A/N: Be careful, the site's gone bonkers again. Hopefully you can see this. The boys and I worked hard on it. Now, then!

Happy Birthday to meeeee~!

And yet here I am giving you guys a chapter. Does that make it a reverse birthday? Eh, semantics!

In other news, apparently the final season of Attack On Titan is out. WHY DID NO ONE TELL ME THIS?!

To answer one final question, Naruto isn't heartless in this story. He simply doesn't care about the world beyond the walls. He's too busy trying to help Eren, save the world, and find a cure for being a titan. He doesn't have time to care about a bunch of random mooks that want him dead. If those across the sea force the issue, they'll pay in blood.

Remember, he'll be a father soon. He's not going to sit idly by and let

This is far shorter than I'd like, but the lads are dragging me out for drinks later -family bar, don't worry!-

So here I am, posting this while I can still think straight.

As ever, I own no quotes, themes, or memes.

...onward~!

"I know what it's like to lose. To feel so desperately that you're right, yet to fail nonetheless.

Defeat...it burns, doesn't it? People dread it. Run from it. But arrives all the same.

We didn't start this war, Zeke. But we'll damn well finish this thing.

~?

And Your Heart Shall Burn

Events spiraled quickly toward the inevitable center.

Looking back, Rod Reiss wasn't sure where he went wrong. He'd made a mistake somewhere. He just wasn't sure...where. Things weren't supposed to be this way. He was the true king of the walls. He was meant to be in control. Everything went through him. He had his hands in every aspect of government, after all.

And yet, somehow, he'd still been caught off guard.

The Survey Corps had risen rapidly in power and strength, so much so that they'd become a problem. They were pushing too hard, too fast. The status quo must be maintained. And they...well. They had to die. There was nothing personal about it. Just business. There could be no reasoning with them. He'd not even tried. It should've been simple to silence them. Send in Kenny and his troops. Kill them. Kidnap Eren and Historia, then force the latter to see the truth. She would devour Eren, and they would have peace.

But no plan survives contact with the enemy. And now. Quite suddenly. He stood before him.

Naruto Uzumaki was a haggard man, his eyes shadowed from lack of sleep, his whiskered cheeks spattered in blood. He'd killed his way here; cut a bloody swathe through all opposing. His students had done the same. All of them looked ready for a war. The fools. Rod saw them all, saw his students behind him, and knew that his men had failed. A pity. Kenny had been useful in his own way. If his nephew was standing here, then he'd likely fallen to him.

"So you're Rod Reiss." the rebel drawled, his voice rough and hoarse. "Someone I expected you to be...taller."

Truth be told it was his first time seeing Naruto in person. He'd not dared to come close beforehand. Some said the whiskered warrior could sense ill intent; that he could sniff out even the vaguest of lies. He'd thought it nonsense back then; that the powers he bestowed upon his followers were just that. Mere myth. Now who was the fool? Rod knew the answer.

The anger, when it came, surprised him. This man. It was all his his fault. He'd ruined everything.

EVERYTHING!

"You filthy heathen!" spittle frothed at the man's mouth as he stared down the face of death. "You don't belong here! Everything would've been fine without you!"

"And yet here I stand, your majesty." Naruto stepped forward from the group, spread his arms out and sketched a decidedly shallow bow. "You've tormented Eren and Historia long enough with your half truths." He swept back up a heartbeat later, eyes intent upon him. "Why not pick on someone your own size?"

"I-

"Ah, ah, ah!" a long finger waved. "Did I say you could talk? No. I did not."

Rod tried to speak in spite of his defiance, if only to irritate him. He wasn't able to.

Because he saw it. The man's shadow. A towering beast loomed behind the whiskered warrior in the darkness. A fanged maw dripping with unseen blood. Nine wicked tails thrashing in the dark. And in a moment of horrible realization, he understood. Once upon a time, this had been a good man. A kind soul, one who disliked violence; someone who shied away from bloodshed. Not anymore. He'd seen too much. Lost too many. War had changed him for the worse; he was a killer now, through and through. Now that killer came for him.

Eren strained against his shackles. "Mmrph!"

Naruto climbed the steps.

"Hang on, kiddo. I'll be right there."

Rod yanked Historia backward. "S-Stay away! Come any closer and I'll...!

"You'll what?" A blond brow arched in mild amusement. "Shoot her? No." he shook his head. "You won't. You're not that stupid. If she dies, so do you. You need her for something."

Ymir stepped forward. The blond waved her back. Damn him...!

"Now, if you're thinkin' to shoot me, well, that's a different kettle of fish." Naruto smiled and suddenly the royal found himself gazing into slitted red eyes. "How many bullets do you have left in that old thing?" he stepped forth to face him. "One? Two? Maybe three?" still the ninja crept closer. "Now maybe you hit me, maybe you don't. But do you think a single shot would put me down?" Another step. He was close now. So terribly close. "You'd have to time it just right, hit me dead in the brain. You'll only have time for one shot. One opportunity. Maybe more, if you're lucky."

That hideous shadowed loomed large over them, baying for blood.

"So tell me, Are you feeling lucky, Rod?"

His body blazed gold.

"ARE YOU?"

Rodd squeezed the trigger.

His first shot went wide as Naruto swayed his head out of the way. In the same movement, he swiped down with a clawed hand and broke Eren's chains. A quick shove launched him down to his companions. Armin caught him quickly and drew him back into the fold. The rest closed ranks around their companion, denying Rod any chance of a second shot in the hopes of hitting him.

"That's one." Naruto's grin grew.

In vain, Rod fired again.

Naruto blurred around it and Historia appeared in his arms. There was no transition from one moment to the next; she'd been trapped against him a heartbeat before. Now she wasn't. Rod reached for his daughter and found only empty air. Even as he tried to turned, tried to fight back, he found her yanked away by the blond, who shoved her back and over his shoulder. Ymir dove to the floor and caught her, dragging her beloved to safety.

"Two." Naruto's grin split his whiskered cheeks. "Running out of bullets, your majesty."

Something in the monarch snapped. The gun rose again, and his anger with it.

"I am Rod Reiss! King of the Walls! I demand your respect!"

"No." his tormentor tittered softly, shaking his head. "You demand my attention. And you'll wish you didn't have it."

Rod didn't know how many shots he had left. He didn't care.

"I don't have to take this from you!" He squeezed the trigger. Again. And again. The gun barked in his hand. For some reason, his foe didn't dodge this time. Instead he watched the blond buckle beneath the bullets. "You stupid, loud-mouthed, arrogant, selfish, son of a bitch!"

On the final shot, Naruto's head snapped backward with an audible crack. Someone gasped. For a moment, a single sliver of a second, Rod dared to hope. It was not to be.

He swayed forward, lips parted, eyes narrow and intent. He'd caught it between his teeth.

"The funny thing is! In any other circumstance you might have had a point there." the blond cracked his neck, turned his head, and bit down, annihilating the bullet. He turned and spat lead onto the cavern floor. "Except I've learned a thing or two since coming here," he stepped forth, his smile now nowhere to be seen. "I know better than to shout my plans to the heavens, "Another step. "I've had humility BEATEN into me, " yet another. "I'm as a selfless as they come," here at last, he crested the steps and pressed his forehead to his. "And my mother wasn't a bitch."

Rodd tried to fire again. His gun clicked empty.

"Why won't you die?!"

"Because I represent an idea."Naruto leaned forward, forcing the startled monarch back a step. "And ideas are bulletproof. So in other words, your majesty." His fist cracked out with vicious speed, striking Rod dead in the jaw. "Check. Your. Privilege."

Even as he fell another hand reeled him back in. Powerful fingers clamped down on his throat. Squeezed.

"I don't take any pleasure in this, you know." his killer spoke slowly, almost cheerily, as if they were discussing the weather. "But you're bad for this country. Bad for the kids. And so...you've got to go. If it makes you feel any better, I won't be the one to kill you...

Lies! Rod gurgled softly, fingers fisting against the forces slowly grinding the life from his body. He couldn't even muster the words to bite back. All that emerged was a gasping groan. The pressure on his throat tightened, cutting even that down until he could scarcely breathe at all. All the world turned grey at the edges, the colors of life bleeding away. All of it...save those eyes. Those awful, burning eyes. They drilled into him like a jagged knife, taking away any semblance of hope he might have had.

Without warning, the rebel dropped him, leaving his body to smash into the ground.

"Annie. Bind and gag him." he heard a voice overhead, distant and angry. "Get rid of the fancy clothes while you're at it. Its time the people saw their "Ruler" for who he really is."

...on it. He won't know what hit him."

A boot sailed toward Rod's face.

The world went dark.

A/N: Ding-dong! Rod is...well, not dead, not yet...but he'll soon wish he was.

Now the people get to see their so-called "King" and pass judgement on him for all he's done.

Felt good to get this little minute Now that we've gotten that out of the way, we can move onto the meat of the matter. I'd say we're nearly there, now. Maybe less, with the epilogue. Thanks one and all for joining me on this journey.

So in the Immortal Words of Atlas...

...Review...Would You Kindly?

And since many begged for them...fine. Previews have returned. For now.

Have to keep things interesting here, eh? Now then, only two chapters left! Epilogue doesn't count.

TIMESKIP AHOY!

(Preview)

"Run, Zeke. Run away. Run to your home. Tell them what you've seen."

"Why...?"

"Hmm? Why am I sparing you?" Naruto tilted his head. "Isn't it obvious? Pieck asked me to. I wanted to kill you. I still do. You started all this. You." a finger poked his chest. "So here we are. This is your last chance. Run to your superiors and tell them what you saw here today. Tell them to stay away." that same sunny smile flashed out again, but it seemed sharper somehow. "Because if they don't? I'll give them hell. Have you seen what an angry biju can do? No?. Its not pretty. So run. Or...

He offered him a knife.

...you could transform and fight me. Your choice. Who knows? You might even get lucky. But if you fail...

Zeke knew threat for what it was. If he lost, he'd be dragged back and devoured. They'd have another titan on their side. Did he dare...? There was a third option. If he struck hard and fast, there was a chance. Admittedly a slim one, but a chance nonetheless. He could get him before he transformed. Couldn't he...?

Zeke eyed the knife.

Little arms reached for him. "Daddy! Up~!"

"The world needs people in charge who are willing to put the animals down. Get up, Eren. We're not done training."

Sasha waved at the battleships. "Welcome to Paradise~! Nothing personal an' all, but...

Then she brought a giant foot down.

...would you kindly die?"

R&R~!