I Don't Own Naruto or Attack on Titan!
Royal Redemption - Chapter 5
The main hospital in Trost was one of the most prominent medical faculties in human occupied space, and it's most secured and advance room was currently hosting one of the most important people in the world. The doctors and nurses of the hospital had seen many strange things occur during their time at work, but never had they seen something so out of the ordinary…
In the high-class singe-patient room, many luxuries would be provided. There would be a chilled carafe of lemon water on the side of the bed, multiple vases of fresh cut flowers along the tables on the sides of the room, and hand-crafted wooden sculptures as décor. But as the doctors and nurses walked into the room, they saw a sight that they would never forget…
While their young patient was still unconscious on his bed, many things were happening around him. The carafe of water was boiling uncontrollably as the lemon jumped around inside the glass; the flowers were constantly blooming, then died, and blossomed again within a few minutes, and the wooden art had buds of leaves suddenly grow out of their bodies.
"W-What is this?!" cried one of the nurses as she back away from the room.
The main doctor of the hospital looked very concerned as he looked back at his subordinates. "Please go tell the two gentlemen about this…"
"Hai!" responded one of the younger doctors as he and a couple of nurses retreated back to the lower levels of the building.
The main doctor's eyes remained locked onto the strange things happening in the room, and somehow tried to convince himself that they all had something to do with the young man sleeping soundly on the bed. The patient was checked into the hospital a few hours ago by several higher-ups of the military, and they ordered the hospital to treat the young man as their highest priority, so the doctor could safely assume that the blond was someone special…
The glass windows on the side of the room was starting to shake violently, and in another few seconds there were cracks emerging at the center of it. The doctor's eyes widened as he immediately rushed into the room and pulled the windows opened before the glass would shatter. While he might have saved the patient from being severely injured by shards of glass, he was not prepared for the strong gust of wind that blasted into the room the instant he opened in the window.
"AAHHHH!" cried the elderly doctor as he was flung to the far side of the room. The man's head hit the wall quite hard and was almost knocked out, but he could still see the strange things in the room before his dim eyes.
The wind coursed through the room like a whirlwind, and it tore through almost everything in the room except for the bed located at the very center. The wind seemed to be revolving around the patient of the bed and acted as some sort of barrier to the outside world. At this point, every other strange phenomenon in the room seemed to have been amplified, and got even more out of control. The flowers were broken out of their glass vases, and despite not having soil for their roots, continued to grow; it was growing to the point where it was a few times larger than its original size. The wooden art no longer resembled anything of the result their creators' intention, and looked more like small trees. Then the water in the carafe was nearly evaporated, and the heat caused the glass chamber to be blown to bits across the room…
This was the scene the two men who brought the young man into the hospital were greeted with when they arrived…
"What is going on here?!" cried the taller of the two men loudly over the loud havoc happening in the room.
The doctor was covering his face with his hands to prevent small pieces of glass from harming him. "I have no idea…this just randomly started!"
The shorter of the two men rushed into the room and pulled the doctor onto his back. "This is crazy…" he mumbled as he ran out of the dangerous and spontaneous room. "…I never thought this would happen…is this some sort of supernatural shit; I've never seen anything like this before."
The tall man brushed his short blond hair with his fingers as he focused on the young man on the bed. "Is he doing this?" he asked as he saw how peaceful the patient seemed to be.
The doctor was breathing heavily on the ground as he looked up at the two men. "I really don't have a clue; we were about to check on him, and when we came into the room all these strange things started to happen!"
The short man stepped closer to the door to get a better look at the patient. "None of these things are affecting the guy…it's like these things are trying to protect him from his surroundings."
"Do you mean he's controlling this?" asked the tall man.
The other man sighed and rubbed his temples. "I don't know…but I sure wasn't expecting anything like this."
Suddenly, everything started to calm down. The men looked around to see if there was anything or anyone that somehow turned everything off, but there was nothing out of the ordinary. The flowers stopped their continuous growth and the wood stopped manifesting in the room. Everything was suddenly quiet, and the only sound the men could hear was the soft and steady breathing of the patient on the bed…
"Okay…this is some weird shit!"
'Where am I?' thought the young man on the bed as he started to gain consciousness.
The young man didn't remember what happened to him at first, but the memories rushed into his mind as he tried to think back to the last thing he can remember. The "Wings of Freedom" insignia was still vividly clear in Naruto's mind; the morning light at the time made it very clear. It was someone in the Scouting Legion that had saved him, and Naruto wanted to thank whoever it was, but he didn't know if they were alive anymore.
Focusing on his touch, Naruto noticed that it wasn't lying on the hard ground, but on a soft bed and the delicate scent of roses passed by his nose as he breathed in some clean air. Naruto deduced that he was indoors and was in a room of some sort. His surroundings were silent, and the only sound he could he was his own steady breath.
Straining his body a little, Naruto opened his eyes and saw a white roof…
'Is this the hospital?'
"So, you're finally awake, huh?" said a sudden voice that ripped through the quiet room. "You've been sleeping for ten hours…"
Naruto felt the pain in his neck as he turned to look at the direction of the voice, and he saw a short, black haired man looking at him with an apathetic expression on his face. He had straight and short black hair and piercing blue eyes that Naruto's couldn't read. The one thing that stood out the most about the man was the green cape on his back with the "Wings of Freedom" insignia on it…
"It's you…" whispered Naruto with a hoarse voice.
The man was leaning against the wall of the room with his arms crossed as he raised an eyebrow. "You recognize me? I thought you were unconscious when I got there."
Naruto closed his eyes for several seconds as a bad headache struck him. "Where am I?"
"You are in a hospital in the Trost District…" said a new and steady voice from the front of the room. "We brought you here after Levi rescued you…we made it in good time, so you should be."
The prince's eyes looked down at the end of his bed and saw a tall blond man wearing the same uniform as the man who saved him from before. He had a strong jaw and a rather emotionless face. Naruto knew he had seen the man somewhere before, but he couldn't recall when or where…
"Who are you?" asked the prince weakly.
The man walked to the side of the bed and looked down at the young man. "I am Erwin Smith, the Commander of the Scouting Legion." Naruto's widened in recognition, he had seen the man when he was reporting something to Dallis a few years back. "And this is Levi, a Captain of the Scouting Legion."
Despite the pain throughout his body, Naruto pushed himself higher along the bed and rested his back against the headboard. Looking down at himself, Naruto saw that most of his chest was covered in bandages, probably because of the cuts he got when he fell to the ground. Other than that the prince couldn't really feel any more wounds on his body; there was only a little bit of pain in his legs.
Looking around the room, Naruto didn't find anything strange…everything was neat and tidy.
"Why did you save me?" asked the blond as he looked up at the two men. "I was a refugee from Wall Maria, and was under order to help retake the place from the Titans…"
Levi stood up fully and walked up to his commander. "You are just a kid, so you weren't condemned to fight, and I decided to save you before you were killed", said the man with a flat voice. "After all, it's not every day I see a kid taking down eleven Titans on his own…"
"Eleven, huh?" pondered Naruto mostly to himself as he looked down at his bandaged hands. "I wasn't really counting myself…"
Levi's eyes looked into the lowered blue eyes of Naruto's own. 'This is one weird kid…when he's awake he's strong enough to take down nearly a dozen Titans without any help, and when he's asleep he can make all this weird shit happen…just what is he?'
Naruto grew a little wary of the short man staring at him, but decided to disregard it because he had other questions in mind. "Is the fight in Wall Maria over?"
Levi scoffed a little. "There was no fight; it was a massacre…almost everyone died; there were about one hundred who survived."
The prince's eyes widened as he sat up fully. "What?!" he cried out in shock. "Only one hundred out of two-hundred and fifty thousand men survived?!"
Erwin nodded with an emotionless expression on his face. "Yes…"
Naruto glared at Levi as he disregarded his pain. "Then how many people did you save beside me?"
Levi shook his head. "You are the only one we saved…it was a violation of the King's decree for us to pass into Wall Maria during the fight."
"So why did you choose to save me at all…aren't you afraid that the King will execute you?" asked Naruto with an edge in his tone.
Erwin cleared his throat and walked closer to the bed. "I'm sure the King would forgive us for breaking the rules if it meant saving his heir from dying…"
Naruto's mouth grew dry at the sudden announcement. "How do you know who I am?…"
"I've seen you once a few years ago when I was reporting to General-Commander Dallis…you were training at the time and we were never properly introduced." The Commander of the Scouting Legion looked over at his best man as they both fell to their knees. "But it is great to officially meet you, Naruto-sama!"
The prince chuckled lightly as he shook his head. "You already know my name…"
Erwin nodded with his head down. "Yes…I am quite familiar with the names of the royal family, and the Lion Medallion around your neck also suggested a lot of information about you.
Naruto remained silent as he looked down at his birthright, which was strapped around his neck. The Lion was his official symbol; one he was granted by his Father on the day he was born. His younger brother was given the Eagle, and his sister was given the Tiger. The Lion Medallion had precedence over the other two Medallions, and was the greatest power in humanity beside the King himself…
"I will say now that I want my identity hidden…" muttered the prince with a low voice.
Erwin nodded. "I understand Naruto-sama…Levi and I will be the only two to know of your presence."
Naruto sighed and nodded. "Be at ease…I've never liked people bowing to me."
"Hai!"
The two men got back on their feet and stood by the side of the bed. Levi was still looking down at the prince with a blank expression, and Erwin was looking a little concerned. The young man in front of them was the future King of Humanity, and presently the second most powerful man in the world. With the medallion around his neck, he could have everyone in the Scouting Legion killed before sunset…so they had to tread carefully.
"Relax…" suddenly spoke Naruto with a smirk on his face. "I'm not like your usual royal asshole…just say what you want, I won't kill you for it."
Erwin cleared his throat and nodded. "Then if I may, Naruto-sama, can I please inquire why you are outside of Wall Sina in the first place?"
Naruto exhaled slowly as he rested his back against the headboard fully. "Ever since I was very young I've wanted to become a great King for my people, and I always thought that I would be able to learn how by studying with my dozens of teachers in the palace…but I soon learnt that it was not true." The prince smiled a little at looked up at the two men. "I needed to see the real world with my own eyes; I wanted to find the truth of my people by myself…so I left the palace and Wall Sina two years ago to really learn about my people."
Levi was a little surprised, but didn't show it. "So you've been out here for two years already..." muttered the man with a bored voice. "What have you learned so far…Wall Sina is a lot different compared to what's out here."
Naruto chuckled. "No need to sugarcoat anything for me…I've seen almost everything in these two long years." The prince looked up and saw that Levi didn't really look convinced. "When I left the palace, I brought along with me a thick binder that contained the assumed locations of every loose criminal on record, and I managed to exterminate almost all of them."
Erwin's eyes actually widened by the tiniest fraction as Levi continued to look down at his future leader. "You mean you are the Purge?!" exclaimed Erwin quite loudly.
"I was never very fond of that moniker, but yes…I'm the Purge." Despite their outward appearances, Levi and Erwin were both shocked to hear such talk; the Purge had been responsible for lowering over 50% of the crime rates in Wall Maria, and over 25% in Wall Rose. The Purge had become a legend within Humanity, and many people called him a hero that should replace the King and the Royal family. How ironic that the Purge was actually the heir apparent of the King himself.
Levi finally decided to voice himself. "So that was why you were so adamant about fighting in Wall Maria…you wanted to protect the place you created from your hard work." Naruto just looked over to the side of the wall as he heard this. "I understand…it must make you livid that after so much hard work, the beautiful and peaceful place you created was invaded by the Titans."
Naruto nodded. "I think I am feeling what everyone should be feeling…I understand that people before the fall of Wall Maria would be satisfied with living within these walls since they've never seen any Titans for seen them feed on humans…but now everyone should be angry." The prince glared down at his hands. "The Titans destroyed our lives and dreams…they devoured our family and trampled over our homes…but still I find people who wouldn't mind as long as they can live peacefully in the inner walls."
Erwin nodded. "Yes…we often see the same thing, and it explains why the Scouting Legion is by far the smallest legion in pure numbers."
"I'm going to join the Scouting Legion!" announced the prince as he looked up at the two men.
Levi smirked as Erwin stepped forward more. "As the commander of the Scouting Legion I am honored that our future leader wants to join, but keep in mind Naruto-sama, the Scouting Legion is the most dangerous occupation possible right now, and you are someone that is irreplaceable in this world!"
Naruto continued to look up at the man. "I know that a running government is important to Humanity, but I rank dealing with the Titans at an even higher priority…there is no point of my succeeding the throne if the Titans could just break down wall after wall effortlessly." The prince ripped of his medallion from his neck and held it in his hand. "I know I can be of help…so just as another human being living in this world, can I join the Scouting Legion?"
Erwin admired the prince's passion and devotion to his people; something everyone in the world needed more of. "Yes, Naruto-sama…it would be an honor to work with you, I know that with your help the Scouting Legion will reach new heights!" Erwin looked over at Levi with a small smile. "I will place you in Levi's elite unit!"
"But there is one problem…" interrupted Levi as the two other people looked over at him.
"What is it?" asked Erwin wondering what could be wrong.
Levi sighed and leaned his side against the wall. "I know Naruto-sama is strong enough to be in the Scouting Legion right now, in fact, he is good enough to be in my Special Operatives Unit, but the problem is he looks too young."
Naruto raised any eyebrow, "Too young?"
Levi nodded. "Yes…regular graduates from the academy is at least fifteen years old, and at least eighteen if I were to normally accept them into my unit, so a fourteen year old kid join my team would be very conspicuous." Naruto and Erwin nodded a little at the deduction. "Then there is another thing…for one to join our forces the must be certified by the military academy, and while I'm sure Naruto-sama can get one easily with his power, he wouldn't because he wants to hide his true identity…"
The prince sighed as he rubbed his temples. "Can't you two just forge one for me…as a captain and a commander that shouldn't be too hard?"
"Normally it wouldn't be, but this is the Scouting Legion, and we have a rule that we must document everything because the death tolls are incredibly high…it would be painfully obvious if we were to forge one, especially at a time like this", explained Erwin as he leaned back in thought.
Naruto sighed. "I can join the academy…but I've done training like theirs when I was eight years old."
"Yes, but how about we place you inside the academy as an assistant instructor?" asked Erwin with a smile on his face. "Not only would it be a way for you to get certified, I also think it would get you accustomed to being a leader…you've been working solo for a while so it's going to take time for you to get used to working in teams as well as leading them."
"Really, they're going to let a fourteen year old kid teach the new recruits?" asked the prince a little dubious.
"If we are the ones vouching for your skills, yes, they would let you teach."
The prince sighed and leaned back. "Whatever…at least it would give me some time to train."
Erwin smiled. "Okay…I'll bring you over to the academy when you are back to full health."
"Okay…"
The recruitment center for new soldiers was a little ways from Eren and Mikasa's new home in Trost with their recovering mother. It was finally the day when the military school was taking in new students, and after some last minute tear filled persuasion, Mikasa was walking with her foster brother to the school. They were both dressed in military training uniforms, and it looked quite good on both of them.
It has been a year since the breach of Wall Maria, and their lives were once again starting a new phase; military training. Eren had been most adamant about attending the school, and no matter how much his mother tried to talk him out of it, he remained determined to get back at the Titans; especially since their father had suddenly disappeared after the initial attack...
"Hey Armin!" cried Eren as he saw his best friend further down the road.
The blond boy smiled and walked over to meet up with his two friends, "Hey Eren, Mikasa...are you two ready?"
Mikasa merely nodded silently as Eren smirked. "I've been ready for a long time already; it's time us to fight back!"
Armin knew Eren would be fine, but was a little concern about Mikasa. Ever since half a year ago, when Naruto was gone missing, Mikasa had become even more stoic and silent than before, and it concerned her family quite a bit. Eren knew that Naruto was Mikasa's pillar of strength and hero, so he could understand why his apparent death would affect her so much; especially since they grew very close during the first week together.
Armin saw the obvious changes in Mikasa as well; especially since he was the one who told her that Naruto might have gone to fight in the mission to retake Wall Maria. The boy would never forget how Mikasa's face had turned completely emotionless in a split second before she broke into tears. The others knew that the girl still had faith that Naruto was alive, but also knew that the numbers were against them; only about one hundred people survived out of the two-hundred and fifty thousand refugees sent into battle.
"The meeting starts in twenty minutes…we should hurry", said Mikasa in a stoic voice as she led the way to the military training camp.
Eren and Armin chatted along as they walked to the place that will change their lives forever, but Mikasa was in a little world of her own. The girl had one hand holding the beautiful necklace Naruto gave her when he saved her life for the first time, and it offered her some peace of mind in her dark times. It has been several months since the last time she had seen Naruto, but there hadn't been one day that she wouldn't think about him.
In their one week together, Mikasa had really grown attached to Naruto; being together with the blond teenager made Mikasa feel like she had her real family back again. It was really crazy for Mikasa, but she knew that if Naruto stayed with her, she would have devoted her entire life to him. The girl had often thought about what she really felt for Naruto? Was it affection, passion, dependence, or love? Mikasa didn't know, she didn't need to know…all she needed was for him to be with her and stay with her…but she knew that may be impossible.
Mikasa had found an outlet for her grief, and that was to focus on protecting what was left for her family. She still had her mother, and two little brothers that tend to run into trouble all the time. If Eren and Armin wanted to join the military, Mikasa would make sure she was there to protect both of them from harm; just like when there were children.
"We're here…" muttered Armin as he looked up at the entrance of the training camp.
Eren was extremely excited to finally begin his dream of joining the Scouting Legion, so he ushering the other two to walk faster as they made their way into the camp. There was already a large crowd in the main open area of the camp, and everyone was wearing a training uniform. There were official guards along the perimeters of the main area, and they were all stoically looking at the crowd in case of any sudden problems…
"Wow…there is a lot of people", mumbled Armin as he looked around.
Eren nodded. "I guess after the fall of Wall Maria, more and more people want to join the military…"
All the while, Mikasa was looking around the area for one peculiar color of hair, and she found nothing. There were a few blondes in the crowd, but none of them had the same shade of hair she grew used to seeing every morning when she woke up. The girl had a lingering hope that Naruto had survived the battle and would join the military like they were doing, but it seemed that it had been a false hope…
"OKAY YOU LOT, GATHER ROUND THE CENTER IN A FIFTEEN COLUMES!" cried a soldier loudly as everyone scrambled to be organized.
Eren, Armin, and Mikasa were standing right next to each other as they faced the direction of the main building in the camp. Several men emerged from within the dark doors and made their way over to them slowly. There was one man in the middle who seemed to be in charge of them, and he was bald, with a wheatish complexion and had wrinkles on his forehead. His most notable features were dark circles around his eyes which seemed imposing and frightening…
"YOU ARE ALL NOW OFFICIALLY MEMBERS OF TRAINING UNIT 104!" cried the man loudly with clear authority, "AND UNFORTUNATELY FOR YOU, I, KEITH SHADIS WILL BE IN CHARGE OF YOU FOR THE NEXT THREE YEARS!"
The instructor continued on his loud and blatant display of orientation, but Mikasa didn't have the patience to pay him any attention. The girl's mind closed itself around her own private surroundings, and let her thoughts guide her through her consciousness. Her hand gently reached up to grasp the green crystal hanging loosely around her neck, and instantly felt more at ease. Her midnight back hair hid her lowered eyes from the instructor as she looked down at her most precious possession, and admired its beauty like she would always do…
…but for a second it seemed to have illuminated a soft glow.
Mikasa's eyes widened when it glowed again…
'What is this…this has never happened before?'
The soft green light didn't appeal to anyone else in the blazing sunlight, but it was obvious inside the dark grasp of her hand. The light felt oddly serene in Mikasa's hand, and she felt some sort of energy flow into her being as she continued to hold it. The necklace seemed to be responding to something around it, as it was getting stronger and stronger with each passing second…
Mikasa looked up and instantly caught sight of a shade of blond hair…
In the blazing sun, the face of the person walking up to the instructor wasn't clear, but his hair was very familiar; a shade that Mikasa would dream of every night. But the person's face become more and more clear as he walked to the platform, and soon, his bright blue eyes could be seen…
Mikasa's breathing hitched as she almost pinched herself to see if she was dreaming like so many times before…but it was all real.
"THIS IS MY ASSISTANT AND YOUR SUPERIOR FOR THE NEXT THREE YEARS, NAMIKAZE NARUTO!"
Eren's eyes widened at the sight as he struggled to maintain his posture, 'N-Naruto-san?'
Armin almost stepped back a little at the sight. 'He's still alive!'
Mikasa felt her own body froze where she stood as hot tears automatically welled up in her eyes. She saw Naruto's warm blue eyes look straight at her as he stood on the platform next to the instructor, and an enormous rush of relief coursed through Mikasa's entire being. From where she was, Mikasa could see that Naruto was shocked to see her as well, and his eyes never once pulled away from her since he first appeared.
The world around the two disappeared as they both stared into each other's eyes…
Some of the other trainees started to take notice, and Shadis definitely notice, but Naruto couldn't care less. He had been trying to find Mikasa for the past few months after losing contact with her after he left the hospital, and the sight of her being safe and sound was a huge load off his mind. It seemed that in their few months apart they both had grown quite a bit…Mikasa was already a beautiful young lady. Naruto felt a smile come onto his face as he looked down at the girl wearing his mother's necklace…he was happy to have her back in his life again.
"I finally found you…" whispered Mikasa and Naruto at the same time under their breaths.
The End!
That was the fifth installment of Royal Redemption, and I hope you all liked it.
The next few chapters will be about the training of the unit 104 trainees, the blossom of Naruto and Mikasa's relationship, and the start of Naruto and Annie's relationship. I am excited to write about Annie since I already have made plans for her…
PLEASE LEAVE A REVIEW! XD