Hanji was scared. Really scared. And not the kind of scared you get when you're facing Titans. No, this scared was much worse. It had been around midday; she had been out on patrol with the other members of her squad when she found out what happened.
"Hanji, I'm sorry but…your parent's home was attacked by bandits. Both your mother and father were killed and…your sister is nowhere in sight."
The moment she heard that, her body froze, as if she had been plunged into icy water. She had then promptly turned her horse in the opposite direction her squad was patrolling, and bolted in the direction of her home, Jinae City. "Come on!" Hanji urged her horse, "run faster!"
Hanji finally reached the city a few hours later. She blew through the streets, nearly knocking people off their feet, like a woman-and-horse hurricane. She didn't stop her horse until she was right in front of her home, which was surrounded by members of the Military Police. Quickly dismounting, the 20-year-old pushed past the MPs in her way, and ran in. As she stepped through the front door, Hanji stopped and took in the sight before her. The chairs around the table had been overturned, and blood covered the floor. Two bloodstained canvas tarps were on the floor, covering what Hanji knew to be the bodies of her mother and father. Not wanting to linger, Hanji collected herself before she lost it, and hurried up the stairs to look for her baby sister, calling out her name as she went.
"Hana! HANA! Where are you, Hana"?
Hanji was walking down the upstairs hallway when she heard it. Turning around, she walked back down the hall, and entered her old bedroom. Pausing in the doorway, she listened for the sound again. "Hana? Are you in here?" Then she heard it again: the tiniest of muffled whimpers, coming from under the bed. Walking over to the bed, Hanji carefully pushed the heavy piece of furniture out of the way, revealing the trap door to the crawl space under the top floor of the house. Opening it, she called out her sister's name again, "Hana? Sweetie, please be in here, it's Hanji, your sister, remember?"
Out of the corner of her eye, Hanji saw movement, and when she looked over she saw the tiny form of her five-year-old sister, tear-stained blue eyes shining in the shadowed space. Sighing with relief, Hanji reached her hand out toward her.
"It's okay, Hana. The bad men are long gone," Hanji's voice wavered slightly, "You can come out now, you're safe."
Hana hesitated slightly, vaguely recognizing the lady that looked like her mommy. When she said her name, Hana suddenly knew who she was and clambered out of the crawl space, and into her waiting sister's arms. Hanji caught her, and wrapped her Recon Corps cloak around her sister's tiny form, the hem of the cloak dragging on the floor. Picking Hana up, Hanji sat on the bed, and held her as she started crying again.
"Shh, it's okay, Hana, you're safe with me. Don't worry, sweetie, I won't let anyone hurt you. You're going to be okay, all right?" Tears slid silently down Hanji's face as her body shuddered with grief. "Oh, Hana, I'm so glad you're safe."
"Mommy and Daddy aren't coming back, are they?" came the small, hiccupping voice of Hana. Hanji held her sister tighter as she whispered, "no, they're not. But they're still with us, in spirit and in our hearts. Always remember that, 'kay?"
"'Kay," As they sat there, holding one another, a sudden thought came to Hanji.
"Hey, Hana? How would you like to live with me?"
At this, Hana's head jerked up, looking her sister in the eye, happy surprise shining all over her tear-stained face, her grief momentarily forgotten, "Really? I'll get to live with you?"
"Yup," said Hanji, smiling. Hana's eyes got even wider, "Will I get to learn how to be a cool soldier like you, too?"
Hanji chuckled, "maybe when you're a bit bigger, little duckling," she replied, as she ruffled her sister's curly brown hair.
"Hanjiiiii! I'm not a duckling!" Hana exclaimed, pushing her sister's hand off her head.
"Alright, you're not a duckling, 'kay?" Hanji said, placing a kiss on Hana's forehead. "Now, we should get going if we want to get back by sunset. Is there anything you'll want?"
Hana turned her head away from her sister to look contemplatively around her room. "Yes!" she cried, and, hopping off Hanji's lap, scurried across the room to scoop up a toy bear that Hanji recognized as the one she had had made specially for Hana's birthday the previous year.
"Okay. We'll also need to pack your clothes," Hanji said and, picking up a bag from the side of he room, proceeded to pack all of Hana's clothing in it. When it was full, she slung it over her shoulder, and scooped up Hana, who had been telling her bear that they were going to live somewhere new with her big sister. Hanji pulled the hood of her cloak over Hana's head and said in a serious voice, "Hana, I want you to keep the hood up until we're out of Jinae, alright? Keep your face buried in my shoulder until I tell you so, okay?" Noticing her serious tone, Hana nodded and proceeded to do so as they walked out of the bedroom and down the hallway.
When Hanji reached the downstairs, the MPs looked at her in shock when they saw the green clad figure in her arms. When one of them made to approach her, she shot him a look that made him freeze where he stood, allowing Hanji to walk out of the house and approach her horse without any further interruptions. She hoisted Hana up onto the saddle, and then carefully mounted the horse. After some slight adjustment of herself and her sister, Hanji ushered her horse forward, and they took off southeast, in the direction of the Recon Corps HQ.