Chapter Text
All her life, Sasha had lived a peaceful life with her family in Dauper Village. She loved her parents dearly, and she loved to hunt with her father. She was especially skilled at it which was something that she was proud of along with the fact that it helped provide them with more food. Oh food...how she loved food...Anyway! It was a nice life that she had. They were behind Wall Rose which almost guaranteed them safety from any potential Titan attacks.
Looking back on her life up until now, everything was great. The only downsides were getting into arguments with her parents over something that...looking back on it now seemed insignificant. She was overjoyed of how proud she made her parents. The fact that her father invited her on his annual 'Foreign Hunting Trip' just reinforced this fact. She was surprised when he came into her room and told her to get her things packed. When she found out that they were going to journey into the forests of Wall Maria to hunt for game that was not found back in the forests near her village, she was excited. The fact that her father trusted her enough to journey off and hunt by herself after getting there even though she was only 10 made her even happier!
Looking back on it though, maybe it wasn't the best decision he ever made...if the three men holding a young girl hostage in a cabin was anything to go off of...
"What do I do, what do I do? Should I run away before they find? Yeah, yeah I should..." Sasha muttered to herself as she moved to jump out of the tree that she was in. Silently apologizing to the girl in the cabin, she moved to jump only to hear a gunshot followed by a loud scream. Freezing, she turned slowly and looked back through the window where she saw that the girl had a scared, sad, and traumatized look on her face while...was that blood?! Jumping into a nearby tree that was closer than the last, she looked through the window again and saw an adult woman now laying on the floor...with blood pooling around her.
"Oh my god, oh my god, oh my god," Sasha muttered to herself as she held her head and looked away. Did they just kill that girl's mother?! What...what was she suppose to do?! Wait...maybe she could go find her dad and he could help the girl! Nodding, she slowly jumped down the ground and hid behind the tree. Looking back and forth to make sure that none of the kidnappers were watching her, she quickly ran to a nearby bush and hid in it.
Poking her head back out, she was about to move again before hearing the window shatter behind her. Looking back, she saw that the girl was crying now while one of the men were holding her by the shoulder. Gulping, Sasha looked back in the direction that she was going to run with hesitation. They clearly wanted the girl and the other woman for something, but they killed one of them so they were obviously impatient and impulsive. She might not be able to find her father and bring him back before they escape or end up killing the girl as well.
Feeling her mouth slowly dry after swallowing a large amount of saliva with sweat forming on her forehead, she reached for her bow that she had on her back. "I can't do this...I can't do this...I'm gonna die, I'm gonna die..." Sasha thought to herself as she tried to ready an arrow, but her hands kept shaking from fear.
"What am I doin'! I can't save her myself! I'm just a freakin' kid!" Sasha quietly yelled to herself while yanking at her hair and clenching her teeth. Feeling tears form in the corners of her eyes, she collapsed on her knees before falling over onto her hands.
"Pa...why can't you be here to save the girl? I'm not strong like ya. I wasn't ready for this," Sasha cried while hugging her legs to her chest. She should not have been left by herself to hunt this side of the forest. She wasn't ready for this kind of responsibility and trust. She was just a ten year. Gripping her pants legs tighter, she cried harder before pausing as she heard a loud cry slice through the air. Eyes shooting open, Sasha spun around on her heel and saw one of the men grabbing the girl by her hair and yelling at her.
Still shaking, Sasha grit her teeth again before grabbing her bow and pulling it up. Taking a deep breath and closing one eye to help her aim, she pulled the arrow back and readied her shot. Seeing the man's arm, she focused her vision on the middle joint of it. Right as the man moved to hit the girl, Sasha unleashed the arrow and watched as it sliced through the air, through the broken window, and straight into the man's arm causing him to scream in pain.
The girl's eyes widened in shock as she fell to the floor and stared up at the man who was holding his impaled arm in agony. One of his co-kidnappers ran up to him before looking out the window. "Quick, we need to check nearby! There's someone out there!" The man yelled before running out the door with the third member while leaving their injured companion behind.
Sasha quickly climbed up a tree and stared down from her hiding place while laughing awkwardly to herself. "I'm gonna die, I'm gonna die," Sasha whispered to herself as she stayed hidden. Pulling out one of the knives her father gave her, Sasha watched the two split up to cover more ground. Watching them run around and look for her, she threw the knife as hard as she could into a far away tree. The sound of the impact caught the men's attention and drove them away from the cabin.
Grabbing her bow again, she climbed back down and rushed over to the cabin while keeping low to the ground. Looking back and forth to make sure the other two men were nowhere nearby, Sasha slowly rose up and saw that the man was still agonizing over his injury. The girl though noticed her as she looked at her in shock. Motioning for her to stay quiet, Sasha pulled the arrow back and shot the man through his right shoulder. The pain of that attack along with the earlier one caused the man to fall unconscious on the floor.
Looking down at him cautiously, Sasha slowly climbed through the window and over to the girl who was still huddled on the floor. Looking her over, Sasha blushed lightly at how cute the girl was up close, but she shook her head to clear her mind. Not a good time to get distracted! The other two were still out there. They needed to move now!
"Hey, I'm Sasha Blouse, I'm here by total accident. Let's go, now!" Sasha told the girl as she grabbed her by the wrist and gently, but firmly pulled the girl with her as she ran out of the cabin and into the woods. The girl was quiet, but she followed her like Sasha told her.
The two kids ran as fast as they could through the forest. Sasha was on constant alert while keeping all of her senses active thanks to her hunting training. Hearing a rustle of the bushes, she wrapped an arm around the girl and pulled her down into another bush along with her.
"Shh..." Sasha shushed the girl while hugging her tight to her chest.
"Damnit! Where is that little shit! You better get out here! I know you're out there!" One of the men shouted in anger while clutching Sasha's knife tightly in his fist. Growling, he continued running forward while completely missing the two hiding in the bush. Sighing in relief, Sasha laxed her hug and looked down at the girl only to realize how close she was holding her. Blushing bright red, she gently pushed the girl away from her by an inch.
Looking away to try and calm herself, she didn't notice the girl looking back at her with a confused face. "Why?" Sasha snapped back to attention at the quiet question. Turning her head around, she was surprised to see the girl staring at her. Was she the one who spoke?
Deciding to take a chance, Sasha replied, "Why what?" The girl paused before opening her mouth again, "Why are you doing this?"
Blinking back in surprise, Sasha looked down as she thought over the question. It was a good question. She was a kid who happened to stumble upon a kidnapping turned murder scene and is risking her life to save the last hostage when she doesn't have too! Looking back at the girl, she saw the curious look in her eyes. Taking a deep breath, she decided to answer.
"Honestly, I have no idea," Sasha held her forehead while looking down at the ground with a bewildered look in her eyes as tears began to form from the stress that was starting to expand, "I came to these forests with my pa for a hunting trip. He sent me to the side of the forest to hunt for myself while he took the other half. When I stumbled upon...all this, I was going to go and try to find him to get him to help."
The girl sat there as she let this information sink in. Finally, she looked back up at Sasha. "Then...why did you change your mind and act on your own?" she questioned her.
Sasha laughed awkwardly, "I...I heard your cry of pain. I couldn't do anything to stop them from killing that other woman," she saw the girl flinch with tears forming in her eyes, "so I wanted to try and save you by getting my pa. Then your cry broke me out of my thoughts. Before I could fully comprehend what I was doing, I had my bow out and had already fired the arrow at that man who was holding you. By then, I had already given myself away to the other men so I decided that I should just play the whole thing out."
Looking the girl in the eyes, Sasha let out a small, awkward smile and said, "I guess...I guess I just didn't want to leave you to die." Sasha's smile seemed to cause the girl to feel something as her face suddenly went red and stare back at her in admiration. Seeing that she was shaking, Sasha took off her jacket and wrapped it around her. "Here take this," Sasha gently told her before peeking back out to look around to make sure they were clear.
Not seeing anyone, Sasha turned around and gently took the girl's hand. "Let's go before they come back," Sasha told her with a nervous, but somewhat uplifting smile. The girl nodded as they got to their feet and began running again.
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The two were making significant ground as they had been running for a good thirty minutes without spotting the two men. Sasha had spotted a tree five minutes earlier that she had marked when she began exploring the forests after splitting with her father. Hopefully, they could reach the meet up spot with no problem.
"We're almost there! A few more minutes of running, and we'll be at the spot that my pa told me to meet with hi - Look out!" Sasha shouted as she pulled the girl forward out of the way of a flying knife. The girl's eyes widened as she saw it slice Sasha's arm causing a large cut to form.
Wincing in pain, Sasha saw the man she saw earlier from the bush glaring at her. Gulping, Sasha looked back over at the girl. Opening her mouth to tell her to run, she was stopped as she felt something grab the back of her head with great force and smash her face first into the ground. Unimaginable pain filled her body from her spot on the ground. She was sure that her nose was probably broken along with other bones in her face.
"Stupid brat! Stupid brat! I can't believe some brat with a bow has caused us so much trouble within the same day! Damn it! You stupid Japanese girl! What are you doing out here?! Are you telling me that this brat somehow took out the guy who was looking after you? Grrr..." At this realization, the man stomped Sasha on the back hard causing her to yell out in pain. The girl's eyes widened in shock and horror at this scene.
Seeing her, the man who was pinning Sasha to the ground angrily spoke, "Go over there. We are taking you back to the cabin after I kill this girl. Understand?! Now march!" Sasha groaned in pain, but she managed to look up just enough to see Mikasa hesitate as she began to turn to head over to the other man.
"W-wait, urgh!...Run! You...you're faster than these two. Grab my knife and run! Augh!" Sasha coughed up blood as the man grinded his heel into her back. The girl looked back at her in shock. Sasha saw this and gave her a bloody smile, "I'll be fine...just run."
The girl froze for a moment as the man who was pinning Sasha to the ground just sneered as he brought his foot up. As he was about to bring it down to smash her head in, he heard the ground break which caused him to look up. He saw the girl's muscles ripple before she shot off at insane speeds and grabbed Sasha's knife. Before he could even speak, the girl had ripped through his side with the knife which caused him to let out one final gasp before crumpling to the ground.
Turning to the face the other man, she saw him staring back in shock before narrowing his eyes in anger. Glaring back, the girl flipped the knife in her hand and pulled her arm back. Waiting until the man was closer in range, she tore through the air and released the knife with insane speed and power straight at the man. He never even knew what hit him as the knife smashed straight between his eyes and embedded itself into his skull.
Watching as he crumpled to the ground like his companion, the girl just glared down at them as she stood protectively over Sasha. Making sure both men were down, she turned and checked on Sasha. "Hey...hey are you okay?" The girl gently shook her while asking her. Sasha weakly opened her eyes before smiling up at her.
"You're safe...I-I'm so happppppppp...." Sasha's voice faded out as she lost consciousness. Eyes widening in shock, the girl began gently shaking her again until seeing her wince in pain. Moving her hands away from her, she sighed as she sat down next to her.
Today has truly been the worst day of Mikasa Ackerman's life. Both her parents were murdered by kidnappers in front of her eyes while she was kidnapped. Looking back at Sasha who was now resting on the ground, she let out a small smile while looking at her. However...maybe something good came from today?