Chapter 45: Blade of humanity

The fight against the titans had been going on for so long nobody was able to remember when exactly it had started. It was something that was just there. Like the tree outside of a cottage. Waking up to look at the sun grazing past its leaves could be a habit of generations to come. And at some point people wouldn't be able to view the landscape without the tree.

Because it was always there. Had always been, would always be.

The same accounted for the titans and the wall.

Just as the fear of them sat in the back of everyone's minds, it had also become something to simply get used to.

Who would be crazy enough to question a tree's existence, day by day?

It was a stupid idea, something a person might stop to think about once or twice.

But not daily.

It was exactly this habitualization that served as an ice cold sickle chopping off people's heads of reason.

Standing atop of a roof Izaya paused for just a moment as he took in the horror unfolding in front.

The wall wasn't supposed to fall.

Not here.

Not this soon, this unannounced this-

A titan rushed towards its newfound prey just a couple meters away from Izaya and his body jerked.

Fighting the titan's outside the walls was one thing- but here?

Within the place he viewed as home? As a retreat?

Wall Sheena suddenly felt like a joke and Izaya felt his hair stand on end as he realized just how much closer this danger had gotten to everything he cared about.

His sisters.

Shinra.

Kadota, Karisawa, Namie, Akabayashi-

A scream tore through the air and Izaya's body finally moved. They needed to die.

All of them.

With not a single left.

"Izaya!" Izaya heard his name being called, but his ears were shut and his mind too focused to notice as he dashed onwards.

Out of breath and exceedingly useless, Shizuo rushed down the path of the city.

The street was empty as most people had already fled in sheer panic.

The sky was showing the lovely color of fresh peaches whilst the town beneath succumbed to hell.

Izaya had moved way faster than Shizuo could have ever hoped too.

The moment he noticed the titans outside the window was the second Izaya started running.

It took Shizuo a moment longer to realize what was going on- another to follow and the entire way to catch up.

Izaya had gotten his gear and immediately flew out of the window- Shizuo knew his presence wasn't going to add to anything fruitful- because there was nothing he could do- and yet that knowledge didn't stop him from running until his lungs burnt.

Izaya was rushing out to kill the titans. And he would be damned if he wasn't going to join him.

It was mesmerizing.

The way he moved, the way his blades sunk into the titans necks. Shizuo felt as though he was watching a play about their final victory. Scenes written by an optimistic screenwriter that wanted to elevate people's spirits.

And in an odd way it did.

"Shizuo!" another familiar voice cut the silence. This time it was Kadota who joined their efforts. Karisawa was there too, Yumichi- and even more. Shizuo could recognize the faces of various comrades that had refused to listen to Izaya on their last trip.

All in front the kid called Kida. Maneuver gear ready he was looking at Shizuo, then Izaya with uncertainty but determination lingering in his eyes.

More and more people streamed from the sides and Shizuo suddenly realized they weren't alone.

Not like the time when their entire group got killed inside the forest and Izaya nearly lost his life. This time there were many, because there was a lot to lose.

Glances were cast and commands awaited until Shizuo realized it was him who they expected to give an order.

"Follow Izaya-" he yelled in a stupor- because what else was he supposed to do in his situation with his kind of skills?

And they did.

Rushing out like a set of flying spiders they dashed from the roofs.

Izaya was still fighting like a madman- Slashes were executed left and right, blood splattered, titans groaned and people screamed as he arrived barely in time to save some and too late for others.

Screams and chaos outdid themselves with every meter they neared the battlefield. Shizuo didn't know where the titans came from- how the wall was even broken in the first place-

But they knew which direction to head into. It was the one of misery, the one of death, blood and cries.

Titan after titan sprayed the ground with their blood as they went down. Screams belonging to both forces of war brimmed in the air and somehow Shizuo suddenly felt at a loss.

The screams and noises faded to a numb background sensation as his steps came to a halt.

… just what were they going to do?

From now on?

The training grounds were lost.

The dormitories.

Their homes.

Even if they retreated into wall Sheena- what for? This was a blow way larger than anything they had ever received.

Izaya was fighting nearby. He could see him. Giving his all, as usually exerting himself to the limit to keep the titans at bay. His legs had finally healed to the point he could move with scary precision.

The only question left was- for how long.

And even more importantly.

… what for?

Gaze trailing to the side Shizuo finally made out what appeared to be the hole in the wall. It was laughingly small.

Created by what seemed to be explosives.

… this was not a titan's doing.

One glimpse was enough to realize as much and Shizuo remembered the way Izaya broke down after Shiki's attempted murder using titan's way back.

Shiki was actively trying to get them killed. He wasn't working against this threat to humanity, he was the threat to humanity and Shizuo swallowed as he suddenly found himself understanding just what Izaya had been talking about when he spoke about the net of string he was caught in.

It was as if right then and there in the midst of chaos Shizuo finally understood and his throat choked.

It were too many.

Gaze glazing over and looking at their members he watched them fight with everything they got.

Izaya leading them all, and every single member doing their utmost to protect each other and kill the radiating danger.

This was the only light at the horizon.

And Shiki was going to blow it out.

They had no chance. In this fight maybe, but not in this three way war of power.

And suddenly it happened.

How much time had passed? Half an hour? Minutes? Seconds?

Shizuo couldn't tell. All he saw was a sudden gush of smoke bursting from the front and a low groan.

Izaya-

He had been caught midair and thrown into a cottage to the left. Tiles had come loose and the force that the titan that was chasing Izaya met the object with caused it to break down.

For a second Shizuo choked because he couldn't see Izaya- He could only see the titan and gruesome images of it having casually stepped onto the raven and turned him into a squashed blotch of red came to mind-

But then the cloud of dust shifted and Shizuo saw Izaya.

Fighting.

His cheek was bleeding as splintered wood had torn at his skin, yet his eyes didn't lack a shred of determination.

Mairu, Kururi, Shinra- Shizuo could see them all reflect as eternal fuel in Izaya's eyes as he chopped off the titan's arm.

And yet it wasn't enough.

It was never going to be enough.

The titan lifted his other arm, and Izaya pulled his blade upwards only to halt midway as it had gotten stuck in between pieces of rubble-

Dawning realization painted shock on his expression and before Shizuo knew it he moved.

He ran.

What for, he didn't really know.

Kasuka suddenly came to mind.

The day the both of them got almost killed.

The way his brother had gotten trapped and rendered unable to move as that titan tried to eat him whole.

Shizuo had smashed him with a tree. There was no tree to rip out nearby this time- and yet his legs didn't stop moving-

Izaya's glance flickered over, barely realizing who it was that was heading over.

Shock of a different kind replaced the first as his lips opened to a plead-

But it was too late.

Shizuo was already there. And so was the titan as blood splattered the ground.

"SHIZUO NO-!"

.

.

.

Ah.

It was awfully quiet.

For a moment.

A very peaceful moment.

Shizuo could see Izaya's face. The expression he wore tore at this heart. He wanted to tell Izaya everything was going to be okay. He had no idea how to even live up to such a promise but it was a thought he wanted to give.

Sounds drowned out, pain was a feeling he didn't perceive. The hole in the wall was still there.

The survey corps were still fighting.

And suddenly the calmth dissipated. Slowly, like the smoke of a cigarette it drifted away and made room for chalkling coals of dark black.

Gushes of unimaginable amounts filled Shizuo's mind as the heat returned to his body.

Izaya.

He was in front of him.

Once Shizuo moved, the titan would make a quick job of him.

No.

The word resonated in his mind as if having issued an order. Reverberating inside every fiber of his skin it caused a scorching sensation only flames gnawing on skin could provide. Yet there were no flames. No source of fire.

Only Shizuo's gaze and suddenly he felt his conscience shift as his vision rose from the ground.

Screams and issued orders hallowed through the air as the survey corps arrived at the scene.

Having following Shizuo's simple order of following Izaya they had taken just a moment's notice to catch up-

And so they stood.

And gaped.

The titan having threatened Izaya was gone. His existence was deleted as various parts of it decorated their nearby surroundings. Instead there was another titan.

One, that resembled Shizuo in an uncanny way.

Frozen on his feet Kida's eyes widened as his lips moved.

"... what the hell is going on?"

Izaya's expression mimicked the same astonishment- and had there been a minutes time to explain he would have loved to sit down and calm everyone down. But they had no luxury of doing so as another titan forced its way down the street.

Heavy stomps met the ground, the survey corps jerked into motion, blades were gripped, people charged- and the Shizuo titan's fist connected with its face.

A blast with the force of twenty cannons blew its head clean off.

Limp like a sack of potatoes the titan's lower body dropped to the side and the survey corps froze-

"What in the world-" Mikado mumbled- he was standing fairly close to Izaya- Having pulled at his gear and body he had managed to free their former captain from his confines.

Eyes trailed to Mikado, then to who was undoubtedly Shizuo and Izaya swallowed.

Shizuo had saved him. Shizuo had killed a titan.

Shizuo had become a titan-

And everyone present had seen it.

But no more moments were left to wreck his head as a low scream raced from above. Dust exploded on the ground and the vast force of harsh wind pressed Izaya into the wall of the cottage.

A titan- another-

It had jumped from god knows where only to land right on top of Shizuo.

Its jaw opened, its head tilted- and suddenly Izaya realized with that dread what it was that was about to happen.

This bastard was trying to bite into Shizuo's neck-

With inhumane speed Izaya shot forth from his position. His maneuver gears embedded themselves into Shizuo's upper body- it was something Izaya should have hesitated to do, but right now he couldn't care less about whether these injuries were going to be transferred to Shizuo as he charged at the bastard.

Blood splattered and the titan screeched as it lost both its eyes and half his face within a matter of a split second.

Whipping around Izaya reached for Shizuo's hair before taking his stance at the back of his neck.

No one was going to kill Shizuo- not on his watch. And his gaze turned towards the astonished soldiers of the survey troop. They were shocked, undoubtedly and well deserved. But this was no time to stand there shellshocked and wait to be killed. The titans were still there. Shizuo rose from the ground- and with one turn of his head Izaya knew where this idiot was heading into.

The wall.

The hole in the wall.

He didn't know what exactly Shizuo was thinking nor did he have any means to communicate, but he had trust. Trust in his simple ideas and so he yelled his order.

"MOVE!"

And the survey corps did.

Steps accelerating into a full blown run Shizuo charged towards the wall. Titans having been about to feast on innocent bystanders were suddenly turning as if having noticed their impostor's presence.

Breath coming fast and blood seeping with adrenaline, Izaya's head turned around left and right. He was ready to slay whatever came into close combat- but he didn't need to. Screeches followed, and blades flickered in the light of the sun as the survey corps brought down one after the other.

Teamwork. This was what an organization working in flawless collaboration could do.

After all these years of commanding troops that only served as corpse fodder it was an exhilarating sensation.

This was the survey corps.

The blade of humanity.

A weapon that Izaya could actually wield.

And suddenly Izaya tasted the faint sweetness of victory on his lips and a road opened out of his dark confines strung by Shiki and his superiors.

He had no idea what exactly to do, but somehow he suddenly felt there was a way out of all of this if he just spent enough time discovering it-

And Shizuo moved.

Izaya had no idea what his intention had been just until the moment Shizuo arrived at the wall. A house standing nearby was kicked into pieces. Another followed-

And for a single second Izaya wondered about Shizuo's actual intention.

That was until he pulled the broken parts off the ground.

Slamming them into the walls left and right of the blasted hole he skewered the sides like freshly served meat.

And Izaya realized Shizuo was closing the hole inside the wall.

He was conscious to some degree.

And most importantly-

Capable of human thought.

A few minutes passed, the survey corps moved and the titans left inside the wall were cut down one after the other. A couple trying to force their way in were taken care of by Izaya personally and within a maximum of half an hour since the wall was breached the hole was closed.

Steam spread from Shizuo's neck as soon as he finished and suddenly his titan body rushed towards the ground.

The place that the titans had aimed for, Shizuo's neck, was suddenly tearing apart from inside out and a very familiar, loved and craved blond resurfaced from ugly confines.

"Shizu-chan-" Izaya called, landing right next to Shizuo on the back of his discarded titan body.

Shizuo's chest was heaving. Strange marks were grazing his cheeks left and right, and his eyes turned.

Relief and satisfaction were spoken by his glance and his lips curled into an exhausted smile.

"... I did it, didn´t I?"

to be continued~

6 Chapters left to go C:

See you next Saturday~ xDDD