Mikasa cringed in surprise as a loud sound echoed around the forest.
"What was that?" Floch cried out as he ran over to her.
The corps had an extraordinary mission planned for that day. A simple capture the flag operation, designed to polish the reconnaissance and orientation skills seemed like a standard, recurring event that took place during training.
Yet, that sound the two young recruits just heard seemed like an explosion. They weren't informed of anything like this and Mikasa had a bad feeling about it.
"Sounded like an explosion to me" the dark-haired girl said to her companion.
Floch didn't seem to be eager to share her view on that.
"You sure?" He asked with a raised eyebrow "there are some small mountains nearby. Maybe it was an avalanche?"
The female shook her head at that.
"I've worked at an industrial company" she spoke slowly "during that time, we were experimenting with some explosives, trying to invent a new fuel for the automatic plough."
Mikasa turned to look the redhead in the eyes.
"Trust me" she said simply "it was an explosion."
Floch took a deep breath and closed his eyes. The boy believed her about the kidnapping of Eren, but he would still often laugh her ideas off, whenever she spoke of the government's involvement.
"If you say so" the redhead expressed "but why would they cause an explosion in the middle of the forest? Don't they know we are training here?"
It really did sound unlikely. Some bandits wouldn't just blow up their hiding place out of the blue. If it was in fact some company, trying to test explosives, they would be denied access into the forest, since it belonged to the government.
The government… Every time something shady happened within the walls, Mikasa would be more than happy to place the fault on them, especially the secret manipulator. The new queen seemed like the real deal and so, as of right now she was the main suspect. Yet, there were some uncovered pieces of this puzzle that Miksasa couldn't really grasp upon. Eren's father, Grisha Yeager disappeared along with him. He was a well-known physician, even amongst the people of the interior. If the memory of him had vanished as well, then that meant he was somehow connected to this.
"Regardless of who it might be" she started after a moment of silence "we need to check it out. Maybe they need help…"
It was only reasonable for Floch to nod at that. Even though they would receive lower marks if they finished their mission later, a loud sound of explosion in the middle of the woods was extremely concerning.
As they made their way through the forest, Mikasa started to notice weird things. Squirrels on trees were hiding in their nests. Wild boars were running away in fear. It didn't take long for them to see birds flying away in flocks from where the two recruits were heading towards.
"They must've been startled by the sound…" Floch concluded as he looked into the sky.
If only they had their functioning vertical maneuvering gear. It wouldn't take them too long to get to the source of the unusual phenomenon.
Suddenly, something fell to the ground right in front of them.
"What in the…" the redhead exclaimed as they slowly approached it.
A small bird was lying on the grass, upside down, with no signs of life.
"Is it…?" Mikasa asked as Floch leaned down to check on the animal.
"It certainly does look like it" the boy replied, taking the small bird into his hands "but it couldn't have just died in mid-air. Maybe it's stunned…"
"Ya two wandered into the restricted area…"
All of a sudden, a person jumped down to the ground, right behind them.
As the two recruits turned around in shock, they could see a tall, older man with a small, neglected beard, wearing a top hat. Upon closer inspection, Mikasa noticed that he was wearing a set of a vertical maneuvering equipment.
"Names n' ranks!" The man ordered as he took out his gun.
It was only then that the dark-haired female noticed that he was wearing symbols of the military police first squad.
"Trainee Floch Forster of the 104th!" The redhead exclaimed, trying to hide his fear.
"Trainee Mikasa Ackerman of the 104th" the girl spoke with an expressionless face.
She wouldn't show any fear in front of a person who was closely associated with the government.
For a single moment, the older man looked at her with surprise, but then, as if noticing his mistake, he closed his eyes.
"Alright!" He spoke as he put his gun back into his pocket "now, the two of you go back to your camp!"
"What?" Mikasa exclaimed with a grimace "but we're in training right now…"
"Listen, missy" the MP expressed "the first squad is testing a brand-new weapon in this forest and if your dumb command decided to have some training here, today, it's their fault…"
The first squad was testing a new weapon without notice. Why did it all sound so convenient? What were the interiors doing here, of all places?
"We're deeply sorry" Floch suddenly spoke, grabbing her hand "we'll do as you say. But what are we supposed to tell our examiners?"
"Ain't no problem of mine" the man responded, before turning around "now, get away, or you'll be sorry you've come across me…"
It all seemed beyond suspicious to the dark-haired girl. If there was a group of people, she needed to get some real information on, in order to find Eren, it was the interior first squad. So, in her desperation, she decided to give it a shot.
"Excuse me" the girl spoke, right before the man launched his gear "what's your name?"
This question seemed to make the man freeze in his spot. For a solid moment, she thought she had made a mistake, but as the man turned around to look at her one final time, Mikasa felt another weird feeling.
"Kenny" he spoke in a strange way "just Kenny…"
And then, he pulled the trigger to his anchor launcher and flied away.
"What was that about?" Floch suddenly asked, bringing her out of her stupor "do you know him or something?"
Did she know that man? Mikasa couldn't recall meeting someone even remotely similar to him. There was some weird feeling he left her with, however. A sense of familiarity…
"No" the girl replied simply "let's go…"
The two of them didn't finish their mission. The flag they were supposed to capture wasn't that far, but the pair didn't really want to risk a second encounter with the MPs.
Once they made their way into the camp, their reservations had been resolved. It turned out that the command really made a mistake when planning the mission and they didn't ask the government if they weren't conducting any secret operations within the very same forest.
"See" Floch laughed at her, after all recruits were debriefed about this "nothing strange. Just a miscommunication…"
"Oh, I don't know" Mikasa replied "why would the interior first squad conduct a test within the exterior?"
"You and your conspiracies…" the redhead said, waving his hand.
Suddenly, they heard sounds of chirping. As the two of them looked down, they saw that something was trying to escape Floch's bag.
When the boy opened it, a small bird flied out and chirped happily. It was the same bird that they've encountered within the forest.
"It's…" Mikasa stuttered "it's not dead…"
"Yeah…" the redhead seconded with wide eyes "I took him, because I didn't want to throw him away in the forest, but…"
Now the bird sat on the top of the boy's head. It seemed really comfortable, making a small nest out of his hair.
"Get out!" Floch yelled as he tried to shake off the small animal.
Mikasa didn't know why, but it just all seemed way too funny for her. And so, for the first time in years, she laughed.
This action seemed to have surprised the redhead so much that he stopped trying to get the bird off his head.
"Huh" he simply expressed "so you do laugh after all…"
In response, the girl gave him a mocking smile.
"Oh, I was just laughing at the bird's poor choice of nest materials" she spoke with a grin.
"Very funny…"
Yet, the fun wouldn't last for long. For there had happened something none of them saw coming.
As they have learnt the following day, Annie, Bertholdt and Reiner had gone missing.