Assassins: Shadow Killers

Adopted

Hearing twin cries from an empty house, Naiara went to investigate. Finding two raven-haired children, she carries them away.  "I'm gonna call you Levi and Mikasa." She decides. Five years pass before Kenny Ackerman, Levi and Mikasa's uncle, comes, trying to take his dead sister's twin children with him. But Naiara isn't willing to give them up without a fight.

Eventually, Kenny takes the matter of custody over Levi and Mikasa to court. A few hours pass before the judge grants custody to Levi and Mikasa's adoptive mother, Naiara. A furious Kenny demands he be granted custody of the twins. Naiara smirks, watching as Levi, Eren and Mikasa run into her arms. Leaving the courthouse, Naiara takes Eren, Mikasa and Levi back home with her.

Later that night Naiara wakes to find a woman standing by her bed. "Who are you?" Naiara asks. "Kuchel Ackerman, Levi and Mikasa's birth mother." Her eyes widen. "I can let you see them." Getting out of bed, Naiara leads Kuchel to Eren, Mikasa and Levi's room. Going inside, she moves away for Kuchel to sit down beside a sleeping Levi, brushing his hair aside.

The sleeping child's eyes flutter open, seeing his mother standing there. "Mom? Mikasa wake up mom's here!" The twins rush into their mother's arms. Holding them close, Kuchel begins to fade away. Then she's gone completely. Some years go by before she visits again. This time, Eren, Levi and Mikasa were twelve, undergoing assassin training. A whole seven years had passed since Kuchel's last appearance.

Naiara began to worry over the fact that she was supposed to be teaching at the Academy for Assassins. Three years went by before she had Eren, Levi and Mikasa enrol at the academy. Beginning their classes, the three found their adopted mother was one of the teachers.

The short year they had at the academy taught them a lot. Then they were fully qualified to enter and start their new life as assassins. "Levi, Eren and Mikasa to the assembly hall. Levi, Eren and Mikasa to the assembly hall." The three of them head straight to the assembly hall. Upon getting there, they see Naiara standing next to the headmaster. "For the first few missions, Naiara's going to be overseeing you." She relaxes, going over to her children. "Levi, Eren and Mikasa. Gear up."

"Your first mission starts now. Go and prepare now." She turned and walked off, making her way out of the building. A few weeks go by before Naiara notices a strange blonde man watching them. She growls, eyes flashing. Cautiously walking over he smiles at them. "I couldn't help but see your family. Do they have names?"

"Of course they have names." She snaps at him. "Who are you anyway?" "I'm Zeke. Zeke Jaeger. You?" He returns. "Naiara. And these are my children, Eren, Levi and Mikasa. All adopted." She doesn't miss how Zeke's eyes linger on Eren for a second, before moving to meet her own.

"Look, Zeke. You may share Eren's blood and name, but you're no relative of his. I was the one who cared for him all these years, so I won custody. He's my son. Not your half-brother or whatever. So stay away from me and my family, got it?" Zeke gulped, seeing her eyes darken coldly.

Turning and walking off, Levi, Mikasa and Eren hurrying behind her, she vanished round a corner. Zeke then sees four figures appear on a rooftop, standing tall and strong. Bewildered, he wonders how four humans managed to make that jump. Only Naiara, Levi, Eren and Mikasa knew something he didn't. They had wings and cat DNA, enabling them to make incredible jumps and feats.

Stronger than most humans, Naiara watched, crouched, as Zeke glimpsed two massive black shapes unfurl, flapping lightly in the wind. Levi, Eren and Mikasa did the same, before they start running, plunging over the side of the building and soaring upwards, spinning as they went.

She leads him through a chase out over the forest treetops, gliding gracefully. And then they disappear, Zeke losing sight of them. What he didn't see was the four landing in a tree, watching him from the darkness of the shadows. "I heard about him, Eren. Your father's first son. Your half-brother." She explained. "My father was married before he met my mother?" She nodded.

"Now. It's time to choose your assassin names. Choose wisely." She instructed. Mikasa's eyes scanned the paper, before selecting her new name. " Black Frost." Levi chose his next. "Black Hawk." Eren went last. "Shadow Hunter." She smiled to herself, pleased with their choices. "You're finally ready. Good."

Days pass before Zeke reappears. Walking inside, he looks for his father. "Dad! Dad, you here?" He calls. Grisha's head pops out from a doorway. "I met Eren today. Met and saw him." He explains. "Who was your brother with?" His father asks. "Mikasa, her brother Levi, and an older woman, Naiara." At Naiara's name, Grisha stiffened, face going pale.

He emerges from his office, moving close to Zeke. "Listen to me. Stay away from Naiara. That woman's dangerous. If Eren's with her, he's safe. My encounters with her have led me to realise she's deadly, an assassin. She may have trained Levi, Eren and Mikasa in the assassin way of life. So keep away from her and Eren. God knows what she's put in his head." He shook his head.

Five months later.

Eren had just returned home from a mission, Naiara in tow. "Eren? What's wrong?" Mikasa asks, but he stared past her, an empty eyed look on his face. "I'll go talk to him." Naiara said, passing his brother and sister. "Hey. You okay?" He sat there. "Let me tell you something." He looked at her, startled. "I had just turned sixteen when I got my first mission. My father. I hesitated, before firing. The days following, I was a messy wreck. The only upside was my father's ghost visiting constantly, guiding me. It helped me to overcome reality."

"Does it ever get easier? Taking the life of a living person?" Eren asked. Naiara shook her head, "No it doesn't. The crushing weight eases a little, but killing someone is never truly easy. Remembering that day, if I had the chance to go back in time and save him, I'd do so in a heartbeat." She hugged him. "Ready to come out yet?" He nods.

They had trained from birth to be assassins