The hard wooden floor was uncomfortable against her back, but she barely even noticed it. Her wrists were tied behind her back, her ankles were also tied, and she was lying in an awkward position where she had been dropped on the ground. She barely noticed that either. There were two men just out of sight whispering, another not present in the room, but she didn't notice them. There was a splatter of blood on her cheek – not hers – and she definitely noticed that.

Images flashed behind her eyes – speaking with her mother, the knock on the door, her father taking a few steps back, blood gushing from his chest, her mother screaming for her to run, the look on her face as she fell, blood splattering from the wound in her neck onto Mikasa's skin, the men grabbing her. She had barely noticed the journey from her home in the forest to here – wherever here was.

Human traffickers – she had heard about them on the news over the last few weeks. There had been a number of incidents in the nearby areas, where young girls had been kidnapped on their way home from school, or houses had been broken into, cleaned of anything of value and girls living there abducted. Her father had warned her about walking alone – he hadn't thought they would be bold enough to come straight to the house and walk through the damn front door.

They lived in a house in the woods, a fifteen minute drive from the nearest town, a ten minute walk to their nearest neighbor. Isolated like that, no wonder they had done it. Even if one of her parents had called the police, they would have had time to kill, kidnap, steal and get away before the police got there.

Mikasa could feel the tears burning her eyes again. An only child who lived alone with her parents; she hadn't had many friends living around her growing up; she had always been close with her mother and father. And now they were both dead, she would never see them again. Her mother wouldn't ever tuck her into bed at night again; her father would never help her with her math homework again. No more family outings, no more family meals, no more crazy stories about her mother's youth, no more lectures when she misbehaved – no more anything. No home. She felt as if she was turning to ice.

And the fear, that hurt too. Mikasa was fourteen – she knew what happened when girls like her were kidnapped by people like these. It was a Friday evening; in a house as secluded as theirs, nobody would notice her absence until Monday morning, when she wasn't at school. Her parent's employers would notice they weren't at work, and they would all pin it down to them being sick. It wouldn't be until Wednesday or Thursday that people began to find it odd, and it might be another few days before someone checked on them to find a blood splattered hallway, two dead bodies and a missing little girl. A week. In a week, Mikasa would be long gone.

She didn't want this. What had she done to deserve this? Nothing. What had her parents done to deserve an end like that? Nothing. Why was the world so cruel? She didn't want this to happen, she wanted to get away, but she couldn't, she needed help but –

There was nobody around to help her.

Even if she screamed, she doubted anyone would hear her.

"Mm, looks like you're in a spot of trouble!" came a voice.

Mikasa flinched, expecting it to be one of the men. But it was too cheery, too high-pitched to be one of them. She looked up, and a strange white cat was sitting on the floor a few meters away.

Maybe she had hit her head – cats couldn't speak.

"I could help you out, y'know." That voice was definitely coming from that cat but…it was impossible. She must be hallucinating, right? Or dreaming. That was it; she'd wake up in her bed, her mother telling her it was time for breakfast. This was all a nightmare.

"I'm afraid it isn't a nightmare," the cat said, walking towards her. "And by the way, I'm not a cat." Now that it was closer, Mikasa could see that indeed, it wasn't a cat. It had long fluffy bits under its ears on either side of its head that started off white but were a pink color near the bottom. There was a pink ring on its back, and its eyes were a different shape than those of a cat, also pink.

"I can help you," it said. Mikasa glanced over her shoulder, but the men didn't seem to hear it. "Don't worry," it said. "They can't hear us."

"What are you?" Mikasa whispered.

"My name is Kyubey," it said. It seemed to be smiling at her, but she couldn't be sore. "Is there a wish you would like granted, Mikasa?"

How did it know her name? Mikasa gulped, and nodded her head.

"I can grant any wish you want. Anything in the world is possible."

A surge of hope flickered in her stomach. This was crazy, impossible, but she couldn't help but hope.

"In return, you will become a magical girl. You will get special powers. And you'll have to fight witches."

If she had been calm, she would have listened. There were no such things as withes or magical powers, and if there were, she didn't want them. But she was desperate and scared and had been through shit in the last few hours.

Kyubey tilted its head. "So, Mikasa Ackerman; will you make a contract with me and become a magical girl?"

"Yes," she breathed.

Kyubey's eyes glinted. "Then make your wish."

"I wish to be saved."

All of a sudden, it was gone. Mikasa felt the tiny flicker of hope die down, and once more the tears filled her eyes. Some sort of hallucination. Nothing had happened, and she was at the mercy of these monsters. There was nothing she could do.

The door opened, and Mikasa's eyes drifted over to it. A young boy stood at the door. "Excuse me?" he said. "I got lost in the woods, but I saw your hut…"

One of the men went over to him, speaking kindly. Mikasa felt…disconnected, almost. She wanted to yell, scream for this boy to run, but her mouth wouldn't move, her voice wouldn't work.

And then the man was falling back, a dark stain spreading across her chest (just like her father), and her eyes widened. She barely had time to react before the boy was on the second man, stabbing and yelling and cursing. Finally, he stopped moving, and the boy looked at her. "Don't worry," he said. "It's alright, now."

The hope was back again in her chest. Out of the corner of her eye, she could see Kyubey sitting on the window ledge. She was saved. Her eyes widened.

The boy came over again, using his bloodied knife to cut her the binds on her ankles and wrists. "What's your name?" he asked her. "I'm Eren."

"M-Mikasa."

"It's alright Mikasa, you're safe now."

"There's a t-third one."

"What?"

As if on cue, the door opened, and the third man slipped in the door. He looked at his dead accomplices, let out a roar, and Eren ran towards him, knife in hand. His luck had run out though; the man smacked it out of his hand, grabbing him by the shirt and slamming him into the wall, hands around his neck.

Kyubey was suddenly in front of her, jumping up. Its paw touched her chest, where her heart was, and suddenly Mikasa felt a hot pain. She slumped on her knees, still able to see Eren struggling in her peripheral vision. "Mikasa!" he was gasping. "Fight! Help!"

Mikasa wanted to help, but the red hot pain was spreading through her chest. She let out a cry of pain. "If you don't fight, you can't win!" Eren was yelling.

A red light filled the room. Coming from her chest, a small sphere of red light was shining. The man's grip on Eren loosened as he turned, wide eyed, to look at her. Eren's own eyes were wide.

"What the hell?" the man gasped.

"Take it," Kyubey whispered.

Breathing heavily Mikasa reached forward, and grabbed the light with both hands. Immediately the red hot heat washed over her again, but it wasn't painful this time. It was almost comforting. The red light washed over her, completely surrounding her, and when it faded she stood. The old t-shirt and jeans she had been wearing were gone, replaced with crimson fabric that was unlike anything she had ever worn before. She stood taller, felt stronger, almost…more sure of herself. New information seemed to pulse inside her head, and when there was suddenly a blade in her hand, she knew what to do; she knew the best way to slash that would kill this man quickly.

She darted forward, yelling, and in a flash of warm blood, the man had fallen.

Almost immediately the red get-up disappeared, leaving her back in her grubby shirt and jeans, leaving behind a small jewel, as red as a ruby. Mikasa slid to her knees, picking it up. It was warm.

"What just happened?" Eren asked.

"I…don't really know," she replied.

She watched in silence as the coffin was lowered into the ground. Eren was sniffling beside her. Mikasa reached out and squeezed his wrist, blinking back her own tears.

Carla Jaeger had always been kind to her. Mikasa knew that most women wouldn't react warmly when her husband and son brought home a second child. Mikasa often wondered how she had reacted when she heard the full story. Yeah honey, our son killed two men while we were away and we decided to adopt the girl he saved.

Mikasa had been lucky, though. Carla had immediately welcomed her into the family, and although she never tried to replace Mikasa's mother, she had shown her the same love she had shown her own son for over two years. Things would have been a lot harder without her, she realized.

After her first transformation, the police had arrived. The rest had been a blur; but a week later she had been living in the Jaeger household. Dr. Jaeger and his wife were a German couple who had moved to Japan with their son a year ago. Dr. Jaeger had been travelling to visit a neighbor when they had lost their way, and knocked on Mikasa's door for directions. All they found were two dead bodies, but he had entered immediately, looking for vital signs, trying to see if he could save them.

He hadn't been able to save them, but he had noticed the signs that there had been a young girl living there as well. And when there was no little girl in the house – he had connected the dots. Apparently while he had contacted the police, Eren had slipped off into the dark to try and find her.

Eren had been great as well. He was like a brother to her now; Mikasa could barely remember him not being around. Even now, she was wearing the scarf he had given her the night her parents died. It had been so hard to move on from that night, but with his help, she had slowly been able to move forward.

He had also helped her sort out this whole magical girl thing. He was the only one who knew.

She slid her hand into his, entwining their fingers. She gave his hand a squeeze.

A gas explosion had killed Carla Jaeger. A freak accident. And all Mikasa could think about was that if she had been there, she would have been able to save her. But she had been out, and Carla Jaeger was dead.

"Little help, Mikasa?"

"C'mon, Eren, it's not that heavy," she said, taking the suitcase from him anyway.

She walked up the path to the house. It was bigger than the house they had lived in, in Japan. "You lived here when you were a kid?"

Eren dragged another suitcase up the path. "Yeah. I used to miss it a lot, but Japan wasn't so bad," he said.

"Wait a second – Eren?"

"No way." Eren dumped the suitcase unceremoniously on the doorstep and whirled around. Mikasa turned her head to see a blond kid standing across the street. He was a little smaller than them, but he looked around the same age. "Armin!" Eren all but yelled, his face lighting up.

Mikasa smiled. Since the funeral Eren hadn't been smiling much at all. Eren darted down the drive as Armin crossed the street, and Eren engulfed him in a bear hug. "I missed you so much, damn!"

"Me too!" He was laughing. "How've you been? I've missed you so much!"

"Alright. Oi, Mikasa, get down here!"

Rolling her eyes slightly, Mikasa put down the suitcase and joined the reunion at the bottom of the driveway. "Mikasa! This is Armin," Eren was saying, clearly excited. "He's like, my best friend. Armin, this is Mikasa, my…sister."

Armin shook Mikasa's hand, glancing curiously at Eren. "Your…sister?"

"Adopted," Mikasa added.

"A long and bloody story," Eren muttered. "Literally."

Sensing a sensitive topic, Armin changed the subject. "Why are you back? I mean, I'm delighted to have you back, but I didn't think you'd be back this soon!"

Eren froze. "Eh. Dad was thinking about coming home for a while, and then…well. Mom died, just a couple weeks ago and we decided to come home."

Armin winced. "Shit, Eren, I'm really sorry."

"Yeah."

An awkward silence filled the air for a moment. Eren looked down, his expression grim, and Mikasa felt a familiar twinge of guilt. And then it passed; "Why don't you come in for tea?" Eren asked.

Armin nodded. "That'd be great; we've a lot of catching up to do!"

"Yeah, come on in. Mikasa, d'you know which box has the kettle in it – Mikasa?"

Mikasa barely heard him; her eyes were focused across the street, where she had been sure she had seen a familiar white and pink creature. Her eyes narrowed – she hadn't seen it in nearly two years, not since she got the hang of the magical girl thing.

"Mikasa?"

She snapped back into reality. "Sorry, what?"

Mikasa's father had been German, so she had known the language growing up. She was immensely glad of it; starting up in a new school, in a new country, was more daunting than she had expected it would be. It was October; school was well started by now. Everyone would have their friend groups already, and the school she was enrolled in was an all girl's school. She wouldn't have Eren around, or even Armin. Just herself.

You're being stupid. You've fought off fearsome witches alone. You can manage school.

She adjusted the shirt of the new school uniform, and walked in. The school was large and clean, bigger than her old one. It was crammed with girls, most didn't notice her and continued talking to their friends; some nudged each other and nodded in her direction. She ignored them.

A smiling man with long blond hair gave her a timetable and her locker number. He told her the basics of what she needed to know for the day, and told her to pop in again before she left to make sure she got on okay. "I'll find someone to show you to your locker," he said. "Eh…Sasha!"

A girl eating a piece of toast stopped outside the office, looking in before hopping inside. She swallowed before speaking. "Hey, Mr. Gin! What's up?!"

He smiled, gesturing to Mikasa. "This is Mikasa; she's just moved her from Japan. Could you show her to her locker please?"

Sasha nodded. "Yeah sure!" She beamed at Mikasa. Mikasa smiled politely back. Sasha grabbed her wrist before marching out of the office. "So! Which number is your locker?"

"Uh…" Mikasa checked the number scrawled on the corner of her timetable. "392."

Sasha nodded. "Right this way, then!" she said, munching on her toast happily.

She led Mikasa through the crowd of teenage girls, greeting what seemed like everyone who passed. "So! What part of Japan do you come from?"

"Shiganshina. I doubt you'd have heard of it, it's quite a small town."

"Yep, you're right! Never heard of it!" She made a left turn. "What brings you to Germany?"

"Uh…" Mikasa struggled to think of how to say it. The mother of the family I stayed with after my parents were brutally murdered died, so the father relocated us back to his home town, where his son grew up. "My family is originally from Trost, and they decided to move back home after living in Japan for a few years."

"Oh, so you're originally from here?"
"No, not exactly."
"Wait, I'm confused."
"I'm adopted, you see."
"Ooooh, right. Well that makes more sense." Sasha banged on a locker door. "Here you are! Locker 392. There's a rumor that this locker is haunted!" she finished in a dramatic whisper. "Hannah swore she saw a ghost when she opened it last year, when she had to stay back for cheer practice!"

Mikasa scoffed. "I'm not superstitious."

Sasha gave a dramatic shrug. "Just warning ya'. Be careful, you could be cursed!" Her bright eyes widened and she wiggled her fingers in Mikasa's face.

Mikasa gave a little laugh. Sasha looked proud of herself. "Listen, I'll see you around. I can show you around at lunchtime, if you want!"

Mikasa hesitated for a moment, brushing her hair behind her ear. "Okay. Sure."

Sasha's smile grew even wider. "Alright! See you later!" She walked away, heading towards her first class. The bell was about to ring, and now there were only stragglers hanging at their lockers as everyone began to head to their classrooms. Mikasa opened her locker, and when she saw the flash of white she nearly slammed it closed again.

"Christ," she gasped, with a jump. Her eyes narrowed as she looked inside. "What the fuck are you doing here?" she hissed.

"Hello, Mikasa!" greeted Kyubey. "It's been a while!"

Mikasa opened her bag, taking out the books to be put in her locker. She shoved them in, not caring about Kyubey. "What do you want?"

"I just came here to give you a warning," it said, pink eyes staring at her, unblinking.

"Out with it, then."

"You're in a new country, Mikasa, but that doesn't mean you can stop hunting witches. There are witches in Trost, too: more of them than back in Shiganshina. Many more."

Mikasa sighed. "Perfect. Absolutely perfect."

"But that's not what I wanted to warn you about."

"Can you get on with it? I have class soon."

Kyubey flicked its fluffy white tail. "You know how it works, right? Your magic comes from your soul gem. The more magic you use, the dirtier your soul gem gets. You need to purify it. You kill a witch; you get its grief seed. You purify your soul gem using the grief seed, and your magic is replenished. And so the cycle continues."

"Yeah, I get it."

"Well, in Shiganshina, you were the only magical girl. Here, you're not."

Mikasa froze. "What do you mean?"

"What I mean is that there are several other magical girls in this city. Two are even in this very building as we speak. And not all will show you kindness if you run into them on a hunt."

Mikasa scowled. "That's ridiculous. Why? We're on the same side, why would we fight? If I came across another magical girl, I would try and team up with her instead of fight her."

"I'm just warning you. You should be wary of other magical girls."

"Why?"

The bell rang.

"Listen, I've to get to class. But…." Mikasa didn't particularly like Kyubey. She wasn't sure why; probably because whenever she thought of it, she thought of that one night when her parents had…when she became a magical girl. But she also was reminded of the guilt; she could have wished for anything in the world. She could have wished to have saved her parents, too. If she had thought more carefully about her wish, she could have undone all the bad done that night. She hadn't though, and they were still dead. "I'll keep an eye out when I'm witch hunting." She slammed the locker door shut, and tried to find her classroom.

"Hey Mikasa! How's your first day so far? Did you meet any new friends? Which teachers do you have?" Mikasa heard Sasha before she saw her.

"Oh, uh, hi. It's been alright, I suppose. One of the teachers was a dick. He confiscated my scarf and told me it wasn't a part of the dress code."

"Which teacher?"
"Mr. Ackerman."
"You guys have the same last name, right? Hey! Maybe you're related!"

Mikasa made a face. "I hope not."

The scarf was precious to her, and there was no way some stranger could realize the value behind it. The night her parents had died, Eren had given her his own scarf. He had been the one who had saved her, given her a new family…it was precious to her. She hated not wearing it, and the fact that some teacher had it taken off her just because it didn't follow dress code irritated her.

"I know what will cheer you up!"
"Hm?"
"The best part of the school day! Lunch!"

Sasha led her to the cafeteria. It was already crowded with students piling into the chairs with trays of food. Surprisingly, the school food didn't look that bad. Mikasa watched, mildly alarmed, as Sasha stacked her tray up very high. "I have a big appetite," she said by way of explanation.

Once they were seating she began tucking in. "I'll give you the lowdown on anyone who's anyone in Trost Academy." Dark brown eyes scanned the cafeteria. "Okay, see that girl there? The cute little blonde? That's Historia." Mikasa turned in her seat slightly, trying to look at the girl mentioned as subtly as possible. She was pretty enough, and sat among a large group of friends, but didn't seem to be partaking in the conversation much. Instead, she looked blankly down as she picked at her food," She's one of the sweetest things on this earth. At least, she used to be, until the new school year started. She's been more and more quiet recently, but in general, she's pretty reliable! Her grandparents own a bakery downtown and they make the most beautiful bread there! Seriously, I'll have to take you sometime."

She scanned the crowd again. "Okay, see the two girls over there? That's Annie Leonhardt and Mina Carolina. They're complete opposites, but they're best friends! It's kind of…strange, almost. Annie's really quiet, most of the time – not in a shy way, but in an "i-don't-want-to-talk-to-any-of-you way. Yet if you look at her with Mina, she's a lot more relaxed than she usually is. Nobody…well, nobody dislikes Annie, but she can be a little intimidating in times. She gives the vibe that you don't want to cross her, y'know? And then Mina is one of the warmest people ever! Seriously, she's friends with everybody. Including Annie, who doesn't really talk to many. She deserves an award, because everyone thinks Annie is a bitch, but she's not."

"How do you know that?"
"Because I've talked to her."
"Are you friends?"
"No."
"Why?"
"She finds me annoying."
"Ah, I see."

Mikasa looked over at the two. They were sitting alone together at a table in the corner, yet every girl who passed seemed to greet Mina warmly. Mina was talking animatedly about something, using various hand gestures, while Annie was listening and nodding with a small smile on her face. For a second, she looked away, and ice blue eyes met Mikasa's grey. For a split second, they lost their warmth; fond smile did a one-eighty and she frowned for a moment as she looked at Mikasa. But then the moment was over, and she was focusing back on Mina, who hadn't even noticed her lapse of attention.

Weird, Mikasa thought. Yet she was still a little intrigued by her.

"So that's Hitch," Sasha continued, pointing with her bread. "And she's like, the queen of gossip here. She's super sarcastic and kind of cynical, but she can be fun sometimes! And over there, that's Hannah. Hannah is a nice girl, but give her a chance and she'll start going on about her boyfriend, Franz. He goes to Trost Academy for Boys, and I know way more than I should about him, thanks to Hannah. And over there, that's Rebecca, she…"

Mikasa tuned out for a moment, eyes travelling around the cafeteria. Some of these girls were magical girls. The thought was weird; Mikasa had never met another magical girl before. At least, one she was aware of. And the fact that these other magical girls might be hostile…

She gave a small shake of her head, making herself listen to Sasha again.

She was a nice girl, without a doubt. A little louder than Mikasa was used to. Well, Mikasa was used to Eren, who was always loud, but he was a different sort of loud than Sasha was. She was nice enough to hang out with Mikasa on her first day, at least.

Maybe this new school wouldn't be as bad as she had thought.

Mikasa was typically a good student, but the sudden change from doing her homework in Japanese to doing her homework in German was challenging.

Especially when you were being interrupted by white and pink alien creatures.

"What do you want, Kyubey?" she asked tiredly.
"To finish out earlier conversation, Mikasa."

She sighed, putting down her textbook. "Fine – make it quick, though. I need to finish my homework before I go out."

Kyubey swished its long tail, perching on the bottom of Mikasa's bed. "Back in Shiganshina, you were the only magical girl, and had to take care of every witch. Now, although there are far, far more witches, you don't need to take care of them all yourself," it explained. "There's less pressure on you, because if you don't get a witch, one of the others will. Just make sure to keep your soul gem purified."

Mikasa thumbed at the ring on her index finger. It hummed to light with a red glow, and turned into a large jewel in the palm of her hand. It was her soul gem, and it was unlike any other jewel. It was a strong red color, but it wasn't solid. Inside, it looked as though the red was swirling, fighting with the hints of black that had begun to seep in and collect and the bottom of the gem. "Don't need to worry about me," she said. "I'm not going to slack off just because there are some other magical girls."

"Good." Kyubey licked its paw. "But remember what I said about them."
"Be careful around them. Why?"

Kyubey paused, standing and walking up and down the length of the bed. "It's like the food chain, Mikasa. You need a witch's grief seed to purify your soul gem. If you don't purify your soul gem, your magic decreases. Some magical girls see it as…a competition, nearly. They fight among themselves because they want to gain more grief seeds, and be at the top of their game."

"So, they're ready to fight other magical girls to get a grief seed?"

"They're ready to kill other magical girls to get a grief seed. Just be careful, okay?"

Mikasa was silent for a moment. She could easily slay a witch, she would easily use her powers to protect someone she loved, but could she fight a magical girl like that? They were on the same side, after all…

If it came to it, she would.

"Don't worry. I always am."

She pulled her scarf tighter around her neck, thankful to have it back. The teacher from earlier had given it back to her at the end of the day, warning her not to wear clothes that weren't a part of the uniform again. Mikasa had wondered who had shoved a stick up his ass.

It was a cool November evening and nearly all of the trees had lost their leaves by now. There was a chilly bite in the air, and she was glad she had the foresight to wear a jacket. Mikasa didn't like this; Trost city was huge. She had been to many cities before, but she never had to fight in them. At home, in Shiganshina, she'd had a route worked out for herself for when she went witch-hunting. Now, she was struggling not to lose her way.

She wove in between other people, rushing home from work. That was another thing; at home, she recognized nearly all of the faces at home. Here, everyone was a stranger.

Her soul gem was nestled in the palm of her hand, hidden from view from everyone else. She could feel it beginning to heat up. A witch was nearby.

Mikasa slipped into a smaller, less busy side street, and brought the gem to her face. It was pulsing with red light. She took a few steps forward, and the light got stronger. She was getting closer.

Keeping a careful eye on the light in her gem, she continued forward. At the end of the street, there was a department store undergoing refurbishments. It was closed to the public, and the workers must have finished for the day. Mikasa could feel the dread set in her stomach; the telltale sign of a witch. Her feet moved almost reluctantly as she stepped forward.

Unfortunately, all of the entrances were closed up. Mikasa went around the back of the building, climbing up the scaffolding. She climbed onto the top of the roof, forcing herself not to think of the long drop below her. Getting to the roof, she paused for a moment, catching her breath. Damn witches.

There was a door on the roof, one that led down into the building. It was locked shut, but Mikasa had figured that if she forced her way through this door, it would be a lot less noticeable than if the workers came tomorrow morning to find the main entrance forced open. She let a bit of the light from her soul gem pool into her palm, forming a red glove over her hand. Mikasa felt the familiar surge of power – almost like an adrenaline rush, except different – and punched the door. It immediately swung off of its hinges, the lock breaking.

Entering quietly, the light from her soul gem served as a flashlight. It shone brighter and brighter the further she walked through the empty building. It was creepy as hell, being in a large building like this alone. But Mikasa was used to it; she had been fighting witches for well over two years now.

In the end, the witch was in the women's restroom. Mikasa flicked on the lights as she entered, even though her soul gem was glowing brightly. There, in one of the cubicles, was the grief seed set into the wall.

"Gotcha," she muttered.

Almost immediately, the barrier arose.

It was always strange to experience, and no matter how many times she did this Mikasa would never get used to it. She tried to stay balanced as the colors spread out from the grief seed, completely changing her surroundings. Soon, she wasn't in a restroom in a closed department store. The floor under her feet turned into hard packed earth, springy grass sprouting up through it. Trees shot up, bigger than any real tree, surrounding her completely. The sky turned dark, shutting her in like a dome.

She stayed still as the environment continued to shift and change, but eventually it came to a stop.

Getting into the witch's barrier was the easy part. Finding it and slaying it was the hard part.

Mikasa hear rustling behind here. There was a crack, and suddenly one of the huge trees was falling forward. She leapt out of her way, just to spot them.

Inside every witch's barrier – the realm of a witch – there was some form of creature always waiting to attack. In here? These looked almost like wolves. If wolves were brightly colored and a lot more grotesque. She could hear their whispering darting around her, and her heart began to thrum in her chest.

Calm down, Mikasa. You know what to do.

One of the strange wolves – really, it looked like it had walked out of a nightmare – leaped at her. Her soul gem was in her hand, and in a burst of red light, she transformed.

Her uniform disappeared as the red washed over her, leaving her magical girl garb in its place. Red ankle boots, black tights, and a crimson dress with sleeves that stretched down to her elbows. Mikasa had long since stopped questioning the bizarre dress code of magical girls. Red gloves protected her fists, and her soul gem lay at the hollow of her throat on a short gold chain, hidden from view by her scarf.

The swords materialized in her hands – not like any usual swords; strange ones, sharp along the length of the blade rather than pointed at the tip – just in time for her to slash at the creature. It disappeared in a puff of foul air.

Mikasa coughed, covering her nose and mouth with her scarf.

She could see more of them now; more of these wolfish creatures surrounding her in the trees. She scowled, falling back into a defensive stance.

"Come on, then," she snarled. More darted through the trees, leaping up at her. She hurled both of her swords at the same time, and they struck the monsters down. She swung her arm around in a circle around herself, and a ring of swords materialized, stuck point down in the ground.

With a grunt, she grabbed the nearest two and threw them, watching with a triumphant smile as they hit their targets. She let the next one come to her, slicing it down the stomach as it jumped at her. She shoved the next sword down the throat of the nearest creature, and slit the back of the neck of the next.

It didn't take long for her to destroy them. Panting, she tucked her hair behind her ears. Mikasa was out of practice: she shouldn't be tired, usually wouldn't be tired this early on. Still; she was in the witch's barrier now, and the only way out was to slay it.

It didn't take long for her to find the witch. A little walking, a little more carnage as she destroyed more of its monsters. Her soul gem guided her to a clearing in the forest, where it lay; a huge, many legged, ugly mass of black and green.

Mikasa wrinkled her nose.

"Disgusting."

It let out a screech and it crawled from one of the tree trunks to another. It was so large, but the trees here were also abnormally massive.

"What's wrong?" Mikasa asked, taking calm steps forward. Its screeches made her want to run; they told every cell in her body to flee instead of fight, but she ignored it. "Afraid of a puny magical girl like me?"

It seemed to anger it, even though she doubted it understood. In any case, it flew at her, launching itself from the tree towards her. Mikasa jumped, two swords forming in her hand, and she hit the ground rolling, avoiding the leg that had threatened to squish her. Rolling to her feet, she jumped, spinning and slashing through the air, cutting clean through one of its legs. It howled in pain, and kicked with one of its other many legs. Mikasa wasn't as quick this time, and the leg connected with her body, sending her rocketing into a tree.

She let out a cry of pain, her heart thrumming in her ribcage. "Fuck," she cursed, feeling the pain of many broken bones fly through her body. The witch was coming back for a second hit. Squeezing her eyes shut, Mikasa focused on her magic, and red light trickled from her soul gem, the magic seeping into her skin and healing her bones and body.

Not a moment too soon; Mikasa managed to roll out of the way about a second before one of the witch's legs smashed the tree into matchsticks. Mikasa gulped.

It chased after her, and she skidded along the ground, doing her damnedest to stay out of its grasp. Now that she was close up, she could see the deadly talons at the end of each leg. One of them stabbed towards her, and Mikasa ducked. It took a few hairs from her head, but nothing more and the talon stuck in the tree she had been leaning against. While the witch was trying to pull it out and release itself, Mikasa summoned two new blades, stumbling to her feet and running under the beast. She thrust the swords upwards, and they dug into the underside of it.

It squealed in pain, and began to thrash, and Mikasa dived out from under it. To get away from its wild limbs, she jumped, climbing one of the nearest trees and setting on a branch, looking down at it from above.

She felt almost giddy, like she always did during a fight. Using magic brought a rush of its own; there was nothing like it. And although slaying witches was deadly, although she didn't look forward to it, while fighting, she always felt a sick excitement. She was panting and sweaty, but her magic was healing her as she fought, so she wasn't sore.

And, she was winning.

That was the important thing, wasn't it? It didn't matter how tired or sore or injured you were, as long as you fought, and won. It was something Eren had taught her: if you didn't win, you died. If you didn't fight, you couldn't win. Mikasa hadn't had the power to fight when she was fourteen; she hadn't been able to save her parents. Mikasa had the powers to save Carla Jaeger, but she hadn't been there on time. Now, though? Now, she could fight. In a fight like this, Mikasa was in her prime.

And she was winning.

She grinned, standing up on the tree branch and whipping the scarf from around her neck. It was the same scarf that Eren had given her the night her parents were murdered, but like with everything, when she transformed it was…not quite the same. She threw it down, towards the struggling witch and it expanded, far bigger than any scarf. It got longer and longer, wrapping around the body of the witch and all its legs, restraining it and keeping it still.

Now, she could finish it off. She summoned more blades; sent them all rocketing down towards the beast. Next came her final attack; the fatal blow. She leapt off of the branch, swords in hand, falling towards the beast, aiming for the nape of its neck when-

"Ah!" she cried out as something pierced her hand, making her drop one of her swords. Instead of killing the witch, she landed on it.

What the hell?

She looked down at her hand, at what had pierced it. It was a dagger: a silver blade with an icy blue hilt, and incredibly sharp. She pulled it out of her hand, letting her magic close the wound.

Another one came flying from the trees, and Mikasa jumped back. It dug into the flesh of the witch right where she had been standing.

Three came this time, in quick succession. Mikasa was moving back quickly, and when she dodged right to avoid getting stabbed, she lost her balance and well off of the body of the witch, hitting the ground harshly.

All the air was pushed from her lungs, and it took a few deep breaths before she could speak.

"Who's there?" she called angrily. Kyubey's warning rang in her head. "Show yourself!"

"Stand down," came a voice. It was cold, the type of voice that accepted no bullshit. "Transform back into normal."

Another magical girl, then. Mikasa pushed herself to her feet, drawing two more swords out of thin air. "I said, show yourself!" she snarled, searching for the voice.

And then, she saw her.

Perched on the branch of a tree, looking almost bored. Mikasa had never seen another magical girl before, but it was clear from her clothes that she was one. Even at this distance, she could see her soul gem. She wore high blue boots, and a blue and white dress that reminded Mikasa a little of the sailor uniforms back home. Her soul gem was an icy blue color, set into the fabric of her dress at her chest. Her eyes were the exact same shade of blue, looking down on her, unimpressed.

What surprised Mikasa most was that she recognized her.

"Annie Leonhardt," she hissed.

Annie didn't move much. She stood where she was, twisting another dagger in her fingers. "Mikasa, wasn't it?"

Mikasa said nothing. Annie jumped lightly off of the branch, landing gracefully on the restrained witch. "This kill is mine. Leave now and I won't harm you."

Mikasa narrowed her eyes. "No way. I fought through this barrier, I fought this witch – I'm not going to let you get the grief seed for my work."

Annie's eyes flashed in annoyance. "Listen, Ackerman, if you think you can just waltz into this city and begin collecting kills, you're wrong."

Mikasa scoffed. "If you think I'm going to just let you take my kill, you're wrong."

Annie's eyes narrowed. "You don't know who you're dealing with. I don't care where you came from – Trost is a big city, and we already have too many magical girls. There isn't room for another. Get out of here now, and I'll let you go. If you don't, I'll make you."

"Is that a threat?" Mikasa asked, her grip on the hilts of her swords tightening.

Annie's lip curled. "Obviously."

When Kyubey had told her that there were magical girls who fought with one another for grief seeds, Mikasa hadn't really believed it. Why would magical girls fight each other when they could work together? It was more logical to team up; it would reduce the danger of fighting witches. Mikasa didn't approve of the mere thought of fighting other magical girls.

That said…she had fought hard to kill this witch. She didn't need to look at her soul gem to know it had picked up enough dirt; her magic was beginning to lag, and she needed to purify it with a grief seed – soon. She wasn't going to go through all of that just to let someone else reap the benefits.

No – if Annie thought she could intimidate her into leaving, she was wrong. Mikasa wasn't going to easily give up what was rightfully hers.

"Listen, Leonhardt," she began. "I don't want to fight you, but there's no way in hell I'm letting you take this kill."

She met her gaze, and neither of them broke it.

Then, with a flick of her wrist, Annie sent three daggers in Mikasa's direction. She didn't move quickly enough, and they pierced the fabric of Mikasa's dress, pinning it to the tree behind her. Mikasa grunted in shock, and Annie smirked. "Too easy," she muttered.

Blue light curled in her hands, and more daggers formed. A whole row of them, she was clearly about to make some sort of final blow.

Not on Mikasa's watch.

With a wave of red flashing over her, she broke free, forming a sword and hurling it at Annie with a yell. She was surprised at her own aggression.

Annie saw it coming, and the blonde grabbed one of the daggers, pulling it upwards and using it to deflect the blade. Mikasa cursed, but didn't have time to dwell on it, because Annie was jumping off of the witch and towards her now.

Fighting witches and their familiars sometimes resulted in close combat, but it was rarely…this close. Annie was wielding two daggers, and she swung them with a fierce glow in her eyes. Mikasa brought one of her swords upwards to block them, using the other to swing under her defense and try to make a cut. Annie swung out of the way at the last minute, twirling out of Mikasa's range. She threw the two daggers, and they cut through the air quickly. Mikasa swung, knocking them out of the air with her sword. If she hadn't she assumed they would have taken her eyes out. Annie's aim was scarily accurate.

Annie responded by darting away, sending more and more daggers flying in Mikasa's direction. She jumped and ducked into a roll to dodge them, only to have more thrown her way. Gritting her teeth, Mikasa glared at the other girl. She was forcing Mikasa on the defensive, while offense was her strength.

Time to turn the tables, then.

Mikasa ran forward, dodging one of the blue daggers. She gripped her sword with both hands, slashing with all her strength at Annie. Annie brought up both of her hands, catching Mikasa's blade in between two of her own, but she took a step back. Mikasa let out a triumphant laugh – Annie might have thought that she was good, but Mikasa could win this.

With her sword caught between the two daggers, she couldn't slash again, so instead she put all of her weight onto the sword, pressing it back against Annie. Annie pushed back with her own blade, and soon it was a battle of strength.

Their eyes met from either side of the blades, and Mikasa snarled.

She spotted an opening; they were both completely focused on their weapons now, right?

She brought up her leg, sending a fierce kick into Annie's hip. The smaller girl let out a small cry, losing her footing and slipping, falling on her back. Mikasa moved forward, sword raised, ready to slash down –

Wait a second.

She wasn't trying…to kill Annie, she just wanted to earn what was rightfully hers.

Right?

She hesitated, looking down at the blonde. "Why are you doing this? Attacking me because of a witch? Aren't there lots of witches here?"

Annie seemed unfazed. "I need this grief seed."

Mikasa's eyes drifted to Annie's soul gem, frowning. It was nearly completely clean, whereas she knew her own was a lot worse. "I need this more than you do," she replied, lowering her weapon and taking a few steps back. "I'm killing this witch. Stay away." Mikasa tried to put as much authority in her voice as she possibly could.

Annie lowered her eyes, giving a single nod.

Pride swelled in Mikasa's chest. Not only had she gotten through her first conflict with a fellow magical girl, but she had come out on top. She turned towards the witch, about to gather the magic for the final blow when suddenly; a burning cold hit her from behind.

She let out a cry, not even sure of what was happening until she looked down. Ice was beginning to creep from the ground and up through her legs as far as her knees, freezing them in place. More of this ice rose up and trapped her hands before she even had time to react.

It was so cold, Mikasa felt like she was burning. She gasped, pulling at her icy constraints, but she could barely move. She leaned back as far as she could, tugging her arms as hard as she could, but all that she achieved was hurting her own skin. "Leonhardt," she growled. "Let me go!"

Annie walked back into her line of sight, triumphant smirk in place. "I will. Right after I finish this witch off."

She looked her up and down, smirk growing a fraction. "Don't you know not to turn your back on an enemy?" she asked, a mocking note making its way into her voice.

Mikasa glared. "We're not enemies."

Annie just rolled her eyes. "Why, because we're both magical girls? In case you haven't realized, just because we have a common enemy doesn't make us allies. We've just spent the last fifteen minutes fighting, and you're still naïve enough to think that we're not enemies."

Mikasa could feel the anger boiling in her gut. "Why do we have to be enemies? Why can't we work together? We could have avoided all of this, if you hadn't attacked me out of nowhere!"

"It's a dog eat dog world out there. Or in this case, magical girl beat magical girl." Annie turned, not quite turning her back on Mikasa, as she walked towards the witch.

Mikasa tugged as hard she could against the ice, but it was rock solid. Her arms began to bleed a little, where it cut into her skin. If she didn't do something fast, Annie would slay the witch, and take the grief seed.

Physical strength wasn't going to get her out of her, but Mikasa had magic of her own.

She focused on her scarf, still magically enlarged and restraining the witch. It began unravelling around the witch quickly, letting it move once more. It flew in Annie's direction, quickly shrinking down and wrapping around her throat, squeezing tightly. Annie staggered, her air supply suddenly cut off. The witch got back on its legs, scampering around the edge of the clearing, screeching.

Annie fell to her legs, her face steadily turning blue. She was gasping for air, oxygen that she couldn't take in.

"Let me go," Mikasa hissed.

Annie glowered at her, but the effect was lost when she started rasping, trying desperately to breathe. The witch behind her stopped moving frantically, and seemed to turn in their direction. It began to charge, deadly talons reaching out. Annie waved her hand, and the ice around Mikasa evaporated. Immediately, Mikasa released the hold on Annie's throat, her scarf coming up to wrap around her own neck. Annie gasped, falling forward onto her hands and knees for a moment, before rolling and sliding out of the way of the witch. Mikasa also dodged its angry charge, running to the side and creating more swords.

They may have wanted to beat each other, but they didn't really want to kill each other.

The witch hurtled into the trees at the edge of the clearing, knocking them down. Annie leapt over its body, two daggers in her hand, and Mikasa ran to meet her. As Annie swung for her head, she swung her sword under her arms, pressing it against her torso, just as Annie's dagger pressed against her throat.

The witch picked itself up and turned, charging towards them again, with a hateful cry.

"This is my kill," she hissed. "Give up."

"You first," Annie shot back, a murderous expression on her face. Neither of them dared to move, lest the other attack, even though the witch was bearing down upon them now, and would kill them both if they didn't get out of the way. Mikasa was determined not to crack first.

"So," Annie said, hyperaware of the sword at her stomach. "Mutual destruction, yeah?"

Mikasa grunted in reply.

And then there was a flash of orange light, and both of them released their hold on the other as they jumped back. A golden axe thrown from the trees passed between them, breaking them up.

Annie cursed, and the axe exploded.

The heat from it burned Mikasa's skin and singed her hair, and the force of it sent her rocketing backwards. Magic seeped into her skin and healed her and she tumbled in the air, landing in a crouch and skidding backwards. Three more explosions went off, all around the witch, and it roared in pain.

"You've got to be kidding me," Mikasa muttered.

The series of explosions continued, each one louder than the last, hurting her eardrums. And then, a third figure descended from the trees, darting towards the beast wielding an axe as big as her. She jumped onto the beast, slashing her weapon through its skin as hard as she could, before jumping away. This explosion was by far the loudest, and the screams of the witch were even louder. The smoke began to clear; the smoke from the explosion, and the ominous dark smoke of the witch's body.

It was finally dead, leaving only a grief seed in its place. The newcomer picked it up, tossing it in the air before catching it again. "Fighting again, Annie?" she sighed, turning to face the blonde. Around them, the environment melted away; trees and grass and earth fading out, replaced by the dingy surroundings of the bathroom.

She turned around then, facing Mikasa. She was older than both of them by a few years; she looked eighteen, maybe nineteen. She wore dainty orange shoes, the color of the sky at sunset, long white socks, a white skirt and a frilly orange jacket. The most noticeable thing about her, though, was the huge axe she was holding casually in one hand. She had strawberry blonde hair a little longer than Mikasa's, and her eyes were warm.

Mikasa breathed in relief. Unlike Annie, at least she didn't seem hostile.

"Oh! A new face!" She seemed somewhat surprised to see Mikasa. "Are you a new magical girl, or-"

"She moved her," Annie interrupted. "She's just new to the city, and she thinks she can worm her way in and-"

"Enough, Annie." Petra's voice took on a new tone, and to Mikasa's amazement, Annie shut up. Fuming, she looked away.

"I'm Petra," she introduced herself to Mikasa. "Petra Ral."

Mikasa nodded at her. "Mikasa."

She wasn't sure how to feel about this Petra – on one hand, she was being much friendlier than Annie had been. But at the same time, she had slayed the witch that Mikasa had found first, that Mikasa had fought. She would rather Petra earn the grief seed than Annie, but she still wasn't happy about it. Then again…she seemed powerful. She must be powerful, if Annie was listening to her. And Mikasa didn't want to start another fight…especially with someone who could possibly be an ally, in the future.

Petra examined the grief seed in her hand. "So," she asked. "What was it about this time?"

Mikasa took the liberty of answering. "I fought this witch. And I was about to kill it, when she attacked me, for no reason!"

Petra gave Annie a withering look. "Annie-" she began.

"You know what's coming," Annie interrupted, a hard look in her eyes. She crossed her arms, almost defensively, and Mikasa got the feeling that this was an argument the two girls had already had. "I told you. And you won't believe me. I need to be prepared."

Mikasa frowned, looking from Annie to Petra. "What's coming?" She didn't like Annie's tone.

"Nothing's coming," Petra said, annoyance creeping into her voice. "And I'm not going to take this bullshit theory as an excuse for attacking others. Did she attack you first?"

Annie glowered. "No."

"Exactly. Mikasa was being peaceful, and you broke that. You're a danger to other magical girls, Annie – who knows what would have happened if I hadn't shown up – but I'm not going to let this continue." There was an undeniable threat in her voice. Annie looked furious.

"What's that supposed to mean?"

Petra met her gaze coolly. "Keep on attacking magical girls who mean you no harm," she said, "and I'll put you out of commission. Permanently."

A mixture of emotions ran through Annie's face. Anger mostly, but Mikasa saw fear lurking in those eyes. And was that – a little bit of sorrow?

After a moment, it settled back into a neutral mask. Annie didn't say anything else; she simply turned on her heel, disappearing into the trees.

Surprised, Mikasa turned to Petra. She shrugged, and to Mikasa's great surprise, tossed the grief seed in her direction.