I Don't Own Naruto or Attack on Titan!
Royal Redemption - Chapter 2
In the past one hundred years most of the human population had grown to adapt to the apparent peace, and society had slowly come to continue in a small and simple way. Within the towering walls protecting humanity people had found a way to continue their old fashions lifestyles. Under Wall Maria, hundreds of acres of farmland provided food and money for much of the population. Some of the farmers lived within one mile of the Titans with just the large wall in between them, but that dangerous fact continued to elude their minds.
At the outskirts of the land within Wall Maria, a small family of three operated a small farm. They were the last of a once dominant clan known as the Orientals, and they have distinct black hair that was a dark as the night sky. Despite being the last of their kind, they were happy to live a simple and happy life on their own.
Laughter and smiled filled their lives every day as the parents showered their little girl with all the love in the world. The kind mother would teach her daughter to develop her own green thumb in the small garden in front of their house, and the father would cook, in the best of his ability, new dishes of his hunting accomplishments for his family every night.
In the small world, and in their own way, the family was enjoying the joys life brought them, but they never thought that they would be target because of that reason…
"TOU-SAN!" cried a hysterical girl as she peeped out from her mother's arms to see her father bleeding on the ground.
Three men stared down at the lasts of the Orientals with gleams in their eyes; each silently thinking about the abundant amount of money they would get after they hand the two remaining Orientals to their client. It took them a whole year to track down such rare people, and it was soothing for them to think that their hard work would finally be paid off…
The mother's long black hair veiled her daughter as much as it could, but the woman herself was shaking in grief and fear. The desperation of saving her little girl was breaking through every mental filter in her mind, and her eyes were staring at a lone steak knife on the dinner table just a few feet away from her…
"K-Kaa-san…" whimpered the young girl as she shook in her mother's arms.
All the girl registered in her mind was the slight exhale of her mother as she jumped up. The girl was pushed to the ground, but her eyes followed her mother. The woman cried out as she grabbed the knife on the table and lunged forward at the man closest to her…
"MIKASA, RUN!" cried the mother as she tried to stab the man, and the girl watched in horror as the man catch the knife.
"K-Kaa-san!" cried Mikasa as she tried desperate to scramble to her feet.
The mother tried to push the man away as she turned back to her daughter. "I said run!"
Her mother's voice filled Mikasa's ears as she watched the scene on…but everything was suddenly silenced. The girl's eyes widened as her mother sudden let out a silent scream; blood streamed out of her out as she was stabbed hard behind her back. Mikasa desperately tried to turn away from the scene or just to close her eyes…but to matter what she did, she couldn't move a single muscle in her body.
"What the hell are you doing!" cried one of the men. "That one was worth a fortune!"
"Whatever man, she was already a mother!" replied the man wearing a bandana on his head. "The girl is the virgin here!"
Mikasa was shaking in the ground as she looked at the fallen bodies of her loving parents. Blood was flowing out of their bodies and stained the wooden floors that they used to play on every single day. The mother was still twitching a little on the ground as her eyes strained over to look at her little girl. Her lips moved very weakly, but no sounds came out…Mikasa still saw what her mother was trying to say.
"Run now…"
Mikasa was catatonic and couldn't move an inch…her eyes were locked onto her mother's face as the men started to walk over to her. Their towering shadows blocked the little moonlight that filtered into the small house, and their slowly emerging grins seeped their way into the girl's mind. The girl felt hopeless; she knew that it was already too late to run away and the men would be able to catch her…
"Time to come with us girly…" muttered the shortest man out of the three as he reached his hand down. "…don't worry, we won't hur-"
The man was loudly interrupted as a gunshot sounded through the area. The two remaining men were in shock as their comrade's head suddenly flicked backwards as blood splattered all over the place. The short man fell to his knees as most of his forehead was blasted to bits, and he joined his two victims on the wooden floor.
The scene shook Mikasa out of her stupor a little and she slowly back away from the fallen man as his blood started to flow near her. As the girl's back reached the back wall, she heard a steady pace of footsteps coming into her house. The front door was right next to her, and she flinched when she saw someone walk through the door wearing a pair of black leather boots.
"Human Traffickers…" said a voice that was rather juvenile as a young man walked into the small house. "I've been looking for the few of you for a while now…but it seems that was a bit too late."
The two men pointlessly grabbed onto their weapons, which consisted of a sledge hammer and a machete and faced the newcomer fiercely. Fear and paranoia filled the two men as they saw the blond hair of the man, and it got worse when a pair of piercing blue eyes stared into their souls. In the past year, someone had been killing off almost every criminal wanted, which was something very new as the police force would rarely be in the Wall Maria area. Records showed that the bounty hunter had blond hair and blue eyes…though no one had ever said that it was just a young teenager.
The people came to call the unknown hunter, the Purge, and he was welcomed by the majority of humanity. No one knew how the Purge kept finding random criminals, or how he managed to kill them off so easily, but no one really cared. There was unknown enemy against the scum of humanity, and as long as he was taking out the trash no one care who or what he was. Because of the Purge, the crime rates had been gradually decreasing; every criminal would start to cower at the mention of the Purge.
From the looks of it, the Purge was only a young teenager who still had a bit of baby fat on his cheeks. His spiky blond hair was sticking out of his hooded cloak as his body was covered by an armored vest. There was another pistol in a holster strapped around his right leg, which was also covered by a pair of black combat pants. The boy was tall for his presumed age; standing at about five feet in height. There was something about him that frightened the two full grown men in front of him; it was as if there was some sort of aura that projected the boy's anger and intent to kill.
"How much are you two getting paid?" asked the boy as he reloaded his pistol, "How much is worth killing two people and ruining the life of a young girl?" The boy's voice was eerily calm and stoic, and it was quite unsettling for the people in the same room.
"Who are you?" asked the apparent leader of the group, who was a tall man with a short beard and no hair. The sledge hammer in his hands looked very destructive, but everyone knew that it would be useless against a man with a pistol.
The blond boy cracked his neck and leaned his weight on one side. "I think you already know the answer to that…"
With a silent gesture to his remaining partner, the leader started to slide to the right as his partner made his way to the left. It was the only way to fight against the young teenager in front of them; to take advantage to their superior numbers. The two men's eyes remained locked onto the boy as they moved very slowly and steadily, but their quick breathing displayed their obvious fear and nervousness.
The Purge stood in the same spot emotionless as his eyes remained unfocused. It seemed that he paid no mind to the two men surrounding him, or at the fact that he only held one gun in one hand with two opponents coming at him…
Mikasa looked up at the boy who was just a few years older than her, not because she was particularly baffled by his demeanor, but because she was afraid to look anywhere else; the boy was the only sight that could provide her some sort of security. Though there was something in the girl's hands, and it was the knife that killed her mother and that the man dropped to reached for his sledge hammer…
"Die you punk!" cried the second in command as he slashed his machete down at the Purge. The leader naturally took action at the very same moment, and swung his large hammer towards the boy as hard as he could.
Seemingly out of nowhere, the boy as suddenly holding onto a blade of his own, and it used the leader's own strength to slice through the bar of the sledge hammer effortlessly. As the hammerhead fell to the ground, the boy kicked his right foot up to deflect the machete coming at him, and the large crashing sound of the hammerhead hitting the wooden floors was covered by the loud bang of the pistol shooting through the second in command's head.
The Purge glared into the dead man's eyes as he fell to the ground lifelessly; his blood tainting the flooring around him…
The leader knew that there was only one way for him to get out of the situation alive, and it was only a few feet away from him. The large man leaped as fast as he could, and before the boy could turn around, caught Mikasa in his arms in a dead lock. The girl cried out in fear as she was lifted up into the man's arms as his large hand threatened to crush her windpipe.
"H-Help!" croaked out the girl as the boy turned fully towards them.
"You are truly pathetic…" muttered the blond as his pistol and blade rested against his sides, "To think that a grown man like you would use a little girl in order to save your own life."
"Shut up, you little shit!" cried the man in anger. "Put your pistol and blade on the ground and turn around!" The man's grip around the girl's neck tightened and made her groan out in pain. "Or I will snap her neck!"
"What are you going to do if I don't…kill your only hope of survival?" asked the boy with a hint of condescension in his tone. "There can only be two outcomes here…either you kill the girl then I kill you, or I wait until you are too tired to hold the girl and I kill you…" The man growled in anger as the boy just smirked. "You will not kill the girl…because if you do I will kill you right away."
"Then what the hell do you want me to do?!" cried the man out in frustration.
The blond smiled and nodded. "There we go…you aren't as stupid as I thought." The boy placed his blade back into his cloak and pulled out his other pistol before putting the first one back. His demeanor was quite calm considering the situation, and it was further proven when he pulled up a chair from the dinner table and sat down with a sigh. "I want some information…"
The man was shaking a little by the legs as he held the girl's neck tightly, "What the hell do you want to know?!"
The boy placed one leg over the other as his pistol dangled loosely in his hand. "Who was it that hired you, what does he want with the girl and where does he live?"
"I-I can't tell you that!" cried the man frustrated. "Even if you let me go now, he'll kill me when he finds out I ratted him out!"
The blond's eyes suddenly turned very serious. "If you don't tell me you will die now…" muttered the young teen dangerously.
The man was silent for a few minutes but finally gave in; he would rather live now and try to escape then to die right away. "H-He is the chief merchant within Wall Rose…the richest and most powerful man in the entire Rose section." The boy's expression remained stoic as he listened to the man, but inside he was already planning to pay a visit to Wall Rose. "He has a huge harem in his home…we are hired by him to find an Oriental virgin for him to add to his collection."
"How much is he paying you?" inquired the blond with a dangerous edge in his voice.
"50,000 dollars…"
"I see…" muttered the young teen as he finally stood up from the chair. "For 50,000 dollars, you people are willing to completely destroy a family of three…you killed the father, you killed the mother, and you are planning to ship the daughter off to some old rich man so he could have his way with her…" The blond stopped in his tracks and glared mercilessly at the man as his blood boiled in rage. "You disgust me…"
Mikasa had tears falling from her cheeks as she shakily listened on…
"I-I'm sorry!" cried the man in fright as the teenager's pistol started to aim towards him, and the girl's small body was not enough to cover him. "I needed the money!" The man was backing away from the Purge with his shaking legs. "Who has the time for a clean conscience in this world…it is always hunt or be hunted!" The Purge stepped toward as each word passed through the man's mouth. "It is the way of life!"
The room was relatively silent for a few minutes as the blond motionlessly continued to stare at the man; the only sources of sound were the rapid breathing of the man and the girl in his grasp…
"You're right…" said a sudden and surprising voice as the girl suddenly stopped shaking in the man's arms. "It is to hunt or be hunted…" The Purge was surprised to suddenly see the girl pull out a knife from her clothing. The blond saw no hesitation as the girl stabbed the knife into the man's side; it was as if she was doing a very natural thing.
"AAAHHHHH!" cried the man as he was forced to release the girl.
Mikasa fell to the ground and saw that her knife was still lodged in the man's side, and she reached for it with a newfound steadiness. The girl ripped the blade out harshly and ignored the man's cries of anguish as she stabbed him again, this time in the stomach. Scenes of natural selection ran through the girl's mind as she let loose her blood-soaked frenzy; it became her atonement; the world had always consisted of predators and victims, and she didn't want to be a victim.
'Spiders and flies…'
'Cat and mouse…'
'Humans and cattle…'
The man was back up against the wall, and he was glaring down at the girl as his blood continued to splatter along the walls. As a last attempt to get even, seeing how he was going to die anyway, the man's hand pulled back into a fist and was planning to break the girl's neck on impact…
A loud bang sounded throughout the small house again; even the girl was shocked out of her stupor by it. The blond teenager had pulled the trigger on the man and blasted his head to pieces against the wall. The boy felt a sense of relief at the death of all the criminals, and allowed himself to relax after the stressful experience that felt like days. His blue eyes peered over at the girl who was still holding onto her knife very tightly, and decided to walk over to her to see if she was alright.
"Hey…" started the young teen softly. "Are you alright?"
The girl slowly turned to face her savior with tears falling freely from her eyes. There was a lot of blood along her clothes and face, but it was her hands that were almost completely covered with blood. She couldn't tell if the blood belonged to her parents or her victim, but either way it made her feel sick…the sight of her savior was the only thing keeping her mind in one piece.
Without a word, the girl dropped the knife to the ground and ran into her savior's arms. The blond automatically wrapped his arms around the crying girl and started to whisper soothing words into her ear. He couldn't imagine what the girl was going through at the moment; to see her own parents being killed at such a young age would be enough to traumatize anyone. All he could do at the moment was to offer the girl as much support and comfort she would need…
"It's okay…" whispered the blond quietly. "You are safe now…"
The boy pulled away from the hug and pulled back his hood to reveal his full face to the girl in front of him. The bright smile on the blond's face and his twinkling blue eyes made the girl feel a little better instantly; his warm and comforting aura also played a part in the situation.
"I'm Naruto, what's your name?"
The girl mostly stopped shaking and looked into Naruto's blue eyes. "I'm Mikasa Ackerman…"
"Mikasa-chan…that is such a pretty name", The young teen pulled out a handkerchief from his pocket and started to lightly clean the girl's face of the blood splatter; the wet tears still on her face made it easy for him to get rid of the drying blood. The menial task made both occupants of the house calmer, and their breathing began to completely level out. "There you go Mikasa-chan…all pretty again!"
Mikasa's remained locked to Naruto's own blue orbs, and she nodded very slightly at his words…
"Let's get you out of here…" Naruto held Mikasa's shoulders as he started to back out of the room; making sure that the girl had her eyes looking into his own as they made their way out; the last thing he wanted was for the girl to see her dead parents again. A rush of cold night air filled both their surroundings as they made it outdoors, and the fresh air really helped Naruto clear his mind. But then there was sudden rush of incoming footsteps from behind the two young teenagers, and Naruto looked back to see a man along with a young boy.
The man had long hair and a small mustache; he was holding onto some sort of brief case and looked quite worried based on his expression. The boy beside him was young; looked to be about ten years old. He had short dark brown hair and had rather intense eyes for someone his age. They were both running towards the Ackerman household, and froze when they saw Naruto and Mikasa…
"What is going on here?!" demanded the man loudly.
Naruto sighed and pulled Mikasa back into a gently hug; he really didn't want to explain the situation with Mikasa being so close, but he didn't want to let go of the girl in distress. The blond analyzed the newcomer, and assumed that he was no threat. The man was very skinny and looked weak, and he had a child with him, so it was unlikely that he was an enemy…
"This family was attacked by three Human Traffickers, and the two parents were killed in the process." The blond fully stood up and held Mikasa to his chest. "Did you know this family?"
The man was shocked and horrified at first, but then looked at the young man suspiciously as he stepped forward. "Yes…I am Grisha Jäger and I was their doctor, and who are you?"
"I'm the one who got rid of the criminals…" said the blond as he stepped up to the doctor. "But that is not important right now; can you see if Mikasa-chan is doing okay?"
Doctor Jäger was silent for a short while, not knowing if he should trust the strange person in front of him, but nodded either way. The top priority was to determine if the girl was alright, so he knelt down next to her.
"Mikasa…do you remember me, I am Doctor Jäger, I helped your mother and father before."
Mikasa pulled away from Naruto a little and nodded. "Yes…"
Grisha smiled and patted the girl a little on her head. "I'm going to check you over a little okay; I want to see if you are alright."
The Doctor diagnosed the girl just as he would everyone else; he checked her pulse, her eyes, he checked for any wounds on the body, but overall she was fine. There were a few cuts around her body but it was not anything serious; the real problem at hand was the girl's almost definite psychological wound. Watching your own parents being killed in front of you is not something anyone could bare, and everyone was worried about how the girl would handle it.
The Doctor smiled and nodded. "You should be fine Mikasa, please sit down a rest for a little while", said the man before he turned back to his son. "Sit with her Eren; make sure she is alright…" The boy nodded silently as he walked over to the girl; it was shocking for him as well; he was supposed to come to meet the girl tonight and they found her family slaughtered. It made Eren mad just thinking about it.
Naruto and the Doctor walked off to the side silently as the children's light chatter barely reached them. "So I assume you have some questions for me?"
Grisha nodded and crossed his arms. "Yes, can you tell me why you are here in the first place?" asked the man as Naruto maintained stoic. "This is not a very crowded area; almost nobody passes by at night."
The blond teenager sighed and nodded. "I have been trying to track down those Human Traffickers for a while now, and their trail led me here tonight," explained the boy as he turned his eyes back a little to look at the emotionless Mikasa. "But it seems that I was too late to save her parents."
The Jäger looked down at the teenager with confusion. "Why were you following those criminals in the first place; you are just a kid!"
Naruto smirked and crossed his arms. "I'm sorry, but I don't feel the need to explain myself to you…" said the blond as the Doctor recoiled back a little. "All you need to worry about is the girl; with my gunshots a few minutes ago, I imagine the police will come soon, and I rely on you to take care of the situation."
Before the Doctor could say another word, Naruto walked back toward the kids with a smile on his face. Mikasa instantly looked up at him when he was close to her, and stood up to get closer to him. The blond smiled down at the young girl and patted her head tenderly.
"It's going to be okay, Mikasa-chan…" said Naruto with a kind smile. "Those bad men are all dead and they won't ever try to hurt you again!"
Mikasa nodded as she continued to stare into Naruto's eyes. "Okay…"
Naruto nodded back and stepped away a little. "I have to leave before the police get here…but don't worry, Doctor Jäger here will take care of you." Mikasa looked very troubled as Naruto turned his back and took a step away. "See you later, Mikasa-chan!"
"NO!" cried the girl as she ran forward and wrapped her arms around Naruto's waist. "Don't leave me!"
Naruto was surprised at the extreme reaction, but could understand why the girl would want him to stay. "Mikasa-chan…you are safe now; you don't need me here anymore."
Mikasa wrapped her arms tighter around Naruto's waist and shook her head. "Let me go with you…" muttered the girl softly. "I don't want to be alone here…"
The blond turned around fully to face the girl. "You can't go with me, it is too dangerous", explained the Purge as he ruffled Mikasa's hair.
The Doctor decided that it was his time to speak up. "You can stay with my family, Mikasa!" The man knew that if the boy would continue to track down criminals then it would be very dangerous for Mikasa to follow him around; the last thing he would want would be to find Mikasa dead on the streets.
Mikasa was shocked as she turned around to look at the Doctor and his nodding son…
Naruto smiled and nodded along. "Yes, the Doctor here is a very nice man and he will take good care of you…"
Grisha walked up to the girl and slowly pulled her away from Naruto. "You can come live with us…my wife had always wanted a daughter and would love you very much." Eren walked over with his father and nodded at his words. "Eren will also be like a little brother for you…he's not very good with other people so you can help him with that." Eren made a face and crossed his arms at his father's comment.
Mikasa looked persuaded but her eyes were still lingering on Naruto. "But…can I see you again?"
Naruto smiled at the girl as he pulled something out from his pocket. "Come here Mikasa-chan…" The girl walked over to her savior and was a little confused when he started to put a necklace on her. It really was quite beautiful; it was a narrow piece of emerald alongside some smaller piece of diamond. "My mother left me this necklace, so it is very precious to me…" said the young blond as he pulled away from the girl. "Why don't you keep it safe for me, and when I have time I will come back for it?"
The girl looked down at the necklace before she looked back up at Naruto with teary eyes. "Okay…Naruto-san."
Naruto smiled happily before he leaned in to plant a gentle kiss on Mikasa's forehead. "Be safe Mikasa-chan…" The boy stood up fully and stepped backwards from the group. "I really need to go now…" started the teenager as he looked over at the Doctor. "Please take care of Mikasa-chan for me…"
Grisha nodded seriously. "You can count on us."
"Good luck Naruto-san!" cried Eren with a smile; he had taken a liking to the man who took out three criminals and saved the little girl.
Naruto smiled one last time before he turned around and sprinted away…
"SEE YOU LATER, MIKASA-CHAN!" cried the blond as he disappeared from view…
Mikasa looked down at her new necklace with a sad smile. "Goodbye…Naruto-san."
The End!
That was the second chapter of Royal Redemption, and I hope you all liked it!
Just to clear things up, Naruto is currently 13 years old and it has been one year since he left his palace. Everyone else is the same age was they would be in canon.
I know this is quite a change compared to canon, but I needed to do this in order to make the Naruto x Mikasa paring work in the future. Mikasa will still love Eren a lot, but it will be love between brother and sister.
Next chapter will be the start of the canon timeline, so be on the lookout for it!
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