"Christ Sasha, you look like a wreck." Connie said, as Sasha joined her friends at the table.

"Gee, thanks." she grumbled.

There were dark circles under her eyes, and her usual chipper attitude was faded. "I barely slept last night." she added, slumping her cheek into her palm.

"So you woke up?" Jean asked. Sasha nodded, before biting into her bread.

"You missed the sunrise then." Connie added.

Sasha's eyes widened as she looked up at Mikasa, "Did you miss it because of me Mikasa?" she asked, knowing how much Mikasa looked forward to the sunrise each morning.

Mikasa shook her head, "No I still watched it." Sasha let out a relieved sigh, as she brought her attention back to breakfast.

"You were alone? You should've asked me to come." Jean told Mikasa. "She wasn't alone, I was with her." Eren muttered.

Jean looks at Eren and then back at Mikasa, a feeling of betrayal painted on his face.

"I didn't invite anyone, he came on his own." Mikasa quickly assured Jean. He nodded, but his frown still remained.

...

A few days had passed since Mikasa's morning with Eren, and Jean was making any excuse he could find to be with her. He'd eat with her, he'd walk her from place to place, and he would accompany her while she trained. He even asked if he could watch the sunrise with her, but Sasha quickly shut down the idea. Jean started getting more comfortable, and would often hold Mikasa's hand, and would even kiss her. Even though she never initiated anything, she didn't mind the warm gestures. They brought her temporal satisfaction, but she still couldn't see herself with Jean. Nonetheless she pushed the doubts away, and kept lying to herself. I'm enjoying myself. I like him. I want a future with him.

"Did you grab your bag?" Armin asked Eren. Eren nodded, throwing the heavy sack over his shoulder.

They all boarded the wagons, and were taken to the other side of the local forest. The woods stretched out for ten miles, so it was about a twelve mile walk back to camp. All the cadets were brought to the very end of the forest, as they unloaded all of their bags.

"Cadets!" the commander shouted, catching everyone's attention. "Incase any of you forgot, I will be going over the instructions once again. It's about three pm now, so I'd say it'll take you three hours to reach camp considering the amount of weight on your back. You have to bring the weighted bags back with you, no excuses. If you don't make it back before sunset, you simply won't be receiving dinner. If you get lost, then figure it out." the commander explained.

"Well, go on." he concluded, before stepping back into the wagon everyone had just been unloaded out of.

Considering the weather, Mikasa could already imagine a few setbacks. First, there was an awfully thick fog that layered the forest, making it impossible to see more than ten feet ahead. The sky was gloomy as well, and dark clouds could be seen further into the forest. If it happened to start raining, it would make the journey much more difficult.

A few people immediately ran into the forest, including Sasha and Connie. It seems that the commander threatening their dinner was enough persuasion.

Everyone moved through the forest at their own pace, so groups began separating. Jean walked with Mikasa, Eren and Armin were not far behind them.

They had only walked the first mile, but Mikasa could tell that Jean was itching to run up ahead. He had gotten closer to Connie over the past few weeks, and was often competitive with him when it came to assignments like this.

"Go, run up ahead." Mikasa said.

Jean gave her a concerned look, "Are you sure? I can stay with you-" "I'll be fine, go catch up with Connie and Sasha." she assured him. He laid a soft kiss on her forehead, before running up ahead.

She heard Eren groan in disgust behind her, "Ugh." he muttered.

Armin chuckled, "The weather puts him in a mood." he explained. Mikasa chuckled and nodded, as Armin and Eren ran up beside her.

"Stop making shit up Armin! The only one who puts me in a bad mood is that horse face." he grumbled.

Mikasa rolled her eyes, but did not argue. She would rather not get into a conversation about Jean with Eren.

"Why did he run up ahead?" Armin asked. "Oh, he wanted to catch up with Connie, and I wanted to take it slow." she explained.

"Oh..." Armin said, dragging out the 'o'.

There was an awkward silence, as Armin cleared his throat. "Have you guys noticed the fog thickening? Or is it just me?" he asked.

"No I noticed it too, I can barely see three feet ahead." he muttered. Mikasa nodded, realizing that the blanket of fog was indeed thickening.

A droplet of water hit Armin's nose, causing him to shiver. "Uh oh." he muttered.

"Hm?" Mikasa hummed.

"It's starting to rain." he declared, as the three of them looked up. It was only sprinkling as of now, but that's how rain always started.

"So? It's just a little water." Eren murmured.

Armin shook his head, "The water is going to add weight to the fifty pounds that we're already carrying, and if it really starts pouring down then it will make the path ahead of us even visible." Armin explained.

Mikasa was still gazing up, hypnotized by the rain drops descending onto the ground. She didn't notice the large root approaching her feet, as she tripped over it.

She opened her eyes to an arm across her chest, and realized that Eren had caught her before she fell.

"Watch where you're going, dummy."

She sprang back up, "Thanks." she muttered, before they continued walking again.

But as soon as she took a step, she felt a sharp pain in her ankle.