(Alright, well looking at the bright side, I updated much quicker than I have the other few chapters and succeeded in finally getting this done. All I really had to do was to edit and check for errors. [Spell check, ho!] On a new note, I'll be putting up my first poll today for this fiction. Hopefully it'll be done by tonight…maybe. I guess? I don't know, I can get pretty lazy and I'm sure I could stand to do more. Anywhales, enjoy.)
'Single Quotation Italics': Thoughts
Underlined Italics: Attack/Move Names
"Double Quotation Normal": Speech
Italics: Emphasis
'Single Quotation Bold Italics': Tailed-Beast or Titan Thoughts
"Double Quotation Bold": Tailed-Beast or Titan Speech
"Double Quotation Bold Italics": Tailed-Beast Telepathy
Chapter 3: That's My Entrance Ticket You're Arresting!
First Person - Kurama
As soon as the boy responded with his name I narrowed my eyes and then promptly shot the now named Kuklo a withering glare after he turned and departed from my presence. The boy went towards the gathered soldiers to meet with the captain of the band of soldiers. I exhaled a grunt through my nostrils and sat back onto my haunches; the boy was no combatant and yet had been within the ranks of the soldiers out on the field.
'What was that boy doing out there, anyhow?' A curiosity inducing person with interesting actions, a great combination indeed; and not only was the boy that but also my ticket inside as well. I shifted my size and mass as I laid a paw-hand upon the edge of the wall before me; as I shrunk I took care not to leave any claw markings on the surface of the construct—wouldn't want someone to fall into the fissures—and cause some questions to arise. That would be a cause for concern that I wouldn't want to deal with. At all.
Once my size was acceptable—that of an actual fox to avoid bumping into people—I pulled myself onto the wall and shook myself off to be rid of any possibly remaining dirt from the boots of the soldiers that withdrew from my cranium. 'Then again, I shouldn't be complaining since I killed their horses indirectly.' Following that thought I made a quick dash for Kuklo; that boy is going to be both my entry ticket and encyclopedia to this civilization, therefore making him essential to me. 'Boy should be grateful I picked him instead of the soldier.' I humphed, and upon reaching the lift that Kuklo and the captain—that Carlo fellow—embarked on, I leapt onto it; the lift wasn't anything impressive, really, just a platform suspended by wires with a few fall prevention rails at its edges. My illusion, of course, remained; although it had been shrunken to my measurements and shape instead of being an area of influence. I left myself to my thoughts for a moment longer until I felt a shift in the suspended platform, we were all going to descend; and as the lift made its way down I came to the edge, having managed to maneuver through the entanglement of legs and feet in order to do so.
If I had distinguishable eyebrows they would've achieved liftoff with the sight I was beholding. A town, a city, a district—whatever anyone would call it!—full of life and activity...just like the Hidden Leaf. Despite my qualms earlier about having to have lowered myself to the level of a wall for the humans, I never truly felt anything towards it, I was simply being bitter for no reason other than that I'm familiar with not a single person in this new era. I yearn for a partner, a companion, a friend...hell, I'm missing even Shukaku! 'Dammit, Naruto, you and your mortality...' The memories of the good days were brought to the forefront of my mind; not for misunderstanding, I treasure those memories more than any other but it's not as if a temporary mood change could be averted after having pondered the best times of your immortal life. The nostalgia wasn't going to do anything aside from bringing me depression, and so I abruptly shook my head to be rid of the solemn thoughts. 'There'll be more time to dwell on the past later.'
The whole time I was there I didn't bother to listen in on the conversation the humans all had in the middle of this congregation, however, more than likely it was Kuklo introducing himself to what Pikale had established to the boy as the Survey Corps. Adding on to that tidbit of information...from what I can garner, the Survey Corps. may be the only sect of the military here that travels beyond the walls.
Once the lift had touched down to the ground I dismounted the platform and patiently awaited Kuklo to make his appearance from within the band of soldiers. Some distance away from the platform was an audience waiting for the arrival of these Survey personnel apparently, and as I was the first to part with the lift the observation came to me on the spot. 'Probably loved ones...' I pondered without further input to the topic. Afterwards I assumed that from here the soldiers would make for their barracks after such an arduous expedition for a debrief of sorts followed by some downtime to relieve the stress accumulated from the occurrences that they had encountered. As soon as Kuklo revealed himself I instantly darted for the immediate space behind the boy's legs, keeping close to him whilst retaining enough space so as to not entangle myself with his legs. At this point all the soldiers were either on their way to their current base of operations, friends and loved ones in tow, or took a moment to lag behind and embrace their loved ones. Eventually the troupe came to a hold due to an unforeseen circumstance, the Survey captain, Pikale, came to a halt before a group of people dressed similarly to the Survey troupe. Similarly, because the people before me had the head of a unicorn as their emblems instead of a pair of wings.
"Military Police..." I heard Pikale utter, prior to a woman, the sole woman in uniform that was around at the moment, unveiling herself from behind the Military Police personnel by stepping passed the soldiers that stood in front of the Survey Corps. The woman was dressed in the same uniform as the residuum of the units behind her except that her trousers seemed to hug her legs more so than those of the males and a dark material wound around her hips, draping over her rear and upper thighs.
"I'm Gloria Bernhardt, Commanding officer in charge of the Military Police here in Shiganshina district," announced the woman, "you must be Carlo Pikale, captain of the Survey Corps., right?" Questioned the she-human, Gloria, as I've heard her introduce herself. I shifted my eyes to glance over at the the captain that Gloria had inquired after as I walked out from behind Kuklo to stand at the boy's side. Something interesting was about to happen and I was loathe to just watch from behind someone's legs. 'Like hell this is a coincidence, these Military Police are here for a reason.' I watched on, having seen many similar or extremely like situations, and this is something that I'm sure the captain and Kuklo figured out the instant the both of them were picked out from the whole crowd. The woman gestured towards Kuklo. "I request you hand the boy in your company over."
Third person
Carlo Pikale turned his head towards Kuklo and frowned slightly; was it a possibility that the boy is a criminal? That is something that Carlo was hoping wasn't and wouldn't be the case. 'Might as well ask.' Pikale turned towards Kuklo and leveled the boy with a sharp look. "Did you happen to do anything that would cause the Military Police to keep an eye on you?" Inquired the Survey captain, his voice stern with a demanding undertone.
"Wha–? No, I haven't done anything!" Kuklo responded with alarm; the boy was sure he hadn't done anything to break his or Sharle's cover in the time that they had live in the Shiganshina district. 'How...how did they know I was here?' Kuklo's mind jumped from thought to thought in order to find grounds on how it was that the Military Police had figured him out. He only hoped that Sharle would be spared from this scene.
Kurama remained passive the whole time; whatever happened was out of his paw-hands and he won't do anything to intervene. Things just got interesting, after all.
Pikale contemplated Kuklo's response for a moment before turning towards Bernhardt. "...And if this is how he pleads?" The captain inquires carefully; if it so happens that it even seems as if he was defending a criminal—because for all Pikale knew, Kuklo was bluffing—it could cost him dearly. There wasn't anything Pikale felt that he could do without causing any issues with another sect of the military; issues that the Survey Corps. could do without as they already take a lot of heat from the families of the dead and any one that feels that the usefulness of the Survey Corps. is next to nonexistent. After all, the only knowledge about titans is that their physiology allows for extreme regeneration from any injury...and that their kill-spot is somewhere above the shoulders. The 'somewhere above the shoulders' part isn't any help to anyone because there isn't any properly tested any ways to get to that somewhere part on the titans.
Gloria Bernhardt only grinned to the two's response. "Captain Carlo Pikale, you and the rest of your units are too focused on foolishly traveling beyond the wall," she began straight-faced, "so it's likely you don't pay attention to the circulating news..." her expression, the more she spoke, Kurama decided to note, was becoming somewhat amused despite the accusations she was probably going to list against the boy after calling for his arrest to the Survey captain.
"That boy who was smuggled into this district several days ago was under suspicion of having committed serious crimes," Gloria took a moment to pause, her eyes shifting between Kuklo and Pikale; she found some entertainment in the anxiousness the boy exerted, "multiple murders, robbery, kidnapping, among several others...that boy at your side—his name is Kuklo, however, he was formerly known as the titan's child." Gloria had a slight upturn to her lips.
'I know this woman's going to be trouble...I just know it.' Kurama thought with a barely visible frown marring his vulpine features; things were clearly not going on the upside for these people and Kurama, while honestly not pitying the boy—not yet, at least—felt bad for the situation. The Nine-Tailed fox utilized his empathetic abilities to read the boy earlier on the wall, and the only thing Kurama divined from the boy was a fractured innocence; naive, yet knowing of hardship. Just like...'Naruto.' The boy, Kuklo, was akin to the knucklehead in his adolescence. 'They're alike in that manner, I guess. Maybe I should give 'im a helping hand?' Lost in his thoughts in a debate on whether to help the boy or not, Kurama missed the display of the boy handing his knife over to the captain before acquiescing to the wishes of the Military Police.
It wasn't until he shook himself out of his thoughts that Kurama took note of the boy's retreating figure along with those of the Military Police. The fox took a moment too process what was going on before his jaw dropped.'Shit, I took too long!' With that Kurama took off into a sprint, using the malleable properties of chakra to give himself a boost.
First Person - Kuklo
I recalled that I was taken underground, but after that I wasn't able to keep track of the time unless I personally kept count; I couldn't be bothered. It's been some time since I was taken in, of that I'm aware...just not how long it's been. I don't remember when but at some point I began to pick at the material the bars of my cell sank into with the hopes of loosening the obstacle that prevented my escape. It was a futile effort for they ran deeper than I thought and had a perpendicular bar running under the ground, too. "Shit!" My voice was laden with frustration; was I going to ever get out alive?
I gripped a the bars and began to rattle them, treating the metal roughly as I pushed and pulled in a feeble attempt to tear the metal-made bars from their place.
"You know...they're just going to beat you black and blue if you keep that up." A feminine voice advised from across the hall in which my cell resided. A woman with hair that drapes to her shoulders; I noticed the distinguishable waves and curls that made up the majority of her hair. She was in the cell across from me. The voice caught my attention momentarily, long enough to keep me from beating on the bars for the duration of my short-lived calm. "Just sayin'." The woman added as she flashed the universal peace and victory sign with her left index and middle fingers.
My response to that was to have a fit and unleash my rage and frustrations upon the cell door. "Shit! Shit! Lemme out! Shit! Shit!" I kept at it for however long I could, unfortunately I kept it up for too long and a guard had come by to silence me.
The beating the guard gave me after he charged at my cell was quick; painful nonetheless, though, and not worth the tantrum I had thrown to vent. Afterwards the woman from across me just taunted me for a moment longer, asking and guessing on as to why it was that I was brought in. 'As if I'd tell her.' I grumbled within my thoughts. Then the woman said something-or-other about my scar being a badge of honor, the woman knows nothing of me. The woman even mentioned something about me being a revolutionary; as if. I'm not stupid enough to do anything rash... 'Except for maybe leaving the confines of the wall...but that was personal!' I was somewhat indignant to having called myself out on that. Also for dubbing myself the equivalent of an impulsive idiot.
"Haha! It's a waste of your time trying to escape this place, you'll wind up hurting yourself like just now, give it up!" The woman wouldn't shut up and kept being annoying. I continued to ignore her. That didn't mean I was deaf; whatever she spoke, I had the misfortune of having to hear her. If only I hadn't left. Why couldn't I have left my thoughts to common sense instead of needing to prove something? Everything was going great until after I left the walls to prove to myself that I wasn't a titan, if only I hadn't needed to prove anything. Then Sharle wouldn't have to worry about me, she wouldn't have been burdened with the knowledge that I was taken away simply because I existed. My whole existence was based on being branded as an enemy to the humans, to be mistreated and spoken ill to. That isn't how a human child would be treated, no; but a titan's child? People would make every day a living hell for a child because someone claimed him to be the child of a monster. 'Ridiculous.' I thought bitterly. Despite having proven myself human, nobody else was capable of differentiating me from what was clearly a titanic monster...or fox, that is.
The guard was long gone at this point, and by now my focus was more on my surroundings. There had to be a way out, there just had to be.
"Psst! You have to play it smart or you'll never get out of here!" The woman from across me whispered harshly, giving me advice like a friendly neighbor as if she just hadn't been a callous ass. I ignored her further— "It's actually quite easy to get out of here." The woman said jovially. Now that got my attention.
"Really?!" I moved against the bars and gripped them tightly; if what she said was true then getting back to Sharle wasn't going to be all that difficult.
"So you can hear me!" She called me out on having ignored her. Crap, I made contact because I was impulsive.
"You tricked me." I responded blandly, having decided to not dignify that with an indignant response and shifted my eyes from end to end in search of a way out; the woman respond by playfully questioning the validity of my statement. 'Bitch, why is she playing nice now?' That's a thing about people that I quickly came to both admire and despise; to change sentiments at the drop of a hat, whether the emotions be superficial or not; that's a truly terrifying and awesome fact about people.
Third person
Throughout the remainder and already spoken bit of Kuklo's and the woman's conversation, Kurama sat just on the other side of Kuklo's cell to keep an eye on the boy.'He can be loudmouthed, too. Just great; my poor ears.' Kurama had reeled in surprise the moment Kuklo had begun his string of cussing earlier, the boy had yelled at the top of his lungs out of nowhere and caused the nine-tails agonizing distress. 'Agonizing distress' that was demonstrated in form of Kurama gripping and pulling his ears down against his head in an attempt to stave off the noise. It was a godsend when the boy had been quieted, although Kurama preferred it if the boy hadn't been harmed; so for Kuklo's troubles, as soon as the guard turned his back, the fox set an illusion upon the mind of the man that had clubbed the boy. 'Hehe, he'll be seeing wrinkly scrotums everywhere for a week.' Despite his amusement, Kurama couldn't help but take a pause to understand just what it was he had done: a prank. A form of gag done for the amusement of oneself or others...now, if it wasn't obvious now, Kurama was sure that Naruto had influenced him more than anyone else. 'Well, except for father, that is.' Those days with his father were long gone but it wasn't a tragedy to think about them; all before he and his siblings had split.
The woman from across Kuklo; she was more or less cruel with her words, however...something didn't add up; Kurama's empathetic ability had told him that the woman was a cheerful, quirky person rather than the rude personality she had displayed when she first spoke to Kuklo, and she even seemed sympathetic. The woman was never as cruel as she seemed, it was an act to keep from being the guard's next victim, smart on the woman's part, yet stupid on the guard for having harmed his ticket-encyclopedia, the bastard was going to be seeing plenty of unsightly things, Kurama was sure of it. Kuklo and the woman, Cardina Baumeister, as she introduced herself conversed for a moment before the woman had a short laughing fit after Kuklo mentioned having probably having heard her name before; Cardina's laugh caught the attention of the prisoner in a cell to her left.
"Shut up, you damn kids!" The unknown face smacked their cell bars, a clang to accentuate just how annoying they were.
Afterwards the two delved into a conversation that went for hours, speaking about a place called Naraka. A town on the outside of the walls made by exiles, something the two will soon be in a few weeks time. Until then, Kurama would wait before making a move; after which he'll nab the two prison friends and protect them until he is able to set them upon the wall. But first... 'Just when do I reveal myself to the boy?'
(And there you have it ladies and gents, now all that's left is to tackle a few other things within Before the Fall and we'll get into the SnK we all know and love. Cheers!)