dried-up carcass that was his mother.

"Gotta name?"

"Levi," the boy replied in a quiet, raspy voice. "Just Levi."

Kenny leaned back against the wall across from the boy, sliding down, sitting with his long legs stretched out in front of him. "Just Levi, huh? I get that, Kuchel. No reason in giving him your name," he mumbled to himself. It carried a death sentence, the name Ackerman.

Uri had sworn to him to end the persecution of the Ackerman family and had followed through on that promise. A few months had passed since Kenny had attempted to assassinate the king. Now he was back in the Underground City to check in on Kuchel. It had taken him a long time to track her down after he finally decided to find his long lost sister, whom he hadn't seen since they were kids. She had been smart to live under a pseudonym, Olympia. Made her hard to track.

But Kenny had not expected her to have given birth.

His sister kept Levi so well hidden he hadn't even known the boy existed until just then. Clearly Kuchel had taken extreme measures to keep the existence of her son a secret. From the looks of it, the boy hadn't seen the light of day in a while. With his dead gaze and dirty, white nightgown frayed at the edges, he almost looked like a ghost.

"I'm Kenny," he introduced himself, head down, masking his expression. "Just Kenny."

There was no point in getting close to the boy, telling him they were blood if Levi didn't have the strength to make it. Additionally, while he wasn't so heartless to leave the last part of his sister, this runt of a boy, to die, he wasn't fit to be a parent either. Better this way, he thought impassively. This way he wouldn't be a disappointment to Levi as a father-figure because that was never the nature of their relationship. It lessened his responsibility to the brat.

At that moment, Kenny decided to take Levi in, be his mentor instead of family, teach him how to survive, how to protect himself, how to be strong.

That was all the responsibility he would allow himself to the boy.

"Let's go, brat." Kenny grabbed his bag and stood.

"What about Mother?"

"She's dead. It's just an empty, dried-up sack of flesh and bones now." Kenny didn't wait to see if Levi would follow. If he didn't have the will to keep moving, there was nothing Kenny could do. Halfway down the cramped hallway, he heard timid footsteps behind him. When Kenny reached the pimp downstairs, he tossed some coins the man's way. "For the burial."

The bald man missing most of his teeth spluttered something at him. Kenny ignored him and kept walking, leaving the rundown brothel behind with Levi stumbling after him.

Instead of heading to one of his many hideouts around the Underground, Kenny decided to first make a stop at a tavern. He needed a drink. A glance over his shoulder revealed Levi following close by, head darting around. It must have been one of the few times that Levi had left the brothel. Right. The brat's probably starved too. Yet another reason why he wasn't fit to be any sort of parent. Only a few minutes in and he'd already forgotten the boy was with him, too lost in his own thoughts.

Kenny watched, mouth hanging slightly open as Levi tore into the loaves of bread. The other patrons also stared. Kenny grunted. "What're you, an animal? Slow down." He wasn't one for table manners and etiquette, but even he didn't attack his food like some rabid dog.

The boy regarded him with suspicion. Almost as if he expected Kenny to snatch the food out of his hands and he needed to get it into his belly as soon as he could.

Something akin to pity welled up in his chest. Kenny took a swig of his beer. "I'll have to teach ya some manners. Among other things."

"Other things?" Levi repeated, eating only a little more like a human.

Two weeks had passed since Kenny took his nephew in. Levi was fascinated by the world around him. But he wasn't excited about it, didn't want to explore it like Kenny had expected a seven-year-old like him would want to. Rather, Levi was more reserved, he preferred to observe how things worked before he attempted to interact with his new environment. Kenny was pleased. The boy was young but not foolish. His adverse circumstances had forced him to mature quickly. In all honestly, Kenny was glad for it. He wouldn't have known what to do with a needy, whiny brat.

Levi never sought comfort from him. Whether it was due to his circumspect nature or if he simply understood there would be no paternal care to be found, Kenny didn't know or care. He was just glad Levi didn't cling to him and want him to take care of him and coddle him.

The first thing he had taught the boy was how to grip a knife.

Levi held up the old knife, studying it, tiny fingers barely wrapping around the circular, wooden handle.

"Know how to use it?" Kenny asked, sitting on a barrel behind the rundown apartment building they currently lived in.

"Stick 'em with the pointy end."

Kenny snorted.

Levi tested the weight, loosening and tightening his grip.

"Where would ya stick 'em with the pointy end?"

He shrugged his skinny little shoulders. "Stomach?"

Kenny hopped off the barrel and sauntered over, hands still in his pockets. "Show me." Levi shot him a skeptical look. "C'mon, brat." Levi ran as fast as his stick-like legs would allow. He was eating better than he ever had. But he was still very thin. Smaller than a boy his age should be by Kenny's estimate. Not that he knew much about that sort of thing. It was easy to rip the knife from him. Like taking candy from a baby. Almost literally. "You're grippin' it too loosely." He flipped the old blade, holding it handle out.

"Hmph." Levi snatched it back, appearing mildly irritated.

"Try again."

Once again, Kenny was able to steal the knife easily.

"Now you're grippin' it too tight."

Levi huffed, glaring.

"Do it again."

For hours he trained the boy, taking a break once for lunch and again to take a leak.

Kenny grumbled in irritation at the growing number of men following him. Even Levi had taken notice. Although he didn't think they were going for subtlety. His heartbeat started to pick in anticipation. He always enjoyed cracking skulls. Particularly those of idiots who thought they could jump him, take out the infamous killer who had slaughtered over a hundred MPs, and make a name for themselves. At least this group was semi-smart. It offended him when they only came in a group of three or four. As if that would be enough to defeat him.

Levi seemed to sense the change in the atmosphere and wisely moved off to the side. The boy was born with good instincts, he thought as one of the dumb shits began spewing bravado.

"Alright, brat," he said to Levi, "lemme show ya how ta say hello." Kenny grinned, cracking his knuckles. "It's important ta get along with people, ya know."

It was almost too easy. The men were uncoordinated, slow, and lacking in imagination. Fists flew and bones were shattered. Kenny laughed, breaking one's nose gleefully then dodging a bald one charging at him, grabbing his arm and twisting it completely behind his back, leaving him howling on the ground. The leader of the group stumbled back, knees shaking as Kenny stalked toward him. Summoning up the last of his courage, he ran at Kenny. Kenny lifted his leg, kneeing him in the gut, causing spittle to fly out, then brought his elbow down on the back of his head. "What's the matter? Weren't ya gonna kill the infamous Ripper?" Kenny shook the man the barely conscious man by the collar.

"Can we go home now?" Levi asked quietly, standing among the beaten men, bored.

Kenny dropped the thug. "Let's go." They returned to the apartment and he sent Levi off to practice his knife skills so he could have a couple of hours to himself.

When the boy returned, he froze. "Where are you going?" Levi stood at the end of the moth-eaten sofa near the door, eyes locked in on the black bag.

Kenny closed it, holding it over his shoulder. "Gotta take care of some business." He had told Uri he would be gone for a month, maybe more. It was time to return. For the most part, being Uri's righthand man allowed him to move around freely but he still needed to check in regularly in person. "I'll be back in a week. If ya get hungry, I've paid the tavern owners."

"You're back." There was no longer an odd note to Levi's voice like he was surprised Kenny had returned.

Over the year his nephew had grown used to him skipping out, sometimes weeks at a time, but he always returned. Kenny grunted, eyeing Levi's face. His cheeks were fuller, still a little hollow but he had lost the gaunt look overall. He was wearing a brown shirt and dark pants, which fit better and didn't hang off his frame as the nightgown had. "I'm hungry. Let's go eat."

Levi followed without a word, carrying his knife.

The tavern owners greeted them warmly. Kenny took the chance to unwind, drinking and trading wisecracks with another patron. He laughed loudly, an arm around the man's shoulders, clinking mugs with him. The man challenged him to a drinking contest.

An hour later, he and Levi left the tavern, his pocket full of cash. "That's how ya swing a deal. Let the other guy get cocky and think ya got no chance." It wasn't that he needed the money. When you served the king, money was not something to worry about. But Kenny liked to gamble.

"Mmm," was all Levi had to say.

He knew Levi had taken in every word, though. Rarely did he have to repeat himself. Levi was a fast learner and often picked up the lessons on the first try, almost never making the same mistake twice.

"Do you have to leave again?" Levi asked him a week later. "You were just gone for two weeks."

Kenny stepped out of his room, bag slung over his shoulder. He gave his usual reply: "I have some business to take care of."

"When will you be back?"

"Maybe three weeks."

"Okay." Levi turned back to his knife, cleaning it with an old rag.

"How is the boy doing?" Uri inquired as he brushed his horse.

Kenny lounged on a bale of hay outside the stables on the Reiss family estate. He had just finished reporting the task Uri had assigned him. His friend—it still struck Kenny as odd that he considered someone a friend—had brought up Levi out of nowhere. Uri knew of his nephew but had never asked about him before, leaving Kenny's personal life untouched.

Kenny was tempted to ask they drop the subject. The king would accept it and move on. But he saw no harm in answering. "He's a survivor."

Uri paused briefly to smile at him. "Coming from you, that's a compliment. Have you told him you're his uncle?"

"No. I told ya, there ain't no point in it."

"What would your sister think of that?"

Kenny snorted. "She'd be thrilled. If the boy finds out I'm blood, he might try'n become more like me. Don't think she'd want that." He thought that was the end of that and opened his mouth to change the subject when Uri spoke again.

"Then should you really...'teach him the ways of the world?'" That was the reply Kenny had given him when Uri had wondered what he intended to do with his sister's son.

"Whatcha mean?"

Uri turned away from his horse to face him, eyes full of compassion. "Should you really be teaching your nephew the things you've told me you've been teaching him?"

"The strong swallow the weak in this world." Thanks to him, Levi would make it. Once he was capable of holding his own, not needing Kenny's protection, he would leave and let Levi live his own life, make his own decisions. It was how he would show he cared. He explained it to Uri, expecting him to agree that what he was doing was good and kind.

But Uri shook his head. "He might be able to survive, but what kind of life will he have if the only language he speaks, the only life he knows, is of bloodshed and violence and death? Your sister wouldn't want that. It's no way to raise a child."

Kenny was stunned. He had only done what he had thought was best for Levi. Thought that he was being compassionate by taking Levi in and doing him a huge favor and teaching him. It was what he would have wanted as a kid, for someone to teach him the ways of the world. How to survive. How to be strong. Perhaps his was not the wisest way of going about it, considering he was something of an abnormality, but he had never imagined it was as bad as Uri was implying. But if Uri thinks otherwise...

Uri started to backtrack. "I'm sure you're training him to be strong and smart—"

"Let's just forget this, alright?" Knowing what he truly thought now, Kenny didn't want Uri to take back what he said in some effort to spare his feelings or some shit.

"Very well, friend."

His thoughts turned the entire way back to the Underground. Uri was kind and compassionate, something Kenny strived to be deep down. And if he thought the way Kenny was raising Levi was not the best, he had to be right. Maybe I'm not the best choice to guide him. But he would not stop what he had already started. His method might not be the best suited for a child, but he would ensure Levi was fully capable of handling anything on his own once Kenny was done teaching him.

Over the years, Uri's words continued to fester in the back of Kenny's mind. Every time he saw the violence grow in Levi, his friend's words would spring up from his subconscious and make him feel almost uncomfortable. Sometimes even Kuchel's naive face would appear in his head. He had almost forgotten what she looked like. But Levi took completely after his mother and it brought back memories of his dead sister that had been long buried. She would be devastated at what he was turning her son into.

I'm making him strong, he told himself. Kenny was pulled out of his thoughts when he saw a crowd had gathered near his apartment. Levi was beating up a boy more than twice his size. Proud was what he should have felt. And relieved that his duty to the boy was almost finished. It would only take a couple of years more now before he could leave without any guilt. The brat was becoming more capable of surviving this harsh world by himself.

But Uri's words and Kuchel's face haunted him instead.

Knife in hand, droplets of blood on his clothes, Levi was a familiar image as he yelled at the barely conscious boy, shaking him by the collar.

His thoughts suddenly cleared and he knew what he had to do. Kenny turned and walked away.

Hearing the door open, Kenny quickly zipped up the bag.

"Where did you go?" Levi stared at him, leaning on the arm of the sofa. He had never before questioned him about where he would run off to over the years. Levi's eyes went to the bag. "Are you leaving again?"

"We are."

He perked up at that. "Where are we going?"

Kenny tossed him the brown bag. "Carry that."

He looked like he wanted to ask more questions but refrained. "Why do I have to carry your shit?" Levi grumbled under his breath but not quiet enough.

Kenny could tell the boy's curiosity was growing as they walked. Both kept silent. Levi finally spoke up when they neared the gate leading aboveground. "Are we going to the surface?" There was a note of excitement in his voice. "Is that where you always disappear off to?"

Using his tall frame to block Levi's view—although Levi was more focused on the long stairs leading up to the surface to care—Kenny showed the documents to the guards. They barely checked them, used to him coming and going over the years, and cowed due to his reputation, which pleased him.

"Where did you get the money to buy us passes?" Levi questioned as they climbed the stairs.

"I have a friend with far-reaching connections," Kenny replied carefully, not exactly answering his question. "He got me everythin' I needed."

Levi snorted, "You have a friend?"

As they reached the top, they could see sunlight from the corner hitting the platform.

His hat protected Kenny from the worst of it, eyes adjusting quickly to the intense sunlight. Levi pulled up the hood of his jacket, rubbing his eyes, likely wet from pain. Without speaking, Kenny gave him a little time to adjust before climbing the stairs leading up into the brightness, hearing Levi follow slowly.

The air was clean and fresh, the sun warm and welcoming. The sounds of the city surrounded them as they walked. Kenny didn't comment as the thirteen-year-old edged closer to him, studying everything around him in fascination. His attention was constantly pulled by this thing or that and he didn't pay any mind to where they were going. That was good.

"It's so big," Levi marveled, staring up at the sky as he walked. It wasn't until they were near the gate that he finally snapped out of his awe. "Where are we going?"

"Our destination is a city called Trost." Kenny did not feel comfortable leaving Levi inside Wall Sina. Trost was a bustling city and it was safe, just far enough from the capital and still part of the interior.

"When do we have to get back?"

"Don't worry about that."

Levi shrugged, happy enough observing his surroundings and letting Kenny deal with everything else.

Kenny talked to a merchant, handing him some coins in exchange for a ride to Trost's market. The cart was loaded with barrels and he and Levi sat at the edge, their feet dangling as the cart moved. The soldiers at the gate didn't really bother inspecting their documents too deeply, simply waving them through after a quick check. The only reason they would be pulled to the side was if they looked suspicious. Generally, it was easier exiting the interior than it was entering it. Not that their documents were anything but perfect.

Kenny hopped off the cart once they reached their destination, Levi following suit. Delicious scents filled the air from the various bakeries and shops. Children ran around, playing and screaming. Stall owners tried to sell their goods to the men and women walking by. The color and the joy in the air was a total contrast to the dark and grim Underground City.

"Is this it?" Levi eyed the two-story building.

Kenny grunted. He led them in. A woman in her fifties approached him. She had a kind smile on her face as she greeted them. "I'm here to drop him off," Kenny announced, jerking his thumb over his shoulder. Levi straightened at his words.

"I see. Ms. Biel, show him to his bed," the matron said to a woman with a blond bun.

"Yes, ma'am."

Levi shot Kenny a questioning look. "Go on. You'll be fine," Kenny said. When Levi lifted the bag to him, Kenny shook his head. "That's yours."

"Oh." He stared at it then followed the blonde-haired woman.

Kenny watched them go before pulling out the paperwork. "Here," he said, and handed the woman Levi's birth certificate and proof of citizenship. They were legitimate, not forgeries. Upon his request Uri had taken care of the documentation, no questions asked.

"We'll take good care of him," she promised him.

Rose Heart Orphanage received decent patronage from local nobles and the town's Merchant Association. And it wasn't overflowing with brats. Here at least he'll have a chance, Kenny thought as he left.

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