A young girl pounced about in front of her parents through an alley on the way home from a dinner at a restaurant that the family could barely afford. Her blonde locks fell into her hazel green eyes and brushed them away with a tan hand. "Come on! I've got a present for you!" she giggled. Her family was very poor so she decided to clean and work for several close families so that she may buy her mother a necklace and her father a matching watch for their anniversary. She had them hidden under her bed in an old family box.
Her father held her mother's hand and laughed with his energetic young daughter. "Hold on," he called.
Anna saw a small kitten in the shadows: its black fur invisible so that only its green eyes could be seen. "Siren!" The second she was shrouded in darkness, three men in maneuvering gear surrounded her parents.
"Can we help you?" The girl's father refused to look at his daughter in fear of giving away her hiding spot and moved to stand in front of his wife.
"Hand over the expensive things and we'll be just fine."
"Sir, my wife and I don't have anything."
"I know you're lying! Just hand it over!" Anna stayed silent, knowing that if she startled the men her parents could get hurt. The most she could do was watch in horror. "If I don't have what I want in five seconds I will kill you!"
Everything happened in slow motion. Anna looked at each of the men and embedded their faces into her mind before turning away and clutching her kitten. But nothing could block out the sounds of her parents getting killed.
Time resumed when she heard shouting. Using the distraction, she dropped the animal and grabbed a large shard of glass. Anna gripped it so tightly that her hand bled heavily. A cry burst from her lips as she sprinted forward and shoved the shard into a man's stomach. In surprise, he reacted by slashing out with his blade; cutting a laceration from the bottom of her chin to drag painfully up the top of her right eyebrow. Blood immediately began to stream down her face and the man shoved her to the ground as he and the others ran away from something.
Or someone.
The small girl crawled helplessly towards her lifeless mother and noticed her father strain to look at her. "Oh, my darling angel," he whispered. "I'm so sorry."
"Dad, come on! Get up! I have a gift for you and mama!"
He smiled sadly up at her. "Tell me now, sweetie."
She knew begging would change nothing, but she couldn't help it. She wanted her family to go home. "It was a diamond heart necklace and matching diamond encrusted watch for you. I started working so that I could afford it," she sniffled. Tears began to mingle with blood. "For your anniversary."
Her father's eyes widened. "Oh, no, my angel, you shouldn't've."
"Daddy, come home and I can give it to you!"
Anna's father looked past her. "Please take care of her, would you? None of our relatives are able and we don't know where her godfather is."
A deep voice behind her responded. "I will."
Her father turned to his daughter and smiled up at her. "Everything will be alright, angel." And he was gone.
A cry of anguish tore from her throat as she pulled her father's body close. Seconds, minutes, even hours could've passed, but Anna didn't care. A hand was placed on her shoulder. "Sweetie-"
Jerking away from him, Anna felt her feet carry her towards her home. The door was locked. Anger surged throughout her body as she slammed her shoulder into it, causing it to fly off its hinges. She sprinted up the stairs into her room to grab the large wooden box. "I'll avenge you two," she whispered, clutching what little she had. "I promise."
Mike entered the run down home to see it decorated with homemade quilts and flowers. "Where is she?"
"I'm right here." He turned to see her walking down the stairs holding a wooden chest. "Are you going to be taking care of me?"
"I am." He knelt down in front of her. "My name is Mike."
"Anna."
He smiled and offered her his hand. "Alright, Anna, do you have everything you need?"
She turned over to a small room which he assumed was the living room. "The blankets," she whispered. "May I take them? Just to be able to have what little my family had?"
Mike nodded. "Of course you can. Get them into a big pile while I get my friends to help."
He was just outside the door and on the steps when she called to him.
Mike went around the corner to see the others looking stricken. "We lost them," Petra stated. Something occurred to her. "Why were you over there?"
"The couple had a daughter and the father wanted me to take care of her. She wants to take some personal items along."
"Like?" Levi asked.
A soft voice spoke up. "Why do you care?" Anna was standing at the corner with as many blankets as she could carry. She wore an annoyed expression; one they've all seen on Levi time and time again. "They're my things."
"Obviously," he said dismissively.
"Come on, Levi, be a bit more kind," Erwin said pleadingly.
Petra walked over and smiled at her. "What can we help you with?"
"My family made some quilts that I want to take with."
Erwin nodded. "I'll go get us a wagon."
After returning to HQ, Mike decided to let Levi, Erwin, and Petra show Anna to her room while he and Hanji went to get her food. Anna was shocked to see the large office and slowly walked to the middle of the room. "This is mine?" she gasped.
"Yep!" Petra giggled. "All yours!"
Levi leaned against the doorframe and crossing his arms over his chest. "You better keep it clean," he warned.
"Don't worry," Anna giggled, running over to the desk and bookshelves. "I will!"
Her smile would've gotten bigger, but she suddenly flinched and brought a hand up to her face. "Oh, I almost forgot! Levi, go with Petra and get some medical supplies," Erwin ordered.
He gestured for Anna to sit on her desk and sat in one of the chairs in front of her. "Are you in charge of them?"
Erwin chuckled and shook his head. "No. A man named Keith Shadis is the Commander of the Survey Corps. But he says that if he were to die or retire that he'll put me in charge. Do you want to see your room while we're waiting for the others?"
Anna nodded excitedly. Erwin pulled the door open and waited for her to walk in first. When she walked in, she walked over to the bed and ran a hand over the softest sheets she'd ever felt. "This is amazing," she said gently.
"So what do you think?"
"Everything my parents ever wanted for me." And that's all she could say. Anna had gotten used to the fact that her family didn't have much to the point where she stopped asking for things she wanted in the market; only admire them from a distance. She knew that her parents did everything they could to make her childhood a good one. Anna always wished to be able to grow up and give them support. "This is what they worked so hard to achieve." Tears threatened to fall, but she held them back; she had to be strong for her parents. "Thank you."
"It is my greatest pleasure."
During the night, Mike was unable to sleep when a scream tore through the silence. Just across the hall he could hear Anna's cries of fear; once again showing the pain a child should not experience.
He quickly entered to see her lying on her bed in a cold sweat with her muscles surprisingly tense. Crawling in next to her, he wrapped his arms around her protectively and she immediately relaxed. Anna's eyes fluttered open as the nightmare ended. "Thank you, Mike."
The next morning, Erwin needed some paperwork done from Mike and found his office and room empty. Laughter from within Anna's room caught his attention as he carefully opened the door to her room. She and Mike were sitting on the large four-poster bed making silly faces for a short period of time before they would fall into a fit of giggles.
A smile spread across Erwin's lips as he quietly turned and walked out the door.
Anna was talking with Mike when he stood up off his bed. "Do you want to go eat?"
"I don't have any clothes," she blushed gesturing to her obviously very old and worn out outfit. Anna wore a pair of loose pants and a jacket he could only assume was for an adult due to the fact that her arms only went halfway through the sleeves and went down to her knees.
"I'll go talk to Petra," he assured her. "She's tiny enough to lend you something until we buy you some new clothes.
After Mike came back with some clothes, Anna slid on the gray sweatpants and coral workout shirt. "I'm ready, Mike." Halfway down the hall, she reached out the hold his hand; his warm hand surrounding her cold one.
He was surprised, but smiled when she seemed to visibly relax. The pair entered mess hall and chose a table with Levi, Erwin, Hanji, and Petra after getting their food. "Morning, you two," Erwin greeted, remembering what was happening in her room.
She smiled up at him. "Good morning, sir."
"So I was hoping the six of us could go into town to buy Anna some clothes and books. Would that be okay?"
Erwin nodded. "These next few weeks are going to be pretty slow, so it'd be the best time to show her around."
"Does that sound fun, Anna?"
She had been staring at her food while they talked and glanced up. "If it's not too much of a bother," she blushed. "I understand if I only get one or two things; besides, I'm used to it."
All five adults could understand the situation the child had gone through all her life: only having enough money for food on the table and old, ragged materials for clothes. All of them, including Levi, felt an enormous amount of pity for her. Petra was first to speak up. "Well, that's not necessary. You can get as much as you want."
"Once you finish eating, Anna, we'll head out," Mike told her softly.
The young girl took quick steps to catch up to Mike's leisurely stroll. She held firmly to his hand when the crowd began to thicken and people stepped on her feet. "Ow!" she squeaked when a large, fat man caused her to fall on the ground and prominently get kicked and stomped on. Feeling that Anna had lost her grip on his hand, Mike stopped the others and spun around to find her. A few feet away, she was curled in a ball on the floor and getting kicked by people. Shoving away those nearby, he picked her up and placed her on his back while she wrapped her tiny arms around his neck and he held onto her legs. "Thank you," she said, wiping blood from her eyes with her sleeves.
"You could've just asked."
She shrugged. "I guess; but I wanted to be strong like you."
At this point, Erwin glanced over his shoulder and smiled softly. "So where do we want to go first?"
She thought for a moment. "Can we get some clothes?"
"Clothing store? You've got it."
Later that night, Mike helped her put away her clothes and books. "Thank you, big brother."
Stopping in his tracks, he looked down at her beaten face as she grinned contentedly. "It was my pleasure…little sis."