Welcome back everybody! Sorry for the slightly long wait, I got distracted by a few games, drawing some art and preparing to move countries. But I'm back for a while anyhow. There will be quite a few time skips in this chapter since it is merely a small filler. Bear with it please.
Review Time:
BlackScorpionxxx: Carla had to die due to titans. If she didn't die then Eren's rage against the titans will die down considerably. If she wasn't allowed onto the boats then Eren would get mad at the government, not the titans. If she died from lack of support within the walls then Eren wouldn't forgive himself and he may not have even joined the training corps just to take care of his mother. By the way I will try to balance out Naruto and Eren later on, but early in this story Naruto requires more screen time to show how he fits in.
Now on with the story!
This was the day. The fateful day where humanity remembered that they lived in fear of the titans.
(Time Skip: One month later)
Naruto sat down to take a break in the early morning. It had been a rough month settling in after evacuating behind the safety of Wall Rose. Due to the fact that they had been carrying absolutely nothing when they had boarded the boats, the makeshift group of an old man, a young man and four children found themselves without shelter, without money and without food.
Still, they managed. After the government had supplied the refugees with materials, everyone had been set into building quick, impromptu shelters. Using a few large wooden pillars stuck into the ground, the refugees managed to construct walls using rope, nails and a few support beams to attach wooden planks. Afterwards they had set on constructing a ceiling using the same wooden planks, layering it with a large sheet of tarpaulin to keep the rain out. The shelters weren't of very comfortable but they served their purpose in putting a roof above their heads, even if the walls offered very little defence against the wind or sun.
The floors of the shelters were left untouched. The ground was fairly flat and rocky and they did not have enough wood to spare to make a decent floor so they went without it. Instead, everyone lay on tarpaulin to separate them from the ground. There was no running water either, so everyone had to do their business elsewhere far away from the shelters. Despite this, Naruto had found a large yet abandoned wine barrel from outside a bar. Every morning he would walk to the river, fill the barrel with fresh water and proceed to return to the shelter where the rest of his group stayed.
Then he would make sure to start a fire to boil the water so it would be safe to drink, bathe in, and brush their teeth. To bathe Naruto had scavenged a water pail from a nearby house to use as well as stealing bars of soap from a store owner who still knew none the better. Thieving was simple business with what he had already learned from Hiruzen, but he did not do it for money, he did it for necessity. The whiskered boy stole only what he needed and not what he wanted. Toothbrushes, toothpaste, spare clothes, towels, Naruto took all that were necessary for hygiene. He made sure that his brothers and sister all took at least one bath a day.
He usually went alone so as not to risk getting caught, although he had once taken Mikasa along when he had been 'shopping' for her clothes and underwear. That had been embarrassing for them both.
He could have easily gotten mattresses, pillows and the like, but there was one problem. If they even seemed to be living with such things, there would be those violent enough and desperate enough to fight for them. If those types of people attacked without Naruto nearby, a few children along with an old man would do little to aid Iruka in a fight where they could all get seriously hurt. In the end it wasn't worth the risk.
When he could, he also stole freshly cooked meals to make up for the lack of food rations. Those however were harder to come by since he wasn't yet skilled enough to take food from a restaurant without getting noticed. That and it was also too risky to cook anywhere near other refugees. Curse humanity's jealous nature.
However, despite his added responsibilities, his training had been proceeding well enough. The sealing scroll Hiruzen had given him was full of other scrolls that contained information and instructions regarding anything that Hiruzen had wished to teach him. Unfortunately, Hiruzen had had enough foresight to ensure that certain scrolls could only be opened once the previous scroll had already been mastered. This way Naruto had to go through the scrolls in proper order. He didn't understand how, but the scroll would somehow know if it was mastered and the next scroll would unlock.
The first scroll had merely been a reminder about many of the teachings Hiruzen had already bestowed upon Naruto. Just in case he may have forgotten. After that he was instructed to learn a jutsu called the Kage Bunshin (Shadow Clone). These were more advanced clones than the simple ones he had been learning. These clones were actual physical entities that could interact with the environment around them, but the best part was that they could think for themselves. And not a simple train of thought, each clone thought exactly the same as the original and Naruto figured he could use this technique to be in two places at once. Sadly they were not very durable for fighting, they could take a fair share of blows but a powerful enough attack would dispel them instantly.
The description had said that the Kage Bunshin was an information gathering type of clone that could be used to distract among other things. The reason for this was once a clone dispelled, all of that clone's memories would be transferred back to the user. The description also warned to be careful in their usage as making a single shadow clone would take half of the user's chakra to form and over doing it might lead to chakra exhaustion. Naruto did not want to risk that when there was no one left who knew how to help him recover.
The golden haired boy had taken a few days to successfully perform the technique, but he persisted solely because of the sheer amount of physical applications that this technique had. It was also difficult without an instructor to point out what he was doing wrong and so the whiskered boy had resorted to using trial and error. Ever since then he had been able to make a single clone and sustain it for a few hours. However if he attempted to make more than Kage Bunshin he found himself feeling slightly taxed and decided not to risk it for a while. It would be safer to increase his chakra reserves to a reasonable level before attempting to do so again.
After he had gotten the technique down, the golden haired boy had slowly gone through all the possible applications of the jutsu. Hiruzen had added some extra notes suggesting that Naruto could use it for training to get techniques and information down faster and more effectively. Unfortunately the technique did not transfer and physical qualities back to the user so Naruto could not train his body using the technique. Then again, if one of his clones had been butchered the whiskered boy didn't really fancy that sort of damage appearing onto his real body.
Naruto proceeded to the next scroll which held the finishing touches for his rudimentary Taijutsu style. There was a note at the end that suggested Naruto find a style that suited him later on as every fighter was unique in their own way. But first, he had had to master this particular style as it would serve as a starting point where he could branch out when he needed to. It had taken him the better part of the first two weeks to fully get the hang of it as he had shouldered extra responsibilities in trying to make his foster family's new life more bearable.
While his Kage Bunshin carried out most of the tasks, such as stealing and fetching water or watching over his siblings, the real Naruto would be practicing on the outskirts of human activity like he had done before with Hiruzen. These last two weeks had seen him practicing his marksmanship, a Genjutsu (Illusionary Technique) and one Ninjutsu (Ninja Techniques).
The illusion he had been working on was only a very low rank according to the scroll he had been reading from, but it was still truly terrifying. The Magen: Narakumi (Demonic Illusion: Hell Viewing) was an illusion that caused a person to live through their worst fear in startling reality. All their senses would be fooled into believing that such a horrific scene was realistic enough to actually be happening.
The reason it was classed as a low ranking illusion was because any shinobi with a decent grasp on their chakra would be capable of sensing the illusion and thus dispel it. But as far as Naruto knew, he was probably the only shinobi within the walls. Mere civilians wouldn't be able to break out of this technique, they may not even realize it was simply an illusion in the first place. They were very, very vulnerable. Naruto was sure he had gotten the concept, but he had a lack of human targets to practice on. Now he sounded like a crazy scientist.
Unfortunately, the illusion could only be maintained while Naruto had his hands clasped in the Ram seal. If the whiskered boy's concentration wavered then the illusion would shatter. Illusions needed a high amount of chakra control to maintain realism to convince the victim. Fortunately, Naruto was already working on his chakra control by attempting to walk on the river. It may have seemed absurd, but since Naruto found it child's play now to walk up and down trees, the next step was walking on water. Here he would have to constantly keep up with the fluctuating pressure exerted by the water. He was starting to get the hang of it though, barely.
The Ninjutsu he had unlocked was the exact same one that he had witnessed Hiruzen using a few weeks back in Shiganshina. Katon: Goukakyou (Fire Release: Grand Fireball). This would allow a user to expel a giant ball of flames from their mouth. And Naruto had seen its destructive power firsthand against the titan. That smiling titan may not have been killed, but the technique was deadly against humans and other shinobi. The golden haired boy did not know how he would need this technique, but it was better to always be prepared. What if he ran into a hostile shinobi someday?
Unfortunately, training in the technique hadn't been going so well. The Fire Release technique required him to perform a sequence of hand seals to properly mould the chakra and give it form. But without a teacher, he didn't know where to mould the chakra or how much chakra to introduce into the technique. Without any sort of balance the technique wouldn't form.
His attempts had already burnt his mouth and hands a good amount of times. Either that or he ended up coughing up tons of smoke from his lungs. The one or two times he had been successful had produced tiny fireballs from his mouth, but the miniscule things were nothing close to the majestic inferno that Hiruzen had performed.
Beforehand Naruto had also been given a bit of chakra paper with instructions to run his chakra through to find out his elemental affinity. They were fire, wind, lightning, earth or water. What confused him were the results depicted by the paper. Based on the key, the whiskered boy had strong affinities for wind, fire and earth in that order with slightly weaker affinities to lightning and water. Strange, each shinobi was likely to lean towards only one type of element and later branch out to two or three, but never all five.
This was the main reason why the whiskered boy was wondering why he couldn't perform such a low rank fire technique. It stood to reason that if he had a strong affinity for fire, then he should have been able to perform fire techniques more easily.
His marksmanship on the other hand, had improved drastically. The weapons pouch seemed to contain scores of both kunai and shuriken so he could practice as much as he wanted with the detailed instructions left behind for him. He just made sure to gather all the thrown weapons again later, it would not do if someone randomly found such deadly objects. Heck, the first time he had seen the kunai he had cut his hand open! If not for his impressive healing factor, the cut would have taken a month to heal. As it was, it only took a good few hours for the wound to completely close without so much as a scar.
Naruto closed the scroll he had been studying and sealed it back within the main scroll. The sun had been getting higher in the sky and judging the time, it was probably around time for the rations to get handed out. It was time to get food for his family, at this point only Iruka would be trying to get any food. Armin's grandfather would probably still be watching the sleeping kids. He might as well get enough food for them before the daily share ran out. He would find something else for them to eat for dinner later on.
(At the Shelter)
Mikasa's eyes blinked open in the early morning sunlight as it filtered in through the beams of the roof. She stared at the rafters of the makeshift human shelter for a moment before slowly sitting up.
It was still hard to believe; the sheer amount of refugees that hailed not only from Shiganshina, but from the entire area ranging from Wall Rose to Wall Maria. It had only been two weeks before that the government had decided to withdraw all human activity back inside Wall Rose, but already everyone was suffering.
The shelter she was in was one of many that had been hastily constructed simply to put a roof above the heads of the refugees. It wasn't worth much however as the ground they slept on remained uncovered, without tiles or any wood to spare it had been left as it was: cold, hard and rocky. The shelter didn't offer much privacy either, considering how each one was jammed with as many refugees as possible. Fighting for what little amount of space that they had was a nightmarish task that they would have failed in if not for Naruto and Iruka becoming openly hostile with their neighbours, if you could even call them that.
All of them would just sleep on the freezing ground, shivering as the wind swept over them at night. With no blankets or mattresses, they had been forced to resort to using their jackets instead of pillows and tried to endure the nights, cramped as they were. It was a harsh life that they had to adapt to quickly.
Naruto had insisted on claiming a corner of the building when they had first entered. Firstly, it would give them more protection from the wind as the two walls were at least some form of cover. Secondly, it would make it easier for the adults to protect the children as only two sides would have to be watched for. Claiming the spot and keeping it solely as theirs had been difficult, to say the least, but their claim lay unchallenged after Naruto had laid waste to a group of men trying to take their place. She still wondered where her brother had gotten those skills.
Even though Eren and Armin remained unaware, Mikasa had caught on to a conversation between Armin's grandfather, Iruka and Naruto. Apparently the three of them would take turns at night to keep watch against any of their more violent companions. It wasn't hard to get back at someone in their sleep. Add the fact that they had a little girl along with them. Some of the vile older men couldn't resist the temptation and had already attempted to get to her in her sleep. Retribution had always been swift and punishing in the form of an enraged Naruto. He didn't kill them, thankfully, but they would probably think twice before even attempting to force themselves on another woman. Unfortunately, Naruto couldn't be there for every female refugee and reports of rape had spread around in other shelters. Mikasa shuddered at the thought, unpleasant memories of the night her parents died rising to the surface.
Looking around her she noticed that the majority of the others in the crowded space were already rising from the hard ground on which they had slept, heading out early to receive their rations of food for the day.
Glancing back down she wasn't surprised to see only the figures of both Eren and Armin still soundly asleep next to her. The black haired girl figured that the others had left early, always early risers. But who had been watching them then?
"Good morning young lady." Armin's grandfather replied, catching her attention as he sat attentively next to a wooden beam.
"Good morning." Mikasa replied bluntly, as she dusted her sweater. It served as a good enough pillow once you got used to it, but Mikasa wasn't about to leave it on the ground for any longer than it needed to be.
"The others have already gone to get food." The old man added as he dusted himself off. "And I'll be here to watch over you and kids. Let the young lads sleep, their growing bodies need it."
Mikasa frowned at the reply. "But what about Naruto? He's only a year older than us so he needs sleep as well."
Armin's grandfather chuckled. "That young one needs nobody worrying after him lass, he can take care of himself and I'm sure he'll sleep when he feels the need." The old one pretended to only speculate about the matter since Naruto had already explained certain aspects regarding himself and one of those was the fact that the whiskered boy could carry on healthily with only three hours of sleep a day.
But Mikasa didn't know that.
"Still! If he doesn't know when to sleep like Eren then maybe one day he's just going to drop!"
Armin's grandfather winked at the worried girl. "That's exactly it. He is nothing like young Eren over there for the most part, so he knows when to do things. He doesn't need someone to fret over him like Eren there does."
Mikasa slumped down in defeat. Armin's grandfather had made a good point. Well, she should at least start doing something useful. The black haired girl then stood and dusted herself off. "I'm going to freshen up." She informed the old man as she started walking to the large barrel of river water. Naruto made sure to fetch more fresh water every morning from the river since he was the only one capable of doing it alone. It was a fact that the small group easily accepted, Naruto was not normal.
Naruto had also explained that he was only taking what was necessary and wasn't robbing for money. He still had morals, be he wouldn't let his family suffer when he could have done something about it.
Right now however he was nowhere in sight and Mikasa took her time in brushing her teeth and washing her face, deep in thought. Naruto was always away for most of the day, even Iruka spent more time at the shelter with the children. So where was Naruto during the day? What was their foster brother up too?
The black haired girl trusted him, almost unconditionally at this point. He was so caring and protective that she felt safe when around him. He exuded a calming aura when he was around that made Mikasa feel safe under the watch of an older brother. She could not rely on Eren for such a feeling since she was usually the one watching over him. It was nice to almost feel pampered once in a while.
The only one who still had doubts had been Armin. The small blond did not trust others easily and couldn't understand why Naruto would exert so much effort in looking after them. He stopped however, when Iruka had caught on and had a small chat with the trio. The orphanage caretaker had explained what Naruto's life had been like up till recently, how the whiskered orphan only had Iruka himself and the old man as the closest thing to a family.
She was interrupted from her thoughts when Armin cried out loudly. Mikasa whirled around to see that Armin's grandfather already had his grandson in a comforting hug, yet that wasn't what garnered her attention. It was more of what caused Armin's abrupt awakening. And that was Eren thrashing about on the ground, covered in sweat yet still deep in sleep. It seemed Eren had accidentally struck Armin in his sleep.
"Eren!" Mikasa cried out as she appeared by his side, trying to shake him awake. What was he dreaming about to be thrashing like this? Nightmare about Carla? No. The black haired girl knew that Eren only cried out when he dreamed about their mother, not flail his limbs wildly.
"Eren!"
(Eren's Dream)
"Eren!" his father called out desperately as he approached his son.
"Dad! Please stop dad!" Eren cried out helplessly as he backed away. "What are you trying to do!?
The ten year old was absolutely terrified. His father had a crazed, desperate and pleading look on his face, tears freely falling. Yet Eren was even more frightened of what his dad wanted to stab him with. That was a large syringe and Grisha Yeager seemed very intent on injecting the contents of the syringe into his son.
"Just give me your hand!" Grisha pleaded, even as Eren tripped backwards over his own feet.
"No!" The brunette yelled back defiantly. "What's wrong with you!? You've been acting weird ever since you found out mom died!"
Eren winced when a powerful hand gripped his arm in a vice like grip, shoving the sleeve upwards forcefully. "Let go of me dad!"
"You're no good!" Grisha said mysteriously.
"What are you talking about!?" Eren yelled at his father's face as he tried to wrestle free.
"Don't forget the key."
Eren's struggling had increased at this point, barely taking in his father's words.
"You must make it back to our basement in Shiganshina. You'll find all the answers you need there. I wish I could tell you more but after this injection you're memory is going to be distorted so it's no use. But until then-"
Suddenly the syringe flashed downwards.
"Eren!"
"Eren!"
The ten year old bolted upright at the sight of his name, greeted by the visage of a terrified Armin and a near frantic Mikasa. "What, happened?" he asked, genuinely confused.
"Are you okay Eren?" Armin struggled to ask.
After a brief nod from the brunette, Mikasa replied to his unanswered question. "You were crying in your sleep. You hit Armin by accident as well." She was being blunt again, her calm demeanour having returned now that Eren was awake.
Eren clutched his head as he briefly recalled flashes of the dream he had been having prior to waking up. Most of the sights and sounds were hazy and blurry but the ten year old had gotten the gist of the dream. Apparently it had affected him badly, seeing as how his body was slick with sweat and his clothes stuck to him as if he was drenched in rainwater.
"I felt like I just had an encounter with dad." The brunette admitted little unsurely.
"It was just a dream, Eren." Mikasa stated as she got back to her feet. "Now come. In your state you have to have a shower immediately. Then we can try and get some extra rations of food." She added stoically before offering her hand for Eren to take.
The ten year old boy took it gratefully, but not before peering at the key that hung around his neck. He knew what this particular key was for. And Eren also knew that he did not have it on him when he went to sleep the previous night. Something strange was going on here.
He was cut out of his musings when Mikasa forcefully hauled him to his feet. "Stop wasting time, Eren."
The boy was sure then and there that if Mikasa had been any more emotional, she would have snapped at him by now and quickly followed her to their barrel of river water. He didn't feel like arguing with her in that state.
(Food Reserves – 20 Minutes Later)
Here again, at the food reserves. Eren didn't really like the crowded place, but it was where they would be able to get food. This was one of the places where rations were handed out to the refugees. It was bustling with people, all eager to receive their meal. Without any money this was the only way for them to receive any sort of food as any shops within the area were more concerned with making money.
All around them there were people in semi functional lines waiting to get to the stalls that were handing out bread. All around them however, fights for what little food there was had already broken out. Even behind the safety of another wall from the titans, all the refugees still struggled for survival. The food shortage had only become that much worse with more mouths to feed and less land to produce the food from. It was a disaster.
"This is not good." Armin pointed out at a group of grown men fighting over a loaf of bread.
Eren couldn't help but nod as the men began to brawl, more men joining in for a single loaf.
Armin's grandfather grunted. "It seems that there isn't enough food to go around. We're late too."
The group of four looked on in dismay at the dwindling piles of bread left to hand out. Eren in particular was blaming himself for sleeping as much as he had. Now they were going to starve for the day if there was no more food to give out. The guilt was not helped by his rumbling stomach at all.
Luckily, someone had managed to get food for them earlier.
"Armand!" Iruka called out loudly.
Armin's grandfather turned his attention to the orphanage caretaker. "Yes Iruka?" He started. "Wait, is that food?"
Iruka nodded as he stopped right in front of the group, cradling five loaves of bread in his arms. The scarred man then distributed the bread by giving everyone a loaf each. "I got these for all of you. Those are already our entire day's rations so eat up."
Armin eyed his loaf suspiciously. "How did you get this?" He asked. "Don't they only allow every person only one?" As always he had spotted what the others hadn't.
Iruka swallowed before answering. "Well I got one for myself, but Naruto did something and I suddenly ended up with five of them."
"Did he steal it again?" Mikasa questioned. She didn't really like that Naruto was shouldering most of the responsibilities in their group.
Iruka shrugged. "Maybe, maybe not. But you should thank him later anyhow. Now eat up."
Mikasa decided to drop the subject. She wasn't going to get anything out of Iruka if the scar faced caretaker wanted to hide it. Biting into her bread the black haired girl ate her fill as quickly as she was able to without choking. If this was their day's share then they shouldn't even risk wasting it.
The loaf of bread was quickly devoured, it wasn't much, but at least it filled her stomach. Turning to Eren she was surprised to see that he hadn't yet taken a bite out of his share. Instead the brunette seemed to be glaring at something or someone. He was apparently angry at something. Mikasa noticed how his both his jaw and hands were tightly clenched. It was a miracle the ten year old hadn't yet crushed the loaf of bread in his grip.
She wasn't the only one to have noticed.
"Eren, what's wrong?" Armin asked timidly, nibbling on his bread.
This also prompted attention from the two adults who paused on their meagre meal to face the boy. And then they heard it.
"Why do we have to give our food to these outsiders? The titan's broke through anyway. They should have eaten more of them. Right now they're just worsening the food shortage."
All their eyes widened in shock at the horrible statement. The two adults themselves whirled around with barely concealed rage. Did these imbeciles even know what they were talking about?
Before they could move however, Eren had suddenly closed the distance and delivered a brutal kick to the soldier's shin in an act of retribution.
Eren had never felt so angry in his life. These were the cowards who stayed behind the walls and acted almighty. Outsiders? They may have lived on the outer wall but they were human beings too! Did they have any idea what any of the refugees had experienced?
Eren's kick had so much power behind it that the smug soldier cried out in pain nursing his stinging leg. "What's the matter with you kid!?" he roared before decking the ten year old across the face.
The brunette's head snapped sideways from the blow but Eren forced himself to remain standing, the anger clouding his better judgement. He would not lose to these two! Unfortunately the soldier's companion hadn't been pleased by Eren's actions either and landed a devastating kick to the young boy's chest, simultaneously knocking the air out of Eren's lungs and sending the boy flying backwards into the dirt.
Both soldiers then moved forward, displeasure evident on their faces as they headed to punish the boy.
"How can you say that!?" Eren demanded as they approached, ignoring the painful stinging on his cheek. "You don't know what it's like! The way titans eat people!" Eren had seen it. The boat that they had escaped on had been moving far to slow to save the passengers the horror of the titans devouring any human they came across.
"Shut up!" The pained soldier ordered as he and his partner thundered forward.
Seeing the danger to his friend Armin leapt in between the two soldiers with his arms held up showing that he was harmless as he tried to diffuse the situation. "We're sorry! It's just that he's…"
The small blond did not manage to finish when the soldier brutally backhanded the frail boy.
"Out of my way kid."
Iruka lost it at that point. He was all but ready to jump in once they landed the first hit on the Yeager boy. The caretaker had paused when Armin jumped in front, wondering if the young blonde's plan would deal with the problem. But the brutality that befell the young blond was the last straw. These were grown men! And they were beating up mere children!"
"Oi!" Iruka yelled.
The two men momentarily halted their advance on Eren at the challenging tone in the scar faced man's voice. Turning to face the once gentle caretaker, they were surprised to see the look of pure blasphemy on Iruka's face.
"Deal with someone your own size!" Iruka bellowed as he carelessly shoved one of the men backwards with enough force to send him tumbling. Iruka wasn't finished yet though and ducked under the second soldier's lazy punch before landing a painful shot at the man's face, probably breaking his nose.
The caretaker however had forgotten about the man he had shoved earlier and he came to regret it as he found both his arms pinned against his back with no way to escape. Then the soldier he had punched took the opportunity to get revenge as he launched a devastating punch to Iruka's exposed face.
The scar faced caretaker saw stars flit across his vision after the first blow, unable to do anything other than absorb the hit. What a way to become a punching bag.
"You would've been dead without us!" The soldier declared as he threw another punch. Then another. "You should learn to be more grateful!"
"How do you like that?" The man grinned savagely as he prepared for another punch.
It was a hit that never landed.
Naruto sighed for a moment as he waited in line for the fifth time for that morning alone. Every person was entitled to only receive one loaf of bread for the day due to the shortage of food. But Naruto had a way around that. Using the Henge (Transformation) he had disguised himself as a different person each time he went to receive more bread.
He had already gotten enough for the rest of his rather large family, for now, and he was just waiting to finally get his share. The golden haired boy found himself a little lost in thoughts as he gratefully took the morning bread and bit in. Most of the men furthest back in the line had started to get rowdy, realizing that the food would run out long before they got their turn. Naruto ignored them. The fools should have tried to come earlier instead of lounging around. It wasn't like they had anything else to be doing.
He took notice however, of a girl probably younger than Mikasa standing near the end of one of the lines. She was stuck out in the crowd due to the fact that she was very young, and very alone. Her face looked dead, staring at the ground as she took another step forward in the long line. Looking back at the stalls to see what bread was left, Naruto estimated that she wouldn't make it there, especially not with those men at the back. He took one look at his share of bread then back at the girl and sighed. Damn his kind nature, Hiruzen had rubbed off on him a little too much.
Oh well, he would find something else to eat later. He doubted that the little girl would.
The golden haired boy walked up to her with a friendly smile on his face, making sure not to scare her as he usually tended to do with strangers. Everyone seemed to react negatively to his strange looks. "Oi, little girl. Here you go." He said as he lifted one of her hands to place the loaf of bread in.
The dead look on the girl's face disappeared suddenly as she took notice of the action, suddenly becoming guarding and alert. Naruto watched closely as she turned to face him with cold, piercing, blue eyes. The question on her face was clear as she gazed into his eyes, searching for an answer.
Naruto wrote it off with another smile. "Take it. The bread will run out before you get to the stands."
"What about you?" she asked, never once looking away from his eyes. The whiskered boy found the younger girl slightly similar in behaviour to Mikasa, being able to throw strangers off track without meaning to.
"I'll manage. Can't have a pretty lady starve now can I?" Naruto winked in response. The eleven year old was unaware that he was flirting, simply stating what was on his mind.
Unfortunately he didn't get to catch the girl's reaction, which was to blush slightly and look away. His distraction was due to the commotion that had suddenly erupted nearby, a commotion that included people that the whiskered boy knew very well.
Eren lay sprawled on the ground, massaging his jaw. Naruto looked at his little brother quizzically, unable to understand the situation. The only ones anywhere near the ten year old boy were two soldiers, but they wouldn't hurt villagers, would they? Naruto was answered a moment later when Armin jumped in front of Eren only to get violently smacked away.
Naruto's felt his teeth grinding against each other, his fingernails digging into his palm as he clenched his fist. It was taking a great deal of self control not to launch himself at the two soldiers lest he seriously harm them. Hiruzen had always told him never to harm those unable to defend themselves. That his power came with responsibilities.
But then again, these soldiers weren't supposed to harm children either. So it would be a fair trade if got his shot at them didn't it? Naruto was glad that Iruka had interfered. At least he wouldn't have to deal with the soldiers himself.
Naruto's eyes widened a few seconds later. Scratch his earlier thoughts. Iruka was in trouble, and someone was going to pay.
The golden haired boy shot off and suddenly closed the distance with the main assailant.
"How do you like that?" He heard the man taunt as the soldier drew his arm back, ready to punch Iruka again. His Iruka.
Naruto didn't say anything. He just grabbed the man by the waist and tossed him aside like a doll. It was easy enough with chakra coursing through his body, strengthening it.
"Oi! What's your problem?" The soldier holding Iruka spat, throwing Iruka to the side to deal with the new threat.
The whiskered boy didn't respond, opting instead to drive his fist into the man's stomach. He wasn't using chakra to add power to his punches. He didn't need to. Naruto didn't want to risk accidentally killing either of them. The backlash would be bad.
With the man doubled over in pain, the golden haired boy landed four punches in the space of a second to the man's face. As the soldier staggered backwards, Naruto landed a graceful roundhouse kick that threw the man completely off balance and crashing onto the concrete pavement.
But the eleven year old was not done. He knew he had his back turned to the other soldier, but it was on purpose. He didn't need his eyes to sense the other man's movements. His back being turned only served as a fake opening for his opponent to try and exploit. People not trained in any style of fighting were easily predictable. The golden haired boy almost sighed when the man shouted while throwing the punch. Was it really necessary to make so much noise as you struck? It was a dead giveaway to the other man's intentions.
Sensing an incoming punch from the right, Naruto perfectly timed his duck so that the punch sailed overhead. It was such a sloppy punch that Naruto was really beginning to question whether the training the cadets were offered was worth it. These two soldier's hand to hand combat skills were abysmal at best.
The eleven year old didn't waste the opening presented and aimed a precise jab at the soldier's throat. Such a strike was sure to render his opponent immobile for quite a while and in serious pain. Naruto was careful not to crush the soldier's windpipe though, that was probably going to be fatal. Probably.
Unlike he predicted however, the soldier remained standing, albeit clutching his throat and struggling for air. Naruto decided to finish it with a move he had gotten a glimpse of from some other boys brawling. It wasn't strictly part of his Taijutsu style but it would get the job done. The soldier was helpless to stop the Lariat that took him off his feet. Naruto himself felt proud of his execution as the two men he had fought briefly lay struggling on the floor. But he was not done yet. Not at all.
The aspiring shinobi had not been able to practice his Magen: Narakumi (Demonic Illusion: Hell Viewing) on live targets before, partially due to the horror it could possibly bring to the victims. Therefore he wasn't very sure if it would even work or if he could do it effectively. Fortunately, he had recently acquired two subjects for him to run his tests. He grinned in anticipation even as he ran through the hand seals, excited to finally try the jutsu, what was the use of knowing it if you couldn't use it?
Far away in some secluded meeting chambers, a certain red haired scientist sneezed violently.
Naruto was not feeling very merciful with these two particular men. He didn't know why they had been beating his family but he felt that he didn't need to know. As far as he was concerned the military should have never raised their hands against the very people they were supposed to be protecting. They deserved what was coming.
"Magen: Narakumi." (Demonic Illusion: Hell Viewing) Naruto whispered, focusing on the two men that now lay side to side. He could feel the illusion settling into place, now it was up to the two men's own imaginations to run rampant and consume them.
Carl slowly sat up, massaging his sore face. That kid sure packed a punch. He sat up just in time to watch Gerald suffer another painful fate and winced when his friend's head crashed into the ground next to him. Anger surged through Carl's head at being bested by such a young boy. And what was this boy doing anyway? What did they do to him?
And now what was the kid doing? Saying something they couldn't understand while playing with his hands? Was he mocking them? Either way Carl didn't want him to finish what he was doing and shot to his feet. He managed to the get to the stranger in time and interrupted whatever was being done by kicking the boy in the chest.
Suddenly the strange looking boy seemed frightened and took of running into the crowd.
"Oi! Where are you running off to? Get back here you little shit!" Carl snarled as he stood shakily. His jaw still ached from the punishment it had received earlier but he didn't really feel up to chasing the boy. Turning to his friend Gerald, Carl offered a hand which his friend gratefully took.
Carl hauled up his coughing friend. In a way Gerald probably had it worse than he did.
"Dad! Dad!" A little girl screamed as she came running to hug Carl with tear stricken eyes.
Worried, the father came and hugged his little girl. What happened to his daughter and what was she doing here? She should have been safe at home. Next to him he could see Gerald in a similar situation, consoling his bawling wife. When had that woman arrived?
"What's wrong?" Carl asked as he soothed his little girl. "Where's your mother?"
"Titans dad! They came!"
Carl's blood froze. Titans? Inside Wall Rose? Impossible!
"They ate mom!" The little child bawled. "Dad I'm scared! They're comi…"
The little girl was interrupted as a massive hand simply snatched the child away from her father, screaming hysterically. Carl was on his knees begging right now, staring up to face the monstrosity that held his precious daughter in its grip.
"No!" Carl screamed in vain as the beast clamped its vicious jaws shut, ending his little girl's life.
Carl screamed as the same hand reached for him. His family was gone. And now he himself was going to be eaten. His last thoughts had been the words spoken to him by that green eyed boy earlier.
'You don't know what it's like! The way titans eat people!'
Regret was the last thing that entered Carl's mind before he saw black.
"Naruto!" Armin cried out in surprise as their elder brother appeared from seemingly out of nowhere. He was ignored however as his brother immediately attacked the soldier's that had been beating up Iruka.
Armin once again took the opportunity to watch the skill and grace displayed by the golden haired boy, something seldom seen in children. The blond was slightly worried, they were sure to get in trouble for causing a ruckus. Especially since they had chosen to clash with soldiers. Why couldn't Eren be careful with what or who he picked fights with? Didn't the boy have any survival instincts at all?
It was all done within the blink of an eye. Armin could hardly follow the whiskered boy's movements before the two grown men lay defeated at his brother's feet. Armin was just about to suggest leaving before they got into any more trouble with any other authorities in the area. He had already picked out three optimal paths of escape to run through so that they could lose any other potential pursuers when Armin noticed that the golden haired boy uttered something in a foreign language while forming sequences with his hands. Armin was observant enough to realize that they worked in conjunction with each other and he would be sure to ask Naruto its purpose later on. The small blond was also very interested in that new language, not very many were present within the walls since all the other less used languages died out. It would be a great opportunity to gain additional knowledge even if they could only use it amongst themselves. The question was would Naruto be willing enough to teach them?
His musings were cut short when the two grounded men began screaming and calling out names that they had never heard before. Armin watched in wonder as their spasms rocked their bodies violently before they finally fell still.
"Did you kill them?" Eren asked curiously.
Naruto shook his head. "I just gave them a little nightmare to live through, I'm not sure what they dreamed about but it doesn't seem too good."
"Let's leave before anyone else notices us." Mikasa stated matter of factly, looking around cautiously. "There would have been someone to notice this."
Naruto's cerulean eyes settled on her. "Don't worry, look around at all the fights going on around here. Some are more severe than ours and they draw everyone else's attention. We can walk out of here and no one will notice. So let's go, but don't run or anything. That will just draw suspicion."
He looked back at the two soldiers. "Leave them there, they will wake up sometime soon anyway."
Nodding at his logic, the black haired girl and Eren both moved to follow their whiskered brother as Naruto turned to walk away.
"That boy, he's something else all right." Armin overheard his grandfather whispering to Iruka.
"I am really wondering myself what he went through under Hiruzen, but I think it's better not to ask questions. He already told us the basics so that we would understand. For now we will take care of the kids, he may mean well but he is still just a boy." Iruka replied.
Armin stored that information for later on. What was Naruto's secret that only the adults knew? But right now they were getting left behind. "Are you coming?" he asked to get the two adult's attention.
Both the scar faced orphanage caretaker and Armin's grandfather nodded before following suit with Armin trailing behind them. The blond boy however could not shake the feeling that they were being watched, despite Naruto's assurances earlier on. Scanning the crowd but finding nobody, Armin finally turned away to catch up to his family. Yet the nagging feeling did not disperse.
Little did he know, Armin had been right. Three pairs of eyes followed the departing group.
Annie Leonhardt stared after the boy that had come and generously offered her his own food. It was unexpected to say the least; her opinion so far of these walled people was already incredibly bad.
She simply could not stand them. She despised them. Every single last one of them. All of these selfish, greedy cowards that had a pathetic claim on life. They lived without purpose and made no effort whatsoever to improve their place in the world. They simply chose to live a useless life within the walls; eating, sleeping and producing waste. Just like animals.
But this behaviour was what was labelled as humanity. To think she had wanted to be considered as a simple human once before. The blonde was reluctant to even interact with the simple minded fools. Unlike sheep though, these humans were prone to intense outbursts of anger which led to violent outcomes.
This boy however, had turned her views around in the space of a few seconds. He had given her food instead of keeping it to himself as she had come to believe. His reasoning was also strange. She wasn't sure whether he did it on purpose, but that was the first time anyone had ever shown her some form of compassion. Everyone else back home had something derogatory to throw her way, especially her father. His compliment also stirred up a new feeling inside of her that she had never felt before. It was very new and that was dangerous. It was also, warm in its own way. Whatever this new feeling was she did not dwell on it and her features returned back to their lazy state, nibbling on the bread.
Annie felt two presences suddenly appear on either side of her. She did not need to turn to recognize who they were. Only two people would ever appear as they did in this place.
"Who was that Annie?" Reiner asked curiously with his arms crossed, eyes also following the stranger. "You two seemed close." The bigger male may not have heard what the stranger had said, but his smile and Annie's slightly flustered reaction had been more than enough to garner his interest. It was the most emotion their team mate had shown ever since they were teamed up.
The small girl seemed to mull it over for a minute before answering, watching as the whiskered boy charged the two soldier's in a rage. "Nobody."
"His hand to hand combat is very good." Bertholdt calmly observed.
"Form is good and he hits hard." Reiner added on.
"I see." Annie replied, still taking small bites out of the bread.
Reiner felt a little miffed at the lack of response. The small girl had gone back to her usual self and both boys really wanted to improve their team dynamic. This was the one time where he could hope to get her to open up a little and let go of that chilly demeanour.
"What are we going to do about him Annie? He might end up in a titan's stomach with what we plan on doing."
Next to him Bertholdt stiffened and Reiner bit his lip. That was probably not a good way to continue the conversation.
Annie however ignored them, watching the whiskered stranger intently. She thought he had been itching for a fight when he took of earlier and her opinion of him had degraded. This time however, he proved to be defending what was his family. So he fought to protect. She was forced to re-evaluate her opinion. He had a great drive. That was for sure. He wasn't one of these sheep and he wasn't afraid.
She then remembered that Reiner had asked her a question and was probably still waiting for an answer. Without breaking her gaze from the group, she gave her reply. "I will repay his kindness. He will not get eaten."
"Does the offer extend to those others?" The tall brunette asked, gesturing to Naruto's family.
The trio's eyes lingered on the lone boy that seemed to be searching the crowd for them, feeling like he was being watched.
"We shall see." With those words, Annie turned the other way and began walking off into the crowd. "Leave me, we should not be seen together for very long. People may grow suspicious."
Reiner sighed and scratched his head as she left. "Damn it Bert, this mission is going to be harder than we thought."
(Shelter)
Back in their place at the shelter, the group of children sat in a loose circle with Naruto leaning with his back against the wall. Iruka and Armand had gone after being summoned by a messenger of the central government with a message of orders for the refugees. The adults were all required to attend but the kids did not need to. The shelter itself was now virtually empty of all but the four children.
Mikasa sat in the corner quietly with her legs crossed and skirt neatly folded. She didn't usually talk much with the others anyway. Armin was sitting on the floor across from Eren, watching as the green eyed boy stared angrily into space.
"I'm going to go back inside Wall Maria and kill every single titan there!" Eren declared suddenly, still not having eaten his bread.
The bold statement had the other three's immediate attention as Naruto and Armin shared a glance.
"Eren, you're not serious right?" Armin asked with a small placating smile.
The green eyed boy's expression then darkened as his head snapped up to glare at Armin. It was so openly hostile that Armin visibly recoiled. "I've never been more serious!"
Naruto was frowning at this point, watching his little brother closely with his arms crossed. He didn't really like that Eren seemed to draw power from his anger. The eleven year old began debating whether it would be a good idea to train the brunette in better handling his emotions.
While Naruto's thoughts drifted, Eren was not so quiet about his. "I'm not like these people that only act strong when protected by the walls!"
The brunette then glared maliciously at the loaf of bread in his hands. "I don't need this crap!"
Naruto's blue eyes widened in surprise as the loaf of bread sailed towards him. Snatching it out of the air the whiskered boy slowly began to feel anger. Did Eren not appreciate food? Even in Shiganshina there was barely enough to go around. His little brother should know the value of every little bit of food that was available.
Luckily Armin was there to ask the question. Naruto feared he may have been a lot less forgiving in making Eren see reason. Heck, the other larger boys in the orphanage learnt to leave him alone after they got hurt. The golden haired boy decided that he would stand by during the short confrontation and watch events play out.
"Eren, what are you doing!?" Armin yelled. The small blond knew that Naruto would catch the bread so he didn't spare it a glance.
Eren leapt to his feet, prompting Armin to do the same since they were obviously in a heated argument.
The green eyed boy moved closer to Armin as he spoke. "Doesn't it bother you Armin? We can't do anything against the titans because we live off of such pity!"
Armin stood his ground. "But it's impossible! We can't do anything against them! Our only choice is to live inside these walls! If you do anything stupid then you're just going to die like my parents did!"
Eren sneered venomously. "So that's why you're sucking up to these people? Do you have no shame!?"
"It's all we can do right now!" Armin argued back, even as tears filled the small boy's eyes.
"That's just an excuse! Just carry on living like livestock you weak piece of shit!" Eren roared, the harsh words cutting into Armin as the sobbing boy finally dropped to his knees. Mikasa appeared next to their small blond friend much like she did earlier.
Naruto lost it. That last insult had gone too far! In the blink of an eye Naruto's fist impacted against Eren's jaw, sending the younger boy to the ground as his elder brother glared at him.
"Naruto?" Mikasa asked softly as ash comforted Armin.
Naruto took a deep breath, keeping his outstretched hand held out. That had felt good. Now he just had to knock some sense into the idiot. He figured he needed to be a lot stricter than Carla seemed to have been. Apparently, Eren almost never listened to Carla and the golden haired boy knew how kind Carla had been from listening to Mikasa speak at night when she had to let it out. Therefore he would deal with Eren like Hiruzen dealt with troublemakers at the orphanage, with pain.
He walked over threateningly to the grounded boy, kicking him over. "If Armin is weak, then what does that make you?" Naruto asked rhetorically. "If I can remember correctly, then you aren't much better yourself."
On the ground Eren flinched as tears came to his eyes.
Seeing that he was getting somewhere, Naruto ploughed on. The whiskered boy was determined to teach his little brother a proper lesson. "You were too weak as a person to make decent memories with mother. You were too weak to get her out from under the pillar in time without my help. And you were too weak to even get to the boats on your own! At least Armin managed to find his grandfather and bring him to the boats without a soldier and especially without anyone dying!"
Everyone's eyes widened at that as Eren's tears finally fell down his face. This was the first time Naruto had ever raised his voice against one of them and it hurt Eren more than he thought it should. The hard part was that the hurtful words that his elder brother's mouth spouted were all true.
"And do you know the worst part?" Naruto asked threateningly as he picked up Eren by his shirt collar and hoisted him up into the air. "It's that I'm no better myself!"
Eren took the chance to look down at his elder brother in shock and only then noticed how Naruto's own eyes were red with unshed tears. "If only I had been stronger then maybe I could have got to the old man sooner! I could have been more help to him in the end! If I was stronger then he would still be here with me instead of rotting inside that fucking titan's stomach!" Naruto yelled as he dropped Eren onto the floor.
"We're all weak here. We all needed someone else's help to reach the boats. Even now we live off other people's food. There's no chance for weaklings like us to take down even a single of those titans. The important part is staying alive until we get older, until we can fight them properly with everyone else. But until then, you eat and stay alive. I won't let you, Mikasa or Armin starve to death." Naruto finished as Eren sat up, shoulders drooping.
"I'm sorry Naruto, Armin." Eren offered his heartfelt apology, ashamed of himself. "I stepped out of line, I should have…"
The brunette found himself unable to speak any further when the loaf of bread got shoved into his mouth. "I told you to eat already didn't I?" Naruto joked as Eren finally took a bite.
Just like that, the warm atmosphere settled around the group as everything was settled. The whiskered boy thought it went really well, he only had to punch Eren once.
While the other three began chatting amongst themselves, an idea suddenly hit Naruto. What if he trained these three others how to fight? They did not have chakra but with the correct style then could hold their own against other humans. They still had a good three years before they would be legible to apply for military training. Well, for Naruto it would only be two years since he was already eleven but he wasn't exactly going anywhere without his siblings. But before they even applied there, other people were the biggest threat to his siblings. That and he wouldn't always be there to guard them. It would be beneficial to everyone if he taught them how to fight. Now what to teach them?
The golden haired boy briefly remembered that a person's personality usually influenced the style that they excelled at. Observing Mikasa for a moment, he decided that he would train her at a style that excelled at fast strikes, grapples and dodging. The young girl may not look it, but she was incredibly strong for both her age and size. He had seen her agility firsthand before and decided that he would offer two scrolls from his arsenal for her to learn.
Armin would probably need a style that involved very little contact with his opponent, striking pressure points to take down the opponent. Armin certainly had the smarts both to learn and effectively utilize the techniques in combat. It was perfect since Armin was too weak to do direct impact damage to someone or to grapple anyone for the matter. Naruto involuntarily flinched when he pictured Armin blocking a strike from a larger opponent. Fortunately, Naruto had a style that complimented Armin perfectly in his arsenal. He hadn't paid much attention to it before since it wasn't very appealing for him to use but now he had someone who could possibly make good use of it.
Eren, well, this would be a challenge. The boy was strong, but he lacked any sort of finesse. Something that Hiruzen had been constantly trying to drill into Naruto. Eren was no juggernaut, which was for sure. The boy couldn't just charge in swinging his fist and expecting to absorb all the incoming damage. That was suicide. But maybe Eren would be good at a counterattacking style that involved some heavy grapples and slams. If Eren grew tall then that would suit him perfectly.
Naruto himself was planning on branching out, he had enough time to learn two or three different styles, but first he had to get his siblings up to speed.
"Hey guys." Naruto interrupted, smirking as three pairs of eyes settled on him. "Would anyone here like to learn how to fight?"
Mikasa seemed intrigued by the prospect and nodded for him to continue. Eren on the other hand was already leaping in front of Naruto, excited beyond belief. His elder brother looked amazing when he fought and Eren seriously thought that it would be useful.
Armin however, looked conflicted. "Naruto, I don't think I am suited for combat."
Naruto's smirk got the better of him as he gave them all the details of what he would try teaching them and by the end of it, three eager children sat in front of him awaiting instructions. He had been surprised when Armin requested to be taught his language. Mikasa and Eren both seemed interested as well. The whiskered boy didn't mind, it would be nice to have someone else to talk to in Hiruzen's language.
(Night-time)
It was already late at night as the whiskered boy switched over Iruka for his shift at night watch. He sighed heavily, they had spent the day on training in the basics of each of their fighting styles. They had a general idea of what they had to achieve but there was still room for improvement. It hadn't been a wasted day at all.
Right now however, it wasn't what he was worrying about. Living in these conditions were bearable but only barely. He wanted to get his siblings a room of their own were they could have what they wanted. But for that they needed money. And no matter his abilities, children could not work for money.
He had overheard some people talking though. He probably wasn't supposed to have heard it while going through the back of a restaurant earlier that day, but he couldn't help it. Curiosity got the better of him. Apparently there was something people referred to as the Underworld.
He had done his research and found out that the Underworld did indeed exist. It consisted of a massive underground city underneath Wall Sina and branched out all the way to underneath the entirety of Wall Rose. The Underworld was in itself an enormous network of underground tunnels that crisscrossed over each other producing a terrifying maze.
One reason not many people lived there was because of the extremely hostile conditions produced by those that did inhabit the underground labyrinth. Thugs, thieves, murderers, drug lords, human traffickers they were all there. The few that did make a living down in such dangerous conditions were the outcasts of society, those that no longer had a place in the world above.
The population in the underworld was staggering to say the least. Naruto estimated that maybe a stunning fifth of mankind's entirety dwelled down there.
The golden haired boy pondered his position for a moment. On the one hand he could stay alongside his siblings and survive off of cultivating the land like the refugees had been ordered. On the other hand he could risk himself and go and make a living in the Underworld, getting the finance needed to make his family's life more comfortable.
It was a relatively easy decision to make since technically he wouldn't be leaving his siblings alone. His shadow clones could keep an eye on them like normal while he was away and they tended to last long. If they did not get injured then they could function for two days at most without being dispelled. Nobody would even notice he was missing.
In the Underworld he could also practice his shinobi skills without fear of being discovered. He may only be treated as a rumour and he really doubted that any authorities would want to go snooping in such a sinister place.
How to make money? Well, stealing from thieves and the like didn't sound too bad. It wasn't like they owned any of it in the first place.
The other details, well he could sort them out later. First, Naruto needed to check the place and plan accordingly. Looking around at his sleeping siblings Naruto gave them a faint smile. It would be worth it in the end.
Forming a shadow clone next to him, the eleven year old shinobi nodded at his copy before using a Henge (Transformation) to cloak himself in black shinobi garb.
Taking one last look at his family, the whiskered boy took off. It was time to enter the Underworld.
(Time Skip: One Year Later)
Naruto was exhausted. He had been very far away from home when he had heard the news. He had been almost at Wall Sina actually when he had overheard the talk of the government sending all able bodied refugees to try and retake Wall Maria.
It may have seemed like a glorious idea, but everyone could see past the thinly veiled death march. The government apparently saw this as the only solution to the food shortage that had only worsened over time, even with all the refugees cultivating land. It hadn't been enough.
Naruto knew that he would not be able to make it back in time, yet he had run anyway as fast as chakra to his legs would allow. He was right, he had been too late. Nearing the apartment Naruto rented with the money he had managed to obtain, he met up with his shadow clone. His copy acknowledged him briefly before dispelling, allowing the golden haired boy to sift through the clone's memories.
Apparently Armin's grandfather had been one of those chosen to leave and poor Armin had tried desperately to keep his last member of blood family with him. It had all been in vain and all Armin had been left with as a memento of his grandfather was the aging hat that Armand had decided to pass down to his grandson. Fortunately, Naruto's shadow clone had been there to console the devastated Armin. The clone had then explained why Armand had chosen to go, a sacrifice so that the next generation had a better chance of surviving. Just as Hiruzen had done for Naruto. The clone had then hugged the small blond to sleep before getting up to leave.
The golden haired boy was very thankful that Iruka had signed up for the training corps a few months back, at least the orphanage caretaker wouldn't be a part of the ensuing slaughter.
As the clone had left the apartment it had been just in time to encounter a very brief yet very hostile argument once again in the form of an irate Eren and a defiant Mikasa. It hadn't ended well. Eren had stormed off back into the apartment and jumped into the bed next to Armin before falling asleep immediately.
The black haired girl however had gone off in another direction altogether. According to the clone, these events had happened only five to ten minutes before.
Slightly worried about his little sister, Naruto took off in the direction Mikasa had gone in. The twelve year old wanted to make sure that his sister would be alright. He knew she was already capable of taking care of herself at this point but he didn't trust Mikasa with her own feelings. In the past year Naruto and his little sister had gotten incredibly close in their relationship that they almost could not hide anything from each other. Well, she didn't know that about his frequent visits to the Underworld but she did not need to know that.
He finally spotted her on a nearby rooftop on a tall house that had all its lights out. The inhabitants had already gone to sleep. Adding a little more chakra to his feet, Naruto effortlessly leapt up all three stories and landed silently next to the girl. The golden haired boy had to wonder how she had gotten up here in the first place but didn't ask. Now was not the time.
The girl was sobbing silently as she hugged her knees tightly, burying her face within the red scarf. Naruto now knew its symbolic importance to the girl and understood just how much it meant to her.
Not really sure how to proceed, Naruto dropped himself down next to her. "What's wrong Mikasa?" he prodded gently.
The black haired girl looked up slowly with red eyes sore from crying. She was not surprised to see that her brother had suddenly appeared out of nowhere without her sensing him. She had stopped questioning his abilities long ago.
"Having a hard time with Eren again?" Naruto asked as he turned to look up at the starlit sky. He already knew the answer to that.
Mikasa gave a small nod in return.
The golden haired boy sighed. This really wasn't his forte. He held out an arm around her, giving her an invite.
Mikasa took the invite gratefully as she leant against his chest as he wrapped the arm around her shoulders. "Tell me what happened this time. And don't leave anything out."
Mikasa wriggled a little in his comfortable embrace. "Eren got mad at me again. He said he wants me to leave him alone for once. He even told me that I should go find something useful to do with my life instead of watching over him all the time! Doesn't he get that I want to watch over him to make sure he's safe? You know him Naruto! He's going to die or get seriously hurt if I don't watch him! It hurts that he doesn't like me watching over him but it hurts even more that he's starting to push me away." She finished as she began sobbing again.
Naruto tightened his embrace around her shoulders in what he hoped was a comforting gesture. His sister only seemed strong on the outside, but inside she was a very fragile thing. She didn't even seem to care about anything other than Eren. He was a little confused as to how he should approach this situation given that he didn't have much experience with relationships either. This was something that they should sort out with each other. Then again he could be a little bit of help and encourage the girl, that would only be good in the long run. Turning to the girl in his arms he slowly wiped her tears off with his thumb.
The golden haired boy flashed his little sister a smile and the black haired girl could not resist smiling back a little. "I'll just ask. Do you think he is worth it?" he asked seriously.
Mikasa nodded immediately without any hesitation.
Naruto grinned. "Then don't give up! You should never give up! That boy is just as blind as a bat when it counts and you know it. I mean can't he see this wonderful girl sitting right underneath his nose? I mean look! She's beautiful, smart, devoted…"
He was interrupted when Mikasa punched him playfully. "Stop, you're just lying to make me feel better."
Naruto knew better however and his grin widened when he noticed how flustered she was getting. "Therefore since lover boy over there is hopeless, then it's up to you to get this thing going! It may hurt, but just persist. No pain, no gain. Trust me."
Mikasa smiled a genuine smile at that. "Thank you Naruto, for everything."
"Nah, no problem. But I think we have to go, the man who lives here doesn't seem too happy with us."
"Oi! Who's up there! Come down here thief so I can shoot you!"
Naruto blinked. "Um no thank you sir! I prefer my life!" the whiskered boy shouted back.
Mikasa giggled as the man thundered up the stairs to the roof.
"That's our cue." Naruto announced as he picked up Mikasa bridal style and began leaping across the rooftops, laughing heartily at the confused man they had left on the rooftops.
The black haired girl smiled in exhilaration. It wasn't often she got to travel like this, with the wind in her face while feeling like a damsel in distress instead of a protector. She hugged her big brother tighter. What would she do without him?
It took only a minute before they were back at their apartment. The whiskered boy set down his little sister next to Eren on the bed after locking the door. They all shared just one bed with Armin and Naruto always on either end. Eren would always sleep next to Armin while Mikasa chose to be in between Eren and Naruto.
After switching off the lights, Naruto came and lay down next to Mikasa. Even if they shared the rather large bed, each one had their own pillows and blankets. Just as he was going to fall asleep, he felt someone poking his side.
Grunting, he turned to see Mikasa's wide eyes eyeing him pleadingly. "Um, Naruto? Can you…" Mikasa faltered as she tried to get the words out of her mouth.
Naruto got the idea and gave her a smile before nodding and adjusting his position so that he was effectively hugging Mikasa's from behind. He didn't see anything wrong with it since he was still just twelve and she was eleven. They were also brother and sister. She sighed a little as she got comfortable. "Thank you again. It's just that… Eren used to hug me in his sleep when we were younger, but now he stopped for some reason I…"
"Just go to sleep Mikasa. You can thank me in the morning." Naruto joked as he let out a yawn.
Mikasa didn't answer anymore as she felt the whiskered boy behind her succumb to sleep. She really wished that Eren would notice her. It was her dream. He had practically been her knight in shining armour and they had shared moments that only they could understand. But Eren had always been distant and she couldn't put her finger as to why. The black haired girl wanted attention for herself, but Eren didn't seem to feel the same way. Instead the green eyed boy always seemed to be angry with her for some reason or other.
Naruto on the other hand, was a blessing. She still did not know exactly how they ran into him, but she was grateful anyway. She had always been the oldest acting among the trio before, shouldering all the responsibilities. But ever since the golden haired boy had come along she had much less to worry about as he took up the position for himself. That and Naruto seemed to give her more attention than Eren ever did.
Eren was her hope and she felt happy whenever he was near. She wanted to please him and she worked hard to try and keep him safe. With Naruto however, she could just be herself and he wouldn't really mind. She didn't need to worry about his wellbeing either and he was concerned about her. Eren would probably only notice her if she was on the verge of death. The sad thought penetrated her mind and she unconsciously tightened her hold on the arms that held her.
It was hard trying to keep up with Eren. She got nothing in return for her efforts but an empty pit whenever she was ignored or scolded. She really wished that Eren could be more like Naruto. The calm and reassuring aura that her elder brother emitted made her feel safe. Protected even. It was a warm feeling whenever she was with Naruto, compared to the coldness with Eren. When was the last time that the green eyed boy had even made her laugh?
It was with these confused thoughts that Mikasa finally drifted off into sleep. Even if she wanted to, she could not replace the feeling of Naruto's arms around her with Eren's. The problem was she did not know whether to feel good or bad about it.
(Time Skip: One more Year Later – Underworld, Unknown Location)
"Uzumaki! They're surrounding us!"
"Shut it Levi! I know that!"
"Farlan, Isabel! Get those people out of here fast! Uzumaki and I will try to hold them back!"
"Got it!"
"Uzumaki, you better be able to do what I think you can."
"I can say the same to you, Levi."
"This was not a good idea. I blame you for this."
"Whatever helps you sleep at night."
(Time Skip: One Final Year Later)
"You are now all officially members of Training Unit 104! Unfortunately for you, Keith Shadis, will be in charge! I'm not here to give you a warm welcome! All of you are just livestock waiting to be eaten by titans! No, you're even worse than livestock!" Keith bellowed out in front of the trainees that all stood to attention.
Naruto smiled, he already liked where this was going.
And that's a wrap!
This chapter we got to introduce a few of the new characters as well as expand on Naruto's relationship with his family members. But what trouble does he keep getting himself into in the Underworld? We'll dwell on it sometime later. As well as Mikasa's conflicted feelings. What does this mean?
The next arc is going to be the training chapter! Here many bonds will be formed and cemented, that's all that I can say.
See you next time! Don't forget to leave a review!
