A few hours earlier, Levi dug his phone out of his pocket when he felt it vibrate, "Erwin, it's all clear here. There's no sign of any ghouls." Hours earlier he and Erwin were going from house to house, asking if any of the residences had seen or heard something around the time of the murders. They got a few accounts but nothing concrete enough to work off of so when the sun went down, Erwin got the idea to split up and patrol the area around the crime scene. It's been about four hours now and the night has been silent so far.
"Nothing here either," Erwin replied. "I don't think the ghoul will show its face so close after it's fed. It's most likely in hiding right now."
Levi grunted in response and lit a cigarette, "I don't feel comfortable leaving without someone on guard around here. Who knows when they'll attack next. Call Hanji and see if she has any men available."
"Will do." At that, Erwin hung up the phone.
Levi was stuffed his phone back into his coat pocket, and blew out a puff of smoke. He leaned up against one of the adjacent buildings looked up into the sky. Like always the lights of the city completely erased any hope of seeing any stars. It was a quiet night in early December so it was more than a bit chilly. Thankfully he had the white coat given to him by the CCG to protect him from the cold, although it was still covered in coffee. Levi muttered something about bleaching it when he got home but the sound of laughter drew him out of his thoughts. He looked around for the source when he spotted a couple of teenagers walking towards him, no, towards the area of houses that lined the street. He did his best to remain inconspicuous by pulling out his phone again, pretending to answer a call as the two teens walked by. He figured it would be less noticeable for him to hide in plain sight than to quickly dive for cover, the two teens had probably already spotted him anyway. He continued to carry out his fake conversation as they walked by him. The first, he noticed, was a short, blonde girl with most of her hair pulled into a pony tail. The boy she was with had auburn hair and really pretty eyes, but his smile was what really caught Levi's attention, it was beautiful and a little familiar.
Damn it, he thought to himself, it's that kid that spilled coffee all over me. Levi leaned back into the wall, hoping the shadows covered him well enough. It would be a pain in the ass if he recognized Levi all the way out here.
As he studied the two, something felt off. Levi knew it may be nothing but Erwin had always told him to listen to his gut instinct and right now it told him something was wrong, very wrong.
The girl. He remembered some of the residences that they had questioned mentioned seeing a short, feminine form and blonde hair around the time the victims were killed. It was all incredibly vague though and that description could fit anyone. Levi was overly cautious though, he always had been. Besides, he didn't like the look that the girl had in her eyes.
Once they had disappeared inside the house, Levi moved from his place in the shadows. He creeped up onto the front porch of the one-story building, making sure not to make any noise, and gripped the handle of his quinque tightly. He could hear laughter coming from inside, and that almost erased any fears that he had. Almost, but not quite.
He didn't want to leave until he certain that the girl wasn't who they were searching for and he didn't have to wait long until he heard a scream come from inside.
Levi went into action instantaneously. He pounded against the door. It was locked. "Shit…" he muttered not for the first time that day. He stepped back and rammed himself against the door, but the door was a stubborn one. Levi didn't want to release his quinque yet but it was his only option. He pressed the button on the brief case and his weapon emerged. It was a set of dual, twin blades that were made from an ukaku kagune. He swung the blades in a downward arc, completely smashing the door open.
He entered into the main hall of the house. The first thing he noticed was the darkness. All the lights were off and it was nearly a new moon so no light streamed through the windows. He ran through the living room. Nothing. The sun room. Empty. When he finally made his way into the kitchen, he cursed at what he saw. There was blood everywhere, splattered on all the walls and furniture. And the beaten and bloodied body of the brown haired boy was lying on the floor on his stomach. It seemed nearly impossible that he could still be alive. Levi rushed to the boy's side, turning him over onto his back. What Levi saw then nearly made him throw up. The boy's entire abdomen was completely ripped out. Levi dug his phone out of his pocket, immediately dialing 911, while simultaneously keeping pressure on the wound. He knew he was probably already too late though. The boy's pulse was too slow for Levi to find.
While waiting for the ambulance, Levi was trying the best he could to stop the flow of blood. During this, if he would have stopped long enough to look closely at the boy's half-opened eyes, which at the time he couldn't bring himself to do, Levi would have seen that while his right eye was a beautiful, sea green colour, his left was black save for a dark, red iris. The darkness is what saved Eren's life that night. If Levi would have seen his eye, he most likely would have killed the boy on the spot.
