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"Connie, can you bring me that bucket?"

The request was carried out with a small scoff, and then absolute silence. Eren accepted the pail from his fellow cadet, furrowing his eyebrows when Connie quietly returned to scrubbing dishes with Sasha. He leaned over and whispered something to the girl, and Sasha nodded, a slight incline of the head that was barely noticeable. They were practically joined at the hip, the closeness making their workspace awkward and clumsy, but they didn't seem to care.

The duo had been extremely quiet lately, ignoring any small talk from anyone and sticking to each other like they were glued. Sasha threw a glance over her shoulder, something similar to an eagle's watchful gaze, and it caused a shiver to run down Eren's spine. He wasn't sure what was up with them lately, but he felt it couldn't be anything good.

"They've been acting off, haven't they?" Mikasa was leaning over to murmur to Eren, and he nodded, wringing out his sponge and scrubbing at the kitchen counters.

"Yeah, it's not just you. They've been cold to everyone."

"I wonder why?"

"Bet they think one of us is the murderer. Can't say I blame them." Eren glanced up at her, and she was startled by the apathetic expression on his face. "All they know is that the murderer is still alive and killing, and his motive is unknown." To anyone but us, at least. Eren had to resist a fond smile at the thought of Levi, covered in blood and staring into his very soul with those beautiful silver eyes. It was a breathtaking sight.

"How can they trust each other, though?" Mikasa asked quietly. Eren quirked an eyebrow.

"Do you honestly think either of them is it?"

"I guess you have a point," Mikasa relented. "I mean... Sasha has incredible instincts, and they've always been close."

Eren nodded, losing interest in the conversation. He felt guilty, knowing how scared everyone must be, knowing how broken the soldiers had to be lately, but he couldn't bring himself to care too much. He felt kind of bad, having been a large part of why they were all so downcast and that their military branch was basically disbanded, but when he thought of Levi and their relationship and their raw devotion to each other, he couldn't help but lose interest in the Survey Corps.

Nothing was more important than Levi.

Speak of the devil and he shall appear. The captain entered the kitchen, and the four cadets threw up salutes, abandoning their chores. Levi scanned the room, nodding once. "It looks good. Seems like I've trained you brats well."

"We don't exactly have too much else to do, sir," Sasha scoffed, glaring darkly past Levi and at a spot in the wall. He raised his eyebrows, and Mikasa looked shocked. Eren, however, simply watched.

"Watch your tone with me, soldier," Levi warned.

"It's true, though," Connie spoke up, dropping his salute daringly. He crossed his arms. "Thanks to the murderer, we can't do anything. All we do is sit around and clean!"

Levi's expression didn't change, but Eren noticed the glint in his eyes. The captain stalked forward, leaning in close until he was nose to nose with the bald cadet. Connie shrank back slightly, but he didn't even blink - that is, until Levi growled out at him in a low tone.

"Well then, why don't you get up off your lazy fucking ass and figure out who the murderer is?" Connie narrowed his eyes at Levi, but when Levi pressed closer, he frowned and had to push away a look of fear. "Because that's the number one thing stopping us, Springer."

"I have a better question!" Sasha jumped in to rescue her friend, pushing Connie away from the captain. "What are you doing to catch the murderer?! You act so high and mighty, but it's been months! Can't you go any faster?!"

"Unless you have some complex way to scan fingerprints or analyze blood, I'm afraid you can't hurry along the process," Levi sneered. "Unless you have some idea of who it is?"

Sasha and Connie shared knowing looks, and Connie was the one who spoke.

"We do."

"Our first suspect was Erwin," Sasha said solemnly, "but he's been killed, so that isn't right."

"Now we have three suspects," Connie continued. "You three, in fact. Mikasa was our first guess." The girl looked completely taken aback by that. "A lot of the murders had something to do with Eren, and our first thought was, Mikasa would do anything for Eren."

"But it didn't make sense," Sasha threw in. "Mikasa would do anything for Armin, too, so why would she kill him? So then we thought our Captain could be it. Captain would have no qualms killing most of the victims. He's experienced and deadly. But, then, why would he attack his friends? He had no reason to go after Erwin or Mike."

"That led us to Eren." All eyes turned to the brunet, and Eren fought to keep his startled expression, rather than simply end their stupid speculation altogether. "Eren could kill, certainly. He's a monster. We've all seen his bloodlust. He could even kill his best friend to keep a secret."

"But then we thought harder, and we came to the conclusion that since none of your stories quite add up, it could be all of you."

Did they not realize how stupid it was to confess all this? They were looking on triumphantly as though they'd won some kind of game, as though figuring it out meant everything could be fixed. Eren met eyes with Levi, and a silent conversation took place.

Do we take care of them?

No, I'll handle this.

Levi rolled his eyes and sighed, giving off the impression of someone tired and irate. He pushed his fingers through his hair and said, "You're fucking lucky none of us are the killer."

"How can we believe you?"

"Because if even one of us was, we would have killed everyone in this room just to keep our secret, you fucking idiots!" Levi grabbed the front of Connie's shirt, shaking him roughly. "What did you think you'd accomplish by revealing the killer when you have less experience and would be cornered?!" He practically threw the cadet away from him, turning quickly and walking back to the door. "Both of you are to join the new cadets' training down at the courtyard with Squad Leader Dita. Ackerman!"

Mikasa brought her fist back up in a salute, snapping back into alertness. "Sir!"

"Go with them. Tell Dita they're to be punished for accusing comrades of heinous crimes."

"Yes, sir!"

"And you two -" Levi curled his lip back into a snarl. "Be glad you're not being court-marshaled for this."

Mikasa looked a cross between shocked, hurt, and disgusted, and she led the duo out without another word. Eren and Levi sat in silence until they heard the footsteps fade completely, and then Eren let out a little giggle.

"You're a really good liar."

"I pride myself on my acting," Levi hummed, grinning as he pulled Eren closer by the waist. "I have to say, though, I don't pull off the innocent victim look nearly as well as you."

"It's because you're a grumpy old man," Eren joked, smacking Levi's chest playfully.

"Oi. I am a sexy old man, thank you very much, you fucking brat."

Eren's smile faded, and his hands went up to Levi's face, fingers tracing lightly over flawless pale skin. "What are you going to do to them?" he asked quietly.

"Make it look like an accident," the raven replied, expression darkening as he buried his face in the brunet's neck. Eren tilted his head, allowing Levi better access as he pressed delicate kisses to the caramel skin. "How dare they accuse you?"

"I am a murderer now," Eren pointed out, breathless as the gentle brush of lips turned to a tongue trailing across his skin. "Just because I'm the lesser of two evils doesn't mean I've done nothing wrong."

"Nobody's going to put you in danger while I'm still breathing. I don't care what you've done. You're not going to face the consequences if I can help it, even if we have to run away to save you."

Eren chuckled softly, threading his fingers through inky locks. "You're like a child sometimes. Thanks for the sentiment."

.-.-.-.-.

"E-Eren - oh god - Eren, wake up!"

The brunet groaned as he was disturbed from his seat, and he unfolded himself from the uncomfortable position in the chair in Levi's office. Eren glanced up to see Mikasa's horrified expression, and immediately he was alert, glancing around the office for any danger. Levi wasn't there, and the door was flung wide open. Everyone knew to keep that door shut -

"Mikasa? What's wrong?"

"It's Sasha and Connie, they - fuck, just come look."

The stench of blood reached Eren's nose before they even reached the stables. He covered his nose, cringing at the smell, and Mikasa mirrored him. She faltered with her hand on the handle, but in a burst of courage she pushed the door open.

Wow... Levi had certainly done a good job with this one. Not too messy. There was a shovel lying on the ground and Sasha's face was smashed inward, her fingers loosely grasping a hatchet. A few feet away lay Connie with his arm barely still attached. Eren nearly retched as the smell hit him again like a wave, and he determinedly pinched his nose shut.

"They killed each other?"

"I'm not sure. Do you think they could have?"

"They could have gotten suspicious of each other," Eren suggested, stepping closer to the corpses. Sasha wasn't even recognizable, and Connie was deathly pale with blood loss. Red stained the ground and hay, and the horses stamped and whinnied nervously around them. "If Connie started to suspect Sasha, she would have felt it. Like you said, her instincts are strong. They could have turned on one another."

Mikasa looked horrified. "How - how are you so neutral about all this?!"

Eren raised his eyebrows, and realized with a jolt how factual he'd been as he spoke. "Shit, I guess I am," he muttered, glancing back down at the bodies. "I'm a bit desensitized to it now."

"How can you just get used to our friends dying?!" his sister demanded, expression one of anger now. Suddenly it changed, however, to one of realization. "Unless... unless... you?"

Eren shook his head. "No, it wasn't me. I've been asleep all day."

"But you know who it was," Mikasa nearly whispered. "Is it... it's him, isn't it?"

Eren crouched down by Sasha wordlessly, fingers tracing over the bruised remains of her face. Shame. She used to be a fairly pretty girl. His fingers curled around the smooth wooden handle of the hatchet.

"Eren, we have to report him! Why have you let this go on so long?!"

"Because we love each other."

"That's no reason!" Mikasa hissed. "Eren, please! Just come with me. We'll report Levi, and I'm sure they'll let you off if you play victim!"

"Sorry," Eren said quietly, solemnly. "I didn't want to have to do this, but I can't have you blabbing."

"Eren..."

Mikasa seemed to understand. She knelt down and turned Eren around, wrapping her arms around his middle. She closed her eyes, burying her face in his shoulder and breathing deeply.

"... thanks for wrapping this scarf around me all those years ago."

And then she was silent, dead with a soft smile on her lips and tears pouring down her cheeks. Eren let a few tears fall himself, releasing the handle of the hatchet. It stayed buried in her spine, a nearly instant and merciful death for his sister. His hands went up to her hair, and he stroked it softly, inhaling her scent.

"You're welcome..."

.-.-.-.-.

Didn't want to kill her. It hurt. It hurt more than I thought it would. But it would hurt more if I lost Levi, so I did it.

Wearing her scarf now. It smells like her. Guess the things that you lose always find their way back to you, huh?

She's been buried in a beautiful place in the forest with lots of flowers. I asked Levi to make sure of it, and he understood. After all, the most important people in his life didn't get burials...

I love him so much. I hope he knows that.