A Promise to Keep (An Attack on Titan Fanfiction)

Little Annie

*Hanji's POV,*

What the heck! Did Annie Leonhardt suddenly turned into a toddler while she was trapped inside the crystal!? This is the weirdest thing I have ever encountered. I'm just standing here looking at her! One of the guards finally grew a pair and stepped forward.

"A-Annie Le-Leonhardt! Y-Your under arrest f-for c-countless m-murders! You h-have the r-right to remain silent!" He said with a quivering voice.

The blond toddler raised her head and looked at the soldier, who was acting tough, with big, innocent, blue eyes. I thought that she was going to try and escape, but what she did surprised all of us.

"WAAAAAAAAH!!!" She cried her lungs out.

All of us flinched at the sound. We didn't even know what to do.

"Squad Leader! What should we do!?" Moblit yelled over the sound. I didn't answer him. Something inside of me clicked, seeing her like this felt like an intense deja vu. Suddenly, I remembered, that time when Anna took her last breath and Annie cried. That means she can sense when there's something wrong around her.

I suddenly knew what to do. I approached her slowly and cautiously, Moblit and the others are yelling in the background; telling me to stop but I didn't listen. Once I was close enough to her, I took off my military jacket and draped it around her.

"Hanji! Step away from her!" Levi commanded, but I ignored it.

I scooped her up in my arms and held her close to my chest.

"Shh, it's alright everything's fine now. I'm here, I'm here." I said to her soothingly. I kissed her forehead and she immediately stopped crying, so did the others.

"Are you cold?" I asked when I noticed her shivering.

"Yes..." She said to me shyly. I smiled at her and said, "Well then let's get you a warm bath, okay?" She nodded her little blond head.

I walked towards the door, the others staring at me in disbelief. Annie was still shivering, so I wrapped my jacket around her more tightly and pulled her a little more closer to my chest. I reached the door and opened it, before I could go out, Levi called out to me.

"Oi! Hanji, what the fuck are you doing!?" He said. I covered Annie's ears on time before she could hear Levi curse. I looked back at him and replied, " Like I said three days ago Levi, I'm fulfilling my promise." I walked out of the dungeon and went back towards my room. Once inside, I placed Annie on the bed and went to the bath to prepare the warm water in the tub. Once it was done, I went back into the room and picked Annie up. I took off my jacket around her and placed her in the tub. As I was washing her hair, I got curious if she remembered anything about her past.

"Do you have a name?" I asked.

"Uh huh." She answered with a nod.

"Well, what's your name then." I pulled her out of the tub and proceeded to dry her with a towel.

"Annie. What's yours?"

"Hanji. How old are you?" I picked her up, went back into the room and placed her on the bed. I went over to my satchel to find some clothes.

"Four. Why do you wear glasses?"

I laughed at her question and resumed rummaging through my satchel. I decided on my old white t shirt and went to the bed to put it on her.

"I wear these glasses so that I can see better." I answered, the t shirt was quite big but it'll do for now.

"Annie, do you remember anything before you woke up?" I asked, sitting beside her. She shook her head and said, "No I don't, I only know my name and how I am."

So, the reason why she trapped herself inside the crystal was to erase her memories, so that in case she was caught she won't be able to remember anything, thus; naturally avoiding the questions. It's pure genius if you tell me. I looked back at Annie and saw that she was trying to poke her tiny arms into the sleeves but failing miserably.

"Here let me." I offered, I rolled the sleeves back until her short arms appear through them.

"Annie, do you have family or friends that you remember?" I asked, while rolling back the other one.

"No, I don't." She answered.

"Not even your mother or father?" She shook her head. This is a very serious problem. With Annie turned into a toddler and doesn't remember anything; we won't be able to get information about the titans. I have to tell Erwin about this when we get back.

I was pulled out of my thoughts when I felt a weight on my lap. I looked down and I saw Annie snuggling against me. She looked up at me with those big, blue, innocent eyes that reminded me of my sister. She really is a spitting image of her.

"Miss Hanji, can you be my mama?" She asked. I was frozen in my spot. Did she just say what I think she said!? She looked at me expectantly.

"Uh... Why do you want me to be your mama?" I asked nervously.

"Because I have no mama and you're the only one to make me stop crying when we were in that scary room." She answered.

I didn't answer her immediately. I thought over about what she said and then suddenly I remembered something.

"Don't worry, soon you'll be reunited with her and then you'll be able to raise her properly."

Anna knew that this was going to happen. It was her plan in the first place! I looked back at Annie and  smiled warmly at her, I kissed her forehead and hugged her close. I placed her blonde head on my chest and said, "Of course, I'll gladly be your mama."

She grinned at me happily and hugged me back.

"Thank you! I love you mama." She said. I was shocked at first but then a warm feeling of love and pride surged through me. I kissed her forehead once again and hugged her closer to me. If this was the feeling of being a mother then I'm loving it.

"I love you too sweetie." I said.

We were so engrossed with each other that I didn't notice a figure standing at my open door watching us. I looked up to see who it was but whomever was it left already.