Flame Circle

There was nothing much to quiet Armin, no deeper truths or secrets to discover. A rather flat-panned, two dimensional recruit who stood as Eren's side while Mikasa occupied the other. He was as innocent as they came, and possibly just as humble; but if there's one thing that kid had, it was insight, and a good judge of character. But then there I was, trailing the kind-eyed soldier, just a few yards distant from him. I hung my head low with my hood high, the darkness of the path swallowing us slowly. It seemed a dead end awaited us upfront, but just as I picked my head up, a blink rendered me lost to my target.

But how? The kid must have been swift-footed to dodge me so tersely. I stopped, baffled by my now lonesome state. Turning to my right, my eyes dropped to the branched adjacent narrow walk splitting two residential buildings. But before I could coax myself to move forward, a looming feeling snuck up from behind me. Instinctively, I drew my dagger from my hip, a hand grasping my shoulder just as I veered my person.

"Why are you following me?"

A bit jumpy I suppose, but in this day and age, I warrant my caution. The tip of my dagger remained tucked between the opening of his cloak, my firm eyes locked on his struck expression. The deadening silence lingered between us for long, until I questioned him as I withdrew my weapon, "What are you doing here?"

He hesitated, finally replying, "Mikasa told me to meet her here."

"Here? In an alleyway? Doesn't that seem odd to you?" I must admit, my abhorrence for that vile woman kept me on the edge.

"It does, I guess. But she's my friend, and lately she's been… different. So I took the offer as a means to finally talk to her alone."

"How does she seem different?"

Armin plunged his head nervously, folding his hands beneath his cloak. "Ever since Eren passed, she has been apathetic to everything and everyone around her. Well, more so I guess. But I can't blame her, you know? I'm sure she's still hurting, as am I. I just… wish she'd be more open about it. And also, I feel like she's hanging around the wrong crowd."

"What cr—" I paused, the smell of metallic familiarity wafting under my nostrils. My eyes popped open, and the bitter taste of flesh drew me into that narrow east pathway. I could hear Armin's footsteps behind me follow before I witnessed a mangled carcass floating above a bloodbath. Armin gasped, my eyes fixed on what was a middle aged male commoner.

"A murder?! And in broad daylight?!"

"AHHH!!!" Her scream filtered through the walls, catching Armin and my attention. "Someone please, help!"

No sooner than she cried, a mass swarmed around her. And just like that, I suddenly found myself in the middle of a crime scene as a possible suspect. I could only imagine what she presumed happened, why we were standing over this man in a corridor shielded by shadows. A mosh of all ages pointed fingers and assumptions at us while Armin tried to explain the situation. Until one girl pointed her finger at Armin as soon as he veered to me.

"Blood, blood!"

Armin contorted his person, diving into his back pocket to pull out a small knife with a bloody hilt.

"Murderer!" The crowd hollered.

"What?! N-no, this isn't mine!" Armin stuttered.

"Murderer! Murderer! Murderer!" They chanted like an angry mob ready to pounce on the boy. And they did, not to my surprise. I couldn't make anything out of the situation, a mere observer to the decay of mankind. But a part of me wasn't prepared to label Armin as a killer. And then, I spotted her.

Yes, beyond the heat of the crowd,

Mikasa!

Her back walked away from the chaos, a break in her gait, then a menacing look as she perked her chin over her shoulder.

Did she kill this man, framing Armin?!

I dashed out and wrestled my way through the crowd. I could hear Armin's demise from behind as I chased after the running Mikasa—his fight overthrown by the masses. Surely he would be convicted of the crime if Mikasa planted her trap well. There wasn't anything I could have done for him back there. As he called my name in suffering, all I thought about was taking that bitch down.