The Raven

Chapter Six: Hauntings in the Night

The next morning, I'm in Captain Erwin's office and making sure he understands that I am not giving my missions to any other soldier. He nods as I speak and I feel much more comfortable at the fact that it's only the two of us in the room. When I finish, I hold my breath, awaiting his reply.

"Alright, you can begin your tasks for today," he says with a firm nod. "I need no more convincing."

"Thank you, sir," I say, stamping and slamming my fists against my back and chest in respect.

"One more thing before you go, Ackerman," he says and takes something out of his drawer, throwing it at me. I catch it out of instinct, feeling cold metal against my palm and fingers. "Commander Pixis, Shadis, Hanji, Levi and I all came to a unanimous decision on the matter of promoting you. Congratulations, Captain Ackerman."

"C-captain?" I repeat, staring at the badge in my hand in shock.

"That's right, you'll be leading your very own squad now," he says with a nod. "You've been doing so for the last few days, non-stop for that matter and you've succeeded in all of your missions. We merely decided to make it official."

"Are you sure?" I ask stupidly, because I'm not even sure if I'm ready for this.

He nods firmly, taking my question completely seriously. "Another reason, I gave this position to you is because of this new 'Scorpion Lady' threat. You have a better idea of what we're dealing with than anyone else and if we get any other information or leads, we'll be sending you and your squad out to investigate. Is that understood?"

"Yes, sir," I push all doubts from my mind and match his serious gaze.

"There's no need to call me 'sir' anymore, Mikasa," he says with a small smile. "We're on the same level now."

"Alright si- I mean, Erwin," I nod once and take my leave, badge clasped tightly in my hand.
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My missions go by smoothly and easily. I put all my attention and concentration into slaying titans and making sure we can never be ambushed. When I do my rounds, I relay them twice, barely having time to converse with my squad.

My squad.

It sounds unreal, but it's true. I'm a captain now. When I was asked to pick my soldiers, I chose the ones I knew I could trust, namely Sasha, Connie, Jean, Armin and Eren (although he spends most of his time with Hanji.) It's more relaxed now, while we're on missions. Before I started taking on so many missions, we used to go out with Levi's squad and all of my friends knew about the situation I had gotten myself into when it came to Levi and Petra. It was awkward at times but in truth, I don't think I could've survived without them.

I don't get much of a chance to talk to them at all today but on our way home, I tell the others to go ahead and stop Jean. He doesn't seem surprised in the least and I mentally prepare myself for what I'm going to say to him, to explain what happened last night.

"Are you alright?" He asks as we come to a stop on a branch.

"Yes, I'm fine, I just wanted to apologise... for last night," I say quietly. "I didn't mean for things to happen like they did."

"It wasn't your fault Mikasa-"

"No it is," I cut him off gently. "I... You... You're a really nice guy, Jean and I appreciate what you said to me last night about waiting until I was ready. I know I said I was but I don't think I am ready, for that or a serious relationship."

"Did Levi say something?" He asks immediately, brows drawing together. "Because I swear to you-"

"Jean," I interrupt him again and give him an honest look. "He said a lot of things but that's not what's influencing my decision. I just... I'm not over it yet and I think the best thing for me to do is to just focus on being your captain and... your friend."