"What was that?" Eren suddenly snapped, whipping his head back.
Armin pulled on the reins, making the horse come to a halt.
Levi did the same, his eyes narrowing, listening to the sharp crack of something big explode from the heavens.
"Levi heichou!" Eren suddenly exclaimed, his voice dripping with fear.
Levi glanced back at him, frowning.
"That noise! That was…that was the sound of a shifter!"
Mikasa's eyes widened, her hands slowly finding their way to the two swords at her hips.
And then,
The familiar sound of growling thunder threatened to split the earth.
Eren's pupils dilated, his nails digging into Armin's shoulder.
"Ow, Eren, what-?!" Armin snapped, looking back at his friend.
"T-That's…the sound…of footsteps." Eren said in a hushed voice. "Titan footsteps."
The familiar boom of thunder dug itself into Eren's bones making his heart pound even faster with every second.
"Move!" Levi ordered, hitting his reins.
The horse immediately started to sprint away, slamming its hooves against the dirt floor.
"Who do you think the shifter is?!" Armin cried over the sound of the rushing wind.
Levi stayed quiet, his eyes on the road ahead of him as he gripped the reins.
"Midget," Mikasa whispered.
"Don't call me that."
"You don't think that it's Annie, do you?" she said quietly, her fingers digging into the saddle.
No answer.
"It could be just an ordinary titan." Levi said coldly.
"An ordinary titan wouldn't just suddenly appear right after the sound of lightening." She hissed. "And not only that, the footsteps aren't going away. It's following us."
Levi clicked his tongue as he glanced back at Armin and Eren.
"Put on your hoods. Now." He spat.
He glanced at Mikasa's blank exterior.
"You too. We're going to confuse the shifter. It doesn't know which one of us is Eren yet so might as well pretend to be him."
Mikasa stared at him before nodding slowly.
She really didn't want to listen to him but what choice did she have?
"We're splitting up." Levi growled. "Armin, don't go too far away. Stay close."
"Yes, sir." Armin gulped, leading his horse a bit towards the right.
"Split up?" MIkasa snapped.
"Shut up, brat. I don't need your pathetic bickering."
A roar ripped through the air, interrupting MIkasa's last minute insults.
Eren's eyes widened as he watched that same black haired titan from before crash through the wall of trees, ripping its branches away, its roar ringing in everyone's ears.
Levi narrowed his eyes, forcing his horse to run even faster.
"That's the titan I killed!" Mikasa said sharply.
"You thought you killed." Levi hissed back.
"E-Eren, isn't that-" Armin started.
"Yeah." Eren swallowed, his eyes glued on the screaming beast.
"How is it still alive?!" Armin exclaimed, hitting his reins.
Eren said nothing, his mind going blank and arms going numb.
"M-Maybe…" he started. "It's a shifter."
Armin's pupils dilated at his words.
"Levi heichou must've found out by now." Eren added, glancing at the corporal.
The titan roared another roar as it bounded through the forest, slowly gaining on the soldiers.
"Mikasa," Levi suddenly said, his eyes not leaving the trail.
"What?"
"If it really is a shifter then it's definitely after Eren." He said coldly. "Our mission now is to protect the damn brat, okay?"
Mikasa nodded.
"In that case, let's finish it here and now." He mumbled, slowly reaching for his weapons.
Silence.
Only the flapping of their capes and the rush of the wind sliced through the silence.
Mikasa's blank expression began to chip away as his words sank through her skin. A very, very rare smirk crawled up on her face. Then she nodded slowly,
"Yes, sir."