Wake up call

"Hahaha, there he is~~ Get him, boys!!!" The man cackled crazily as he ordered his underlings to chase after a small boy with obvious evil intentions.

The said boy has his face marred with fear while cursing himself for being so weak. His silver hair blotched with patches of red and his pretty purple eyes filled with regret. His small legs could only carry him to a certain extent. The only thought running through his mind is;

'Why'

'Why did I have to leave the safe havens of Rose and do this to myself?'

'Fighting Titans? Saving Humanity? NO FUCKING WAY, You can't even save yourself from the filth that lay within the walls.'

As he kept thinking, he couldn't help but curse his naive thoughts of his younger self. He is not strong, and he oh so wants to but there is so much that an orphan can do. He hasn't got any clue about his parents, are they dead? are they alive? if so where the fuck are they?

He is rather fit for his age (8 years btw). He has got no definite muscles as of yet, but he is really agile, which can be seen when the fat guy chasing him throws a bottle and he dodges with ease. He's got great stamina too.

But factors as small as these did not allow him to outrun his pursuers. One tall and lanky guy throws a chain at the kid and the chain binds his leg, making him trip face-first onto the filthy streets of the Underworld.

How is he at the Underworld, let's back up a bit

(3 days ago)

Leon Schmitz (our MC and the above-mentioned kid) is utterly bored out of his mind. Being mature far above your peers makes the simple things they enjoy lackluster. As he gazes out of the window of the orphanage, he came across an article which for the millionth time takes about the 'Demons' and 'Devils' and such. Leon knows that these mindless 'things' feast on humans but he couldn't help but wonder what it is like beyond the walls?

How did these Titans come to be? Can they be killed? If yes how? He was so caught up in his thoughts that he didn't even notice the warden looming over him.

Leon is always the loner type and he is always let to be with his own devices. He has had some scruffs with the warden so the treatment.

Leon has got a dream, to uncover the truth and to save humanity, but to be more precise, he wants to feel alive. He has seen the Military Police use ODM gears and they look really fun. The feeling of the wind caressing your face and feeling your blood boil when you kill Titans gets him really excited. Yup, Leo is a potential adrenaline junkie.

Leon decided to leave the orphanage the next day. Not that anyone's going to miss him. He sneaked out of the orphanage, past the MP, and snuck into a carriage heading off to God knows where.

A bumpy and painful ride later, Leon gets out of the carriage and what greets him is utter carnage.

He could see two men, half-naked slugging it out inside a cage with people surrounding the cage throwing cash or cursing at each other and whatnot.

Leon quickly strutted out of the arena only to crash into someone.

"Ugh, I am really sorry mister" Leon groaned

The man glanced down only to see a kid groaning and apologizing... apologizing??? What the hell??? This is the Underworld for fucks sake, who is this kid???

The man crouched down to look directly into the eyes of the kid. "Hey, kid, this place is not for kids like you to roam around, better go back to your parents or something..." the man muttered.

Looking at the downcast expression of the kid, the man could understand the situation. With a sigh, he pointed in a certain direction and told the kid that he could find the gates and exit out of this hellhole.

The kid thanked the man repeatedly and hurried off. The man stood up to his full height and tried to watch the match, and the keyword here is 'tried'. His thoughts kept wandering and always landed onto the kid, to be more precise, his expressions; so very innocent, naive, and full of... dreams. The man sighed heavily. He already knows that he is going to regret this decision. He turned around and went off to search for the kid...

(At present)

... Only to find him pummeled on the ground. The men chasing him left him behind. Might have had their fun scaring the kid. Clicking his tongue in distaste, he made his way to the kid, only to find his face brutally battered. Gone were his innocent features and what replaced it is something the man is familiar it; pain and regret. His eyes swollen, his lips cut and bleeding and his nose broken, the man couldn't help but feel pity for the kid.

'It hurts!!!'

'It hurts!!!! Please stop. What did I do to you? Why are you having fun while smashing me into a pulp? Are they even humans?'

'Help! somebody, please help me '

Leon couldn't open his mouth. He tried to block their punches, but the force behind them was too much. He could feel his bones break. He wanted to cry, but couldn't. He kept regretting and cursed himself only to feel relieved. He could feel partially hear them talking among themselves and could hear their footsteps echo away from him. Leon relaxed his body a bit only to hear another person walking towards him. Leon was instantly gripped with fear, but he couldn't even move. He just hoped for the best and closed his eyes in resignation.

He could feel himself being lifted. His entire body ached. He could hear the man asking him

"What is it that you desire?" This eerily felt like the Devil's whispers, but Leon could care less. He wanted revenge, for that he needed strength.

"I-I want t-to be strong" Leon wheezed and croaked. "St-Strong enough... to destroy anything in my way", Leon continued determination and will be seeping into his voice.

Looking at the unextinguished purple flames of determination and dreams, the man smirked and replied earnestly.

"I will take you in. I will adopt you since you have no parents. I will make you strong. Strong enough so that no monsters within and outside the wall will be able to scratch you. It will be hell for you. Do you accept?"

Looking at the ki- no boy nod, the man chuckled.

"My name is Kenny, Kenny Ackerman. Nice to meet you."