The Hunter

Chapter 6

Steam billowed up from the scene before them. There was a quiet hiss as a strip of flesh fell away into empty air.

Levi stood, staring down into the dissolving pool of blood and bone.

"It must have damaged its neck when it fell," someone said, he didn't know who it was. Levi didn't really care who it was.

He remained silent, simply watching the remnants of humanity's real strongest hope disappear.

"Levi," came a hollow voice from next to him.

He turned around to meet the dead-eyed gaze of Hanji.

"I know," he muttered, meeting it straight on, unblinking.

A long, tense moment passed as they stared at each other then Hanji sighed and turned away to look to the ground below them.

"...He was the same Titan. I mean exactly the same... Levi. How is that possible?"

"Why do you think I know, shitty glasses?"

"I thought first that maybe he was related to the other. But when he looked at me... It was almost like he recognised me... He was intelligent. He was the same as the Titan from the forest,"

Levi grunted.

"But perhaps I am wrong. When he looked at you Levi... Did you see it? He definitely found you familiar but you've never-"

"I saw it two years ago in that same damn forest," sighed Levi, bringing his palm up to cradle his forehead in preparation for the sheer amount of shit he was about to have dumped on him.

There was a beat of silence.

"...What. Did. You. Say?"

"Tch... It was that bloody Titan that saved my life, back when I was knocked down by that cadet and you found me in the carts. It took out the Titan that attacked me, squashing it flat like a fucking bug,"

There was a tense intake of breath and suddenly two hands clawed up Levi's jacket as he was pulled close to the crazed scientist as they stared at him with dead eyes.

"...You mean to tell me that you knew about this thing for two years and you never told me?" They asked in a quiet, honeyed tone.

"I thought it was just a fucking fever dream. A Titan that kills its own kind? I thought I was batshit- and how could it have tended to my wounds like that?" Replied Levi with a growl, wiping their hands off his chest and scowling at the invisible dirt on his clothes.

Hanji blinked twice in surprise, eyes coming alive again as they surveyed the small man.

"You mean he saved your life and patched you up? How could that be!? Even if he did have enough intelligence for that, his hands were too large, he would have squashed you,"

"Yes... There is something we're missing about all this and I don't like not knowing what. For now, we keep the fact that this same Titan has died twice already quiet until we have a better idea of what we are dealing with,"

They both looked down again at the street below as the last remnants of flesh melted back and bone crumbled into dust.

"...He came back once... will he do it again?"

"If it does, we will be prepared," stated the man, eyes flashing.

Hanji stared at Levi with raised eyebrows, opening their mouth with a peculiar twist to their lips.

"Commander Levi!" called out a new voice, cutting off their conversation like a slammed door with the sheer waves of fear and desperation rolling off of its tone.