I lay in my bed deep in thought the next morning, it almost seemed like a horrible dream...the events from last night. If it wasn't for the folded coat on my drawer as a reminder, I could have pretended for a moment. The lamp light was on to a dim glow as I remembered what happened afterwards. Levi had the courtesy to lead me to my room while covering my body with his own to avoid being seen. I took a shower then, relishing the warmth the water brought me after hours of freezing in the cold but angry at how low Mikasa had stooped. I curled into a fetal position, bringing my knees upwards. Levi was gone when I came out of the shower, so I guess it meant he didn't want his coat back anytime soon...I arched my back to stretch. I had no idea what time it was, but Eren was still asleep. I could use this time to go out and make my knuckles clash with Mikasa's head. Hopefully there wouldn't be anyone around to stop me from going any further as well...

My body rose as I sat up slowly, pushing the sheets off of me quickly and letting my bare feet meet the floor. I had to get changed quickly if I wanted to grab something to eat as well. I quickly slipped off my clothes and put on a white tank with the black skirt that I was eyeing in that store...and the one that Levi snatched in his attempt to hurry. I smoothed it out with pale fingers. It was skintight and had a smooth feel to it. I liked it immediately. I proceeded to slip into my black boots and folded my sleepwear before heading outside, shutting the door quietly to avoid waking Eren.

Once I was in the cafeteria, I saw no signs of Mikasa, to my utter disappointment, however I did see Sasha sitting with Connie at a table, along with others playing a game of chess. They were drinking coffee, judging from the smell in the air. I strolled along the kitchen and grabbed a cup from the cabinet, helping myself to the coffee maker. My nose twitched to the sweet smell. I wasn't really one for coffee, but It was good for the cold weather. My body shivered. I really should have brought a sweater too. I sighed. Now I was going to have to go back for my brown jacket. Once I was done pouring at least a dozen sugar cubes into my cup I stirred the beverage with a spoon and turned to walk towards Sasha.

"Goodmorning Sasha, Connie." I acknowledged the two sleepily, sitting next to Connie.

They both looked at me with a bored expression, muttering a quick "Morning" before going back to stare out the window. I took a sip and glanced outside as well, mimicking their bored expressions.

"My town is not very far away from this place.." Connie muttered lowly.

"Yeah my town is close by too, we're going all the way to the southern districts of wall rose...and we're not even allowed to visit them, it's not like we have a whole lot to do there anyway as wall supporters, we just spend day after day lazing about because we have nothing better to do than clean and train.." Sasha muttered in a lazy tone that would put Shikamaru to shame.

"Well damn, maybe we should just slip out at night?" Connie suggested. My eyebrow rose at the sentence.

Sasha's brown eyes lingered on him. "Eh? You want to go to your village that bad? I was told not to return until I turned into a decent human being you know."

Connie smiled while muttering, "And I was told a midget like me could never make it into the survey corps but i'm a genius, and a real soldier, I even managed to rank top 10 in our year." I smiled at his boasting. He continued. "That's why they would all stare at me if I came back, I'd like to go there if for just a short period of time...while i'm still alive"

Sasha and I stared at him. "Seriously?" I asked. He nodded.

"Connie, if you're serious about this i'll help you out." I jumped at the sound of Reiner's voice and looked to my side. The tall blonde was seated one chair away across from Bertholdt. They were the ones playing chess. I blinked. How did I not notice them? My green eyes swept past the taller dark haired male and watched as he gave a shy wave.

Connie stared at Riener with wide eyes. "Eh? Why would you?"

Riener frowned. "Don't you find it odd that we were ordered to stand by in wall rose with civilian clothes? They even specified that we are not to wear our uniform or train. We're soldiers for crying out loud! Why would they order us that?"

I sipped some more of my coffee and stared at Reiner, waiting for him to continue. "But the biggest concern is our superiors, unlike us, they're all fully equipped and ready for battle. But this place isn't the front lines, we're on the territory inside the walls! Just what are they preparing to fight with?" He said lowly, clutching a pawn in his hand.

Connie glanced at Reiner. "Well there are bears in this region."

Sasha nodded lazily. "Yeah...bears."

I blinked. "But bears shouldn't be a problem..."

Reiner nodded. "If it's against bears, guns would be more than enough, nobody understands what's going on and everybody is anxious, you three are the only ones so carefree, do consider what your superiors reaction will be if you do slip up." He muttered. I frowned. Again? Why were these leaders always keeping people in the dark about plans? It was no way to win anything, that's why they always failed...I looked around and saw that Ymir and Christa joined the end of the table. People were starting to come now. Sasha startled us by slamming her head on the table, ear facing the hard wooden surface. Then her eyes widened and she sat up swiftly, eyes wild.

"What is it?" I asked, a little alarmed at her expression.

"What the! I hear rumbling! Like there's heavy footsteps!" She screamed.

I wasn't the only one alarmed now. Connie stuttered. "H-huh?!"

"What are you saying Sasha?" Reiner asked, startled. Then his expression turned dark and serious. "If you're saying there are titans nearby then that means wall rose has fallen..."

We all fell silent, letting that possibility sink in. Just then, the main door opened to reveal a blonde woman, we squinted in surprise. "There's a vast number of titans approaching from the south of wall rose, you dont even have time to put on your full combat attire, get onto the horses and head to wall rose, get every villager to evacuate immediately! Is that clear?"

We sat frozen for a while. "From the south?!" Connie yelled.

"Then this means that the wall got breached.." Riener spoke out frowning, and teeth clenching.

The woman got near Sasha. "Unfortunately you'll have to postpone midafternoon snacks until you're finished with your work, now get a move on! You wont be able to laze around if you're dead!" She shouted, heading back outside. We all got up quickly and ran about to get ready. I rushed back into the underground tunnels to wake Eren. My feet carried me so fast I was sure they were slightly growing with chakra.

Once I came nearer to my room I flung the familiar door open and ran to shake Eren awake. He opened his eyes quickly at he rough contact. "S-Sakura? Wha...what is it? Huh..." He said groggily, squinting at me and rubbing his eyes.

"Wake up! We need to go to wall rose NOW! Titans breached it." I yelled.

He was wide awake now and he tore his sheets off of his person to fumble with his drawer, taking out his uniform. I did the same, digging through my clothes to find my pants. I only found my belts and boots. Where the hell was it? Spying my jacket on my sheets, I got up to snatch it and put it on over my tank. Now for my pants. I tore through my sheets wildly, looking through them. Why couldn't I find my damn pants...

Our door opened to reveal Mike. "Sakura, hurry, You're coming with me." He glanced at Eren. "Hanji will come by to get you." Eren nodded.

"Wait! I can't find my pants!" I wailed.

Mike sighed. "We need to hurry..."

I gave a huff and latched the belts over my body, putting the main belt around the top of my skirt and around my legs. Taking my boots off, I proceeded to wrap the remaining belts over my feet and upwards, latching them on and wincing at how squeezed in it felt. I put my boots back on and stretched to get used to the belts over my shoulders. I latched on my gear next, making sure all six slides had their swords.

"Are you sure...you know you're going to get welts like that..." Eren muttered. I nodded.

"I don't think I will be using the gear anyway." I muttered and ran to Mike.

He eyed me closely. "but you'll wear the gear anyway, just to be safe." He stated. I gave a curt nod after waving at Eren and heading out with the tall blonde. Our feet echoed across the hall as we ran forward.

"Where is Levi? He's supposed to get me...right?" I breathed out. The belts around my thigh were a little tight.

"He resigned as your captain, i'm in charge of you guys now" He huffed out. I felt a sinking feeling in my chest. A terrible hollowness. My throat felt heavy. That bastard...he resigned even after I pleaded him not to. Why did he have to ignore that? Dammit...why did I even care.

We made it out of the cafeteria quickly, heading outside and towards the stables. People were already leaving. I could see their retreating horses far off in the distance. Mike grabbed my arm and flung me forward towards a horse being led outside by the same blonde woman that gave us the bad news a moment ago. Mike lifted me up quickly as if I weighed nothing, by my waist to give me a boost. I took the hint and swung my leg over the saddle, grabbing the reins as well. "Let's hurry, stay behind me." He stated as he got on his own horse. I gave a curt nod and kicked my horse to follow as soon as he took off. The smell of hay and manure left me as we sped on, the wind caressing my face roughly. It was cold... I should have worn a sweater instead of my survey corps jacket. After a few minutes of fast riding I could hear other horses behind us. I turned around, eyes sweeping the crowd for Levi but frowned in disappointment when he wasn't in view. He was gone then? Was I to see him again? I shook my head roughly. I couldn't be thinking about that bastard at a time like this...or at all. "Regroup!" Mike shouted. They obeyed and rode together, keeping close to his presence. I could see the ice cold smoke escape from our mouths with each hard breath. We were getting closer to the town now, and we rode past it swiftly. The peoples faces were nothing but a blur, smells of cooking food were gone as fast as they came. I closed my eyes against the beating wind and imagined myself eating ramen in one of these shops. It sucked that trouble had to surface so fast after my last fight...how much titans was I going to be against? We sped on for a half hour in silence.

After a while, we came across the gate leading to wall Rose and rode through it quickly, our horses hooves pounded on the ground hard with each stride. We were in Rose now, I could see some still-damaged buildings displayed. Mike wasted no time telling us what to do. "Is there anyone among us who is familiar with this area?!"

Sasha rose her hand quickly, body rising up and down with the steps her horse took."Yes! I was born in the northern forest here! I know the terrain of the area well! oh and Connie too!" She turned to look at him. My eyes lingered on his face. He was shaking.

"Connie?" I said outloud.

"My village is located to the south of here, in the direction the titans are approaching from."he said shakily. We gaped at him in silence. I didn't know what to say. "I can guide you to nearby villages, but after I do, please let me go to my town, the titans probably already passed through it, and there's probably nothing I can do but...I absolutely have to go there anyway." He whimpered. His voice sounded strange. It was like he was trying hard not to cry.

"Alright, i'll leave south to you, gather your squad, bottom squad go with him!" Mike ordered. I could see a few were reluctant to obey.

"Connie i'm going with you." Reiner spoke out to the bald boy warmly.

"What are you saying? The south is the most dangerous of all! There are many titans roaming around over there!" Connie shouted, clearly upset at having to drag others with him. Reiner smiled.

"I've already told you before didn't I? I'm helping you go back to your town..." He said with confidence before turning to the dark haired man behind him. "What about you Bertholdt? I don't want to force you or anything...but we need more people on the south squad."

Bertholdt's eyes widened and he glanced a me quickly, a strange gleam in his eyes, then stared into Reiner and nodded. "Yeah... of course i'll go with you." I watched as they sped off away from us.

"I'm going with them!" I shouted.

"No, you stay with me, if we lose you, it's over...there is no hope for the people that are here right now." Mike stated sternly. I slumped angrily.

"Don't worry, we'll be fine." Reiner grinned at me. I managed a half-smile.

"Okay..." I muttered. We were in a large open field of trees now, I could see titans far off in the distance.

"Alright I think you all understand it without my telling you but, today is the worst day for humans all over again! Speed means everything now, try to be as fast as you possibly can! Right now the titans reached the forest! split up! Run as fast as you can!" The blonde woman shouted quickly. We scattered in the grassy Terrain and sped opposite of the titans and towards the far off towns. The floor rumbled as the titans broke into a run. My heart skipped a beat. Mike stared back, eyes wide in confusion.

"Why..." He muttered. "Why are they braking into a run all of a sudden!?" He shouted, panic in his voice. Connies team came back to us, I could see Reiner gaping at the running titans.

"They're chasing us!" Connie shouted hysterically. I turned to Mike for orders.

He turned away from me. "Gelger! I'm leaving you in charge of the south squad!" He shouted, running away from us and towards the titans. We stared after him in disbelief.

"Wait!" I shouted. Mike was...sacrificing himself?

"Squad leader Mike is playing bait? That's too reckless! I'll go help!" Someone shouted.

"I forbid you! We need people here as well, believe in Mike, he is second only to Levi! He'll cut them down i'm sure!" The man in front of us exclaimed with hope gracing his voice.

"Against nine titans?! I'm going back for him if he takes to long!" I shouted.

The man stared at me. "Tch...you're a titan shifter right? We need you here more than ever."

"You can't stop me! I'll meet with you still!" I stated stubbornly.

He stayed silent, not wanting to argue any further. "I'll go with her!" Bertholdt shouted.

Reiner stared at him. "Don't be reckless..."

"I wont..." Bertholdt stated. I smiled at him. He had my back. We rode for a few more minutes until I let my instincts lead.

"I'm sorry...I just can't take away this nagging feeling, stay here bertholdt." I muttered and fell back, turning around to ride the way that Mike went to. I could barely see a small cottage up ahead with fallen titans. Mike already handled some it seemed.

"Hey stop! Get your ass back here dammit! Hey!" The appointed squad leader shouted after me angrily. Even the others were calling me back, but I didn't stop. I had a bad feeling Mike was in danger, and I wanted to save him. I kicked my horse to go faster and rode on until the voices could no longer be heard. I turned around quickly. Bertholdt was no where in sight. The others must have prevented...even threatened him against following me.

I was almost close to the cottage. Titans were sprawled against here and there, but some stayed up and about. I had to be careful and approach from the trees. I steered my horse towards the few nearby trees and froze. Was that...a giant monkey? I couldn't believe it. There was a giant hairy titan crouching by the cottage. I slowed down and hopped off once I was sure the trees concealed me. I hopped on top of a branch for a better view to observe the titan. Yeah...it looked exactly like a monkey, a very tall monkey. It looked about two meters higher than my titan form, and it had really long hands and legs. What was It doing anyway? I squinted and craned my neck to see what was below it. It looked like a small person moving. My heart stopped. It was Mike. I recognized the blonde locks. Was he hurt? He was on the floor...He had to be. I watched as the monkey got up and talked. Yes...it talked. My mouth nearly hit the floor in shock, but I didn't quite get to hear what it said. It's voice was incoherent and it turned around to walk away from my new leader. It wasn't going to eat him...it must have been a deviant then...intelligent. I waited until I was sure the giant monkey was far enough for me to come out and run to Mike. I could see several titans run to him at once and he screamed as they picked him up. The monkey was leaving, now was my chance, I had to be quick. I ran at full speed and shot my wires forward towards the titans, latching on to one of their necks. In a swift move, I rose into the air and gracefully swung my body around them, aiming for their necks. I got closer as the wires pulled me in and I slashed, getting both of their necks in one quick move. Blood flew past me, stinging my hands with the heat but I held my ground. I landed gracefully on the ground as my wires retreated into my gear and I watched as the titans fell to dissolve, hot steam rose from their necks. Mike had fallen in the process and lay slumped on the floor, panting heavily. I shook my hands in a bad attempt to cool them and ran towards the fallen man.

"Mike!" I yelled with worry, stopping beside him to crouch to his side. This was bad...his leg was completely flat and broken, as if it was chewed on. It was a grotesque sight. He writhed in pain, his teeth clenched as drool slipped from his mouth. His eyes parted slightly to stare at me.

"S-Sakura? Ah...you're not supposed to be here, go back...it's dangerous, there's a deviant titan around here." He wheezed out between pants. I bit my lip and shook my head stubbornly, attempting to sit him up. He groaned in desperation.

"I can't leave you like this, if you're talking about that monkey...it left." I stated, pressing my hand to his upper thigh. My chakra glowed green as I concentrated on mending the bone and squashed meat. It was completely chewed up with the muscles torn and arteries cut, he could bleed to death easily, It would take a whole hour to fix this...dammit. "First thing I gotta do is cut blood circulation." I muttered as I tightened the belts on his upper thigh. He winced and threw his head back in agony. He got horribly mangled...I gasped at the absence of his gear gas behind him. It was gone.

"That ape...could talk...it was...interested...in the gear...and took off with it." He panted heavily, eyes half lidded. I frowned as I healed.

"I didn't hear what it said, but it took the gear? Could it be a titan shifter?" I contemplated loudly.

He shook his head weakly. "It looked exactly like an animal, and it talked, it's a different class, one I have never seen before, and it's freaky, it...seemed to control the other titans, they were afraid of it...I don't know what the hell it is, but...it gives me a bad vibe, don't try to confront it."

I stared at his face. He was really pale and his lips were trembling. I had to move him away from here as soon as I was done healing. "I wont...it stood out from the other titans too much." I murmured, then stopped what I was doing to listen. I felt rumbling, just like how Sasha described back at headquarters. I set Mike back down as gently as possible and ran around the cottage to take a peek behind it. My heart sped up. There were a dozen titans heading our way. I ran back to Mike quickly.

"I think I'll have to transform! There's a lot of titans coming here!" I stared at my hand, bracing myself for the pain. His cold hand rose to clench mine weakly.

"Don't... you'll just be a big target, if it's a lot you'll get ambushed, titans don't recognize you as one of their own." Mike whispered. I sighed. I didn't want to force him to argue in this state.

"Alright, can you stand? I can help carry you to my horse." I said quickly. He nodded.

"I'll try..." He muttered. I slumped his arm over my shoulder and stood up. He groaned as he used his good leg to help me, using it to support some of his weight. We slowly made our way towards where I was hiding under the trees. Good. My horse was still standing where I left him. He took his arm off of me to cling to the horses side and I hugged his thighs to help him up. I hopped on in front of him after, letting his grab on to my waist.

"Sorry...its just...I feel weak." He muttered. I looked down to stare at his leg. It was still mangled but the bleeding was reduced by a lot.

"Just don't fall asleep, i'll take you to a safe place to finish healing." I stated loudly as the horse ran forth. I gripped the reins tightly as we sped on, I could feel Mike's chin bump against the top of my head with the horses strides. We had to leave this open field quickly. With Mike in this state, it would be chaos trying to fight and defend him at the same time. I took a side path to the small forest opposite of the path that the others took. I didn't want to lead any titans to them... I couls see some of them started sprinting in the far off distance. I had to hurry. I kicked the horse to go faster. I felt the blondes full weight fall on me.

"Mike?"

I got no response. My heart clenched. Was he dead? I panicked, turning around to try to look at him. His head was facedown on my shoulder so it was hard...but he was still holding on to me...I sighed. Not dead, just asleep. "Mike wake up! Don't sleep!" I shook my shoulder.

He moaned. "Sorry..." His voice was raspy. Damn, I had to hurry. I took another side path and steered the horse around a few trees and into a paved road.

"A road! We must be near a town!" I yelled happily. I got no response from him. My teeth clenched and I sped forward at such a rapid pace, I nearly got a heart attack when I spotted someone else walking in the direction I was coming from. I yelled dramatically and motioned for my horse to stop. It whined and rose, kicking the air furiously and I gripped Mikes arms with one hand to help him avoid falling. I heard screaming.

Sasha...as soon as the horse calmed down I could see the girl trembling, arms raised and sporting a long lined skirt with boots. Her hands were bloody.

"S-Sakura! You found me!" She squealed in delight when she saw the person riding the horse was me. I hopped off quickly, letting Mike rest on the horses back.

"Sasha! Mike is seriously hurt!" I exclaimed. She ran to the horses side and gaped at him.

"A titan?" She muttered. "You can fix h-him right?" She whispered, staring at his mauled leg.

I nodded. "Yes but it will take some time, can you help me tend to him? I need to put him on a bed and do it quick."

She bit her lip. "No one is here...this is my town and people already evacuated...I just killed a titan and...wait where's the kid?" She looked around wildly.

I was about to ask what kid she was talking about when I heard horses hooves beside us, behind the trees. We both looked up to see a group of travelers. Sasha's eyed widened at the sight of them. One of the travelers stared at her, and old man with a hat and a beard.

"Sasha?" He spoke out, as if very surprised to see her. She cried out in joy.

"Dad!" She ran to him and hugged him. It was a touchy reunion with her father...I couldn't help but feel a tugging in my heart. I would have wanted to see mine out of nowhere too...The man looked at her hands.

"Your hands are bloody...this kid says you took on a titan by yourself to save him?" He said. She smiled and nodded, glancing at a blonde little boy seated on top of a black horse with a smile.

"Yes but right now one of my squad leaders is hurt! My friend needs to heal him! It's alright, she's a doctor" She exclaimed loudly, pointing at Mike. He frowned.

"Grab the horse and lead him into my house, she can tend to him there." He stated. She clapped her hands and smiled back at me.

"Let's go Sakura!" She yelled. I nodded. Yes...as long as I could save Mike's life.

"Right." I took the horses reins and led it to follow the crowd, staying behind Sasha and her dad. I couldn't help but feel a bit envious, but nevertheless, I was happy for her. She got to see her dad in the midst of this crises. She deserved that much.

"Ya know Sasha, You've become a good person." Her dad stated proudly. I saw Sasha smile, a small tear formed in her eyes. I smiled. I had no idea what Sasha's past life was like, but it was obvious that comment meant everything to her. It was important to her that her dad recognized her as someone who was helpful.

"Dad...I'm home." She muttered joyfully, with quiet emotion. We hurried onwards to the village. The sun was starting to go down. Soon it would be dark.

"Sasha where is everyone?" I asked. She looked back at me and stopped to walk by my side.

"I don't know...everyone got separated all of a sudden, but we decided it was better like that, after all, titans are attracted to large crowds."

I nodded. "That makes sense, you know...there was this giant monkey titan that took Mike's gear away, it could talk and it was intelligent, Mike say's the other titans listened to it."

Sasha stared at me with shock. "What?" She exclaimed.

"I only saw it from behind, I didn't get a good look at the face, just that it was really hairy with long arms and legs...but Mike said it had the face of an ape."

Sasha shook and lowered her voice so as to not startle anyone. "An animal titan?"

I shrugged. "A deviant maybe, but it definitely talked, have you ever heard of such a thing? I wouldn't know because I haven't been here that long."

She shook her head."No...that's impossible, an ape titan? And it talked?That's...Hah...what if it's the one that destroyed the south wall?" She shivered.

"It's a possibility...but right now we don't really know, I guess we're going to have to wait for the other teams to come..." I stated solemnly.

She nodded and clenched her hands. "Mike can tell us more when he wakes, he's the one that it talked to, and it took his gear for a reason, we'll have to wait so he can give us more information. "

"Yeah..." I murmured in agreement. We spotted the town and picked up our pace. I hoped Mike could tell us what he heard from the mysterious monkey titan soon...and I knew that I should have been thinking about his wellbeing, but in the end, Levi's where-a-bouts and safety was what plagued my mind, and I cursed myself for it