Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto characters as well as SnK characters.
Drabble #1: One Thing Leads to Another
Rated: T
Genre: Humor
The training is becoming more intense. Tired groans and murmurs of complaint are exchanged among the trainees. Some protest about the current harsh training. Some pick on from the lack of much needed breaks. And some grimace in dismay over their food, Choji being one of them.
"This is so cruel." He laments after he finishes most of his meal in less then five minutes, making sure every bit of crumb in his plate is taken care of and his bowl of gruel is licked clean. "I wish they give us some more. If this keeps goin', I'm gonna lose another five pounds by the end of this week."
The poor boy looks dejectedly at the remaining, still steaming, baby potato on his plate, mourning because this will be probably his last one for today. His chance to get some share of Sasha's smuggled food is almost zero, and he has given up his idea to compete with her long time ago, putting the blame on his nonexistent agility. Sasha also doesn't get her potato-girl nickname for nothing. Even if she out of her reluctant kindness shares some of her food like previous times, he will be still hungry, thanks to imbalanced amount of intense training to the meals served and (disappointing amount of share, but who is he to complain anyway? Across the table, Shikamaru sends his now-not-so-big-like-before friend a sympathetic look before he adds his own similar sentiment.
"Yeh. Not to mention our drills have barely any breaks in-between lately. I'm not getting enough sleep these days, and all these sores and pain that seem to never end ain't helpin' either. How troublesome."
He keeps his voice low because he doesn't want to upset a certain boy, who takes every training drill too seriously to the point he has almost zero tolerance toward anyone with a shitting attitude regarding the drills. Having loved peace and good rest since childhood, or maybe since he's in his mother's womb, Shikamaru usually avoids trouble. Unfortunately, his simple and harmless preference is one that brings trouble for him, because his (relaxed and lazy) demeanor happens to be in that person's list of shitty attitude. Shikamaru has learned his hard lesson well because, seriously, getting on Eren's bad side is way more troublesome than any of his lack of good rest and too much effort exercises combined. Heck, maybe even more troublesome than how screwed up this titan-infested world is.
Unlike Shikamaru who knows how to be subtle, Jean Kirstein is a total opposite. "Oi Jaeger. Can you spare poor Armin of your boasting? He's obviously too tired of it."
Said boy snaps his attention to Jean. Thankfully, Armin quickly interferes. "It's okay, Jean. Eren is trying to help me understand 3DMG control."
"Help? I don't know, Armin, if his yeah, I can do that or now I can do this can be considered a good advice. It sounds like he's bragging about his so-called achievements."
"I'm not-" Eren splutters and then frowns, pulling off his famous scowl to deny Jean's remark when his voice fails.
Smirking at his rival's reaction, Jean continues, "And besides, all of his advice is wrong. I have better tips if you-"
"What?! You got a problem with it, Kirstein!?" Eren spats back, loud enough to gain some attention from other trainees. "And you think you're better huh? I bet you can't do as much as half as my 3DMG tricks out there."
"Tricks?! You call them tricks? You do realize that they are basically a dozen ways to die by your own hands, do you?" Now fully facing the younger brunette from his seat, Jean shakes his head and snickers. "Oh wait. Of course, you don't. You're a suicidal bastard, that's why."
"COME AGAIN, HORSEFACE!?" Eren hollers and stands up, instantly silencing the mess hall. Majority of the squad watch expectantly because yeah, a fight between them is already inevitable by now. Jean really wants to punch him in the face for that disgraceful nickname, but first he has to wound his pride. It will be worth the show.
"All your maneuvers cost too much gas, dumbass. You will run out of your gas before you're able to land a single killing blow on one titan. And I'm pretty sure it will be a priceless sight to see coming from you of all people."
Some snorts can be heard, but at least restrained, only Ymir's and Reiner's unabashedly loud. Marco and Armin shoot worried glances, and the latter can sense how extremely pissed his childhood friend is. Sadly for Jean, he mistakes Eren's reddened face as embarrassment and thus smirks in victory, not expecting him to cover the distance in big strides and-
"What the-"A fist comes and connects the older boy's jaw.
"I can't help it. Your smirk pisses me off. It looks bloody awful on your face of all people. Horses cannot smirk, remember?"
Jean instantly rises to his feet, and everyone knows what's going to happen next. Choppy insults stumble out between one or two punches, and sometimes kicks and knee jabs. Despite how worn out both boys are, their fight is heated and intense, keeping almost everyone's interest on the free show. No one notices Naruto and Kiba trudging their way tiredly to Shikamaru's table, carrying whatever's left and edible from the kitchen.
Not until Eren staggers backward and collides with Kiba, and...
"WHAT THE HELL!" Kiba yells angrily, after a moment of shocked gasps and the following tense silence. "Watch where you're going, man!" He glares murderously at the still standing culprit who just blinks at him.
"DAMN IT! THERE GOES MY FOOD!" He wails angrily and throws up both arms in exasperation, half-cursing in his mind why he has such a horrible day today. Having to run laps because of Naruto's stupid fault is torturing and unfair enough. And now... how he seriously wants to strangle that green-eyed boy to death, but later when that insanely strong and overprotective Mikasa out of sight, and out of smelling range just in case. Although he thinks he needs his dog to deal with impulsively resistant brunette later on.
Well. Whatever. What matters now is "Anyway, you gotta pay for-"
Suddenly a loud eeep booms across the hall, followed by a high-pitched Oh good Sina! from Mina. Getting curious of what's happening, Kiba stands on his feet and follows everyone's gaze which lands on-
Oh shit.
Annie is looking so pissed right now, like really truly pissed. Her usual inborn smile-less and cold expression which can be translated as her pissed off face does not even count. And the real reason lies on the innocent bowl resting on her head with its greasy content spilling down her face.
"I-It's Eren's fault!" Kiba immediately defends himself, not wanting the painful death that's going to befall upon him soon which her icy glare promises."
"H-Hey! It's Jean's!"
"H-huh!? WHA-"
"You're the one who pushes me!" Eren cries.
"Bastard, you're the one who loses your balance!" Jean's not going to be the scapegoat here.
"SO!?" 'Tis the same thing, you cause-"
"OH SHUT UP!" In that instant moment, everyone stares in utter shock and fear and silence at Annie who just yells, which breaks a new record in all history of mankind. "Either way, you're all dead meat." The way she says it sounds convincingly final.
"EHHHH!?" Kiba's the only one who's screaming while looking equally horrified like the other two culprits.
"I'm not going to let you hurt Eren." Mikasa immediately comes to the rescue, unfortunately only for Eren, with similar air of finality in her icy tone, glaring daggers at Annie who returns the same intensity.
The tension between two strongest trainees become so palpable that the atmosphere suddenly gets thick with a heavy pressure that can intimidate any titans, if possible. It may shatter every glass material if Leader Shadis doesn't enter the hall and demands what's going on. Marco volunteers to tell everything as it is, and states all the facts without taking anyone's side.
"Can't believe you are all still acting like some spoiled brats." Shadis let out a frustrated sigh, pinching the bridge of his nose. "Anyway. Jaeger. Kirstein. Both of you are going to do all the laundry duty for the whole week, starting tomorrow. And Naruto, I would like you to share your meal with Kiba. He just loses his food."
"But I'm not involved in any of this!" Naruto immediately protests. Shadis's stony expression gives no way for any but's and excuses. His order is final.
"It should be Eren's, since he's the one who falls into Kiba." The blond tries to reason. "Or Jean's, since he causes Eren to fall. Or maybe both to make it fair." His reasoning turns into a ramble, trying to save his miraculously intact meal. At the same time, he tries hard to ignore the murderous glares from aforementioned boys.
"Or you, since you're the one who drags me to your shit. I'll be eating already right now, safe and sound, if I don't bother with your ramen crap." Kiba shoots back, emphasizing on the word safe and sound.
"WHAT!? I'm not-"
"That sound reasonable enough!" Shadis sharply cuts off. "Having three of you to share your food will impose you to bear responsibility over the chaos that happens today." He shows off his infamous death glare where his scary red eyeballs almost pop out of their socket. "If I find you still fighting this night, I promise you an even worse punishment."
Shadis's threat and glare combined seem to do the trick, as none of the boys object but accept their consequences bitterly. He keeps watching them till their meals – which consists of 2 chunks of bread, 2 baby potatoes, and 2 and a half bowl of gruel – are evenly divided among each other. Even if they eat on one table, one can strongly feel a hostile and angry tension in the air. Though no words are exchanged, the rest of the trainees can obviously see the heated glare they send to each other. Well, at least a big catastrophe has been prevented.
For now.