Hesitation 18+🔞

Chapter 60: The Test

Lil note: Yay, we're at chapter 60<3 brace yourself for the upcoming arc.
Also, sorry this took so long to get out, the sznl depression hitting me hard.

You quickly redirect your horse, narrowly dodging the speedy ackerman's attempts to snatch your bottle. No matter which way you go, or which way to turn, you're constantly fending her off.
There's no use in continuing this fight, you need to find your remaining teammate and strategize. A final, sweeping gaze at their base confirms that there's no bottles of theirs to be stolen, therefore no reason to remain here.

You abruptly turn Mara around, heading back into the dense woodland, silently in search of Armin. What are you even going to tell him? He was afraid of disappointing you, yet here you were, ironically, the one failing others.
You catch sight of him not far from the base, and immediately gallop towards him.

"Armin, they're both out."
You say, as both you and Mara pant, trying to catch your breath.

His eyes grow wide with panic.
"I'm assuming both bottles they would've had are broken."

"Correct."

He exchanges a worried look with you, but your gaze falls, filled with disappointment.

"I don't know, armin. I've got nothing." You confess, rubbing the sweat off your face as the humidity begins to eat at your skin
"She's.. guarding both bases like a feral dog. There's no way to get past her."

"So, we don't."

"Huh?" You question the boy

"It's a long shot, but theres still a way make it. Do you have any idea if Eren or Sasha were able to score?"

"I don't think so, I rode directly into a trap."

"Ah, I see what they're doing." Armin murmurs, sinking to the ground as he rubs his palms together in contemplation.
"Assuming we're trailing 4-1, that leaves us with five bottles yet to be discovered."

"Huh? I thought there were only nine."

"Right, but Mikasa scored a point before you managed to shatter her bottle, thus earning us our only point."

"I see.."

"Jean's strategy, it seems, is to ensure we don't end up in a deadlock," he reveals, a note of certainty in his voice.

"You really think so?"

"Well, he's having us do the hard work. We find the bottles and carry them right to Mikasa, and possibly Conny, who lie in wait for us."

"Mm. That clever bastard."

"I mean, have you ran into either Jean or conny since being out here?" he questions.

You fold your arms, deep in thought. How could you have overlooked this? You were so consumed with securing the bottles, you failed to notice or form any substantial strategy.

"No, I haven't."

"It's possible Jean is out here looking for us, but I suspect he's banking on you finding the next bottle."

Your hands slap against your thighs, a sound that echoes your self deprecation.

"This whole time.. We've been trying to outscore them, but we need to outsmart them." You sigh. "How do we get outta this?"

Armin wipes his damp palms on his trousers, nervously picking apart his own brain. As he paced back and forth, it strikes you that you have a bottle, and a plan begins to take shape in your mind..

"Psst." You silently mouth to him that you have a bottle hidden on you.

He inches closer, whispering in a hushed tone
"So we shouldn't try to score until we have all remaining bottles..."