Year 850.
The day after graduation.
Before reporting to their chosen regiments, every cadet was assigned miscellaneous duties, such as patrolling the walls or maintaining the cannons.
As the top two graduates, Arthur and Mikasa were assigned a relatively easy job, almost clerical work: sorting and delivering files.
Eren, Armin, and the others were assigned to inspect the walls and maintain the cannons mounted on them, while Christa was assigned to patrol duty.
Since their work did not require them to move around much, Arthur and Mikasa sat comfortably in the office their seniors had assigned them.
"Mikasa, that scarf's getting old. Why don't you throw it away? I'll buy you a new one." Arthur looked at the scarf Mikasa still wore after all this time.
"It's fine. I don't mind." Mikasa stroked the scarf around her neck and shook her head.
Since Mikasa refused, Arthur could hardly say much more.
This is the first scarf you gave me. How could I just throw it away? Tenderness filled Mikasa's eyes as she stroked the scarf Arthur had given her. To her, it held immense sentimental value.
Knock, knock! Someone knocked on the office door.
"Come in," Arthur called.
The door opened, revealing Christa and Ymir, who had been assigned to the patrol squad.
"Christa, what brings you here?" Arthur was pleasantly surprised. He had thought Christa would be out on patrol for quite a while.
"Our seniors said there wasn't much to patrol today, so they let us take a break," Christa said with a sweet smile.
"Oh, I see. Come on in." Arthur welcomed Christa, pointedly giving Ymir no such friendly treatment, then went out to prepare four cups of black tea.
"Tch. Boring." Ymir could not be bothered to trade barbs with Arthur either. She casually sat right on the desk beside Christa.
"Mikasa, what have you two been doing?" Feeling a little uncomfortable under Mikasa's stare, Christa changed the subject.
"Nothing much. Just signing some files. It's pretty quiet," Mikasa replied in a neutral tone.
"Uh, haha, I see." Christa felt a little awkward.
"Mikasa, who gave you that scarf?" Ymir was up to mischief again.
Ymir's question drew a reaction from Mikasa. She spoke in a gentle tone that even she did not notice.
"Arthur gave it to me."
"Oh, so that's it!" Ymir acted as though everything had suddenly become clear.
Christa, meanwhile, looked at Mikasa's scarf with a twinge of jealousy. She had never received a gift from Arthur.
"Hey, Mikasa, there's something I want to ask you, since Arthur isn't here." Ymir lowered her voice.
"What is it?" Mikasa looked at the secretive Ymir in puzzlement.
"You and Arthur aren't biological siblings, are you?" Ymir asked.
"Huh?! Ymir, how could you ask something so rude?" Christa protested.
"It's all right, Christa. I don't mind." Mikasa smiled and shook her head, then admitted, "It's true that Arthur and I aren't biological siblings. My father rescued Arthur from wolves, and he lived with us after that. We've always called ourselves brother and sister in front of other people."
"I knew it!" Ymir had her confirmation.
Christa, however, was stunned. She had never imagined that Mikasa and Arthur were not biological siblings. If that was the case, weren't they a little too intimate with each other?
Christa's thoughts immediately began to run wild.
"Arthur treats me very well. He's always treated me like his own little sister. When my parents were murdered by robbers, Arthur risked his life to save me. To me, he's the last close family I have left in this world." Mikasa slowly recounted the past she was reluctant to discuss.
"Mikasa..." Listening to her, Christa realized that Arthur and Mikasa shared such a deep bond. She also felt sympathy for the terrible things they had suffered, and understood something of their pain.
As though something had come to mind, Christa's expression grew downcast too.
"..." Ymir had not expected to dredge up someone else's painful memories. Awkwardness and guilt showed on her face.
"What are you talking about?" Arthur returned with the tea and looked at the three girls' unusual expressions in confusion.
"Nothing. Just secrets between girls. What, don't tell me you want to hear them?" Ymir said.
"Tch." Arthur rolled his eyes at her, then gave each of them a cup of black tea.
"Christa, what's wrong?" Arthur asked in puzzlement, noticing that she was staring at him with a forlorn expression.
"Nothing." Like a child caught doing something wrong, Christa hastily shook her head.
"What happened?" Arthur kept feeling that something was off about both Mikasa and Christa.
Just as he was racking his brain to figure out what was wrong,
he suddenly felt a profound sense of danger, exactly like the feeling he had experienced when the Colossal Titan appeared in Shiganshina District.
Arthur sprang to his feet and looked out the window. While the three girls were still wondering why he had suddenly acted so strangely,
Boom! A bolt of golden lightning struck in the distance. A second later, an enormous figure appeared beside the wall.
"The Colossal Titan!" The three girls' expressions changed at the sight of that enormous head and hideous face. They had never expected the Colossal Titan to appear again.
It was just like the incident in Shiganshina District, except this time, the Colossal Titan first swept away all the cannons on top of the wall with one strike of his palm. Eren and the others on the wall were nearly caught in the attack, but fortunately dodged in time.
Then the Colossal Titan raised his foot and kicked. With a deafening crash, he smashed a massive hole through the gate of Trost District, just like the one in Shiganshina District.
Once again, fierce winds and flying rubble swept through the area. Although the defenses installed at the gate intercepted most of the rubble in time, many enormous chunks still flew through and landed in the residential areas or the outskirts.
Once again, humanity would have to face the approaching army of Titans.