Part VII
as the carnage around him burned,
"Do not look for my heart anymore; the beasts have eaten it."
- Charles Baudelaire, Flowers of Evil
-The night before-
"Sir! Someone's just leapt from the window, what should I do?"
"What?! Are they alive?"
"Sir… they're scaling the wall- it's a ghoul! I'm in pursuit- permission to use my quinque?"
"No, we can't draw attention in a civilian area, eyes on that figure!"
"Yes sir!"
"Keep an eye on him at all times- where are they headed?"
"I can't tell which way they're going Sir!"
"Just continue pursuit, we'll find out eventually."
"Yes sir, maintaining pursuit of- wait, I've lost visual, I repeat, I've lost visual!-"
…A silence follows, which is soon broken by a buzz.
"Furigawa- Furigawa! Can you hear me?!"
"Well, well, well. What do we have here?"
"F-Furigawa?"
"Hey, shut up. People are sleeping you rude fucks."
The snapping of plastic is heard before a long beep follows.
"Goddamnit." Tightening his grip on his earpiece, he pulls it out and slams it into the desk. He should've expected this. He had trusted Erwin's judgement - that they'd only need one man on guard - if only to look after the four in the apartment during an emergency, and maybe if a certain someone had tried fleeing.
Obviously, he didn't consider this.
"Find Furigawa! Call in an extra unit; we need to hunt this guy down. Check up on those four and protect them! I can't believe we let one slip straight past us-" he orders, a few men quickly pulling up phones to the deliver the message. "-And for god's sake, get me in touch with Erwin!"
He has a lot of explaining to do.
He rubs his forehead, feeling a headache coming on as sweat begins to form on his skin.
"Protect Levi Ackerman my ass, why did you send those three rookies- they're probably dead, the little-"
-x-
"Shits only had one guy after me, I'm offended as fuck" I curse aloud, taking a sip from my coffee. "Even he couldn't do his job. Passed out after one hit to the head, fucking weakling. Wasn't even worth eating."
"Now now Levi, they probably didn't expect something like this to happen. In all honesty, I didn't think you'd revert back to the way you were" Yoshimura says, laying a plate with real food on it. I don't hesitate to dig in. "It's good to have you back."
"Yeah?" I ask, taking a break from eating. "Don't get used to it, I have to hand it back to him later and it'll be all the 'I'm not a ghoul, I'm a human!' bullshit again."
"…Oh? And who is this… Him?" He takes a seat next to me, brows clearly furrowed, bringing over a cup of freshly brewed coffee.
"If I'm honest" I pause "I don't know."
Only the sound of metal on plates can be heard in the empty café. I can tell he's trying to understand (he really shouldn't bother, even I don't understand) the situation, but I'm just so hungry. I don't know what this guy ate earlier, or if he ate at all, but I'm starving.
But before I can take another bite, my vision starts to blur and I can feel myself slipping.
Shit, he's starting to…
I hear the chime of the front door bell and an awkward shuffling at the door.
"Um, Yoshimura-san I was wondering if-"
"Ah! Kaneki! What good timing."
Taking a deep breath, I try to keep in control a little longer.
Trying to keep a grip on this guy is tougher than I thought, but it isn't long before my nausea passes and I'm left in full control once more. At this rate I won't make it past sunrise.
"Ah! Is that you, Levi-san?" I swivel on my seat to see a familiar kid with a goofy, almost nervous smile. Dark hair and a plain eye patch, my eyes immediately soften. This kid.
Got dragged into our fucked up shit, he's had it rough since his… accident a few months back. Rize. God, she was an annoying little bitch. They said she died, but even I know that she won't die that easily.
I look over at Kaneki. I mean sure, he was a whiny little shit at first (for a smart kid he could bullshit himself better than that horse-faced kid the angry brat was friends with), but even I couldn't blame him.
We are monsters after all.
"Hey kid. It's been a while." His eyes look on the verge of sparkling (if that's even possible) as he approaches us. "Been looking after Hinami while I was gone?"
"Yes! We've all done our best to make sure that she has all the help she needs!" I nod, and maybe a small smile pulls on my face as I take a sip from my coffee.
Before those annoying fucks got me, Hinami was my charge. I couldn't be around all the time since Erwin made my shifts impossible as fuck to work with, so I put her under the care of these guys. Going by when I last saw her… they've done well.
"Good. I don't expect anything less." Crossing my legs over, I lean back on the counter. "What are you doing here this late kid? Don't you have school or some shit?"
"Um, I was going to ask if Yomo-san was around." Hoh? This kid couldn't take Artlert on if he tried. "He was supposed to help train me today, but I can't find him."
I look over to the old man, who was currently cleaning the plate I had just used in the nearby sink, his back towards us. My eyes narrow at his figure.
Why didn't you tell me you fucker?
"After Ryouko-san had passed, we felt that it would be better for Kaneki if he knew how to defend himself against any future attacks."
I see.
Ryouko.
My fists clench at the memory. Seeing her corpse being taken away like a bag of trash just like her husband and then watching it be handed over to those fucking scientists who tore it apart like it was just meat, nothing left to bury - if that fucker hadn't put me in charge of the brats that day I could've-
Nails close to digging into my skin, I try to contain my anger.
If that obsessed fuck Mado hadn't been a persistent shit I could've saved her. Hinami shouldn't be an orphan. She doesn't deserve this shit - hell no one does.
And the weeping.
Even from the café we could hear the sounds of her mourning and grief through the walls and everyone hurt, cried, wept, screamed at the injustice of it all. We wanted to fight because we were sad, furious with the bullshit system that looks to eradicate an entire species because we aren't like them, because we don't eat their green shit, because we can't. We didn't ask to born like this it's not our fault stopkillingusyoushittyfucks we just want to live-
I breathe.
"Levi-san? Is everything alright?"
Sighing, I release my grip on my palm, trying to hide its redness by gripping my cup.
"I'm fine."
He throws me a sad look, like he knew what I was thinking about.
Fucking smart brats.
Sighing loudly, I put my cup back onto the coaster and stand from my seat, walking up to the eye-patched boy. He stops with the sad look and his eyes widen in worry. He braces himself for whatever he thinks I'll throw at him. I'm tempted to smirk, but I cross my arms instead.
He gulps loudly.
"I'll train you." I stop before him and his face drops. The sound of water splashing behind me also stops and we're left in a brief silence.
"…W-what?" He asks, clearly dazed.
"I said I'll train you. What? Got shit in your ears?" I almost growl, "If you don't want my help then I'll be on my way-"
"Wait, no! Please take me under your wing sir!" He bows deeply and I jump back a bit, my eyebrows rising close to my hairline. I hear a deep chuckle from behind me.
Sir? I shiver as I get flashbacks from when I had to train those three.
The things I'm paid to do.
"Don't call me sir. Just don't fuck up and I won't fuck you up, are we clear?" I say, walking over to the entrance, Kaneki following close behind me. "Put the meal on my tab old man, I'll pay you back when I get my next pay check."
I can hear his smile as he speaks. "No, it's quite alright. Think of it as a gift."
Can't argue with a free meal.
"See you tomorrow Yoshimura-san!" Kaneki calls as he trails behind me.
"Be safe, though with Levi-san, I don't think you'll have any issues."
I wouldn't hold my breath old man.
"We have an hour before I need to leave. Make this worth my time Kaneki."
"A-ah! Yes! I'll do my best!"
Good kid. I bet those shitty brats haven't even noticed that I'm gone.
-x-
"WHAT?! HOW DID WE LOSE THE HEICHOU?" Eren was panicking. His breathing was heavy and his face a few shades paler; of course it's to be expected. They did after all lose the man they were given the task of protecting with their lives by the commander himself. In a crazed state he checks under the bed for the fifth time, in the closet for the tenth and then once more under the bed. Armin would've laughed, but the situation was too serious to find humorous.
He solemnly concludes that it just wasn't his night.
"Calm down Eren, he might've of just sneaked out to get some air." Armin tries to calm him down, gripping his shoulder. "He probably didn't want us asking any questions."
"Ugh, he calls us brats then he goes off and does this." Leaning against the doorframe of the now messy room (they promised themselves that they'd clean it before he returned, if he returned, not wanting to face his wrath), Mikasa stands with obvious resentment. "What kind of a superior is he?"
Armin sighs, beginning to rectify the previously spotless room. "He was probably still shaken from earlier, and needed time alone."
"So… Do we tell the commander? This seems like something he would want to know." Armin had to agree with Eren, this was definitely something they should report. He could be in danger without any means of communication or even a weapon. But then again… something didn't feel right.
He shook his head, no, maybe he was reading into this too much.
"We should. We don't know how long he's been gone for, or whether he left or was taken. Apparently the ghouls that got him last time were hunting him." He knew he shouldn't have, but he'd read the files as he was delivering them to the commander the day before he'd woken up.
Their captain was sought out and almost killed by two members from Aogiri tree (reasons unclear) who were apparently part of the inner circle. This had definitely caught the attention of their higher ups. It was far from good.
They had apparently long since thought that he could be a possible suspect, going as far as giving him another file. They suspect one of their own. They didn't have much proof, and it was purely speculation, but it was surely a possibility.
They identified him as The Crow. A one-eyed ghoul from the 3rd ward and the leader of a previous group who were affiliated with Aogiri tree, wiped out a year or two ago by the CCG.
The Murder.
They were a fearsome group, known for their high investigator kill rate, but were luckily spotted and taken down after being successfully ambushed whilst without their leader. The Crow himself disappeared soon after.
The Murder and the Crow.
They were names all too familiar to Armin, as well as the other two. And if it were possible that their captain were this ghoul, then-
"They could've found out he had survived" Eren exclaims suddenly, breaking Armin out of his thoughts. He shakes his head once again and focuses on the task at hand.
"Exactly. If this is Aogiri tree, then… we might already be too late."
Assuming the captain were human, he couldn't be alive if he'd been captured. And if he had left of his own accord… then why and how?
He surveys the room, looking at the balcony. They were on the fifth floor; there was no way he could-
His mind flashes back to the episode earlier in the kitchen and he finds himself rushing towards it. He slides it open and clutches the metal bars, preparing to look down, hoping that he was wrong - that there wouldn't be a body sprawled across the pavement, blood pouring onto the solid concrete.
He looks, and breathes a sigh.
Nothing.
There is only plain concrete, illuminated by a flickering lamp nearby.
But, something else catches his eye.
A man in a large trench coat is slumped on a nearby bench, a rugged suitcase next to him. He knows that suitcase; he has one of his own hidden in the apartment.
He gulps.
This is not good.
-x-
"Rest assured, I will see to those four myself. No, I will not be taking anyone else with me-" Currently on route to Levi's apartment, he is also on call with a certain fellow investigator who is yelling at him for god knows what.
Luckily, he had managed to get some rest before he was called, and is now fully alert and ready for a night's work.
He turns his steering wheel, pulling into a car park near the apartment complex. Normally he'd frown upon the use of phones while driving but this was an emergency.
As if he hadn't planned for something like this occurring.
In fact, he'd been betting something like this would happen.
"I'm here, I'll call you back when I-" looking up as he grabs his quinque, he stops, spotting a familiar trio crowding over a bench "-find something, don't send any forces out yet, just increase the patrol. This ghoul couldn't have gone far."
This was expected.
He exits his car, making sure to slam the door so the heads turn towards him. Immediately a range of emotions passes through their faces: shock, confusion, understanding and fear.
Walking over with his straightest face, the three visibly pale and stiffen. Looking past them, he sees why they are crowded around the bench. A body.
Hastening his walk, he passes the three and kneels down next to the body, checking for a pulse. After some searching he finds it, a steady bump bump bump and calms.
"Did you find him like this?" He asks them with a stern voice, searching the man's jacket for an ID.
"Yes sir, we spotted him like this a few minutes ago and came down." Armin replies, speaking with a serious tone.
"And where is Levi?" He asks, almost too casually. The trio suddenly grow quiet.
He raises an eyebrow as he turns to them. "Well?"
Glancing between the three, he waits for an answer.
Armin is first to speak. "We… don't know sir."
"When did you last see him?"
"An hour ago sir, he retired early."
He hums in thought before he pulls his phone out. "Alright, you are to stay in his apartment and wait for further orders." Tapping on the screen, he prepares to make a few calls, turning to the retreating group one last time.
"Is there anything else I should know?"
Armin stops, letting the two continue walking before they notice, who then also stop to look at him, confused looks on their faces.
His hands tighten into fists and he looks down at the ground, obviously in deep conflict.
"…Armin?" Eren asks, unsure.
"Sir." He turns, facing Erwin. "Please, follow me."
Excitement burns in Erwin's eyes. Following the young blonde, the three follow behind, intrigued and equally curious.
Erwin could almost smirk – he was right. He was right about placing him in the care of some of the best minds the academy could offer, thankful that they had someone as undoubtedly intelligent, almost brilliant, on their team to help them.
He was hoping that he'd put the pieces together, after having Artlert specifically to deliver his files, he wanted him to see what they had found without out rightly breaking any protocols. Yes it was hugely wrong and could get him in hot water, but was it worth it?
Undoubtedly so.
He didn't doubt for a second that this was important, Artlert being the type who would never say something unless it was of significance.
The three didn't know but he had placed a huge bet on the rookies this night. Though they had let him get away, they may have something much more worthwhile.
Yes, this was most definitely a choice he did not regret.
-x-
"Kid, how the fuck have you survived?" Looking down at the teen, Levi was severely unimpressed.
Panting and clutching his stomach as he kneels down on the floor, trying to catch his breath, Kaneki asks himself the same question.
"Have you ever even heard of a gym before?" There were no mincing of words, but he means well. Or so Kaneki hopes. "Your stamina is complete shit and your punches don't even tickle."
Spartan in training, he is used to receiving heavy punches, deep cuts and even bullets, but this - this was laughable.
"And where the fuck is your kagune? How do you expect the doves to come at you? With a fucking 'hey we're attacking now, please pull your weapon out of your ass and fight like a ghoul?' I fucking think not."
"A-ah, sorry. I was never… one to fight." He groans and pants as he stands up, preparing to try again. "O-one more time, if you wouldn't mind."
Levi sighs. He likes this kid a lot more than those brats, but at least they're somewhat fit.
"Look kid, you got good work ethic but you don't learn how to fight by getting beaten up."
Kaneki's shoulders slump, understanding that he really isn't ready for his teaching. Though, he is also somewhat thankful that he wouldn't have to suffer another beating and walk into work the next day with a limp as well as a black eye.
"How much do you work out, kid?"
Kaneki didn't want to answer, embarrassed with himself. "Um, well, I don't really… exercise."
Levi lets out a sigh, despite expecting this answer.
"Then start. I could lecture you all day, but you need the muscle to throw the punches. You're agile, but you don't win a fight by running, got that?"
He nods avidly.
"Good, and eat your meat." He stiffens and his face tenses in discontent. "Hey, don't give me that look - you wanna protect them or not?" This catches his attention.
"Get Yomo to take you out on runs, and to get you on weights or something. When you get the muscle, find me and I'll help you out."
"Yes sir!" He replies, a little more enthusiastically.
Nodding his head in approval, Levi dismisses him. Startled, the boy checks his watch to find that it was in fact a few minutes short of the hour mark. Forgetting that the run (or more accurately Levi pulling ahead as Kaneki tried not to die on the 3 kilometre run to said area and Levi coming back every once in a while to tell him to 'hurry his slow shit up') over to the training area had counted in their time.
With a polite farewell Kaneki is first to leave, feeling thoroughly exhausted from their session. He looks back before he leaves, Levi still standing in the same place as he takes a last look at the area.
He hopes that he can do this again with him someday.
-x-
The way home for Levi is stressful.
The patrols had in fact increased, and there were quite a few more investigators in the area. He had to resort to hiding in a public bathroom at one point and it's safe to say that he'd be burning his clothes and taking a nice long shower the next morning.
He narrowly avoided detection and felt rather smug. A month away and he's still better than the half-assed shits that called themselves doves.
It takes him a while, but he finally arrives back home. Standing in front of his complex, he decides that it would be far too obvious if he went up the way he first left, and opts for the lift.
Stepping through, he half expects to be pounced on by investigators, but even the security guard at the front desk has gone on break. Without a break in his step he enters the elevator, checking for any cameras.
One.
He curses himself for forgetting at the last moment, but then remembers that he can just break it.
And so he does.
He was never a fan of vandalism, but this was a necessary evil.
Hitting the '5' button on the panel, the doors close and the elevator begins to move up. He doesn't wait long until the familiar ding of the elevator signals his arrival and opens the doors to an empty hallway.
Walking up to his door, he listens in for any movement. There's the light chatter of a television in the background, but no voices.
Pulling out the keys from his pocket, he opens the door to a dark room, lit only by his television. The trio are all asleep on one of his couches. Armin is curled up on the loveseat by himself, Eren sprawled across one of the longer couches with Mikasa sleeping upright next to him.
Shaking his head, he goes into his room, changes and collapses on his own bed. Exhausted, and downright worn.
-x-
Back in the living room, Mikasa shuffles.
Looking behind her before she pulls out her phone, she sends a message.
To: E. S.
He's back. Everything is ready.
A few seconds later, her phones goes off, signalling a text.
From: E. S.
Understood. Do not let your guard down.
And then, again.
From: E. S.
Also, thank you for your co-operation. Leave everything to us. You have done well.
She types a response.
To: E. S.
What will happen now sir?
She waits, before she receives another message.
From: E. S.
Justice. He will get what is long due. And if the Directors will it, you may see him again.
Confused, she types more.
To: E. S.
He won't be imprisoned?
Instantaneous, a flurry of texts come all at once.
From: E. S.
No. He will be the start of a very important programme, headed by myself and Arima-san. Depending on how useful he proves to be.
From: E. S.
I won't let such a valuable tool die.
From: E. S.
Have a nice night. We shall see you tomorrow.
And with that, she shuts off her phone. Resting for the busy day, soon to come.
Gosh, this one was longer than I'd expected.
As always, comments/ reviews/ criticism is always appreciated!
Sorry this was later than usual, exam time approaches and homework was heavy, but I will try to continue to update.
Thanks to those who have followed, added to their favourites or reviewed, your support is greatly welcomed.
THANK YOU TO DOUBT TO DOUBT, MY GRACIOUS BETA WHO HAS TO PUT UP WITH MY SHIT
doubt to doubt – Muchas gracias friendolaaaa, always good to have a friend on board to make sure I don't fuck up too badly :p
kinigget – Hopefully this chapter was better paced, and it should have filled in some blanks from the last chapter, tell me what you think!
StgMc98 – Bruh, I'll have you know my grammar was on par. And yo, hope you had fun with this chapter, sadly I couldn't make time for gore, but next chapter. Oho next chapter will be great.
MewMew - Thanks! Glad to know that I'm gradually getting better between chapters, I added a little more description this time, hopefully its better x)
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