I have edited Ch 12: Uncharted Water by quite a lot. For old readers, I would really recommend reading it.
I am really sorry for throwing u offtrack with this, but I really felt that story was going all over the place.
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A large burst of steam came out of the Colossal Titan, and at the same time, the wall shook, knocking nearly all candidates down.
As Kaito already had an idea of this happening, he had pierced the ground with his sword beforehand, holding him down.
From the corner of his eyes, he saw Samuel, one of the cadet in his team falling down. Other cadets have hooked themselves on the wall, saving them the fate of freefall.
"Samuel!", Connie cried in alarm
It was Sasha who saved the lad by catching his leg.
"The gate's..broken," Thomas, another cadet, muttered. It was then everybody realized that pandemonium was about to begin here.
"Again...The Titans will get in again."
By now, the steam has subsided, leaving everyone with a clear view of the perpetrator of this whole carnage, looking at everything with soulless eyes. Courtesy of his stable footing, Kaito didn't have to stumble around embarrassingly.
"I will kill them all! Every fucking one of them!" Eren screamed as if his lung was on fire, and with that, he looked toward his comrades and commanded
"Ready the artillery, Four groups! Prepare for battle!". He swung upward and landed on the wall. His face looked a bit surprised at finding Kaito standing there.
"Kaito! This is our chance, let us kill the Colossal titan!"
Kaito was having fun watching the live-action movie happening in front of him and honestly had no intention of involving himself in it.
Slapping his ears lightly, he screamed loudly," WHAT? I CAN'T HEAR YOU!"
Eren pointed toward the titan and tried to mouth the word "Kill"
"BILL? WHAT BILL!?" Kaito's face had a totally confused expression.
Eren was about to try again when he saw the titan move. Not intending to waste his time,
Eren left Kaito. He turned toward the colossal titan.
"I won't let you go this time!"
With determination burning in his eyes, he aimed his ODM gear and launched himself toward the colossal menace, his target locked on its nape.
Kaito, perhaps fortunate or perhaps not, happened to be standing right in front of the Colossal Titan as Eren made his bold move.
He watched the unfolding scene with an eerie sense of calmness. His gaze met the soulless eyes of the behemoth, his expression inscrutable except for a slight narrowing of his eyes.
Deep inside the towering form of the Colossal Titan, Bertholdt felt an inexplicable sensation. It was as if Kaito's gaze had pierced through the very core of the Titan, as if he knew someone was inside.
For a brief, heart-pounding moment, Bertholdt's movements stalled, and he considered the inexplicable connection he felt.
But Eren's desperate assault brought him back to the present. With a surge of instinct, Bertholdt released a burst of scalding steam, shrouding himself in a protective barrier. He needed to shield himself from Eren's relentless assault.
At the same time, its hand slid across the wall's top, destroying all canons that the cadets were aiming at it. Kaito avoided the hand by simply leaping across the hand.
After that, Kaito's eyes remained locked on the unfolding drama as Eren fought desperately to pierce through the Colossal Titan's wall of scalding steam.
The relentless onslaught pushed Eren back time and again, his determination undeterred. Finally, as Eren managed to break through the steam, he was met with empty space – the Colossal Titan had vanished, just as it had three years ago.
Landing back on the wall, Eren's frustration boiled over, and he knelt, pounding the ground with his fists. He let out a furious roar to alert the other cadets that the Wall had been breached. The cadets immediately sprang into action, except for one.
Kaito had his eyes fixed on the outer expanse beyond the broken Wall. The number of Titans swarming the landscape exceeded his expectations, and the sight of more Titans emerging in the distance only added to his apprehension.
Amidst the chaos, a fleeting glimpse of something red caught his attention, visible for just a fraction of a second, far on the horizon.
Before he could process the significance of the red sighting, Eren approached him, grabbing his collar.
Eren's voice was a furious blend of anger, frustration, and desperation. "You were standing right there, and you did nothing! Why? Why didn't you help?
Kaito remained silent, his expression inscrutable. He turned away from Eren and started to walk. Eren, unable to understand Kaito's behavior, couldn't let it slide. He followed Kaito closely, his tone laced with anger. "I'm talking to you, Kaito. Answer me!"
Kaito finally responded, his voice calm but filled with something heavy. "Eren, you don't understand. There's more at play here than you realize."
Eren's frustration grew. "More at play? What do you mean? The Titans are here, Kaito! This is the moment we've been training for. We need every capable hand, and you just stood there. You have to explain yourself!"
Kaito paused momentarily, his gaze fixed on the distant sight of approaching Titans. Then he looked back at Eren with a solemn expression.
"Eren, you're right. This is the moment we've trained for, but it's also the moment you've been waiting for. This is your time to shine, Eren."
Eren's eyes widened, and for a moment, he was taken aback by Kaito's words. "What are you talking about?"
Kaito's gaze turned back to the Titans, his tone filled with reassurance "You have the power to make a difference, Eren. To confront the Titans, to fight for our survival. This battle is yours. Embrace it."
Eren was left speechless as he watched Kaito continue to walk away. Kaito's final words lingered in the air, carrying a sense of destiny and something greater than Eren could comprehend.
—--
Kaito leaped from the ground, landing effortlessly on a medium-height building. With his vampiric strength, simple jumps like this were a piece of cake, and he didn't need the ODM gear for such tasks.
He gazed at the chaotic scene unfolding below, a scene that seemed eerily similar to the fall of Shinganshina. The streets were filled with a stampede of panicked citizens. The breach of Trost's walls had taken them by surprise, and there was no organized escape plan in place.
Kaito estimated that it would take nearly an hour to evacuate a city the size of Trost, even if everyone worked together. However, the Titan cluster was rapidly approaching, and they had only about 10 minutes until the situation turned even more dire.
Kaito's thoughts drifted to his knowledge of the events. He had anticipated the Titan assault, and he knew it was the Female Titan's doing, just as he expected. The Female Titan had an uncanny ability to attract other Titans through her unique scream. It was a cunning strategy.
So why did Kaito decide to get involved in this fight? Well, there were a few reasons. For one, it would serve as a good test of his combat skills and abilities. Moreover, he had something he'd been itching to try out. While saving civilians was certainly a commendable goal, it was more of a side perk for him.
Inside the Garrison Headquarters, the atmosphere was no better than outside. Fear and panic hung in the air, especially among the freshly graduated cadets. They had all been set to leave for other Wall cities or even the luxurious life within Wall Sina, but the sudden Titan breach had thrown their futures into uncertainty.
Cadets whispered fearfully among themselves, their expressions reflecting the dire situation. The once-certain path to safety and prosperity had been replaced by fear and doubt.
Kaito took in the tension and uncertainty that surrounded him.
"Did you see the size of those Titans? They're massive! How are we supposed to fight them?"
"My family was living in Trost District! What if they didn't make it out in time? I can't reach them!"
"We trained so hard for the past year, and now this... How could the Titans breach the wall?"
"I heard the Titans are already inside Trost. We need to evacuate quickly!"
Random candidates shared their concerns and worries, expressing their fears about the Titan incursion.
He spotted Reiner and Bertholt sitting in a corner, the two of them seemingly as panicked and distressed as the rest of the cadets. Kaito couldn't help but admire their acting skills; they had truly blended in seamlessly, making it seem as though they were panicked cadets rather than the colossal Titan responsible for the wall breach.
An idea, mischievous as always, flashed across Kaito's mind. He decided to approach them, his expression neutral and his grin hidden, all the while keeping a mischievous spark in his eye.