The early morning sun hung low in the sky, casting long shadows over the town of Shiganshina. Mikasa adjusted her scarf as she walked beside Eren, her mind swirling with memories and emotions she thought she had put behind her. The two of them, finally ready to join the Scouts, were only a day away from leaving the safety of the walls. But for Mikasa, it was also a chance to confront a ghost from her past.
Years before, she had known another Yeager—a brother, a mentor, a friend. Y/n Yeager, the oldest of the Yeager siblings, had been a force of strength and calm in their young lives. As children, he had guided her, Eren, and Armin through the streets, teaching them to fight, to be brave, and to dream. He had been someone she looked up to, someone she depended on. But more than that, he had been her first real crush, a feeling she’d never shared with anyone, especially not Eren.
Y/n was older, wiser, and had a sense of responsibility that made him both protector and mystery to her. He would watch over her, his gaze as gentle as it was watchful, and she’d feel a surge of admiration mixed with a pang of something deeper. But the day he left for the Scouts had changed everything. Y/n had promised to come back, but years passed, and as the news came of fallen soldiers and failed missions, Mikasa had slowly come to terms with the idea that Y/n might never return.
Mikasa's affection for him eventually found a new focus in Eren. She had protected Eren fiercely, almost obsessively, clinging to the last piece of family she had left. Her love for him was different than what she’d felt for Y/n. With Eren, it was all-consuming, a duty to protect and defend at any cost.
Yet today, as she and Eren stepped into the massive assembly hall filled with cadets preparing for assignment, an eerie whisper of the past surfaced. She froze when she saw him, standing at the head of the room, dressed in the uniform of the Scouts, a green cape draped over his shoulders and the emblem of the Wings of Freedom on his back.
"Y/n…?" Mikasa whispered, barely able to believe her eyes.
Eren hadn’t noticed her reaction, too busy sizing up the new captains and officers. But Mikasa’s entire world shifted as she took in her older brother, looking stronger and more weathered than she remembered, yet still possessing that fierce, protective aura she had admired as a child.
Y/n’s gaze swept over the room of new recruits, and for a brief moment, it landed on her. His eyes softened in recognition, and a hint of a smile tugged at his lips. He acknowledged her with a slight nod, as if he’d been waiting for this moment, as if he’d always known they’d meet again.
Eren, noticing her silence, nudged her with a grin. "What’s wrong, Mikasa? Nervous about meeting your new captain?"
Mikasa felt her cheeks flush. She hadn’t been prepared for this. For the past few years, her heart had been centered on Eren, but standing here, seeing Y/n alive and stronger than ever, a flood of old feelings she thought she’d buried resurfaced. She felt like a young girl again, the same girl who had looked up to him with admiration and awe.
As Captain Y/n Yeager began his speech to the new recruits, she listened with a renewed heart, filled with emotions she wasn’t sure she’d ever find the words for.
Y/n’s voice carried through the hall with a calm authority, steady and unwavering, yet somehow laced with the warmth of someone who knew the darkness but refused to be consumed by it.
"Today, you’re all standing on the brink of the unknown," he said, his gaze moving across each new face, though it lingered a fraction longer on Eren and Mikasa. "The choice you made to join the Scouts means you’re prepared to risk everything—your lives, your futures—for humanity’s survival. The fight will be brutal. You’ll face Titans, fear, and even the limits of your own courage. But if you’re willing to trust in each other and the mission, there’s nothing that can’t be overcome."
