Murakumo

Private Murakumo (むらくも二等兵) was a soldier working in the Vanguard Corps. Although his parents were killed by Titans, he claimed to have joined the Corps not out of a sense of vengeance, but out of a desire to protect his fellow soldiers. He is one of the protagonists of Chapter 0, the draft story written by Hajime Isayama which would later evolve into Attack on Titan.

Appearance
He heavily resembles Mikasa Ackerman. He has shoulder-length black hair with bangs that fall over his eyes. He has a slender build much like Mikasa's. He tends to remain somewhat expressionless, only ever showing emotion when he battles Titans, or is startled by something.

Titan form
His Titan form is similar to that of a regular Titan but with dark long hair. This form resembles Eren's Titan form, but his form is thinner, does not have a divided jaw and its eyes do not have pupils.

Personality
Murakumo's personality is a lot like Levi Ackerman's. He tends not to show to much emotion towards others, or towards anything in general. Despite this, Murakumo is truly passionate in his quest to defend others against the Titans, to the point that he became angered when Tsubaki asked if he had joined the Vanguard Corps simply to exact revenge on the Titans. Murakumo is an incredibly serious individual, with Tsubaki apparently being his only friend (as the rest of the town suspects him of being a Titan).

Story
Murakumo returns to an outpost at the edge of town, ignoring the fact that the townspeople are watching and avoiding him. Upon arriving at the outpost, he is greeted by Tsubaki, who immediately asks him to train her, explaining that she had heard that he was the only experienced soldier to survive fighting the Titans. Murakumo asks her if she had heard the rumors in town that he is a Titan. Tsubaki rejects the idea, rationalizing that if Murakumo were a Titan he would have already devoured the residents of the town. Murakumo pauses, then hurriedly agrees that he could not possibly be one of the Titans. He then begins tinkering with a radio, again rebuffing Tsubaki's pleas to train her. As another soldier comes to relieve him, Tsubaki begins to leave, dejected, when Murakumo stops her, telling her that if she truly wants to join the Vanguard, she should practice her sword swings 100 times a day. Tsubaki is thrilled. She asks Murakumo if he joined the Vanguard to kill the Titans as revenge for them killing his parents. Angered, Murakumo tells her that he joined the Vanguard Corps to protect his allies, and orders her to remember that as he leaves.

While in town, Murakumo is surrounded by Vanguard Corps' 5th unit and informed that he has been accused by his superior officer, Takanami, of being a Titan, and must surrender his weapons. Murakumo is shocked that Takanami would accuse him of being a Titan, but complies. However, as he is removing his gear, he notices one of the soldiers, and attacks him, to the shock and horror of those watching. Murakumo explains that he recognized the soldier in question as one who had died 10 years prior: his father. The soldier then transforms into a Titan, along with the entirety of the 5th unit. Murakumo and Takanami retreat to the nearby buildings, and watch from the rooftops as the Titan that was disguised as Murakumo's father is cannibalized by the other Titans. As Murakumo prepares to attack the Titans, Takanami tries to suggest that they abandon the city, to which Murakumo readily disagrees. Their argument is cut short by the arrival of Tsubaki, who angrily challenges the Titans. As one attacks her, Murakumo attacks, cutting off its hand. Murakumo commends her, and tells her that she has done enough, and to leave the rest to him, before attacking the Titans. As he fights, Murakumo is joined by Takanami, and together they successfully bring down one of the Titans. As Murakumo turns to attack a second Titan, he is surprised to see it leap over him, instead attacking and devouring Takanami. Angrily, he attacks the Titan, but is caught in its grasp. Though he tries to break free, he is unable to escape, and the Titan bites him in half.

After having been so badly damaged, Murakumo's mutilated body transformed into his Titan form. Seeing that the Titan that attacked him was attacking Tsubaki, Murakumo crushed the Titan's head, before throwing it at the remaining Titans. Murakumo reflects on the first time he became a Titan, transforming inside a Titan after it had eaten him, and killing it, before turning his attentions to the remaining Titans. He orders Tsubaki to stay behind, and begins slaughtering the remaining Titans. However, he is attacked from behind by one of the Titans, ripping open his shoulder and revealing his weak spot. He manages to kill this Titan by punching his face off. Finally he prepares to kill the last Titan but is surprised when it aims for his exposed weak spot. The Titan jumps towards him and he is unable to stop it from destroying it, having only enough strength to destroy its weak spot and kill it before collapsing himself with a powerful bite.

Titan Shifting
During a previous battle with Titans, Murakumo was partially devoured by a Titan. Inside the Titan, Murakumo's shifting ability awakened and he transformed into a Titan, destroying the Titan that devoured him. Murakumo's Titan form is nearly identical to Eren Yeager's, but lacks the divided jaw line Eren's has. Murakumo's form is also thinner less muscular than Eren's Titan form. Like most of the Titans in Chapter 0, Murakumo's Titan form lacks pupils in its eyes.

It is unclear if, like the Titan Shifters in the Attack on Titan series, it is necessary for Murakumo to harm himself to trigger his transformation, though the fact that both of the times his ability was triggered, he had been devoured by a Titan suggests that physical harm is necessary for him to transform.


 * Regeneration: Although Murakumo's Titan form never displayed the ability to regenerate its limbs, Murakumo's human form demonstrated regeneration abilities, regenerating the limbs Murakumo lost when he was partially devoured by a Titan while on a mission in Titan territory.


 * Enhanced Strength: Despite being its thin form, with little visible muscle, Murakumo's Titan form has displayed considerable strength compared to other Titans, being able to perform great feats of strength, crushing a Titan's head with one hand, before easily throwing it away from Tubaki. He is also able to defeat a large number of attacking Titans on his own with relative ease.


 * Enhanced Endurance: Murakumo has displayed remarkable endurance in his Titan form, able to continue fighting Titans with relative ease even after his arm is nearly ripped off in Titan form, exposing his Nucleus. Even after his Nucleus is destroyed, Murakumo is able to stay alive and continue fighting long enough to defeat the Titan that attacked him, despite his severely weakened state.

Relationships

 * Tsubaki - Although Murakumo was somewhat cold to Tsubaki and rejected to training her, he genuinely cared for her, giving her advice on how to train to join the Vanguard Corps, and risking his life against the Titans to protect her.