Trained To Kill

Chapter 2: Secrets

"You're slow! Run, you shitheads!"
I jumped from one giant branch to another as the cadet corps ran below me, Shadis riding alongside them on a horse.

"Seraph! What're you doing up there?!"
"Sir, making it harder for me!"
I let in a deep breath as I jumped another gap, the heavy-weighted bag on my back weighing down my body with each jump. This made it more difficult to traverse the field of freerunning, and guaranteed a more certain chance of falling or injuring myself. Shadis watched me for a moment before ignoring me, seeing the treeline about a mile ahead. He looked back at Armin, who was falling behind.
"What's wrong, Arlert?! You're falling behind! Is it too hard for you?! Do you want to be the only one who puts down his equipment?! If this was a real mission, you'd be Titan food already!"

I launched myself over another gap, hitting the edge of the forest. I hopped out of the treeline, coursing to the ground. I slammed into the mud, rolling forward as I landed to mask the impact, then kept running, staying ahead of the pack by a few feet or so. I glanced back, seeing a bigger blonde helping out Armin.

Reiner Braun. He possesses great mental and physical fortitude. His comrades trust him deeply.

Armin Arlert. What he lacks in physical strength, he makes up for with extraordinary academic aptitude.

I continued running till we got to a checkpoint in the other side of the clearing. I dropped my bag and snapped on my ODM, speeding off just as everyone else got there. I breezed through the woods, tapping into my instincts and eliminating any training Titan dummies I could find. I managed to score, I think, around 8 of them before the others came into the fray.

Annie Leonhart. While her fighting skills are outstanding, she doesn't work well as part of a team. A lone wolf.

Bertholdt Hoover. He is highly talented, but he lacks initiative.

Jean Kirstein. His ODM control skills are top class, but his overtly blunt personality causes friction.

I rocketed around a few more trees before tanking into three more dummies, slicing in a mark before Annie and Reiner, who were coming in behind me after targeting the dummy themselves. I spun myself around to the smaller dummy beside it, blasting towards it with my gas and spinning like a whirling top, using my blades and hooks to literally destroy the head. I watched as the pillow and wood hit the ground, humming.

'If only it was that easy on the field...'

I flipped to my right, speeding off once again and bypassing several of my fellow cadets, taking targets wherever I could find them.

Sasha Braus. She's talented at operating unconventionally, but that mentality makes her unfit for organized activity.

Connie Springer. He's skilled at making sharp turns, but his mind is nowhere near sharp enough.

After taking out two more dummies, I found myself riding alongside Mikasa, Eren and Armin being close by as well. I looked ahead, seeing a set of three paired in a row. I hummed, then glanced at Mikasa.

"Hey, Mikasa! Form up with me for a second! I have an idea!"
"This is a single training exercise, Raymond."
I grinned.

"Ah, if we can pull this off, then the Commandants won't give a shit! Just follow my lead!"

I raced downwards with Mikasa following soon after, coming up parallel to me as we closed in.

"Alright! When I saw 'now', hold your blades out over your head and pump your gas at max power! Got it?!"
"Yes."
I turned myself around and upside down, getting under Mikasa and locking my legs with hers.