Chapter 4: Island

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or Shingeki no Kyojin

Previously: Levi and Petra try to learn more about Naruto. Naruto recognizes the letters A-D and S. Erwin's plan succeeds when news about Naruto cause riots, forcing the Assembly's hand.

Levi knocked on the door, waiting for permission to enter. All eyes turned to him when he stepped in, closing the door behind him. "Levi," Erwin greeted him. "Any news on our guest?"

"What did you learn?!" Spittle flew from the brown-haired nobleman's mouth.

Levi resisted the urge to glare, choosing to address them all instead. "Not a whole lot."

"What is the boy's name?" Pixis asked eagerly.

"His name's Naruto," Levi responded. "He's eight."

"What else?!"

Disgusting pig. Levi crossed his arms. "When he was shown a map and asked about his home, he pointed off the marked territories. Far above them. Almost off the paper."

They gaped at him. Erwin and Pixis were thrilled. Nile and Zackly seemed interested and excited as well.

The other four men looked sick.

"When my subordinate asked about his parents he became sad and quiet." Levi shrugged. "That's all."

"It's plenty," Erwin said with a smile. "It's real proof there are humans out there."

"You don't know what their intentions are," the portly nobleman said.

"If they weren't friendly why would they bring a child along?" Levi asked skeptically. He understood where the man was coming from. There was validity to his statement. Just because they were humans didn't mean they weren't an enemy.

"Captain Levi is correct," Pixis said, also finding it difficult to believe hostiles would bring a child with them. "Until they prove to be antagonists, we can't jump to conclusions. A good way to make them into enemies is by treating them with suspicion and hostility."

"Just because he's a child doesn't mean he's not dangerous," the blond-haired nobleman argued. "He could be...he could be carrying a disease meant to decrease our numbers making it easier to take over!"

"This is true," Nile admitted. "People dismiss children easily."

Levi couldn't believe it but he found himself agreeing with the MP commander.

"You're right. I have a proposition." Erwin didn't waste time capitalizing on the moment. He had been thinking of a way to get them to put Naruto in the Corps' custody and they'd just handed it to him on a silver platter. "We can take Naruto and quarantine him at the same abandoned HQ where we plan to hide Eren Yeager."

"You don't have custody of the Yeager boy yet," Nile pointed out. "There must be a trial first."

"I believe Commander Erwin was only proposing a solution in case Naruto is a carrier of some deadly illness. There is no other way for him to harm us. What can an eight-year-old child do?" Pixis asked with a shrug.

"He could be like the Yeager boy! He could turn into a Titan," another assemblyman said triumphantly.

"Then how could he carry a disease?" Zackly raised his eyebrows. "Wouldn't the healing factor make him immune?" There was no proof the regeneration power could prevent sickness but there was no proof against it either. "And if Naruto really was a Titan-Shifter, he could have snuck away after he was brought in the Walls. No one would have thought he was from outside the Walls. We would have dismissed it as a child running away to avoid getting in trouble for sneaking into an expedition."

Levi had to fight hard to keep the grin off his face at the nobleman's embarrassment.

"Though I cannot ignore your wisdom," Zackly said in a serious tone. "As a precaution, for the safety of the people in Wall Rose, I am ordering Levi's squad to take Naruto away from the population. After all, no point in exposing more people and risking their lives when Squad Levi has already been in close contact with the boy. Isn't that right, Levi?"

"Yes, sir," Levi confirmed, admiring at the brilliant ploy to place Naruto with the Corps. "No one else has had direct contact with him. The other Scouts only saw him. They didn't interact with him, only my squad. We're keeping him at our private barrack," he fibbed, knowing Naruto was at Erwin's office but aside from his squad, and potentially Hange's, no one else knew that.

"I will consult a doctor and let you know how long you have to keep Naruto quarantined," the chief told him.

"What about you, Levi?" Nile turned to him. "Haven't you been exposed to the boy, too? You shouldn't be here."

The Assemblymen not so subtly shifted away from him, caught in their own fear.

Erwin tensed at Nile's words. Levi was central to their plan to gain custody of Eren. He couldn't be compromised.

Fuck. Levi's mind raced. "I don't think it's necessary," he said, trying to buy time. He went over his words, trying to remember if he'd said anything incriminating.

"Why not?" Nile asked.

"I thought he was some dumb, scared brat so I pawned him off to one of my subordinates," he said, playing the arrogant ranking officer. "My specialty is slaying Titans, not babysitting stupid children. If he had died on the way back, the Corps would have been blamed for his own reckless stupidity. So he rode with a member of my squad."

"You didn't have contact with him when you returned from the expedition?" Zackly asked.

"No, sir. He was taken immediately to HQ by one of my subordinates after he was found and I and the rest of my squad went to Trost."

"And you didn't meet Naruto even when Erwin sent you back to learn more about him after the message arrived that he was speaking?"

"He's a frightened little kid in a foreign land among people he can't communicate with," Levi pointed out. "Not to make him feel suffocated and more scared, I decided it was best the female member of my squad be the one to question him."

Nile nodded. "Children do also feel more comfortable being alone with a woman than a man." As someone who had done interviews as a policeman, he saw the reasoning.

"And she was the one who helped save him out there and brought him back," Levi added. "Naruto spent the most time with her. She was the best candidate."

"Captain Levi should remain here, then," Pixis spoke up. "He is far too important to humanity to risk catching a fatal illness."

"You are correct, Pixis," Zackly said.

"Then I will send word for the rest of Squad Levi to leave immediately," Erwin jumped in before the decision could be overturned. "We cannot waste any time."

"Permission to leave, sir?" Levi asked, itching to get out of there.

"Yes, go on. Send a message right away," the chief said with a wave of his hand. "Now, we must discuss how to deal with the public and stop the riots from escalating..."

Why are they looking at me like I've got a disease or something? Naruto was confused by the wary, almost scared looks directed at him by Squad Levi.

Finally, Petra came up to him and held out her hand, smiling warmly. "Naruto, we're leaving."

He noticed the bag in her other hand. "Guess we're going somewhere."

They left Erwin's office, the men of the squad following, each with bags of their own. One was carrying two bags. The second one Naruto realized was for him. Four horses were ready at the stables for them and they wasted no time mounting and riding off.

Naruto was strangely missing the office. Over the hours, it had become familiar and comfortable. "I'm glad I have you, Kurama." The sincerity was pure and unadulterated.

"Pathetic, needy human. You'd be lost without me."

"Yeah, I would be." Naruto smiled, feeling the camaraderie through their bond.

The sun set and night fell minutes after they arrived at the dilapidated castle. Naruto shivered. "Oh gods, please don't be haunted."

Kurama rolled his eyes. "You've faced the likes of Orochimaru, Itachi Uchiha, and Pain. Not to mention you're a jinchūriki. Your irrational fear of ghosts astounds me."

"They're creepy, okay?"

Ghosts were ignored. They were invisible. Much like how his host had been most of his life. Kurama wondered if Naruto's fear stemmed from his neglected childhood. He was real and solid but he may as well have been a phantom, ignored and alone, leading him to act out, to want to be acknowledged. Maybe to prove to himself he was still alive and real.

"This room's bigger than mine back home!" Naruto ran to the window, wiping the dust off to see the view outside.

"Your external appearance fits your inner now. You're a child," Kurama said. Carefree, naive, easily excited, and just as pure-hearted.

"Good thing it's a full moon." Naruto stood on the castle rooftop, smiling at the open, dark sky full of twinkling stars. A shadow clone transformed into his younger version was in bed where he was supposed to be, pretending to sleep, in case someone came to check on him in the middle of the night. He jumped off and ran in the direction of Wall Maria.

Silvery moonlight lighted his way and he couldn't help the sad feeling growing in his chest at the empty homes once he crossed into Titan territory. "Where are the creepy giants? Do they sleep at night too like humans do?"

"Keep an eye out anyway. You don't want to be caught in an ambush."

"Pff! They're huge and stupid!"

"And you're small and stupid. I think they have the advantage."

"Grr," Naruto gritted his teeth. Dumbass fox always raining on his parade.

"I still think you should have sent a clone to investigate instead of going yourself."

"It's more fun this way. I finally get to explore!" Even if it made him feel a little gloomy.

"On the way back, make sure to scavenge the houses for clothes and other useful items."

"What?" Naruto said, outraged. "Steal people's stuff? Why?!"

"The humans brought clothes for your smaller version. You can make it look like you're wearing those but they won't actually fit your real body. You need clothes you can actually wear."

"Oh, yeah. Good point."

"And don't forget to take a pair of clothing matching what you were wearing today. It'll look strange if they can't find them when they take your dirty clothes to clean them."

"Which reminds me, I gotta make sure to somehow stain what I'm 'wearing' every day." It would be awfully strange if the clothes he supposedly wore were fresh and clean as if they hadn't been touched.

"Don't spill anything on yourself either. Your real clothes will stain but because you're using Transformation jutsu, the illusion will remain perfect."

"Oh man, why'd you have to tell me that?! Now I'm going to spill juice or something out of nervousness!"

Kurama snorted. "Of course you would."

Naruto reached the Shinganshina District. He was relieved when he finally left the desolate city, exiting the outermost Wall.

The area was relatively flat and Naruto almost hoped some giants would show up because he was so bored. The landscape offered nothing new or interesting. "This place isn't all that different. There are weird giants, people only have a few boring colorings, and there's no chakra." And that was about it. Aside from that, it wasn't all that different he supposed. Then he remembered. "On second thought, I take that back. They don't have ramen here. It's a hellhole."

Kurama snorted.

It wasn't long before Naruto noticed it. "Hey, I think I see another wall!" He sniffed the air. "Smells like salt."

"There must be a body of water on the other side."

The jinchūriki easily scaled the wall and within seconds, he was standing looking at the inky water. He noticed the shore. "Looks like you can anchor a ship there."

"This place wasn't marked on the map. I was right. The humans are trapped behind their Walls. They don't even know of this place so close to them."

"Think we're on an island?"

"We could be."

"What do you think is out there? There have to be more people. Maybe a sickness wiped them out and forced people to retreat to this place. But how did the giants come here if it's an island? They're too stupid to know how to swim."

"They could be humans. Or used to be human."

"You think so?" Naruto had been wondering the very same. "This world is so weird." He scratched his head. "I don't get what's going on here." He noticed the stars. And gasped. "The constellations are different!"

"We could be on a different planet." Everyone in their world had chakra but no one here did. Clearly their worlds were different places. So dissimilar that they were separate planets wasn't entirely out of the realm of possibility. "Different planets, different organisms."

"Yeah, I guess." Naruto turned away from the water. "I could follow this wall and see if I can go all around the island. See if it is an island." If it was a peninsula, he could send a shadow clone north to check for more civilization.

"Based on when the sun set the other day I think you should have plenty of time. And your clone is at the castle if you don't make it back before sunrise."

"Alright!" Naruto grinned and took off running. He glanced at the dark water, wondering if they really were on an island then how far it was to the mainland. He'd have to send a clone sometime and find out. He put his hands together, making a seal. There was a poof of smoke, revealing two grinning ninja. "You, circle around the other way. We'll meet halfway!"

"Got it, boss!"

"And you, go scavenge some clothes and drop them off in our room."

"Okay!" The second clone saluted and jumped off.

By the time dawn broke, Naruto was back in bed. He yawned, arms folded behind his head. "Do you think these people know the giants are humans? Erm, kinda. Used to be?"

"Maybe. I'm not sure. But they definitely don't know they're on an island. We can grab a giant and toss it in the water and see if it can swim but I'm guessing it can't." The humans wouldn't have come to the island and raised the three Walls if the giants were already there. The only explanation about the giants' presence on the island that made sense to Kurama was if humans could be made into those things.

"If they really were human once, how do you think they turned into those things?"

"I don't know. Maybe this world has its own Orochimaru."

Eren took a deep breath.

Fresh air.

After being stuck in the underground cell for days, he couldn't help but think how delicious the clean air tasted.

Eren wanted to stay still and enjoy the warmth of the sun on his face but he couldn't keep Erwin, Levi, and Hange waiting. Even if he understood the logic behind the man's actions—Levi had only followed Erwin's orders—it didn't stop him from feeling intimidated by him. He led his horse over to where the three stood. "I'm ready," he told them.

"Before you go," Erwin said, "there's something you must know. Something momentous happened the day Trost was attacked. You've been locked up and kept in the dark for days so you don't know about the riots."

Eren felt a jolt of fear. Was he responsible for them? Were people fighting over whether to keep him alive or kill him because he could be a liability?

"It has nothing to do with you," Hange clarified, noticing the horror on his face.

"It doesn't?" Eren felt both relieved and curious. If it wasn't about him, he wondered what else could possibly cause riots. It had to be something big.

"We found a boy when we were on our expedition when Trost was under attack," Levi informed him. "He's from outside the Walls."

Eren's eyes bulged, a look of pure shock on his face. This is what they were talking about! Some of the people in the gallery had made odd comments during the trial he hadn't understood, too confused and caught up in the escalating situation to give it much thought at the time.

"His name is Naruto and he is eight. The Assembly of King Fritz was worried he could be a potential weapon sent to infect our people to weaken us. After discussing it with a doctor, Commander-in-Chief Zackly ordered Naruto be quarantined for twenty-one days as a precaution. Squad Levi found him so they could have been exposed. It's why they're not here. They were sent to the location a few days ago."

"Where is he from?" Eren fired the questions one after another. "How did he find us? How many more people are out there? What do they know about Titans? Do they—"

"Slow down there." Hange laughed. "You can ask him when you see him."

Eren felt over the moon. A boy from the outside! Had he seen the ocean? The rivers of fire? The lands of snow? He itched to jump on his horse and race over there right now.

"Not that you'll understand a word he says," Levi said, confusing him.

"Why not, sir?"

"He speaks another language."

"He what?!"

"Because his existence was leaked, the government was forced to acknowledge him. You see, when they heard the rumors, people were split," Erwin explained. "There were those who believed he was real and those who thought we made him up, a ploy to get more tax money. If the boy was real, the officials would tell everyone. Then some started protesting that the government had banned all knowledge of the world outside and they would try to sweep this under the rug too to control the population."

If only Dad was here today, Erwin thought. Naruto's presence was inspiring. It had given people the courage to make their opinions known. They felt emboldened by the knowledge of his existence and what it meant to finally openly speak out against the Royal Government to a small extent, instead of whispering treasonous things in the dark, afraid of being caught by the Military Police and suffering the consequences.

"Tensions were already running high because of you," Levi told him.

Erwin nodded. "Rumors of Naruto's existence opened a dam. Fighting started breaking out in the streets between people who strongly believed the Royal Government was lying to them and those who thought the Survey Corps was the one lying and the other group was disrupting the peace by buying into our propaganda."

Eren was stunned. I can't believe so much happened in a few short days.

"The day after, the newspapers officially confirmed Naruto existed. They didn't release his name, only his age," Hange continued. "And it was cited as the reason to keep him out of the public eye. He's a kid, all alone. They don't want to reveal him yet and make him feel like a circus freak. It's an adjustment period for him. For now, it has calmed the populace and brought back peace, ceasing most of the fighting. I think it's only a few small bar skirmishes now, irrelevant."

"You're being told this because we lied claiming Hange's squad and Levi were escorting you to another secret location, separate from the one where we are keeping Naruto. But you and Levi will separate from her squad the last leg of the journey and head to the castle while they go to a small mountain cabin."

"Keiji, a trusted member of my squad, is already there," Hange said. "His job is to meet a member of Levi's squad on horseback every day, keeping his distance, to see how they're doing. That cabin is where we told Chief Zackly you'll be. It's where we'll receive messages and we can quickly pass them on to you guys. So if someone's coming to check on you, you can be at the cabin before they arrive."

"Okay," Eren said, mind whirling as he took it all in. "What does Naruto look like?" Eren asked after a pause.

"Levi said he's average height for a boy his age, blond-haired with blue eyes. You'll see him soon."

Eren nodded and pretended to look interested. "I can't wait to meet him," he said with an excited smile.

The commander then bid them farewell and took his leave.

Hange talked excitedly as they rode but Eren was too lost in his thought to pay attention.

He knew Mikasa used to know another language that her mother had taught her. But she was the only one who spoke it and he wondered if she still remembered it over the years. He doubted it. Language was like any other skill. Without practice, it became rusty. It would be a miracle if she knew enough to string words together to create basic sentences.

Mikasa said her mother's people all had dark hair and dark eyes. It was possible Naruto was of mixed heritage, too, like his friend. And he may have taken after the parent who was not Asian.

Eren eyed Levi and Hange warily. While he trusted them—they had saved his life—it was another matter when it came to Mikasa. He wouldn't risk her safety and well-being as quickly as he would his own. He wasn't sure yet if he should let Levi and Hange know he knew someone who spoke a foreign language. I don't even know if it's the same language. It very well could be a completely different one. I won't know until I hear the boy speak.

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