I do not own Shingeki No Kyojin nor do I plan to profit from this fic

WARNING: This chapter takes a long hard look at sensitive topics such as rape and prostitution. Read at your own risk!

Flashback Year 841, Wall Rose:

She was six years old when she first got a glimpse of the wall.

Not that she knew of its significance at the time. To her it was just an annoying edifice that did a damn good job of ruining a spectacular view of the lands and horizons beyond. Great, all of her efforts climbing this stupidly high tree had gone to waste. She jumped a little in the limb she was perched on when she heard a gruff, male voice shout up to her from below.

"Mikasa get down here! I thought I told you last time to stop climbing trees so high! If your mother sees this she'll have both of our heads!"

Mikasa looked down to see her father waving up at her with a semi-panicked look on his face.

"Daddy what's with that weird thing surrounding all of the lands," she asked, ignoring her father's plea from before.

"What are you talking about honey? What thing?"

"Uh, you know…the stone thing that's circling around all the land."

Realization dawned on his face.

"You mean the wall?"

"Yeah, I guess. Why is it surrounding everything like the fence mom put up around the chickens?"

Mikasa watched her father's face morph into that awkwardly sheepish expression he always used whenever she asked him a question he preferred not to answer.

"I'll tell you later okay? Now get down here before your mother gets here and tears a piece out of both of us."

Mikasa relented, sliding her way down the giant oak and into her father's strong arms. As they made their way back to the house she once again pressed her father for his answer. At her persistence he sighed and buried his large, calloused hands in her hair, ruffling it affectionately.

"'Like the fence mom put up around the chickens', eh? Child of mine, sometimes you really do amaze me with your insight, despite your young age."

She furrowed her brows in confusion at his words.

"Mikasa what are fences supposed to do?"

"They keep things from getting out."

He gave her a tight lipped smile at her answer.

"That's correct sweetheart, and that wall you saw surrounding the land isn't much different. Except some fences aren't supposed to keep things from getting out as much as they are there to keep things outside their confines from getting in."

"What kind of things," she asked. She could've sworn she saw a shadow pass over her father's rugged complexion. But like any shadow, it came and went, soon to be replaced by his usual gentle smile reserved only for her and her mother.

"It's nothing to worry about sweetie. Could you take these berries to your mother? Oh and please don't eat too many out of the basket while you're at it this time."

She flushed at her father's light hearted jibe, remembering how her mother scolded her for helping herself the last time. What could she do? She loved wild berries, especially the berries out here. Her father brought some from the market on occasion, but for some reason they couldn't compare to the ones she and him would wake up early to hike further up the mountains for.

As she came closer to the house she allowed herself a moment to muse on the fact that her father completely and successfully evaded her question. Furthermore she had let him get away with it.

Perhaps his answer wasn't one he was ready to give and one she wasn't ready to receive…

Flashback Wall Sina, Year 846:

Mikasa laid sprawled eagle on the lumpy mattress and scratchy wool sheets staring out the window at the right side of the bed. Through its dirty glass she could see the hustle and bustle of the town outside. She watched well tailored men and fashionable women parade around the streets with an air of elegance to their movements. Everything here looked so refined, so lavish so clean. It was a jarring sight for someone who spent most of her young life in the messy rugged, chaotic confines of Wall Rose.

The inner district felt like a world in and of itself, so blatantly disconnected from the rest of the human territories. Here, Mikasa could almost believe that the appearance of the Colossal Titan; the loss of Wall Maria and the Zhiganshina district had never taken place.

Of course the brighter the area, the denser, darker, and evermore present were its shadows, and this place had plenty of them. Mikasa could thank the wall she could see so clearly outside of the window for casting them. Looking at it brought her a sense of melancholy. She remembered how distant it seemed back home. She closed her eyes and pictured the deep greens of the forest, the fresh smell of earth and rain, as opposed to the stench of alcohol and cigarette smoke that littered this rat hole.

"Hey girl, you okay over there?"

Stormy grey eyes opened slowly and moved to regard the girl sitting in front of an old dresser and vanity. The swirl of negative emotions slightly abated in the wake of amusement she garnered from watching the ridiculous expression on her close companion's face as she outlined her eyes with a smoky dark liner.

"It's nothing, I was just thinking."

"It's almost like another world here isn't it?"

Mikasa snorted.

"It would be if you didn't have to put on that ridiculous costume and charm those pigs just to make some money."

Her response came in the form of a pleasant laugh.

"Jeez you're starting to sound like Revekka! Well I'm sorry to say that we can't all make a living by picking the pockets of rich men like the two of you!"

It was Mikasa's turn to chortle in amusement.

"But Winnie, isn't that what you end up doing anyway? The only difference between what we do and what you do is a matter of perspective; and the willingness of the victim."

The girl called 'Winnie' joined her in small sniggers.

After that a silence ensued. Mikasa watched as Winnie ran an old brush through her thick golden locks. She always did garner a morbid sense of fascination when she watched Winnie prepare for her work. Winnie looked like a famous performer preparing backstage for a majestic show, and in a way she was.

Well, excluding the 'majestic' tid-bit anyway…

She sat in front of her mirror with various makeup jars jewelry and perfume bottles, scattered about the surface of the worn vanity. They marked the beginnings of her daily routine. A little bit of blush here, eyeliner there, with red paint for her plump lips. Face paint to conceal the bruises left by the last line of clients before donning fancy jewelry, and heavy perfume. Gone was the ordinary girl Mikasa knew. In her stead was a divinely beautiful creature that could charm a man with a look.

It disgusted her.

When the rich old men or their spoiled sons paid for Winnie's services they didn't pay for her. They paid for this fantasy. The idea that even scumbags like them could lay their hands on something so close to feminine perfection. Winnie played the part as perfectly as she played them. Every look, every touch, every word, all a carefully constructed act, but beneath the mask was a girl like her; irreparably broken by the world they lived in, vaguely hoping for something more.

Unlike their other companion, Revekka, Mikasa had long given up on keeping Winnie from walking down this road. In fact, it was thanks to Winnie's ways with men that they were able to get into the inner district in the first place, as one of her clients happened to be a member of the Military Police.

"Rotten bastards," Mikasa murmured under her breath.

"That they are", Winnie mused as she arranged her long blonde hair into an elegant ponytail.

Mikasa met both Winnie and Revekka at the brothel she was sold to two years ago. Both herself and Revekka were new arrivals whereas Winnie had already been working there for who knew how long. Had it not been for Revekka, she would've still been there. The same could be said for Mikasa as well.

"Well what do you think," Winnie said as she rose from her seat and made a well rehearsed gesture to her figure.

Mikasa took a good look at those big, expressive baby blue eyes accompanied by a round face, fluffy cheeks, a full mouth and small nose with a dimpled smile. Her hair fell down her shoulders in graceful cascades of curly harvest gold color waves. Winnie was a conventional beauty with her skin, eye and hair color but a beauty nonetheless. The trait was further amplified by the makeup, the heady perfume, the jewelry and her costume.

To a man she would've been a goddess incarnate. But to Mikasa, she looked like a shadow of the witty, spirited girl she had come to care for.

"I think this is my cue to leave," Mikasa said in a neutral tone.

Winnie rolled her eyes and made a shooing gesture with her hand. Mikasa stood and made her way to the door giving her friend a gentle pat on the shoulder as she left. She wound her way down the creaky stair case, pointedly ignoring the odd looks people gave her. (Seriously people, higher a painter to paint a portrait or something. It'll last longer.) Making her way into the lobby of their rundown (well rundown by Wall Sina standards) lodgings, she strode across the spacious room, threw open twin ornately decorated doors-

-and holly shit, the heat.

Be it in Wall Rose or the Wall Sina, the temperature still burned like the hottest fires of hell.

Then again, Mikasa never did take well to the heat, with her pale complexion that didn't tan as much as it burned and her stark black hair. She idly noted just how many people she caught looking her way as she strolled down the semi-crowded paved street. It must've been strange to them to see an unusual looking young girl walking on her lonesome.

They should take a trip to Wall Rose and the outer districts sometime. Then they'd see children like her everywhere they went. She snorted at the idea of THAT ever happening. Since the loss of Wall Maria a year ago people inland became much antsier about travel between walls. Scratch that, people inland became much antsier in general.

Not that Mikasa couldn't understand the source of their paranoia. Unlike those living further out, the people in Wall Sina had no additional wall to hide behind during an attack.

No good. She didn't want to think about that right now. She needed to shift gears. Instead she mused over Winnie, who by now should be going through her first wave of clients.

She remembered how she met Winnie for the first time in that terrible place.

The madam who ran the expensive whore house she had been sold off to two years back had taken one look at Mikasa's face and nearly gasped. She looked at Mikasa with a greedy glint in her eyes, knowing full well what sort of beauty the nine year old little girl would grow into. And knowing what sort of money she would make when that time came. She quickly placed Mikasa under Winnie's instruction so that she could be groomed to replace her as the top courtesan once she grew into womanhood. Then the money-loving bitch would sell her virginity to the highest bidder. Until that day came though, Mikasa would remain untouched.

As a result she was spared the horrors both Winnie and Revekka had to endure in that place until their escape. But nonetheless that brothel had left its mark on all three of them in one way or another. Especially Winnie who had gotten used to the routine and the stability the whore house provided over her years of working there. Mikasa and Revekka possessed near unnatural physical prowess. By contrast Winnie had her sharp intuition and her charm garnered from the years she spent seducing men. Mikasa and Revekka could pick pockets and outmaneuver even the Military Police themselves. Winnie would have men willingly throwing money her way with her wiles. It's what she trained herself to do. It's all she knew how to do.

Out of the corner of her keen grey orbs Mikasa caught sight of her other companion. Revekka was perched on the roof of a building, enjoying the succulent taste of a watermelon she undoubtedly stole. Upon striding into the alley of the structure her friend sat atop of, Mikasa spotted a small stand in its rightmost corner with a beige colored tent draping over four bulky wooden poles. It must've belonged to a former street vendor. Just above the thing she could make out a square indentation that suggested the presence of a window on the side of the building it rested on.

It wasn't hard for the eleven year old girl to deduce how Revekka had gotten up there. She bent her legs and leaned forward ever so slightly, storing potential energy in her calves which then exploded as she bounded for the stand. In three moves she leapt onto the cloth and from there managed to take hold of the window sill before using all of her strength to heave herself over the side of the building and onto the rooftop.

Just in front of her Revekka turned her head to regard her heaving form with an impressed, expectant look. She let out a low whistle of appreciation.

"Damn girl, just what are you Asians made of anyway? At your age I was nowhere near that nimble."

Mikasa's eyebrow twitched at the mention of her heritage. She really shouldn't have told Revekka about that.

"It's nothing you haven't seen me do before and you're far more agile than me. Are you sure your mother didn't sleep with a monkey or something?"

"Har har, very funny you freakish brat. I'm better at this cause' I'm older than you. The only impressive thing I could manage when I was ten was a good knee in the balls."

"I'm eleven, and you still have yet to teach me your supposedly legendary knee to groin maneuver," Mikasa groused.

"Ten, eleven, makes no difference to me. Grow boobs first and then I'll start giving a shit about your age. Assuming you do get tits of course. With your strength and un-feminine personality I wouldn't be shocked if you dropped a set of balls once you hit puberty. Reason number one not to teach you the legendary crotch shot: it's a girls only move."

Mikasa's expression turned flat and she resisted the childish urge to stick out her tongue. She moved to sit next to Revekka, snatching a piece of watermelon in the process.

"Well in case you haven't noticed you're not so feminine yourself you nasty-she male," she shot back, garnering some satisfaction from the scowl that spread across her friend's face.

"Who are you calling a she-male ya' snarky little shit. Want me to prove you wrong? Unlike a certain someone, I have the assets to prove my gender!"

Mikasa let out an exasperated sigh. Revekka would strip in public just to prove a point.

"No thanks. I don't wanna see any of that."

"That's what I thought. And hey! Since when do rude little runts like you get the right to take part in sharing my catch? If you want a piece of fruit go steal your own! I busted my ass to get that while you were clowning around with Winnie in that rats nest!"

This time Mikasa did stick out her tongue and leaned out of Revekka's reach when she made a grab for the piece of watermelon in her hands. It was only half-hearted though. Mikasa could tell Revekka was only being ornery with her for ornery's sake. The childish banter quickly devolved into teasing fun as Revekka mock chased after her in circles on the small space of the roof. It wasn't until Revekka fell on her butt from exhaustion that Mikasa gave her a rare smile and made to sit at her side once again as she caught her breath.

"So when does our resident harlot finish up tonight," Revekka asked as she caught her breath.

"She said she should be done around midnight."

"Figures. Well from the angle of the sun I'd guess it's about seven now. I figure we've got a good five hours to kill before we head back. We should use the time to help you fill your quota cause' my pockets are full. Who needs a pretty face and a dainty laugh when you've got moves like us? It shouldn't take you too long to rake in a good hunk o' cash. This town is loaded with filthy rich bastards who don't pay attention to what goes on around them."

Mikasa gave her a considering look.

"That's because there are lots of Military Police prowling around the area so they feel they don't have to."

Revekka scoffed.

"You mean like that one spiffy looking guy that took one good look at Winnie and almost melted in his own puddle of drool? That guy was as crooked as a black market merchant's front teeth! If all of them are like that then the people that put their faith in them are fuckin' suckers!"

"You don't have to be honest to be vigilant. Just because some of them are incompetent doesn't mean they all are. And we're not Winnie. You couldn't charm your way out of a paper bag if worse comes to worse, so do us a favor and don't lower your guard around them too much. This isn't Wall Rose, after all."

"Hmphf, you're damn right it's not Wall Rose. And you'd be surprised to know how convincing one of my world-ending right hooks can be."

Mikasa rolled her eyes at the smugness present within her friend's voice.

"Try to remember it was thanks to Winnie that we were able to get here in the first place. It's also thanks to her we've actually got a roof over our heads, even if it is on the crap side."

Revekka said nothing to that. Mikasa could tell she still held Winnie's regression into her courtesan ways over her head. To someone like Revekka who didn't bend over backwards for anyone or anything, Winnie's inability to escape her life in the whore house further testified to how broken that place had left her.

But then again everyone was a little broken in their own ways. At least, that's what Mikasa believed.

Despite her explosive temper, her crude and tactless nature, and her occasional over-confidence, Revekka invoked a sense of admiration from her.

Mikasa would see her locked up in the cells below like an animal whenever she went to clean down there. Her clothes tattered and her body littered in bruises. They were different from the bites and marks she had seen littering Winnie's neck. They weren't the result of a pseudo affection brought on during the heights of an empty passion. If anything they were far more violent, and cruel; demanding dominance over their bearer that Revekka refused to give.

At one point she attempted to subtly plea to the madam to release her, claiming that Revekka wouldn't bring her money due to her un-submissive ways. "Oh how little you understand the vastness of a man's desire, my little porcelain doll. Some men want a meek little minx, others want an unyielding tigress. Some men will pay good money for the satisfaction that comes with taking such a feisty creature."

So the woman told her. Goddamn her gluttony.

She wasn't sure if she would've fought back had it been her instead. Giving in was a lot easier than fighting back. Mikasa was certain the only reason Revekka fought as hard as she did was so she could suppress the mounting despair and sense of helplessness one feels when being over-powered.

As messed up and morbid as it is, the notion that one could still have the will to fight despite the dire circumstances gave Mikasa a sense of hope. Hope that one day too she would be able to completely grasp that force of will herself, and completely dispel the indifferent haze that had fogged up her mind since witnessing the murder of her parents.

Granted she was better than she was, since she no longer acted like a doll, but she still had a long way to go.

She finished up her watermelon in silence and afterwards the two of them set out to prowl the streets for unsuspecting passersby. The money Winnie could make on her own was good, but not enough to support all three of them. And for uneducated cast out brats like Mikasa and Revekka, with no parents and no aptitude for honest work, a dishonest life was the most they could ask for.

Yes, all three of them were the leftovers of this dog eat dog society spurred on by the confinements of the three great walls and the threat of the monsters behind them. And it was from down below, living a dog's life where Mikasa could fully grasp the Darwinian nature of the civilization they all lived in.

Because for every brat like her struggling for a good meal, there were all those anonymous people she had seen earlier today out the window dressed fancy, smoking cigars, and living the high life at the expense of her and her pseudo family.

Flashback Year 847, Wall Sina:

The air here stood still, stagnant, and cold. So very much unlike the humidity of the area outside where things had gone horribly, horribly wrong for both herself and for Revekka only a few nights prior. Her hands were bound to a tall wooden pole and the muscles in her knees screamed in discomfort from her forced kneeling position on the floor. Around her were the faces of the jury she had been brought before; a mixture of well to do citizens of the inner district and Military policemen. Even some of those batshit insane wall cultists made an appearance and looked at her with a mix of disapproval and condescending indifference.

The only face that mattered was that of Winnie's. To her left she sat with a look of horror on her face. The policeman next to her Mikasa recognized as one of her regulars, had his two hands placed gently on her shoulders in a comforting gesture as he whispered sweet nothings of how everything would be fine and this was for the best.

Asshole. It's not as if she was dead.

Yet…

"Mikasa Ackerman, as well as Revekka Amsel have been convicted and found guilty of the following offenses: petty left, larceny of the Viscount Artino Archibald of the Stohess District and the murder of two Military Police officials."

There were gasps of outrage from some members of the jury. Mikasa couldn't give a damn about their horror. They knew nothing of her situation or her circumstances so who were they to judge?

And yet they were given the power to do so evermore. Perhaps her fate as well as that of Revekka's really was set in stone. Maybe the officer attempting to offer Winnie some semblance of comfort understood that better than she did herself.

"Well, Miss Ackerman, I'm sure you've already been informed of what sentence has befallen your misbegotten accomplice. Revekka Amsel has been charged with two years of hard labor in the mines and three years in prison. Usually I would see little reason in sparing you the same sentence however due to the testament of your friend, Miss Winifred Ross, and some additional counsel from this jury and the MP, I concede that you're circumstances deviate from the ones surrounding Miss Amsel."

Mikasa didn't let it show in her expression, but inwardly her heart was racing in both excitement and fear.

"Therefore I will offer you a choice Miss Ackerman. You can accept the same sentence given to your cohort, or you can choose to join the 104th trainee corps that is forming as we speak, and serve out your punishment as a member of the military."

Mikasa's eyes flew open wide in apparent surprise. Someone like her join the military? She definitely wasn't expecting that.

"With that I will call an hour recess to this case. By the end of that time I expect you to have an answer, is that clear? Good. This court is adjourned."

Hardly a moment later had Winnie approached her with the MP guy hovering at her side.

"I know what you're gonna say," Mikasa deadpanned.

"Well good for you, you get to hear me say it anyway: join the military."

"I don't want to."

"I don't give a damn."

"That's nice to know."

"Ugh! Mikasa please! Edward and I busted our asses to give you this option so please don't waste all of our efforts!"

"You could get them to grant leniency to me but not to Revekka? What kind of shit is that," Mikasa snarled at her, expression venomous. Despite her ire and her attitude, Winnie refused to relent.

"I didn't have much of a choice. They only agreed to offer this choice to one of you and they chose you."

"And they made a poor ass choice at that."

A sudden sting in her cheek had sapped the anger right out of her. Winnie had slapped her. Her gaze snapped forward to meet her gaze and saw her eyes were glistening with unshed tears.

"Dammit Mikasa don't you see what you're being offered here?! You're getting the chance at an honest and stable way of living that doesn't involve slitting throats, picking pockets, or spreading your legs! Something neither Revekka nor I ever had! But you're different. You don't have to live like us; we don't want you to live like us. So please take the chance you've been given and use it, otherwise I swear I will never forgive you!"

Mikasa's head snapped up at that and she regarded Winnie's teary eyed countenance for a good length of time. In those watery blue eyes she saw something familiar. It was a sentiment she had shared whenever she had seen Revekka rise to her feet after being raped and violently beaten.

It was that desire to hope.

"What if I end up having to drop out?"

"Well at least you gave it a try. Though I doubt that will happen."

Mikasa growled in irritation. Winnie really wasn't going to give in this time.

"What if I decide to join the Scouting Legion?"

Winnie's face shifted from anger and fear to a mix of felicity and relief, much to the surprise of her raven haired friend.

"Getting to fly around the land with a fancy set of grappling hooks while killing giant man eating monstrosities would suit you a lot more than the boring work in the mines. Especially with your strength and reflexes. And I think the Wings of Freedom would look a lot better on you than the standard prison wear don't you think?"

If Mikasa were a more expressive person, her mouth would be hanging open in a thunderstruck stupor. She honestly couldn't believe that Winnie would rather have her risk becoming a titan's lunch outside of the walls, than see her tread down the same road as Revekka. Her shoulders slumped in defeat and she bowed her head in a show of acquiescence.

"You are hopeless, you know that?"

Instead of a verbal response Mikasa's entire body screamed its discomfort when Winnie practically jumped on her, hugging her tightly and planting sloppy kisses of relief all over her face.

Present day year 847, Wall Rose

Trost District, Military training regimen:

The heat sucked, the uniforms were hot and sticky and Mikasa's long raven hair did little to ward off the uncomfortable warmth flocking to one of the few parts of her body not covered by the insufferable cloth. How long had they been standing here? Long enough for her to get a good look at the people around here, that was for sure.

One boy in particular (at least she was sure he was a boy since no man she knew had eyes that large) minutely sparked some interest. She liked the look in his eyes. They shone hard with a roguish determination not at all unlike that crazy look Revekka had back in the whore house when she tried to fight off those men.

A rough and hellish voiced boomed over the heads of her and the others with zeal akin to a barking rabid dog.

"You are now officially a part of the 104th trainee regimen! Unfortunately for you lot I, Keith Shadis, have been made responsible for overseeing your sorry asses! I'm not here to give you a warm welcome! As you are now, you're no more than livestock waiting to be devoured by the titans! Worse than livestock actually! That's why I'll be training you useless shits for the next three years! I will teach you how to fight the titans!"

"So you're telling me it takes those guys three years to train a bunch of whiny shit children on how to kill a bunch of giant stupid naked people!? Seriously no wonder people question the competency of the military,'' Revekka exclaimed. Everyone but Mikasa snorted into their drinks.

"Competent or not, you should show more respect to the people risking their lives while we sit on our asses and wonder why," she responded in an even tone, secretly enjoying the embarrassed flush that lightly dusted Revekka's cheeks.

Mikasa stifled the urge to shake her head in exasperation the way she always did when reminiscing of Revekka's antics. Did she really need to remember that just now?

"When you face a titan in three years will you still be just food?! Or will you become a glorious wall that defends these walls?! Or a mighty champion of mankind who will venture outside them and destroy the titans?!"

Mikasa had a hard time picturing a former street urchin such as herself becoming a champion of mankind. Then again, she never could have imagined that her chaotic life would take her into the ranks of the military either.

Nevertheless she was here, and did well to keep her impassive façade in place, despite the fact that inwardly she couldn't help but wonder what the hell she had gotten herself into this time…

To be Continued…

A/N: I must apologize if Mikasa seems a tad OOC but that's sort of a given for this purposes of this fic. Though I do tend to stay as true to her character as I possibly can (considering that's what drew me to her in the first place).

Well, fave follow and leave me a review please and thank you :) commentary or constructive criticisms are always welcome.

-Invernam