Blissful Distraction [Attack on Titan Fanfiction]

Military - Chapter 9: Tension

"Come at me, Annie," I said as I readied myself for an attack.

Annie crossed her arms and stared at me. "You do know that this is pointless, right? Sparring isn't part of the evaluation."

"It will still be useful to know if you can beat someone in a dire situation," I stated.

She sighed. "Should we practice with the knife?" She asked, eyeing the wooden knife on the floor.

"We don't need it," I answered.

Annie rolled her eyes and got into her fighting stance.

I made the first move and aimed high. Immediately she blocked it and aimed for my gut. I blocked that move, but she kicked at my heel and pushed me backwards, causing me to fall on my ass.

I laid down for a good long while until Annie stared at me weirdly. She asked me, "What are you doing?"

"Contemplating my life," I said while I got up. "I call a redo, I wasn't ready the first time."

"Fine," she said. "But only one last time."

Annie got into her fighting stance again. I did as well. This time, she went first and aimed for my stomach. I blocked. She threw a higher punch, but I ducked. While I was near the ground, I attempted a roundhouse kick, but she somehow was able to leap over my leg.

I got to hand it to her for being so swift with her movements. I tried an uppercut, but she blocked it as well. When I tried to punch her arm, she grabbed my wrist and flung me onto the ground to the side.

I pointed at her. "Told you I wasn't ready the first time."

She pushed her hair aside before going off in a separate direction. I stayed on the ground facing the sun, hoping Shadis doesn't decide to show up. My eyes were burning, but I didn't care. When I look at the sky, it was like no one else existed.

When I looked to the sky, I felt like I was lost in it. I pretended that I fell into the big blue. I pretended it was an ocean, and my stress and fears had drowned in it. However, paradise can't stay.

After lying on the ground for a while, I saw a shadow cover the sun. I couldn't tell who it was because of the glare, but whoever it was kindly helped me to my feet.

When my eyes readjusted to the lighting, I saw that it was Armin.

"I saw you sparring with Annie," he said. "You know some pretty good moves."

"Thanks," I shrugged. "Do you want to spar with me?"

He seemed to be taken slightly aback by this. "I don't know. I'm not very good at combat... Or anything physical," he muttered.

"Come on," I crossed my arms. "You might learn something. Here."

I demonstrated an uppercut. He stumbled back even though I made sure I fell short. "This is an uppercut. You can probably figure out why. You know, the upward movement?"

"Yeah, I figured," he said.

"Good," I replied. "You're a smart boy. I'm not surprised you figured out everyday logic. So, do you know any combat moves?" I asked.

Armin shook his head. "Unfortunately, no one had taught me. My friends always did the fighting part."

"Sounds like good friends," I said. I watched him smile at me. "How about you show me what you do know?" I got into a fighting position, both fists in front of me.

"I told you," Armin rubbed the back of his neck. "I don't know much."

"I'll go easy on you," I added.