"Oi, what was that for?" Commander Hanji exclaimed from the floor, rubbing her right butt cheek.
Eren sighed. "You know how the Captain feels about his height, Hanji-san."
The Captain's glare turned to the Titan shifter at the mention of the sensitive topic. "Are you looking for another beating, Eren?"
Jean slammed his forehead by the window. "Idiot."
"Tomorrow the new recruits from the 106th Cadet Corp are arriving." Hanji announced in their evening meeting. Levi took the liberty to pour them all a cup of tea. "I will be assigning you all team leader and instructor roles."
The remaining 104th soldiers stared at her in shock.
"Commander Hanji-" Armin started.
"I will not take no as an answer." She said seriously. "You have all proven your worth and your experience is needed."
"We are the only capable ones left." Levi added, reminding them all their comrades perished in the battle at Shiganshina. "We need to rebuild the Survey Corp and all of you are essential to carry out this role."
"It's essentially a promotion!" Hanji grinned. "Armin, you will be our new instructor for strategy and my right-hand for all exploration plans."
Said new instructor was sitting with his mouth open like a gaping fish.
Hanji continued on. "Connie, you will be leading ODM training and equipment management."
"Huh?" The young man stuttered, then looked at Jean. "But wouldn't Jean be more suited for the ODM training?"
"I was going to get to that: Jean will be assisting you on the ODM and equipment, but he will lead horse training."
"Hah?" Jean shouted.
"Sasha, your hunting skills will be useful for rifle and survival training."
She saluted silently from behind a loaf of bread.
"Eren, we have duties with Historia in the capital. But when you're here, you will lead the hand-to-hand combat and physical training."
"Mikasa, you will assist or lead depending when Eren is here. And you will lead the combat aspect of ODM and weapons training." Hanji finished assigning the roles. "Levi will be supervising. Some Garrison members will be transferring as well to help with logistics and increase our numbers- I will handle those."
"Also, Mikasa, please do the orientation for the new recruits." The Commander concluded their evening meeting.
"Copy that." Mikasa noted it in her notebook.
"Hanji-san, are you sure you want Connie to lead ODM training?" Jean mentioned as he and Connie shared a concerned look.
Eren couldn't help but snicker. "How fitting that Jean is in charge of horse training."
"Wanna say that again?" Jean threatened as Connie raised his hands to ease him.
"Connie has the expertise and he'll lighten up the atmosphere." Hanji addressed Jean. "And you will be there to assist, you will be fine."
Armin smiled as he collected his papers and added. "You do have an affinity with horses, like Captain Ness."
"And you have an affinity with strategy." Hanji grinned at the blonde boy.
"You sure you aren't Erwin's kid?" Levi added seriously. The kid uncannily inherited Erwin's genius. Maybe he wasn't his kid, but maybe Erwin's soul had reincarnated into him.
Armin blushed. "Of course, I can never compare to the brilliant intellect of Commander Erwin… Hanji-san, can you proofread my lecture notes before-"
"Nope!" She chirped. "I trust your judgment."
"Y-yes."
"Oh, I almost forgot, I have chosen two new squad captains: Mikasa and Jean."
"Hah?!"
In a freshly laundered green cloak and her hair tied up, twenty fresh recruits were lined up in front of her.
With a salute, she introduced herself. "Hello, I'm Mikasa Ackerman. You may address me as Captain Mikasa. I'll keep this brief."
"Here are your schedules." She handed them each a small packet. "Use the rest of the day to prepare your gear, settle in, and get familiar. You can expect similar routines as within the Cadet Corp, however, more rigorous. Warm ups start tomorrow morning so please get plenty of rest. Our routine expedition outside the walls will be in two weeks. Any questions?"
"Will we be getting our own horses?" A young man asked with a raised hand.
"Yes." Mikasa nodded. "Captain Jean will assign you your horses tomorrow. They are your comrade and friend. Please treat them as such and with care."
"When will we be getting our uniforms?"
"Ah." She was about to respond with another 'tomorrow,' but paused when she saw Captain Levi turning the corner with a stack of green cloaks in his arms.
"Captain." She went to him and grabbed half of the cloaks. "Here are your uniforms." They each gave the recruit a cloak. "Wear it with pride. If you have no further questions, you are dismissed."
As the recruits filed out, murmuring as they went, a single female soldier stayed behind, silently smiling at her.
It didn't take long for Mikasa to recognize her.
"It's you." She stared at the amber eyes and short, blond hair. "You're the young girl." She remembers slaying the titan in Trost, buying time for the civilians to evacuate. She looks at her chart. "Louise."
"Yes." The girl gave a salute, one that mirrored Mikasa's own salute all those years ago when she saved her. "I look forward to your instruction, Captain Mikasa."
"Yeah…" She replied and watched the young girl follow the rest of the recruits.
Levi stood at the side as he watched each new recruit. Ever since the coup d'etat and the truth of their world released, the Survey Corp surprisingly gained more willing bodies, albeit more young ones who were no doubt fighting for freedom.
He narrowed his eyes at the group of boys that looked at Mikasa with shining eyes.
"That's her!" One of them whispered. "The woman worth a hundred soldiers!"
"She's probably worth more now- probably an entire brigade!"
"Graduated top of the class. Shadis said she's a genius, top marks on everything."
"Slayed more titans than anyone in the 104th."
"Said she's second to Captain Levi."
"She's so pretty too…"
"They must be crazy strong to survive the battle at Shiganshina…"
The murmurs died out and the Captain turned to watch the young woman, who seemed fixated on her clipboard.
"You have a few admirers." He noted.
She paused but kept her eyes down. "Captain, I'm rather impartial to their admiration."
He couldn't help the small smile. "You and me both. They admire us because we're strong. We give them hope."
She picked up the sacks of cornmeal with ease, intending to bring it to the kitchens to help the Garrison members. "Do you think our strength is because of our Ackerman blood?"
"I don't know. Could be." He easily picked up the sacks as well. "But does it matter?"
"I suppose not. It was just a thought."
"Did you guys notice?" Eren said, curiously watching across the mess hall. "Mikasa and Captain Levi." The two people were carrying two heavy looking sacks. "It feels like they've gotten closer."
"Why? Jealous?" Jean teased behind his bowl of soup.
"No." He scowled slightly. "I'm actually glad that she's opening up to other people." He watched her again. "And I think her grudge against the Captain is gone."
"They've always been close." Armin responded. "I think the Captain sees himself in Mikasa. He's always patient with her, tells her to calm down. They're usually the ones who lead the charge."
"Now that I think about it, Mikasa is the only one the Captain actually tolerates talking to." Connie said.
"That could be because she doesn't talk much in the first place." Eren replied. "She usually gets straight to the point like the Captain."
"It could be an Ackerman trait." Sasha exclaimed. "Birds of a feather flock together."
"Huh." Armin pondered. "You may be right, Sasha."