Chapter One

"Hope you enjoyed my birthday present, Mrs Bodt. That's all from me, Abnormal. See you next week!"

Levi pinched the bridge of his nose, frustration building. The laptop screen before him was paused on a video of a man with what appeared to be a mask of a distorted face. Either that or-- no, Levi didn't want to think of what it could be instead. All that could be seen was the man's twisted mouth from a cut-out in his mask (if that was what it was).

This was the most recent death in a series of nine. Other than them all living in the city of Trost, the police couldn't find any possible connection between the victims. So they had turned to the slightly unorthodox Scouting Incorporation, otherwise known as the Scouts. They were a private detective agency that specialised in strange murders, but even they were stumped. Levi was one of the higher-ups assigned to the Abnormal case, and he had made very little progress. All they knew was the murderer was male and was from the ages of 18 – 35. He killed quickly and carefully, filming it all in a base that changed every time and leaving a videotape and the victim's head in a cardboard box on the family's doorstep in the morning. They'd been on this case for two months, two fuckingmonths, and had made progress even a piece of shit could make. And Levi was done. He was so fucking tired and he was bored of this man and this case and the fact that they still hadn't found anything of substance. And he was most tired of having to tell families every week that their son or daughter was confirmed dead and that no, they didn't know anything yet and yes, they were trying their hardest to catch the guy.

Lost in his own thoughts, Levi didn't notice his screen go black until an electronic beep brought him back to earth.

Shit.

He panicked and scrambled for the on button, mashing it with his finger, but to no avail. He was ready to smash his laptop – he had already raised it above his desk – when he saw the sticky note Hanji, one of the annoying shits in forensics, had left with the number for the tech department. Realising that Erwin, his boss, would make him pay if the laptop was broken (even though they had bought it, not Levi, so it was technically their responsibility), he carefully set it down before picking up the phone on his desk and dialling the number. After a few seconds of the dialling tone, a loud voice picked up,

'Hello sir this is Eren from the tech department. What can I help you with?' The voice was young and male, with an enthusiasm Levi almost wished he still had. Another voice came from the phone, but obviously from further away from the other end, as it sounded a little distant,

'Oi I was supposed to get that Jaeger! You agreed if you lost the arm wrestle, I'd be the next person to take the call!' another young voice, again clearly male, was shouting at this "Eren". Well, it wasn't so much of a shout but more of a bray. Is this some fucking stables instead?

'Fuck off Jean I don't care about your stupid arm wrestle. I got to the phone first so I get to answer it.' Levi decided he'd had enough of the brats on the end of the phone bickering about random shit, so decided to interrupt,

'Excuse me, I'm still here.' The boy on the phone stopped talking to the guy that sounded like a horse and began talking to Levi.

'Sorry sir, I got distracted. What seems to be the problem today?'

'My laptop stopped working, what else do you think is the problem? For a supposed tech whiz, you seem pretty fucking stupid to me,' when the boy spoke again, he sounded slightly put-out, and possibly a little intimidated,

'Of course sir, I'll be right up,'

'Level 14, room 107. You'd better be here in five minutes or I'll kick your ass so hard you won't shit for a week,' Levi then placed down the phone (definitely didn't slam it) and started timing on his watch.

Exactly five minutes and twenty-seven seconds later, someone knocked on Levi's door.

'Name and business,' He asked, his tone curt and cold.

'Uh, Eren Jaeger, I'm from tech. You asked me to come fix your laptop?' it sounded like more of a question.

'Come in,' he said and the boy entered. Levi was about to reprimand him for his shitty timekeeping skills, but the words died in his throat when he laid his eyes upon the boy.

He was young, around eighteen, and had tanned skin and chocolate brown hair that looked so soft Levi was tempted to reach out and touch it, but he didn't because he was almost twice this kid's age and would likely make him run to Shinganshina. His mouth was smiling, his teeth bright white and straight. And his eyes… his eyes were so intense and the most beautiful colour Levi had ever seen. They were the colour of a Caribbean sea, a mural of greens and blues swirling together to make an indescribable colour. No Levi told himself this little brat is probably straight as hell and has a girlfriend. You're almost twice his age and almost a foot shorter than him. Why would he like a short, old stick-in-the-mud like you?

'Right, um, sir? Can you explain to me the problem with your laptop please?' asked Eren tentatively, obviously scared of Levi. And for good reason, really. Levi was known throughout the Scouts for being ruthless and calculating, willing to go to any length to solve a case. Yet he also never endangered innocents and would always make snide remarks to Erwin whenever he could about the amount of detectives that had died because of some shitty case. He had one of the highest positions as a detective and was feared throughout the company for his unparalleled skills and terrifying demeanour. Anyone assigned to a case with him would become skittish around him and shrink into themselves whenever he asked them a question. A select few had actually grown a pair over the years and were called his squad, as if they were in the military, and would usually be assigned to his cases because they could talk to him without being worried for their pay check. Or their asses…

'To put it simply, I was reviewing evidence for a case then it went black for no fucking reason. The shitty on button didn't work either, so don't try that. I'm not that technologically inept,' he said as the boy moved over to the laptop and went for the button he'd mentioned.

'Ah, okay then. I'll just look it over, but if it'll take a while to fix, I'll have to get you a substitute, is that alright?' No, it's not fucking alright. I don't want some shitty brat, albeit it a good-looking one, looking through my shit. Despite wanting to protest, Levi just hummed in agreement, his face neutral if not slightly bored. Eren inspected the laptop closely, searching for any faults and humming quietly to himself. After a few minutes, he stopped humming and Levi was about to ask him what the fuck was wrong when he burst out laughing.

'What is it brat?' asked Levi, an indignant look on his face. He didn't appreciate being laughed at, especially by some shitty brat, even if he did have fucking beautiful eyes. 'What the fuck is your problem?'

'Sorry sir… it's just that…. the problem was…. you forgot to plug it in!' Levi couldn't understand was what so funny. A plug? He thought laptops meant you didn't need a plug. That was the reason he'd requested one from Erwin. His confusion must have shown on his face because the brat explained, 'Y'know, the charger cable. You use it to charge the-'

'Yes I know what a charger cable is, you little shit,' Levi cut him off, his face feeling slightly warm. 'So all I need to do is plug the charger in and it will work?'

'Yeah that sounds about right. I couldn't see any other issues with it so try it and I can see. It could be something wrong with the software, this new 3DMG programming is weird and it has been acting up a bit recently.' The kid began mumbling to himself, most of the terms not registering with Levi. All he recognised was "3DMG" which was the new… computer… thing that meant the Scouts had taken on loads more technicians and made Hanji leave the post-it on his desk with the number for the tech department in case he got pissed off with his computer. Which he obviously never would.

Levi searched around for his laptop cable, eventually finding it in the case he brought it to work in, and plugged it in. He sat down and pressed the on button. Immediately the computer turned back on again. Luckily, the case file was still loaded up, along with the video he'd been watching. Forgetting Eren was stood behind him, he replayed the clip for the umpteenth time that day and sighed as he watched. The villain had just signed off when he remembered the kid was still in his office.

'Ugh that's disgusting. What kind of case is this?' the brat asked. Presumptuous little shit thought Levi, but he answered him anyway.

'This is the case that's had the Corporation stumped for two months now,' he explained dully, as if reading from a script, 'All we know is he's male, around the ages of 18-35 and likes to leave presents for the families the morning after he's killed someone.'

'And that he's probably part of a group called "Titan",' the kid commented, his brow furrowed in concern.

'What did you say?'

'He's probably part of a group called "Titan". You could tell that from the video right? The guy said "The Titans are coming" before the other guy, Abnormal, killed him. It was pretty obvious, I can't believe you didn't notice it. Then again, you don't even know what a charger is old man.'

'Call me an old man again and I'll slit your fucking throat you little shit,' the boy shivered, an intense look of fear crossing his face, 'What did you say about the group "Titan"?' the boy looked startled at the sudden change of topic but leant over Levi anyway to point out the moment in the video where the victim spoke.

'Riiiight...there!' Eren exclaimed. Levi replayed the few seconds and, sure enough, the kid in the video uttered the words Eren had claimed he had.

'Holy shit kid. I think you may have found us our first lead. Sit down and don't go anywhere,' Levi stood up and put up a finger commanding the boy to stay put, 'I'm going to talk to my boss and if I'm not back in ten minutes, you can leave. Don't mess with anything, don't make a mess and don't you fucking dare leave until I tell you that you can.' And with that, Levi turned on his heel and left.

'Who is it?' came the deep, authoritative voice from inside the office. It seemed a little… breathless.

'It's me,' Levi answered and opened the door to find his boss Erwin having what seemed to be a very… heated conversation with another of the detectives Mike Zacharius. He was considered the Scouts' best detective after Levi and had a disturbing habit of sniffing people. However, it looked as he had been doing more than sniffing Erwin

'Couldn't this have waited?' asked Mike, with Erwin giving Levi a withering look from next to him. Levi flipped him off and gave them both a hard glare.

'I know you'd love to continue your make out session,' Erwin made an uncharacteristic, indignant noise, which Levi ignored, 'but I think I have a lead on the Abnormal.' All annoyance at being interrupted disappeared from Erwin and Mike's faces and Erwin straightened his tie.

'We need to call a meeting. Get Hanji and Levi's squad,' Levi gave Erwin a look. He knew Levi didn't like that word. They weren't in the military. Erwin ignored him and continued, 'Tell them to be here in ten minutes,' he told Mike. The man rushed off to do as commanded Ugh, I don't want to imagine Erwin commanding Mike to do anything and Erwin turned to Levi. 'So, what is this lead and how did you get it?'

'Well this brat from tech came to fix something on my laptop,' Erwin smirked. He knew how bad Levi was with technology, 'and when it loaded up he saw the video of the latest victim. He saw the guy said something before he died, and I think it's a lead. Then the little shit had the gall to call me old,' Erwin chuckled, 'Fuck off Erwin. You're older than me remember.'

'That is true, but I at least know how to use a computer,' Erwin gave Levi a mocking smile, but then straightened his face as he remembered the topic at hand. 'Anyway, focussing on the case. What did the victim say that you think could be a lead?' Levi fixed him with a stern look and took a deep breath. He knew the implications of bringing this group into this case,

'The Titans are coming.'

Over two hours later, Levi returned to his office. Erwin had made what was supposed to be quick meeting last an age because he called in almost all the detectives in the Scouts. The threat of the group "Titan" was too great, and the opportunity to finally persecute them was too big to miss. They needed as many people as possible, for Titan wouldn't go down without a fight.

The group Titan had first appeared around a hundred years before and they proved from their first days that they were ruthless and would stop at nothing to get what they wanted. Levi was used to their ways because of his days on the streets and he knew that they were powerful and elusive; they would never be caught without a meticulously planned set-up and something to pin on them. And it had been presented to the Scouting Corporation on a silver platter. This serial killer was the key to finally unravelling the mysteries of Titan and getting each and every member convicted and punished. Levi could not wait.

He noticed that the brat from before had left a post-it on his laptop, saying he'd done a few extra checks on the system, making sure it was in working order. Levi opened the lid, signed in and immediately noticed another sticky note, but this time it was on the screen. And he didn't know how to get rid of it. It said "If you were a flower, you'd be a damndelion". Despite being thoroughly irritated, Levi snorted. A dandelion is a weed you dumbass. Although he had no idea how to get rid of the post-it on his screen, he refused to call tech to ask for help. He didn't want any more presumptuous brats with pretty eyes flirting with him.

*The next day*

"Oi brat, come and fix my fucking laptop. This post-it is pissing me off."

"I knew you'd ring eventually."