Volume 7
Ch. 83 Devil Fruit
Pov.
-Kara-
My fingers brush through her hair as I pull her head in
We found ourselves a tent where she told me how two men kidnapped her before the riot even began and they dropped her off with Levi and our squad
"Y-you're joking.. right?" I hug her tightly
"I-I was so scared, I thought I'd never get to see you again" she sniffs
"I tried to come back.. I swear I did" I say
"I-I know, baby" she pulls her head back "Hange told me everything" she raises my chin
"Even about…" I stop
"Y-yes" she sighs "the truth is… I've always known about the two of you" she says
"Wh-what do you mean?" I ask
"Sasha never hid a thing from me," she says
"Wh-what?"
"After the Battle of Shiganshina she came crying to me" she says
"Shiganshina?"
"She always said it wasn't your fault, so she begged me not to say a thing"
Sasha..
"B-but why? Why did she put up with me?" I ask
"Why am I regretting everything I did to her now?" I ask
"Why couldn't I see it was all wrong back then?"
"Do I… do I even care?"
"Kara.." Historia whispers
"She was always nothing more than an object to me, until now.."
"Am I regretting everything I did because I actually feel bad?"
"Or is it just because I know what I did is wrong?"
Historia pulls my head into her chest
"Oh…K-Kara" I hear the little shake in her voice as she listens to me asking her all these questions, trying to figure out what exactly is going on in my head
"Can you tell me, Historia?"
"Do I really care ?"
"Or am I just lying to myself? Lying to… everyone?"
"No that's not right.. right?"
"No it's not, because I tried to change. I swear I did"
"But then again.. did I really?"
"Did I ever change?"
"I held myself back the last few times, didn't I?"
"I did that because.. b-because I care.. Right?"
"Or-or was it because.. I just knew it was wrong?" I repeat the loop
The.. loop…
"It's as if my brain is split in two, Historia" I say out loud hoping she'd help me understand myself better
"One just doesn't care what I did, and the other wants to care.. even though I don't.. I don't care"
"Wait.. but would that mean, I don't want to care?"
"But I do care. Otherwise, why else would I have turned myself in? Why did I let them beat me half to death?"
"It's because I wanted to pay for what I did, right?"
"Or is it because I just knew I had to be punished?" I repeat once more
"What the hell is going on?"
"Kara, baby" Historia sniffs "it's fine, none of this is your fault" she pulls my head back "you didn't ask to be born this way, just like you never asked to have been treated so horribly"
Her eyes were flooded with tears
Even so I didn't know what to feel
I should be bawling in her arms
It's the least I owe Falco
The least I owe.. Sasha
But no
I don't care
Why don't I care?
Is it because she's still alive?
Because she actually made it?
Why is this happening?
Why?
Why?
My brain..
After Shiganshina it's almost as if it just shut down..
Is that what it is?
"Look, Kara." She raises my chin "nobody expects you to act a certain way, alright? No one has the right to tell you how to feel" she says "not even.. not even Colt"
"Colt? You've talked to him?" I ask
"Mhmm" she nods "he's very upset" she whispers "he says he hates that you didn't shed a single tear after what you did.."
Not a single tear?
But why?
I cried when I took Friedas life didn't I?
It was because she was innocent, so why?
Why can't I shed any for Sasha? She was just as innocent..
"B-but look, again, it isn't your fault. Who are we to assume what you're feeling.. I-I mean look at you" she's brings up my scars
I set a hand on my chest
All these scars
They seem to have appeared overnight, even though everyone swears they've always been there
What the hell did I go through before I lost my memories?
30 years in Paradise and I still have no clue how I even got here..
What I've lived through is terrifying to say the least
And there's still so much I don't know
"You been through hell, even if you might not remember it all yourself" she smiles
"Historia.." I look up at her
"C'mon," she finally says "let's go, I'm sure Cyrus wants to speak with you"
"R-right" I sigh, following her out
"Oi, told ye I knew tha ol bloke, ain't that right, triple seven?" someone says behind me
I turn around
It was that Brit from 30 years ago..
"Tha names Jack, Jack Daniel, rememba? We gotcha lil gilfrien before they got to'ah" he pats her head
"How?" I ask "did you forge the newspaper?" I ask
"Nah none of that" he says "c'mon, let's go see the boss"
I look at Historia
She looked just as confused as I was
How the hell did they get that picture of Historia then?
We had so many questions
What the hell have they been up to outside the Continent?
We follow Jack back outside, where we found Cyrus suturing on a large rock beside the little pond
"Forgive me for taking so long to come back" he flicks his cigarette aside
"It's nothing, we got by just fine" Historia slides her hand into mine
"I'm sure you did," he smiles
"What is it you want to talk about?" I ask
"Well," He stands up "first things first, we have to get to know what power type you are" he walks over to us
"Power type?" I ask
"Mhmm" he hums "outside this continent there are beings that can manipulate elements, the weather, or shoot things from their hands" he holds his hand out holding a leaf "some use hand signs to better link themselves with their energy" he adds
Hand signs?
I remember pulling something like that off in my fight with Eren
"Outside this continent, not once did I ever see another human with a tail like yours" he says as he places the leaf on my palm
"What's this?" I ask
"A leaf" he says
"I-I know that, what do I do with it?"
"I want you to concentrate" he says
"Concentrate what?" I ask
"Your… energy?" He thinks "this is gonna be a headache to explain but please bear with me" he takes a breath "there are five main sources of energy, Chakra, Nen, Magic, Ki, and Haki. Even so, some people may be born with weird abilities at birth, like quirks, any of the four element benders, or Eldians that can turn into Giants" he explains "anyone can fit into a single category" he holds one finger up "you are either born with this source of energy, or you can simply learn how to control one" he says
"We all have special pores that only allow your body to control and flow with any one source of energy, once your body is exposed to one it's either easily compatible or through training you can make yourself compatible
"S-so what category do you fall under?" Historia asks
"Me?" He smiles "well, I ate a devil fruit, in doing so my pores became compatible with Haki" he says
"Devil fruit?" I ask
"Mhmm" he holds his hand out "I ate what is known as the flame-flame fruit," his hand bursts into flames "my body has become fire itself"
"Whoa.." Historia watches in amazement as the fire dies out
"Ye, ya mans ate the clone-clone fruit, innit" Jack says "I clone myself or whoeva I'd like"
"So that's what you did" I smile
"And who's that guy?" Historia asks about the other guy that was with them
"That's Pedro-Jose, he's got a whole buncha otha names and last names, but he's full blooded Beana from El Guacamole, Mexico" Jack says
"What do you call me!?" Pedro growls with a heavy Spanish accent
"Hehehe" Jack giggles
"It's Pedro-Jesus de Maria" Pedro-Jesus de Maria shouts
"His sista digs me, ye. She calls me pendejo which is Spanish for big daddy" Jack winks
"Puto maricon always talking your facken chet" Pedro murmurs
"English, Pedro" Cyrus sighs
Historia giggles as the two went back and forth
"Hehehe," Cyrus giggles "well anyways, let's get to the test" he turns his attention back to me
"All you have to do is focus on your.. well you can think of it as an aura" he says
Aura?
So like… what I use for my Susanoo
"Okay" I look down at the leaf
Nothing happened for a couple of seconds
The five of us waited for the leaf to do something
Till it finally did
The leaf burst into a blue flame
Everyone except Cyrus pulls their heads back
"Oi that's hot, innit" Jack asks
"That's odd," Cyrus holds his hand out to the flame "even I can feel the heat.."
We all watched in amazement till the flame finally died out
…
Only.. instead of the leaf being burnt to a crisp it was covered in frost
"Wh-what?" Cyrus asks
"Is it frozen?" Jack asks as he examines it
"Soo…" I snap Cyrus's attention back
"Oh… well.. what the hell is this shit?" he sets a finger on his chin
"You're the expert.. aren't you?" I ask
"Well.. that's what I thought," he thinks "this was the Chakra Nature Test, it was supposed to tell us if you are already compatible with Chakra and what Nature it'd be" he says
"Oi, but since the leaf reacted, don't tha mean he's a chakra weilda?" Jack asks
"Y-yeah but the leaves burst into an odd flame that completely shattered the laws of physics" Cyrus thinks
"That's so cool, I never see a chakra nature persona before" Pedro says
"Yeah they are quite rare," Cyrus says "well this sucks I was hoping you'd eat the devil fruit I've been saving" he sighs
"Devil fruit? What type is it?" I ask
"It's the gum-gum fruit, pretty sure it turns you into a rubber man if I'm not mistaken" he says
"That sounds kinda lame" I say
"Maybe, but if you're a rubber man think of all the things you can stretch" he nudges my shoulder
"Hehe, hey you're right" I giggle with him
"I think that's quite enough you two" Historia pouts
"Oh well, guess we'll just have to give it to Pedro" Cyrus says
"Really sir?" He asks
"Hey that's just awesome, bloke. If you can stretch, think of all the lawns you can mow at the same time, ye?" Jack pats his back
"Hey you're right, this is going to be very fun" Pedro giggles
"Ye, and maybe flip some tacos with your penis or something" Jack continues
"Alright, so.." Cyrus puts his hands together "hand-signs" he says
"Hand-signs?" I ask
"Yes people of your Nature tend to use hand signs to summon beasts or weird attacks, I learned a few signs from the great Hagoromo and Humura themselves"
"Hagoromo?" I ask as if I've heard the name before
And Hamura..
They both sound familiar
"Yes" he smiles "though the signs are completely useless for my Haki" he sighs
And these hand signs… I did one back when I was fighting Eren
"Okay" I put my hands together
"This one is called-" before he could begin the iron door swings open
"M-my Lord" a soldier drops on his knees bowing his head to the ground at my feet
"What is it?" I ask
"It's Falco, sir. We've received a radio message from Holst"
"Falco?" I ask before he jumps back to his feet "this way Sire" he hurries back into the bunker
We all hurry behind him, he lead us into a tent where they handed me the mic
"Falco, are you still there?" I ask
But we could only hear the radios static
"Falco!" I shout
"Dad!?" he finally says
"What's going on, kid?" I ask
"Holy shit dad, this is bad, man" he says nervously
"What's going on?" I ask
"Look, just forget everyone. You have to get yourself and the queen out of there, like right now" he says
"Why? What's going on?" I ask
He doesn't answer for a couple of seconds
"There.." he whispers though half his sentence was cut off
"Speak up, we can't hear you, Falco" I say
"It's Zeke, he and Eren arrived at Holst looking for you. I overheard the MP's talking about how Zeke is planning to turn some conservatives into titans to sniff you out"
"Titans?" I ask
"TITANS, DAD! THIRTY OF THOSE BRAIN-DEAD FIFTEEN METER FUCKING TITANS!" He shouts
Titans..
This is bad
I look back at everyone
I can't protect them, not like this
We're a long ways from Holst, it'll take the titans about 12 hours to reach us here
If we get going now we'll get to the shore in 15 hours..
That's if Historia and I go alone
No..
That isn't right
These people went back to save me in Shiganshina, I can't ditch them behind..
Damn it..
It's not like I really care though…
But..
I look over at Historia
What's the right thing to do?
Save everyone.. or… don't risk the founding Titan falling into their hands..
Save everyone… or save myself…
Who am I kidding
"Levi, round everyone up." I say "tell everyone we're leaving in twenty minutes with or without them"
"You sure? They'll only slow us down. Getting the two of you to safety should be our top priority" he says
"We're not leaving a single soul behind" I say
"You got it" he smiles
After he goes on his way someone else's enters the tent
"Colt.." I say in disbelief
"I'm not leaving Falco behind" he says
"Honey, it's too dangerous" Historia steps up
She grabs his hands
He just glares at me, anxious to just let his anger out on me
"Kara?" Historia says hoping I'd say something to keep him from leaving
"He'll be fine, I trained him into a fine soldier" I say
"Shut the hell up!" he growls
"Colt.. you promised me…" Historia wraps her arms around his waist
"I-I know, but.." he hugs her back
I get ready to head out
"Just take care of yourself, Colt" I say
He doesn't respond, so I leave and get ready to make an announcement to everyone
-to be continued-