Makes Me Feel Like I'm Falling Down

Chapter Five

Original Authors Note: [Are there any new readers? Hi there if there are! New readers are welcome and loved just as much as the old ones. And if you're an old one, comments are welcome, it's good knowing if I've managed to keep your attention. Comments are always nice, actually. And please remember that most chapters are written after midnight because I'm a student, so forgive my mistakes (it'll be beta-ed when I deanon, don't worry).

There's fanart for the story! Isabel has been drawn and she looks so adorable that now I feel bad she died so soon. She would have been the cool aunt that tells crazy stories. Here's the link, remember to like and reblog to show your appreciation for the artist's effort: http://mermaidglitch.tumblr.com/post/59364090301] «The link doesn't work anymore ;-;»

V.

"If I've understood correctly," Corporal Smith said, crossing his hands and leaning slightly forward, "this kid was inside a titan, and you brought him here without consulting with anyone. Also, he was wounded, and all his injuries disappeared on the time it took you to get here, a bit like how titans regenerate." Hanji had added more details to the story to make it sound like she'd actually thought about what she'd been doing, and had glossed over the gravity of Eren's wounds, but simplified, her story sounded bad. Really bad. Her only hope was that Eren would keep quiet like she'd asked him to, but she doubted the Corporal would decide anything without talking to him first. "And then," the Corporal put emphasis into the second word, as if it was the most important part of everything, "you made him take a bath." He looked pointedly at Levi, who gave a small shrug. He'd changed clothes after they'd cleaned the bathroom, the Corporal looked impeccable (how did he keep his hair so perfect? That defied everything Hanji knew about the world, hair didn't work like that, it became messy and ugly after a mission and stayed that way for days... she would have liked to discover if there was something special about his hair. Maybe being blond had that effect) and Eren's clothes, while oversized, were spotless, which left Hanji as the most disheveled person in the room. She tried not to care about it, make it into something that protected her instead of something that set her apart from her superior.

"Yes, sir," Hanji replied, trying to sound like she knew what was coming.

The Corporal looked at them with an inscrutable expression and stood. He approached Eren and kneeled in front of him, softening his expression and smiling, and, shit, that was a nice smile, the kind that could be used to get information out of the meanest granny and the shiest kid. If he had a smile for every occasion, Hanji could see the guy getting far if he survived. Commander?

"Hello, they tell me your name's Eren. Is that right?" the Corporal said, and Hanji started praying.

Eren looked up at Hanji, silently asking what to do, and she nodded. The only thing left was to hope that the man was a reasonable as he looked. Considering he'd brought Levi into the Survey Corps, maybe she should have thought twice before talking to him.

"Yes," Eren said.

"Do you have a last name?" Oh, that was a good question. The kind of thing you have to take care of instead of throwing kids into bathtubs. She blamed Levi for that.

"Yeager. Eren Yeager."

"Do you have a family, Eren?"

"Yes."

Oh, here came the kidnapping charges. There went her titan killing days. What would she do with her time? How would she help destroy the monsters?

"Where are they?"

"At home, in Shiganshina," Eren said.

Hanji raised her eyebrows in surprise and looked at Levi. The boy had been found too far away from that district, which meant a 15 meter titan had somehow managed to leave the city completely unnoticed, or that the boy had managed to sneak out. Both things didn't speak too well of the wall's security.

The Corporal nodded, as if anything made sense. "Who do you live with?"

"My mom and dad."

"What are their names?"

"Carla and Grisha. Will you take me with them?"

"We'll see what we can do." The Corporal sounded so concerned Hanji had a hard time determining if he was being genuinely nice or not. She couldn't reach a definitive conclusion. "I have a doubt, Eren. How did you leave Shiganshina?"

"I don't remember well. My dad said we had something important to do and he got us out."

"And then?"

"I don't remember well. I think my dad had a needle, and I fell. And then Hanji was carrying me on a horse and my leg hurt. And then it didn't. And we got here."

"Do you remember anything else?"

Eren was deep in thought for a moment, and he looked so worried as well, just like a normal lost little kid, that Hanji wondered for the tenth time in an hour how he'd ended up inside a titan. Did he qualify as a monster? Were there other titans with kids inside? Had she killed any?

"I wanted to go home, but I didn't know where it was. And I was afraid. And alone. And then I felt pain. Here," he said, and pointed to his neck. Hanji cringed and reached to rub at the spot Eren had pointed at. "And then here," he added, pointing at the point where his leg had been cut off. Corporal Smith raised his eyes to look at Hanji, and she knew she'd have to talk to him again later, without Eren.

"I see." Smith stood and adopted his serious voice, the one that showed he was the leader and knew what was best for the mission. It didn't usually mean that good things would happen to people. "Listen, Eren, we'll try to find your family. Until then, you'll have to stay here. Hanji will take care of you."

"What?" exclaimed Hanji. She should have expected some sort of 'you broke it, you bought it' policy on the kid, but... well... "I don't think it's a good idea, sir. I mean... I'm not his mother. I don't think I'll ever be anyone's mother. I'm not even sure I could be a father. I don't believe I'm qualified to take care of him."

"You don't have to be his mother, you just have to take care of him for a while."

"And what about missions?"

"You're still going on those."

"Sir, there's a mortality rate of 30%."

"You just have to survive until we get him home." The Corporal's tone admitted no discussions, and Eren was looking at her expectantly. Even Levi seemed interested in her answer. Hanji noticed that she was still rubbing the spot on Eren's neck where he'd hurt.

"I think I can manage for some time, sir," Hanji said, and Eren gave her a small smile.