The forest surrounding the village held a breathless stillness. Mist curled around shattered trunks and broken fences, the remnants of old blood and battle soaked into the soil. Armin crouched at the edge of a crumbled barn, eyes fixed on the ridge through his scope. "There's movement to the east. Not Titans. Too organized."
Mikasa stood beside him, her stance rigid, one hand resting on her blade. "How many?"
"Three… maybe more. Spread thin. Looks like scouts."
Behind her, Eren shifted, the tension rolling off him in waves. "Let's take them out. Fast and clean."
"No," Mikasa answered. "We don't engage unless necessary. Armin, keep watch. We'll circle in."
Annie stayed at the edge of the group, quiet, but not detached. Her eyes tracked the tree line with measured stillness, her body alert. "I could scout the left flank," she offered, voice low. "Quietly. Won't draw attention."
Mikasa didn't turn. "I already said no."
Annie hesitated just for a breath, then nodded. "Understood."
Armin glanced at her. Eren muttered something under his breath and moved up the slope. The team broke formation with silent precision.
Rain slicked the undergrowth. Mikasa moved like smoke between the trees, her focus unshakable. Annie trailed her, maintaining distance but not straying. She didn't like being this close — not to Mikasa. Not with how much she was holding back.
But she didn't have the luxury of drawing attention. Not now. Not with everything hanging on staying invisible, even when someone was staring right through her.
Mikasa paused suddenly. "You still don't follow orders the first time they're given."
Annie's voice was barely audible over the drizzle. "I wasn't trying to step over you. Just offering what I'm good at."
Mikasa's eyes flicked back. "I know what you're good at."
The words weren't praise. But they weren't dismissal either.
Before Annie could respond, a rustle in the trees snapped both their attention forward.
Ambush.
Three masked attackers surged through the rain, blades flashing. One moved directly toward Annie — too fast for most to counter. But Mikasa was already there, intercepting the strike, taking the blow to her shoulder with barely a wince. Her blade followed through, quick and brutal.
Blood sprayed the ferns.
Annie spun into a low crouch, disarming the second attacker without hesitation. She moved smoothly — like instinct — but something in her chest twisted at Mikasa's injury.
The third attacker tried to flank them, but Annie stepped in, precise and lethal. They didn't speak. They didn't need to. The rhythm of survival fell into place between them.
By the time Eren and Armin caught up, the last body had hit the ground.
"They knew we were coming," Eren muttered, helping Armin to his feet.
"No," Mikasa corrected, voice calm. "They were waiting for someone."
Annie froze, blood drying on her gloves. She didn't ask who Mikasa meant.
Later, under the canopy of a crooked tree, Mikasa sat with her arm exposed, tending to the gash. Annie stood nearby, unsure if she should move or speak.
"You shouldn't have taken that hit," she said finally, voice low. "Could've gone worse."
Mikasa didn't look up. "It didn't."
A beat passed.
"I'll be more careful," Annie said, barely above a whisper.
Mikasa glanced up, eyes sharp but unreadable. "You should. I can't afford dead weight."
There was no warmth in her voice — but no real venom, either.
Annie nodded once and turned away, her footsteps soft in the wet grass.
She didn't trust Mikasa. She couldn't.
But part of her — the part she hated — felt the pull again. The heat from that moment of contact. The instinct to follow, even when she wanted to run.
And Mikasa… watched her go, that cold hunger still burning in her gaze.