On the way to Mitras… a day after the events of the last chapter.

Ijichi Mikasa

Age: Unknown

Origin: Imperial Japan (?)

Background: Vice-Admiral Ijichi Mikasa is a self proclaimed military officer from a nation she claims to be in the far east called Nippon - or Japan as was colloquially called. She claims that she can point where that country is if there is a viable map. Mikasa explained her rank of Vice-Admiral stems from the Navy (a military branch that is in charge of Imperial waters).

For her personality: Mikasa is said to be more of a noble than a soldier in comparison. She knows and is willing to exercise standard military etiquette and code. However, she is known to disregard said things from time to time when she deems fit. Mikasa is witnessed to be caring, calm, and cheerful but her other characteristics are left unknown due to her being often reserved. She has a knack for craftsmanship (or so she claims) and as well as tending to children.

She was first discovered when she was witnessed aiding the 10th Scouting Squad at the right flank of the 56th Survey Corps expedition. From the personal account of the 10th's Squad Leader Krin as well as the words of the 4th Communications Squad Leader Ness, Mikasa was said to have aided Corporal Boyd in rescuing Krin from being killed by the Female Titan. After Ness commandeered the 10th and a unit from the 3rd Column after said unit's commander died, Mikasa was once again witnessed being carried by Corporal Boyd to the centre of the Titan Forest. It has been revealed afterwards that Squad Leader Ness gave the order to do so after the Commander of the 3rd Column refused to reveal the true objective of their mission - to stay put whilst keeping titans away from the Forest. Whatever the case may be, Mikasa made herself known to Squad Levi at this time. After the mission, Commander Erwin was introduced to Mikasa and she divulged everything concerning her current situation. With Ness and Krin vouching for the validity of her story.

Nile Dok then looked up towards the other end of the table towards the Commander of the Survey Corps. Whose face is as emotionless as a rock. Nile then looked towards the man to Erwin's right, Levi Ackerman, and noticed he too had the same expression. At Erwin's left was Hanji Zoe, who appeared to be in a foul mood if her muttering and grumbling was to be deciphered. The head of the Military Police then sighed in dismay.

"This is all you've got about her?" Nile said as he threw the paper onto the table without a care in the world.

"Yes, Nile." Erwin replied with a nod. "The Vice-Admiral was adamant in saying nothing but the truth. Her actions have been nothing but earnest in intent at this point. All point to the fact that she intends to aid us in our war against the Titans. Therefore, she is afforded the benefit of the doubt."

"She claims to be from outside the walls, Erwin. As far as I'm concerned, she's nothing but a witch who's done nothing but lie to you through her teeth. She has not told anything other than a name, a rank with no meaning, and a country that for all we know does not exist. And despite all that, you did not keep her under lock and key?" Nile scoffed as he crossed his arms. "She's a threat."

"While your claims could be based on truth, I assure you that Mikasa is telling nothing but the facts. For she has given examples of the technology and the power that her empire can wield." Erwin vaguely said. Nile narrowed his eyes at the fact that Levi minutely perked up at the mention of power. They are hiding things from him…

"And it is so important that you cannot tell me." Nile said in a low tone. But Erwin was resolute. He would not budge not one bit.

"I cannot. What I know and what the Vice-Admiral knows shall only be heard by the ears of the Royal Court and in the presence of his Majesty, the King." Erwin said with such finality that Nile knew that pushing further would result in nothing.

"You should try and ask her yourself." Levi said as he snarkily looked at Nile. "If you really want to know more about her, all you have to do is just stand around her for long enough."

"And what would that do?" Nile asked with a raised brow.

"She'd sing like a bird." Levi said cryptically. Hanji raised her head towards Levi and asked.

"Wait, you've-" Hanji asked excitedly before being shut down with a hand to her face.

"I did not. The brats on the other hand…"

Meanwhile…

"Kimigayo wa

Chiyo ni yachiyo ni

Sazare-ishi no

Iwao to narite

Koke no musu made"

"... and you let this happen?"

"It's to keep morale up."

"You allowed her to brainwash them."

"Surely that's not the case. She's just teaching them about her country."

"That we can't even confirm is real."

Erwin, Nile, and the rest of the top brass present decided to take a look at what their subject matter was doing at the moment. It didn't take a while to find her. The house that they have commandeered as their HQ was not too far off from the river that she had decided to stay at for a while. Nile did not know at all that what he was about to see… is more akin to an outdoor teaching session than anything.

With even his own MP Cadets taking part as students.

Wait… what the hell is the Elite Squad of the Survey Corps also there??

"And that's the song we sing as an anthem. I don't know if it's the same over here. But where I come from, we sing this song to remind ourselves of who we are, who we serve, and what we fight for." Mikasa said as she sat on the wooden stool that was offered to her. The younger ones from the Survey Corps and the Police Brigade all gathered around her as she regaled them with tales from her motherland. She talked about history, music, even arts and crafts. Far away from the military knowledge that she could have imparted.

"Wow! That's so amazing, Lady Mikasa." Armin said as he furiously scribbled notes. "Do you have to sing that all the time as a soldier? I noticed how you more or less remember it by heart, so I figured if you had to sing it a lot." It was important for Armin to note this, because after all this time the anthem was the closest thing the Vice-Admiral had to say concerning the military aspect of her country.

"Yes, that's true!" Mikasa said as she clapped her hands in joy as she beamed at the insight of the young blonde. "It's one of the many military traditions my country practices. It's to symbolise loyalty and service to the Emperor and the Empire. You're quite astute, Armin."

"Th-thank you…" Armin said as he tried to hide his flushed face with his book. Though that blush grew furiously as the boys around him chuckled at the sight of him.

"Lady Mikasa, can I ask something?" Jean asked as he raised his hand.

"What is it, Jean?" Mikasa asked with a tilt.

"How can you tell if someone is Japanese?" Jean tried to ask innocently enough. However, his intentions were made clear once his gaze shifted to the girl sitting beside Eren, who was sitting beside Armin. It was obvious what he wanted to know. However, Mikasa took it in stride and simply took the question at face value.

"Well, we can start with the black hair." Mikasa said as she combed her hair with her hand. "It always raven black. However there are…. Certain exceptions. But the main thing to look at is the hair. The second is the eyes. I have golden eyes, however, I know many sailors who had black eyes. That's another thing to look at. Then, the final thing is the skin tone. The northern parts of the Empire have harsh winters like the ones in Hokkaido with the more temperate areas like Honshu having less severe bouts of snow. However, because of our climate. We tended to have pale skin. There are more ways to tell if someone is Japanese, but they are too many to list down." Mikasa said with a sheepish laugh.

"Hey Mikasa… I think you're part Japanese." Eren whispered to his sister in a voice that only the Vice-Admiral and Armin could hear. After she realised what she had done, the elder Mikasa quickly put a stop to that conversation before it could get into murky territory by abruptly standing up to address the new people who came by.

"Ah! Commander Erwin and Chief Nile. What a pleasure to see you today." Mikasa said as she saluted in attention. The cadets who sat around and just listened to Mikasa talk quickly turned their heads around as they hastily stood up and saluted the two senior officers. Nile furrowed his brow when he noticed Mikasa's Navy Salute. However, he didn't say anything about it as he told his cadets,

"At ease. And what are you all doing here? You were supposed to do your tasks for today." Nile said as he walked down the slope towards his cadets. His eyes narrowed at them all. It sent shivers down their spine. However, Marlowe spoke up.

"We have completed everything for today, Sir. We were assisted in part by the Vice-Admiral and the Survey Corps after they finished their own chores, Sir." Marlowe explained, chin up and eyes closed.

"Really? The Survey Corps assisting the Military Police?" Nile said as he looked at Erwin who stared back at him just as amused as he was. "I've never heard of such a thing."

"Who helped you, Freudberg? Fraternising with another branch isn't well liked by many. Some officers see it as an offence." Levi said as he made his way to Survey Corps Cadets standing in attention. Since the barrier between the two branches haven't exactly been broken, the cadets from both branches stuck more or less to each other. With the exception of Annie, who sat and is now standing beside Reiner and Bertholdt just behind Armin.

"E-everyone of them, Sir!" Marlowe said as he shook in his boots. It's really hard to keep one's composure in the face of Humanity's Strongest, so it's to be expected he would react this way.

"Oh? Everyone of them?" Levi said as he stared up at Eren, Mikasa, Armin, and the rest of the cadets. "Who gave you the authority to meddle with the Military Police, then?" The cadets immediately raised their gazes and looked away from the Captain. However, what they didn't see was that the Captain wasn't exactly looking at him at all anymore. Nope. Rather, Levi was looking at a certain someone behind them who started twiddling her thumbs and looking at her feet like it was the most interesting thing in the world right now.

"Levi, that is enough." Erwin said with a booming voice. However, he softened as he placed a hand on the Captain's shoulder. "I see no error in what they have done. Rather, I am encouraged. To see that there is a blooming camaraderie between our Cadets, Nile, is something to behold. I see great potential in strengthening their bond."

"Maybe. But if it interferes with their duties, I shall severe it. The Royal Court does not like friendships between branches, Erwin. You know that." Nile then looked towards his cadets and then said, "Prepare the horses. I'll give you an hour."

And with that, Nile Dok left the scene but not before giving a warning glare at the cause of all this - who looked away sheepishly but without remorse. The MP cadets had then gone off in their own direction after saying their farewells to the Survey Corps Cadets and to the elder Mikasa. But before they left, the Vice-Admiral had a few words to say to them.

"I'm truly sorry to have caused this trouble for you." Mikasa said with genuine sorrow to the MP Cadets. "It was not my intention to sow ill will with you and your commander."

"It's alright, Vice-Admiral. I wouldn't exactly call it trouble in the slightest." Boris said with an encouraging smile.

"Well… a bit of trouble if I'm being honest." Hitch said as she looked at Boris with a pointed stare. "If my gut's right about Commander Nile, he's gonna have us grilled and drilled after all this."

"But that's not going to discourage us from seeing you! If we can, after all this." Marlowe added hastily after seeing Mikasa's mood plummet even further. He ignored how Boris elbowed Hitch as he said, "Thanks for sharing with us about your country, Vice-Admiral. We'll see you soon." Marlowe then saluted with all his heart. The other cadets followed suit, as they found that it was deserving and earned. Truly, they have never seen an officer as graceful, wise, and caring as Mikasa. It was like - though many of them would never admit it out loud lest their officers grill them about it - they found the shining example of what it truly means to be a real commander. Which isn't a high bar to reach as the Military Police as a whole is as rotten as a dead cow.

"And I to you." Mikasa saluted with a warm smile. "Now go on your merry ways and take care." After that, the MP cadets finally left the vicinity. Leaving all the members of the Survey Corp. Cadets and commanders alike.

"That was unnecessary." Levi said as he looked right at her. As surprising as it was for Eld to realise how short Mikasa was, it was equally infuriating for Levi himself to notice how noticeably taller she was in comparison to him. "You are not here as their teacher, you are here as our prize."

"Levi, that is not rig-" Erwin said as he raised a hand to stop his subordinate. However, Levi still continued.

"Need you be reminded that these brats are soldiers? You can't prance around talking to them like children. They've seen far too much for you to treat them as such." Levi said as he took a few steps back and grabbed Eren's collar and yanked him to his level.

"Yeager over here especially." Levi continued as he kept his grip on Eren's collar. "He's an idiot, but a titan shifter. Do you see where I'm going with this? Don't coddle the cadets, Ijichi."

"You prove a valid point, Captain. However, let the boy go. Your quarrel is with me." Mikasa said as she threw a stormy glare at the Captain, who promptly let go and had him go back to where he was before. Eren was then held up by the younger Mikasa, who also threw an icy death stare at the shorty. Levi internally knew that both Mikasas were pissed at him and noticed they both looked similar yet different when they got mad, but he held that thought down.

"Let me tell you this: I have met far younger men used and portrayed as weapons of war than these cadets. They have seen unspeakable horrors and tragic loss in the same manner as these cadets also, if not more. Yet I have not treated them any differently than I would my own grandchildren." Mikasa paused to let her words sink in, however, it had an unintended effect.

'...Grandchildren?' thought by everyone who was present.

"To quote someone I knew: I am doing what I am doing simply because it is right. Because it's decent. And above all, it's kind. It's just that.. Just kind. If I follow what you said to me, good people will die. Not because they are killed. No, not at all. Because there would be no one left to show them what is good in the first place." Mikasa then crossed her arms and huffed at the Captain in annoyance.

"They signed up knowing that they will never be the same." Levi countered with finality. He then turned around and started barking orders at the Cadets. Mikasa didn't find a chance to even say goodbye to them. With the only exception being Eren and Armin looking towards her with an apologetic expression and waving to her. Mikasa could only weakly wave back before the two cadets went about their assigned tasks.

"Sorry about Levi, Lady Mikasa." Petra said as she and the rest of Levi Squad walked towards the Vice-Admiral. They were fortunate that they didn't get yelled at by their Captain-

"You four will get a talk that none of you will like once dusk comes. Now come with me. I have orders for you." Levi said to his Squad without looking back at them as he walked with the cadets back to their quarters.

...scratch that.

"It's alright, miss Petra." Mikasa said as she smiled at them. "Though I do apologise for the inconvenience I caused you. The Captain is not too pleased with me."

"There's no problem with you. It's just the Captain. He doesn't like the idea that the brats are messing around with the MP brats. He's been like that forever." Oluo said as he stared at the fading visage that was Levi sweep kicking Jean Kirstein.

"Yeah. When you're around him for so long, those kinds of things become the norm. So, moments like these aren't exactly uncommon. No one really knows why he thinks that way though." Eld said as he placed an elbow on Gunther's shoulder and slightly leaned on his friend.

"Bah. But I wouldn't mind it too much, Mikasa. Rookie mistakes, that's all. Just take it n stride and move on with it." Gunther said as looked to Eld for confirmation to which Eld nodded in agreement. Both men then turned towards their left and saw Hanji and Erwin walking towards them.

"Oh, uh. Looks like this is our cue. Hehehehehe…." Petra said with a shaky voice as she gazed at Hanji's predator-like smile that was aimed at Mikasa. "See you around, Lady Mikasa!"

"Farewell to you all." MIkasa said as she observed how Squad Levi seemed to hasten their steps at the sight of the four-eyed scientist. Odd… She then turned to address the new faces who wished to speak with her.

"I apologise for Levi's behaviour." Erwin started as he scratched his head in awkwardness. But he was stopped from talking even by a gloved hand.

"No need. Petra and the others explained all that I needed to know." Mikasa said as she looked up towards the Commander. She had no ill will behind them. Rather, she was filled with understanding. Erwin saw this, and simply nodded at her. He knew that Mikasa had nothing against Levi. Not now, and hopefully not anytime soon.

"Well, it's nice that you're not mad at all with our resident shorty. But let's just move on from that." Hanji said as she practically shoved Erwin aside without a care. Hanji grabbed Mikasa's hand and then basically dragged her towards the nearby cabin. Erwin simply chuckled and then went on to another topic.

"We've informed Chief Nile on the information we've agreed upon." Erwin said as he kicked a stone on the way up the slope. But what he was secretly doing was that he was looking around the vicinity of the cabin. As he picked up the stone, he narrowed his eyes at the trees that surrounded the cabin and found nothing. Yet.

"Oh? I take that he was not too pleased with it, then?" Mikasa said as she turned around to address the Commander. Her eyes spoke confusion at what he was doing, but did not voice it. Erwin's look was all it took.

"Not enough to act on it." Erwin replied. A double entendre, Mikasa surmised. If what they are talking about isn't enough for them to act on it, then maybe this will.

"I suppose such a reaction is adequate." Mikasa mused as she watched Hanji open the door to the cabin. "We are hiding a considerably important detail about myself after all."

"It is enough for our needs. We must not allow the truth to come out. Even just a hint would bring catastrophe to our ranks." Erwin said as he followed the women into the cabin. And after securing the lock of the cabin, the Commander's eyes went towards the open windows. Mikasa and Hanji saw this, but did nothing.

"But what would hiding it do? The walls aren't exactly sealed tight, you know? Can't we at least tell Nile?" Hanji asked as she ushered both Mikasa and Erwin to their seats on the table.

"We cannot confirm if our information is safe with him. We do not know the inner workings of the Military Police nor do we trust it even if so." Erwin said as he sighed into his seat. "What matters now is that everyone knows that you are from outside the walls. That is more than enough to get their attention."

Rustle…

"That I agree." Mikasa said as she narrowed her eyes towards the shadow near the windowsill behind her. An ugly frown forming in her beautiful face. "But the question is: how will they react?"

Suddenly, the shadow vanished and in came the sunlight. Mikasa's dreary expression turned into relief as her mind went away from this topic. But her relief turned sour once Hanji came out of the room with a crate filled to the brim with clothing. Mikasa realised the moment Hanji pulled out a simple dress did she realise why Petra was shaking at the sight of her.

"Well, now that's out of the way. Hey, Lady Mikasa? Wanna try these clothes out? I bet they'll look way better on you than me."

Mikasa's about to become a doll.

Meanwhile…

"Man, I still can't believe a woman like Lady Mikasa exists!" Connie exclaimed as he carried his two buckets of horse manure. "Imagine that, there's actually a woman who's truly perfect."

"Well, she's no better than our Mikasa." Jean said as he hastily looked towards the object of his affections before adjusting the firewood for tonight's cooking session on his shoulder. "But you make a point."

"You don't get it, Jean. Lady Mikasa makes me feel things. Like, everytime she talks, it makes me want to become a better man! I don't know how to explain it, but whenever she's around, I somehow want to improve myself even more."

"Yeah, yeah. We get it, you're in love." Sasha said as she carried the hay for the horses. "You know, I have a feeling that she's a great cook."

"What makes you say that?" Jean asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Nothing really. Just a gut feeling." Sasha said as she shrugged her shoulders.

On the other side, with Eren, Mikasa and Armin. They are arguing and debating in secret about what they know about the foreigner from outside the walls. And after they had that talk, all they kept coming back to is a brick wall. The brick wall being what actually really happened on the day of the Expedition.

"So, all you remember about the Female Titan was that she fought like a trained fighter?" Armin asked as he wrote down his notes under the tree the trio decided to hide under. Eren looked down and saw Armin write 'Who?' before he replied.

"Yeah, pretty much." Eren said as he scratched his head for more memories of the fight. "When I tried to punch her, she managed to grab my arm and put me in an armlock. I managed to get out, but everything I did couldn't touch her. When I did though, the titan's skin became hardened like rock or something. I don't know how, but she managed to tear my arm off and my jaw with just her punches. All I can say is that she's trained and very very good at hand to hand combat."

"You were lucky to have survived, Eren, and I'm grateful for that. If only I was there, I could've-" Mikasa said with a clenched fist. But before she would have expanded on that, Eren butted in.

"No, Mikasa! Don't you get it? If me with my Titan powers, Captain Levi' and the Elite squad couldn't do anything to fight the Female Titan then what could you have done? It's hard enough as it is to take her down, let alone capture her. You couldn't have done anything." Eren explained with a dejected kind of acceptance. As if he couldn't even believe the words he was saying right now. Mikasa could only look down at her legs in dismay as she wondered what kind of monster the female Titan was for Eren of all people to become a defeatist.

"Well, what destroyed the Female Titan then? If you said that you and the Elite Squad couldn't do a thing against her, then what did?" Armin asked in an attempt to change the conversation. Fortunately, it worked and that started the gears on Eren's brain.

"I… don't remember much. All I know is that it was like…" Eren then unconsciously clutched his arms as if he was cradling himself. Mikasa and Armin noticed this.

"Like what?" Mikasa asked with concern.

"Like hellfire." Eren said with a whisper. He then explained the images in his head. How some sort of blast hit both him and the female Titan. How the fire that came scorched both of them to the very bone. It was haunting, even for Eren. Nothing of that magnitude could be seen anywhere in the kingdom let alone the Survey Corps.

"Did you hear a large boom before the fire came?" Armin asked out of the blue. Eren and Mikasa both looked at him and realized he was on to something.

"I may have. Agh! I can't remember. But I think I might have." Eren said as he groaned at his stupid lack of memories.

"Well, if you did… then what you've witnessed is what I also saw." Eren's eyes widened like saucer plates at that mention.

"What?! How?" Eren asked in a hushed whisper. He noticed that there was a couple of people not too far off from where they were, so he toned it down a little

"Remember the news of how the female Titan managed to make a breakthrough at the right flank? I was there when we met up with Squad Leader Krin and the rest of the 10th. Lady Mikasa was already with them, but she and Corporal Boyd lagged behind. But let's go back even more. As we were riding to where the black flare was sighted, I heard a large boom. I thought it was a cannon, but it was far bigger. After that, I saw something fly in the horizon before falling to the ground. I never saw what that thing was, but I'm guessing it had done something against the Female Titan." Armin then wrote down more in his notebook.

"Wait…" Eren said as he frowned in concentration. "There was a large hole on the Female Titan's shoulder when we first saw her… are you saying-?!"

"-maybe I am, but-"

"-It all connects to her. The other Mikasa." Mikasa, who had been silently listening and absorbing everything she heard, practically growled. "There is no other reason for all these strange things to happen. All points to the moment she came here."

Armin and Eren looked at Mikasa and wondered only one thing.

"Mikasa, sure we can connect all this to Lady Mikasa." Armin noticed how confusing this would get if he kept calling the both of them, "Mikasa". "But she hasn't caused any bad rmin and Eren looked at her and found that they too ended up with the same conclusion. However, with that tone Mikasa had, the two of them found the sense to defend their subject matter.

"Mikasa, even if the Vice-Admiral is hiding something, we have nothing to prove that she's an enemy. Didn't you see how she acted all this time? She wouldn't care for Eren being yanked by Captain Levi if her goal is to kill him." Armin said.

"Yeah, and let's not forget that she's been nothing but kind to us." Eren added as he assumed a thinking pose. "Now that I think about it, she hasn't done anything that we didn't see. She was always either with us or the MP cadets."

"But still… we need to keep an eye out." Mikasa's suspicion was still there even if her face showed no emotion. Eren could only groan in annoyance while Armin sighed in dismay.

Clang Clang Clang

"Hey everyone! Dinner's ready." the trio heard Petra yell. They turned towards the noise and it was just Oluo smacking a ladle to a bucket.

The trio then got up from their tree and bega walking towards them. Petra noticed Eren first and began walking towards the trio to talk to them.

"Ah, there you are. Now, get over here. We need your help. The tables need to be ready before the Commander comes here."

And so, the trio went on their separate ways to help out.

Somewhere …

"We missed our chance, Annie."

Annie turned around to Reiner putting down the water bucket and Bertholdt sorting out the straw. They were the only ones left in the stables.

"I know that. But the plan stays the same." Annie calmly said as she brushed her horse.

"We won't be able to once we get to the Capital. And not after…" Reiner grit his teeth to even think about it. Annie felt the same way too.

"To think that there would be someone like Lady Mikasa who could wield that much power. When did Hizuru-" Reiner was quickly cut off by Bertholdt

"She's not from Hizuru. She's something else. What she has is impossible even for us." Bertholdt said.

"Then what do you want to say? Lay low until Eren's out of our reach?" Reiner countered.

"No." Annie said as she placed her brush on the stool beside her horse. "We play it safe. Figure out what she's hiding and then use it against her."

"By the sound of it, doing it is harder than you lay it out to be." Reiner scoffed before he narrowed his eyes.

"What's your plan?"