shadows of paradis [various!attack on titan x reader] [mafia!au]

(9) La Belle Nuit

Years ago, in a quaint, secluded house on the outskirts of town, a young Mikasa Ackermann lived a life of quiet contentment with her parents. The Ackermann family led a peaceful existence, away from the chaos and danger that often plagued the city.

Mikasa was only nine years old when she found them. She had been out in the garden, chasing fireflies under the watchful eye of the full moon. The house had been eerily quiet when she returned, a silence that seemed to press down on her with an almost tangible weight. She called out for her parents, her voice trembling with an inexplicable sense of dread.

Stepping into the dimly lit living room, her eyes were immediately drawn to the motionless figures of her parents. They lay sprawled on the floor, their lifeless eyes staring blankly at the ceiling. Mikasa's heart pounded in her chest, a cold, paralyzing fear gripping her as she took in the scene. Blood pooled around them, the metallic scent filling her nostrils and turning her stomach.

She fell to her knees beside them, her small hands shaking as she reached out to touch her mother's cold, lifeless hand. Tears streamed down her face, her sobs echoing through the empty house. She didn't understand why this had happened, why her safe and loving world had been torn apart in an instant.

It was then that she noticed the symbol, an eagle, carved into the floorboards—a mark left by the assassin who had taken her parents' lives. The sight of it filled her with a mixture of terror and confusion. She clung to her parents' bodies, her cries of anguish piercing the night.

Hours later, Levi Ackermann arrived. He was a young man then, hardened by the life he had chosen, but the sight of his cousin, broken and alone, shattered something within him. He had been tracking the assassin for months, knowing that his brother's family was in danger, but he had arrived too late.

Levi scooped Mikasa into his arms, her tiny frame trembling against him as she buried her face in his chest. He whispered words of comfort, promising her that she would never be alone again. He swore to protect her, to give her a new life—one where she would never have to feel such pain again.

From that day forward, the older Ackermann took the child under his wing. He brought her into the mafia, not because he wanted her to be exposed to the dangers of their world, but because it was the only way he knew to keep her safe. He trained her, teaching her how to defend herself, how to survive in a world that had shown her no mercy.

The transition was not easy. Mikasa struggled to cope with the trauma of losing her parents, haunted by nightmares and memories that refused to fade. But Levi was always there, a steady presence in her life, guiding her with a stern but caring hand. He became her mentor and her protector.

Over the years, that child grew stronger, both physically and emotionally. She channeled her pain into her training, determined to honor her parents' memory by becoming someone they would be proud of. Her bond with Levi deepened, forged in the crucible of shared loss and a mutual desire for justice.

But Mikasa's trauma and the burning need for justice drove her in a direction that Levi hadn't anticipated. As she grew older, her desire to find the assassin who had killed her parents grew stronger. She didn't just want to survive—she wanted to fight back, to ensure that no one else would suffer the same fate as she had. She wanted to become an assassin herself, to hunt down those who preyed on the innocent and deliver the justice that had been denied to her family.

"Mikasa?" Armin's gentle voice broke through her reverie, pulling her back to the present. She looked up, blinking away the memories.

The black-haired woman stood a little apart from the group, her mind drifting back to the darkest moments of her past. The memories of her parents' murder, the symbol of the assassin carved into the floorboards, and the cold, paralyzing fear that had gripped her heart were as vivid as if they had happened yesterday. She remembered Levi arriving, his promise to protect her, and her determination to become strong enough to seek justice.