UC chapter 7

Thank you so much for waiting! I came to the crises of omg plot issues! What kind of things did I want to write and where can I go with it? So haha enjoy~

I do not own Naruto or Snk.

Beyond the Walls

Over the next few weeks Sasori was integrated into the Corps relatively smoothly. Only a few distrusted him, rightly so after all, and most stayed out of his way. He certainly made a name for himself.

Sasori had broken into Hanji's lab to reorganize it one night, only to be interrupted by Levi who smirked and proceeded to grab cleaning supplies. It had taken them till morning light to finish cleaning and organizing completely, and it was certainly clean enough to eat off of, and ducked out before Hanji could catch them in the act. The scream that came from Hanji woke everyone in the base, which left a groaning Erwin as he realized his nightmare had come true.

When the two were confronted about it Sasori and Levi just gave matching looks, neither confirming nor denying that they had done such a thing. While there was no proof, the smirk that Sasori gave to Hanji later that day was more than enough to drive the squad leader crazy, this lead to his not so fun meeting with his very own horse.

Sasori stared at the creature in front of him and it stared right back. Sasori logically knew what a horse was, and had certainly killed a few when they were in his way, but he had never been up close and personal with one. What he didn't know was why he needed one. He could run faster and farther than the beast could any day.

"What the fuck is this shit?" He asked, but Hanji had gained a maniacal smile.

"Go on, Lilith isn't going to hurt you. She is yours on missions. Just say hi!"

Sasori stared at the mahogany colored mare with a renewed sense of discomfort.

"You expect me to get on the back of that thing?" The redhead frowned. He hated being on anything he couldn't control, and an animal certainly fell into that category.

"Is it because you have major control issues~?" Hanji teased and Sasori rolled his eyes.

"Are you projecting Hanji?" He snapped back but Hanji giggled and stayed silent to watch the show.

Sasori walked up to the horse, which was certainly taller than him, and brought out a hand to pet its mane. The horse whickered and shook its head but made no move of obvious rejection, and as Sasori ran his hand down its body and flank the mare flicked her tail and turned its body only to push her head into the redhead's chest, nuzzling him.

"Uh…" Was Sasori's shocked and unintelligent response to the horse's actions. He turned his head to look at Hanji with wide confused eyes. "Help?"

Hanji shook with laughter and walked over to set up the saddle before turning back to the male. "Lilith is now your horse while you are with us. She likes you, so I suggest you learn to take care of her. Now get on and take the reins, if of course you think you can get on her without help."

Sasori gracefully got onto the saddle and took the reins and the mare neighed softly as though it was trying to calm his nerves. His shaky sigh followed after kicking off and the horse went to a soft trot.

'If it wasn't going to bring hell on earth here then I'd just turn it into a pupp-!' Sasori's line of thought was cut off as the horse broke out into a full run. Immediately Sasori let loose his strings and took control over the mare's body, which was a bit awkward, and slowed it down to a trot. He crooned into her ear, calming her, forcing his will through the strings overriding the wild instinct of the horse.

The horse wasn't pleased when Sasori let the strings relax but didn't buck him off; there was a shared acceptance between man and beast at that moment. A treaty so to say. At least the mutual partnership wouldn't end with the horse dead and used as parts for a new project Sasori had been thinking of.

Sasori commanded the horse to trot back to where his superior was and dismounted, a smug smile along his lips at Hanji's frustration.

"That's not fair puppet-boy!" She whined. Sasori merely gave Hanji a cocky smirk as his response before leaving to go take over her lab.

"I'll be using your lab for a while. I suggest you refrain from entering it until I am done." Sasori called back and held up the keys to the lab. Hanji stuttered out a curse.

"How did he get those? What a conniving little-." Hanji pouted but decided to go and have some daytime fun with Mike.

~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~

The next day started early as everyone had to prepare to get ready for the expedition. Gear was put on, green cloaks tied, and horses were fed and ready to go. The one redhead of the large group was armed similarly to the way he was in the underground, even sparing four extra short swords to Levi. When asked about it Sasori merely said that it was better to be over prepared than under. Levi had given him his trademark glare before scoffing and accepting them with a few cleanliness filth and other comments that were ignored.

It was a new experience to be sent off with well wishes from the citizens before they left the wall. Sasori's cool gaze traced over everyone's faces in order to make sure there wasn't anyone that seemed out of place, though the creeping chill that slowly crawled up his spine was not one to be ignored. Something, somewhere was about to happen and he couldn't place it. Sasori was about to go digging through his agents minds when he was distracted by the person next to him.

"You ready for this?" Eren Jeager questioned which earned a sharp glare from the resident redhead.

"Giant man eating monsters are the least of my worries kid." Sasori said as his eyes swept across the crowds again.

Eren was about to pass a comment but Sasori swiftly brought his foot up to meet the boys shin in warning, though the murderous look also given was enough to chill the boy in place.

"Time and place brat." Sasori hissed in warning. "Those who yell the loudest get killed first. So silence or I'll stitch your mouth shut."

Eren scowled but listened well enough to leave the issue alone until he could question further. One thing Eren had learned over the past few months that Sasori had been in their ranks was to listen carefully or else. It was like having two Levi's at once! Eren was certainly tired of reorganizing and cleaning the kitchen with Sasha.

Soon after the conversation was over they crossed through the gate and started their mission but Sasori turned his head to look up at the top of the wall. His instincts were on point, but he still couldn't find the source of his unease.

For the first few hours nothing changed, just powdered greens and reds that lit up an area in warning or divergence. It was simple but effect so Sasori thought, though if they had better technology such as coms, it would be much easier to communicate.

Sasori looked at his specific group which consisted of Armin, Sasha, and Jean. From what he gathered they wouldn't be half bad if they stumbled into any issues, but possibilities were certainly there.

Sasha had good instincts, and Sasori thought that she would have been a good shinobi if she could get over her eating habits. She was a natural according to what Levi had to say but her over eagerness as a notorious food thief was a sore spot. Not only that, she was also very capable with a bow and arrow which pleased Sasori. She was in the not quite cannon fodder category in his mind. The brash personality reminded him a lot of the blonde haired fox boy, though this girl seemed to think before she acted.

Jean, according to Sasori, would have been turned probably been blown up by Deidara by now, but Sasori personally didn't have a problem with the openly opinionated boy. He was good, and Sasori could see why Levi had him on his squad, though the boy's personality left something to be desired. Obsessed over his past lovers' death and sense of twisted duty was nothing Sasori particularly could pay attention to for long. Good kid, but Sasori figured he wouldn't have lived very long as a shinobi. At least he appreciated the right form of art.

Armin was probably one of Sasori's favorites out of the entire Corps next to his grudging like of Hanji and fond camaraderie with Levi. Armin was quick on his feet mentally and could compare to any of the Nara's he had ever come across in his life. A genius strategist was always something to be desired, though the kid could have used some more desensitizing towards death before he became a soldier. He would have been a paper shinobi, though Sasori was sure someone would have taken the kid under their wing. Sasori did enjoy and favor intelligence after all, though he did question Armin's interest in Jean.

It was after the third rest stop and eleventh hour mark when things started to get a bit difficult. Black and purple flares, one for abnormals and the other for an emergency, started to light up the surrounding areas in the formation. Trouble seemed to rain upon them quickly. Curses were muttered under their breaths but they kept following the green flares, but they remained ready. Sasori and Sasha were on the outside of their small formation to take down Titans while Armin was in the front and Jean in the back.

Sasori's eyes turned to the left, as he noticed several Titans coming their way. Jean made a comment that made the red heads eyes narrow. It was extremely rare for so many titans to come upon them at once unless Jeager transformed and gained attention, so why did they? Unfortunately right as Sasori prepped himself to jump off his horse, information slammed into his brain.

"They are leaving today."

"Survey Corps is just a waste of time and money."

"Do you think they will find anything interesting?"

"I wonder who will end up dead this time."

"Migratory time of year."

"How many do you think they will kill off this time?"

"I don't want my family dead at anyones hands but mine."

"-purpose? That seems a bit cruel to forget to let them know they are on the path, though you don't care anyway do you?"

"Why let them know titans do migrate to find more food every so often."

"Winter is coming."

"Oh look here, seems like someone overheard."

"Wrong place, wrong time. You were a good soldier after all."

"Pity."

"-ori! Sasori! Are you okay?"

Sasori's senses came back relatively slowly, but he could smell the horse he sat on, feel the wind rushing across his face, but his head honestly hurt. He didn't release that he had passed out but it was an information backlash from one of his agents' right before their untimely demise. Sound memories were the only ones that were granted to him, but it seemed Sasori's newer technique certainly had its drawbacks. That was certainly a problem.

Sasori sat back up, but he didn't fail to notice the blood that dribbled from his nose. He licked his upper lip before moving back into a ready position. The Titans were certainly in dangerously close now so he needed to focus on them.

"Fuck… I'm fine. Armin, signal for left or right, we need to lead everyone away from this area. Jean, once we eliminate these, take Sasha and go to Levi, let him know this area is a path and we have to get off of it or else it will become more of a feeding frenzy."

Jean looked at the worried eyes of both Armin and Sasha but didn't question the orders as he usually would have. They had all seen Sasori freeze up, gasp in what seemed to be large amounts of pain and shutter before his eyes rolled back into his head as he had passed out. Something clearly happened to their new 'friend' and they needed to relay it to their Corporal and Commander.

"Don't die brats." Sasori barked before he shot off his grapples to go kill the titan around them. The sound of steam and falling bodies seemed to attract more attention from the titans so Sasori signaled for them to go to the rest of the group. He would be able to take care of these if he didn't have an audience. However, it did not seem to go to plan. As Sasori sliced through a titan's neck, Jean and Sasha were mid swing to kill their own; Armin was plucked out of the air and dropped into a waiting mouth of the last one. The scream assaulted their ears and Sasha cried out in response.

Time seemed to slow down for Sasori and his basic instinct to go retrieve the boy was overwhelming. He would not be left by the boy he seemed to have grown fond of and he wouldn't be abandoned before he could turn the boy into something eternal, preserved forever in his collection. Sasori snarled and jumped over, barking out orders for the two to continue onto Levi or the Erwin, and to not kill the titan until he was out, or else they would narrow his chances of survival.

Sasori's grapples hit the titan in the face and he propelled his body onto its face, and as if on cue like a trained pet it opened its mouth. He released the hooks and his body went straight, narrowly missing the teeth slamming together behind him. A grapple was shot into the back of the throat before he was swallowed down, following the path that Armin took.

The redhead heard Armin's quiet whimpers from below him, which was a relief to Sasori's ears, before he got to the stomach. It was unfortunate that it was pitch black within the body. This was truly a horrifying way to die if the stomach acid dissolved the body slowly without anyone coming in after to save them.

"Armin!" He yelled out and the terrified choked sob response that followed was enough of an acknowledgement for Sasori.

Chakra strings slid out from his right hand and attached themselves to the blonde's body. He yanked upwards and soon Armin was delivered to him and terrified murmured thank you's hit his senses yet again as Armin was positioned slowly behind him, held up by his arms around the red heads neck and legs wrapped around his waist. Something in Sasori's heart twisted and he grimaced, he didn't understand the feeling but he put it aside to dissect later.

Sasori's threads remained on Armin in case he fell off, though the heat from the body mass around them and their own made Armin's probability of falling off all the more likely so he added a bit of chakra to his own body in order to stick to Armins. Sasori quickly propelled them both back up through the esophagus, cutting into it so it would cough them up and get them out of the hot body faster. Finally as they reached the back of the throat Sasori let the practically useless grapple go and pushed off with his legs to push them out as it coughed one final time.

"Hang on brat!" He exclaimed as they hit fresh open air. Due to extraordinary luck they had managed to be near trees when they got out. Sasori twisted his body the best he could to land on one of the branches without falling, but Armin's terrified squeak and tightening of the arms caused an unbalance. He promptly sent chakra to his feet so he could stick to the branch but the momentum and force was enough to cause a crack in one of his legs, but they were safe.

Sasori groaned.

Armin sighed in relief and muttered more expressions of gratitude until the cavalry arrived. They did so quickly in the form of the rest of Levi's squad and eliminated the titan that wanted to re-devour the two whole. It also came with annoyance, relief, and gratitude.

"Are you okay Armin?" Mikasa and Eren asked as they helped dislodge him from Sasori's body. They were rewarded with a nod of thanks before Armin was taken.

The next ten minutes was filled with concern for the two's health, changing of clothes and getting clean from the acid and sweat, but when Sasori shook his head to get the water off his hair he was stopped.

"Hey Sasori, what is that on the back of your neck?" Sasha asked, curiosity coloring her voice.

"What mark?" He asked and brought a hand to his neck to attempt to feel it, panic blooming in his chest.

"It's a circle with an upside down triangle on the inside! That's a cool tattoo though seeing as it is glowing!" She exclaimed but squeaked when Sasori whipped around to stare at her.

His eye twitched in response and he took a deep breath to calm himself down. Eren was the next to comment but it was something a bit more relieving.

"Oh, it's fading though." He commented and Sasori groaned. Hidan was right in the existence of his god, and if Sasori didn't manage to broach the subject first they would all be condemned to the long hours of the Jashinist teachings.

"Good. I don't need a crazy god's mark on me. Ever. However it gives me a clue to how I got here." He mumbled but the looks he was given, especially by Levi, was enough to make him groan again.

"It is the sign of Jashin. God of death and destruction, though it seems like he has more power than previously imagined. I groaned because it means that Hidan has been right for the past few years. If Hidan is to be believed, Jashin gave Hidan immortality by becoming his priest and giving up certain things that I couldn't care less about. He also tends to sacrifice everything for his god. Mainly humans, but I believe he has been killing the undead lately." He explained and Eren gave a frustrated sound.

"Why? Why sacrifice humans? You are so jaded again the human race!" He exclaimed.

Sasori calmly looked at him and thought before his answer. It was a difficult answer as his personal answer was different then Hidans.

"Hidan believes that if he doesn't sacrifice for Jashin than Jashin will take away his immortality and be disappointed in him, and trust me when I say that Hidan needs it, as he has been 'killed' in many, many ways." He started off and then gestured to Levi. "Levi here grew up seeing some of the worst of human nature, and that they aren't particularly useful except for being used as materials. Humans tend to get a thrill off of power and control brat. Beating the defenseless and poor is a particular trait that is common in humans. Hidan thinks that some of us haven't noticed but he tends to sacrifice the seedy and damned for his god. He talks loud to distract everyone from the truth."

Everyone looked a bit thoughtful and then Connie spoke up.

"So really this Hidan character is a good guy while pretending to be an insane killer?"

Sasori's hooded eyes lit up with appreciation. "Basically brat. Don't get me wrong though, Hidan will kill anyone in his way but he does have a soft spot for kids, gives them a chance to get away."

Silence was his answer as everyone thought about his words. Jean accurately said the general thoughts of the group. "You come from a really fucked up place."

Sasori gave him a smirk in response. "It gets worse than that brat."

Levi was the one to break up the conversation by stating that they had to get back to the mission at hand. He fired a purple flare and they waited until Erwin came to them.

"We need to talk Sasori, about the information you passed on and how you got it, and certainly the effect it had on you." Levi's voice was steel to everyone's ears but there was an undercurrent of worry.

A/N: Yay~ Chapter done! Poor Armin but he is fine I promise! But haha it seems Sasori now knows the how but not the why! Till next time my loves. Don't forget to review, favorite, and follow~