Hello my peeps, Salem52 signing in. I am truly sorry for waiting so long updating this story. I stated a chapter or two ago (no really) that I might not update due to school, and that is exactly what happened. Third trimester is starting though, and third is easiest in my experience out of all of the schooling trimester.
Enough of that though, you want to get along with the story I suppose, but as in the words of (anonymous) "patience is bitter, but its fruit is sweet," (irrelevant quote of the day #3) now enjoy your fruit, my peeps, as you read:
Only the strong survive
The pre-dawn light illuminated the sky. Life was just awakening, but the men of the Recon Corp. were already up and preparing for the day. The hill on which they were residing was covered with tents and, from a distance, it looked like a mountain of canvas.
Naruto awoke to the sound of men talking, and the smell of a cooking fire. He got dressed in his high-collared coat, and put on his straw hat leaving only his eyes visible. He slept with his head band on. After strapping on his boots, putting his hair into a low ponytail, and making sure his dojutsu was deactivated, he set off to the top.
He had slept at the bottom at the hill in a spare tent, so the walk up the hill was tedious. He was accustomed to not using chakra unnecessarily, and thus the walk was longer than it might have been otherwise. What made the walk tedious was that Naruto couldn't move in a straight line up the hill. Tents created barricades that blocked his path multiple times, and while the hill was the tallest in the area, a walk that should have taken him five minutes took twenty.
The top of the hill was cut off, as if some old god had taken a sword and cleaved off its head, leaving only the flat expanse that was its peak. Occupying this expanse was the entirety of Erwin's Elite Recon Corps.
The only place on the hill that was not occupied was a ten by ten meter square of hard caked mud interwoven with long grass. The edge that was faced toward Naruto was raised in an angle. Nestle against this angle, were two large fires with pots resting in them. Two lines of people led to these fires, each holding a wooden bowl and a spoon.
Those who were not in line were sitting on the ground in sparse groups chatting amongst each other. Many were also huddled around the fire to ward off the pre-dawn cold. There was one thing out, other than the massive earthen slab, that stood out amongst the crowd of people; a table, at which was seated Erwin and another man. A third chair sat empty.
Naruto was on the fringes of the hill top and went unnoticed, but when he strode out to the table all the talking ceased. The only sounds were the crackling of the fire, and the breathing of three hundred and fifty men. It was only after Naruto had sat down that conversation started to creep back, until it had reached the same level as it had moments before.
Naruto sat across from Erwin, with the man sitting at the end of the table. Erwin stared at Naruto with his eyes like ice, and Naruto stared right back with his own slit eyes, which were intimidating, but didn't emanate the evil they had when he and Hideki first met.
"Good morning, Naruto-san," engaged Erwin.
"Good morning, Erwin-san," replied Naruto, Naruto glanced at the man at the end of the table, who was just sitting there calmly, calmly eating his breakfast. The man was quite small, five four at the most, his hair a light brown with his eyes being the same. He looked to be in his mid-thirties, and he had gaunt face with a light beard adorning it.
"Erwin-san, do you suppose we could discuss matters a little more privately?" inquired Naruto. Erwin nodded and turned to face the man at the end of the table.
"Ahiah-san, it was a pleasure speaking with you. We can continue our conversation at a later date," said Erwin Ahiah.
"Hai, Erwin-sama," with that said, Ahiah gave a very odd, in Naruto's eyes at least, salute before gathering up his meal, and joining his comrades. Erwin turned, and faced back towards Naruto.
"Ahiah-san is a fine soldier, been here even longer than I have. He was just telling me about his daughter back in Trost," said Erwin conversationally.
"It is unusual for a commander to dine with his troops… why?" asked Naruto,Erwin gave a thin smile, before responding.
"I think I need to get to know my troops, before sending them out to die. It reminds me that these men are people, and not pieces on a board. It also allows them to get a glimpse of me, so that when they go out to fight, they're not being ordered by this shadowy figure named 'Commander Erwin.' They are much more willing and trusting of my orders this way," said Erwin. Naruto seemingly ignored Erwin, instead reaching into the left sleeve of his coat.
Out his left sleeve appeared a medium sized bowl filled with minced beef, spiced rice, and walnuts, Erwin's eyes widened in amazement.
"So, Erwin-san, where to?" inquired Naruto, unzipping his collar to eat his breakfast.
"What do you mean? I don't understand," queried Erwin, as puzzled Naruto had been moments before. Naruto looked up from his meal, before setting down his chopsticks, which he had gotten from his sleeve as well.
"You asked me to fight for the Recon Corp." explained Naruto, "but you also asked to train the youth. So, where to?"
"Coincidentally, today is the day that we send back the injured. We have around twenty injured, so a compliment of forty troops should be sufficient. You should accompany them back to the Wall," replied Erwin.
"Okay, I'll get prepared," said Naruto standing up, his bowl disappearing into his sleeve once again. He was walking away when Erwin's voice stopped him.
"Oh, and one more thing Naruto-san," Naruto turned around to face him, "When you get to Wall Maria, you will need to speak to the southern general, General Pixis, about our arrangement." With that said Erwin got up as well, and started to break down his table.
Naruto had just started to walk down the hill when dawn broke, flooding the sky with light.
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It was noon. The sun shone down upon the plains of grass where a cloud of dust streaked from a group of riders on horseback. At the horse's heels ran massive dogs nearly the size of the horses themselves. It was among these horsemen that Naruto rode.
Behind them rose another, larger dust cloud rose from a group of titans, fourteen titans to be exact, and all of them over ten meters tall. This had everyone on edge, because if those titans caught up to them, they would have nowhere to go. The plains that they were currently traversing had little to no trees. The trees that were there were no larger than eight meters high and would do nothing to prevent the titans from getting to them.
The high grass around them also proved to be a minor inconvenience to them, since it slowed down the wagon that carried the injured. Hideki was in the front of the group. He occasionally issued orders, but most of the time, with the awkwardness of his broken ankle making it difficult to stay in the stirrups, he simply focused on trying to stay upright on his horse.
Naruto was riding near the back of the group, so he could protect it from behind should the titans reach them. Naruto would look back every once in a while, and every time he did the titans would be a little closer. Naruto estimated that it would be about four or five hours, assuming that Hideki kept up this pace, before the titans would reach them. When that happened, if Naruto didn't help, it would be a massacre.
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Naruto was now squinting; the sun was shining almost directly into his eyes. It had to be around six o'clock. The whole group was now riding as fast as they could; the titans were almost on top of them. He looked back, not only to relieve his eyes from the sun, but also to see how far the titans were. At the back of the group, three hundred meters away from the wagon, were sixteen titans, the fourteen titans that had been chasing them since noon, and two eight-meter titans that had joined the pursuit around two hours ago.
Naruto was concerned, though not particularly for himself. The horses they were riding, while impressive, outlasting any horse he had ever heard of from his world, were close to dying. They had ridden them hard for the whole day, and he didn't know how much longer they could run. The dogs were another matter though; they had broken off from the group many hours ago. He was surprised when the titans completely disregarded the dogs, not even changing pace. The dogs were probably running behind the titans, although that was only his guess.
Naruto looked forward again, the sun was setting, he didn't know why particularly, but Naruto knew that they only had to last until the sun had set. Most of the other men had the same idea, spurring on their horses for one last gallop. One couldn't handle that last push, though, and with a final exhale, it died.
Naruto passed the man as his horse fell to its knees, the momentum flinging the man from his saddle. The man got up and started to run after them although he had a limp. No one even turned around to try to help the man. After running about six meters the tall grass tripped up the man, and he fell.
A shudder ran through the company of riders as a scream of horror and pain rang out from behind them. Naruto looked back once more to see that the titans grouped around the tallest titan who was devouring the man that had fallen behind.
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The majority of the group huddled around the fire. The exception was Naruto, who was walking with Hideki, much like he had done the night before with Erwin. But Hideki was on crutches and the moon that had been so brilliant the day before, in a sea of clouds, leaving the night dim.
They could still see the fire on the tallest hill in the area, but they were a fair distance away. They had left the fields of grass behind, and were now in a landscape of rolling hills. They were currently descending one such a hill, for the last ten minutes or so Naruto had been asking Hideki questions concerning the world in general, from things such as titans to Wall Maria.
"Why did the titans completely disregard the dogs when they would have been a much easier target than us?" queried Naruto.
"We don't know why they only seem to go after humans. It is not for sustenance. They have survived a hundred years without us, and when they do eat us, we have found that they vomit it all up in a matter of hours," replied Hideki. He had received orders from Erwin to be as helpful as he could towards Naruto, but he still held some resentment towards him for being held at knife point.
"Also, from what Erwin-san had told me the titans can regenerate limbs, torso, and their head, so how does one go about killing them? I can't imagine that you have just avoided them," said Naruto.
"As of right now, we have discovered only two ways of killing titans. The first, and hardest, way is demolishing them completely, to the point that they can't regenerate any more. The second way is to slice the nape of the neck. But as you probably saw, the titans dwarf us by several feet. We developed 3D-manuver gear to allow us to get up to the titans necks. It also allows us to get away from them," answered Hideki.
Naruto nodded. He had seen the 3D-manuver gear, although not in action. These people confused him. They were advanced enough to create a machine that even the top engineers from his world couldn't hope to make, yet they couldn't develop a more advanced method of transportation than horses and carts? It was a confusing and exciting prospect. These people were pretty malleable. With enough work, he could actually use them in the war.
"Hideki-san back to the subject of dogs, why? What purpose do the dogs serve?" queried Naruto.
"Well, when we made these outposts, we had to use food that could last a long time in storage, but dried meats are only good so long, so we brought along dogs that are trained to hunt for us," replied Hideki.
The dogs interested Naruto. They reminded him a lot of the Inuzuka dogs, even having a larger chakra system than most animals that they had passed. The titans confused Naruto beyond belief. A being as large as they were should have chakra proportionate to their size. Yet the titans had little to no chakra. They were a truly magnificent predator.
Naruto and Hideki had started up another hill. Right when Naruto was about to ask Hideki another question, Hideki's crutch slipped on a rock, and Hideki fell to the ground.
"Fucking hell!" cried out Hideki in pain and surprise. He was justified in his profanity. While his leg had been in a splint, the tumble to the ground was quite painful.
Naruto looked down at Hideki who was struggling to get back. He extended his hand to help. Hideki looked up at him before accepting the hand and pulling himself up.
"I have no more questions right now. We should head back to camp," said Naruto. Hideki nodded agreement and started heading back to the camp. Naruto looked back over the landscape of hills, night covering it in shadow. Naruto was about to turn around for the camp and bed when the moon broke through the cloud cover illuminating the landscape for a few moments.
In those few moments Naruto saw something unexpected, not half a kilometer stood the massive body a titan. Not moving in the slightest, just standing there as if in a standing slumber. Past that titan as far as the eye could see, shadowy figures dotted the landscape.
Then the moment was over, the landscape was once again covered in shadow, and the titans were concealed. Naruto stood there for a few moments, before Hideki's voice woke him from his stupor.
"Hey, Naruto-san what's wrong? The company will have started dinner without us. We should at least try to get it while it's warm," called out Hideki. He was already on the adjacent hill leading back to camp. Naruto shook his head, before walking back to camp.
When he got back to camp, he ate the food despite it being cold. It was provided by Ahiah who happened to be the cook. Naruto went and sat away from the other people of group. After a while Hideki approached him.
"Hey Naruto-san, why did you space out earlier on the hill," queried Hideki.
"It was nothing Hideki-san, I just had realized why you always built your outposts on the tallest hills," replied Naruto.
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It was still dark out when Naruto woke up. He awoke much earlier than he had the previous day. Most of the camp was still sleeping when he started to break down his tent. He had erected his tent near the top of the hill this time, not wanting to experience the same difficulties he had the previous day. He had slept in his clothes, so he didn't have to do much to dress. Most of the camp had woken up during the time it had taken to take down his tent.
Naruto reached his right hand into his left sleeve, pulling out a scroll. He unrolled the scroll onto the ground and placed his tent on top of it. Naruto made a few hand signs and, in a puff of smoke, the tent disappeared. He picked up the scroll and returned it to the sleeve from whence it came.
He heard snarling and, looking down at the bottom of the hill, he could see the dogs at the fighting over a dead aurochs. He turned away from the sight and headed up the hill.
He walked the short distance up to the fire that was built near the top of the hill. The fire was being tended to by Ahiah. Naruto walked up to Ahiah, and sat down next to him. Naruto stuck out his hands and warmed them by the fire. Ahiah glanced over at Naruto before getting up and walking to his tent, which was only about ten meters away. Ahiah disappeared into his tent, then emerged with two massive, metal pots.
Naruto was surprised. With the size of the pots, he expected Ahiah to be straining under their weight, yet he looked as if they weren't even a burden. He brought them over and set one next to the fire and took the other to a cistern that was roughly three meters wide. The cistern was filled up with water as it should be. He dipped the pot into the hole and filled it with water. He was straining under the weight now, although it was to be expected.
Naruto watched as he brought the pot over and poured the water from the first pot into the second before returning to the hole and filling the pot of water once again. He then took one pot and put it on the fire.
"Will you be havin' anything?" inquired Ahiah casually, as if he wasn't really affected by the fact that in a couple of hours he could very well be killed. Naruto looked over at Ahiah, before reaching inside his left sleeve and pulled out the same breakfast he had the day before. Naruto unzipped the collar of his coat, allowing Ahiah a view of his face. What he saw was a very youthful looking man, no older than eighteen. Ahiah looked surprised by all this for about a moment, before shrugging in a manner that suggested that he had seen enough to just not care.
Ahiah got up and walked to the top of the hill where an earthen slab similar to the one that had been on hill the previous day. Next to it was a wooden hatch, Ahiah opened the wooden hatch and climbed down a ladder into the area below. When he emerged, he was holding two burlap sacks.
It was about the time that Ahiah got back to the fire that the group had finished breaking down their tents. Ahiah opened the burlap sacks to reveal oats that were dusted with a white powder. He took the sack and up-ended it into the pot of water, which was now boiling.
Ahiah walked over to his tent, which he had not broken down yet, and got two things: a ladle and two very thick cloth and burlap gloves. He stirred the pot of oats with the ladle for about five minutes, during which Naruto finished his food. After the five minutes, he put on his massive gloves and lifted the pot off the fire and placed it onto the ground next to the other pot of water.
By the time people started lining up, the first purples and blues of dawn could be seen. Naruto looked over to where he had seen the titan the previous night. It was still there, standing as still as the hills that surrounded it.
"He'll be like that for a few hours," said Ahiah's voice, Naruto turned to see Ahiah looking at the titan as well.
"Why isn't it moving?" queried Naruto, turning to look at the titan once again.
"During the night they go into hibernation so to say. They just stop moving after the sun goes down. Don't know why, but I don't question it. It saved my ass plenty of times," replied Ahiah, ladling oat meal into the bowls of those who were in line. Each man had a bowl and cup of their own, the second pot of water provided water for those who wanted it.
"and before you ask, no. we can't kill em during the night. I guess all the energy that they use during day is still active, because during the night their skin becomes hard as iron. It's annoying when you have a titan that is a few hundred meters away and you can't kill it."
Naruto looked at this man intently, he was obviously a veteran being older than everyone here by at least ten years. This man was easily the most experienced here, yet here he was serving oat meal.
"Why don't you command this group?" asked Naruto, interested in the man's answer. Ahiah looked over to him and chuckled.
"I have a similar problem that Erwin has, everyone here doesn't know me. Every single person I graduated with is either in the military police, the garrison, or dead," replied Ahiah. Naruto got a faraway look in his eyes.
"So, you outlived your comrades," concluded Naruto, thinking about all of his friends, what few he had, that died. Ahiah glanced at Naruto with a thoughtful look in his eye.
"Heh, you're not as young as you look, are you?" accused Ahiah.
"Looks can be deceiving Ahiah-san," replied Naruto.
By now the line to Ahiah's pots of oats and water consisted of nearly everyone in the camp, so there was little conversation between Ahiah and Naruto. By the time the last man had finished his meal, the first true light of dawn shown over the horizon. The purples and blues that had been the sky not fifteen minutes ago was replaced with steel gray cloud coverage. Everyone was cleaning up their bowls and, given that they didn't have any water to spare, they used sand and cloth instead. It was during this time, when everyone was relatively quiet, that Hideki decided to make his small rallying speech. He walked on crutches to the relative center of the group.
"Everyone to attention!" called out Hideki, all the people looked up from their bowls and, while they were not standing, Naruto knew that he had each and every single person's attention.
"We all know what today is," said Hideki grimly, Naruto looked to see many of the people were looking grim as well. The only person who didn't seem particularly affected was Ahiah.
"Today is when we have to go through that hell hole of a passage," continued Hideki.
"Most of us have already done this at least once, and we know it can be traversed. Just remember, don't stop for anything other than the cart, and hope to the gods that the cart doesn't break." With that being said, Naruto watched Hideki walk over to his horse and begin to saddle it.
Naruto turned away from Hideki, to see Ahiah using the left over water to clean the pots.
"Ahiah-san," said Naruto.
"Yes," responded Ahiah, not looking up from his job at hand.
"What was all that about?" queried Naruto, Ahiah sighed and stopped scrubbing at the pot.
"Between here and the Wall lies a ravine. Up until about twelve years ago, that ravine was the border of our knowledge in the south," stated Ahiah, Naruto nodded.
"It was actually with the induction of Erwin as our commander, that we started to expand southern border," Ahiah adjusted his grip on the pot and started scrubbing.
"The thing is, the ravine runs straight across our path, so we have to enter it from our side and travel along the bottom until we get to the entrance about one and half kilometers down the way," said Ahiah, he was about half way done with the pot.
"As you can imagine, it is difficult to get down there, but that means it is difficult for the titans as well, so the only ones we encounter down there are aberrant titans," Ahiah sighed and looked up.
"Sometimes things are not as bad as others. Hell, there was one time when we met an aberrant who just kinda followed us around, but it didn't do jack. It was creepy as hell, but at least the thing didn't kill us." Ahiah looked up once more, than started scrubbing the pot faster.
"Still, the highest amount of deaths we get are from going through the ravine. We always lose around twenty guys, assuming we don't lose the cart." Ahiah stood up; the inside of the pot was extremely clean.
"Sun's up. We should start heading out any minute now. You should probably start saddling up your horse," with that said, Ahiah took the pot that he was just washing and stuck it inside the other pot that had been used as the water container. Ahiah then stood up and nodded to Naruto before walking to his tent to start to break.
Naruto stood up and walked down to his horse, all around him people were saddling up their horses in preparation for the journey ahead. Naruto walked up to his horse, its coat was as black as pitch and carried a luster that looked like oil on water. The horse was massive even when in comparison to the other horses. The only exception would be the horses pulling the cart.
Five minutes later Naruto was sitting upon his horse, saddled. He was at the very back of the group with the only person behind him being Ahiah. At the head of the group Naruto saw a sword rise into the air in the front of the company. The sword belonged to Hideki; the sword spun once in a counter clockwise motion once and then went down. The whole group moved forward as one unit, and within a minute, the whole company was moving at the same pace that had been the previous day.
Naruto wasn't there to see it. But had he been standing on top of the hill, he would have seen the titan shudder before taking one loping stride forward, before lumbering in pursuit of the company of horse riders.
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How was that! This chapter was a bitch to write, pardon my French. Seriously, I had severe writers block, and I just couldn't write that beginning scene without it just seeming awkward and choppy.
Anyway, sorry for the delay (Understatement much?), hope you guys enjoyed it. We didn't get much action this chapter, but next chapter…(ominous music ensue)I can feel the blood that going to flow next chapter.
See ya soon,
Salem52, sighing off.