These characters are under copyright by Hajime Isayama and/or Kodansha Comics or others. This is a work of fanfiction, for no monetary gain.

A/N:
If you like this story, you might also like my original published work, the four book high fantasy series, Descent of Kings, by Maria Albert, available on Amazon and through the publisher, Dreamspinner.

Chapter 52 – To the Rescue!

"Armin, what do you think about…Armin? Hey Armin!" Eren called, looking around for the familiar gleaming mop of golden hair. He frowned when he didn't see his friend. "Mikasa, where'd he go?"

"I have no idea. I thought he was right behind us," Mikasa said, scanning the crowded street. She didn't look nearly as concerned as she usually would. Ever since they were attacked at their camp, Mikasa had a newfound faith in Armin's abilities to protect himself.

Eren frowned. He was glad she didn't worry about Armin as much, anymore, but he hated that Armin, of all people, had been forced to kill ten men to protect him and Mikasa. He kept expecting to see it affect Armin in some terrible way, nightmares or throwing up, or even not sleeping or eating altogether, but so far, Armin seemed completely fine, perfectly normal. But how could he be after what had happened?

Eren and Mikasa had both had horrible nightmares when they were little, from the murder of her parents and killing those three evil men. Mikasa kept hearing her mother scream at her to run, watching her mother reach out helplessly as her blood flowed in rivers onto the floor. Eren kept seeing the bodies of her parents, the blood splattered everywhere, on their floor, the door, the walls, even the windows and the table where they used to eat. And both of them had relived killing those men, over and over, in their nightmares. Armin was so sweet, so gentle. How could he not be haunted by what he'd done to those men?

Those evil bastards! Just thinking about them made Eren's blood boil but also made his heart hammer in fear. Because Armin wasn't the one who was haunted by what had happened: Mikasa was. Strong, brave, fearless Mikasa was the one who was barely eating, and throwing up, and having trouble sleeping. When she did manage to sleep, she thrashed around, as if fighting off invisible hands. She'd hit him in the jaw and ribs, and when he'd finally managed to grab her and shake her awake, there had been a look of terror in her eyes that didn't belong there, until she realized it was him, and then her face had flushed in shame and she'd looked away. And worst of all, a moment later, turned back to him, perfectly calm, and told him she was fine, that it was just a nightmare.

She wasn't fine. Armin and Mikasa were keeping something from him, something big, something horrible. He'd tried to deny it, because he didn't want to believe it, because there was nothing he could do. He couldn't change the past. He couldn't even kill them for what they'd done, because those men were already dead. Armin had killed them, taken revenge for all of them. Eren was the one who had been useless, unconscious, while those men had.…

"They raped you, didn't they," Eren accused in a dead voice, a statement, not a question, in the same lifeless tone he'd used after killing those two men when he was nine, the day both his childhood and Mikasa's had abruptly, bloodily ended.

He should have waited until she was facing him, instead of still looking for Armin, but he hadn't wanted to see the light in her eyes die. Mikasa stiffened, only for a moment, but he saw, because he'd watched for it.

When she turned to face him, she had that same, horrible, placid expression she always wore, no matter what terrible things were happening. "They didn't. Why are we even talking about this now? I'm fine and those men are dead, but Armin's missing. Focus, Eren."

"Don't tell me to focus! I am focusing! You're not fine. If you were, you would have realized I didn't just mean you. I meant Armin, too. They raped him, too, didn't they? That's why he was able to kill them without getting sick or having nightmares, because he's already living a nightmare, and pretending just like you are that everything is fine!" Eren roared.

Mikasa paled, all the confidence and fight going out of her, and her eyes grew distant, and Eren knew she was reliving it, remembering. "Armin? Oh God. They… I didn't even thi… I should have realized when… he looked so wrong, so crazed… We have to find him!" She was looking around frantically now, completely panicked.

Shit, shit, shit. He was right. Those men had raped both of them.

Eren grabbed Mikasa by her shoulders and shook her, harder than he intended to, but he was so furious. "Calm down! You're not helping him any. We'll use our gear and yell until we find him. If that brings the Garrison or the Military Police running, that's fine. They can help us search." He saw the panic flee her eyes, replaced not by calm, but determination.

"You're right. I'm sorry. And they didn't quite, not me at least. We'll talk later, I'll tell you everything, I promise, but we have to find him," Mikasa swore.

Eren nodded and let go, wondering what the hell she meant, that they didn't quite. They either did or they didn't. He fired his grapples and hit his gas, and then clung to the nearest rooftop, scanning the crowded street, his anxiety growing as he didn't see the flash of blond hair or the Wings of Freedom he was searching for. "Armin! Armin, where are you?"

Eren heard Mikasa calling too, saw her head back the way they'd come, on the other side of the street. He headed back too, swinging from rooftop to rooftop, automatically compensating for the unfamiliar weight and drag of his pack, calling out repeatedly and scanning the street they'd walked down, as well as the side streets and alleys on his side of the main street. Don't be dead, don't be dead, don't be dead. Please be OK. If something awful had happenedhe'd never forgive himself for not noticing Armin was missing sooner.

Ten blocks later, when Eren saw Armin, at first seemingly healthy, looking around, perplexed, he almost fainted with relief, until he realized something was wrong. Armin's left arm was curled up and pressed against his chest, like he was shielding broken ribs, and as Eren swooped down towards him, he saw that there was a smear of blood on his forehead too. "Armin! Thank God you're alive! Where are you hurt?" Eren cried.

"Of course I'm alive. And I'm not hurt. Is that why you were bellowing my name like an idiot? I'm fine," his friend assured him.

"Armin!" Mikasa landed next to them and reached out to hug him.

To Eren's surprise and concern, Armin jerked away from her. "Careful, you'll hurt him," he accused.

Shit. Why would Armin think Mikasa would hurt him, and why was he talking about himself as if he was another person?

"What happened? Who attacked you? Did you kill them? Where are you hurt?" Mikasa demanded.

"What's gotten into both of you? No one attacked me and I'm not hurt at all," Armin argued, even as he brushed a strand of hair off his forehead with his right hand, leaving a fresh streak of blood.

"Your hand! What happened to your hand?" Mikasa demanded, snatching him by the wrist.

Armin balled his hand into a fist guiltily. "Nothing. I'm fine. It's just a few scratches. It's not his fault. He didn't mean it."

"Armin, let me see," Mikasa demanded.

"Forget his hand. It's his ribs I'm worried about," Eren said, reaching for his jacket.

Armin jerked away again. "Careful, you'll scare him!"

Eren held up his hands in a calming gesture. "I don't mean to scare you, Armin."

"Me? Why would I be scared of you, Eren? Heck, if you don't scare me in your Titan form, there's no way I'd be scared of you now," Armin claimed, completely baffling Eren and looking just as confused as Eren felt.

"But you just said…"

"Mew," a tiny little voice cried.

"What the hell…Armin, was that you?" Eren asked, perplexed.

"Now you woke him up, and I still don't have anything to feed him," Armin complained.

"Armin, what's under your jacket?" Mikasa asked.

"That's just Blackberry," Armin said, pulling aside the flap of his jacket and revealing a furry little black head.

"That's a kitten. You have a kitten," Eren accused in confusion. "That was why you were missing? Because of a stupid kitten? We thought you were dead! Next time, tell us before you just vanish, you ass," Eren snapped, relief giving way to anger.

"Right. Because it only took you what, ten or twenty blocks to even notice I was gone?" Armin snarled back, like a growling puppy. "I'm surprised you noticed at all. You're lucky I'm not dead! Next time try paying attention to someone other than Mikasa, you self-absorbed jerk!"

"Armin, that's not fair," Mikasa chastised.

"Sure. Of course it's not. What a surprise. You're taking Eren's side. Like that's never happened before. I'm sick of you both ganging up on me, scolding me like I'm some little kid. You're not my parents and I'm a Scout, just like you, only better, because unlike the two of you I'm still using my brain to think. Come on, Blackberry. I don't have to stand here and take this from these two lovesick idiots," Armin huffed, pushing past both of them and heading for base.

"You can't talk to Mikasa like that, you little shit!" Eren snarled, stalking after him, but Mikasa grabbed his arm.

"Let him go, Eren. I think he can use some time by himself to cool off. But I'm afraid you're right. He's not acting like himself," Mikasa said quietly, obviously not wanting Armin to overhear.

All the anger burnt away, leaving anxiety and misery in its wake. "Tell me what happened, Mikasa. All of it. Everything you hid from me."