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Reiner's heart beat wildly in his chest. He couldn't make any noise past the gag stuffed in his mouth, and if he did, the sadistic son of a bitch standing over him would punish him. He had no doubts about that. But then again, he wasn't entirely sure he was going to make it out of this alive.

"Did you know that I can cut off your dick and you'll bleed out in minutes?"

The bulky blond's eyes flew wide open. His fighting spirit returned, and he strained and struggled against his confines, but all that resulted in him doing was flopping about uselessly like a fish. His tormentor's lips curled up in a cruel smile.

"Does that scare you? Good. I'm going to make an example of you. Torn limb from limb, extremities mangled, and castrated. Someone will find you, eventually. And nobody will be able to trace it. But it will send a message."

The person approached, the blood on their knife dripping onto Reiner's thigh as their teeth were exposed in a wicked grin.

"Don't touch my things."

.-.-.-.-.

"Are you sure you can continue on with normal duties? I can give you leave for a while."

"Yeah, and how many others are allowed to play hooky?" Eren snarked. Upon seeing in the mirror how Levi's face hardened at his tone, he sighed and rubbed his eyes tiredly. The short captain's hands didn't leave Eren's hips, but they grew stiff, and Eren recognized the warning signs. They may be lovers, but they were still superior and subordinate. He couldn't just snap at him. "I'm sorry. I'm okay. We can't just stop everything because of this. We've got headquarters to run."

Levi hummed slightly, pressing a kiss to the boy's neck and stepping away. "You're right. Just let me know if anything is too much. Seeing something like that... it's a marvel you're as stable as you are."

"I don't think 'stable' is the right word..." Eren let out a shaky breath, running a hand through his hair and gripping at the locks. "I... fuck, Levi, you have to understand, right? Everything's going fine and happy one moment, and the next... I can't believe... who would do that?"

Levi seemed to ponder Eren's words carefully before speaking. "Someone he'd wronged, I imagine." Eren turned around quickly, staring at Levi in shock. "Whether he thought he'd done it or not, or if he even knew. Even if whatever he did wasn't wrong to anyone but his attacker."

"But... but what would he have done?" Eren whispered, looking horrified. "Reiner was a great guy. Everyone liked him. A bit inappropriate at times, but he was nice..."

Levi shrugged. "Let's not dwell on it. Come on. Breakfast."

Eren trailed along after Levi obediently like a dog with its tail between its legs. His eyes never left the floor as they made their way to the mess hall. The walk was made longer than usual since Levi absolutely refused to let Eren back in the courtyard after what he'd found. They didn't need him panicking again. The raven's arm was slung around Eren's waist, thumb rubbing gently along his side in a soothing motion. Eren leaned against him the whole walk, craving the comforting presence.

Reluctantly, he parted from Levi once they reached their destination and got food, the younger of the two heading for his usual table of friends. Nobody greeted him cheerily like usual, no sleepy hellos, no bright chatter about stupid everyday topics. Every one of his friends was silent and solemn. Eren sat down quietly, uncomfortable in the heavy silence, but he in no way wanted to leave. Armin and Mikasa immediately crowded him on the bench, Mikasa protectively, Armin seeking comfort. Eren slung an arm around his best friend and leaned into his sister's embrace.

"How are you holding up?" Mikasa asked quietly.

"I'm fine," Eren replied just as softly, though he wasn't entirely sure if that was true himself. He could still see the horrifying scene in his mind, the blood everywhere, the almost unrecognizable corpse, the excess of blood between his legs and the removed extremity forced in his mouth, eyes bulging and rolled back -

His best friends gave him doubtful looks, and he shook his head furiously to clear it.

"Are you sure?" Armin murmured, voice cracking slightly, revealing that he'd been crying. He'd always been sensitive. "I mean, you were the one who... you know. Saw it."

Eren gave a shuddering sigh. "I know. And I'm still coping, but I - I'll be okay."

Bertholdt sniffed quietly from across the table, and Krista and Sasha immediately reached for the tall boy's hands. Eren looked down at his plate guiltily, feeling his heart was breaking. Bertholdt and Reiner had been so close. The boy may have towered over everyone else and been a hulking presence, but in reality he was shy and nervous and relied on Reiner like a lifeline. Eren tried to imagine how he would react if he lost Mikasa, or even Armin, and immediately perished the thought, unable to handle it. He couldn't imagine how terribly Bertholdt was coping with the loss.

Eren chanced a glance around the room and realized that most of the soldiers were quiet, and any conversation was hushed. There were people who could manage more than sad silence, those who didn't know the fallen soldier, but overall the atmosphere was gloomy and solemn. Everyone mourned the loss of a companion, and some were overtaken with fear. There was still the mystery of who'd done it. The murderer was still among them, and for all they knew, plotting the next kill. Eren knew Levi and Erwin were managing mountains of paperwork, and they needed to root out the threat quickly.

Losing soldiers to the titans was enough. Why would anyone feel the need to add to the casualty list?

Suddenly there was clamoring from people nearest the entrance, and a ripple effect of soldiers standing and saluting brought to the group's attention that Commander Erwin Smith had arrived. Fists closed over hearts and backs straightened. The large blond dismissed their salutes and they were allowed to sit, but he still commanded attention, and every pair of eyes was glued to him.

"As you all know, this is a dire situation." His voice carried in the silence, loud and authoritative. "One of our own has been killed at the hands of another human being. This is absolutely not tolerated in our military." He was clearly beyond angry, the fury in his ice-blue eyes overwhelming to those closest to him. "So I beg of you all, please, if you have any information about who might have done this, any speculation, tell a superior. Tell a friend if you're scared, tell your team leader, even come to me directly. Slide a paper under my hand if you want to be anonymous. We need to catch the culprit before he or she makes another move."

People started looking around, immediately looking to see if anyone was coming forward, or maybe wondering if they should come forward themselves. Eren's heart ached when nobody rose from this seat, nobody spoke a word. Erwin's gaze scanned the room, and he bowed his head slightly.

"I see. To anyone that has information, I will be in my office if you need me. Squad leaders, if any soldier -I repeat, any soldier, whether they be a new recruit or a senior - comes up to you and tells you something, anything, I expect that information to be taken directly to me. I don't care about your personal reasons. I need to know every little detail we can get."

He turned around and exited the mess hall. There was a solid moment of silence, and then suddenly hushed conversations were springing up: speculation about the murderer, wonder about how they wold be apprehended, fear of being murdered for telling their suspicions, conspiring together to try and figure out the mystery. Eren huddled closer to his friends, worry consuming him. Nothing good could come of all this. The murderer knew. What if he just killed them all?

"So who do you think it is?" Ymir drawled.

Eren was horrified to see how many of his friends joined in on the conversation.

.-.-.-.-.

I'm so scared. That can't have been the only murder the killer is going to commit. He's going to go after someone else. I just know it.

I try to talk to Levi about it, but he avoids my questions. He seems to be thinking really hard.

He promised he's protect me. I want to believe him, but how can he keep me safe when we don't even know who the culprit is?