Hey Guys! Here's another chapter of HSF. The final part of this triple update and the beginning of a major part of the plot I have for this story. I hope ya'll enjoyed what you read in the last chapter and are psyched for this one. I think I'll save most of my A/N for the bottom so you'll hear from me at the end of the so sit back and enjoy this chapter.
"Man, the food here brings the crap we were fed back at Fort Maria to shame," Eren said as he took a bite of the sandwich on his plate.
"It's better than plain old oats," Armin responded as he equally took a bite out of his own sandwich.
"Come on Armin," Eren urged, "it's not just better than plain old oats. These sandwiches are like on a completely different level, right guys?"
"They sure are," Connie answered from where he sat opposite Eren. He then looked beside him to where his wife sat, "Right Sasha?"
"Mhm…" the brunette woman nodded with her eyes closed, "I hope this is the kind of food the kids are being fed over at that children's home," she said before she brought her hand to cup her chin and now looked like she was thinking, "Or maybe they're being fed even better food. Man, I'm getting jealous."
"Whoa Sasha, it's better that the kids are being fed better, don't you think?" Connie asked the woman.
"It is, but just try and imagine the types of meals they're eating. Probably better sandwiches, maybe they even have snacks and let's not forget to mention meat. Oh… the meat," she started to drone on.
"I think the sandwiches are alright," Historia answered from her seat next to Eren while Sasha continued droning on about food. She then looked over at Mikasa, "how about you, Mikasa? What do you think of the sandwiches?"
"They're okay," Mikasa shrugged impassively. Sure, the sandwiches were definitely better than the semi-cooked oats they'd be served back at Fort Maria but that was pretty much it. The food was just okay.
"See, Eren? they're no big deal," Armin looked over at the brunette, "even Mikasa thinks so."
"You guys are just boring," Eren mumbled, "I just need one more opinion to prove it to you."
"These sandwiches are shit," a female voice responded before the sound of a plate clanking onto a table.
"Not the opinion I was hoping for," Eren grumbled between gritted teeth.
"Hey everyone, I hope I'm not late," Ymir said as she forced herself between Historia and Eren, throwing her arm around the former after putting down her plate.
"We actually wish you were here later," Eren mumbled again.
This was how Mikasa normally ate her meals. She'd sit with Armin, the Jaegers and the Springers. Ymir often joined from time to time, not failing to get on Eren's nerves every time. How did they end up sitting together? Well, it happened at a time when they were still trainees and she 'd still eat with just Armin and the Jaegers.
It was at a time when they were having dinner and meat was being served. Everything was going great until Sasha came out of nowhere and grabbed Eren's meat from his plate and when Eren, being the fighter he is, tried to grab it back, Sasha tried to toss it to Connie, who didn't catch it and thus the meat hit onto Jean, who thought it was Eren that threw it and threw it back and thus, a food fight began.
In the midst of the food-fight, good old Captain Levi stepped in and caught them in the act. A few minutes of profanities later and they were all forced to clean the entire cafeteria until he could see his reflection on nearly every surface. A long night of cleaning and goofing off later, here they were, having breakfast together like old friends.
As for Ymir, it was more of a 'where Historia goes, Ymir goes.'
"So Ymir, does that mean you're not going finish your sandwich?" Sasha asked, keeping her eyes on the meal that was just sitting on the plate, seemingly untouched.
"Here, you can have it," Ymir pushed the plate to Sasha.
"Yahoo," she celebrated at she began to feast on the food.
"Sometimes I wonder where you people get your spouses," Ymir started, "I mean Historia found herself with Captain hot-head here, Connie found himself with a bottomless pit of hunger and Bruce Leah over here's married to the Grinch of all seasons. I mean guys, where the hell do you all find these people?"
"Oh cut it out, will yah?" Historia scolded the taller woman, "Eren's actually a really sweet guy and Sasha's a really nice person."
"Okay whatever," Ymir rolled her eyes before looking over at Mikasa, "what about Captain Wet Blanket?"
"He's a really nice person too, once you get to know him… I bet?" Historia defended but looked over at Mikasa for confirmation.
"Mhm," she shrugged in response.
"Okay, okay Historia I get it. But I still gotta ask," Ymir shifted her attention back to Mikasa, "why is it that your husband never eats with us? I mean, Eren and his wife are always here, Connie and Sasha are always here so it'd be expected that Mr. Ackerman were here, ain't it?"
"Oh yeah," Sasha started, "I've always wondered the same thing. He rarely ever comes to eat and even when he does, he never even does so much as say hello."
Mikasa felt herself growing a bit uncomfortable now that there was a lot of attention on her. She had never bothered to think of that as she never really paid attention to it. She never expected someone like Levi to ever decided to hang around the people she considered peers unless at a family gathering or another event. Still, everyone expected an answer and she knew the only way she'd get out of this situation was if she gave them what they wanted.
"He's a commanding officer so he sits with other commanding officers."
"But I've witnessed Section Commander Hange sit with regular scouts before," Connie responded.
"Section Commander Hange is friendlier," Mikasa responded after her first answer didn't seem to satisfy them, "in case you haven't noticed, Levi is the total opposite."
"Oh really?" Ymir quirked her eyebrow with a smirk, "because I highly doubt that."
Mikasa's eyes narrowed at the woman who didn't seem unnerved at all, "what are you talking about?"
"If looks could kill. Relax Mikasa" Ymir laughed before retaining her smirk, "I've actually got a story to tell you guys about what I saw in the nightclub last night," the brunette started. She took a deep breath and opened her mouth to talk but stopped when her eyes lingered on the half-Asian, "…but never mind. I forgot."
"Ah, really? How could you just start something up and quit right before you even get to the middle of it," Connie complained.
"Yeah, now I'm going to be thinking about it all day thanks to you?" Sasha huffed.
"You're bluffing," Eren started, "you haven't forgotten anything because there was nothing to begin with."
"Guys, I'm not shitting you at all," Ymir defended herself, "I did see something at the club."
"Then what is it?"
"There's no way I'm going to talk about it," she denied, "I don't know about you, but I'm not in the mood to get my ass handed to me."
Well there goes my appetite.
"I'm finished here," Mikasa said as she stood up.
"Whoa, Mikasa, are you alright?" Armin asked, sporting a concerned look, "you know she didn't mean-"
"Don't worry Armin, I'm fine," Mikasa responded as she stepped away from the table and grabbed her plate, "Now excuse me. I have somewhere to be."
With that, Mikasa left the table while she was still able to hear the hushed voices coming from the table. She didn't exactly know how Ymir found out about it, but of course she had her hunches. Though, she couldn't blame Historia considering how much she trusts Ymir. That was the one aspect of Historia Mikasa never favoured, Ymir. Initially, she didn't like the woman because of the threat she was to Eren's relationship and now she just had her own reasons. The woman somehow knew how to push everyone's buttons.
Oh well, now that she was done with breakfast, she could get to carry out her personal project. She just needed the permission to carry it out.
"Was the food that bad?" she heard a voice ask as she dumped the leftovers into the bin.
"Marco?" she turned and came face to face with the ever smiling man.
"Good morning Mrs. Ackerman," Marco greeted, flashing her smile.
"Good Morning," Mikasa responded while offering him a smile of her own. There was something about Marco that always had this nice effect on her. He was this guy that almost always had a smile on his face. But that wasn't the point, "hey Marco, how's Jean doing?" she asked as she stepped away from the bin.
"Oh Jean?" he asked as he furrowed his eyebrows, "he's… trying. Yeah, he's trying. Last night, we were out looking for Pierre and managed to get a lead from some guy who said he saw him at the park."
"Why didn't the guy do anything like ask the kid where his parents were or something?"
"That's the exact same thing we asked him but the guy just said he assumed he was with his parents," Marco explained before asking, "Hey, what time is it?"
"It's half-passed seven."
"Sorry Mikasa, but I gotta go. Jean's waiting for me outside," he said before he started to walk away, "'twas nice talking to you."
"You too," she responded before deciding to hand in her plate.
"Morning Mrs. Ackerman,"
"Good morning, Irene," Mikasa greeted her squad mate back, "how've you been?"
"I've been alright, thanks for asking," the blonde responded, "I may as well ask you the same?"
"To be honest, I could be better," Mikasa sighed, remembering how things had been as of late. She then glanced around the room and asked, "do you have any idea what we're even doing here?"
They were in some sort of garage-like room with while where scientists worked all over the place. On the right side of the room, some scientists were working on bikes while others spent time on different pieces of machinery and on the left side, other scientists spent time in front of screens analysing data probably only comprehendible themselves.
"Oh, apparently Special Ops Squads have been stationed here," Irene explained.
"But aren't the researchers already here?"
"That's exactly what I asked but da—Commander Erwin said we ought to help them out," Irene continued, "says they could use the extra muscle."
"Extra muscle?" Mikasa asked, to which the blonde shrugged in response.
"Hey guys."
"Hey Doug," Irene responded while Mikasa waved.
"Whoa Doug, you look terrible," Irene pointed out when the boy got close enough.
"I don't think I look that bad," he said as he looked at himself and then looked over at Mikasa, "Do I?"
Irene pointed that out for a reason. He did look terrible. His hair was messier than usual, his eyes were bloodshot, his stance was awfully groggy and his uniform looked like it was put on him by a three-year-old. He didn't just look terrible, he looked outright exhausted.
"Didn't get much sleep, did you?" Mikasa asked, experience already helping her identify the problem.
"Nah," he shook his head with a yawn, "I didn't get any sleep at all."
"Doug, you knew that we got back on duty today and you never even got any sleep?" Irene asked, "do you have any idea what the Captain's going to do when he sees you?"
"Relax, Irene. I'll be fine," he assured her, "I doubt the Captain will even notice me."
Before Irene could respond to him, shouting could be heard from across the room, forcing the three scouts to face in the direction it came.
"Moblit!" Hange shouted for the man as she held onto Junior's shirt collar, "You are not going to believe it! There's another intelligent titan out on the loose!"
"That's great, Section Commander, but there's no need for you to choke him," Moblit scolded from his position next to the computers.
"The guys have to hear about this. Come on," Hange said before dragging Junior by his collar into the next room.
"I think I can walk on my own," Junior responded as the woman dragged him away.
That must be where the commander is.
"Excuse me," Mikasa said to her squad-mates before walking after the pair that had just left the room.
Mikasa followed the two into another room. This one looked less like a lab/Garage and actually looked more like a large office with a wooden floor that was mostly covered large maroon rag with a large diamond on the centre.
"Are you sure it can't wait Hange?" she heard Erwin ask as she continued to enter the room, "I'm rather preoccupied right now."
On the centre of the rag was a large table with a sort of glass surface that reflected the light entering the room from the windows. To the right of the table was a large bookshelf and to its left were diagrams on the wall. Beyond the table was a Desk that seemed to have a computer and other desk basics on it and behind the desk was a large window.
Erwin had somehow already created a proper workspace despite being off duty the entire week.
She looked in front of her and saw Hange and Junior standing with Erwin and Pixis at the table.
"Of course it can't wait," Hange responded, "Junior over here has some great news."
"Really?" Erwin asked before looking down at Junior, "what is it, Ackerman?"
"…Uh…sure," Junior gulped before speaking.
Normally, talking to Erwin wasn't something that made her nervous or uncomfortable. She would easily converse with him whenever given the opportunity but something about these types of occasions tended to change things. For some reason, Commander Erwin seemed to intimidate her a little more than regular Erwin. But that wasn't the point. She came to ask for his permission, not evaluate her relationship with him.
Mikasa sighed before deciding to walk towards the group and salute when she was a metre away from them, "Commander Erwin."
"Mrs Ackerman?" Erwin responded as everyone turned to look at her.
Mikasa silently exhaled before speaking, "sorry for interrupting you."
"No problem. At ease, soldier," he said before Mikasa changed to stand at parade rest, "how can I help you?"
"I came to make a request to be excused from regular duty today."
"Excused from regular duty?" Erwin quirked his eyebrow, "but you had time off up until just yesterday."
"Yes, sir, but I'm asking for this time not for leisure purposes," Mikasa responded.
"Then why is it that you request exclusion from today's activities?"
"I want to carry out a personal investigation on a missing person."
"Missing person?" Erwin asked, "You're referring to the missing child of Jean Kirschtein, correct?"
"Yes, sir."
"You are aware that Garrison soldiers are already carrying out an investigation, I presume?" Pixis was the next one to ask.
"Yes I am and no offence, but I highly doubt the Garrisons are capable of finding him any time soon," Mikasa responded, keeping her voice monotonous.
"And you would, if given an opportunity?" he asked, looking down at the woman curiously.
"I'm confident I can," Mikasa nodded, "If I don't manage to locate him today, then I would have enough information to find him early tomorrow."
Mikasa stood silently under Pixis' tired but scrutinising eyes. she kept her face impassive to avoid expressing any emotions that show anything but confidence as she made eye contact. From her experience in the army, she had learnt how to interact with several higher-ups including commanders and showing doubt wouldn't do her any good if she wanted approval.
"Hmm… interesting," Pixis nodded before smiling, "well soldier, I'm impressed by your confidence and I'm more than interested in finding out the outcome of your investigation," he said before looking at Erwin, "what do you think, Erwin?"
"I don't see any problem with that," Erwin responded, "though, you have acquired permission from your captain, correct?"
"I've got no problem with that," Levi responded before Mikasa could. When she turned to face him he was standing by a window with Miche, who was staring out of it.
Erwin then nodded, "well then Mrs. Ackerman, you're free to-"
"Hold on, Erwin I'm not done," Levi cut him off.
"Go on, then."
"She can go, but not alone," he added in, "and not with just anyone."
What the…?
"Who do you have in mind, Captain?" Erwin asked.
"Leonhart."
Oh you've gotta be kidding me!
"Captain?" the woman responded from her position next to the bookshelf.
She's already here?
"You'll be assisting Ackerman on her little investigation," Levi explained.
Mikasa found herself locking eyes with Annie. She and the woman had had a rocky introduction when training first began and none of that changed throughout their training course so they mostly avoided engaging each other at all costs. When they were put on the same squad, they rarely spoke and only did when it was completely necessary. When she came to think of it, Annie was the only other adult on the squad—not counting their captain—and she rarely ever spoke to her despite her being the only other person she could actually relate with, considering the fact that the other squad members were teenagers.
She was having a hard time understanding why on earth Levi would pair her up with her and having an even harder time understanding what she was doing in Erwin's office in the first place.
"…Captain, I don't see the need for any assistance," Mikasa suggested, "I'll manage on my own."
"I won't deny that you'll manage to locate the kid on your own," he responded, "that little boy is probably starving, cold and dirty for all we know. So the sooner you find him, the better. I'm assigning Leonhart to work with you not because I don't think you can do it, but because I want you to do it faster."
Levi had a point. Despite their differences, the two of them knew how to get the job done whenever they were paired to do something and no one could deny that. Even during training exercises, when a team of Mikasa and Annie was set, the other teams would compete for second position.
One thing that did leave Mikasa wondering was the fact that Annie graduated in seventh position when she was clearly the only one that could compete with her for first. Though, when she thought about it, Annie, though subtle, was an even bigger slacker than the likes of Jean and Junior. Away from all of that, Pierre's current condition was unknown and she knew the boy needed to be found as soon as possible, both for the sake of his safety and Jean's sanity.
"It's good you've understood," she heard Levi answer.
"Well then, Mrs. Ackerman and Miss Leonhart," Erwin spoke, "you're free to go."
"Thank you," she nodded in unison with Annie before making her way her way towards the door, Annie trailing right behind her.
She didn't know why she got so interested in finding Pierre that she offered to do a personal investigation but one thing for sure was that she was going to find that boy and reunite him with his father.
Two motorbikes came to a halt at the parking lot of Rose Park. As usual, there were numerous people moving up and about, going about their own business.
Mikasa stepped off her bike and began to make her way towards the entrance of the park, Annie tailing her quietly.
When she finally got to a point where majority of the park was visible, she stopped and let her eyes survey the area. If she was going to get information about Pierre in the park, she needed to ask people that were park regulars as they would have stood a better chance at having noticed the boy walk around.
But then, most of the people that were there on a weekday were probably park regulars and she would end up wasting time asking a large number of people that never even had a reason to keep their eyes peeled for any random kid walking around. She needed to ask someone that would most likely have caught a glimpse of the boy.
"when we got there, we played tag a little bit before Jean told him to play with the other kids on the playground."
Mikasa's eyes immediately landed on the playground where a lot of children ran up and down. Her attention immediately shifted to the hot-dog cart that was only a few metres away from the playground's entrance. Her best bet would be to ask the guy manning the cart.
Without so much as a warning, Mikasa was already walking towards the cart, Annie still silently tailing her a few feet behind.
"Hello there, ladies," the vendor flashed them a smile as they approached his cart, "nice weather we're having ain't it?"
"Good morning sir," Mikasa greeted when she came to a stop in front of him, "the weather is rather cold for my liking if you ask me."
"Well that's just cause, the Winter's approaching," the man responded before quirking his eyebrow, "the folks round here hate it when it gets cold. As for me, winter's like a breath of fresh air."
"Though, aren't you concerned that you'll have less customers around here when it gets too cold?" Mikasa asked.
"That's why my dogs're going at half-price right now. And believe it or not, they're selling faster than my uncle Tim can finish a tray of eggs," he chuckled before looking back at his stand, "now what can good old uncle Farlan get you two purdy ladies?"
"Actually, we didn't come here to buy anything," Mikasa explained.
"Well I'll be. I hope ya'll aren't holding back because of some crazy diet because ya'll look perfect," he said in disbelief.
"No, Mr…Farlan, it's nothing of the sort," Mikasa assured him, "we're actually here to ask you something."
"Ask me something?" Farlan asked as he looked around, "ya'll aren't with one of those surprise TV shows, are ya? How much is on the line if I answer correctly?"
"Listen Mr. Farlan, we're on a tight schedule here so we don't have any time to waste," Annie started in her usual bland tone, "so if you don't mind, let her ask the question."
"Well I'll be. She can talk," Farlan said in an amused tone before shaking his head and looking back at Mikasa, "alright ma'am, how can I help you?"
"You're welcome," Mikasa heard Annie mutter from behind her. She was actually debating on whether or not she would thank her squad-mate but the blonde saved her the energy. She then returned her focus to the vendor.
"Mr. Farlan, have you by any chance seen a little boy around here?" Mikasa started, remembering how the little boy looked, "he has some type of brown hair, really small and looks to be about three years old."
"Hmmm… well, I see a lot of little kids daily so I don't think I can remember seeing that one in specific," Farlan said as he rested his hands on his hips.
Well that was a waste of
"Although…" Farlan continued, bringing his hand to cup his chin, "I remember seeing a kid here two days ago. I can't remember exactly how the kid looked but I reckon he was on his own, judging by how uneasy he looked.
"If you knew he was on his own, why didn't you bother to help him out?" Mikasa asked, getting surprised by the locals of Fort Rose.
"I dunno, I just thought he was with his folks," Farlan shrugged, much like the person from Marco's story.
"…okay then," Mikasa decided against criticising his decision. She, instead, opted to ask another question, "Mr. Farlan, do you have any idea where the boy could've gone?"
"Well, I saw the boy leave the park through those gates," the man said, pointing at a pair of gates that lead to a busy road, "yeah, he left through those gates."
Mikasa's eyes widened at the thought of a toddler walking around unsupervised on a busy road. At this point she could only hope that the boy was still alive and hadn't been run over by some driver because she was starting to believe Fort Rose's people didn't care much about what wasn't theirs.
"Thank you Mr. Farlan," Mikasa nodded before stepping back, "we have to go now."
"You're more than welcome ladies," Farlan smiled at them, "if it'll be of any help, I think you should check the candy store that's not too far from this here park. The kids love going there."
"Thank you Mr. Farlan," Mikasa nodded, once again, "we will definitely check on that. Have a good day," she said before turning around to face Annie, "come on, the sooner we get moving, the better."
"Have a good day too, ladies," Farlan called as the women walked away.
After one attempt at questioning they had found a lead, which was of great relief to Mikasa. She wanted to find Pierre as soon as possible, not only because she really wanted to reunite him with his father, but because she somehow liked the fact that Pixis had somewhat challenged her to beat his Garrisons. She had acknowledged this because her competitive self somewhat got excited at the thought of a challenge.
"Finally giving me orders, are you?" Annie asked from her position behind Mikasa.
"Well, I am second in command," Mikasa responded, not bothering to look back at Annie.
"Of course," Annie started, "the captain's wife is second in command of the squad. Ah well, Life, these days, has become rather difficult. I shouldn't even be surprised by the fact that the only ways to move forward is through advantages."
Mikasa rolled her eyes at the implications the blonde woman was gave her. She was aware of the controversy that went around as soon as she was picked for Levi's Squad and she had just ignored it. She never really paid attention to whatever was said and just kept to her own business about it. That was exactly how she was going to respond to this situation as she had no time to get worked up about that when there was a child out there on his own.
"So that kid," Annie started, this time sounding less sarcastic, "you said he was only three?"
"Yes," Mikasa nodded in response to the blonde.
"Humph," Annie sighed before continuing, "it's sad, how merciless life can be at times. Even toddlers aren't safe from the misfortunes it tends to throw at people. Being alone in an unfamiliar place where people don't seem to care so much about others must be hard on the kid."
"To think life would have the decency to wait until he was older to put him through something like this. Instead, it decided to separate a helpless toddler from his family and leave him the mercy of thousands of different people, regardless of their intentions for him. Oh well, it is what it is."
In the midst of Annie's surprisingly vocal moment, Mikasa had found herself thinking of her own children. All of them so young and at the mercy of whoever was put to look after them. Her mind then drifted back to her conversation with Levi earlier that morning. She was starting realise even more that there was still a possibility of harm coming to her kids regardless of whether or not Levi and her were there to protect them. Her own mother tried to protect her when those burglars attacked but the woman still ended up a corpse alongside her father.
She couldn't bear to imagine herself and Levi lying lifelessly while their kids were left to fend for themselves with little to no means of doing so. Perhaps she did need to stop worrying too much about their kids being in danger and instead worry about whether or not their kids would be able to get themselves out of it.
You were right Levi. We can't just sit back and rely on ourselves to do everything for them.
"Are you going to keep on staring at your bike like that or what?" Annie asked, snapping Mikasa out of her thoughts.
"Come on. Let's get to that store," Mikasa said before she hopped onto her bike and turned on her engine.
"You're talking about the kid that was on the news right?"
"Yes," Mikasa nodded, "is it possible that you could've seen him around here?"
"No, I didn't see him," the clerk in a nonchalant tone, keeping her eyes on her phone the entire time.
"Does no one in this city care about non-personal matters?" Mikasa asked, rather surprised by the demeanour of the clerk.
"That's what it looks like to me," Annie responded, taking a bite out of a chocolate bar, "don't look at me like that. Just because you don't want to enjoy yourself doesn't mean I don't, either."
"Sorry ma'am, but if it helps, I don't think the kid could've gone very far," the girl said after finally putting her phone away, "he is just three after all. I don't think he has the energy to walk across town."
That wasn't assuring at all, but it wasn't like the girl was supposed know where he was. it was just Mr. Farlan's advice to check the store out. Well, she still had a kid to look for and standing in a candy store wasn't exactly going to make finding Pierre easier.
"Thank you… Melissa," Mikasa said before stepping away from the counter. She then turned away from the counter and started to walk towards the door.
"Glad I could help," she heard Melissa call as she stepped out of the store.
"So what next?" Annie asked as she closed the door.
"To be honest, I hoped we'd be able to get information from the locals but unfortunately. The people around here could care less."
"Hang in there, the day's still young."
Mikasa rolled her eyes at the obvious sarcasm and decided to look around and maybe—just maybe—she would identify a potential lead.
"Well would you look at that," Mikasa heard an unfamiliar female voice start, "scouts."
"Hey Mikasa," a more familiar voice called out and Mikasa followed the direction of the voice and immediately, her eyes landed on Petra, next to another woman.
"Petra," Mikasa responded when the ginger stopped in front of her.
"I never expected running into you around town, especially since you guys are back on duty," Petra said.
"Yeah, I thought you scouts were supposed to be fighting titans or something," the woman criticised before glancing at Annie, "not stuffing your faces with candy."
Mikasa couldn't tell exactly what it was about that woman that reminded her of someone she knew, but she just couldn't pin point it. She could, however tell that this woman could definitely be a pain in the raw flesh when she wanted to be.
"Oh right. You weren't there so you haven't met," Petra realised when she noticed Mikasa staring at the woman, "Mikasa, this is Team Leader, Rico Brzenska. We do patrols together."
"Rico, this is Special Ops Squad Member, Mikasa Ackerman. You didn't meet her last time because she wasn't at the meeting," Petra explained.
"Pleasure to meet you," Rico said, holding out her hand to the half-Asian, offering her a stare. The woman's eyes then seemed to linger on Annie for a moment, "Oh look, it's the pissed off looking one."
"Pleasure's all mine," Mikasa responded when she took Rico's hand in hers, equally returning the stare.
"Mikasa, we need to get going, don't you think?" Annie asked, after the women separated.
"Yeah, I think we should," Mikasa responded, acknowledging the fact that Annie would much rather be somewhere else than in the same area as Rico. However, as soon as she was about to tell Petra that she had to go, Mikasa gained an idea, "Petra, what do you know about the missing child, Pierre Kirschtein?" if they were going to have some good leads, Garrisons would be their best bet considering the fact that they were the ones investigating in the first place.
"Oh yes, Pierre Kirschtein. There's currently an investigation being carried out, right Rico?" Petra asked as she looked at her companion.
"An investigation being carried out by the worst possible people," Rico responded before looking back at the scouts, "let me guess, you've decided to carry out your own investigation because you've realised how pointless it is to train for a battle you can't possibly win and desperately need something to keep you busy?"
"Well, if you are carrying out your own investigation then…" Petra started before glancing around until her eyes landed in a particular direction. She then stepped forward until she was right next to Mikasa and then pointed beyond her, "do you see that tall building?"
Mikasa followed Petra's hand and eventually her eyes landed on what appeared to be an extremely tall building not too far from where their location, "I see it."
"If you want a good place to look, it should be around that area," Petra explained, "this entire area has already been investigated so you'd be wasting your time around here."
For once, Mikasa could actually appreciate Petra's sudden appearance. She had actually given them a huge lead on Pierre's possible location.
"…Thanks Petra."
"You're more than welcome," Petra offered her a smile before continuing, "and if you don't find anything there, then be sure to check out the areas beyond that point as well. Majority of that part of town hasn't been investigated."
"Will do," Mikasa nodded before offering a smile of her own to the woman. Perhaps she wasn't just good at being a potential homewrecker. Oh who was she kidding? Petra's actually a well-seasoned soldier qualified for Veteran status and there was no way she could forget the fact that Petra had been in the Paradis' Army much longer than herself. If anything, she should have even been saluting her.
Heh, nope.
"Oh well, Rico and I have to go," Petra said after looking at the platinum blonde and then back at Mikasa, "we'll see you around then."
"Sure," Mikasa said as the women walked passed her. She then turned back to Annie, who had been quietly leaning against the wall with her hands in her pockets, "We should get going."
"Of course," Annie nodded before stepping away from the wall and started following Mikasa to their bikes.
"This area looks rather sketchy; don't you think?" Mikasa said as she looked around the area, slowly walking. It appeared to be the sort of place criminals thrived in in movies. A lot of vandalised property, poorly maintained buildings and an overall filthy area. However, the area was still functional as people still walked up and down the streets and most shops appeared open.
"That's probably why it hasn't been investigated first," Annie responded, keeping her usual distance from Mikasa as she slowly walked after her.
"That doesn't make sense," Mikasa responded as she still scanned the area, hoping something in the area would stick out to her "wouldn't the first place to be investigated be the most obvious one? I mean, not that I'm profiling or anything, but wouldn't the people that live here most likely be willing to commit something like kidnapping to earn money through ransom."
"When you think about the kind of people the Garrisons are, them leaving a place like this alone isn't exactly something that doesn't make sense," Annie responded.
"You have a point," Mikasa responded, getting Annie's point. She was right, the Garrisons didn't seem to take their jobs seriously enough to even be willing to risk their own safety. She actually remembered hearing Hange complain about them laughing during that meeting. She didn't get it, their commander seemed like a well-seasoned leader so how could they be so… useless?
"Oi, ladies!"
Both women followed the direction of the voice and their eyes landed on a man seated at a table outside a cafe.
"Care for a drink?" they heard him ask.
The women both shared a look with one another before finally deciding to cross the street and walk up to the man.
"Please, ladies," the man smiled, revealing his unnaturally white teeth, as he patted the other chairs at the table. "Have a seat."
Once again, the women shared a look before slowly sitting at the table. Mikasa didn't understand why she was sitting at a table with some random stranger, but something was telling her he looked like a person who was capable of kidnapping the poor boy.
"What would you like me to get you?" he asked, ogling at the women like they were prizes and he had just hit some jackpot.
Yup, definitely a rapist.
"I'll have a coffee," Mikasa said, trying to avoid revealing to the—obviously going to spike the drinks looking—man that she already suspected him of his intentions.
"Same for me," Annie responded from beside her, having probably caught on to Mikasa's idea.
"Excellent," the man literally beamed before getting up, "just let me go order some for us." With that, the man rushed into the store.
"Mind telling me why we're having coffee with a potential kidnapper?"
"Exactly," Mikasa responded, turning to face her.
"I get your point," Annie responded, acknowledging Mikasa's reasoning.
A few minutes later, the café's doors opened and the man stepped out without the coffee, "hey ladies, I forgot that there's actually a lot of flavours in here. I was gonna pick out random ones but I figured it would be best if you ladies came in and picked one for yourselves because…allergies."
The hell does he take us for, kids?
"Uh, sure, just give us a minute," Mikasa responded before the man nodded and re-entered the shop. She then turned to Annie, "why don't we go in and pick some flavours?"
"Because allergies?" Annie quirked her eyebrow.
"I know right?" Mikasa rolled her eyes before standing up and looking back down at her.
"If I'm not mistaken, before all of this, you served in Paradis' Army and later on as a police officer," Annie started, "going through that sort of training must've given you some sort of 'sixth sense to detect danger right?"
"Yes it has," Mikasa nodded, "why do you ask?"
"Just making sure," Annie said before also rising from her seat and following Mikasa into the store.
"The massive food capital, Fort Rose," a man said as he stood atop the walls of Fort Rose, looking down upon the busy city in amazement at how it was still managing to function so well regardless of the current world situation. "Is this where you've been hiding all this time?" he asked no one in particular.
"I don't know how you've managed to last so long despite everything," the man continued, keeping his gaze on the city, "I'm impressed by the fact that you were able to outwit even the best. You must really be one of a kind huh?" the man said before chuckling, "regardless, you stand no chance at outwitting me the same way you did those failures."
"I'll deal with them later," he shook his head before taking a step closer to the edge, "right now, my main concern is you," he said, "initially, I was just going to have to go in there myself and pull you out, but I don't exactly know who you are as that fool never bothered to show me any photos of you and I don't have time to start playing the guessing game. Therefore, I think the best way to get you is to lure you out."
"War chief."
"What is it?" the man asked, not turning away from the city.
"All the bars in southern Fort Rose received the shipment last night."
"Excellent. Things are going according to plan."
"Is there anything else I can do for you?"
"No," the man shook his head, "I think it's time we get to work."
"You'll pay for this, you… bitch!" the man choked before Mikasa kicked his head, rendering him unconscious. Mikasa didn't know why but she had a sudden feeling of relief flow through her.
They had stepped into the store and as expected, they weren't met with the opportunity to choose from the different flavours of coffee. Instead, all they found was a group of men waiting for them to enter the room. All it took was a Mikasa and Annie tag team and all of them were lying around unconscious.
"At this point, all I can think is that you just felt like beating people up," Annie commented from behind her.
Mikasa turned to face the blonde, "Not exactly, but with what I've been through these past few days, I'm actually relieved to have been able to blow off some steam," she explained, "plus, imagining every guy here as that Rico chick really adds on the good feeling."
"Hmph, I can't help but second that," Annie responded before she gave a small smile—an actual smile.
"I'm glad to see we're on the same page," Mikasa returned the smile.
This was something Mikasa had never imagined herself doing. Actually getting along with Annie and even smiling at her. She had to admit that it actually felt good to be at peace with her for once and she wouldn't mind if things could be a little more like this regularly. Wait, did that mean they were starting to warm up to each other? Well that would be good for the squad naturally…which was probably the reason…
Levi, you, conniving bastard.
Mikasa shook her head in amusement. Of course Levi had done this on purpose. She had to give him Kudos though, his plan totally worked and here she was smiling at Annie. Annie of all people. Oh well, they still had a case to solve, "hey Annie, now that we…"
Mikasa stopped when a loud rumbling could be heard. It instantly sent shivers down her spine as she was unable to identify what on earth it could possibly be. The more the rumbling went on, the less it sounded like a rumble and the more it sounded like some sort of… roar.
Before either of them could say anything, bright yellow lights started flashing from the outside of the building at fast rates and actual rumbles accompanied by numerous roars could he heard from the outside.
Immediately the flashing stopped, a lone flash was observed before another roar was heard.
"That idiot…"
Mikasa didn't respond when she heard Annie whisper those words. Instead, she was more interested in finding out what exactly was going on and whether or not her family was safe. She then shared a look with the equally terrified looking Annie and nodded.
"Let's Go!"
Hey guys. Thank you soooooo much for reading this chapter. Your support means so much to me and I'd love to hear your thoughts on Mikasa and Annie's little adventure and I hope you enjoyed the 104th moment I put in at the beginning. Man, this was a lot of work for me and I'm glad I'm done.
Now, before I go any further, I'd like to mention that I'm a person that has only gone as far as the anime has gone so all the research I did on some of the other characters was quite minimal to avoid spoilers because I'm waiting for season 4 to come out. Because of this, I apologize to all the manga readers if at all certain things like Marley and some of the information regarding it or some of the other characters isn't exactly accurate so please bear with me and hang on.
Away from all of that, I'd also like to apologize in advance for future late updates as like usual, I'm pretty preoccupied with other activities and hence I posted a triple update to make up for the wait. So all I can say is expect updates whenever I can post them. I'm really sorry for the inconvenience I may be causing but I'm afraid that's how it's going to be. So I hope you've enjoyed these passed three chapters because I feel they introduce a new part of the story and I definitely want you guys to be there for this.
Oh well, I think I've said more than usual huh. So I guess I'll see you the next time I update.
Bye!