[Recap] Going over their plan once more, team 7 prepared for the moment they had been waiting for; making contact.
Riding along a dirt path near the edge of the forest was the scouting regiment. As expected, the spirits of the scouts were low as they prepared themselves to be berated by the villagers after accomplishing nothing on their latest mission. The verbal abuse the scouts received every mission wasn't unusual and the scouts were used to it, however torment and anguish went hand in hand.
The civilian issue wasn't even the worst of it. Everyone knew that once they returned, with no results mind you, they were digging themselves deeper into a metaphorical hole. It was common knowledge that the Royal government had been just itching to disband the scouting regiment; ever since the fall of wall Maria. They would love making an example out of them and boasting to all about their power. Erwin's sudden mission change that ended with no results was pretty much a set up. Every unsuccessful mission and lack of development brought them closer to this conclusion. Every member of the regiment was currently vulnerable. They needed to watch their backs.
Per usual, silence overtook the area, save for the clicking of horse hoofs. Silence was becoming the norm, but in no way did silence mean peaceful. The atmosphere could probably be cut with a dull blade. There was no way this tension was healthy; it was draining. It made many wonder if they weren't almost guaranteed to be eaten by titans, how long would it take until they succumbed to stress. It wasn't even an uncommon phenomenon. Numerous individuals, perished at a fairly young age as a result of constant stress as opposed to those in the Royal government who never worried of such things. They sat around in king's attire and dawdled daily; but leave them out of the walls for a day and they would come running back, looking horrendous, all but begging for safe passage once again. If the scouts didn't receive a well deserved break too, the scouts were almost guaranteed an unfortunate death under the age of 40. This continued until Hange decided to pipe up and addressed an issue.
"Our search turned up negative. This means we are not only returning without completing anything whatsoever, but we're giving the Royal government more reason to disband the scouting regiment," Hange spoke grimly, turning serious. Her statement left with additional tension in the already tense atmosphere. The continued silence she was met with proved her point entirely. Everyone was aware that they were walking on thin ice with the Royal government, yet they continued to put themselves on the line for the sake of ungrateful civilians. It was as if they didn't want to live in the first place; always spouting nonsense about 'wasted' tax money. Ungrateful bastards; all of them. If only they could really see how their precious tax money went to use. If only they could see how much of their effort goes into keeping them and their families safe. Every day, the miniature devil on their shoulder tempted them to just let them die...
"I guess we'll just have to wait until the traitors decide to reveal themselves and continue with the previous plan," Hange continued, speaking to herself in hushed tones to make sure those not aware of their plan to take down the traitors weren't listening. "It's a great plan, very well thought through indeed. However, I just wish we found something we could use to turn the tables."
Who didn't wish that? Having a backup plan was always a good feeling. It also practically guaranteed victory; especially with being flexible with options. Erwin wished for this all the same, but it was no use dwelling on something they had not yet attained.
"Hange, we didn't leave the walls with the objective of finding something. Therefore, we'll just keep the Royal government in the dark about what happened here" Erwin informed her. Levi disagreed with this solution; considering how short tempered and brash the higher ups were, returning with no new developments and no good reasons as to why, would only add fuel to the fire. "In order to keep them in the dark, we need a good enough reason why nothing was accomplished on this expedition," Levi spoke up, monotone as always. "Of course they wouldn't care for any excuse, but it's more practical than returning with our hands dragging behind us." The statement was factual; Erwin agreed. However, when looking for an excuse to hold off the Royal government, he found none. Hange and Levi had gotten a little farther with possible excuses, however they too had fallen short of a practical yet efficient excuse. How foolish. What were they, children? It was as if they were in grade school again; trying to explain to their teachers why their homework just so happened to not be completed. It wasn't until their horses halted without their command that they would find their answer.
The sudden stop in his horse alerted Erwin of something up ahead; the scouts came to a stop behind him. They looked ahead, their eyes falling upon a little girl standing in the middle of the dirt road. The first thing that caught their eyes was her bright pink, shoulder length hair. Who would dye their hair in this era? Wouldn't she want to stay hidden? With hair like that, a titan could see her from a mile away; so why didn't they? Erwin, Levi and Hange simply gazed over her appearance. Normally, they wouldn't be cautious of such thing as the pink haired girl appeared to be about 12. However, her garments were not only tattered and ripped, but she was also covered in dried blood and littered with cuts and bruises. This implied she was either victim of a heated battle, she was caught in the crossfire of a heated battle or she was the instigator of such battle. Thus, they regarded her with caution. Her mesmerizing emerald eyes narrowed as she appeared to do the same. For a while, all stayed the same, a drawn out standstill until the regiment broke out into whispers.
'That's a child' was a phrase that was commonly heard in the crowd. 'Wow, what colorful observations,' Levi inwardly scoffed. Though, he could understand the hushed frenzies. This was not only a child, but it was one found outside the walls. Regardless of if she was from the walls or not, he still posed the question 'how has she survived out here?' A forest specifically named 'The Titan Forest' was not a place that a human could thrive in, let alone a child. Surely that was notable to be in awe of.
However, he couldn't help but feel there was a reason that she had survived until now. He couldn't exactly put his finger on it, but she was certainly peculiar. It sounded ridiculous, he knew, but he had a feeling something could become of her – perhaps a great soldier.
The stares and whispers were starting to go on for too long though. Levi was aware they couldn't stare forever, in fear of scaring her off. Considering everything she looked like she had experienced, they needed a friendly approach to draw her in and make her feel comfortable. Although Levi had come to this conclusion, the Lord knew he was not qualified enough to do so. Instead, he might instill fear in her from his hard exterior. It wouldn't be the first time. Instead, he opted to request for someone less intimidating to do so. Ultimately, neither Hange nor Erwin were good choices as child care wasn't their strong suits. Hell, it wasn't any scout's strong suit, however surely at least one person was skilled enough for the task. Thinking over possible candidates, he began to consider those from his team. After contemplating each member thoroughly, he settled on Petra.
She looked like a nice girl upon first glance, however only if you looked past her exterior, would you be able to see her relentless nature. Surely, a twelve year old wouldn't see through the allusion.
Erwin put up his hand to halt the whispers, in which he succeeded in doing, but he also succeeded in making the girl take a slightly defensive position. When he took notice of this, he swiftly put his hand down, hoping she got the message that he wasn't going to hurt her. If she was going to be so jumpy, it would take a lot for them to gain her trust. Levi waited until she began to come out of her defensive stance before he waved over his subordinate with minimal movement. "Petra," Levi spoke in hushed tones. As Petra made her way over to her captain, the girl's eyes swiftly moved to her and pulled out an object, regaining a defensive stance. Petra stopped her horse in its tracks; there was another pause in everyone's movements. Forget not seeing past Petra's illusion; she didn't even trust her at first glance.
Gradually, the girl once again came out of her defensive stance, still looking cautious, though not once did she make a move to approach the group – as did the scouts.
Not knowing how exactly to deal with a situation like this, Erwin began a hushed conversation while keeping his eyes on the girl. "Your plan," he questioned Levi.
"I was going to get Petra to converse with her and make her feeling comfortable, but she doesn't seem to trust us," Levi responded. Hange invited herself into the conversation, on Erwin's right, also speaking in a hushed tone. Who would've known it would only take a child for Hange to quiet her deafening ways.
"Hmm. She looks to be on edge. I wouldn't blame her; she looks like she's been through hell. What a tragic sight," What a tragic sight indeed. Blood continued to seep out her few opened wounds as the standstill continued. "It's only natural that she's weary of us. How must we present ourselves as harmless," Erwin questioned. Dealing with children wasn't taught in scout training, so all they had was hunches and process of elimination. One had to do the trick.
"There isn't much we're capable of doing. I, for one, know I'm not equipped with dealing with children. I still think Petra should try persuading her," Levi piped up, breaking the continuous eye contact. "Alright, tell Petra of this. It's worth a try," Erwin instructed, slowly dismounting his horse, persuading a few others to do so. Among Erwin on the ground, was Levi, Hange, and the special operations squad. Everyone behind them knew their place, stayed back and kept quiet, watching what would happen next. Per Erwin's command, Levi slowly walked towards Erwin's right side, where Petra and Hange were located, leaving Erwin closest to the forest on the left side. The bloodied girl simply watched, feet planted firmly into the ground.
In all honesty, they were probably making her feel less comfortable. If they were children put into this situation, an approaching group of people would not put their nerves at ease. However, what else could they do?
"Greetings," Erwin began in the friendliest voice he could muster; it was almost comical that he sounded monotone as always. Interestingly enough, he and the others up front watched as the girl's face fell momentarily from her weary look, before gaining a puzzled expression. They wondered what that was about. Petra picked up where Erwin left off. "Hi there, what's your name?" The girl simply disregarded Petra's question and continued staring at them. "Are you okay? You look really hurt," Petra tried again, this time a little louder, just to be met with the same puzzled look. Was the girl deaf or just rude? Either option would be a bother to deal with.
As if they didn't have enough to deal with, here came an impolite little girl. She was probably a cute kid underneath all that blood, her behavior took some points off however. Unless she was actually deaf, in which case she could not be blamed, but they hoped that it was the latter as they could correct behavior – as opposed to hearing. If she wasn't going to respond, they might as well just march right up to her. However, deciding against this, Petra looked over the girl.
Noticing the object she was holding, she pressed her once more. "Little girl, what is that in your hand?" Everyone's eyes changed focus from the girl to the now glinting object in her right hand. Noticing the sudden shift of attention to the object, she brought it up slightly, twirling it around her index and middle finger effortlessly. Upon closer inspection, it looked to be... a knife? A knife! If they weren't cautious before, they sure were now. This might have been a little girl, but there was a possibility that she was a formidable fighter. When given a weapon, anyone could be dangerous. Their eyes took focus on the girl once more; guards up.
It wasn't clear if she had grown fed up aimless interaction or if she didn't understand what the scouts were feeling, but she began to walk forward. First, taking one step, then two. On the third step, a voice rang out. "Don't come any closer," was the command given by Petra, who the girl once again disregarded and took another step. Ultimately Levi thought it was ridiculous that they were afraid of the situation when they had experienced so much worse. Erwin was kept his expression unreadable as always, but was too questioning the fear of his subordinates. As their commander he felt somewhat ashamed that he supervised them. The same couldn't be said for Hange though. She was excited as ever upon the discovery of the girl, paying no mind to the behavior of her comrades. Although itching to question her meticulously, she couldn't yet due to the uncooperative girl.
The distance between the scouts and the girl began to close, growing shorter and shorter to no avail. The girl wasn't responding to the commands of the operations squad and they grew more and more apprehensive. Finally giving into panic, Erd and Oluo unsheathed the blades of the ODM gear and pointed their blades at her. "What are you deaf!? Stay there," Oluo yelled, blades drawn, much to Erwin and Levi's dismay, as they didn't know how she would react to such harsh actions. Though, it seemed to have gotten through to her because she stopped in her place about 5 meters away, but she didn't have the reaction they were expecting. Instead of panicking, getting scared, crying etc., she stood firm with a serious expression unusual to a child. She had mannerisms of what a scout was supposed to have – strong, fearless – unlike the cowardice the special operations squad was currently showing. It was evident they also hadn't learned that actions had consequences. Their commander would suffer for it.
As if on cue, a grunt was heard to their left. On his knees was Erwin with a blade longer, sharper and overall more authentic, than that of the ones on ODM gear placed on his throat. With a firm grip on his shoulder, he was taken hostage by a boy no older than the girl.
The boy that had just emerged from the forest unnoticed looked to be around the age of the girl that still stood in the middle of the path. He looked just as battered, if not more than, the girl he was suspected to be accompanied with – although the iritable look she gave him made them speculate otherwise. Still, he paid no mind. Unlike the pink haired girl however, at first glance they knew he was dangerous; especially the evident details of his last experience. His age did not ease their nerves any less. With his blade on the commander's neck, his intention was clear.
The scouts had not left the walls with any insight that they would have to deal with a hostage situation, yet here they were. Everyone was frozen with all their attention now on the boy, including Erd and Oluo who still had their blades pointed at the girl. No words were exchanged – none had to be, they all understood the message loud and clear. 'Stand down.' There was no room for argument, it was evident in the way his lips were pressed firmly together and his almost pitch black eyes glared at them. He jerked his head towards the rest of the regiment, gesturing for them to step back. Everyone was aware of what he wanted them to do, yet no one made any movements to obey. It wasn't until a voice piped up that they were startled out of their unresponsive states.
"Soldiers, stand down," their commander ordered, still in the boy's possession.
"But sir-"
"That's an order." The uttered statement was just as firm as the expression they were currently receiving from the boy. Who were they to argue with two individuals giving the same order; one verbally and the other physically. Their foolish actions of resulted to their commander being held hostage. They would now have to obey. Obeying the command, Erd and Oluo sheathed their blade before backing away from the girl, towards the rest of the regiment. In one swift movement, the blade was then taken off of Erwin's neck and sheathed once again in the well crafted scabbard on his waist. Pushing Erwin to the ground, he began walking backwards towards his suspected comrade. However, before he made it far, one last child emerged from the forest.
Tackling the first boy to the ground and sitting on him was a blonde hair boy. In contrast to the first two children, at first glance, neither fear nor caution was instilled in them. He looked like the epiphany of a breath of fresh air. It wasn't clear whether it was his bright blonde hair – that looked more yellow than anything else – or the distinct childlike playfulness he gave off, but they weren't on alert when looking at him. Yet he also went undetected by the scouts. This along with the aspect that he might be accompanied with the other two children, set them on edge more. He was almost guaranteed to be just as threatening, if not more than, the other two. From their current positions, they simply stood and watched the interaction.
"Sasuke," the boy yelled at the newly discovered 'Sasuke', still sitting on him. "anata no nani ga mondaina nodesu ka [Transl. anata no nani ga mondaina nodesu ka: what's wrong with you]?" In that moment, it was painfully obvious why the girl was unresponsive to all those questions. Levi was starting to believe they did something to deserve all the inconveniences they were currently experiencing.
A scowl formed on Sasuke lips as he turned his head away. "Hn," was all he uttered. Although the scouts were almost mentally and physically drained, they watched the interaction in amusement – as did the girl, they noticed. The blonde boy turned to them. "Ā, gomen'nasai [Transl. Ā, gomen'nasai: Ah, I'm sorry]," he rubbed his nape while laughing sheepishly, before bowing his head. "Kare o yurushitekudasai [Transl. Kare o yurushitekudasai: Please forgive him]."
The scouts were at a loss for words – they couldn't figure out if it was because they couldn't understand them or if they had nothing to say back. While finding others beyond the walls was highly unusual, but not impossible, finding those that spoke other languages was completely unheard of. They also recognized this as what they had heard earlier.
"Oriru dobe [Transl. Oriru: Get off]," Sasuke spat before pushing the other to the ground, getting up. "Oi, ore wa nani no tamedatta no [Transl. Oi, ore wa nani no tamedatta no: Hey, what was that for]," the blonde yelled, to which Sasuke just ignored, crossing his hands over his chest turning away from him.
"Oi, watashi o mushi shinaide kudasai! [Transl. Oi, watashi o mushi shinaide kudasai: Hey, don't ignore me]"
"Hn."
"Watashi o 'hn' shinaide kudasai, [Transl. Watashi o 'hn' shinaide kudasai: Don't 'hn' me] " the blonde boy tackled Sasuke once again, creating a small dust cloud. "OI, ORIRU DOBE," Sasuke once again protested. "Saisho ni gomen'nasai to iu [Transl. Saisho ni gomen'nasai to iu: Say sorry first]," the blonde boy yelled pulling Sasuke's weirdly shaped hair.
Finally, the pink haired girl marched over to the two, grabbing the blonde boy off of Sasuke. She gave both of them firm punches on their cheeks before speaking. "Naruto, Sasuke, Īkagen'ni shite [Transl. Īkagen'ni shite: cut it out]." Her tone was firm, contrasting her delicate appearance, with no room for argument. Recognition of authority was evident in Sasuke and the newly named Naruto's eyes. "Demo Sakura [Transl. Demo: But]," Naruto whined, but immediate shut up when he met Sakura's eyes. Her eyes were firm, indicating that she was not having it. A grumble was heard from the black haired boy, as he rubbed the bruise forming on his cheek angrily.
After watching the interaction, Erwin, Levi and Hange got a certain understanding of the dynamic of the trio. They speculated that the girl, Sakura, was the established leader of the two boys, much to Sasuke's dismay it seemed. Naruto seemed like the foolhardy one, inferior to both Sakura and Sasuke, while Sasuke seemed reckless, yet dominant; probably the fighter of the three. Based off of speculation, these seemed like practical theories.
Erwin wondered what would become of them; perhaps they could be used for the scouts benefit. Levi had a similar idea, already wanting to begin harsh training on the three. Hange snickered. Out of the two, she liked them the most already. Now more than ever, she wished she was back within the walls. Her experiments and analysis wouldn't do themselves.
After a few angry mumbles from the boys and reprimands from Sakura, the trio shifted their attention to the strangers before them, with childlike curiosity evident in their eyes. Sasuke's was somewhat more hidden than the other two, but under the indifference, it was present.
Erwin put his hands up in the universal way of surrender before clearing his throat and speaking. "We're not going to hurt you," he motioned for them to approach them. "Come with us," he persuaded, monotone. He knew they didn't understand, however, he put his money on the fact that they would recognize his hand gestures. They hesitated, glancing at one another before whispering to one another in the foreign language. They turned to him once more, appearing to analyze him for any intentions short of kindness. Levi recreated his Erwin's movements, hoping to fully persuade them, followed by Hange to his right. "That's right, you're safe" Levi chorused, feeling ridiculous. He looked ridiculous too; Hange and his squad would make sure to remind him of it later.
The kids glanced at each other once more before beginning to approach them with slow steps. "That's it," Hange cheered encouragingly; however one look from Sasuke shut her up. Maybe she didn't like the kids so much...
After a few more words of encouragement and steps, the children stood before Erwin, looking up at him. Now that they were face to face, he distinctly noticed the features of a race foreign to the walls. Asian. All other races died off along with every foreign language with the coming of titans 847 years ago; with the exception of the now deceased Orientals. The Orientals were long executed within the walls, so there was no way they were citizens. That raised the question, 'who are they?' It was all a question of their origin.
For now, they definitely could not continue the expedition with children with them – not that they would have continued it regardless. However, returning to the walls would now be a little less nerve racking. The excuse of finding children would minimize the criticism they would be getting later on. The only issue was their reaction was unpredictable. The Royal government might be too interested in the trio, and use them for their benefit or determine them threats and demand their execution. It probably wouldn't be a cinch, but it was their best shot. Deciding not to dwell on it any further Erwin instructed for Hange and Levi to aid a child onto their horse, before beginning to approach Naruto. Hange chose Sakura, approaching her cautiously before reaching out her hand and guiding her to the horse. She wasn't scared of Sasuke, after all he was a child, but she wouldn't attempt to get on his bad side either. Next Levi waved over Sasuke to his horse. In contrast to Hange, Levi was not fazed by the boy's behavior and simply wanted to get the interaction over with. However, when Naruto was guided to Erwin's horse, it reacted negatively. The horse stood on its hind legs, screeching in fright. Out of all people, he never expected the horse to have a negative reaction to the friendliest looking child out of the group. It only spurred everyone to question why.
Naruto frowned at the sudden shift of attention. Noticing this Erwin snapped turning away from him. He first instructed Levi and Hange to hold off on making the kids mount their horses before snapping his fingers.
"Soldiers make way. Bring forth a cart." If the horse wouldn't allow Naruto to mount it, they would have to settle with letting him and his comrades ride in the cart.
The horses parted, making visible two horses hauling a cart. Without uttering words, the children seemed to understand and made their way to the carriage. As they passed by, the horses had no reaction to Sakura and Sasuke, but as Naruto neared them, they too reared, along with every horse in a 5 meter radius. If the first horse was thought to be a coincidence, the next dozen indicated it was not. Surely the horses being afraid of the boy were not a fluke. After the horses were calmed by the coachman, Naruto walked quicker, hurriedly following his comrades into the cart. Erwin instructed for the cart to follow directly behind him and the squad leaders and to be surrounded by the best soldiers to ensure the safety of the children. Without any further protest or delay, they set off once more to wall Rose.
...
"Well that was... eventful" whispered Sakura to the boys who sat on either side of her.
The interaction hadn't gone according to plan, yet the mission still succeeded. It was like calculating a different equation, yet still coming to the same answer. They were met with a lot of miscalculations such as the language barrier – although it was anticipated. Yet, they disregarded it in hopes that it was just in their head. However, true to their last assumption, the strangers did speak in a foreign tongue. The strange throat like way of speaking sounded awfully similar to someone gurgling rocks. This new component would need to accommodate for, even if they went off script a little – which they had already.
In the operation of mingling with the army, the language barrier had thrown them off, resulting in Sakura being threatened. It had all gone well in the end, however Sasuke had cut it close with threatening what looked like their leader like that. His reckless behavior needed to be dealt with sooner or later as to not hinder their ultimate goal. For now, Sakura would silently thank him for saving them from any bloodshed.
Their next steps would be probably to mix with civilization and lay low until they found something to get back to the Elemental Nations. This, however, was not yet set in stone and was still up for discussion. Nevertheless, they needed to work fast if they ever hoped to return and save their dimension from utter destruction. It had already been a day and a half for them, so they had no idea of knowing if the fight had already been lost, but Naruto still had a few theories - one already in the works - that he'd have to look further into later. For now, Team 7 whispered to each other about the previous events.
Curious about why the horses reacted negatively to Naruto, Sakura piped up.
"Naruto, why were the horses scared of you?" Naruto pondered for a moment before responding. "I'm not exactly sure, but I think it's because of the bijū. They probably feel threatened and inferior to them. But it's beyond me how they can detect them." That made sense. However, Sasuke and Sakura were also unsure how the horses could detect the being sealed inside their teammate.
Disregarding the conversation, Naruto questioned them.
"Okay, what are your first impressions? Sasuke go," Naruto asked, reaching behind Sakura to put his hand on Sasuke's shoulder. He swatted the hand off before responding. "The guy that I threatened was pretty weak, even though he seems like the leader" he whispered back staring out from the cart. Scouts were taking short glances at the trio, still in their henges. Sasuke peered back at them, unamused. Sakura continued his thought.
"To be honest, you're right. For an army that fights against human eating giants, you'd think they'd have their guard up more." The boys nodded their heads in agreement. If they were the fighters of civilization, you'd expect them to be stronger. Perhaps it was just due to the fact that they were dealing with what they thought were children. For all they knew, they didn't have young, formidable fighters like in the Elemental Nations.
"What about you Sakura? What's your first impression," Naruto questioned, this time nudging Sakura with his right shoulder. "Umm, I think those two who pointed their blades at me are kind of brash. Kind of like Sasuke." She whispered the last part, yet Sasuke heard it and scoffed. 'The audacity' he rolled his eyes, Naruto snickered. "But they seem to be trusted since they were among the few who were got off of their horses." Both were good analyses, but Naruto wouldn't expect any less from two of his most trusted individuals. Though, Sasuke still needed to earn his spot again.
"What about you Naruto," the question came from Sakura this time.
Naruto who had been waiting for someone to ask him this question, first cleared his throat overdramatically before speaking his mind. "Well," he began, dragging out the word for dramatic effect. "Out of everyone that got off of their horses, I think the short man was the most trusted. The leader kept discussing things with him and the girl with goggles. Speaking of which, her goggles remind me of the ones I used to wear. Anyway, after the short man, I think she's the second most trustworthy. Another indication that they are the leader's right and left hand man and woman, was the fact that she they rode on either side of him and are currently doing so right now."
Naruto never failed to impress, although he did get side tracked with the goggle remark. They never noticed how observant he could be when he wanted to.
If they all kept the good observation up, it wouldn't be hard to infiltrate and fit in among the rest of civilization and devise a good plan. At this pace, Kaguya could be defeated soon – if they hadn't lost already. All they needed to do was keep up the good work and victory was on the way.
The cart hiccupped with every stone it rolled over. "Kaguya here we come" Naruto mused, leaning onto Sakura's left shoulder. Sakura put her right arm around Sasuke's shoulder, pulling him close. He scowled in response, but didn't pull away.
"You can say that again."
5, 308 Words
Hey guys! Sorry for the long wait, I just published a longer chapter in advance so I didn't have to go on hiatus. I'm doing the same thing with this chapter as it's over 5,000 words long. Anyway, let me know what you think. Until next time!!