A/N: I now know exactly what to do with this story, prepare yourselves.
Training II: We Are Soldiers
Naruto sighed as he stretched his legs a little before standing. Hopefully spending his first evening and first night at this camp wouldn't be as tiring as his first day.
The golden haired boy glanced upwards and frowned towards the carts that were leaving the training grounds carrying many of the potential recruits. Naruto scowled in disappointment. So much for his earlier hope and assessment, more than half of the would-be recruits had hitched a ride onto the carts willing to be shipped back to farm work.
They hadn't even done much for the day. Yes, Shadis had yelled at them. Yes, that same instructor had made them run around the field and do pushups. But that was it. And just like that they had quit? Then again it was sort of good riddance. He wouldn't want any of those people watching his back. They belonged on a farm where they would at least be of some use.
His mood darkening Naruto turned to start his walk to the mess hall. There was no point in being late and missing his dinner, no matter what that dinner was going to be. Even bread alone would be fine, although soup would probably do as well. Hot soup sounded great and Naruto felt his spirits lighten up as he grinned. The golden haired boy's pace increased as his eagerness for dinner overcame him, until his progress was all of a sudden halted as potato girl crashed down in front of him. Naruto blinked, taking in her appearance before sighing. Curse my good side.
He just couldn't stand it when something helpless presented itself to him. It had been the same in the Underworld. Especially down there, actually. The weak were preyed upon by the strong relentlessly in that place. Naruto had been there all but a week before he had started to help those he could. It was a great place to practice many of his newfound skills due to the vermin that lived in that hellhole, but he couldn't just stand by and watch as the helpless suffered. Isabel had called him selfless, Farlan had been envious that he hadn't thought of it first and Levi, well, Levi had just called him stupid. Thinking of the shorter man brought a smile to Naruto's face. Levi would probably scowl in disgust at Sasha then step on her prone form as he walked over her just so she would learn not to fall in front of him again.
But he wasn't Levi. Not even close. He therefore hoisted up the unconscious girl and slung her over his right shoulder before he looked around to make sure that Shadis hadn't seen him. They had been ordered to leave the girl alone until told otherwise after all. The golden haired boy let out a small chuckle. Unfairly halving the potato and giving Shadis the obviously smaller piece did sort of warrant the punishment that she had received.
Seeing that the coast was clear he continued on his way to the cabin with the food. Now that his mind was back to his Underworld friends –or merely acquaintances, it depended on Levi really- he couldn't take his mind off the smallest of the group. That midget was terrifying. Their first meeting had been a disaster. Naruto had never thought he would feel so outclassed by another human. Even though he had chakra coursing through his body to enhance his speed and strength as well as bolster his senses at the time, it wasn't enough to stop him from almost getting killed. He had had to disappear in a burst of smoke and leave an enraged Levi behind. To this day Naruto had no logical explanation as to how someone could possibly be that strong, fast and skilled without chakra. And Naruto had confirmed over the time they spent together that Levi was not a ninja, nor trained by one. The man was just simply that good.
But using actual jutsu, Naruto knew he could possibly be on level ground with Levi. Possibly. That tiny man was damn near untouchable with the 3D-Manouever gear. Sometimes it looked like Levi was just flying. It was one reason why Naruto was excited to learn how to use the titan killing gear, to fly through the air and be free.
"Hey, mind if we walk with you?" A tall, broad boy asked, gaining Naruto's attention. The golden haired boy was surprised when he had to look up to meet the other boy's eyes. Naruto was already tall for his age yet this boy had at least half a head height difference with Naruto and the boy's companion was even taller with a full head height difference. Naruto blinked and nodded unsurely at the two surprisingly large boys.
"What are your names?" He asked awkwardly as they took their places on either side of him. It was best to always be on guard around strangers, but he also didn't want to scare away any potential friends that he might make in future. You never knew when a potential friend for life walked up to you. Not that he was one to talk, he hardly had any friends.
"Just Reiner." The boy said jovially as he introduced himself. "And the skinny one over here is Bertholdt."
The tallest of the trio seemed affronted at the way he was described and showed so by glaring at the now identified Reiner. "I'm not skinny! You're just, um… wide!"
Reiner raised an eyebrow back at his tall friend over Naruto's head. "Really Bert?"
Bertholdt blushed and hung his head muttering something inaudible. Naruto took an instant liking to Bertholdt, even if he was still wary. The tallest boy seemed very gentle and shy, much like an oversized Armin actually. His side in the banter was already chosen.
"Don't worry Bertholdt, Reiner really is just fat. I mean look at him compared to everyone else. He looks fat enough to feed this camp for the next month!" Naruto joked, grinning at the tallest of the trio who grinned back shyly.
Reiner's eyebrows shot up in horror. "I'm not fat! I'm just big boned!"
Naruto's grin widened. "Even better, that would make for some delicious tasting soup."
The broad boy grunted in mock irritation as Bertholdt chuckled.
Naruto observed the pair for a moment and smiled. If things kept up he may have found his first few friends. He was distracted however, when in front of him a large group of trainees seemed to be pestering his siblings as they entered the mess hall.
"Yes! I saw it! How many times should I tell you?" Naruto heard Eren shout in an irritated manner before storming into the mess hall, Mikasa and Armin directly behind him. The golden haired boy pitied his little brother once again, always the centre of attention one way or the other. Perhaps Eren was just meant to be in the spotlight. Good thing Mikasa was there, otherwise Naruto had a feeling Eren and Armin would have been crowded to the point of being unable to move. Mikasa was abrasive like that. He let out a small smile at the thought. Even with all her flaws, he wouldn't change her for the world.
Reiner apparently noticed what Naruto had been looking at, although he mistook Naruto's interest in the group for something else. "So you like the black haired girl then?" Reiner said suggestively as he waggled his eyebrows.
Naruto turned ever so slightly to face Reiner with a raised, questioning eyebrow. "She's my sister."
Reiner's face twisted into one of abject horror before tripping over his own feet as they walked. Bertholdt burst out laughing, momentarily letting go of his timid nature due to the situation while Reiner sputtered in denial. Naruto's grin almost split his face in half.
Reiner grimaced as he pushed himself back off the ground. "Forget I said anything."
"At least now we know where your tastes lie." Naruto joked as he offered Reiner his free hand to help the broader boy up.
Reiner stared at Naruto disbelievingly before getting his wits back. "No! Of course not! I don't even have a sister!"
"Probably wished you had one though." Bertholdt said as Naruto took his turn to laugh at Reiner's expense.
Reiner just covered his blushing face in his hands. "You guys aren't going to let this go, are you?" He asked, already resigned to his fate.
"Nope!" The two other boys answered simultaneously with matching grins.
Annie wasn't a very social person. She knew it, and so did everybody else with the misfortune to meet her. Anybody would immediately notice this trait. She just wasn't very good at expressing herself properly. This made interacting with anyone at all a frustratingly difficult task. The stoic appearance she had developed made it far easier to simply ignore or acknowledge whatever was being said. It went without saying that she avoided actively engaging anyone into any sort of conversation.
Annie blamed her father for her condition. That slave driver had started training her for combat since the young age of four. It was no surprise that almost the entirety of her memories consisted solely of training, day in and day out till she collapsed. The most consistent word however, was 'again'. The first people she had actually spoken to aside from that man were the ones who had chosen her before they sent her on this mission. Other times she was just in her father's shadow, ignoring all the stares. It wasn't the first time she wondered what her life would be like if her mother hadn't died at childbirth, she heard her father had been different back then and was a man who had wholly loved her mother. Frankly Annie didn't see how such a cruel man to his own daughter could actually have known what love was.
Not soon after she had been chosen, she had met her teammates. She held back a scowl at the thought of them.
Bertholdt was a shy fool. As far as Annie was concerned he was simply a lumbering idiot that couldn't make a decision on his own. He wasn't good at fighting either. The only thing he could contribute to their mission was the simply massive size of his titan, the biggest so far within his tribe. He outshone the biggest by a good ten metres, a true harbinger of destruction. That titan however, was severely limited in its use. Moreover it took a lot out of Bertholdt, only being able to fully transform once a day and his record of keeping it active had been half an hour. He had been unconscious for six days afterwards.
Then there was Reiner, a cheerful, idealistic fool that was easily manipulated. He was headstrong when required however, and was like a charging bull once he was set on a goal. Annie had a feeling he didn't like her all that much, not that she cared. Her titan form was superior to his. Her form was lighter, faster and could form lethal weapons or deadly armour as needed. Not to mention her hardening power was also unique within those of her clan. There was reason each of them was sent after all. Furthermore she could also stay in her form for far longer than Reiner and could shift three times a day to exceed his two times. Her combat skills were also on a different league compared to his brawling style and she wasn't bragging, she didn't know how to.
It went with no question that she could probably cripple the colossal titan that Bertholdt possessed, or simply outrun it. There was nothing keeping her here aside from the fact that she had nothing else to be doing, and they knew it. At least she had a purpose at the moment.
The only one who had posed a threat to her had been Marcel, their designated leader. His titan form had been unbelievably fast and dangerous. Razor sharp claws, a jagged maw designed for tearing into flesh all accompanied by a banshee-like scream that could freeze every other creature into a shocked and terrified silence. That scream itself caused enough fear to paralyze even her in her titan form. To make matters worse that boy had been sharp, ruthless and cunning. It was a shame that his 'hero' mindset had gotten him eaten just after they had reached the walls. In his defense he had been able to get them there despite the dangers of venturing out of their home. Maybe that's why Reiner didn't like her, she had just watched another titan gobble up Marcel like some sort of snack. She probably could have saved him if she had tried. She just didn't see the benefit of doing so.
The titan that had eaten Marcel however was very interesting. It had timed its attack right after all four of them were exhausted from their assault on the wall. Furthermore it had looked suspiciously like one of the titans from the Order of Ragnarok. The fact that it didn't seem to be sentient however relaxed Annie's nerves a bit. She shrugged mentally. She didn't mind. Reiner and Bertholdt may have been terrified of those titans but Annie couldn't care less, they were inside the walls and safe while that specific nightmare had disappeared. The danger it held towards her was far less than Marcel. If the beast did somehow manage to get over the wall it would have nowhere to hide and even then, it still would not have the ability to battle Annie. It was a grunt at best. But what if it was from the Order and had reported their presence? Annie decided not to think that way lest she stress herself out.
After Marcel's untimely death, Reiner had declared himself the new leader of the group. Annie didn't care once again. The other two would die rather than follow her, she would never follow Bertholdt, if he even possessed the confidence to suggest himself, making Reiner the only feasible option. He was just barely tolerable so she wouldn't complain. As long as he didn't start ordering her around, she could ignore him.
She would only listen if the orders pertained directly to the success of the mission. Annie would show her displeasure otherwise and, even if she was wary of risking it, would face off with him in either of their forms.
The short blond held back a disgusted sneer at the noise that assaulted her ears as she entered the building. She was not used to loud noises at all. Why did people have to waste so much energy and time talking when they could be eating instead? It went without saying that Annie despised crowds. This could be attributed to the fact that she didn't quite fit in, although part of it was definitely the noise generated. She fell into line with an imperceptible grimace. She would persevere; even someone like her had to eat.
All of a sudden a much taller girl in front of Annie in line began to laugh uproariously. Annie cringed a little at the deafening sound. The blond girl's discomfort then quickly gave way to annoyance when the other girl's shoulder found its way to her face due to her laughter.
"Watch it." Annie snapped coldly.
Annie didn't even need to resort to pushing the other girl forwards as the taller girl flinched away as if struck.
"Oh sorry, I didn't see you there." She apologized.
Annie snorted. Everywhere she went it was inevitable someone mentioned her height in some derogative way.
The other girl's eyes narrowed at Annie, "What's your problem?"
Annie just glared back. The other girl shifted uneasily from foot to foot before she averted her gaze while mumbling another apology. Annie was used to stares and glares; she got more than enough back where she came from due to her family's position and also due to her cold personality. The only one seemingly unaffected by her glares was Reiner, but he was an idiot so he didn't count.
The other girl quickly received her food and rushed away to a table and away from Annie so fast you would think Annie was a titan. Well, she was. But nobody knew that. 'Well done Annie, you just made a friend. Joy.' She thought to herself. She didn't particularly care about these people that were meant to become her 'comrades'. That word was a foreign concept to her. Risking your life or possibly dying for another person's safety made no sense to her. What was in it? What did anyone stand to gain? If someone couldn't even rely on their own abilities then they deserved to perish. There was also the simple fact that these people were training to become soldiers, her enemies. So why waste time fostering a relationship, even with her minimal social skills, when they could make her mission all that much harder? Either she would have reservations about killing them or they would be able to stop her. Neither option sounded favourable.
"And here is your food little girl." The chef grunted, pouring some sickly looking soup into a bowl and handing her a plate with a small loaf of bread.
"Thank you." Annie said politely. Despite her annoyance at being called little once again, and while receiving such a pitiful meal to boot, she still extended common courtesy. From someone with her upbringing and standing in society it was expected and it was the only other thing that father of hers had drilled into her.
Annie scanned the rather large dining room searching for a place to sit. Preferably it would be a table away from the majority of the crowd with herself fairly alone. Unfortunately, every table seemed to be filled with people. Very noisy people. Furthermore Annie was finding it difficult to search over other people's heads. She cursed her short stature not for the first time. The only place that even remotely appealed to Annie was the isolated table near the corner of the room. It was already occupied by two people, but Annie decided to make the most of the situation and choose the lesser of the two evils. It helped that both the people were girls so they probably wouldn't bother her as much as males. Females tended to be less noisy in general.
Now that she had chosen a place, she just had to make it there. This was something that was easier said than done. Annie let out a soft sigh. It was time to cross the room.
"Hey! Pretty girl! One boy from a crowded table called out loudly. "There's space for one more here! Sit with us!" He added, aided by a few catcalls from the other guys at his table which Annie presumed were his friends. Annie noticed four giggling girls already sat next to the group of boys. Those girls were scum.
Annie ignored them. They weren't worth her time. Even back home there were the same good for nothing little boys that only cared about girls and were always looking for a quick shag here and there. She was frankly disgusted by them, they had no place in the military. If they didn't come here to fight then they should not have come here at all. The girls that approached the boys however, were even worse. Sluts, the lot of them. Annie mused that they would either quit or die before they completed the four years of training. She despised those types of people only a little less than her father. Annie doubted she would ever get married unless her father arranged some sort of marriage for her. Even then she would want as little as possible to do with the unlucky man. She didn't want to even think about sleeping with someone in that way. There was also the fact that she had no idea what to do with a baby. Then again knowing her luck her father would arrange a marriage with Reiner. Annie was sure she would probably end up killing him as even now she could barely stand her teammate's presence.
In her musing she had failed to notice the boy from before approaching her from behind as she slowly made her way to her seat. Annie was startled when a large hand suddenly grasped her right forearm. She acted accordingly to the situation as her mind reverted to its alert state during her training. She dropped the plate with bread from her right hand and grabbed the offending limb and ruthlessly twisted it as she spun to face her attacker. Now that she had his arm shoved up his back Annie wasted no time in viciously kicking his legs out from underneath him. The boy crashed face first into the wooden floorboards and Annie followed less than a second later, digging her knee in the centre of his back to pin him to the floor with his arm still twisted behind him. The move had been executed so swiftly that the sound of his face impacting the floorboards coincided with the sound of the plate of bread shattering. Annie congratulated herself on not spilling a single drop of the soup that she held in her left hand.
All noise in the building suddenly ceased as all heads turned to search for the cause of the sound and many gawked at the sight of a small girl violently pinning a much larger boy to the ground. His whimpering brought Annie back to the present, only for her to realize that everyone was now staring at her. Her annoyance flared at the unwanted attention.
"Leave me alone." She hissed venomously, the sound carrying across the entire room. The warning in her tone was unmistakable. The boy underneath her whimpered once again and nodded pitifully underneath her.
"What are you looking at?" She snapped at the unpleasant onlookers. Almost everyone's heads turned the other way, save for a few that looked genuinely curious about her. Annie took note of them, she had seen two of them fight with the golden haired boy who had the whisker marks earlier on. They were good. She planned on avoiding them if possible. She remembered the golden haired boy from a few years back however, and she knew how proficient he was in combat. It seemed he had only improved. Annie would try to deny it but he interested her. He was the only one who stood out, and not only in looks. His behavior was strange. She had seen him slip different masks on and off throughout the day, but there was no denying the cunning she noticed in his gaze as they flashed from time to time. She wondered briefly whether his family was also here, odd as they had seemed back then.
Annie slipped back into her stoic persona and ignored the remaining onlookers as she stepped over the groaning boy and took his untouched loaf of bread to replace the one he had caused her to drop. Nobody moved to stop her. As she walked to her destination the noise started to return to what it was before.
She finally managed to take her seat at the corner most table and started to sip her soup quietly.
"I see someone doesn't like the guys very much." One of the girls sitting across from her commented with a large grin. The girl was far taller than Annie with deep brown hair. Annie ignored her and drank a little more soup. "Hey, I'm talking to you." The girl persisted with a slight frown. "Do you even speak when you aren't throwing people to the floor?"
"Um, Ymir? Can we just, you know, leave her alone? I don't think she likes crowds." The smaller girl with beautiful features suggested nervously. Timid was the first word that popped into Annie's head, beautiful followed a second later.
Ymir let out a loud laugh. "Christa! Stop being so nice!" She scolded, "You won't make any friends that way!"
"You don't have any friends aside from me Ymir. You aren't really someone to give friendship advice." The timid blond pointed out.
Annie hid back a small smirk with the bowl of soup as the tall brunette's eye twitched in betrayal. This was amusing.
"What!? I have a lot of friends!" Ymir protested.
Christa gave a shy but sly grin. "Name one then."
"Let's see," Ymir said, making a big show of looking around the room, her hazel eyes finally landing on Annie a moment later. "She is."
Christa raised a questioning eyebrow towards a disbelieving Annie. She was surprised she had been following the conversation. This was a first for her. Even more surprising was that she had been included into a conversation without the people being required to do so.
"No."
Christa gave a victorious smile towards Ymir whose shoulders slumped as she pouted in defeat.
"If you weren't so pretty I would have punched you already. You know that right?" Ymir grumbled.
Christa giggled in reply. "You wouldn't really hit me would you?"
"I can hit anyone here!" Ymir boasted suddenly.
"You didn't answer the question." Christa said.
Annie watched fascinated as Ymir grit her teeth in frustration. Annie couldn't blame her though, Christa was stunningly beautiful and delicate looking. She wouldn't hit Christa either. Annie had to wonder what a princess like Christa could possibly be thinking to join the military. Ymir was reasonable, being taller than most boys and with the confidence to match. Christa looked like titan candy in comparison. Annie didn't voice her thoughts however as she didn't think they would fit the conversation.
She was oddly comfortable watching the by play between the two girls. There was small part of her however, that was jealous. It was a part of her that had longed for that sort of connection to another person ever since she was young. She squashed down the thought ruthlessly. There was no point in wishing for the impossible. Furthermore searching for such a companion among those that were destined to be her enemies in the future was even more doomed for failure.
But that wouldn't stop her from enjoying the interactions of others as she observed silently.
The noise in the building was interrupted once again when the doors burst open to let in even more people. Annie sighed heavily, even more toxic noise was inevitable now.
"For the last time! We saw it alright! Now leave me alone!" The brown haired boy with stunning green eyes bellowed before storming towards the empty seats next to Annie. The blonde held back a groan. 'Not here please.' She prayed to whoever would listen. That boy was a beacon for trouble and had already gotten into more than one brawl during the day. He was good however, although with his over aggressive attacking style he was going to be easy pickings for her. He relied too much on his strength. Annie would keep this to herself in case she would need to fight with him later on, she was slowly building a file for every possible threat to her in her head.
Thankfully it seemed someone had heard her and the boy sat on the table next to her. Unfortunately the crowd that seemed attached to him for some reason also followed. Annie didn't hide her scowl this time. One particularly stupid looking bald boy even made to sit next to Annie, she vaguely remembered him being the one Shadis had lifted by the head. She glared at him with piercing blue eyes until he got the hint and muttered a quick apology and laughed sheepishly before making his way to another table.
"You really don't like crowds do you?" Ymir asked with a grin. Annie gave an unladylike snort before returning to her soup. Not a single person from the crowd had approached their table after noticing Annie and Ymir glaring simultaneously. Annie remained alone on her side of the table and Ymir scared away anyone even thinking of joining them.
"Thanks." Annie said quietly, she appreciated Ymir's help.
"Don't mention it."
Ymir turned to see Christa looking at her with a radiant smile. "See, you can do something nice!"
Ymir glared at Christa. "Don't you start!" She warned.
Christa just giggled.
Annie tuned them out for a moment as she caught sight of the black haired girl with the red scarf arguing with the chef. Annie didn't catch what was being said but the chef seemed to give in and the black haired girl walked away with a tray containing four bowls of soup and four loaves of bread. Annie blinked. Why would she need that much food? And why would the chef let her?
The girl then headed towards the group carrying her load and paused as she looked impassively at the large group blocking her way. Annie looked on curiously wondering how this girl would respond.
"Move." She said once, quietly.
Nothing happened.
"Move please."
Annie noticed the girl in the red scarf frown slightly at being ignored and couldn't help but relate a bit to the situation. Annie was still looking at other similarities between them when the black haired girl raised a foot knee high and brutally stomped on the foot of one of the boys in her way, twisting and crushing it for good measure.
The boy yelped in pain before the black haired girl used her shoulder to powerfully knock him to the floor. The crowd surrounding the green eyed boy all looked back warily as the black haired girl gazed back with a bored gaze at them. "I said move." The crowd all stepped back as she set the plates onto the table. Annie was impressed. The black haired girl had strength about her, something Annie sorely lacked.
One brave boy moved towards the black haired girl, "Here, let me help you."
"No. Leave."
"It's okay-" He started as he touched a bowl. Since the black haired girl had already distributed two bowls and bread to the green eyed boy and the tiny blonde next to him, her right arm was free. Her arm was blindingly fast and slapped the boy. The resounding crack was nothing compared to the sound as the boy hit the wall before dropping to the floor in pain. The black haired girl's expression hadn't changed, acting as if it was a normal thing to do, hitting another person with such force.
Once again silence reigned in the room.
"That bowl isn't for you." The black haired girl said as she placed it next to her and sat.
Ymir whistled approvingly. The black haired girl glanced at them briefly and turned back to watch her food, but didn't touch it just yet. The green eyed boy meanwhile had already finished the soup and had started on the bread. Annie guessed that the girl in the scarf was waiting for someone.
"That girl is unique." Ymir commented quietly. "Even I can't do that."
"She scares me." Christa admitted nervously.
Ymir gave another massive grin. "Don't worry Christa! I'll protect you. And if blondie over here doesn't scare you then nothing should." The tall brunette said jerking her thumb towards Annie.
"Annie."
"What?" Ymir asked.
"My name, Annie." Annie said before nibbling a little bit of her bread, she didn't quite like being addressed as 'blondie'. She didn't think it was possible but Ymir's grin grew even wider.
"So it does talk."
"Ymir that's rude."
Annie tuned them out again when the doors opened for what she seriously hoped was the last time. Ah, so that's where her wayward teammates were. Reiner would make to sit next to her, she knew. 'So much for being alone.' She thought angrily. What caught her attention however was the golden haired boy with whisker marks walking in between them, with a girl slung over his shoulders. Her eyes widened a little in recognition. He had gotten taller, his hair longer and his eyes an even deeper blue than she remembered. Her breath hitched momentarily. She had only caught glimpses of him from a distance earlier, but now the boy she often thought about looked even better than she expected.
Ymir and Christa both noticed her distraction and Annie's miniscule facial reactions but it was enough.
"What is it?"
"Nothing." Annie replied a little too quickly. She cursed the odd feeling she was having in her belly and didn't understand what it meant. She immediately tried to hide it but Christa and Ymir had already glimpsed more than enough. Both girls turned to face the door to see what could possibly create such a reaction in their companion. Once they turned back Christa was smiling happily at Annie while Ymir had a knowing smirk plastered onto her face.
"Nothing eh?" Ymir teased.
Annie tried her best to act normal and keep her face stoic, meeting Ymir's gaze unblinkingly. Maybe the tall brunette would forget about it if she didn't give anything away.
"My my, one of them is tall isn't he Christa."
"I guess…" Christa answered unsure where he friend was going with this. Ymir was staring straight into Annie's eyes across from her.
"And one is really broad shouldered."
Christa glanced backwards to see the tall one and the broad shouldered one getting food. "Yes, he is…"
"And the one in the middle has beautiful eyes."
Annie blinked.
Ymir's grin widened, bordering on malicious. "Bingo."
Annie's jaw slackened a little with widened eyes in shock at Ymir's perceptiveness and the success of manipulating her. Ymir crossed her arms triumphantly grinning at Annie like a fool.
Christa was still observing the new trio when she turned back around and saw Annie's reaction and Ymir's stance. "What happened?" She asked, positively clueless.
"Annieee, our friend over here, finds one of them interesting. Care to guess which one?"
Christa's large eyes grew to a certain degree as her mouth morphed into an 'O' in realization, looking from Annie back to the golden haired boy.
Annie tried ignoring them and stared at her soup as she tried drinking it just that little bit faster. If she didn't acknowledge them maybe they would forget about it. She could feel her cheeks heating up and she didn't like the new feeling at all. Her hopes were dashed a short second later.
"Ignoring us won't work Annie. You can't avoid this one." Ymir mock scolded.
"Can it be… our secret?" Annie struggled to get the words out. She hated to resort to this level but girls that were her age back in her village had used the same phrase to keep something between themselves. She guessed there was some sort of power to the phrase that made them keep their mouth shut, but if it worked for them then it would work here. She hoped so anyway.
"Of course not!"
"Of course!"
Christa looked at Ymir pleadingly.
"Fine, but only if she agrees to be our friend." Ymir looked challengingly at Annie. "So, what's your choice blondie?"
Annie sighed dejectedly. She had been manipulated again. "Fine."
"See Christa I made a friend."
Annie ignored the duo once again. Saying anything in front of Ymir was tantamount to suicide apparently. And Annie doubted she could kill Ymir with the many witnesses around at the moment. She grimaced a bit as Reiner approached and sat right next to Annie. "Hello Annabeth. Made some friends?" He asked curiously as he started munching on his bread.
Annie turned to glare at him. "Don't call me that. I will kill you." Annie hated the name her father had given her with a passion. It had been the name of her mother, a woman Annie knew nothing about but whom she despised for leaving her with her father. She wouldn't tell Reiner why she hated that name, but it should be enough for him to know that she hated it.
Sensing the hostility in Annie's tone not present earlier all presence of happiness left Ymir's face as she scowled at Reiner. "Hey chunky, can't you eat somewhere else?"
"Every other table's full." He said off handedly with his mouth full.
Annie hated that what he had said was true as she looked around to confirm it.
"Then we switch. Sit where I am and I'll sit next to Annie." Ymir ordered as she stood to her full height. "And don't you dare sit across from her." She added as she moved around the table. "And you, out of my way lanky. Come Christa sit next to me."
Reiner looked on stupidly for a moment before Ymir hauled the large boy up and shoved him away. "Didn't you hear me chunky?" Annie was surprised at the forwardness and courage of Ymir. Despite Ymir's considerable height, Reiner still had quite a bit over her.
Ymir took her seat next to Annie and the blonde girl gave her a weak grateful smile. Annie was seriously switching from hating Ymir to being grateful. Nobody else would have done that for her, and especially not shoving Reiner the way she had done.
"Other side of the table chunky! You aren't sitting next to Christa either. And take lanky over here with you." Ymir ordered aggressively with a sneer. Annie briefly wondered if Ymir would be as confident if she knew she was ordering both a colossal titan and an armoured titan around like toddlers.
"Come on Bert, grumpy bitch this one." Reiner grumbled as he took his place diagonally opposite Annie as far away as possible on the table as possible.
"I heard that chunky!"
"The name's Reiner." Reiner muttered darkly.
"And nobody asked you." Ymir shot back. Annie noticed Christa discreetly tugging on Ymir's sleeve, probably trying to warn Ymir not to aggravate Reiner further. It seemed however, that Ymir had much more of an abrasive personality than even her.
"Just eat Reiner. It's fine." Bertholdt said quietly, attempting to play peacemaker.
Ymir was having none of it. "Yeah, listen to lanky over there, you might learn a thing or two, chunky."
Reiner frowned at her. "Don't call him that." He warned dangerously.
"Or what? The big man is gonna' punch me?" Ymir mocked, making a baby face and kissy sounds. "Such a manly one you are." Annie was exceedingly thankful she hadn't inspired Ymir against her earlier on. She was enjoying watching Reiner get beaten down but didn't fancy having that happen to her.
"I just might." Reiner growled while Bertholdt chuckled nervously.
Ymir's face turned positively dangerous. "Bring it." Annie was curious if Reiner would actually comply. She was even more curious however, how Ymir would fare, being considerably smaller than Reiner. Ymir reminded Annie of a vicious dog that took large bites without checking if it bit off more than it could chew.
The confrontation however wasn't meant to happen. As it turned out both Reiner and Bertholdt were distracted by the sudden silence around them caused by the black haired girl in the red scarf standing tall and moving to greet the golden haired boy who had entered. The entire camp had seen the two of them earlier in the day and were wondering what the relationship between the two was.
"Who is she?" The black haired girl asked simply, staring at the girl hanging from the golden haired boy's shoulders. Annie had a feeling she wasn't very pleased, despite the impassiveness on her face.
The golden haired boy shrugged. "Potato Girl."
"Why are you carrying her?"
"She fell in front of me."
"Give her to me."
"It's fine, I go-"
"Please."
"Alright, here. Catch."
The entire room, Annie included, was shocked when he tossed potato girl over his shoulder towards the black haired girl. There was no way that could possibly end well. Everyone was stunned however when the black haired girl effortlessly caught potato girl. It only reaffirmed what Annie knew about the black haired girl, she was unbelievably strong. That her knees didn't even buckle under receiving the additional weight was a testament to that fact. Once again the black haired girl's face remained unchanging.
The black haired girl searched around for a brief second before spotting Christa. Nodding to herself the black haired girl deposited potato girl into Christa's lap. "Take care of her."
Christa gave a small squeak in surprise. Annie wondered if Ymir was going to take offense to this again, however the expected outburst was unavailable. It seemed even Ymir knew when she was outclassed.
Annie vaguely recalled potato girl's name was along the lines of Sasha. Shadis had bellowed it out earlier after all. Right after however, Sasha's nose twitched and her eyes shot open to catch sight of Christa looking down worriedly at her holding a piece of bread.
"My angel." Sasha whispered while drooling before gobbling up the bread like a grinder.
Ymir and many others just burst out laughing. The noise level returned with a vengeance as everyone began talking once again.
Annie on the other hand watched as the black haired girl walked back up to the golden haired boy.
"Where do you want to sit?"
"I'll sit on this table, next to Bertholdt and Reiner."
"Okay, I got your food for you." Annie saw the stoic girl's face morph into one with a gentle smile. Annie was momentarily stunned at the exotic beauty of the other girl when she smiled.
The golden haired boy smiled back equally gently. "Thanks Mikasa, but you didn't have to wait for me."
"It's okay Naruto, you know I don't mind." She replied softly as she handed him his bowl of soup and bread before picking up hers. Her food was still untouched. Annie made the connection right that second, the black haired girl had been waiting for him. The simple gesture was so pure of raw emotion that Annie had to forcefully grit her teeth to push down the jealousy that reared its ugly head and her chest constricted so much it hurt. Nobody had ever cared about her that much.
They made their way over to Annie's table with Mikasa making a small gesture towards the green eyed boy and their smaller blond companion who both stood and made their way over as well. Mikasa chose to sit directly in front of Annie and patted the seat beside her for Naruto while the green eyed boy plopped down into the space between Naruto and Bertholdt. Annie sighed. What started out as the emptiest table in the room was now filled to full capacity with ten people. She, Ymir, Christa, Sasha and the small blond boy on one side with Mikasa, Naruto, the green eyed boy, Bertholdt and Reiner on the other.
Mikasa gave an acknowledging nod in Annie's direction before turning to ensure Naruto had started eating before she bit into her own bread. Once again Annie saw the resemblance between the two of them. Mikasa had chosen the edge away from the crowd and was silently observing the others as she ate. They were also startlingly different as despite her hatred for crowds, the black haired girl seemed willing to follow the green eyed boy and the golden haired one anywhere.
"Why hello there goldie, aren't you good looking?" Ymir smirked in greeting at the golden haired boy sat across from her. Annie held back a groan, she was back to hating Ymir again.
"Thanks brownie." Naruto replied without a beat.
Annie noticed Reiner choke slightly on his bread and got a little bit of pleasure from his suffering. He deserved it. She wondered however how they knew Naruto.
"Sharp too. I like you goldie." Ymir decided suddenly. "But I don't think it's only me." Annie was glad that she hadn't been drinking her soup at that moment. Annie saw noticed Mikasa's eyes flash in displeasure at Ymir leaving no doubt as to what she thought of the taller girl. The look however disappeared behind the impassive face one again just as quickly leaving Annie to wonder if she had imagined it.
"Ymir." The tall brunette said as she held out her hand for Naruto to shake.
"Mikasa." The black haired girl said suddenly and grasped Ymir's hand in her own.
Ymir's wince as the black haired girl shook her hand didn't escape Annie. Well, Annie hoped Mikasa didn't offer to shake her hand now. Or maybe it was just because Mikasa didn't like Ymir? Annie wasn't especially eager to find out, seeing Ymir rubbing her hand painfully after Mikasa finally let go.
Naruto seemed to have noticed as well and raised an eyebrow at Mikasa. The black haired girl gave a small shrug and went back to eating. "Naruto." He said simply.
"Oooh, hey Naru." Ymir cooed.
"Oi, that's not fair. Shortening your name makes it like 'yum' or something." Naruto protested. "So I guess I'll call you yummy." Mikasa slapped his arm lightly.
Ymir smirked at him. "You know, if you think I'm yummy you could always have a taste."
Naruto shrugged. "I guess we'll never know till we find out. Wanna' give it a go?"
Mikasa pinched him, hard.
"Okay okay! bad joke! Sorry Mikasa." Naruto laughed as he apologized sheepishly.
"Don't apologize to me. I wasn't the one you were degrading."
"Alright! Sorry… brownie."
"No problem goldie."
Mikasa gave a resigned sigh, but Annie still saw the small smile tugging at the other girl's lips.
Everyone else at the table then started introducing themselves. The small blond boy went first. Annie pitied him a little as he was sat directly across from Reiner. That should make introductions hard.
"Hi, I'm Armin Arlert."
All confidence left the boy after that and he looked down at his soup and Annie had to keep from snorting. That had been pitiful.
"Christa Lenz." Christa greeted immediately.
"Reiner Braun." Reiner grunted as he finished his soup.
"Bertholdt Hoover."
"Eren Yeager." The green eyed boy declared confidently. Annie took immediate notice, this was Grisha's son? Naruto apparently wasn't the only one with such fire in his eyes. Annie knew Bertholdt and Reiner would also strive to form a friendship with this boy because of his father.
"Ymir." The tall brunette announced her name again in a bored fashion, head propped on an arm.
"Naruto Uzumaki." The golden haired boy introduced himself with a wide grin. Annie's brain went a mile a minute. She had heard that last name before, if only she could remember where. The problem was, that name belonged outside the walls.
"Mikasa Ackerman." The black haired girl stated emotionlessly, face not moving from her food. Annie froze. That name had been on their mission file as a family to avoid due to the danger they posed. Now there was one in their very midst and she saw the warning had merit. Mikasa had already shown casual displays of strength that not even Reiner was capable of, and she was still young. Glancing at her two teammates their reactions had been the same, sharing uneasy looks with one another.
All eyes then turned to Sasha, who was gobbling down food at an alarming rate.
"Um, slow down, please? You might choke yourself." Christa said worriedly.
"I'm just going to call her potato girl from now on." Naruto said with a shrug. "She's like a wild animal."
Reiner and Eren chuckled, even as Mikasa pinched Naruto again. "Her name is Sasha."
"Same thing." Naruto and Eren replied simultaneously while giving each other a high five. Mikasa just shook her head.
"And you." Mikasa asked, finally facing Annie directly and looking her in the eye.
Annie felt a twinge of fear but did her best to hide it. They couldn't possibly know, otherwise she would be dead by now. Grisha's son, an Ackerman and a name from outside the walls she couldn't place. All she knew was that one was someone they were supposed to check up on, the other posed a grave threat and wherever Naruto was from outside the walls, it was far from them.
"Her name is Anna-" Reiner was cut off by Bertholdt stomping on his foot underneath the table even as Annie turned to try and pin him with a glare. She was slightly thankful Bertholdt had shut him up.
"Her name is Annie by the way, something chunky over there can't quite seem to get." Ymir clarified for the rest, grinning again in Reiner's direction.
"Will you stop calling me chunky?" Reiner asked in exasperation.
"Will you stop calling me chunky?" Ymir repeated in a baby voice.
Reiner's eyes narrowed. "Are you mimicking me?"
"Are you mimicking me?" Ymir copied again. "What does it look like chunky? Gosh you're dumber than I thought."
Luckily a fight didn't erupt on the table thanks to Eren, although Annie was sure he didn't mean to do so.
"That red haired shit." Eren growled as he stood, marching over to another table. Mikasa made to follow him but Annie noticed Naruto place a calming hand on hers and gesture her to sit back down. The black haired girl followed reluctantly as they all turned to watch the scene.
"You coward!" Eren bellowed, silencing the room for what Annie thought could be the fifth time so far. The people sat at her table seemed awfully good at it.
"Yeah so what! Do you think I want to do anything otherwise?" The red haired boy shouted back as he also stood. "I want to be part of the top ten and go to the inner walls! What's wrong with that?"
"Everything!" The two boys were now face to face. Annie supported Eren in this matter, so far a lot of people within the walls were worthless cowards. Eren however was one of the few who stood against the tide, and she was sure Naruto was exactly the same. She could see it in their eyes. "What's the point of learning to be the best titan killers only to go and hide like some sissy!?"
"Well I'm sorry if I'm not suicidal!" The red haired boy spat as he shoved Eren backwards. "Care for a rematch Yeager? Now that your brother isn't here to protect you?" The red haired boy challenged as he got into a fighting stance. Annie could feel the atmosphere of the room as they all tensed in eagerness for the impending fight. She shared a look with Mikasa as they both sighed. Useless sheep.
Naruto cleared his throat loudly to get the red haired boy's attention and many were surprised when the red haired boy winced.
"Don't mind me Kirstein, go right ahead."
Annie noticed Eren grinning savagely and pondered for a moment about his sanity, but catching Naruto grinning similarly to his brother with their eyes glinting was just incredibly disconcerting. Eren seemed to have noted the approval in his brother's voice and suddenly charged towards the other boy, closing the distance and landing a solid punch that dropped the other boy to the ground, all within seconds. Once down Kirstein could hardly protect his face as Eren rained down numerous blows on his adversary.
The doors bursting open once again stunned the room into silence, but this time for very good reason. Their vicious instructor was standing illuminated by the torchlight, looking utterly terrifying at having to enter the mess hall. He cut an imposing figure, Annie had to give him that.
"What is going on here!?" He roared dangerously, his eyes searching eagerly for a culprit. Eren wasn't hard to find and Annie held back a snicker. The green eyed boy was still pummeling Kirstein, unaware of his surroundings. Naruto had no reservations however and outright burst out laughing in loud laughs. He was the only one brave enough to do so. Luckily Shadis only glanced towards him.
Shadis stormed over to the green eyed boy and lifted him by the scruff of the neck to glare into his eyes. "What the hell do you think you are doing!?" Annie would never allow someone to shout into her face like that.
"Horseface said he would be one of the top ten and go to the inner walls." Eren said cheerfully, grinning into Shadis' face. He had guts, Annie would give him that. Shadis meanwhile looked like he wanted to throttle Eren but seemed to restrain himself from doing so.
"First of all, you don't have a right to tell him otherwise." Shadis started, "Second, I will say this only once, I don't want any fighting unless it's in the combat lessons. Understood?"
Eren nodded vigorously.
"Good, now back to your dorms. I don't want you to finish you food."
"Good thing I'm done then sir." Eren added.
Annie swore she could see Shadis' eyes twitch dangerously as he dropped Eren.
"And you," Shadis said continuing to the second boy, "You will only make it into the top ten if I say so. Right now you look more like horse shit than a horseface. I doubt you will survive this training looking like that on your first day. Now get out of my sight and for the love of all that is good put some ice on that face."
Kirstein nodded before bolting from the room after Eren.
The silence that then returned as Shadis scanned the entire room was very welcome in Annie's opinion. The only sound that was heard was the constant munching of bread. Annie almost groaned in frustration. Sasha still hadn't stopped eating? She wasn't even supposed to be here in the first place! A strong sense of déjà vu hit Annie as Shadis' disbelieving stare bore down on the unfortunate girl. There was no masking the annoyance on his face this time as he caught sight of her. "What the hell are you doing here?" He growled out, only to be ignored. Annie never thought the saying that 'history repeats itself' could happen as quickly as twice in the same day.
Sasha looked around still munching and wondering what everyone was staring at. Armin and Christa slowly edged away from the girl as much as they possibly could without leaving the table. Annie sighed. That girl had dug her own grave. The next few moments saw Sasha getting thrown out rather forcefully and sent to her rooms, Shadis muttering he would leash her like a dog if she didn't change.
"Will someone tell me why she was in here? I thought I ordered her to run until she collapsed."
Annie saw Shadis glance in Naruto's direction and Annie knew that Shadis knew exactly why potato girl was here. Naruto seemed to know it to and stood to attention.
"It was my fault sir."
"And it's your fault how exactly Uzumaki?"
"She collapsed in front of me sir. So I carried her over here." Naruto admitted, standing proud and not regretting his actions one bit.
"Why?" Shadis seemed confused.
"Because she needed the help sir, and she is a comrade. I will never leave a comrade behind." Naruto declared proudly.
"Admirable Uzumaki, some of the people here could learn from you. But you still broke a direct order to leave her alone and you shall be punished. Leave your dinner and head after Yeager and Kirstein, do make sure they know the way." Shadis seemed torn between belittling what Naruto had done and admiring him for it. Annie's father wasn't like that. He belittled everything she did.
Naruto nodded and tossed his bread to the only person on the table who had her bread stolen by the ravenous Sasha. Annie had a momentary flashback to a younger looking Naruto who had done the exact same thing years ago and she hid a small smile as he walked away with Mikasa and Armin getting up to follow. He hadn't changed.
She didn't notice Bertholdt prodding Reiner and nodding to each other and glancing at Annie with concerned looks.
Mikasa was concerned for Naruto. While she knew he was fine with going hungry, it didn't sit well with her. She didn't want him to suffer. No one had seen her swipe a spare loaf of bread from an unsuspecting table as she brushed past. This meant that Naruto was indeed surprised when she shoved the loaf of bread into his mouth. "Eat." She ordered.
The golden haired boy knew better than to do otherwise and began to chew eagerly on the bread, bringing a smile to Mikasa's face. She knew it was in his nature to help Sasha earlier, but that didn't mean that she had to like it. She was very uncomfortable with him carrying another girl over his shoulder and she had tried not to make it obvious earlier, unsure if she succeeded. Mikasa grit her teeth, annoyed at the confusion she was feeling. She had never reacted like this before. Then again, Naruto never actually carried another girl aside from her before.
"Hey guys I was waiting for you." Eren called out, appearing out of the shadows. Night had fallen while they ate, it seemed.
"How touching, couldn't sleep without your big brother protecting you?" Naruto teased.
Eren's indignant scowl was answer enough. "Oh come off it. I was just waiting for you so we can walk back together."
"Or you don't know the way to the boy's dorms." Armin pointed out.
Eren's ears turned bright pink. "Maybe."
"You weren't listening earlier, Eren?" Mikasa asked.
Eren glared at her. "Well sorry if not everyone is focused on every word that others say Mikasa!" he snapped irritably. Mikasa tried to hide the stab of pain she felt at that again, but she knew Armin and Naruto had seen it. She just didn't understand why Eren kept getting increasingly annoyed with her. Recently he had even accused her of taking up more of Naruto's time that there was less for him. That had stung. But as much as she loved Eren, she wouldn't give up her time with Naruto just for him. She didn't want to be alone. Armin to her was the little brother that she deeply cared about, but never really spoke to. Naruto spent the most time with her among her brothers, and if he spent more time with Eren then Eren would have more reason not to talk with her. Naturally that didn't endear her any more to him.
"Now, now Eren calm down, that's no way to talk to a girl." Naruto said as he grabbed Eren into a headlock and ruffled his hair. He caught Mikasa's eyes over Eren's head with an apologetic look. She waved away his concerns. Luckily, quick as Eren was to anger he cooled down equally fast and the brothers were laughing together. They were standing in the middle of the empty training grounds now, halfway in between the dorms on opposite sides of the large field.
"I'm going to go." She said, turning to head to the girl's dorms.
As she turned her long, dark hair billowed out behind her for a moment and Mikasa savored the feel of the breeze on her neck and the weight behind her. She always liked wearing her hair down because it felt so free. Added to the fact that it made her feel beautiful, knowing that she had something unique. It definitely didn't hurt that Naruto's eyes tended to follow it whenever she spun. She cared deeply for her hair and took as much care of it as possible, diligently combing it every morning and night to keep it straight and shiny. To her, the effort was worth it if Naruto and Eren found it beautiful, maybe it would help Eren notice her much more.
"Why don't you cut your hair?"
Mikasa froze in her tracks, unable to believe what she had just heard. That sentence alone hurt enough, but the voice that accompanied it was far worse. Mikasa couldn't believe it was Eren's idea. She refused to believe it. But there was no mistaking that voice.
She swallowed the lump in her throat. "What?" She asked unsurely as she turned to face Eren slowly, her savior. She hated the fact, but if he liked her hair short then she would do so for him.
He was gazing at her hair puzzled. "Won't that just get in the way of the three-dimensional gear?"
Mikasa gathered her long hair in one hand, eyeing it sadly. It now reached her lower back after years of growing it. To have to part with it was going to hurt. "I guess so." She answered unsurely, contemplating having her hair cut by tomorrow.
She never saw the horrified look Armin and Naruto shared behind Eren's back, looking at Eren incredulously.
"Aren't we entering the army Mikasa?" Eren added. "Having hair like that will just take up time you don't have. It isn't worth the effort, what's the point of long hair anyways?"
Mikasa hid her mouth behind the red scarf that Eren himself had given her as she bit back a sob. Eren didn't appreciate her hair. That thought just kept revolving around her head. After all the effort she had gone through, it was worthless. And now she felt like she was going to lose a part of herself once she cut it. But she would try to please him, at least he had a point.
"No. Mikasa isn't cutting her hair." Naruto's serious voice cut into the conversation with the finality of a hammer hitting home. Mikasa dared look at her golden haired brother in hope, taking comfort in his cerulean blue eyes that were slowly darkening into a deeper but more beautiful shade through the years. His face was also resolute, set in one where he had already made up his mind.
"Why not?" Eren turned to face Naruto confused but not angry. Mikasa knew he would have reacted differently if she had said no instead of Naruto.
Naruto walked straight up to Mikasa and she felt her heart skip a beat. He was over half a head taller than her now and she was covered by his shadow. He looked into her eyes as he answered, "She doesn't need to cut it, because she can tie it in many ways so they won't get in the way. If she really wants it out of the way she can always make it into a bun or something." He said thoughtfully as he slowly took her hair from Mikasa's hands and played with it momentarily, admiring its softness. "And her hair is simply beautiful, why would you want her to cut it Eren?"
Mikasa was thankful she was able to hide the entire lower half of her face beneath the red scarf because she couldn't help but blush, Naruto was being incredibly sincere.
Eren shrugged behind Naruto. "Aren't long and short almost the same thing anyway?"
Naruto sighed in exasperation and Mikasa giggled quietly at the look on her golden haired brother's face.
"He's hopeless." Naruto whispered, even as Armin began trying to explain the difference between long and short hair to Eren in the background.
The doors of the hall opened again and they saw Eren turn then stare. Following his gaze they spotted one of the girls they were suspicious of, Kurotsuchi –the girl with pink eyes and short hair similar to Mikasa, walking out with another blonde with straight but short hair, Samui. Being thoughtful once again Naruto had moved to cover her view of what Eren apparently found attractive in hair, but it was too late. Mikasa had seen them and it didn't help that Eren's eyes were following them. The girl in the red scarf felt her heart plummet and let her head hang. She was going to cut her hair.
Until of course, Naruto pushed her chin up to bring her eyes back up to his cerulean blue. "You don't have to cut it just to please him Mikasa." He said softly. "What you do with your hair should be up to you and don't care what anyone else thinks. Just feel comfortable and whatever makes you happy about yourself, not others." He looked thoughtful for a moment and bit his lower lip, an action that distracted Mikasa greatly. "Although if it means anything, I love your hair long. It's gorgeous, unlike mine unfortunately." And it did, his opinion meant a lot actually. She was now convinced against cutting her hair. She didn't want to see Naruto's disappointed face if she did. Eren probably wouldn't notice her even if she cut it short, but Naruto would see her every day as much as he possibly could. Mikasa wanted to keep it that way.
She smiled back at him, unaware how happy she had just made him. "I won't cut it, I promise." She knew just what giving a promise meant to Naruto. She then reached up to mess up his uncontrollable mane of golden hair just a little more than it already was. "And I love your hair just the way it is." She wasn't lying either. His hair was untamable, just like its owner.
"Glad to hear it Mikasa." The black haired girl just loved the way Naruto pronounced her name, it just had a ring to it that nobody else could quite catch. "See you tomorrow."
Mikasa made a small sound which she hoped Naruto took as affirmative. She had a theory to test out tonight, and if proved true then Naruto would be seeing her far earlier than tomorrow.
He narrowed his eyes at her at Mikasa laughed softly. "I'm not planning anything, goodnight Naruto."
The whiskered boy didn't look like he believed her but he let her go with another smile before herding his other two brothers towards the boys dorms muttering something about getting the best beds.
Mikasa watched them walk away with a small smile before turning in the direction of the girl's dorms. She frowned on the way, feeling incredibly strange knowing that her brothers wouldn't be there.
An hour later and Mikasa's feeling hadn't changed. She wasn't searching for friends among the girls, they meant nothing to her. That and many of them spoke about pointless things Mikasa couldn't quite grasp about make-up and dresses. She didn't fit in and some of them were understandably terrified of her. She didn't mind though. As everyone started settling down she sat in the corner most bed with the only girl she seemed to be able to get along with. It was probably due to the fact that they both didn't like talking with others very much that they could sit next to each other just observing everyone else. Annie was good company and together they scared off any would be conversers.
It was another thirty minutes before someone shut off all the lights and everyone tried to get some sleep. Mikasa tried, and failed, for over an hour to get some sleep. But her body was just far too alert in an unsafe area to go to sleep. She tossed and turned, getting increasingly frustrated, before deciding that she was getting no sleep otherwise. She threw on her pants and shirt before silently shooting out of the female dorms and making her way across the field in the cover of darkness. She never saw the blonde girl watching her impassively as she leapt through a second floor window to find her brother, or the golden haired girl who had watched her leave her bed.
(Same time, two and a half hours after parting)
Naruto and his brothers had wasted no time in choosing their beds. Since they were the first in the male dorms they immediately headed up to the second floor of the large cabins and chose the corner most spot nearest the two windows so that they had air flowing around them. The beds were in fact large areas of space enclosed by a short wooden fence with a large mattress in the middle that had enough space for six people to sleep comfortably. Three people would be on each side with over a metre in between each of them while the other three would be in a similar fashion but with their feet facing the other three. There was a metre of space between their feet as well. The three brothers bagged one side, with Eren in the middle and Armin closest to the window.
The trio of mismatched siblings then went to wash for the night and brush their teeth before they returned to their beds to find Reiner and Bertholdt settling down as well, across from them. Naruto was happy that people he could trust would share their section of the dorm. A minute later a new addition requested to join and Eren reintroduced Marco to them. Naruto was glad Eren seemed to have made a worthwhile friend in the freckled boy.
They sat cross legged for an hour and a half bonding about inconsequential things and telling jokes before someone killed the lights and they were plunged into darkness. That didn't stop the boys much though as they chatted for another thirty minutes before finally deciding to get some sleep for the big day tomorrow.
Now, thirty minutes later, Naruto was still awake. The others had all fallen asleep, he could tell from their slowed breathing. Well, that and because the majority of boys were snoring heavily, save for Bertholdt, Reiner and Armin. The cerulean eyed boy was deep in thought, wondering what he should do for tonight. He wanted to visit the Underworld again tonight, part of it was to check up on the sanctuary he had set up there for the people he helped. The other part however was far more serious, his usual contacts in the Underworld had just suddenly disappeared without a trace. Naruto had no explanation for this as he hadn't been informed and they hadn't left him a note or message of any sort. He was worried for them since there weren't many who could stand up to Levi in the Underworld. It wasn't unusual for them to go off radar for a month or so, but they always told him where they were or even left Isabel behind to manage the sanctuary. But they had been missing for an entire three months now and Naruto had no explanation why. Despite his tough outer exterior, Levi had a soft spot for the people they had gathered. Something serious must have happened and Naruto wanted to check what it was. He could spend tonight running through the Underworld to try and catch sight of them. And when he said running he meant darting around as fast as he could go.
It wasn't unusual for the denizens of the Underworld to see him under his mask nowadays. Baku, known magician rumoured to have otherworldly powers. Then again it wasn't exactly a lie. He had been sharpening all his skills and senses down there and launching a giant fireball or disappearing in a puff of smoke would seem an awful lot like magic. Naruto made up his mind to start searching as much as he could and return before dawn.
He was just about to sneak out of the building to leave when a shadow leapt in gracefully through the window and landed in between the sleeping boys. Naruto tensed as they were up on the second floor. No normal person would be able to scale this building like that from the outside. The shadow glanced around, surveying its surroundings while Naruto quickly narrowed down the possible suspects to the females with the weird names. If she was here to silence him or his brothers, she would die. If she was here for revenge because of what had befallen Temari and Sasuke earlier in the day, she would not find it.
Naruto grasped the handle of the kunai he kept underneath his pillow and leapt towards the shadow, definitely surprising it. He had planned to hold the shadow with a blade to her neck but the female moved fast and slapped his wrist hard enough to loosen his grip on the kunai but that didn't deter Naruto who changed his plans on the spot and instead used his earlier momentum to crash into her and grab her neck in his favourite chokehold. That option went out the window as well when he found he couldn't get a grip due to some thick article of clothing the girl seemed to be wearing.
Naruto's surprise didn't last as a he was shoved powerfully back down onto the mattress. Following training he rolled with the push and prepared to jump back towards the shadow with his fist cocked back ready for a punch when she drew down her scarf.
"Naruto?"
The unsure voice froze Naruto with his fist inches away from drilling into her solar plexus. "Mikasa?"
"I guess you really were expecting me tomorrow." Mikasa whispered with a soft smile.
Naruto laughed sheepishly in low volume while rubbing the back of his head. He could feel himself blushing in embarrassment even as Mikasa raised an inquisitive eyebrow with a small smirk on her lips. She only did that for him when he did something stupid and he felt like he was getting reprimanded as she put her hands on her hips. Their entire fight had lasted mere seconds and they had been silent enough that nobody had woken up.
"What are you doing here anyway?" He whispered seriously. Naruto knew that it was child's play for Mikasa to scale the wooden building, but she still wouldn't have done so without a reason.
Mikasa shrugged. "Couldn't sleep."
Naruto palmed his forehead. "So you come here?" He said disbelievingly. "In the male dorms?"
Mikasa shrugged again with a smile that she only ever gave Naruto on her lips, mischievousness in her eyes.
"Do I look like a teddy bear to you?"
This time Mikasa nodded. "Please?"
Naruto sighed and nodded. It seemed he would have to delay his plans to search for his Underworld partners. Then again he could always leave after Mikasa fell asleep and leave a shadow clone behind. "Come on."
He picked up the kunai he had been forced to drop and slipped it back under his pillow before he puffed it back up. He then lay down and patted the space in between him and Eren. To his surprise the black haired girl shook her head and moved to his other side, laying down next to his outstretched arm and snuggling up to his chest. Naruto poked her cheek to get her attention back up to him as he covered them with the blanket. He raised a questioning eyebrow at her, oblivious to how close their faces were.
"He snores and kicks in his sleep." Mikasa answered simply. "I'd rather he kick you." As if to provide credence to her statement Eren gave a particularly loud snore and turned to a side, narrowly missing Naruto's legs. Mikasa giggled into Naruto's chest.
"Okay, okay, I get your point. Goodnight Mikasa."
She looked up at him one last time and said something that would derail his plans for the night completely. "Promise me you'll stay here with me the whole night? The real you."
Naruto hesitated for a fraction of a second but it was enough for Mikasa to catch, she had her head on his chest after all. Her obsidian eyes changed to one of worry and she looked up at him pleadingly. His hastily made plans of leaving her with a mere shadow clone crashed and burned right then.
"Don't worry, I'll stay." He said as reassuringly as he could. Mikasa didn't look like she believed him and Naruto decided to put the final nail in the coffin of his plans. "I promise." He said as he kissed her lightly on the forehead. "Now go to sleep."
Mikasa smiled and nodded, finally relaxing in his arms. Less than a minute later she was soundly asleep.
Naruto followed soon after, but not before nodding to a shadow clone he had made in the morning to watch over them. It was currently hanging from the roof, disguised as a wooden beam. It had been disguised even before the original Naruto had entered the male dorms and he was sure that the other clone he had made to watch over Mikasa was still in place outside the female dorms disguised as a branch in a tree. He had originally planned on disguising it as a wooden beam as well when Ymir walked out of the showers stark naked. Naruto was not by any means a pervert and could only imagine the beating Hiruzen or Iruka would have given him and the clone itself, being an identical copy to him, had immediately found another place to watch over Mikasa.
Naruto never saw the three pairs of eyes watching his entire movement, wondering what he was nodding at. They had also seen Mikasa enter and the brief and silent struggle that had ensued. The glint of that knife in the moonlight had been unmistakable.
