Disclaimer: I do not own Attack On Titan or Inuyasha
Chapter Seven: Retreat
It soon became clear to Kagome that at her current speed she'd never catch up to them. And that in turn meant she'd lose Shippo.
So she backtracked. Even if she hated moving away from where she truly wanted to go, she'd have a much better chance at catching up and getting back her son.
When she came upon them, feasting on another of their kind, she stepped back in anxiety. Her stomach dropped. This was easily the most dangerous thing she could ever do.
"...Psst!" She half whispered, calling to one of the bigger ones. "...Over here!"
The giant lazily looked up at her, groaning, and Kagome flinched. She could see the blood and meat smeared over its mouth.
"Come on, closer."
It lumbered over.
Really, if she'd the choice, she would never have come near one of them willingly. But then Shippo popped up into her mind and Kagome felt her resolve harden.
'He's all I have left.'
She jumped.
When Shippo woke, Hanji was hovering over him.
"Oh, you're awake." She gives him a pleasant smile, "You're up earlier than expected."
He immediately scoots back, only to find his hands are tied. His face falls as he realizes he's in a cart and they're already moving.
"Sorry about that," She apologizes, "But to be fair, you did burn me."
Shippo clenches his teeth, "You took me hostage."
"Oh don't be so uptight." Hanji waves him away, "We just need to do a few tests on you, that's all."
"...Tests?" His eyes go wide.
"You'll be fine. I'll be extra gentle with you." She reassures, then sullenly adds, "Not like Bean and Sawney though."
He immediately begins to look around.
The trees are so far behind. Kagome's so far away.
Against his better judgment, his lip trembles.
"...Wah... "
"Shippo-chan?"
"She didn't get me. She didn't save me. " He's sniffling, trying his hardest not to cry, before yelling, "I-Inuyaasha!"
"Inuyasha?"
"Wahhh, Inuyasha you idiot, come save me already!"
"Calm down, who's Inuyasha?"
Shippo cries even louder.
"Oi, make him quiet down already." Levi scathingly remarks.
"I-Inuyasha! Miroku! Sango! Kirara!"
"Shh Shippo-chan, the Titans will hear you."
She presses a finger to his lip but he shakes her off.
The tears plop down his cheeks. He suddenly let's loose a cry, throwing his head back, "Kagome!"
With that cry, the ground begins to shake.
"Kagome! Whhh, Kagome!"
"What's going on?" Hanji whispers, looking around.
...Thud... Thud... Thud...
"Kagome, where are you?!"
"Over there!" Armin points behind him, "Titan spotted!" To his horror, there are two. They're abnormals with the way they're running. "He's making too much noise!"
"Shut that kid up already!" Levi orders, switching his horse so it gallops beside them. The whole formation speeds up at Erwin's command.
The Titans begin to catch up as well.
"Kagome! Please save me! Kagome!"
"I'm so sorry Shippo-chan..!" Hanji cries, clenching her fist. With it, she delivers a blow to his head.
"Kago-!"
He falls to the side, smacking against the wood with a thud.
"SHIPPO!"
The sky lights up pink.
The titans groan in pain, almost tripping, but begin to quicken their pace.
"Shippo!" Kagome's angry cry pierces the silence, "Shippo, wake up!"
"What the hell...?" Jean whispers.
They eventually spot her; the tiny girl perched behind the running Titan, gripping its hair. Pink sparks flicker around her, crackling.
"What in the world!?" Connie yells, "Is she riding it?!"
"Did he bring her here?" Mikasa, from the other cart, asks. She sends Levi a look, "Do we still keep him?"
Their answer is decided when pink streaks beside them.
"Do see engage her?" Armin questions, speeding up his own horse.
"It'd be better to outrun her until we reach the walls. We'd have a better advantage that way." Erwin replies.
Levi casts a hateful look at his sprained leg.
'Useless.'
He could do so much more if it weren't for his damned leg. He can only agree in defeat.
The horses lurch forward, refusing to go any further to everyone's panic and confusion. They rear back instead.
Up ahead, pink sprouts from the ground, enclosing them in a dome.
Armin quakes, "What... What happened?"
They all turn eyes backward to the girl smiling in smug triumph. It soon turns icy as her titans slow to a stop in front of them.
They all shift nervously, glancing back and forth between one another.
"I told you to stop." She angrily clips, shimming down the titan's arm. "I want Shippo back."
The barrier distorting around her.
Levi has his sword out instantly, "Do we trust her?"
Kagome pursues her lips, "I don't care if you don't trust me. Shippo. Now."
Hanji shifts him closer.
The act does not go unnoticed by her. She narrows her eyes and turns to her, "Are you the one who took him?'
The air turns tense as Hanji and Kagome stare one another down, "No. Not me."
"Who then? Who took my little boy?"
Connie and Armin flinch guilty at the tone.
"We didn't mean any harm." Armin soothes, dread filling him. "We thought- think he's a Titan."
If possible, things go from bad to worse as she angrily asks, "A what?"
"Titan... The thing you... rode on." He amends, quietly filling her in on what she did.
Outside, the titans moan gingerly, looking at them inside but never daring to step forward.
That confused everyone. Why? Why weren't they coming closer and why hadn't the girl been eaten?
"Shippo would never hurt anyone on purpose, nor would he eat people!" With a brisk walk, she snatches Shippo from Hanji, ignoring how everyone tensed.
Hanji let it happen, silently mourning the loss of a subject but unwilling to let anyone die for it.
"We can't just let you leave." Erwin announced," You have unusual... talents."
She threw a look behind her, uncaring of the fact she'd wanted to meet humans for so long before. Humans sucked. "I decline. You've made a horrible first impression."
She snaps her fingers and uncurling from one of the titan's fingers, everyone gasps. Levi feels his eyes widen.
Petra and Aurou roll from its grasp onto the floor with a small thud. While unconscious, they were clearly alive by the rise and fall of their chests.
"These two were in the forest fighting that female 'Titan'. I suggest you not engage her again, nor leave anyone else behind." Her eyes soften for a bit at the two, "Luck will not be so kind to everyone."
She smooths back Shippo's hair, revealing the small bump now forming from the rough treatment earlier, and frowns. Her icy demeanor returns, "I'll let you live since Shippo wasn't taken."
It's only when the group is far out of sight and that she's retreated to a safe distance that she begins to wake Shippo.
His eyes little open some minutes later; the ache of his head ever present but minuscule. He wakes to her blue eyes and a comforting touch.
"Are you alright?" She asks.
Shippo blurts out something she didn't expect from a kidnapped child.
"They have your bag."
"What?"
"Your bag, Kagome! Everything!"
Inside, the jewel laughs.
Forgotten in the commotion of successfully and suspiciously getting away- while celebrating the fact Aurou and Petra had miraculously survived the attack of the female titan- Kagome's pack lay innocently forgotten, next to a certain unconscious Titan shifter and ever attentive adoptive sister.