The land around him seemed like nothing he had ever seen before. It all just looked and felt so foreign. Even in the beginning of his small life, Shinji was seeing things he didn't even know were possible. Was it crazy for a child to marvel at the white substance that coated the grass and trees around him? He was so used to seeing just the hot sun of Japan that he never thought to wonder about what else in life was possible.
While he was gazing at the world around him, Shinji felt a harsh tug at the palm of his hand. Suddenly, he remembered where they were. Tears were forming from his eyes, whether they came from the cold air around him or what he knew was about to happen he couldn't tell anymore. It felt like he had been crying a lot the last couple of months for every little thing so he wasn't able to tell the true cause anymore.
The boy felt his father Gendo drag him to the meeting point to see his aunt and uncle. He was too tired from the plane to even notice if he was moving or not, never mind where their destination was. Finally, after a long while of walking and crying, Shinji and his dad arrived to meet with his extended family members.
"Hello, Gendo! It's been a while hasn't it."
The child looked up to see the person who was speaking to his dad and saw a woman with big choppy hair and a tall and cut man sporting wavy blonde hair standing right next to her.
Gendo was having a hard time keeping himself composed. "It really has Shisu, thank you and Samuel for agreeing to take my boy. I have found that I am currently…. Unfit to take care of Shinji, that was always Yui's expertise."
The seemingly cheery woman immediately had a small frown sweep over her face. Gendo's sister was still not entirely happy about his brother's proposal but alas, she had agreed to it and there was no turning back anymore "I know things are hard for you right now, and losing her must be devastating, but I'm assuming this is the last time you'll be seeing your son since you're already here."
Gendo nodded and responded with a lack of emotion that had become his new normal since his wife's absence. "Yes, It has been a challenge but I still thank you for agreeing to take care of him for me. I know taking care of a child is no easy task. Remember, I will be sending you funds at the end of each month from now on through Kredit as we agreed."
The father turned back to his son and prepared to say his final goodbyes to his son
"Shinji, this is goodbye, for now, please be good for your aunt Shisu and uncle Samuel. We will see each other again someday."
Shinji was shocked to find out that his dreadful assumptions had come true, his father was leaving him. After mom was gone, Shinji didn't have anyone left to care for him. Father was too busy drinking solemnly in their apartment and staying in the lab doing god knows what to even give him the time of day.
Still, he just didn't want his father gone. His dad was all he had left now, wasn't he?
The boy couldn't take what was happening and spoke up whilst grabbing his hand "Dad please Don't go! I promise I'll be good just don't leave me Please! I need you, dad, don't go! Don't forget me please!"
Gendo yanked his hand out of his son's grasp and bit back any sadness that he was hiding and responded to his son not with hate, but with cold indifference. "No…. Shinji, stop being so selfish. Just stay here and be a good boy for your aunt and uncle like I said."
Shinji's father then walked off through the snow in his black winter outfit and didn't spare Shinji even a side glance or a look back at him. He just kept moving forward and said one small set of words that Shinji was able to pick up while others couldn't "stop being such a brat."
He stood there frozen in place just trying to utter a response, but couldn't muster any words as he watched his father walk away for all he could know to be forever. Shinji felt like throwing up but his body wouldn't think nor move until a calming voice
"Hello Shinji, we've never formally met yet have we?" spoke the sweet and gentle woman known as his aunt. Such a calming voice, just like a mother.
Shinji didn't know what to say. "I guess so." is all he could bring himself to say at that moment.
Unexpectedly, the man known as Samuel spoke out to him. "Well come along now, we need to get back to the camp. Everyone is gonna be on my ass if we're gone for too long."
Shisu popped up, holding her nephew's hand. "Coming honey"
Samuel watched his wife and nephew start to follow him and then walk by the side of his lover. He didn't spare Shinji much attention really, but he guessed he shouldn't be surprised if he was already being someone's burden.
Samuel didn't speak to Shinji on the way home that much, only a couple of things here and there but he never made conversation. He also never said a word to his father, why did he not say anything to his brother-in-law?
Upon a mountain top In the french countryside, two people stood across from one another and stared each other down.
The first one was a tall and handsome white-haired man with locks of hair flowing as the breeze drifted through them. Something about this mysterious man was both majestic and stoic but unsettling nonetheless. All the man did was look the child of which he wanted straight in the eye like a bird eyeing its prey, or maybe a person looking at a possible comrade. This man, akin to his hawk-like eyes, was named Griffith
The second was a smaller but well-built kid with the face of someone who had been through many trials and tribulations. There were numerous scars around the edges of his body from a battle he was still recuperating from. On his face, the warrior and sometimes thief named Shinji Ikari held a mask full of different thoughts and feelings from what the man in front of him just proposed.
Griffith was starting to grow impatient at the frozen boy. "Hello? Were you able to hear me? Perhaps I was too quiet, I should speak up, shouldn't I. I want you to join me Shinji! Did you catch that!?"
Shinji quickly tried to shake the shock and awe away from his body but with both a nervous and angry expression, Shinji fired back. "I heard you all right! Who the hell do you think you are?! What the hell makes you think I'll join your gang just like that! You're not my friend! Hell, you stabbed me earlier! So why!?
Griffith was taken aback by his outburst but knew that something like this might happen. "I had a feeling you might say something like that but seriously, I'm sorry for the scuffle you and my men got into and how it went down. But please take a moment and consider my offer."
Shinji may have been confused, pissed, and acting arrogantly, but even he needed an actual explanation for what he just asked. "B-but Why?!"
"Because I saw how you fought that great beast Bazuso and you were simply amazing. Reckless and idiotic sure but you truly have spirit. Speaking of recklessness, did you know how close to a grave you were out there?"
The older one then stomped forward towards the younger one while continuing his response. "If his axe didn't shatter against your helmet.." Griffith proceeded to place a hand on Shinji's shoulder, much to his half-hidden display of distaste. "You would've been dead where you stood."
Even while talking about such morbid topics, the older man never wavered with his smile. That smile was like that of an eager child that was eyeing his favorite toy instead of a fierce one that of a hawk.
"Yeah, I probably should be rotting like a corpse right around now". Shinji said back as he carefully lifted Griffith's hand off of him and backed a couple of steps away before stopping and composing himself.
Even Shinji's uncomfortable look wouldn't stop Griffith in his tracks from getting what he wanted. "Although…. It seems you value fighting and receiving your rewards more than your own life. What amazes me is how someone so young could fight so steadfast and bravely as you did against such a foe that should've easily clobbered you into the stone beneath your feet."
Shinji didn't know what to say, he was never used to someone talking about him so earnestly. Most people who came to sing his praises only wanted to exploit him for child labor and the ones that would ridicule him didn't even get attention because he didn't care as he had more important topics to worry about.
Griffith turned his body and gazed upon the valleys and dirt roads below him as well as the beautiful blue sky and blazing sun that were above his view as well.
"You are certainly brave but I believe you purposefully put your life in danger in order to find a reason to carry on day by day by fighting to preserve it. Yet even though you might not find your reason every day and may forever be looking for it until it's far too late, You always live to see the morning light even if sometimes you don't want to."
The child was growing in shock and paranoia with each word Griffith said. How was he able to say such things about him if he's never even met him. It was as if the man was staring right through his soul and saw his entire life without even talking to him.
Griffith was still going, much to Shinji's confusion. "You, my boy, are fascinating. I find you much to my liking. I want you to join me, Shinji."
The young boy was still much in his indecision over this whole situation. 'Why is he telling me all this? Is he just trying to trick me or is he actually being serious about all this?' Shinji was starting to get angrier by the second from the man's Possessive yet carefree attitude. "What if I say no huh!"
Griffith looked at him a bit sad and questioningly "You don't want to?"
That dumb expression only rilled up the boy even more "Of course not! I refuse to join someone I don't even know! You got that!" Shinji couldn't keep his frustration for long as his injuries were coming back to bite him at the moment. He felt a large pang of pain stemming from his stomach and crouched down covering himself with a look of quiet agony on his face.
Even in his pain, his resentment prevailed. "Don't speak to me as if you know so much about my life! What do you know about me?! You've never even talked to me or seen me before and I'm just supposed to blindly trust you! Leave me alone!
Griffith stared back at his rageful gaze with the same carelessness as earlier "You're right I don't know anything about you. But just watching you gives me that feeling about you."
Shinji staggered up to face him head-on with just as much hate as before, maybe even more so. "You crazy creep! You're talking to me as if we're childhood friends after you just stabbed me!... You started the fight yet you're acting as nothing happened at all! Well, I'm not so easily forgetful about things like this and I know you won't forget about what I did either."
He saw that Griffith had a slight frown as he said that and took the opportunity to further strike at the nerves he was poking. A devious grin found its place on Shinji's lips. "I took the lives of two of your men, remember?" He was expecting hard feelings to come from his enemy but was surprised when there was none in their words.
"What is it that you want?"
"Huh? Oh, I think I know what I want…" Shinji quickly brought out his daggers and assembled into a fighting position which was still a bit difficult for him. "I want to get out of here but before I do, I'm gonna settle this by knocking your ego down a peg or two. You won't be so full of yourself when I leave, you got that!"
Griffith looked as if he was about to break out in laughter with how big of a smile he had. "What if I win?"
Shinji didn't care about the outcome of the fight, he just really wanted to leave and was starting to second guess himself as he didn't usually drag things out this long. "You can do whatever you want with me I guess!" The older man simply gave a nob and said "As you wish." while drawing his rapier.
"I personally enjoy resolving things with swords and violence however barbaric you may think it to be."
Suddenly, a woman younger than Griffith but older than Shinji with fair brown skin and a battle uniform came out of her hiding spot from which she had been listening to the entire exchange between the two of them."Griffith!"
The commander didn't want her getting in the middle of the fight and ruining it for him so he kindly asked her to "stand down Caska, no matter what I will have what I want."
The boy could no longer keep his composure or hold his patience and ran at Griffith with his knives in hand screaming "Shut up already! You're annoying the crap out of me!" In one fluid motion between the two fighters, their weapons held each other off as they grappled with each other.
As they fought, Griffith kept a confident grin while Shinji was struggling to get a hit on him. It seemed no matter what angle he came from or how hard he struck he couldn't do anything. The commander saw that his opponent was getting frustrated and decided to take full advantage of that by attacking a precise area left unguarded which in turn, left Shinji with open bloody cuts on his arms.
The child had a hard time taking the pain from his enemy's attack and fell on his butt to the ground. Shinji got back up while still being amazed yet scared about how good the hawk's leader was. 'Dammit he's avoiding my every move, and how the hell is he able to block all of my attacks with just one narrow blade? What is this feeling? Fear?'
Griffith was confident in his abilities but did not want to completely harm Shinji so he decided to pop another proposal. "We could always suspend this duel until you've fully recovered, you know? Would you like that young man?" But without missing a beat, Shinji charged at him again.
Once again, the two of them were in an unending loop of hitting their blades against each other with no real contender having the upper hand. Even in this never concluding battle, Shinji was starting to grow more and more frustrated with himself. 'I need to be faster than him! I'm not sure if I can match his strength but I can at least exceed his speed!'
The boy would usually feel like his opponent was knocking him all around but this time it seemed as if he was doing that part all by himself while trying to make contact with the older man's body.
No matter how fast or however hard he attacked he couldn't land a direct hit on the man. After about what seemed like an excruciating hour that only lasted five minutes, Shinji finally managed to land a hit on the left side of Griffith's abdomen.
Even in that split second, he quietly celebrated his very small victory over Griffith. But that moment of brief happiness left Shinji wide open which led the commander to take advantage of his lack of concentration by grabbing his arms, knocking his weapons to the side, and forcibly bringing him to the ground with one mighty knee strike.
The younger one was so disoriented from the strike that he didn't even realize that he was being brought to the ground. When Shinji finally came to his senses, he found himself on his chest with Griffith's foot crushing his back and his hands pulling his arms.
"Have you had enough yet? Are you ready to surrender to me?"
With no answer at all the pinned boy used his legs to topple him over and sent them both rolling down the mountain
Even over the yells of the men tumbling down, one mighty shout from the nearby lady Caska, gathered the attention of all her comrades.
"GRIFFITH! Everybody get your asses over here NOW!"
Alongside the brawl, Griffith's men were down in the camp waiting for whatever news Griffith would come reigning down on them with about the boy and make it everyone's problem. Not that many besides a certain fellow would care. A small group of them gathered around a cooking fire just relaxing and enjoying each other's company.
"Uhhh… Got any fives?" said Judeau to the rest of the crew around him.
The tallest of the bunch, Pippin, glanced over at his friend and gave a simple answer, "No, go fish".
Corkus couldn't believe what he was seeing at that moment and simply was not having any of it. "What the actual hell, are you guys seriously playing Go Fish. This cannot be real." The youngest boy Rickert gave him an annoyed glance "So what if we are? You got a problem with that buddy?"
Corkus didn't even dignify the child's words with a direct response, after all, Go Fish is a child's game. "Okay, Ricket I get since he's a kid but even you Judeau? God you people are something else." Judeau and the kid were starting to get very annoyed with their comrade but carried on nonetheless.
Before Corkus could ramble on any longer he was interrupted by Rickert. "Hey, Samson got any threes?" Samson peeped up from his cards feeling like he might pass out from the heat of the scorching sun. "No, I don't believe I do pa- oh wait never mind here you are." Rickert was happy to finally be getting somewhere in the game. "Aw sweet, nice!"
The brash man still wouldn't let up with his, by now, overdone criticism. "Can't you guys be normal for once and just fucking play poker as normal people would!? This is actually the weirdest shit you guys have done."
Samson quickly spoke up delighted to stir up the opposing attitude Corkus was known for but at the same time just wanted to play a simple card game, even if it was for kids. "Hey man, sometimes you just need to liven up a bit, no? And I mean calm down man it's just a kids card game nothing wrong with some innocent fun am I right?
Judeau picked up right where his friend left off. "You should probably listen to him Corkus, you need to learn to relax a little. Also, how is this the weirdest thing we've ever done? This is just a card game and didn't you just last week try to pay a prostitute with Monopoly money?"
There was quiet giggling going all around the fire they were sitting at while Corkus could feel his body glow with embarrassment "So what I was short on funds so shut up you little-"
He was quick;y cut off with a resounding shout from the mountain that Griffith was seen to be walking to earlier.
"GRIFFITH! Everybody get your asses over here NOW!"
The gang didn't have to say a word to know that something awful was happening that needed their attention and all set off along with other men going to see the commotion.
Back on the hillside, two men could be seen tumbling down the mountain. As the smaller one was able to break free of his aggressor's hold, he could fight back a lot more now. They bombarded each other with punch after punch like they were two feral cats fighting over territory.
Even when they both staggered up to face each other, they kept on their assaults no matter the pain they felt. Adrenaline was pouring through the veins of both fighters. Shinji was about to end it all with a punch straight to the jaw but was duped by his own earlier maneuver. Quickly and precisely, Griffith used his legs to sweep Shinji to the ground and once again held him still.
"Now I'll say this once more…, surrender to me …. and give …. Up."
Moments passed neither said a word, all you could hear was the wind blowing through the valley and the voices of soldiers moving towards the fight. His men had been watching from afar while moving on their way and were shocked to see a child put up a fight against their Griffith.
Shortly after his men gathered around, The commander somberly said "okay fine, let's have it your way you stubborn brat."
The people all around were able to hear the one disjointing sound, the reverb of one loud crack. Shinji suddenly couldn't move his right arm, all he felt was searing pain. He screamed in horrible agony from the torment he was inflicted with.
Upon seeing their leader's victory, Griffith's soldiers all cheered. "That'll teach em' great work commander!" said Corkus.
He then leaned over to the boy who was just trying to get after having his whole shoulder displaced. "Hey, Champ how does it feel to get your ass whooped huh?"
Before Corkus could let out any more insults, his commanding officer held up Shinji's face and stared directly into his eyes. The broken-down boy just stared back in awe."Now.. you belong to me, understand?"
A boy around Shinji's age spoke up excitedly "Do you really mean it!"
Griffith turned to face all of his men to deliver the results of the battle. "From now on he's a member of the hawks!" This created rounds of cheers from his men, all excited to have a young but promising soldier in their group. All except for a surprised Corkus and a puzzled Caska watching the event away from the group.
The right-hand woman of the hawks was confused, to say the least. 'This is strange, Griffith has never been so interested or caught up on someone we just happened to find along our way. He's never so complimentary, not to anyone.' As Griffith put the boy's shoulder back into place and had his men carry him back to base, Caska walked back to the campground all by her lonesome.
It was dark all around France. You could hear the cicadas crying and the grasshoppers chirping all while fireflies lit up the night's sky. In a tent on the edges of the band of the hawk's campgrounds, Shinji lay awake contemplating what was happening to him as well as the day's events.
His head was a frenzy of different thoughts. 'I should've died out there, I'm weak, aren't I. Where exactly am I? I know I'm at their base but where? That man was able to get me off guard so easily, I can't slip up like this again! If I slip up, I die and that's it. He snapped my arm like messing around with a doll's body. Damnit! Who is this guy!'
He decided he couldn't stay there any longer, he needed to get up and get some fresh air. Shinji tottered himself up, yet again moving like a stale figure with his body wrapped in bandages. Once he got to his feet he grabbed his knives, which were retrieved for him, and left his tent.
Outside, there wasn't much to look at. In complete opposition, the state that had earlier been crowded around with men sharing loud laughter and conversation was now completely silent all but the sound of ashes cracking around in a still-burning campfire nearby.
Shinji was attracted to this fire just like a moth and sat down on one of the wooden benches that had been placed there hoping to find solace of any kind. His train of thought was abrupt by the person sitting across from him. 'Uhh hello, kid? You with me?"
He quickly recomposed himself. "Yeah yeah I'm here. And you are?"
The figure starred at him for a moment before continuing. "The name is Samson buddy nice to meet your acquaintance. Hey, shouldn't kids be off to bed at this time? I mean, Rickert went out cold as soon as we all got back to the camp from the big commotion that you started earlier."
In his mind, Shinji scoffed at that last part. He was still embarrassed from talking big and then losing but he just answered back as calmly as he could. "I know, I got one hell of ass beating for being such a dumbass and now you're just gonna make fun of me is that it?"
Samson couldn't help but laugh. "Pfft… You seriously just automatically assume the worse huh kid? Anyway, I was actually gonna say that was pretty brave of you to just challenge him like that. No one ever does that because it's so obvious they'd lose. Don't have a reason to do so at all anyway."
Shinji couldn't hide his frustration in his words. "Brave or not it was still stupid. I could've died back there, hell I should've! I acted too recklessly it was so stupid! It would've been so easy for him to just leave me to die, but now I'm here at some army camp filled with a bunch of people who probably want to kill me!"
The fire started to shine brightly around Samson, Shinji was able to get a better look at the man he was talking to. He was a tall skinny black-skinned man wearing a brown fur and leather jacket, and some loose-fitting jeans. His hair looked to be cut short with short dreads going down the sides of his head. He also had what seemed to be a finely trimmed beard. Something looked off with his left leg.
"you're overthinking it with the 'everybody hates me' thing, didn't you hear the cheers, or were you passed out by then? I guess it doesn't matter." Said Samson.
He paused before continuing
"For what it's worth, you have been reckless and pretty idiotic but you still fought with all your might and valiantly at that. You're young, you still have a lot of room to grow. Sure some people may not like you around here but most are pretty excited to have someone with enough strength to fight Griffith helping out."
Shinji spoke up.
"I know I sound pretty paranoid but can you really blame me? Here I am at a campfire after being knocked out cold."
Samson leaned in. "Can't exactly blame you there but believe me, if you can't rely on others in an army then you might as well be dead. Even though we've just met, try putting some faith into those adoring you, including me."
The boy leaned in as well. "Why exactly should I trust you?"
Samson looked down to fire like he was examining every aspect of the sticks and flames. "You don't, but everyone needs to rely on someone even if they don't want to."
Shinji went back to his small state of relaxation. "I'll think about it."
The man stood up and looked down at the boy before turning around to head off. "Well I'm gonna hit the hay, but be ready for tomorrow."
The younger one was confused by this statement. "Any particular reason why?"
Without looking back at him, Samson said "We have a raid tomorrow. Be prepared."
Shinji said nothing back, he just went back to his tent in silence.
The next day time came and went like a flash for Shinji. He had been able to rest up beforehand so he regained a good amount of his strength back. He stayed in his tent, prepping himself for the oncoming battle. 'I have to be strong. I can't be so idiotic like I was yesterday.'
The tent flaps opened, it was Samson. "Hey, you ready? They're about to leave."
Shinji turned to look at the man. "Yes just give me a second." after the confirmation, Samson closed the tent and went back to his tent.
The child picked up a nearby bottle of water and chugged it until he gulped down every last drop. A minute later, he was ready. "Shit. Ok, let's do this." He ran out of his small home and moved towards where the soldiers had been gathering.
In the dead of the night, hundreds of soldiers passed through the valleys and stood at a very safe and long position, away from an old withered castle. The castle looked to be a bit dilapidated but was being occupied by a large group of people. The Commander of the soldiers spoke up.
"On the hill over there, our opponents have their headquarters manned by approximately two thousand soldiers. Our mission tonight is to burn provisions, ammunition, and any other type of supplies stored behind the hill. Theoretically, The restorationists will mask their guards in front of the hill in case of a night attack."
All of his men awaited patiently and keenly at his next words.
"Our strategy will be to march through the river and attempt a surprise attack from behind. Once we're there, we will pick the shortest distance back to the castle's gate and run through the middle of their forces in one single dash. Sound good everyone?!"
All of Griffith's men gave a loud but also soft "Yes Sir!". They all went on either horseback or just plain foot. Normally they would bring along VLRA's and other vehicles but this surprise attack called for a quieter and simple approach. The plan sta perfectly with everyone except for one smaller soldier. 'The middle? Isn't that a bit too risky?'
A nervous trooper spoke up to his leader. "Are there any reinforcements coming to aid us?"
Without a moment's notice, The leader answered back. "None, the minutemen hired us because they couldn't afford to lose any more resources".
Yet another soldier exclaimed a message loudly, "For people who are proclaimed the 'good guys' they sure are a bunch of cowards!" This caused an uproar of laughter throughout the comrades.
Griffith broke up the howling with his tone of voice that felt like a shard of glass. "Tonight's rearguard will be Shinji if you choose to accept."
Hundreds of soldiers all with faces of surprise were left bewildered by their leader's offer, even Shinji himself was aghast. The commander spoke up, "Your job will be to help all you fellow soldiers escape while holding off hundreds of enemies on our way back through the woods. Can you manage it?"
Shinji kept himself with a calm stoneface while answering, "Well is that an order?"
Griffith looked back through the crowd and pierced Shinji's sight with his eyes. "Oh, it most certainly is."
Murmurs of skepticism passed through the group.
"Is Griffith trying to test him?"
"Poor guy."
"Maybe he'll just sneak off."
"I seriously doubt that kid will make it through in one piece."
Caska had different thoughts about the predicament than her comrades around her. 'No, Griffith wouldn't give such a crucial position to some new guy just as a test. H-he truly believes in him.'
The gale was blowing loud that night, loud enough to mask the movement of the hawks marching chest-deep in the flowing river.
Shinji was deep in thought and was moving through the water on autopilot. 'Our strategy, our cover, our escape, everything! Everything has been thought out to perfection. We're attacking them from their weak spot when they'd least expect it, We're hidden by the harsh winds, and our escape will be foolproof as long as I don't mess it up like a clutz. Even the sounds of our clanking uniforms are covered! He's run things over in his head like a computer.'
As the troops kept on marching their scout Judeau stopped them in their tracks when he saw a guard getting water from the stream. He silently took out a small throwing knife and hurled it at the man's head, killing him instantly.
They soon arrived at the fortress's back area through the woods. One shivering guard was sitting there, not yet able to pick them out from the darkness. At once, all of their torches were lit and ready for the oncoming attack.
The guard was blinded by the lights at first but soon came to his senses. "Raid! We're being attacked! Help! Get the calva-!" He was cut short by a suppressed gunshot.
The hawks very quickly broke through the now unguarded gates and rampaged through the base. "Everyone! Don't let a single tent be untouched! Quickly now!" shouted Griffith. Hundreds of torches and grenades were thrown throughout the castle grounds, as per their leader's words nothing was spared from their blazing attack.
The restorationists didn't even have a second to understand what exactly was happening all they saw was everything turning to fire and smoke. Soon many started shouting "RAID! Everyone evacuate!" The alerts did not help, many were slaughtered many different ways.
Men all around the camp were burned alive inside their tents, some still sleeping. Others who managed to escape their flaming rooms were trampled and sliced open by swords or knives. The lucky ones were the small amount who managed to escape or were simply shot to death and had their end be swift and less painful than others.
The people who did survive quickly got on horses as the cars exploded once the flames reached their oil tanks.
The hawks rapidly left the castle grounds and rode down the hill still faring off the survivors and the guards on the outside. Griffith screamed to his men "Move it! Double file! Have no bullet or arrow graze you!"
The restorationist's general shouted out to all of his available men. "High cavalry! Join the chase at our front lines! None of them are to be left alive or sparred do you hear me!" And soon enough, The enemies giving chase grew in size. Though they grew, they were still small and on the hawk's tail.
Shinji stayed true to his word and stayed at the rear without leaving once. Even with all that was happening, he was still alone with his thoughts. 'I've never been a part of such an efficient raid!'
The high cavalry soon caught up with him. 'And now it's time for me to chip in some.'
The opponents on horseback shot at him with hunting rifles and crossbows. Nothing touched the rear guard since it was hard to see in the dark woods. Those who got close to him with swords tried to knock him off. Shinji had a hard time getting them off of him but was saved by arrow fire coming from the other boy around his age. "You owe me one Shinji!"
A restorationist on horseback came out of the wood dropping a surprise attack on Rickert. He was out of arrows and couldn't defend himself as the soldier tried to end his life. Shinji sped up enough to catch up and planted a knife through the back of the soldier's head, which dropped him to the ground almost straight away.
Rickert gave a sigh of relief. "Nevermind then! Guess we're equal!" This caused Shinji also laugh a bit but quickly reminded himself not to lose focus. "Get out of here!" He screamed.
Rickert gave a startled "Yes!" and galloped to the rest of the group leaving Shinji to the rest of the attackers.
The Hawks were able to make it to their campgrounds safe and sound. Once there, Griffith dismounted his horse to talk to their employers whilst the men who stayed behind rousted in cheers.
The Minutemen leader who hired them went up to the mercenaries leader and told him "Great work Griffith, this will surely halt their efforts for a month or two." Griffith bowed to each of them but exclaimed that "Sorry, the battle is not yet over excuse me for a moment."
Griffith strode over to Judeau in hopes of great results. "What are our losses?" Judeau happily shared to him that they were "Nothing serious at all sir! It's all thanks to Shinji! He's still back there handling our attackers by himself. That boy sure is something huh."
Their conversation was interrupted by the fast clip-clop of a horse. Rickert arrived at the scene but just by himself. Judeau was confused by this. "Where's Shinji?!" With staggering breath within him, Rickert answered back. "He sent me back without him."
They all looked back at the gloomy forest just hoping that he would be okay.
Griffith once more called out to his men, "Everyone who is still able for battle! Join me now!" and left to retrieve what was his.
on the stony dirt path in the forest route back to the base, Shinji was still fighting off the rest of the restorationists with no help.
He ducked through trees and lept over stumps in the way just hoping he'd have enough speed to outrun them. The attackers never let up on him, arrows still went whizzing by and riders near him swiped at his sides with swords. Shinji getting knocked around by his assailants, but it all came to a stop once his horse was shot in the leg.
"NO!, dammit!"
He fell to the ground without any grace, just one loud thud along with the wailing of his animal.
The body of the horse tripped over the swordsmen near him and he was able to end them with multiple stabs to the body. Once the marksmen started getting closer, Shinji could feel his life in danger.
Before he could fight back against his long-ranged enemies, gunshots were heard and multiple aggressors dropped to the earth like lifeless dolls. Shinji turned and saw his new comrades riding in. He was shocked to see that someone actually would come back for him.
Griffith shouted to the boy, "Grab my hand now!" Shinji quickly was scooped up onto the horse and was headed back to their headquarters. Griffith cried out to all of his men that were still with him, "Everyone! Retreat!"
One of the restorationists also cried out to his men, "Don't let these bastards escape!"
Shinji was stuck with worries that he had to voice to his leader. "They'll catch us! We're double mounted!"
"Hold your tongue this instance! Hang on! We're almost to the end of the woods" roared Griffith. Once he and his men reached the end, Griffith called out to all of them. "Scatter!" The restorationists were caught up in the bright disorienting lights of the flashlights coming from the soldiers who stood there with loaded rifles in their hands just awaiting orders.
"FIRE!" Griffith barked to his men. One by one, the enemies were laid to waste as bullets flew out spraying the entire area and corpses descending to the ground. The ground away from them was covered in blood and bodies.
Laughter and cheers were shouted all around with the band of the hawk that night. Most of the men had gathered around a large bonfire that had been lit for celebration.
"At any rate, it was amazing the way Shinji helped us tonight". Rickert said while happily giggling. Judeau spoke up as well. "Just as Griffith expected, he's gonna be a very promising addition." While talking about him, Rickert realized that the boy they were praising wasn't there with them. "By the way has anyone seen guts around?"
Across the camp, Shinji was laying alone both watching everyone have their enjoyment and reflecting on both the stars and himself. 'So much has happened today. This is a far cry from how I started, I could've never pictured myself in a crowd like this.' A small chuckle escaped him on the last thought but one question rang through his head.
'Mom, aunt Shizu, would you guys be happy with the person I am now? Father? What about you?'
Suddenly, four figures walked over to where he was lying. "Hey, Shinji!" "What are you doing alone over here? Gossiping with the birds?" "How's it going kid?" The smallest one got close to him and started speaking again. "I wanted to thank you for saving me earlier, I wouldn't have gotten out alive if it wasn't for you! I'm Rickert and it's nice to have someone here I can relate to ya know!"
Shinji sat up and glanced over to Rickert. "Thanks for the compliment but I only did what my duty and what was asked of me. I don't deserve this praise at all."
"Well, I won't argue with you about that since we'll probably get nowhere. Now c'mon follow us, a party isn't as lively without its hero. Oh, in case I forgot to mention my name's Judeau!". Said the young blonde man proudly. Samson followed suit with his friend, "He's right ya know. The party is in celebration of you. So come have some fun with us, you look like you could use a break."
Shinji was appalled by his statement, "W-what?! Hey, I never asked for a thing like tha-!" His words were cut off by the largest man Pippin grabbing him and carrying him on his shoulder while he kicked and scratched like a cat. "Hey put me down now! Let me go, please!"
Pippin gracefully escorted the boy over to the bonfire as soldiers all around marveled at the boys and cheered at him with smiles plastered all over them. "Put me down now you thick-headed mouth breather!" And just like he was asked, Pippin dropped him to the ground while giving a stern "I am Pippin" Shinji got up from the ground and was handed a drink from Samson while Judeau spoke up. "A toast to our new brother in arms Shinji!"
The toast was followed once again by cheers and laughter, never before had Shinji seen people so happy to be in his company. A nervous smile crept up his face at the attention he was given. He quickly chugged the drink which even he could tell had a little bit of alcohol in it.
As the party went on, Shinji was confronted with compliment after compliment of which he didn't know how to handle. He enjoyed the celebration as best as he could while two figures stared off at him from different positions. One was Corkus who was pretty annoyed of this new kid who just came strolling in and now has everyone's attention and the second was Caska. She held a curious face while looking at this strange child.
Everything seemed to be going up for him. Maybe he could learn to rely on others that he now fought alongside. And maybe, for what it's worth, he could make an effort to get to know people better.
AN: Hey guys hope you enjoyed the new chap. I really feel like my writing improved from the last chap and I have my good friend HydrationStation to thank for that as he gave me some pointers that helped me out. (Go check out Commander Akagi and Potheads dilemma (They're so good.) I would usually work with both hydra and Deathbringer but I decided to go a bit awol because I was introducing a lot of things. Much love to both of them.
The name of the chap comes from the song of the same name by Buffalo Springfield.
Until next time! Love ya!