A Thousand Titan Kills

Disclaimer: I don't own anything. All rights belong to Hajime Isayama of Attack on Titan and Masashi Kishimoto of Naruto respectively.

"Victory at all cost, victory in spite of all terror, victory however long and hard the road may be; for without victory, there is no survival."

-Winston Churchill

Chapter 1: Down, But Not Out

The hard iron stench of blood permeated the air. Columns of acrid smoke billowed off in the destroyed debris from houses and streets that had been damaged as a result of the chaos. Herds of people ran, all fleeing from the terrors that had until that day in the year of 845, been but a worry pushed to the far corner of their minds. After all, they had no reason to believe that the threat just beyond the safety of the Walls would suddenly and so violently endanger their very existence after over a hundred years of peace and prosperity. That day humanity was reminded of what it felt like to be trapped in a cage, an animal hunted by the now dominant predator; the Titans.

Kakashi took in this scenery of chaos, thinking to himself that just minutes ago the district of Shiganshina was living just another peaceful day, unaware of the tragedy that was about to commence. Gloved hands clenched into fists so tight that the blood began to wane from the pressure. A deep breathe, and then the shinobi reached for the headband that covered his left eye, revealing a blood red pupil with three spinning tear drop shaped marks, deeply contrasting his other onyx colored eye.

With a full field of vision in use, Kakashi scrutinized the oncoming wave of Titans that rapidly trickled in through the gaping hole that had been caused by a colossal sized monstrosity that easily dwarfed its smaller brethren. The Titans varied in size from the in-comparison-toddler 4 meters to the more imposing 14 meter class, but the proportions of the humanoid monsters were of no real concern to Kakashi. No, as of now, all that mattered was accomplishing what he had sworn to do and protect the humans that had walled themselves in from the outside world in fear of the Titans. The Titans may take Shiganshina, but Kakashi would be damned if he let the last remnants of the human race die out without a fight.

…..

Kakashi's body stirred as his mind began to gain consciousness. His right eyelid tentatively opened, a habit that had formed from primarily using only one of his eyes; letting it gradually adjust to the lighting of the room he found himself in. The lone eye peered around the unfamiliar setting, taking note of the plain wooden walls and ceiling. A slight breeze drafted from his right, leading to an open window that allowed sunlight to stream in. A closer inspection of the room revealed a surprising lack of personal items. Besides the bed, there was a wardrobe stored against the far wall of the room and a diminutive sized night desk situated beside where he lay. On the night desk lay a metal basin of water with a clean washcloth and the most peculiar item of the room; a framed picture of what appeared to be a family of three. In the photo was a happy looking couple and their young daughter with smiles on their faces.

Attempting to sit up turned out to be a mistake as Kakashi grimaced in pain and reflexively reached for his abdomen, which he noted was neatly bandaged with white gauze. His shinobi gear had been removed, including his new shinobi head band and mask, save for his black pants to cover his modesty. Heaving a small sigh of defeat, Kakashi let himself fall back against the comforting sheets of the bed. Seeing as he couldn't move with much difficulty, Kakashi had resigned himself to remaining in his fixed position. A quick assessment of his body revealed that he was suffering from some severe chakra exhaustion, but otherwise was fine. The depletion of chakra was to be expected though, since he had just come out of the climax of the Fourth Shinobi War.

Kakashi remembered battling alongside his old pupils, the whole Team 7 that he had trained some years back. The thought of their at long last reunion brought a comforting smile to his face. He would always be proud of his students, despite the hardships that they went through, and the tragic fallout of one of their teammates for several years. It was still uncertain whether Sasuke would be able to make amends with his old team, but Kakashi hoped that the surviving Uchiha could be truly redeemed.

"They'll be fine I'm sure." Kakashi assured himself. The shinobi veteran could always count on Naruto to pick up the pieces. "Besides that, where am I?"

With his still recovering chakra, Kakashi's senses were severely limited but he could make out the surrounding area. Molding his chakra took some effort, but his relaxed position actually assisted his intent. He managed to pick up four contacts within the nearby vicinity of the house. Three appeared to be in a few rooms over, perhaps conversing, but there another and it was steadily heading in his direction.

Knowing that a meeting was imminent, Kakashi waited patiently for the person to enter the room. It was becoming clear that these people weren't affiliated with the Shinobi Alliance, otherwise he would've likely been sent to a medical aid tent, or perhaps even the hospital at Konoha. He figured that whoever these people were, they must be friendly; otherwise they wouldn't have treated his wounds and given him a bed to rest. At the very least, he would be able to get some definite answers, rather than observational conjectures.

The door opened tentatively, probably with the intention to not wake him, before a girl of creamy complexion and dark orbed eyes and long midnight black hair that reached her mid back entered the room. Kakashi immediately made the distinction of her appearance to that of an Uchiha, but knew that she couldn't be of that heritage. The girl's neutral expression changed into one of slight surprise when she noticed that their sleeping guest was in fact awake. She stood frozen to her spot in the doorway as she returned Kakashi's gaze, making her own inspection no doubt. The moment of silent appraisal ended when the girl gave a slight bow of greetings before exiting the room, most likely to notify the other occupants of the house of their now conscious patient.

It wasn't long before the girl returned with three newcomers, all of adult age; two men and one woman. The woman had to be the little girl's mother, the resemblance was uncanny. Like her daughter she had grown her hair out long but parted her bangs to the side so her kind expression could be clearly shown. The man standing beside her Kakashi presumed was the father. In comparison to his wife and daughter, the man had rather plain features, with shortly cut light brown hair and worried look on his face. The last of the group was a lean man with dark brown hair wrapped in a long ponytail, small circular reading glasses wedged on the bridge of his nose, a shortly trimmed mustache, and an impeccably clean brown dress coat.

Carrying a hefty looking bag with an imprint of a red cross on its front, the spectacled man of middle age sat on the stool beside the bed. Kakashi immediately recognized the man as a doctor, but not one that specialized in medical ninjustu like his old pupil Sakura.

"My name is Grisha Yeager, Doctor Yeager to my patients." The medical practitioner opened with introductions, but to Kakashi the words came out in a language that sounded entirely foreign to him.

Not knowing what else to do, Kakashi decided to speak in his own native tongue. Doctor Yeager's head titled back in surprise of the difference of language but a small gasp from behind him drew his attention. The slight intake of air originated from the mother of the family, who held a hand to her mouth in slight disbelief.

She imparted some words to the others that Kakashi couldn't quite make out due to the language barrier, but he could easily surmise that that they were surprised that he spoke in another tongue; perhaps in a familiar one, at least to the mother of the group.

The mother slowly made her way over to Kakashi's bedside, ignoring the small fretting of her husband and peered down at the veteran shinobi with a curious and if Kakashi was interpreting right, hopeful gleam in her eyes. "My name is Mikoto Ackerman. Are you by chance of Oriental heritage?" Kakashi was glad to know that at least one of them could speak his language, but it came out with an odd accent and slightly uneven, as though she had rarely had the opportunity to use it.

"I'm afraid I don't know what you mean when you say Oriental." At this confession, Mikoto's face dimmed slightly.

"I am of Oriental ethnicity, and so is my daughter, though she is of mixed blood." She sighed dejectedly. "I confess that I am disheartened. I had hoped that you may share our clan's heritage, for as far I know, I and my daughter are the last of our kind."

Kakashi squashed the alarm he felt from hearing her words. Was she and her daughter related to the Uchiha clan after all? A further inspection of the mother and daughter's chakra told Kakashi otherwise. Their chakra coils were largely undeveloped, much like a civilians and it didn't feel like those of the Uchiha that he had met.

"Sorry to disappoint you." Kakashi apologized sincerely, knowing from experience what it must feel like to be the only remaining members of a near extinct clan. He tried to steer the conversation in a new direction, eager to get as much information from the woman as possible.

"The language that you and that man used, what is it? I've never heard of it before."

"You are unfamiliar with the King's tongue, German?" At Kakashi's slight shake of the head, Mikoto's brows furrowed into a frown. "That is most unusual. Everyone living within the Walls speaks this tongue, with the exception of my people, though that is a dying language I fear."

Mikoto took a moment to inform the other clueless occupants of the room of Kakashi's predicament. Doctor Yeager asked Mikoto something that sounded distinctly like a question, and in turn the woman relayed the message to Kakashi.

"Mr. Yeager would like to know if it is alright if he administers a quick diagnostic on you."

Kakashi relented, allowing the serious looking doctor to examine him. The doctor took out a stethoscope to test his heart rate and made sure to check his bandages and injuries to see if they were healing properly. Every once in a while, Grisha would ask a question in German that Mikoto would have to translate for Kakashi, mostly questions pertaining to how he was feeling and if he knew what had happened to him.

During Yeager's inspection, Kakashi was mentally going over everything that he'd learned thus far, quickly coming to the conclusion that he wasn't anywhere close to the Elemental Nations. The mere fact that to these people, his language was in danger of dying out was a clear indicator that proved his earlier summation.

"But how? The last thing I remember is helping my team finish off Kaguya and then..." His line of thought trailed off when he suddenly remembered his last moments with his old teammate and first friend. "Obito…"

Shortly before he met his end, Obito had had a change of heart, in no small due to Naruto's influence, and aided his once enemies turned allies into defeating Madara and later Kaguya. The once embittered Uchiha had returned from wherever a person went after dying and imparted Kakashi with his Sharingan eyes to combat against Kaguya's strange but overwhelmingly powerful combination of the three legendary dojutsu. The power that both sets of eyes gave him was immense, but only temporary as Kakashi met Obito in an otherworldly dimension that was similar to the special dimension that their shared Mangekyo possessed, yet not quite the same. The two reunited friends exchanged some words, partially in reminisce of the happy times that they had shared as rivals when they were both on Team 7 with Rin, and also in somber acceptance of each other's actions and choices.

In the end, Obito had made peace with his demons and redeemed himself in Kakashi's eyes. The last memory that Kakashi had was of the image of a smiling young Obito, the one that he most fondly remembered before he first thought him dead. The smile couldn't mask the myriad of emotions running through his eyes and the goggled Uchiha held out his hand in what Kakashi believed to be a last farewell. Accepting the handshake, Kakashi was surprised when the young Obito leaned in and whispered the last words that Kakashi would ever hear from his friend again.

"The Fourth Shinobi War may be over, but the fighting is not yet done, not for you. Aid the humans. They need you."

A slight burning sensation afflicted his left eye and to his alarm, Kakashi realized that Obito was missing his left Sharingan eye. The Uchiha once more gave the puzzled masked shinobi a smile, though this one was more somber, and then his vision was engulfed by a bright light.

"What did you mean Obito? I don't understand." An almost far away voice broke Kakashi from his reverie. Turning his attention back to host, Kakashi realized that Mikoto was trying to garner his attention.

"I'm sorry to bother you with these endless questions, but Doctor Yeager would very much like to examine your eyes, particularly your left one." A quick look at Grisha showed that the man had in his hand a tubular device with a cylinder glass on its front, a mini flashlight. It was understandable that the medical physician would want to inspect his left eye, what with the distinctive vertical scar running down it, especially since he hadn't opened it in their presence.

Kakashi still wasn't certain if revealing his eye to the group would be a good thing to do, particularly if his hunch was correct in that Obito had returned the Sharingan to him; for reasons unknown to him. The shinobi honestly didn't know how they would react to his dojutsu, especially since they didn't recognize his name. Kakashi wasn't being pompous though, his long and illustrious career as a shinobi of the Hidden Leaf made him practically famous, or infamous depending on the village, across the entirety of the Elemental Nations. That they didn't know of him was the more worrying thing. Kakashi had the sinking suspicion that Obito had something to do with that.

Shaking his head slowly, Kakashi politely declined. "I would appreciate if the doctor would avoid an ocular inspection. I received the wound a long time ago, and it had long since healed."

Mikoto looked like she was on the verge of pressing the issue, but then sighed, relenting. Quickly she translated for Yeager's benefit, and surprisingly the doctor let the matter be, though Kakashi could see the mixture of curiosity and worry in his eyes. Kakashi was thankful that the good doctor had acquiesced to his patient's request. His respect for the doctor made considerable bounds, especially since the spectacled man seemed to genuinely care for his patient.

The Doctor spent nearly half an hour asking Kakashi questions pertaining to how he acquired his injuries and what district within the Walls did he hail from. Naturally, Mikoto remained behind to translate, seeing as she was the only one that could help progress negotiations, whilst her husband and daughter had left the room to leave the three room to talk.

Kakashi was becoming increasingly confused the more questions that these strange speaking people asked of him. Never had he heard of a district called Shiganshina, which was the nearest supposed town, or for that matter these Walls that they spoke so often of. A worrisome theory broached the masked shinobi's mind but he would first need to confirm his suspicions. Kakashi feigned total amnesia, so as not to arise suspicion from his most gracious hosts. He didn't exactly relish in the fact that he was essentially lying to these folk, when they had been nothing but welcoming to him, even taking the liberty of patching his wounds. But his shinobi instincts were nagging at him that he needed to do this, and Kakashi had long since learned to trust in his instincts, which had been honed after years of fighting, including two wars.

Pretending that he knew nothing came to be incredibly simple for Kakashi, seeing as how he truly didn't know anything of the area he was in or the terms that his host constantly used. It also helped that Kakashi had an impressive poker face, even without his mask; which he was starting to feel oddly naked without. Grisha and Mikoto were both visibly startled at his obvious lack of general knowledge, but the doctor was the first of the two to recover, recognizing the shinobi's condition as a severe case of amnesia.

Having done all he could at the time, Grisha informed Kakashi that his memory may return in time and was most likely caused by a traumatic event that he'd witnessed. Doctor Yeager then bid a farewell, assured that he'd return within a week to give him another checkup, and that the Ackerman's would provide him shelter during his recovery; a fact that Kakashi was most grateful for.

Seeing as how Mikoto was the only one who could hold a conversation with the shinobi, Kakashi had asked the kind woman to inform him of general information, inciting that it may help him recover his memories. Mikoto seemed apprehensive with Kakashi's request, as though she was reluctant to do so, but promptly fed her guest the answers he sought. It wasn't very far into the explanation that Kakashi understood the woman's reluctance to speak of the subject. Around a hundred years ago, humanity had nearly been on the verge of extinction, being preyed upon by these giant humanoid monsters known as Titans. In their desperation, the last vestiges of humanity built three giant circular walls that could drive a wedge between them and the Titans; offering them shelter and peace that had persevered for a century. The Walls, from the exterior to inward were referred to as Maria, Rose, and Sina. Mikoto went into further detail on the differences between the three Walls and the respective roles that they played in society.

Their discussion ended just as the sun had begun to set, prompting Mikoto to end her lesson a tad earlier than Kakashi would've liked, but knew that given time he would be well informed. Before he turned in the for night, Mikoto had proffered Kakashi some supper, which consisted of a warm vegetable broth gathered from their own home grown crops and a fist sized loaf of bread. Mikoto seemed apologetic that she couldn't offer something more hardy and filling, but Kakashi thanked the woman for her effort and hospitality. Mikoto left her guest to rest, allowing Kakashi some much needed time to process everything that had transpired thus far.

Kakashi ate his meal in silent absentmindedness, his thoughts far from registering hunger. "Could those Titans that Miss Mikoto mentioned be what Obito was referring to?" The scarred shinobi's mind perused through multiple theories, the most likely answer that could sufficiently explain his current predicament. All of the data he had acquired pointed to the conclusion that he was somewhere outside of the influence of the Elemental Nations, perhaps even another dimension altogether. It certainly was in the realm of possibility given his and Obito's shared ability to open a rift to a separate special dimension, and then there was the largely up scaled version that Kaguya's power had displayed. These irrefutable facts made it certain that the theory was well within the realm of possibility.

"What have you gotten me into Obito? And why me?" These questions were of the most prevalent in Kakashi's analytical mind. Kakashi couldn't prevent a tired sigh from escaping his mouth as he slumped back onto the bed. Suddenly, he felt more sympathetic of the Nara clan's constant plight of how everything troublesome was a drag.

"I suppose this is how Shikamara and his father feels." An all too familiar lump filled his heart as he recalled his old friend Shukaku's demise. Soon enough, Kakashi began to go through the list of everyone he knew had died during the war. So many had perished, but despite the losses, Kakashi knew that a better outcome could not have been achieved. At the very least, the deaths of all those lost shinobi weren't in vain. Though, even that large reprieve couldn't completely extinguish Kakashi's melancholic mood. Kakashi was no stranger to grief and loss however, and knew with sad certainty knew that time was his best companion in the healing process.

And in his final thoughts, Kakashi made a silent pray for all of those whose lives were claimed in the fight for unity and freedom, both familiar and unfamiliar, before sleep finally claimed him.

…

Several weeks passed by and in that time Kakashi had finally recuperated enough that he could walk of his own violation without the aid of crutches. It had taken much longer to heal than Kakashi had initially expected. The severity of his chakra depletion was more critical than it had first seemed, rivaling the time when he had expended all of his energy during the Wave mission to combat Zabuza, or the more recent time when he overused the power of his mangekyo on Deidara. Thankfully, there wasn't any sign of damaged chakra coils or else Kakashi would have had a serious problem on his hands.

Since he was confined to crutches to support himself, Kakashi was forbidden from any strenuous activity on Doctor Yeager's orders, and Mikoto was more than happy to enforce this condition. On more than one occasion, Mikoto had scolded the spiky haired shinobi for overexerting himself too soon, when he should be resting. Despite being the one scolded, Kakashi didn't mind the mothering attention from Mikoto. It faintly reminded him of how Sakura would reprimand him for doing something she considered particularly rash and she was forced to tend to his injuries; though this scenario was much more prevalent for Naruto.

Kakashi hadn't stayed idle though in his injured state, spending a vast majority of his time immersing himself in more lessons from Mikoto, whenever she could spare the time. From these information gathering lessons, Kakashi had learned a lot more of the state of humanity, such as the fact that much of the Wall's inhabitant's source of income came from merchants and that the entirety of humanity was ruled by a single king or monarch. Wall Sina was where the king resided in his palace, as well as the majority of the wealthy and noble families. Further outward in Wall Rose was where the middle class citizens settled and Wall Maria was where the Ackerman family had resided. It was also where the majority of humanity lived, approximately ½ of the total population, as well as where most of the crops were cultivated and harvested from.

The military played a large role in human society, dividing itself into three separate divisions. The largest force among the three was known as the Garrison, who stood guard along the 50 meter walls as a line of defense in case of a Titan attack; though there hadn't been a noteworthy incident in the last century. Then there was the Military Police Brigade that represented the best soldiers that humanity had to offer. They were the second largest force and were stationed exclusively in Wall Sina, where their duty was to protect the king at all cost, as well as to keep order within the wall's borders.

The last and in Kakashi's opinion, the most interesting, was the Survey Corps, who were the smallest division, numbering in only a few hundred. There main objective was the daunting task of human expansion outside the protection of the Walls, as well as further study of the Titans, which Kakashi was shocked to discover that they knew precious little of the humanoid giants. Out of the three divisions though, the Survey Corps was largely unpopular. This was in large part due to the obscenely horrific casualty rates that occurred during expeditions. The survival rate was abysmal and statistics revealed a death rate of approximately 30%. Even by shinobi standards, those odds were alarming, and prior to the formation of the Shinobi Alliance and the subsequent end of the fourth world war, violence and death were well integrated into their lifestyle.

Information gathering hadn't been all that Kakashi had been doing though. The Ackerman's had been a most gracious host to him, and Kakashi had grown quite fond of Mikoto and even her daughter Mikasa to an extent. The child had a quiet disposition, though she wasn't afraid to voice her opinion or shirk from having a conversation. Kakashi attested her somewhat recluse personality by the fact that as far as he knew, Mikasa had no friends so to speak of. The young oriental chose to confine herself to their family's small farm, only taking the occasional trip into town to help her father sell his livestock and crops. In an odd way, Mikasa reminded Kakashi of a bolder Hinata Hyuuga. Cross-referencing the similarities between the two had been a small form of entertainment for the veteran shinobi.

The father of the family, whom Kakashi had come to know as Erick was more subdued when it came to his and Kakashi's relationship. It wasn't that the man was hostile towards his guest, it was more that he was just cautious of Kakashi, who they knew next to nothing about. Kakashi felt no resentment towards the man's circumspection. He knew all too well, that as the man of the house it was Erick's duty as a father and husband to protect his family; and for that Kakashi reserved much respect towards the man.

It wasn't until after Kakashi had been given permission to ditch the crutches that Erick began to warm up to the shinobi. As compensation for the more than generous treatment that his hosts had given him, Kakashi had elected himself to assist the family head with maintaining his farm. Kakashi's entrance into the Ackerman's lives had been fortuitous in that the harvesting season was just around the corner, and that meant that Erick would be at his busiest. Most of the crops had fully matured and were prime for gathering. Usually, Mikasa would offer her father some assistance in that area, she being surprisingly strong for her age and build, but for this season Kakashi wished to chip in and pay off the debt that he felt he owed to the family.

Erick had at first been hesitant to accept Kakashi's offer of aid, but ultimately caved in, knowing that any extra pair of hands could greatly help. Though his knowledge on how the harvesting process worked was limited, Kakashi quickly caught on under Erick's quick tutelage. It wasn't the type of work that required a lot of thought, but the manual labor was long and arduous.

Even with the aid of charka to enhance his overall performance, Kakashi had to admit that the work could be grueling, especially under the relentless heat of the sun. Thankfully, weather in the Shiganshina district was tame, being sunny but also brisk. It was an ideal climate for growing crops, which Kakashi supposed was why the mass majority of humanity's food supply was grown in this hemisphere of human controlled land. Humanity's last stronghold, the Walls, was simply that huge in terms of sheer territory size. A gap in between each concentric wall ring stretched as far as 100 kilometers, some even more.

Kakashi knelt down as he plucked a potato, careful to not remove the vegetable from its roots. He didn't want to possibly damage the goods. The task may be simple yes, but that didn't diminish the fact that potatoes were of the four major crops grown, meaning that it had high monetary value. It also just so happened to be the same crop where most of the Ackermans income came from, so Kakashi took this task as seriously as he would any mission given to him by the Hokage.

Soft sandaled footsteps behind alerted Kakashi of Mikasa's arrival. The long haired Oriental carried a basket strapped to her back, made for carrying the day's harvest. She also wore a saucer shaped hat hand-woven by Mikoto herself, in effort to prevent her daughter from suffering from heatstroke or sun burns.

Mikoto had taken the liberty of schooling her daughter in her clan's native language long before Kakashi had arrived, but Mikasa wasn't completely proficient in using it. Kakashi had volunteered to assist Mikoto in her weekly tutoring sessions with Mikasa. His participation became a great boon to the lessons, adding a third speaker to their conversational sessions. Kakashi had made it a point to communicate with Mikasa in his native language, to further improve her knowledge of the nearly deceased art. Conversely, Mikasa would speak to the shinobi in German, as he still needed to learn the country's domestic tongue. Kakashi had made huge headway into learning German, thanks to the careful application of his sharingan.

Mikasa took a position directly opposite from Kakashi so she was facing him. The shinobi eye smiled and waved at the girl jovially, speaking in Elemental or Japanese as these people knew it. "Why, hello Mikasa. Finished with the other field already?"

The Oriental nodded in return, as though to answer both greeting and question. "Most of it. Father thought you might need help."

"I appreciate the thought, thanks." The two continued their work, neither really talking, just enjoying a companionable silence.

Evidently, it would be Mikasa who would engage into conversation. "You never told us, why do you always wear that mask over your face? I can understand the need for covering your eye, but still…"

Even though the Ackermans had seen his face, Kakashi had continued to use his half mask that covered the bottom portion of his face, including the headband which concealed his sharingan. "I dunno, force of habit I suppose."

"Oh," Mikasa uttered, momentarily having forgotten that the man that her family had helped still had amnesia, at least as far as she aware. "Do you ever wonder who you were before?"

Kakashi gained a far off gaze in his eyes, as though reflecting on something in the past. "All the time. Though I'm beginning to think that I should be focusing on the here and now, rather than my past."

"You don't think your past is important?"

The one eyed shinobi shook his head. "No, your past is important. I just mean that it's better to focus on the present and conversely, the future. Those are events that you can still control, shape. What happened in the past should remain in the past."

Mikasa thought on her older companion's words, seeming to catch onto something. "Did you regain some of your memories?"

Kakashi paused in his task giving Mikasa all she needed to know. "It's okay if you don't want to tell me. I understand."

Once again, Kakashi was impressed the child's intuitiveness and maturity for someone of her age. Strangely, it reminded Kakashi of a slightly more innocent Itachi when he was her age and under his command in the Anbu.

Satisfied with the weight in his basket, Kakashi collected the rest of the starch and hefted his score over his shoulders. "I think that's good for the day. Ready to head back?"

Mikasa stood and smiled, taking the time to stretch her back. "Yeah, these should be enough for father to take in the town."

The duo made their way out of the nicely raked field and onto the dirt path back towards the Ackerman's house. Mikasa cast a curious look at her traveling companion as he whipped out an orange colored book of all things and proceeded to read while they walked. The budding Oriental appraised the book's cover, taking note of the illustration and odd characters that she couldn't fully understand. The book was clearly written in the native language of her mother's clan.

"What are you reading?"

Kakashi didn't bother closing his book, but only took the time to make a reprehensible tut'ing noise. Mikasa flushed, realizing that she had unintentionally lapsed back into German.

"I asked, what are you reading? You seem to read it very often." Nearly every time she saw the man resting, he had his nose crammed in the book, making funny faces and elapsing weird sounding giggles every so often.

Kakashi gave Mikasa another one of his eye smiles, seemingly gladdened that she brought the subject up. "Oh this here? It's a beautiful piece of literature from where I came from. It's the first novel of a series made by my favorite author."

"Really? Can I read it?"

In response Kakashi folded the book and put it back in his back pouch. "I don't think your mother would appreciate it. Some of the content can be a little…graphic. Maybe when you're a little older."

Mikasa cutely pouted, but let the matter be. She visibly perked up when she caught sight of her house; Mikoto was outside hanging laundry out to dry. Mikoto Ackerman heard the pitter patter of footsteps nearby and looked up the road and beamed.

Kakashi waved lazily to the woman in his usual minimalist manner that the Ackerman's had quickly become acquainted with. "Yo, Miss Mikoto. How are you this fine evening?"

Mikoto gave the one eyed man whom she sheltered a stern expression. "What have I told you about greeting people by opening with 'Yo' Kakashi? It's hardly a proper greeting. And I thought we agreed to practice your German more."

Mikasa failed miserably to muffle her giggles as she watched Kakashi being grilled by her mother. The irony was not lost to the child of the fact that the man that had reprimanded her earlier was now being reprimanded for doing the same thing she'd done.

"You reap what you so Kakashi."

"So mean," fake crocodile tears streamed out of Kakashi's single visible eye. "You know how different German is to Japanese Mikoto-san. I can't help but lapse back into my native tongue."

Mikoto crossed her arms over her chest, an uncompromising look on her face. "Don't give me that Kakashi. You're practically a natural with the language, except of course the accent but I suppose that's not really an issue." It had initially come as a surprise as to how quickly Kakashi had come to grips with learning German. Doctor Yeager had theorized that Kakashi's memory was subconsciously retracing itself and essentially relearning what it had forgotten, but that was based on the assumption that Kakashi had already learnt how to speak German prior to his amnesia.

"Anyhow, how was your day Mikasa? Did you get a lot done?"

Her daughter nodded with an enthusiastic smile. "Yes, father thinks that this year's harvest will be our greatest yet. Oh, and Kakashi wouldn't let me take a look at his book. The one called Make Out something. I couldn't interpret the full title. He said he might let me read it when I'm a bit older."

The words came out faster than Kakashi, for all his quick shinobi reflexes, could prevent. An almost sinister-like intent began to radiate from the usual care-free and motherly loving Mikoto. Beads of sweat began to precipitate around Kakashi's forehead as he started to unconsciously shrink under her scathing glare.

"Kakashi..." Mikoto drawled out slowly, ill-intent practically oozing out of her voice. "You better not be planning on corrupting my daughter with that trashy smut of yours. I thought I had forbade you from reading that out in public. Was I not clear?"

Mikasa didn't know exactly what was unfolding right in front of her. Never had she witnessed her mother acting anything other than loving and kind. The admittedly frightening being that possessed her mom's form was a direct contradiction to the image she upheld of Mikoto; enough that even she felt somewhat afraid. The way that the woman had lapsed back into Japanese only made it come off more intimidating.

Kakashi shook his head furiously, not wanting to incur the wrath of an angered mother. Mikoto held out her hand, palm open and waiting expectedly. With a slight whimper of remorse, Kakashi did the unthinkable and placed his prized orange novel into the woman's waiting hand.

"Please take care of my precious. It's easily susceptible to creasing and doesn't like to be left un-perused for long periods of time."

Mikasa followed Kakashi's sulking body as he lumbered over to the house, probably to morn over the loss of his prized smut in his room. Meanwhile, Mikoto stood there with a triumphant smirk replacing her earlier frightening visage.

"…What just happened?"

End

…..

Author's Note: Thank you for taking the plunge into my little story idea here. I've honestly no idea if there's been a crossover of these anime's with Kakashi as the main character but there's gotta be a first for everything I guess. I'll be forward with whomever takes an interest in my story here. I can't give a for sure answer as to how quickly I can update this story. Already I'm juggling two other stories. That being said I couldn't help myself in uploading this crossover when it first came to mind. I have only watched the anime of Attack on Titan so please no spoilers on my part, at least until I've finished catching up with the manga.

Anyways, hope you enjoyed it and any review is always welcome. I always appreciate a little criticism. It helps to improve my performance. Oh, and I apologize if there was any confusion between discerning between a character's thoughts and Japanese being said. I don't know if German is technically the official and universal language spoken by the Wall people but for the purposes of this story, please run with it.

A last thought: Does anyone know if Attack on Titan has any other ethnic groups that don't have Asian/Oriental or European heritage? I've yet to hear or see a single African-American in the anime/manga. I mean, if this is supposed to be the last stronghold of humans, I'd think to see at least one.