Survival Tactics

One

"Hey...isn't this stuff what GIRLS are supposed to learn?"

As soon as the words left Connie's mouth, he found himself struck in four different places by Annie, Sasha, and Ymir – Ymir took it as a chance to land two hits. Keith Shadis lowered his hands; no need for one of his Connie Specials this time. He cleared his throat and continued.

"As I was saying, you'll be participating in the Survival Tactics program four times a week for three weeks. You'll be learning how to cook, leatherworking, basic cleaning practices, and other skills that will help you be able to take care of yourself in nearly any situation in the field.

"If I hear of any complaints," Shadis stared hard at the boys. "You WILL be forced to do extra drills."

The boys stifled a groan. Sewing? Cooking? What did any of this have to do with being a soldier? The girls weren't sure either. Some felt that this could be fun (Christa), while others grumbled with the boys (Sasha). Mikasa, however, was practically humming with excitement.

'This is my chance!' she thought, following the rest of the girls back to the bunks. 'I can barely remember any of what Mrs. Yeager taught me about such things. I regret not paying attention to her; I can finally fill in those holes.'

Mikasa stopped walking for a moment, remembering another dark-haired woman who used to teach her things. As she held her scarf to her nose to dispel the dark memories, Sasha walked up.

"They called it 'Survival Tactics', but like Connie said, this is practically housewife stuff," she grumbled.

"Housewife? What do you mean?" Mikasa lowered the scarf.

Sasha was a little taken back; usually it was her asking Mikasa questions.

"Cooking, cleaning, sewing, all of those things are considered housewife duties," she explained. "A housewife doesn't work; she stays at home and takes care of her husband and stuff."

Mikasa thought of Mrs. Yeager again. She didn't have a job, like the lady next door did, or the woman who ran the bakery. Only Dr. Yeager worked. What was it like, to spend each day taking care of your loved one? She suddenly envisioned herself preparing dinner for Eren, who had just come home from work(?) and tending to his clothes and things while he rested.

"Mi-mikasa? Are you ok?" Sasha's alarmed voice brought her back down to earth. "You're really red!"

"Yes...this is my chance..." Mikasa muttered, already seeing the possibilities. "Thank you, Sasha."

She clapped a hand on Sasha's shoulder, and then walked to the bunks. Sasha was left massaging her shoulder in confusion. What was that all about?

--

The next morning, the 104 trainee squad had their first Survival Tactics class. Their instructor was, unsurprisingly to the boys, a woman. However, she was the height of Bertholdt and had the bulk of Reiner; rumor had it that her kill record was higher than Shadis's, though no one had ever dared to ask the man what it was. Despite her general appearance, Instructor Hauser had a round, youthful face, clear blue eyes, and blond hair tied back.

"She looks like a combination of Rener, Bertholdt, and Christa," muttered Jean to Marco. He flinched when Hauser looked over with a sharp look.

"Listen up, cadets," she began, voice relatively normal if not firm. "You are to take this program as seriously as your 3DM practices. If you ever feel like this course isn't worth it, or if you suddenly feel like dying, ask Instructor Shadis what happens if you don't know how to knit in the field."

Hauser grinned, and it rather nastily transformed her face. Several crushes were suddenly reconsidered.

For this first class, they were in one of the classroom they used for titan studies. Mikasa had deliberately situated herself, Eren, and Armin in the front row. This immediately sparked teasing from Jean to Eren as it was perceived to be Eren's decision, but Armin was wondering what had gotten into Mikasa. She was only this forward when it came to Eren, but sure enough, she was watching Hauser intently as the woman discussed the day's lesson.

"First, we'll start with something even you boys should be vaguely familiar with – cleaning."

She turned and pointed to several cleaning supplies on the table. Mikasa didn't recognize many of the bottle labels, but neither did many other cadets, as some weren't readily available within Wall Maria and the more secluded villages in Wall Rose. There were also a few odd tools, like a stick with a cylinder of bristles at the end. Mikasa imagined trying to clean Eren's clothes with it. She doubted he'd enjoy that.

"Cleaning agents can be dangerous if used improperly. Some create toxic fumes and should only be used in ventilated areas," said Hauser. She gestured to one bottle, then another. "Some are harmless, others are poisonous, and some can take your skin off."

A box of gloves and handkerchiefs appeared, and the cadets sighed.

"That's right," Hauser said, the nasty grin back on her face. "We'll be learning through practical training by practicing on old rooms throughout this compound. There are many old offices that haven't been touched in a long time. There is plenty to clean."

--

Mikasa needed to make a tough decision. She stared intensely at the two bottles, as if trying to decide the best attack pattern to use on two titans.

'This is a wooden table,' she thought, looking at a small blue jar. 'Wood calls for the cleaner that looks like oil and smells like pine trees. But...'

She looked at the other object, a bottle with a secure closure.

'This table has a large, old glob of...something on it. This cleaner is stronger, and works well on sticky stuff.'

She picked the bottle up and undid the closure, being careful not to get any on her clothes as Hauser instructed. She put a small puddle on the cloth like she was told to do, and began scrubbing at the spot vigorously.

'Hm? This stain is tough...'

She put more force into it, making the table creak and groan. The noise attracted Armin.

"Tough stain, Mikasa? He asked, walking over. He halted when he saw the open bottle. "Mikasa! Stop scrubbing!"

She stopped, lifting the rag. There was a shallow dent in the table where the stain had been, and the rag a thick, heavy spot on it. She was literally rubbing the table away.

"Ackerman...was it...?"

Mikasa's danger sense tingled as she felt a dark shadow fall over her. Hauser stood behind her, none too pleased. The rest of the cadets froze, terrified by the sudden showdown. They'd only been in the military for a few months, but they already knew Mikasa's crazy strength would definitely put her in the top ten graduates, and no one ever messed with her.

"I made a tactical error," Mikasa finally said, striking the salute. "I apologize, and will accept my punishment."

Hauser remained silent. IT was hard to tell if she found Mikasa sarcastic or amusingly serious.

"Pine cleaner next time, Ackerman, regardless of the stain."

The cadets breathed a sigh of relief as Hauser turned away from Mikasa.
'I've already made a mistake,' Mikasa thought, frowning. 'I will have to be on guard to prevent further errors...'

"What's this, Yeager?"

The tension in the room spiked again, as everyone whipped their heads at Hauser, who stared down at Eren. He had been working on a china cabinet in a dedicated silence. Jean practically danced in place; was a smack down imminent?

"This cabinet, how did you get it to look new again?" Hauser asked, running a finger over the dark, polished wood.

"Uh...I got some nuts from the mess hall," Eren replied, scratching his head under the stare of the large woman. "I remembered that my mom used them on furniture that I scratched up by accident. She would rub them on the wood."

Hauser was silent again. The cadets waited, holding their breath.

"Good job, Yeager. Resourcefulness like this is a good thing to have when in the field," she said, offering him a small smile. Unlike the dark grin, the smile transformed her face, and the boys returned to their cleaning with renewed vigor.