Small Blade

"This world is cruel. And yet...so beautiful."

- Mikasa accepts her fate

Small Blade (小さな刃) is the 3rd chapter of the 2nd volume and the 7th chapter overall of the Attack on Titan manga, written and illustrated by Hajime Isayama.

Overview
The soldiers are low on faith if they are able to reach their supplies after a horde of Titans have surrounded the HQ, trapping several inside. Mikasa arrives at the scene and finds Armin, asking where the rest of his team is. Armin breaks down before answering that they have all been killed. Mikasa calms Armin down and tries to motivate the soldiers. She promptly leaves them and eventually, everyone follows. The teams tail Mikasa, but after killing a few Titans, she runs out of gas. Mikasa readies herself as a Titan approaches her, planning to give up if Eren is not with her anymore. Somehow she remembers Eren's words to fight and she instinctively defends herself against the Titan. Before she is able to attack it, right before her eyes, another Titan arrives to fight the Titan.

Summary
Desperate and running out of supplies, a group of soldiers uses tables and chairs in an attempt to fortify an upstairs room. With Titans surrounding the building and peering at them through the windows, the situation is bleak. When a Titan crashes its arm through the Wall trying to get at them, a trainee decides that suicide would be preferable to getting caught and shoots himself.

Mikasa, reaching the front, joins Connie, Jean and other trainees on a nearby roof. With very little gas left in their vertical maneuvering equipment, they are unable to escape or help their comrades in the upstairs room. Jean reveals the reason for the supply shortage. Two trainees, charged with the task of supplying the soldiers, have barricaded themselves in the headquarters, too scared to go out. In an attempt to motivate the others, Connie declares that they should fight the Titans with the remaining gas, otherwise, they risk being in the same position as the upstairs group. In a morose yet realistic response, Jean asks if Connie really thinks they can make a difference given their current manpower. On another part of the roof, Sasha tries to raise morale, suggesting they pool their resources. She asks Armin, but he is still in shock. Reiner, Annie and Marco converse about the situation. They are soon joined by Mikasa, who asks where Eren's team is. They say that they have not seen him and point her to Armin.

Armin notices her running towards him, but cannot bring himself to look at her in the eye, thinking back on what happened. She asks if he is okay. Armin, while looking away, does not answer. When she asks where Eren is, he bursts into tears. He then announces the casualties for his team, saving Eren's name for last. This catches everyone's attention, especially those that were among the top ten in the 104th Training Corps. Armin begins to cry again. Mikasa comforts him, but dissociates herself from the news, appearing emotionless. She then repeats the advice Eren gave her years ago: if you want to live, you have to fight. After shaming them into fighting, they follow her one by one. Armin notices that she is not her usual clear-headed self and surmises that she is staying active to keep from shaking.

Mikasa runs out of gas and falls, fortunately landing on a cloth covering. Thinking about the news, she worries that she is losing her family again. On the ground and without the mobility of the vertical maneuvering equipment, two Titans start to close in on her. Remembering her friend, she says that she is had a good life, prepared for it to end. However, recalling the day Eren saved her life and him telling her to fight, she rises to her feet and readies herself for battle. As she is about to attack the oncoming Titan, the one behind attacks it instead, smashing its face with a single punch. Surprised, Mikasa tries to figure out what is going on, as this Titan turns on its own species.

Trivia

 * The title of this chapter is also the name of one of Mikasa's missions in the videogame Attack on Titan: The Last Wings of Mankind.

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