A/N: Rest in peace Stephen Hawking, you will be sorely missed.
*lets all hold a solemn moment of silence*
Now then, where were we...?
REVIEW, FOR IT FEEDS THE ENGINE OF CREATION~!
I've deliberately cut the author's note short because SOME people are complianing. The Warhammer Titan has been revealed an I am REVVVVVVVVVED up and ready to go! Also, HOLY CRAP this fic is the highest reviewed story in the Naruto/Shingeki no Kyojin crossover section! Huzzah! Here's to all of you! Thanks for all the reviews and support! It's been a wild ride so far and we are nearing the end, but I'm so damn proud of you lot for telling me what you think! Also, Mass Effect quote for the win. Should be pretty easy for you readers to find, eh?
There's Minor time skip of a few weeks here as well, just wanted to note that.
THE VOTES ARE IN! This chapter unveils the brand new wielder of the Colossal Titan. I guarantee you'll be surprised.
AND A WARNING!
Naruto does...things...this chapter.
Let's just say...Bertholdt isn't going to go quietly.
I apologize if this triggers any of you, but there you have it!
Right, I feel I should also provide an update list for what's next:
Not So Far Away, The Vengeful One, as well as all my Naruto/Fate stuff will be updated next. I have FIVE THOUSAND WORDS for Vengeful One, and a whole lemon written out, but I lost it all when my sodding computer crashed. Thankfully I found my old notes, so I can work from there. Now...
...onward~!
"How far would you go to protect those you love?
Would you destroy the world for their sake?
Would you become death incarnate?
Would you become a monster?
Would you play the fool?
Just how far?"
~?
Shadows of War
"Ah. This is quite the report you've submitted."
Naruto bit back a small, frustrated sigh.
"Naturally. Can I go now?"
"That eager to get back to it, are we?" his superior arched a weathered brow from where he reclined behind the desk. "I would've thought you'd take some time to recuperate after all this, should you not?" Indeed, judging by the way that Darius Zackly was looking at him, his words could be phrased as an order, not a suggestion. Well, that was to be expected. They both knew he'd been working himself to the bone these last few days. Even for a man who could create copies of himself, the fatigue was all too real. More so when the exhaustion of a dozen dispelled clones layered itself atop of his own weariness.
"I intend to." the blond replied curtly. "Even so, there are still a few loose ends to tie up."
"Loose ends such as that giant girl still sleeping outside our walls?"
A loose laugh trailed through the air between them.
"Ahaha, so you finally saw Sasha...?"
"How could I not?"
The jinchuuriki pinched his brow and vainly stifled a small sigh, an angry exhalation punctuated by his superior's statement. It wasn't that he disagreed with the old codger; if anything, Zackly was one of the few outside the Survey Corps who held his respect after all this time spent in the service. He held no delusions of grandeur and only What bothered him was that they had to do this in the first place. Go through the motions. As much as it irked him to do so; he had to set an example for his students. Even if it meant wearing a uniform and strutting about before the top brass like a prize peacock. Galling as it was, this served a purpose. It made him appear sane.
After all, who wanted to follow a psychopath?
Madmen were feared of course and rightfully so, but they weren't inspired leaders. Orochimaru and Madara were a testament to that. Terror would only get you so far; at some point you had to inspire loyalty in the troops, else they would just buckle the moment you left. More than loyalty. Devotion. Admiration. Love. Naruto wasn't particularly skilled when it came to the latter. He preferred to let his deeds speak for him. What was that old saying the people of this era were so fond of? Actions spoke louder than words? Yes, that was it.
Conversely, the reverse also applied to warfare.
Sarutobi Hiruzen had been many things in his storied lifetime, but looking back with the rose-colored glasses removed, Naruto realized something. An aspect he hadn't seen as a boy. For all his great character and superior moral stance in the face of politics, the Old Man hadn't been a very good Hokage. Too soft, too gentle, too unwilling to retaliate. So much tragedy could've been averted if he'd willing to assert his authority. In battle, such weakness was a death sentence. When someone went after you, you couldn't hold back, no matter how much you might want to do so. Mercy gave your opponent a chance to stab you in the back, and while one could try to turn one's enemies into allies as he'd done with Annie, it still proved risky.
No, the only good adversary was a dead one; Bertholdt would be facing that reality very soon.
Now that he had a good idea of who to pass the Colossal Titan's power onto.
Killing kids to make monsters...no wonder the people feared him.
This was why he refused to let anyone take his place on the front lines, leading from the back or otherwise. In the end, balance was key. You couldn't be too cruel. Couldn't be too kind. Use the carrot too much and people would think you soft. Weak. Weakness invited insubordination. Wield the stick often enough however, and the masses would call you cruel or worse; they'd turn against you. Strike a chord between the two and you'd set a precedent that few would question, and even less understand. Only Darius knew that as well as he did. Which was precisely why he refused to let his old friend take command.
It had to be him.
Someone else might have gotten it wrong.
Still, it was best of him to allay Zackly's fears somewhat.
"Don't worry about Sasha, I've finally found a remedy for her. In the meantime...
...I know that look. You're going to pay that little gunsmith of yours another visit, aren't you?"
An innocent whistle was the answer.
Despite his misgivings, the blond felt a smile warp his mouth as Darius correctly sussed out his intentions. Aha. He'd nearly forgotten about that pet project of his. He'd taken a promising prodigy under his wing some time ago, before all this had begun. It'd been months since his last visit. Who knew what manner of gadgets that one had concocted while he was away. She was a bit ditzy perhaps-but she knew her stuff and had a remarkable method of smithing the weaponry he desired. Coupled with Hanji's brilliance and well...if they'd finished that then their enemies would be in for a horrid surprise. A ninja equipped with that kind of technology would be fury and fire incarnate; an unstoppable force that no one could stand against.
Ah, just the thought of it had him salivating...!
"The Crown won't like where you're taking this." Darius warned, noting his decidedly euphoric expression. "You've been pushing the boundaries of what they're willing to tolerate for some time now. First with your students and the Titans, then that cult of yours, now this...are you trying to start a revolt?" when his ally didn't answer, the general sighed. "Look, I share your sentiment on this, but if the Anti-Personnel Control Squad get wind of what you're doing, the king will be the least of your worries."
Naruto rolled his eyes.
"Fuck the king."
"Well, can't say I disagree with you on that." Zackly shrugged, leaning back in his chair. "Just be certain you're prepared for the fallout. I won't be able to cover for you if you do anything reckless." he paused, considering the bitter irony of what he'd just said. "Just try not to blow up any buildings this time. Property damage is a bitch to fix."
"Noted."
Sketching a lazy wave, he turned to depart.
"If that's all, I'll be taking my leave."
Silence was the only answer.
"Naruto."
Zackly's voice gave him pause.
"Was there something else, Zackly?"
The wayward whiskered warrior paused.
"That boy of yours...Marco...do you believe him?"
An unbelievably deep growl nearly silenced him outright.
"Oi, Darius. You wanna say that again? That sounded a lot like a threat."
A lone ruby red eye appeared over his armored shoulder. Had anyone else been present in the room, they would've fainted dead away from the pressure that followed. They would have seen the blond's shadow shift in on itself, twitching like a thing alive. Twist. Warp. Become something monstrous. For a fleeting instant Zackly saw the beast inside him; beheld it lurking within that twisted, slitted pupil. It served as a painful reminder of just who-what!-he called an ally. For all his deceptive smiles and kind words, Uzumaki Naruto was not a good person.
The phrase almost amused him.
Indeed, to call him a person at all was a generous turn of phrase. He'd seen Naruto's true face in combat. This man was a monster masquerading as a man. One devoted to humanity's survival perhaps, but still a monster nonetheless. He housed a phantasmal being capable of wiping humanity out in a heartbeat. If they provoked him, he could burn the world to the ground. Those kids of his were the only reason he fought so ardently. If the idiots in the Military Police tried to take them away...well...a less demented man would have soiled himself outright. Thankfully, Zackly was just as twisted.
"Now, now. There's no need to get angry," he soothed, raising a placating hand. "I wasn't threatening you. Merely satisfying my own curiosity."
Without warning, the stifling atmosphere evaporated as quickly as it had manifested. As though someone had snuffed out a candle, so too did Naruto's shoulders slump and he seemed to deflate.
"There are none before me." the whiskered warrior murmured to himself. "There will be none after me."
"An interesting turn of phrase, there." Zackly mused aloud." What does it mean?"
"It means this began with me. It'll end with me, if that makes any sense."
The aging commander laughed and arched a weathered brow.
"Ha! Bit of a distorted mindset you've got, there."
Naruto scoffed.
"Of course I'm distorted. If its for their sake...
Dark, slitted red eyes blazed back at him.
...I'll do anything for my family."
(...Several Hours Later...)
"Judgement day, Berholdt!"
The prison cringed, instinctively turning his aside as the door to his cell clanged open, and light flooded the four corners of tiny room. After so many days down in the darkness, without food, without water, without even a flicker of anything the burning shine of the lamp nearly rendered him blind outright. A muffled groan trickled through the gag binding his mouth. Had he possessed the strength he would've easily bitten through it from the beginning, but having spent so many days in such a weakened state, he scarcely had the strength to raise his head, much less fight back.
Squinting through the haze, his weakened vision beheld the dark silhouette of a man.
As his vision cleared, he beheld a familiar pair of blue eyes.
"Rise and shine, maggot."
'No!'
Tucking both arms into his chest, the titan-shifter frantically averted his gaze and tried to scramble backwards. Away from him. It did him little good. A hand seized him by the scruff of his neck and dragged him out of the cell. Flung him down onto the cold, hard floor. A sack swept over his head, followed by needle slotting home in the thick vein of his neck, injecting its icy contents into his veins. Even as Bertholdt tried to summon up some strength and break free his body failed him and someone struck him across the back of the head. The blow was so sudden and unexpected that he had no chance of defending against it. In short, he blacked out.
For minutes, or hours, he knew not,
Eventually, he woke to the sensation of being dragged.
'What...?'
Struggling to stay upright, Berholdt attempted to break free, but his remaining limbs betrayed him once more, folding like wet noodles beneath his body when he tried to make them move. Panic pervaded every inch of his body, to no avail. He couldn't see. Couldn't speak. His sole source of sensation came from the rough sensation of gravel grinding against the still-severed stumps of his legs. Voices trickled into his ear, his captor's careless words flung about to answer some unknown inquiry.
And then there was light.
Someone snatched the hood from his head and Berholdt squinted into daylight.
Wait.
Daylight?
He was outside?
Through bleary eyes he beheld a gathering of soldiers.
Familiar faces paid him no heed; indeed, he'd ceased to exist in their eyes. None looked at him. His captor forced his head upright, wrenching his neck to the side with a painful pop. In the end, his gaze gravitated to the man standing at their head. It was impossible to miss that shock of blond hair, those whiskered cheeks, eyes the color of endless blue skies. But in place of his military fatigues and jacket, he had donned an ornate white cloak over them all, its edges embroidered with twisting red pattern Bertholdt didn't understand. In the end, he never would.
Naruto sighed.
Shoulders slumped.
Then he raised his gaze.
"Listen well, you lot!" He barked, pitching his voice to carry to those assembled before him. "I'm about to ask you to break every rule you've ever been taught and for that, I'm truly sorry. Shinobi are meant to work in the shadows. Unseen, we use the darkness to serve the light. We kill enemies who threaten our nation, but today, you will be turning your blades not on titans, but humans. Cast aside your pride. Throw away your mercy. The conflict ahead will challenge you in ways some of you still have yet to realize. Abandon your hesitation here and now. They'll only impede you from this point on. And make no mistake. This is it. War. Kill or be killed. If you hesitate, you will die."
He paused, letting his words sink in.
"Now, we didn't start this fight. But we're damn well going to finish it."
He spread his arms wide, as though to seize the very heavens themselves in his grasp
"I declare war. An awful war. An ugly war. A war of extermination! Not just on our enemies, but on anyone who would threaten our way of life! Let them call us demons! Let them brand us monsters! It matters not! We will cross the seas and together we will bring their precious empire tumbling down! Hear us, Marley!"
His whiskered visage loomed at them.
"WE'RE COMING FOR YOU!"
"Dismissed!"
As one the group saluted and broke into groups of four, each setting out to their own destination. A fifth group turned towards him and something in Bertholdt quailed. Moreso when he recognized Annie and Ymir amongst them. What were they planning to do to him? Would he be beheaded? Drawn and quartered? Beaten to death? An endless slew of possibilities ran through his mind, countless scenarios, each ending with his death. He did not want to die. Not here. Not to them. Not at all. Despite all he'd said and done, Hoover was almost behooved to realize a part of him could still feel fear.
"I do hope you enjoyed the show."
Reality reasserted itself.
Fear become terror.
Clench.
Strong hands forced him to turn, despite knowing what he would find there.
Naruto.
"There." a hand patted his head and unbound his gag. "Go ahead. Speak, if you can. You should be able to do that at least, thanks to the drug."
Silenced reigned between them.
"So, let's get this out of the way." the blond beamed. "I don't suppose you'd consider turning your coat and joining us?"
Bertholdt growled.
"I refuse."
"Good."
Naruto's reply was physical rather than verbal; a steel-toed boot arced out in blistering speed to catch him in the ribs. Air spewed out of him like a broken sieve, leaving the cadet gasping and retching for air. His captors released him, but all he could think to do was clutching at his gut and heave. He'd thought he knew pain. In his years training to become a warrior, he'd endured hellish weather, awful routines, and bonecrushing tests of endurance. A path paved through hell seemed kind by comparison, but he'd endured it all the same, hoping that it would be the worst-and last-agony he'd ever endure.
"Urk?!"
Wrong.
He'd been wrong.
Terribly, horribly, wrong.
"Sorry, sorry." his tormentor sighed over the agonized sounds Hoover made. "I shouldn't have done that, ya know. I've been under a lot of stress these last few days, so I'm not feeling very merciful at the moment. If you try anything...
A flicker of steel registered in his peripherals.
...I'll leave you alone with Mikasa, here."
Trembling, Bertholdt dared to look up. What were those strange red-black eyes? A single look rendered him powerless. Speak, they seemed to command, and his body was helpless but to obey. Words lodged awkwardly in his throat, leaving him to stammer in a daze. All the while, his mind bleated question after endless question. Who? What? When? Where? Why? How? How had everything fallen apart like this? Where had they gone wrong, in all this? Annie had betrayed them. Reiner was nowhere to be seen and likely held captive-or so he believed-or worse yet, slain. He had no way of knowing the awful truth. Worse yet, their commander seemed to have no intention of rescuing them.
And so his mind clamored for a way out.
How could he escape this situation?
Who would get him out of this?
What could he say?
"I'm sorry-
"No."
...n-no?"
"I'm not here to forgive you." the ninja shook his head with a smile, and something in that smile sent Bertholdt's brain shrieking for the hills. "You're already guilty beyond a shadow of a doubt. That's been determined. I'm not here to forgive you. I'm here to render judgement. Mikasa?"
At his prompting, the Ackerman reached down and forced Bertholdt upright, fingers tight in his hair.
Naruto crouched down, bringing his face level with the shifter's.
The cold glint of sapphire orbs filled his vision.
"You see, we've spent a loooooooong time trying to figure this shit out." the blond purred, poking two fingers against Bertholdt's dirtied forehead. "We can't just kill you; your power is too useful. Too destructive to go to waste. We also don't know what would happen to it if you died with said power inside you. No, in the end, we had to make a decision as to who would receive it? Mikasa? Levi? I don't think either would work, for obvious reasons aside. Erwin was a good candidate, but he's essential to the Survey corpse. We know too little about titan shifters to risk mixing a monstrous power like yours with another; so that means Eren, Annie, Mina, and Ymir as well as myself are out of the running."
"Wait." Bert flailed. "Wait, wait, wait! What do you mean-
"We don't know how Sasha's genes will react to the titan's power, so that's a big no-no." Naruto bulled on, speaking over him. "I refused to force this on Historia. Armin volunteered for this, as did Jean, and frankly, I was tempted to let either of them avenge Connie." he paused, letting the true weight of his words sink in. "In the end we all decided to do something different this time around. In short?" he beamed, patting his head as if he were little more than a recalcitrant child, not a prisoner about to be sentenced to death. "They all drew lots for it. I'd lie and say you won't feel a thing, but, well...I'm not Reiner."
Bertholdt stiffened.
"Reiner?"
"Oh dear, were you not aware of his fate?" a new voice chimed. "I thought you were."
Naruto sighed.
"You're ruining the moment here."
"My apologies, sensei."
Craning his neck, Berholdt moved as much as Mikasa would allow him.
Even then he couldn't believe his eyes.
"Its been awhile, Bertholdt." a thin smile greeted him. You look like you've seen a ghost."
No.
He was.
He had to be.
He was most assuredly looking at a ghost!
A pair of golden eyes-was this that vaunted Sage Mode?-gazed back at him, set within a gaunt, ruined face framed by dark overgrown hair. His wounds were still fresh. Still mending. Yet despite them, or perhaps purely in spite of them, Marco Bott still stood tall. Proud. Defiant. Bertholdt balked at him and the dead man gazed back at him serenely. No words of spite or scorn were exchanged between the two young men. Only simple, silent satisfaction, or in Hoover's case, disbelief. This was impossible; he had to be hallucinating. The alternative was unacceptable.
"Mar...co...?"
The sage's smile didn't waver.
"But you're dead!" he exclaimed! "We saw you die!"
"In a sense, I did." the sage-in-training replied. "Although I admit, it was a bit of a near thing...
"Its nothing personal, Bertholdt." Marco assured him. "I don't hold anything against you. In my eyes, you haven't done anything wrong. You were just following orders like a good soldier. And now you have to die. There's nothing you can do now."
To have his own words flung back in his face stung more than Hoover would ever admit.
Yet still, something persisted. Reiner. He had to know. Needed to know.
"Reiner...where is...he? What did you do to him?"
Golden eyes narrowed ever so slightly.
"We fed him to Mina, of course."
Bertholdt's mind went blank.
Oh.
"Ah...ah...AH!"
Sanity abandoned him all at once, his shattered thoughts encompassed by a stark white void. His mouth worked wordlessly, producing a strangled sound that had no business being issued from a human's throat. It was a cry of disbelief and disaster, a wail of loss coupled with absolute despair. A scream tore out of the shifter and his body bucked, fighting the drug that rendered him immobile. His captors didn't flinch in the face of his fit; on the contrary, many of them remained where they were. Steely eyes regarded him without so much as a hint of compassion.
He was enjoying this.
"You monsters...what have you done...?! I'll kill you! I'LL KILL ALL OF-
Naruto's open hand struck him across the face, silencing him.
"Yes, that's right!" Crimson eyes rounded on him with such force that Bertholdt physically shrank backwards, his ire quailing in the face of such fury. "We're all monsters as far as you're concerned! Demons! Devils! You've said so yourself! Perhaps you should've thought twice about betraying us then-because these days the enemies of these MONSTERS are dropping like flies! Now its your turn! Ymir! Annie! Hold him!" Both complied without so much as a sound as Mikasa stepped back, allowing them to take hold of his arms and force him to the floor.
"Hanji!"
In one hand, Naruto brandished a syringe.
"FINALLY!"
The final member of the group tore back their hooded, exposing a familiar facade that Bertholdt knew all too well. A mop of mess brown hair framed her goggle-clad face...no, she'd removed the goggles now and Bertholdt immediately found himself wishing she'd kept them. Her eyes...that crazed grin put Naruto's earlier facade to shame. He saw death in her smile as she swept past him, all but skipping her way to the blond's side. To call it euphoric would've been an understatement of monumental proportions. Demented. Yes, the last bastion of sanity in his mind reasoned, that word suited her well. Too well. Extremely well!
Naruto jerked a thumb towards the ecstatic brunette.
"We're gonna feed you to this crazy girl, here."
"Ufufufufufu...to actually become a titan!" the scientist all but drooled, swaying on her feet like a drunkard. "I never thought of the possibility! Will it be hot, I wonder? Very hot? Unbelievably hot? Of course, I'm probably going to lose my mind, but once I devour him I'll get it back, right? Right? Then we'll have so many tests to run...
"So, that's the long and short of it." Naruto declared, raising his voice to be heard over her chattering. "Do hold still and be a good morsel for her, neh?"
"That's mean, Naruto-kun! I'm not crazy!"
"Whatever you say. Now, hold still."
"W-Wait! I have to prepare-eep!"
"On my mark, step back!"
Without pause or remorse, Naruto slammed the needle home in Hanji's arm, nearly causing her to jump. His thumb pushed down on the injector, slotting it home and releasing the contents into her bloodstream. The effect was near instantaneous; Zoe had just enough time for one last, frenzied laugh before she vanished in an explosion of superheated steam. Annie swore something unintelligible and released him, Ymir following suit no more than a moment later with Mikasa. As the three of them beat a hasty retreat from the scene of the crime, Bertholdt found himself presented with a prime view of his death.
Hanji's titan body unfolded rapidly. Quickly.
Too fast.
A well-defined torso set on stocky pillar-esque legs, it began to lumber forward before it was even fully formed. As though even in her mindless state, Hanji was eager to swallow him whole. Oh. That was a rather large titan. She'd become a towering monster at that. Very large, indeed. More than sixteen meters. He couldn't run. Couldn't transform. Didn't have the strength to do anything more than crawl. The Survey Corps had done their work well, carefully bleeding him dry of all stamina, all his hope, all his integrity.
Throughout it all, Naruto stayed with him to the end.
"I'm sorry it had to end this way, Bertholdt." his voice rose again, this time over Hanji's growling. "I really am." a booted foot planted itself on his back, preventing him from crawling away. "After all we've been through, I was willing to give you one last chance, but you squandered it. Just like Reiner. Even if you're an enemy now, you were still a student of mine, once." A sad smile turned on him. "But you threatened my family, and I, well, I just can't let that stand, son." His good hand patted him once on the head, "Sorry it had to end this way. If its any consolation, I'll make sure Hanji kills ya quickly."
Grunting, he removed his foot from the shifter's back.
With that, something broke in Bertholdt.
Like a dam releasing its floodwaters, a surge of emotion broke through the crumbling wall of his resolve. Bertholdt faltered. Until that moment, he'd genuinely believed someone would save him. Or, barring this, that he'd somehow manage to escape and find a way to make them pay. None of that mattered now. Here in this instant, with that giant hand reaching down for him, he felt one emotion, and one only. Terror. It consumed him as this Titan soon would, swallowing him whole even as he struggled to escape her long, reaching grasp. He din't want to die! He wanted to live! To fight on! To have a life! Not perish like this, fumbling on the ground, crawling like a mole!
In the end, he made it all of a few feet before Hanji caught up with his body.
"Captain, please!" he wailed as the hand took hold of him, firm fingers grasping him around the waist. "I'm sorry!" his cries grew increasingly frantic as she hoisted him off the ground in spite of his flailing. "Save me! I'll do anything you want!"
Cold blue eyes regarded him, but there was no pity to be had there, no mercy to be found.
"I wish I believed you, Bertholdt." Naruto sighed. "I'll see you in hell."
With that, he stepped back yet further to observe his handiwork.
Leaving Bertholdt Hoover alone with death itself.
That toothy maw yawned horridly wide.
Those eyes had only one target.
Bertholdt felt himself pale.
Darkness filled his vision.
A shadow fell over him.
Not that madwoman.
Anyone but her!
"Nononono...
Crunch.
A/N: Hooray for CLIFFHANGER endings! Is this a happy ending? Hmm. Good lord I am TIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIRED! I pulled an all nighter to write this and I've got a super long shift tomorrow! Still, there we are! MARCO IS ALIVE! How, you ask? Did he fake his death? He did indeed. Did Naruto know? He certainly did not. Don't worry, its all part of the plan. Answers aplenty next chapter! A lot happened in this chapter and more will in the next. Is Zeke down for the count? Who knows?
Only a few chapters left now!
Yes, I know, I KNOW, you guys and gals all want the Annie and Petra scene. These last few chapters have been heavy on action, as one might expect. It's coming, but it just hasn't played out yet. I didn't want to shoehorn it in here. Next chapter for sure! Plenty of romance abounds!
Also, let's establish a list of the Titan Shifters, neh?
Naruto = Asura Titan. (Original)
Zeke = Beast Titan.
Eren = Attack Titan + Coordinate.
Pieck = Cartman Titan.
Ymir = Dancing Titan/Jaw Titan.
Annie = Female Titan.
Mina = Armored Titan.
Hanji = Colossal Titan.
Ms. Tybur = Warhammer Titan.
And there we go! Hope you guys and gals enjoyed this chapter!
So in the Immortal Words of Atlas...
...Review...Would You Kindly?
And of course, the previews!
We're nearing the end here, folks!
(Previews)
"Again, Eren!"
"I'm trying!"
"FOCUS!"
"Hehehehehe...let the research begin!"
Naruto grunted in surprise, blue eyes widening slightly as she forced him against the wall.
There was a glazed look in her eyes that he knew all too well.
"Fuck's sake, Hanji! Experiment on yourself!"
"But its looooonely by myself, Naruto!"
"Ach?!"
"Oh, Sashaaaaaaa~!
"In the end, we just need to block your chakra for a bit and you'll revert."
...huh. You're actually a little taller than me now. Go figure."
"Is that a problem, sensei?"
"Eh, always had a thing for tall chicks with big-
STOMP.
Pieck was losing herself.
She'd thought they were demons.
She'd been wrong. Terribly, horribly wrong.
Demons didn't live like this. These...these were people. They loved one another. Cared for another. Fought and died together. Had the others experienced this? This conflict? She'd heard rumors. Annie had defected. Reiner and Bertholdt had been devoured, their powers stolen. By all accounts she should be worried. Terrified, even.
And here she was, ENJOYING her work!
It should've been easy to pose as an apprentice gunsmith; indeed, it had been. Given her expertise when it came to weapons, she was something of a hot commodity. When compared to the lackluster weaponry of Paradis island, some might even consider her a genius. Granted, this was in no small part thanks to the artillery her titan wielded, but even so! But no, the REAL problem lay with their leader, because he was absolutely infuriating to work with, yes, but also because...
"I'm coming in~!"
"Ack! Naruto-dono! Don't scare me like that!"
...she was beginning to fall for this brash blond buffoon!
"Don't you care about the people over there?"
...why would I care about those I never met? If you're asking me to choose between you and them...
When he turned to face her, those blue eyes were cold as ice.
...then I'll happily burn them all."
R&R~!