𝑴𝒐𝒏𝒔𝒕𝒆𝒓 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝑨𝒏𝒈𝒆𝒍. AotxMaleOc (Attack on Titan X Tokyo Ghoul)

The Eye of the Devil

As the weeks passed, the once peaceful and boiling-with-life city of Liberio found itself turning into a dreadful place as it sunk into a state of despair and paranoia. It was all caused by the mysterious string of murders occurring in the heart of the Marley, casting a pervasive shadow of fear over its inhabitants. One by one significant figures in Marleyan brass were found slaughtered and with parts of their bodies bitten in their own houses with no traces of the killer as their guards were mercilessly killed with them. That made every inhabitant of the city doubt their safety when the Sun hid behind the horizon; every flicker of the lights, every creak of the floorboards made people flinch, fearing that the brass murderer had come for them.

The streets and houses buzzed with whispered rumors and speculative theories, each more outlandish than the last. Some speculated that it was the work of rogue Marleyan extremists seeking revenge, while others whispered of a shadowy underground resistance group, plotting against the military regime. Regardless of that, one thing was certain: no one felt safe anymore, not even Marley officers who drastically increased their security.

Despite all of the chaos, "The Daily Word" newspaper and the personal articles of Joseph Auditore, were the only ones who refused to get blinded by the terror and tried to analyze the murders and the people. The public devoured every word of it as their minds were hungry for any possible insight into the mind of the psychopath who was stalking around their city under the cover of darkness.

Currently, it was the middle of the day and in Pieck's modest apartment, Annie and her friend sat around the table, savoring bowls of carrot and potato stew accompanied by steaming cups of tea, taking the opportunity of warrior's rare free day. Annie, dressed in her night clothes, hair draped in a towel, had just emerged from her shower. Pieck made her take the shower to get rid of the stench after her time in the sewers. They had their typical little conversation as Annie waited for her Captain to return.

Pieck: Ah, so it was Joseph who helped you to get out of your shell.

Annie: Yeah, I...I had a thing for him, back then.

Hearing that made Pieck slightly choke on her soup as she looked in awe at her friend.

Pieck: You choose people with big hearts. First your Captain, then this Armin guy.

She smiled and rolled her eyes in playful exasperation.

Annie: Joseph wasn't my Captain back then. Rather a constantly talking, annoying and...nice person.

Pieck softly smiled and pointed at Annie in a teasing manner.

Pieck: Oi, be careful, Annie. You may catch something for Joseph again.

Annie closed her eyes with a smile and shook her head in disbelief.

Annie: You overthink about that. However, it was thanks to him that I met Armin, so it all worked out in the end.

She lightly chuckled as she took a sip of her tea.

Pieck: Hm, guess you and Bertholdt never got together.

Annie gave her friend a confused look.

Annie: What do you mean?

Pieck: Wait, don't tell me you didn't know.

Annie: Didn't know?

Pieck opened her mouth agape shocked by the complete ignorance of her friend.

Pieck: He was fond of you. For quite a long time.

A surprise formed on Annie's clean face as her eyes widened.

Annie: Oh. Did he tell you about this?

Pieck looked back at her dish and stirred the leftovers of her soup.