Awakened

Chapter 26

"Thank you Captain...for everything." Tauriel said softly.

Mikasa smiled at Tauriel. It was small, but it was there and it brought Tauriel comfort. "You're welcome."

Mikasa leaned back in her chair, studying Annie as she slept peacefully. She hoped Asuna would be able to help Annie. Whoever that doctor was, they were Mikasa's only hope to heal Annie. Mikasa remembered how Annie's Titan looked like. The sagging muscles, discolored bones, and weak structure already told Mikasa that Annie was not healthy, even in human form. If Annie couldn't Shift much less make a decent Titan if she did, then that meant something was seriously wrong.

The two Scouts remained in silence once again. Mikasa's thoughts roamed everywhere. They went from Erwin to the new Shifter to Jude to Eren and Armin. She hoped they were alright. Part of her knew they were. Knowing Erwin, he wouldn't kill both of them. He may be able to afford to lose her as a soldier, but he couldn't afford to lose a strategist and Shifter. Not with an attack that nearly wiped out half of them. Mikasa wondered how Erwin was even going to pull off his plan to capture Reiner and Bertholt. He barely had the numbers to do it, and both of them knew he will lose more on that mission.

Erwin is going to have to recruit soon. Part of Mikasa wanted to doubt Erwin would recruit so early when graduation had yet to happen, but the other part knew better. Recruiting more soldiers is a very high possibility. If Erwin hadn't thought of that yet, then he will soon.

And he will have an army once again.

"Do you have any idea how much longer Weiss is going to take?" Mikasa asked, still staring at Annie. She needed to get her mind off Erwin and recruitment. Now was not the time to start counting enemies.

"I'm not sure," Tauriel admitted. "Before it may have taken an hour or two, but if Romanov has changed for the worse, then that's up in the air."

Mikasa sighed and threw her head back on the seat, staring at the wooden ceiling.

"Weiss is incredibly agile, she'll make sure to get there as fast as possible. Especially since she's traveling by rooftop." Tauriel told her.

"Rooftop?" Mikasa repeated skeptically. "Are you kidding?"

Tauriel shook her head. "Its the fastest and safest way to travel through Romanov. Less likely to get confronted by others."

If Mikasa wasn't so good at keeping her expressions in check she would have choked. Just when things felt as if they were relatively settling down, she is rammed with the reminder of how cruel the world is.

"If Romanov is so bad you have to move where meeting others is unlikely," Mikasa thought out loud, "Then that must mean the people here know how to fight too, doesn't it?"

Tauriel sighed, nodding. "Not much of a chance surviving here if you don't know how to fight. Granted, its nothing as graceful or technical as what we learned from the military, but this place teaches you to be tough in a harsh way."

Mikasa looked up as if she could see through the second floor. "I wonder how they would do in the training corps tests."

Tauriel snorted. "They would pass with flying colors, and most likely be bored the first couple of years. At least for the physical training part. I know I was. It wasn't until the later part of our training that I actually started learning things I didn't know in combat."

"It would've been interesting to see them in Scout Regiment," Mikasa said. "Maybe they could've helped us in battle if their skills are anywhere near yours."

"Do you think they would've made it to the Squad?" Tauriel shifted her weight on the seat. "That would've been entertaining."

Mikasa shrugged. "I'm not sure. Maybe? Maybe not though, because if they were in the Scout Regiment, then you more than likely would've gravitated towards them. Forming your own group and dynamic. I probably would have thought I would have a hard time having you work in sync with my squad when you already had a nice flow with people you knew."