Chapter Text
For centuries, the bloodlines of the Jaeger and Ackerman clans were bound by an unyielding, sacred harmony.
In the old days, when the world was ruled by kings and swords, the setup was simple. The Jaegers wore the crowns. The Ackermans were their shadow knights. They were the most loyal, high-ranking protectors in the kingdom.
But this was never a master-and-servant relationship.
No Jaeger ever insulted an Ackerman. No Ackerman ever bowed to a Jaeger. It was a mutual partnership built on deep, genuine love and absolute equality. The Jaegers gave the Ackermans a home and a family; the Ackermans gave them their lives
As the centuries passed, the monarchy crumbled. Castles turned into glass skyscrapers. The Jaegers adapted, changing from ancient royalty into wealthy corporate tycoons—and sometimes, powerful mafia lords. Yet, even when swords were traded for guns, the bond between the two families never shifted.
To look at the Ackerman family tree was to understand the weight of this duty. An Ackerman who did not protect a Jaeger was a rare sight. Usually, they were either dead, too physically weak to fight, or married in the Jaeger clan or off to families far away. A few left because they had big personal dreams. The clan let them leave to chase those ambitions, but tradition required them to stay far away from the compound to keep the peace.
Not every Ackerman was built for the blade. Years ago, a man named Hannes Ackerman proved too gentle, his spirit too weak to endure the harsh realities of the protector's life. He surrendered his mantle early, seeking a quiet, isolated life in the snowy northern mountains. But the clan's blood is not so easily forgotten. Years later, when Hannes passed away, his young daughter Mikasa was brought back to the Jaeger compound. The elders kept her close, watching her every move, waiting to see if she would inherit her father’s fragile nature, or if she would rise to become one of the fiercest shields the family had ever seen.
Sometimes, the two lines truly merged. Kenny Ackerman was the legendary proof of that. He was a terrifyingly lethal protector who ended up marrying Uri Jaeger, serving proudly as both his ultimate shield and his devoted husband.
The way these protectors were raised had to change with the modern world, too.
Centuries ago, Ackerman children grew up playing with Jaeger children until they turned the tender age of ten. Then, they were ripped away and sent to brutal training tribes for eight long years. They either came back as perfect weapons, or they died in the dirt.
Today, the system is a little kinder, but the timeline remains strict. Ackerman kids grew up like normal children until the age of ten. Then, they are sent away to elite military academies. For the next eight years, they finish their school and college studies while learning how to kill and defend.
At age eighteen, they graduate and face a final choice: swear the oath to become a full personal bodyguard, or surrender the mantle to live a quiet life somewhere else.