Mash-up Anime World: Creating the SCP Foundation to Contain Anomalies

Haruto smiled at the three of them.

The young trio was momentarily stunned by his expression. His warmth was incredibly disarming. Armin and Mikasa, who had initially felt a little awkward, now completely relaxed.

"Nice to meet you all. We're comrades now, please take care of me," Haruto said politely.

Eren nodded with a grin.

"Yeah! We're comrades from now on!"

Since Haruto came from the same hometown, the trio naturally felt a sense of kinship toward him.

As they chatted, he noticed that Eren and Armin seemed hesitant, as if they wanted to ask something but were unsure how.

"If you have any questions, just ask. If I know the answer, I'll tell you," he said.

His words instantly relieved them of their awkwardness.

Armin smiled gratefully, then asked,

"Haruto-san, you have black hair and black eyes, just like Mikasa. Do you know her or her family?"

On the island, people of Eastern descent were extremely rare.

Of course, the term "ethnicity" didn't really exist here.

Mikasa had been kidnapped by human traffickers, and her mother had been killed by them, precisely because Easterners were so rare and could fetch a high price.

People of the same descent would typically stick together.

So, Eren and Armin wanted to try and see if Mikasa had any surviving relatives.

Haruto turned to Mikasa.

In her gaze, he saw a deep longing.

For Mikasa, family was something she held onto tightly. After a moment of contemplation, Haruto responded,

"Perhaps we are of the same lineage, but I have lived alone since childhood. I had no elders to care for me, I'm an orphan."

He chose a middle-ground answer.

Randomly claiming kinship could easily be exposed and backfire. Instead, it was better to leave an impression of shared ancestry.

The topic of being an orphan was heavy.

Eren tried to change the subject.

"Haruto-san, earlier you said you joined the military to save humanity?"

Haruto nodded.

"Yes. To save humanity."

Eren was about to praise him for his ambitious goal when suddenly, a mocking laugh came from nearby.

"Save humanity? Are you still dreaming? What a ridiculous joke!"

Eren immediately glared angrily.

"Jean! You, who only think about living comfortably in the inner districts, have no right to mock others!"

Jean Kirstein.

Haruto shifted his gaze.

Another important supporting character, whose smooth character development made him very likable in both the early and later parts of the story.

Eren and Jean never got along, and now they were on the verge of arguing.

Just as they were about to get physical, Haruto reached out and held Eren back.

Eren looked at him in confusion. Haruto merely shook his head lightly.

"A dream that gets mocked is a dream worth achieving."

Eren froze, then his eyes lit up, and he nodded firmly.

Jean, on the other hand, snorted coldly. Damn it, this guy made himself look good.

Eren sat back down.

Armin, relieved that they didn't start a fight, gave Haruto a grateful look.

Haruto smiled in return.

"So, Eren, what about you? What's your reason for joining the military? Or rather, what is your dream?"

Eren hesitated for a moment, then became serious.

Perhaps encouraged by Haruto's words, he voiced his deepest ambition:

"I will drive out every last Titan, down to the very last one!"

Because of Haruto's earlier statement, this time, there was no laughter.

But no one took it seriously either.

Everyone just saw Eren as an overly passionate kid. However, when Haruto looked into Eren's eyes, he saw hatred.

His hatred was so deep. His resentment was so pure.

From the depths of those eyes, Haruto saw a curse; a vow to never stop until his enemies were destroyed.

"I see."

Such pure hatred already hinted at the future. The future where he would initiate the Rumbling, determined to annihilate all his enemies.

As Haruto had suspected all along…

Perhaps the greatest instability in this world wasn't the Titans.

It was Eren Yeager.

Just like in the original story, the Founding Titan's power had fallen into the hands of the one person who should never have had it.

As he pondered, an idea to reduce this instability surfaced in his mind.

A gender-swap potion.

The body influences the mind.

Maybe… if he turned Eren into a little girl, he'd calm down a bit?

Coincidentally, he had brought the gender-swap potion that Mihari had given him.

The more Haruto thought about it, the more feasible it seemed.

Yes, that's the plan!

Eren, still fired up from his speech, suddenly noticed Haruto's eerie gaze, sending shivers down his spine.

For some reason, he felt a sudden chill below.

Terrifying!

Mealtime soon ended.

Everyone began heading to the training grounds for the afternoon session.

The main trio also got up to leave. Mikasa, as usual, trailed at the very back. But after just two steps, she felt a gentle tap on her shoulder.

Turning around, she saw Haruto had somehow caught up. At that moment, as she turned, she met a pair of blood-red eyes.

Haruto's Mangekyō Sharingan spun silently as he cast an illusion on Mikasa.

Leaving Mikasa to Eren was a waste, better to take her for himself.

Watch carefully, Eren. This is how you should use Mikasa!

His fingers brushed against Mikasa's bangs as he whispered in her ear:

"Mikasa, the same blood flows within us. We are family."

Mikasa's eyes became blank, nodding mechanically.

"If one day you feel lost or in pain, come to me. As family, you can always rely on me."

Haruto deepened the suggestion in her mind.

"When Eren starts showing signs of losing control…" Haruto handed her a small pink vial. "Make him drink this."

Mikasa stared blankly at the potion, then nodded again. With a snap of his fingers, Haruto lifted the illusion and turned to leave.

Kamui wasn't as absolute as Kotoamatsukami, but illusions could still plant seeds that would grow over time.

After a long moment of daze, Mikasa suddenly snapped back to reality. Instinctively, she clenched the potion tightly, then carefully stored it away.

(T/N: Ayo, now we can confirm he ain't exactly a saint.)

---------------

A few days later.

Haruto gazed out the window.

The sun had not yet risen.

Darkness stretched outside.

But that didn't affect his vision.

Large snowflakes were falling, piling up thickly on the windowsill.

Winter had come to this world.

They might lose their lives on that snowy mountain if they weren't careful.

"This training carries a considerable degree of danger, so you can choose not to participate."

Keith suddenly spoke.

Everyone was stunned upon hearing this. They could actually opt out? Then who would be foolish enough to climb that snow mountain?

"But..." Keith revealed a sinister smile. "This training will be included in your final assessment score."

The final assessment score determined the ranking of all cadets upon graduation. Only those ranked in the top ten could join the Military Police Brigade.

And only the Military Police Brigade could live comfortably in the interior, free from the threat of Titans.

It could be said that joining the Military Police was the goal of 97% of the cadets.

If not for the exceptionally talented cadets of the 104th Training Corps, the ratio could have been as high as 99%.

So, with that said...

Everyone gritted their teeth, was there even a choice?

Seeing the group's reactions, Keith smiled before announcing the training teams.

"Mikasa, Eren, Armin, Mina."

"..."

"..."

Haruto listened to the team assignments and made a rough evaluation. Each team consisted of two strong and two weak members.

For example, the protagonist's team had Mikasa and Eren, who ranked high in overall performance. Meanwhile, Armin and Mina were physically weaker.

The allocation was quite reasonable.

Keith probably didn't want the cadets to actually die on the mountain.

As he pondered, Haruto heard Keith call his name.

"Haruto, Christa, Ymir, Daz."

Haruto was stunned.

Huh?

He had planned to just observe, so how did he end up in the "queen's team"?

"Prepare your gear, stay close to your teammates, and begin timing at sunrise!"

With Keith's command, the snow mountain training officially began. At that moment, two girls approached him.

"Tsk, of all people, it's this guy; the gloomy insider. Hey, don't slow us down." It was Ymir speaking.

(T/N: Begone Gey!)

She was known in the camp for her sharp tongue, ranked second on the "girls you shouldn't mess with" list.

(Annie was first.)

Haruto was briefly taken aback.

Gloomy?

That was the first time someone had described him that way. But he quickly understood why. Since joining the Training Corps, he had maintained an observer's mindset and rarely interacted with others.

That was probably why she called him gloomy.

"Ymir, don't say that! Haruto, don't mind her, she doesn't really mean it that way."

Historia pulled Ymir back and smiled apologetically at Haruto.

Haruto shook his head.

"It's fine, let her talk."

Historia was momentarily stunned and unsure how to respond.

Meanwhile, Ymir gave him a curious look. After all, what kind of young man wouldn't get riled up by such remarks?

Previously, this guy had even been mocked for his dreams, yet he never seemed to get angry.

Too strange.

At that moment, their last teammate arrived.

Daz.

A young man.

Haruto glanced at him. He quickly noticed something unusual.

Daz's steps were unsteady, and he unconsciously shrank into himself—he was clearly unwell.

Maybe he was already sick from the cold.

"You can sit out this training."

Looking at Daz, Haruto said this.

Historia and Ymir also turned their attention to Daz.

Seeing his pale complexion, they realized the problem.

Ymir snorted, while Historia looked concerned.

Daz forced a weak smile.

"But this counts toward our final grade... If I want to join the Military Police, I have to push through."

Haruto simply responded with an "oh" and said no more. The four of them prepared their gear.

Their so-called "gear" was nothing more than warm clothing, a water pouch, and some food.

After getting ready, the four of them headed toward the base of the snowy mountain.