By the second day my jet lag was gone and I had adequately adjusted to the local time. I often helped Mrs. Jaeger with the chores. One day she asked me to to go to the grocery store to buy a few things for dinner.

"Do the boys want to come?" I asked,

"I don't know. They're nowhere to be found. If you do find them, could you tell Eren to come home? I need some help with the laundry."

"Sure thing. Is there anything else you want me to do while I'm running errands?"

"No, that's all. Thank you, Mikasa. You've been a great help." The sky was grey outside. It looked as if it would start raining any minute. I took a white umbrella with me and walked down to the grocery store that was only a few blocks away.

I didn't see the boys anywhere. I stood in line at the checkout stand when I saw that Petra was the cashier. I had met her the day before and she had offered to show me around town.

"Hey, Petra. How are you?"

"I'm doing well."

"Did you see Eren or Armin by any chance?"

"I saw them about half an hour ago. They were heading to the Old Bridge."

"Thanks," I said, handing her a twenty dollar bill for the groceries. By the time I got outside it was already raining. I took out my white umbrella and headed toward the Old Bridge.

I saw Eren in the distance. He and Armin were playing in the rain. "You know your mom is going to scold you, right?"

"Miksas. How did you find us?" asked Eren

"I have my ways. Now let's go home before you get a cold. You too Armin." The boys obediently followed. That's when I saw him, Reiner Braun. He was a high ranking member of a gang who called themselves the Titans. The Titans were the same gang responsible for my mother's death. Reiner was the first on my list. I had hoped to cross his path much later but it seemed like fate had another plan in mind.

"A pretty girl like you shouldn't be walking around without protection. It is a scary place after all." I looked at him. He was taller than me and he had a strong built. Then I saw Bertolt Hoover standing just a few feet away.

"I'm fine, thanks. I have two gentlemen at my disposal should I need protection." I said gesturing to Eren and Armin. The two boys straightened their backs and puffed up their chests. I couldn't help but smile a little. Both of them were young, scrawny, and not particularly tall for their age. "Thank you for your concern," I continued, "but as you can see, I have all the protection I need." I gently pushed Eren and Armin in front of me to prompt them to start walking forward.

Reiner suddenly grabbed me by the shoulders and slammed be against the railing of the bridge. "It is a scary place." I mumbled under my breath. Armin ran off and no one made an effort to stop him. Eren lunged forward, trying to tackle Reiner. Reiner just flicked him off like a bothersome fly. Eren fell on the ground and was getting up for a second attack when Bertolt kicked him in the stomach.

"Stop it!" I cried out, "Eren! Go home right now!"

"Mikasa, I-"

"I said, go home. I can take care of myself."

"I'll protect you, I promise-"

"You can't take care of me. You can't even take care of yourself." I didn't want to hurt his feelings but his stubbornness could get him killed. "Go home, Eren. The world's a cruel place and you have to learn to survive. Sometimes that means living to fight for another day. Now go home." Eren didn't listen. He made a third attempt at a rescue. This time Bertolt gave him a pretty hard blow on the head that left Eren unconscious. They had crossed the line the moment they placed a hand on Eren. I tried to stop myself from showing emotion.

"Now that that's done," Reiner began, "you and I can get to know each other better." I leaned in and placed my mouth a few inches from his ear, "I' don't think so." I delivered a knee to the groin and a web head to the throat before he could even real back in pain from my first attack. Reiner gasped for breath that would refuse to enter his lungs.

Bertolt looked at me, shocked, then he suddenly realized that I could also talk him down. He pulled out a knife and got into a low stance. I too got into my stance, moving my right leg back and balanced 30% of my weight on my left leg and 60% on my right. I drew my arms in close to my body.

Bertolt lunged forward, knife in hand. I parried the knife out of the way and kicked him on the side of the knee. He collapsed, his knee unable to hold the weight of his own body. He held on to his knee, crying in pain. The knife had fallen on the ground. I took it and threw it into some nearby bushes. "If you ever come close to the boy, I will hunt you down. If you see him walking on the same side of the road you're on, I want you to cross the street and change directions. Do I make myself clear?" He nodded. Reiner had sufficiently recovered. He was still coughing but he had not sustained any permanent damage.

The white umbrella was on the ground. It was stained with mud and blood. I looked at my arm and noticed that a steady stream of blood was flowing from a deep cut on my upper arm. I took Eren in my arms and walked off in the direction of the house.

There were two blond men with a green ponchos running in my direction. Armin was close behind them. I noticed a badge hung around each of their necks. One man had short cropped hair, his name was Hannes, and the other had longer blond hair that was neatly parted to the left. Hannes took Eren from my arms and laid him on the ground. He check his vitals. The other man came and talked to me, "Hello, my name is Commander Erwin Smith of the LAPD." I already knew his name. I had looked up the names of the local police before I even left home.

I didn't respond to his words. He started to say something else but his words were slurred. Everything became dark and my body was unable to hold myself up. I collapsed into his arms. That was the last thing I remembered of that day.