Chapter 5: Learning

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or Shingeki no Kyojin

Previously: Naruto is sent with Squad Levi to be quarantined as a precaution. He explores the island. Eren finds out about him and wonders if Naruto and Mikasa speak the same language.

Naruto sat on the swing, turning and turning, coiling the ropes tighter. "Something's happening today," he said to Kurama. He had started the morning doing the usual routine: wake up late, have food, chat aimlessly at Petra or whoever listened as they cleaned—which Naruto found very peculiar because oftentimes the area was already clean—and watch them spar in the afternoon. He lifted his toes and the ropes uncoiled. The world spun around him. "They were excited."

Kurama grunted, resting his snout on his paws. "The small man must be coming back, they've mentioned his name several times. I think he's their team leader. He was the one giving out orders when you first found them."

"Hey, kid." Eld approached him. He was the one who had put the swing up for Naruto, making the teen like him instantly.

"Push!"

"You are such a child, Naruto."

Eld smiled and indulged him. He was quite proud of teaching the boy that one word. "I guess they can wait for a few minutes," he relented, pushing the swing.

Naruto laughed delightedly, swinging higher and higher. "Push! Push!" He insisted once the swing slowed.

"No more push," Eld said sternly. "We have to train."

"Renshū?" Naruto perked up. He knew what "train" meant but didn't bother pronouncing it in their language. As he understood what words meant and repeated them in his own language, the team was starting to learn them, too.

"That's right. Renshoo."

In the afternoons, the squad would train and learn new maneuvers and perfect old maneuvers while Naruto watched from the ground in fascination and awe. He had begged to be allowed to use the 3D gear, despite the language barrier his pleas had been easily understood. To his great disappointment, he was too small for it.

"Even if you weren't too small they'd still tell you no," Kurama said.

"I'm a chūnin," Naruto boasted. "I could figure it out and be a total badass at it!"

"Tsunade really should demote you. Listening to you bring up your chūnin status so much is getting really annoying."

Once they arrived at the training ground in the forest, Naruto plopped at the base of a tree, his usual sitting spot. Above him, the squad began to fly. "It's so cool that they're beating those monsters without chakra."

"They're not winning, though. Still, the fact that they are surviving is admirable."

Naruto felt that itch again. He could almost imagine their gobsmacked expressions seeing hundreds of his shadow clones attacking the giants, Rasengan spinning in their hands. "Or go into Kyūbi Mode!" Naruto said giddily. His heart raced, that awesome scenario playing out in his head.

Kurama knew he was only fantasizing and let him indulge in his daydreams. "That would be something."

"Or Tailed-Beast Mode! Imagine their reactions to that!" Naruto went on. "You're as big as their Walls! Maybe even bigger!"

The Kyūbi quite liked the idea of seeing their shocked and awed expressions at his physical form, towering over the Walls.

"Aahh! I want them to go outside already!" Naruto was eager to jump into action and kill a few dozen giants. He had it all planned out. "I'll create clones and use the Transformation jutsu and hide in wagons or something. And when they're out the gate we'll sneak off and kill the giants around the soldiers so they can't get to them."

"When the giants are killed they dissipate and steam is released from their decaying bodies."

Naruto waved his hand dismissively. "They'll notice but as long as they don't see me, who cares?"

"What if they get the wrong idea? What'll they think when all the giants suddenly start dropping dead?"

"You said I could kill the giants and save the humans when they go on their mission! What do you want me to do?" Naruto demanded.

"I'm only pointing out what I know."

The boy crossed his arms, pouting. "Let them think what they want!" If they made it back from the mission alive and in one piece, it was all good in his book.

"Horse."

"Uma."

Petra and Naruto wrote in their respective notebooks. She picked up another card with an animal and showed it to him. "Dog," she said, holding up the image of a scruffy dog.

"Inu."

Next came the drawing of a tabby. "Cat," Petra said.

"Neko. Ne-ko. Neko."

Her hand hovered over the last drawing before she held it up cautiously, speaking gently as not to disturb the boy. "Titan. Ti-tan. Titan."

"Kyojin," Naruto replied without batting an eyelash, opening his arms wide.

"That's it for today." Petra put the pen down and started collecting the drawings, indicating the end of the session.

Naruto pulled her notebook toward him and lay it side-by-side with his. "Nope, still looks like gibberish."

"I don't think learning a new language is done in a matter of days."

"How's it going?" Oluo wandered in with Gunther.

Petra shifted in the chair to face them. "We just finished for the day. I showed him the Titan drawing. He didn't even blink."

Naruto was a puzzle to her. At times he seemed like any other kid, prattling on happily about something or the other, loved playing and fooling around, constantly plied for her attention, wanting her to drop everything and join him in a game or some other childish activity. At other times, she would find him spacing out like he was off in another world in his head, or talking to himself. As in, having an actual conversation with someone. Petra told herself there was nothing out of the ordinary about a child having an imaginary friend. It was still odd, though, how comfortable and unafraid he was surrounded by strangers in a land he didn't know. On top of that, they didn't even speak the same language. Any other child she knew would panic and be terrified if they found themselves in such a frightening and unusual situation.

"You'd think after the experience he had, he would be scared of them," Gunther said. "I still get creeped out thinking about the time a Titan almost caught me." He shuddered, recalling the close call.

Eld entered the classroom, carrying lunch. "How many words does he know?"

Naruto dropped studying the language in favor of staring at the food, his mouth watering at the sight.

"Actually know?" Petra replied. "A few. I think he recognizes more. He can use his notebook to look up what they mean."

After lunch, she pulled the boy aside.

"We're going to look for herbs," she told him. He gave her his usual look of curiosity and confusion. Petra led him into the woods in the northern part of the castle grounds. She opened a book and pointed to the illustration. "That's thyme," she said. Then pointed to the plant in front of them and plucked it, putting it in the basket.

We're collecting plants. Naruto nodded. "Chekkumāku no tsuita mono dake?"

"Take plants with the checkmark." Petra tapped the small mark beside each illustration of a plant. She flipped to the next page to show him a few others.

"Their books are backward."

"It must have to do with their written language," Kurama provided, somewhat intrigued. "You write up and down and they write side to side."

"They're so weird."

"Be careful of this one. Poison ivy, no, iie."

"Tsutaurushi." Naruto nodded. "No tsutaurushi." He gave her a thumbs up.

"This is where we depart," Hange said to Levi while Eren kept silent.

We're almost there, Eren thought. Anxiety and excitement bubbled in his stomach. He was so eager to meet Naruto.

"Eren, I'll see you in a few days." Hange waved, veering off to the right, her squad following.

The two continued quietly, both their minds occupied by the same thing. Eren's horse picked up on his rider's excitement and started to gain speed. Whoops. He slowed down before he caught up and surpassed Levi. Gotta pay more attention. Levi had warned him not to be more than three horse-lengths away from him. Somehow Eren had a feeling Levi would not be happy with him getting ahead of him even if he stayed within the three-horse limit.

It was early evening when the castle came into view. Three men were waiting for them when they arrived.

"Sir," they said and saluted their captain.

Levi observed the courtyard. Eren thought he was looking for the two missing people until the man opened his mouth. "Looks like you've been cleaning," Levi said, sounding pleased. "The weeds are all gone. Well done."

Weeds? Eren thought. Who cared about some stupid weeds? Where was the boy from outside the Walls?

Levi dismounted and Eren followed suit. "Where are Petra and Naruto?" Levi asked.

"She took him to collect herbs nearby," Eld answered, earning a raised eyebrow from Levi. "Naruto's kid. He's got a lot of energy and he gets bored quickly. He can't train with us and there's not a whole lot to do out here. Kids his age spend their days playing with friends and exploring and playing games. So we take him hiking through the forest and swimming in a nearby pond a lot."

"I see." Levi gestured to Eren. "This is Eren Yeager, our newest charge."

Eren did not need their introductions, already knowing everything about them from their names to their Titan kills. "Nice you meet you," he said, giving them a salute. After all, they were his seniors. Nice? Idiot! Should've said it was an honor!

Oluo stared him down, making him shift uncomfortably. "He's the brat who can turn into a Titan?"

Here comes the disgust. Eren braced himself.

"You remember killing all those Titans?" Eld asked.

"It's quite a feat," Gunther lauded, looking like he approved.

"Just don't get too cocky," Oluo warned, his own tone arrogant. "You're still only a brat."

"O-Of course!" It was such a relief. They don't hate me! They were master Titan killers. A part of him had wondered if they'd hate him on sight like some of the Garrisons and the MP soldiers did.

"You don't have to salute us." Eld waved his hand. He noticed something and looked over their heads. "They're back."

Is he really part Asian? Eren seriously doubted it. The smiling boy did not have a hint of exotic features like Mikasa did. I knew it was a long shot.

Naruto tilted his head at Eren as they neared the team. "Sono kodomo wa daredesu ka?"

"What do you mean who's that kid?" Kurama asked. "He appears fifteen- or sixteen-years-old. You two are the same age. Actually, you appear younger to them."

"Captain Levi, welcome." Petra would have saluted if it weren't for the basket in one hand and Naruto's hand in the other.

"Rivaille," Naruto said. He had made enough progress to say "Rivai." But he hadn't practiced in a while. As a result, his pronunciation had taken a hit.

"You've regressed," Kurama teased him.

"Shut up. Rivai?"

"Close, but still incorrect."

"I see you still can't pronounce my name right."

"You're not the only one. He calls me Eldo."

"I'm Gunta."

"Auruo. Pretty close. He only says Petra right."

"Hello, Eren, it's good to finally meet you," Petra welcomed him with a kind smile. "I'm Petra Ral. I'm sure you already know who this is." She nodded to the boy. "Go on, introduce yourself. Just point to yourself and say your name."

"Thank you, Petra." Eren turned to the boy and pointed to himself. "Eren Yeager," he said, introducing himself to Naruto.

"Eren Yēgā?"

"Looks like you'll be the only other person on the squad whose name he can pronounce correctly," Erd said while Eren grinned.

"U—Naruto Uzumaki!" Naruto corrected himself, heeding the Kyūbi's observations and saying his family name second to avoid confusion. "Konoha no Chūnin! Mirai no Hokage!"

"Must you tell everyone you meet you're a chūnin and the future Hokage? They can't even understand you."

"Hey, I'm a Leaf ninja and proud of it!" Naruto's stomach growled. "Petra-nee, fūdo. Hungry. Eat."

Levi was startled at his use of their language. "Have you been teaching him?"

Petra shrugged. "We know some words in his language and vise versa."

"How did you—"

"Onaka ga akimashita." With his hand on his tummy, they all knew what he meant.

"Naruto, I'll get you some food," Eld said and turned to Levi in permission. "Captain?"

"Go on," Levi dismissed them.

Accepting the basket from Petra, Eld led Naruto away, much to Eren's disappointment.

"Gunther, take Eren and show him his new quarters in the basement to get settled in."

"The basement again, sir?" Eren asked.

"Of course." Levi crossed his arms. "You don't have complete control over your abilities. If you turned into a Titan by accident, it would be easier to detain you down there. Your living arrangements were part of the conditions we agreed upon to get custody of you, and we have to follow the rules. The basement under the cabin Hange and her squad are staying at isn't as effective as this one, but you still would have been trapped underground so it would have sufficed."

"I'll show you the way, Eren," Gunther said and the two left.

"Oluo, take care of the horses." Levi removed his bag from his horse and turned to Petra. "How have you been communicating with him?"

"I drew images on pieces of paper. Let me show you."

Levi picked up the drawing of a dog.

"I hold up the picture and say how we say it in our language." Petra pulled out her notebook from her pocket. "I enunciate it and he does the same in his language. We write down how to say it in the other language by sounding it out in our own. I had the guys help me with some of the things that were difficult to understand in a drawing. They acted it out for him," she said, remembering the silly games of charade.

"He has his own notebook?"

"Yes." She handed him her own small brown one. "We started off with small things first."

Levi scanned the first page.

Hello — Ko-ni-chi-wah

Goodbye — Sigh-oh-nara

Yes — Hi

No — EA

Mom — O-kaa-san

Dad — O-toh-san

Big sister — Nay-san

Big brother — Nee-san

Help — Tas-kay-tay

Food — Foo-do

"We did animals today since he likes horses. Things like 'good morning' and 'I'm sorry' and 'thank you' were picked up from each other simply through everyday interaction."

Levi's eyes settled on the last word recorded. "Kyo-gin?"

"He held out his arms wide and said kyojin. I think he meant to say big or giant." She paused. "He wasn't scared at all."

"Strange kid." Levi closed the notebook and handed it back to her. "Good job figuring out a way to communicate with him. It's going to make life much easier for both us and him."

"It was nothing genius. Naruto's doing the real hard work for someone his age. He's handling the situation very well and with surprising maturity. If I were in his place I'd be incredibly lost and terrified out of my mind."

"What do you plan to show him next?"

"I make the drawings at night and so far, some other topics we've covered are colors, numbers, and common objects. I'm basing it on what you first learn in school as a kid."

"What about teaching him our language? Starting with the alphabet."

"I'm don't know if that's possible. Anyway, I'm not sure if I'm the right person for the job," Petra admitted.

"We can't bring in a civilian teacher and have him teach the brat. Even if we did, it'll still take a very long time for him to learn."

"I don't know," Petra said, looking thoughtful. "Naruto's picking up our language faster than I am picking up his. Maybe it's cause he's a child and his developing brain makes it easier for him to learn something new. And he's immersed in our language also. But he's learning at an incredible rate. He soaks it all up like a sponge. I'd say he's quite smart. Although he lacks focus. I don't think he has the patience to learn from the very beginning. If someone spoke his language, it'd make explaining things, understanding rules, and answering any questions he might have, so much easier."

"If you think your method of teaching is working well enough, and it certainly looks that way to me, keep doing what you're doing. I suppose we don't need him to be fluent long as he can use some words and gestures to get his messages across."

"Pan," Naruto said to Levi.

"What?"

"He's asking you to pass the bread," Eld clarified.

"I see."

"Arigato."

"You've started picking up words over time just by being exposed to them?" Eren focused more on Naruto than his own dinner.

Eld nodded. "That's right. It's pretty amazing."

The boy rarely spoke more than a few words at a time, using a word they knew and gestures, making it harder for Eren to guess about the language. Squad Levi had also grown used to his method of communication and picked up things so the boy didn't always need to use as many words. It had been years since he heard Mikasa speak the language her mother had taught her, and he was a kid at the time when he heard Mikasa speak sparingly, making it difficult to tell if it was the same tongue Naruto spoke.

"Why does he keep staring at me?" Naruto stared back at Eren, making Eren get embarrassed for being caught gawking.

Kurama laughed. "Maybe he can't rip his eyes away from your appalling manners."

Levi made them tea after dinner, having brought back some tea leaves from the interior.

"Want a sip, Naruto?" Petra asked and pushed the cup in front of him.

He sniffed it. And took a sip to confirm. "Ocha," he declared.

Petra pulled out the notebook and added it in, muttering, "Tea...ocha." Naruto yawned. "Bedtime," she said, ruffling his hair.

"Have you been writing it all down? The words he says to describe things in his language?" Eren asked.

"Yes," Gunther answered. He started explaining how it worked and Eren didn't want to interrupt his senior, especially on his first day of joining the squad.

Naruto jumped off his seat and Petra pushed her chair back and followed him. I'll talk to him tomorrow. Eren decided as Naruto and Petra left. They would still be there in the morning.

Naruto closed the door after bidding Petra goodnight. He waited until the footsteps faded to release the Transformation jutsu. As usual, the sudden change in perspective took a second to wear off. Creating ten clones, he tossed the first one his notebook. "Each of you take one word and repeat it and its meaning until it's memorized," he told the clones.

"Yes, boss," they replied in unison.

Naruto disappeared into the bathroom to take a bath. Sitting in the tub, he studied the Kamui Stone. "It's starting to get its color back. How long do you think it'll be before it's at full power again?"

"It's too early to tell," Kurama said. "I'd give it two or three weeks before taking a stab at a guess."

"Three weeks, huh?" Naruto slipped deeper under the water. At that point, it would be a month since he left his home. "I miss the village. And Iruka-sensei and Grandma Tsunade and Kakashi-sensei and Sakura and Sai and Sasuke and Captain Yamato and Hinata and Lee and Neji and Kiba—"

"I get it. You don't have to recite every single person's name," Kurama said in exasperation.

Naruto crawled into bed and grinned, staring up at the ceiling. In his entire life, through all the good times and the bad, he was never alone, even if he didn't know it. It was nice to know he would always have someone so smart and strong and awesome watching his back. He didn't know what he'd do without the fox guiding him and keeping him from freaking out, all alone in this foreign world.

Naruto dispelled the clones and their memories transferred to him. "You were right. With the shadow clone jutsu, it's a piece of cake learning all those words."

"Of course I was right. Now go to sleep." The Kyūbi closed his eyes, resting his head on his paws.

"Goodnight, buddy."

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