Good Night, Dear and Sweet Dreams Vol. 07 Annie Leonhart
New soldiers, even ones in the Military Police, have a lot to do. That said, they still have more free time than in the Training Corps, so Annie’s peer seemed to occasionally go out to town and enjoy themselves, shopping and so on.
“Take a look, Annie. This skirt was on sale for fifty percent off!”
“…Hm.”
Annie met every piece of clothing that her roommate Hitch showed her with the same uninterested glance as she rolled about on her bed.
“You should come with me some time for a change. You’re not social at all, Annie.”
“…Leave me alone.”
******
Annie’s new post was in Stohess District, a town that protruded from the Wall and had a door allowing passage through it. These kinds of towns–such as Trost District and, of course, Shiganshina District in previous days–were full of people due to the Royal Government’s actions, making them also centers of distribution.
“Hm…?”
“C'mon, don’t you think this one would be perfect for me, Annie?”
Annie suddenly found herself in the center of its main street. Nearby, Hitch pointed at a show window. An aristocratic dress was on display in the shop.
“I can’t buy that dress…not on the kind of salary we get.”
“I know that! I was just saying,” Hitch said, letting out a trademark cackle. “Anyway, we’re soldiers. We don’t have any chance to wear clothes like that.”
“We’re soldiers, sure, but you know we’re MPs, right? What if one day we end up acting as guards for nobles, and there a handsome young aristocrat falls in love with one of us while we’re on duty… Something like that!”
“You dream too much.”
By Annie’s standards, she was being talkative.
Had she and Hitch…no, had she and any of her fellow recruits in the Training Corps ever joked back and forth like this?
The scene began to faintly blur.
******
“Oh, Annie!”
Someone began waving her hand and running toward Annie from the other side of the hazy scene.
“…Krista?”
It was the girl who was kind to everyone, someone who was always considerate, even to someone as unsociable as Annie.
“You’re going shopping? What a wonderful store.”
“Why–”
Why are you here? She wanted to ask, but her question was drowned out by the procession of figures who came to take to her.
“So you’re finally interested in dressing up, Annie?”
“Ooh, there’s a cart selling meat over there!”
Those she knew from the Training Corps walked through town, cheerful and excited. The scene was an impossible one, but it also reminded Annie of something.
“You're…all here.”
While only a few words came out of Annie’s mouth, they were filled with kindness.
“The boys are here, too. I think Reiner and Bertolt are on that street over there,” Ymir’s indistinct voice said, pointed in a different direction.
“Reiner and Bertolt…”
Annie’s spine froze in shock at the two names.
…That’s right. I'm…
Soon the cold was everywhere, and Annie held herself in her own arms, shivering.
I don’t have any right to smile.
As Annie’s senses grew colder, her happy Corpsmates began to disappear like fog.
“I’m sorry… I’m sorry!”
******
“You sleep every night with such a scary look on your face. How do you do it?”
When Annie opened her eyes, Hitch was there, peeking at her bed with an astonished expression.
“…Is it morning?”
Hitch nodded, then stepped away from the bed to stretch as she put on her jacket.
“Yep. You’d better hurry up and change, or else we’ll be late.”
“…I know.”
The emotions in her voice was restrained, unlike in her dream. Annie felt relieved to hear the voice coming from her mouth.
I…can’t be the person I was in that dream. Not ever, no matter what happens…
Annie gulped down hard as something began to well up inside of her. She crawled out of bed. The sun seemed unusually bright.
Late Night Stories Vol. 08 Annie Leonhart : A Story of Days Past
“You know… I’ve always wondered.”
A Military Police Brigade station in Stohess District.
Work was officially over for the day, and so the lights in most of the rooms were off. However, brightness continued to leak out from one room. In it were this year’s new recruits, taking care of the office work that had been forced onto them by their superiors.
“What is it, Marlowe? Who are you talking to?”
“Annie. I always wanted to ask.”
The blonde girl who coolly worked her way through the documents, mechanically flipping through them and stamping them, looked up with a furrowed brow.
••••••
“You trained in Trost District and experienced actual combat right afterwards, right? The others who made it into the top ten would have experienced the terror of the Titans first-hand, too… It wouldn’t be surprising at all if they’d wanted to become MPs and live in the interior. So why were you the only one who joined the Military Police Brigade? They didn’t all die in that battle, did they?”
“…Only one died. The rest joined the Survey Corps.”
“The Survey Corps?! Not even the Garrison?! Why?”
Annie didn’t so much as flinch as Hitch overreacted and confronted her with the question.
“…Who knows.”
The dismissively reply made Hitch stars at Annie’s face and changed the question.
“In that case, what kind of people were your corpsmates? Huge idiots?”
“Yeah… I guess they were idiots.”
••••••
Annie’s hands never stopped sorting through the paperwork as she answered the badgering with a few words about the other members of the 104th.
“First…was an idiot obsessed with family. Her childhood friend wanted to join the Survey Corps…and she said she’d protect him. That friend of hers was fifth, right after me, but he said he was going to join the Survey Corps from the beginning… He was the weirdest one.”
“Do weirdos like that really exist in this day and age?”
“The rest of them…were probably influenced by what that idiot said. He actually declared in front of everyone the night before graduation that he’d exterminate all the Titans so that we could explore the world freely.”
“Hah. It’s not quite the same reasoning, but he sounds like Marlowe.”
“I think it’s natural for anyone to follow their ideals. Without dreams or goals, humans are just…”
Marlowe stopped working to try to give his personal opinions about the world, but Hitch cut him off and asked Annie to continue.
“Yeah, yeah. So what about the others? It’s not like everyone was influenced by this idiot, right?”
“There was one guy who said he was going to become an MP even after the battle, so…I might have been a little surprised by him.”
••••••
“He…lost his good friend… His marks were good up until then, but he was the kind of person who always bragged about them. He only ever thought of himself…but then he changed.”
“Was it something about his state of mind?” Marlowe asked, but Annie expressionlessly shook her head.
“Who knows. Like I said earlier… I’m not them. I’m not some stupid dreamer, and it’s not like I have ideals, either. I don’t have anything I want to protect… I’m a coward who just wants to save herself.”
“That goes for everyone who became an MP, though. Are you someone who gets self-conscious about what others think of you?”
“No, that’s not it. I…” Annie began, her hands stopping suddenly in the middle of organizing the pile of now-completed documents and latching them together.
“…I’m heading to bed.”
“Hey! No fair, Annie! You need to help us with the rest…! C’mon.”
Hitch’s attempts to get her to stay were in vain. Just as Annie was about to close the door, she stopped.
“I just…make whatever choice seems easiest.”
As Annie looked to the floor, she thought of her training corpsmates. She bit her tongue as if to brush the memories away and headed to the sleeping quarters.
The ending illustration for Shingeki no Kyojin Season 4 Episode 11 (Also episode 70 total), featuring Mikasa, Hitch, and Armin drawn by key animator Ibun Shoya!
Hitch : You’re late, we almost ate your donuts too- I’m just kidding, don’t immediately put on a sour face like that.
Annie : It’s not that…
Armin : What’s wrong, Annie?
Annie : My father.
Hitch : Your father? Is he…-
Annie : No, no, nothing to do with anything bad actually.
Hitch : Then? What’s the problem?
Annie : My father wants to get married.
Oh.
Oh!
Armin : If that makes him happy, maybe you should reconsider it.
Hitch : Yeah, that’s righ-
Annie : -with Reiner’s mother.
Hitch : Oh, shit. Nevermind.
Armin : Isn’t that a good thing? He wants to marry the mother of someone you know. And Annie will not only have a new mother, but also a new sibling! *smile* You and Reiner will be brother and sister!
Annie : Armin, don’t make me puke on your face.
Armin : ouhh… sorry.
Hitch : But, be honest, Annie. If it wasn’t even Reiner’s mother, would you allow it?
Annie : … … .
“No.”
ㅤ
-
-
Annie : But how can I say that I don’t want a new mother? What if I make him angry?
Armin : How about we make a simulation? So you can predict the events that will happen.
Hitch : Like what, Armin? You pretending to be Annie’s father? While I pretended to be Reiner’s mother? And we’re gonna pretend to be family for a day? … … . . What? No. You two can’t be serious- you two can’t be serious!
I’ve been way too busy lately but I had to come back to post a drawing for @hilow ‘s birthday today (11.26)!! Hopefully I’ll be able to work on more fanart soon but for now, enjoy the beauty that is timeskip Hitch!
There are times when she misses the days when she can just lounge around and do nothing. Now she has to actually work. The only time she can take a break now is if she’s with the girl in the crystal or when she’s about to turn in for the night.
