Before I start this chapter, I just wanted to say thank you to everyone who has been reviewing and following my story so far. I have a little dilemma with the pairings, even though they aren't the main part of the story.
For right now, the Mikasa x Naruto pairing is absolute, this has more requests than any others. Whether or not I do a Harem is based on the principles of the story.
What I mean by principles is Naruto abiding by this dimension's rules, I suppose. So everytime he sees a Titan, he won't just get Otsutsuki Form and wipe them out with a swipe of his finger. It's cool and all but what's the fun in that.
But, in the end he's still Godlike and will wipe out large quantities of Titans nonetheless. Because in AOT even the best such as Mike and Levi only take down 10 Max, yet here's Naruto bithc slapping them with a meat cleaver and raking in the Titan solo kills.
I had some complaints about Naruto being a kid, I see the fault, but for all intents and purposes, Naruto starts his life over in all dimensions he travels to, to save them. Imagine the suspicion the Military would have if a 20 year old never aging God steps out of a portal in front of them with horns and tells them to call him the Almighty.
I'm reinventing Naruto in his own role in the AOT universe, so I hope some of you agree with me on that point. Of course he'll be using his Chakra abilities like he already has been, but...well you'll see more in this chapter.
Anyways, thanks for dropping in and as always, Ja ne.
Chapter 3: The Unthinkable
6 Months Later
2 Hours before Colossal Titan breaks through the wall in Shiganshina District.
"What do you mean, I'm not of need on this expedition?" Naruto quizzically crossed his arms, staring at his superior officer preparing his horse.
Commander Erwin Smith had gotten a request from a Noble in the capital to gather specific medicinal herbs for a sick Matriarch. Going against the order or refusing the service of Wall Sina officials, was considered treason.
The greed of Nobility, had always put themselves before the good of the common need. He had to put his mens' lives on the line in order to save one person. He was informed of the essentials, and as such, needed only a few individuals to accompany him. This meant bringing along certain soldiers who specialized in medicinal herb gathering and had done a sort of mission like this before, as well as, soldiers capable of defending them.
Naruto did not fall under the category of 'Medicinal Specialist,' nor did he fall under the category of 'Miniscule Combat', and that was final. Their mission was a quick retrieval mission, not an exploration or high risk expedition, therefore, his expertise of 'Heavy Assault,' was only needed behind the wall at the time.
The blonde man sighed, "Listen. As much as the others would feel safer having you watch over them, it is not needed. We must not always rely on you to ensure a mission is successful. Now, report to Hange, she's running the in-wall rotations today."
Naruto wasn't pleased with the idea of being left behind, but Erwin's mind was always thinking of Plans A, B,and C. If he wasn't involved, then he knew it was for the best.
Naruto agreed and watched as Erwin, Levi and his squad were sent beyond the walls, hopefully returning in full the same time tomorrow. He had faith in Levi, and that accounted for his doubts knowing Levi and his comrades could handle themselves even before he set foot in Wall Maria.
'Now to report to the psychotic woman.' Naruto cried internally.
There were many things that had unnerved him in his lifetimes, yet the woman merely inches away from his face for hours on end, talking about her discoveries while prodding and inspecting your facial features, was up there. Meeting her once, you'd think she had a screw loose somewhere, but she was reliable and important to Humanity's cause regarding breakthroughs with discovering the origins of the Titans.
HQ Mission Assignments
Naruto walked into the large tent, where both ran as her lab and her make-shift Mission HQ for the day. Few of the scientists in the tent had turned to view the boy everyone was familiar with now. All nodded their heads in respect for their Corpsman who was single-handedly turning the tides of Titan against Humanity.
His reputation had only bolstered with every month and new expedition his Squad was sent out on. His heroics had reached far and wide amongst the Survey Corps.
Men who had assisted in combat alongside the Black Mist, boasted about getting their hands dirty with him. Others called him their Guardian on the battlefield. Alternate aliases or not, all felt the impact of his success against the Titans.
Morale had been higher than ever knowing many people were coming back from missions. Casualty rates decreased to 7%, with 5% of those being incapacitation or injuries, and Expedition success had risen 30% with each offensive against the Titans in successive order.
Those who had the honor of learning his name, had only described him as professional and dead-focused in the line of battle, even when putting his life on the line. Many of those he saved, respected him even more so then their leading Section Commanders. It seemed as if Naruto were to ask them to follow him into battle against a brigade of Titans, all would do so knowing the Black Mist led the charge.
That was when he met Hange. Being her test subject was...flattering, and extremely uncomfortable. Probably an experience he never wanted to endure again if met with the possibility. The experiments were another close call. If she had discovered the trace amounts of charged substance(Chakra) in his body at the molecular level, his abilities would have been discovered and potentially dangerous to leak out. If they tried to reconstruct how his body ran on chakra many people would die consuming his extremely potent chakra into their own bodies. The possibility of recreating chakra usage in this dimension was near 0%.
"Yo. Four Eyes, I've been assigned to you today." Hange turned around from the table she had been working on, nearly knocking over her microscope at hearing the familiar voice.
Hange licked her lips in excitement while looking at him from head to toe, "Sadly as much as I know you want to spend time with lil ol' me, Commander had already assigned you to an assignment under the Garrison Regime. You're assigned under Corporal Hannes of the Engineering Core, stationed as Wall Point 7A. Now hurry along before I have my way with you, it almost hurts sending you away, my little hero." Hange rubbed her eyes with her fists wiping them of nearly false tears.
Naruto was already out the door when he heard, '...have my way with you…', the lady was sadistic, and maniacal but everyone who was a great soldier had their quirk. Sadly, her quirk was more like a lifestyle, 'It sends shivers up my spine just thinking about her. Psycho.' Despite her ways of life, she was a detrimental piece to the Survey Corps, and she was a great leader in times of battle. Her men had utter loyalty to her, and her achievements commended her as such, so his respect was there as well, though he would never say it.
Wall Section 7A
Naruto wasn't allowed to use his 3DM gear inside the walls, so he made his way slowly but surely to his destination. His assignment was most likely a checkpoint section about 25 meters from Wall Maria. He'd rather be doing something more productive, but orders were orders, even to someone like him.
As he approached the Checkpoint, 3 men were sitting around a table sharing a large container of alcohol. He didn't mind the calmness, but weren't Military personnel meant to take their jobs seriously? He'd only seen the Garrison Regime a few times on in-wall assignments, but was never assigned to collaborative jobs with them.
Naruto jumped down from the building he'd been perched up on a few seconds ago, startling the trio playing cards. "Lieutenant Naruto reporting for assignment under Corporal Hannes of the Engineer Core."
The man known as Hannes stood and saluted lazily to the newcomer. Hannes was slightly above average height and muscular build. He had short blonde hair and a thin strip for a mustache on his upper lip. He was wearing standard Military garb and the required tan coat with the insignia of the Garrison Regime.
Hannes was off put by the obviously young Corpsmen who was not only a Lieutenant, but also wearing all black. The Corporal also noticed the massive sword on his back, that stretched nearly his entire body height. His 3DM gear wasn't the same as the other soldiers, with an almost exo-suit display where wire ran up the back of the blonde's arms.
"Have a seat Naruto. Say, I'm curious, how old are you son?" Naruto was expecting the question by the way the man had a puzzled look on his face from their introduction.
The blue eyed boy sighed, "I'm 11 and No, I didn't go through the Cadets, I was sponsored by the Survey Corps themselves." All the men looked up from their cards with a terrified look on their faces. All were bearing a small flush from the alcohol in their systems. '11 and sponsored by the Survey Corps? What the hell is going on?'
Hannes was the first knocked out of his stupor, "That's...impressive. The last to have that privilege was Captain Levi. That man is in a whole league of his own."
"Captain Levi is actually my squad leader. I'm his second in command now." Hannes was shaking his head, 'All I want, is to have a normal shift and go home, yet here I am with a child super-soldier.'
The men shared a swig of the drink as they passed it around the table after the revealing news.
Suddenly the ground shook excessively. All Four had been thrown off their seats at that sudden earthquake. Naruto looked around for the source, but felt a massive life force just outside the wall. He saw the massive impending shadow overrun his position and continue on. Every Citizen froze in their duties at seeing the huge creature grip Wall Maria.
The Titan before him was the tallest and largest abnormal he had ever seen. Steam protruded from it's nostrils and pores on it's muscled skin. Only it's head peaked over the wall, yet the wall was nearly 50 meters high! The beast had a menacing, yet focused look on its face, compared to all other Titans, this one was rid of any permanent facial expression.
The Colossal Titan had gripped the top of Wall Maria, before blasting a hole in the front gate for Titans to leak into. Rubble shot in all directions as projectiles, crushing buildings and civilians alike. As Titans ranging from all sizes roamed into the new territory, screams of horror were heard sounding throughout Shiganshina.
Titans were scooping any human they saw off the ground and devouring them whole before he moved on. Death and despair permeating in the air was horrifying the ones around him.
"Corporal Hannes! I take priority in leadership within the domain of Titan related issues!" Naruto bellowed over the scurrying crowd, "You two! Evacuate the citizens and get to safety, Hannes you're with me!" No one argued at the kid giving them orders, they were all too terrified to deny his plausibility. Their jobs were clear and Survey Corpsmen took priority over Titan related issues regardless.
Before Naruto could dart off in the nearest direction Hannes yelled, "Wait, sir! There's people I have to save first, I could use your help, please allow this one thing, sir!" Hannes gripped his blades and 3DM gear in a scared scowl. Naruto was angered by the selfishness, but let it slide in favor of his request. True colors of individuals did show when faced with Death, hopefully Hannes wasn't a spineless coward.
Naruto unsheathed the Zanbatou from his back and readied the 3DM gear for fast travel. "Let's go." Hannes nodded and followed in the shadow of his now Superior Officer.
A 7 meter titan cut the corner and shot its arm out at the black clad soldier. The ugly being had a shit-eating grin on its face, looking for it's next meal to satisfy its urges.
Naruto shot over the outstretched blood and flesh engrossed fingertips. The blonde scurried at blinding speeds up the Titans's bicep and twisted his body weight in momentum of a decapitating swing through the nape of the sexless creature.
The blade connected with the neck and severed it from the body, covering himself in a stream of blood in the process. The blonde continued on flipping and grappling. The bloody mist evaporated from his skin, still shooting his wire out towards their destination. "Hannes, how far are we out?"
"Less than a mile, we have to hurry. I can't fight the Titans like you can. I'm only a hindrance to your movements, sir!" Naruto agreed subconsciously. Once he saved whoever Hannes was aiming for, he was going to order him to retreat with the others.
This siege was a massacre, and he hated waiting around to take action even when he assessed his situation. The deaths would only continue to pile without someone holding off the advances of the creatures. Moments like these were the reason why he was here in the first place. He was the saviour and now was only the beginning.
Once everyone was out of his vicinity…he could finally let loose.
Yeager Household
After seeing the Colossal Titan kick in their front door sending boulders all across the village, Eren and Mikasa made a beeline for their house in Lower Shiganshina district. As they came across their street, both had noticed their house was reduced to splinters and broken pieces.
Eren was first to notice the irregularity at the bottom of his destroyed family home. A head of brown hair, and the tips of someone's shoulder, sticking out from underneath a part of the collapsed roof. A face stuck up harshly trying to look upon the footsteps they heard.
Eren and Mikasa stared face-to-face with their mom beneath their demolished house. "MOM! Mikasa help me lift this!" Both kids ran to opposite sides of the column and lifted with all their might. Calluses began to burst into blood under the pressure of lifting the immovable object.
Carla Yeager opened to speak, blood pooling from the sides of her mouth, "Eren, take Mikasa and go! You have to save yourselves PLEASE!"
Tears started to collect in the corner of his eyes, "NO! I won't leave you, we can do it! Again Mikasa!" Once again the duo tried with all the might of their 10 year old selves with no success, only leaving Carla in more pain.
Faint tremors were now getting closer by the second. A 12 Meter Titan with a bloodthirsty grin on its face, merely 20 meters away. It stammered swaying, never taking its gaze away from the potential meals.
Eren's mother grunted in pain, "PLEASE! I'm begging you, JUST LISTEN TO ME FOR ONCE IN YOUR LIFE!" Blood seethed between the gaps in her teeth. "MIKASA, DO IT FOR ME PLEASE, my final request. I love you both so much, more than you could ever know. BUT YOU MUST NOT DIE HERE, YOU HEAR ME EREN YEAGER!" Blood bubbles gurgled in her mouth at the strenuous motion combined with the insufferable weight on her.
The long haired Titan was now on top of them. Staring down at the children and their collapsed mother.
Frozen in shock, both couldn't get their limbs to move.
A bloodied hand reached down for Carla stuck under the rubble unable to move.
A Black flash appeared above the Titan and latched onto the crevice in its back. With a gravity defying spin, a sword came down on the massive creature and split it's head from its body through access to the nape. The beast fell to the ground collapsing sideways into the building opposite of the Yeager Family, head detached and staring into nothingness.
"Hannes! Get the kids and go for the wall! I will rally a defensive position in the middle of Shiganshina until reinforcements arrive." The black clad figure yelled at the roof adjacent to their home.
Eren and Mikasa eyes widened at the familiar figure. The voice they heard was too familiar, and one they sought to hear for so long. Countless days hunting the unattainable objective of capturing him to tell them about the Outside.
It was the Outsider and he just saved them. Standing opposite of them, a sword brought over his shoulder, ignoring their presence for more trivial matters.
'He just defeated that Titan like it was nothing.' The green eyed boy thought internally. His trance soon ended remembering the reason for the close call.
"Hannes! Help us, My mom is stuck under the rubble, hurry!" The boy screamed out to his family friend. The Outsider and the drunkard swung down from their positions and proceeded to heave the column off their mother with the added force. The stone and wood grumbled in protest at the added force budging for only a few the tight window of opportunity, Eren and Mikasa dragged Carla out before the rubble came crashing down on them.
The three hugged tightly, harnessing the moment to curt themselves of their emotions in each other's grasp. The black haired girl raised her head to meet the saviour's eyes for only a second. The sight left her with more questions raised.
The blonde was idle and staring into the group with longing in his eyes. His blonde hair swayed in the wind covering the dark half-lidded eyes. Cerulean orbs peered out from under his blonde locks, his sideburns brushing back and forth across his face.
She herself knew that face. Mikasa couldn't understand the envious nature he seemed to be emitting, he said he had nothing, but what could he really want? The black haired girl cursed herself for not being able to read him. The blonde had a great control on his emotions, yet if something broke that uncaring facade, it was exponentially more important to him than he might have realized.
The only connections she brought herself to formulate, was when she had just returned to the Yeager Household for the first time. Carla had greeted her husband and son with a warming kiss and brazen, breathtaking hug.
At that moment she had remembered what she lost, and could not help but feel saddened at yet another reminder of her days past with the family of her own.
The question stood in her head, 'What is he longing for? Are we the same?'
Just as soon as the moment happened, it was gone in the same manner, almost like it never happened in the first place at all. If she was correct on her assumption, the sky blue eyed boy was ejecting foreign emotion from his system. This mysterious soldier reminded so much of herself, yet at the same time she felt so distant from the reality of what must be tormenting his soul.
She brought herself back to her feet. Feelings aside, now wasn't the time for it, nor would it be for awhile.
The Yaeger's legs had been crushed and seemingly broken in multiple places. Currently, she was hindered in movement, and would have to be harnessed fittingly.
Now more than ever, Hannes would have to make do with carrying the mother, and having the children run besides him towards safety of the inner wall. It was the only way for both parties to complete their life threatening tasks without fault.
Splitting ways had been his strategy from the start nonetheless.
"Hannes! You need to carry the mother to the boats. I will hold the line here on my own. Tell Captain Levi when you see him...that I fulfilled my promise to him. See you on the other side." Hannes nodded reluctantly, while Naruto gave a two-finger salute.
The Garrison man grit his teeth, 'I can't even deny his request...I'm having a child fight my battles for me...'
Eren and Mikasa looked at the blonde boy shockingly. He couldn't be considering going on his own?! The green eyed Yeager blurted, "Outsider, you can't do that! There's too many, you wouldn't survive! You still have to tell us about the ocean, just come with us!"
The black clad Outsider gripped both their shoulders in anticipation, "I believe you're underestimating me. Weirdo, Mikasa-chan, see you some other time." He playfully tapped both on their foreheads gently with his index and middle fingers, his U-shaped eyelids rising in a gleeful smile.
He stood there for a few more seconds, eyes glazed over in anticipation for combat. The blonde released his hands and strolled away with Kubikiribocho over his shoulder. "Oh yeah, I forgot, I never told you my name...it's Naruto." The Black Mist grinned at their eyes widening even more.
"Hannes! Report to Survey HQ when you get to the Wall!"
The man saluted out of respect for his fellow soldier sacrificing his life for the cause, before running off with the family in tow. The older man grabbed both kid's hands dragging them along, though both never averted their gazes from the retreating form of...Naruto.
The mysterious kid, the unknown, no family or relatives, no surname. Just another soldier attending to his call of duty.
Naruto vanished into the carnage without ever looking back at the fear and awe-stricken faces.
He'd be facing hundreds of Titans...alone. 'Eh, I've had worse odds before. This should be easy.'
Market District: Shiganshina 30 minutes after Initial Attack
The blonde shot his grappler at the nearest building, launching himself at the nearest Titan. He caressed his blade in his left hand, twirling it at an appropriate angle for the counter measure strike at its nape. As soon as the blade made contact, flesh flew from its head drenching him in evaporating blood. Mist rose off his skin like an everlasting cloud surrounding his body.
'13' He motions himself for another strike from his blind spot. A slimy hand from an abnormal jumping from the roof of a bell tower looking to strike mid-air.
Before the jump, its head was already disassembled from its body, cut at the nape. '14'
The bloody mist escaped his pores as he blurred past Titans not faced in his direction. Clean cuts, and smoking flesh was all that was left behind at the Black Mist encircled in the interior of the city slaughtering everything in sight.
His chakra flooded his tenketsu points like boiling water to an enclosed lid. His senses, and physical abilities exponentialized, leaving his body to filter excess chakra outside his body in a blue-greyish void.
The creatures around him stood no chance.
Naruto vanished in black mirages, leaving behind afterimages for Titans to collapse on only to be cut down in the masses.
Bodies piled and evaporated as the Kill Count continued to rise with heads and discarded limbs being thrown into nearby buildings. Kubikiribocho sang in slashes, as chunks of flesh and blood continued to soak his figure, and spray the surrounding areas. Smoke enveloped the entire area, with zero visibility, yet the Black Mist continued to drop Titans by the half-dozen, only relying on his heightened senses and life force echolocation to slaughter.
As he was massacring the Titans in numerous waves, a large flash of blinding yellow lightning touched ground, and its place stood a 15 meter Titan with muscled armor.
The massive Titan had whitish hair and red muscles under his seemingly indestructible grey plates encompassing its body. The abnormal took a measly glance in his direction where he continued to slay in a bloody cloud of mist and decaying flash, and...ignored him.
The Armored Titan was readying itself for a maneuver of some sort. Beyond focused for a regular Titan, a sign of intelligence, like the Colossal...Its superior life force to nearby Titans was at least 10 fold, rendering it Alpha amongst them.
It took a sprinter's stance and shot off towards the inner wall kicking up and rumbling the cobblestone streets in its wake. Remaining Garrisons tried their best to stop the creature, only to be swatted or thrown away like flies.
Its purpose was clear. Its line of sight was only fixated on the impending wall in front of it.
'Finally a challenge.' Naruto smirked manically before running chakra over an invisible seal on his arm.
In the poof of smoke, sat 5 Hirashin marked Tri Pronged kunai. 'It has been awhile since I've used my Father's technique. This shall be sufficient, although marking it will be the first challenge.' With that train of thought, formulated strategies circulated in his mind.
…'I have a plan.' The blonde smirked to himself before disappearing in a superior version of Shunshin.
Naruto shot his wire in between two tall buildings and prepared himself for a neck breaking slingshot. The black clad soldier back pedaled until he felt his gear reach its outstretched limits and potential force.
He let go of the grapplers and was blasted like a cannon straight at the Armored Titan's mid back to lower neck in favor of his first marker, the nape.
The large muscled beast had not been expecting his sudden intrusion, having felt a small object jammed into its armor over its vital point. In the end, the object made a mere scratch to it's exterior.
Naruto watched as the Titan sought to pull out the kunai only to find it lodged further into it's armor, unreachable.
It ignored the projectile as irrelevant, continuing to run full blown. Time had not been on his side as the Armored Titan shoulder barged through the Garrison's back line defenses and the Inner Wall sending rubble and bodies flying in all directions.
This was the part he was afraid of.
He didn't want to reveal his powers. But of anything, they'd see his usual abilities just in a faster motion. He could win a small victory over a rather large loss as a whole.
At feeling the pull of the fuinjutsu tag, the blonde teleported to its position. He found himself crouched in the same position. Immediately, the blonde was met with a giant muscled hand swiping furiously at the black masked boy. Naruto blurred to the vital strike points on the armored body.
His plan was rather simple, 5 Hirashin tags placements on immobilizing points of the body before he could move for the execution.
2 on the achilles heel, leaving the beast legless. Followed by 2 tags on the deltoid of both arms. Precise wind infused strikes were needed to level the bone, like a buzzsaw.
This is where Kubikiribocho came into play.
With the wind infused Zanbatou, all swipes would split the armor and provide clean swipes for rendering the limbs on its body useless. He'd lose the strength of full strikes with the limited amount of time he'd have between teleportation recharges. Yet the speed would make him untouchable, even if the Titan picked up on the pattern of his motions.
The Armored creature raised its first to strike at him in the midst of his sideflip. Intangible speed and battle prowess met the whiffs of desperate swings.
Naruto ran up the blindly swung arm at invisible speeds ripping the Three Pronged kunai from his pocket before stomping it into the deltoid armor. Out of his peripheral vision the opposite arm closed rapidly. The Corpsman vanished with the feeling of wind rushing towards him, smirking at yet another successful placement.
Sitting attached to the nape he saw the destruction the Titan did to itself, cracking its own armor in favor of squashing him where he stood. He's theory had been correct. The armor WAS breakable with the right amount of force applied.
'Now for the other three.' Naruto slashed at the nape with his blade before vanishing once again in a black stream. Not a second later, enlarged fingers of the Titan scratched at the damaged armor on its neck, roaring in rage.
Below on the Boat Docks
Eren and Mikasa ran alongside Hannes, getting them space on the next shuttle boat out of the city. As instructed by Naruto, the Garrison Engineer ran off for HQ of the Survey Corp. Amongst the pandemonium, the brown haired boy motioned for his adoptive sister to help grab their mother and get her onto the ship safely.
As they carried her haphazardly onto the ship, they spotted Armin with his Grandfather at the back end of the ship, leaning against the wooden cabin.
"Eren! Mikasa! Over here! What Happened?!" The blonde mop head waved at the duo. He looked horrified and relieved to see his friends at the same time. After the initial wall breach, he had gone looking for help and his Grandfather, while the other went looking for their mother. They all had been petrified at Wall Maria being broken down after 100 years. Now after being out of harm's reach felt a tad bit better, even as they knew the Titans continued to ravage their home.
"She got trapped under rubble. She's unconscious for now, but we need to get her to a hospital as soon as we reach Trost." Armin nodded his head in agreement and relief of her being relatively alright.
As Eren and Mikasa went to converge with Armin, another massive Titan different from the others broke through the wall. This...Armored Titan was broad and fitted with a grey like plate armor. It had white hair and blazing orange beams for eyes, spewing danger in waves.
As soon as the beast broke through the wall, it began to swipe at a figure dressed in black cracking the armor with large powerful swipes on its armor. The person was moving so fast, to everyone below it was just a black flash, sometimes he could be seen stabbing something into the deciphering muscles of the Titans exosuit for mere seconds before disappearing once more.
Whoever the person was, the soldier had been invisible to the naked eye of the civilian population.
Armin had conjured a strategy in his head to catch a glimpse of the Black Flash fighting and brutalizing the Armored Titan from impossible angles. In his close examination, the person stops for half-seconds on the 3 immobilization points of the Titans body, that being the shoulders, achilles, and the nape being the most important one of all. Following the trail would be unhelpful to get a clear shot of the soldier combating by his lonesome. Therefore, focusing on a single point would give him a longer window to view the soldier.
The blonde mop head stared at the left shoulder waiting for his chance. Suddenly out of thin air, the blonde figure appeared briefly dressed in black, slashing diagonally across his body while twirling in a barreled motion. A large sword connected with the armor sending shards in successive motions.
The unusually large sword, the all black battle attire...he had seen it somewhere before...
Everyone around him starred in a stupor at the enormous Titan being beaten to one knee by a single person. It twisted and turned driving slaps and punches into itself, only further damaging its body armor. The second time appearing in the position Armin focused on other features.
Gold locks drifted with the drastic movements of wind resistance and rapid pace of speed. The head of hair looked almost unnaturally different from anything he'd seen before. There was only one person with that style of hair…
...Armin's heart dropped into stomach at the possibility...
"Guys. I think I know who that is." With the accusation Mikasa and Eren turned their heads to their friend who acted like he had seen a ghost. His blue eyes shook in recognition and fear of the unknown. "I focused on one point waiting for him to appear in that miniscule amount of time. I barely caught a view of the soldier, but they had been wearing all black and a head of unruly blonde hair, while thrusting a large blade around like a feather."
Mikasa and Eren looked at each, eyes wide as saucers. "No way...Armin…you can't be saying that's…," All three looked back at the sound of another knee hitting the ground. The Titan was screeching in misery, swiping chaotically trying to get the nuisance off its retreating form.
"It's Naruto...he's alive." Mikasa said with an ever faint smile on her lips. The blonde mophead glanced in the black haired girl's direction, "Naruto? How do you know the Outsider's name?" He asked in reverence.
Eren took his chance to speak seeing Mikasa in a trance of amazement, "He helped us save our mom, and then went to the front line to hold off the Titans on his own. We thought he'd be dead. We had been surrounded by hundreds, but if that truly is him then, how is he so...Amazing!"
The green eyed boy returned to the battle at hand, eyes reflecting Mikasa's own staring off in admiration and unbelievability. The girl clasped onto every moment wishing for his survival.
Back in the Battle
Naruto continued to swipe at the Armored Titan. Now was his time, the battle was totally one-sided and the Titan had been immobilized. Without the usage of its limbs there was no way it was going to survive his final onslaught of the nape. He used his gear to shoot himself up into the air to gain leverage of the neck.
At the peak he gained the necessary chakra to deliver a move meant for the decisive blow. Slaughtering the Titan just like the rest of its kind, ridding the filth from this plane.
He raised his blade with both hands, "I win," he whispered. "SHINRA TENSEI!" Naruto screamed out. With Kubikiribocho, and the application of gravitized chakra, he drove his sword downward at the bare nape, only to hit nothing but air.
'It disappeared! Impossible!' With nothing to latch himself onto, the blonde plummeted down to Earth.
'This is going to hurt badly. Fuck Me!'
Back on the Ship
The three Shiganshina friends watched in horror as the Titan had disappeared before the final blow. They stood witness to Naruto unable to right himself in the air, free-falling to his death. The friends held back breaths as he came closer to the ground, feeling the hopelessness drench the already terrified atmosphere.
With his fall, an explosive wave met the ground, with Humanity's hero in the middle of the destruction. The blonde sent up massive heaves of smoke and loose rock in collision with the Earth.
His figure laid motionless in the crater of his own making, body engraved into the gravel.
Eren ran over to the side of the ship and gripped it in rage. They couldn't catch a break. Titans won and everyone laid around while they let the foul creatures dominate their race, while Naruto fought alone!
That wasn't his way of life, that's not what he wanted for his family. He asked himself in anger, 'Why does everyone act like nothing can be done. They saw him fight! So why does everyone continue to be cowards after seeing the potential in Humanity's efforts? He threw his life away to protect us all, and everyone else just sits back and lets him fight the battle on his own!'
"I'm gonna kill them all, every last one!" He spat in between breaths, darkness protruding from his eyelids in a psychotic manner.
Titans had ruled the top of the food chain for too long.
He'd join the Survey Corps as soon as he'd be able to, so he could slaughter 15 meter Titans just like the blonde hero who laid down his life for them.
Mikasa looked upon Eren seeping with rage. She too was distressed, yet she never outwardly showed it. She'd cried too many tears for a lifetime, but couldn't help but let one stray tear fall down her pale cheek. They weren't close with Naruto, or remotely knew anything about him.
But, listening to him say they would see him again felt so sincere.
Yet, she couldn't help the pit of helplessness wash over her as she watched him fall to the ground, replaying viciously in her head. Was that how this cruel world reacted to signs of selflessness and sacrifice? To let heroes die, because that is the order of nature? It was infuriating, and terribly sad at the same time. Humanity would sit on its heels once again without someone like him.
Life was cruel. She had been alive long enough to see it with her own eyes. Were they always destined to a life of pain and futility? Was that their role in the brand-scheme of time?
Watching a kid who was only a year older than them lay down his life for the sake of Humanity, who never gave him anything in return. An Outsider dying for them, so they could live their prude way of life giving into the elements. Mikasa promised herself looking at the sight of his fall, 'I promise, your death will not have been in vain. Thank you...Naruto.'
All three took one last glance at the downed figure before entering Trost and getting further and further away from his body. It was a cruel world indeed.
At the Site of Collison
Garrison members stood over the heavy breathing body in shock and terror. The blonde, black clad figure had survived the 15 meter fall to the ground and was getting up on his feet!
"Son of A Bitch! That Fucking Hurt!" Naruto was keeled over trying to regain the breath knocked out of him. Miniscule amounts of blood escaped his mouth before straightening himself out with a smile on his face.
His body was riddled in cuts and gashes everywhere along his body. The black mask he wore was in threaded pieces, hanging loosely off his face. Blonde hair was matted and threaded with blood red streaks. Kubikiribocho stood strong at his side, showcasing a few dull marks and the occasional drop of blood.
He noticed the surrounding troops approaching him with restriction.
"Could you stop looking at me and get me a Commanding Officer, there's something they need to know." Troops in earshot ran around calling for medics, and scurrying for a Section Commander on site. It was all so unruly for one person...how befitting of the Garrison Regim.
Naruto was sure of himself in what he saw and felt inside the Titan. There was someone controlling the Titan, and he could feel the ominous Life Force of intellectual decision making that would only translate to a Human's fanatcial function of synapses.
That combination of spiritual balance and barely retained stench of power. That feeling was unmistakable…it was exactly the same as him...
And one thing was for certain. Whoever had attacked the...was going to come back for more.
