A/N:
Hope you enjoy, reviews are much welcomed, and see you in the next chapter.
(Armin P.O.V)
"Balance, young soldiers, is the key to winning in any battle." Mello said calmly as he paced before us. "With a titan or on a hunt, balance is key. Think for a moment what it'd be like without it. When there is no night to the day, no summer to the winter, and no rain along with sunshine. What would happen should there be no balance?"
Sasha answered this. "There wouldn't be life."
The man nodded. "Exactly. Too much day and we would cook under the sun, no rain and the plants would die, and no summer would mean we'd freeze to death. There is balance in everything, including your partnerships."
He then grabbed a handful of thin ropes and tossed one to Connie. "Springer, you're partnered with Ymir." Then continued on from there.
Eren was partnered to Krista,
Mikasa to Bertolt,
Annie to Sasha,
Reiner to Samuel,
…
…and myself to Jean.
Our wrists were tired to one another by Mihael, a cheeky smile on his face. Once he was through with that he backed off towards his companions, Matt included, who each stood there with a pale of rocks and pebbles.
Mello then spoke up once more. "Balance can come from the trust of a partner… but you have to earn that trust." He picked up a pebble from one of the pales. "Consider these your reason to trust one another. If you can dodge these, then you can dodge titans."
"W-wait a minute!" Connie stopped him. "How are we supposed to dodge anything while tied to someone else?!"
Mello kindly tossed the pebble over to the man and stood at attention. "Go ahead and try, Springer. I promise you, I won't get hurt."
The guy hesitated for a moment before rearing back his arm and throwing the pebble with all his might. The stone heading right for Mihael's face…
…but never making contact.
Matt had graciously taken Mello by the hand and pulled him out of harm's way and into his embrace. Mello barely even blinked at the action. He merely took it with thanks and watched the pebble fly by his head.
We all murmured in amazement at the feat before Mello straightened himself up and addressed us once more.
"You will rely on your partner to keep you from harm, and build trust with them. I matched you up with unlikely pairings for a reason, and to the best of my knowledge you all have more in common than you let on. Finding that common ground will be your next task. But first…" he picked up a pebble, "THINK FAST!"
The rock sailed through the air at an alarming speed towards Annie but Sasha pulled her away at the last moment, effectively saving her some head trauma.
The blonde female looked slightly stunned at how fast Sasha reacted but thanked her silently in her own little way.
Before the stone throwing could truly begin though there came a whinnying of horses trotting through the gates as a few from the Survey Corps suddenly made an appearance. A few I recognized, but none I was really interested in at the moment.
Aside from them, I could also see Light and my father make an entrance to the training grounds wearing their uniforms. They seemed interested in the training we were conducting in.
Light chuckled at the predicament we were in. "Aw, are we holding hands and singing prayers?"
Before he could laugh any more a stone hit his nose straight on and the rest of us had to bite down our laughs. Surprisingly, it wasn't Mello who threw the stone.
It'd been L.
"And why is someone from the garrison here in training?" He asked heatedly. "Shouldn't you be sucking some commander's arse?"
A low 'ooh' rang out among us and Light got personal now.
"We're here to make a routine check to make sure everyone's alright." He growled out, blood slowly dripping from his nose. "And you'd better not assault your commanding officer again, or it'll be the titans you'll have to deal with."
"I left the military because the titans were too easy to deal with. But I guess a little cadet like you wouldn't know that would you? The last titan you probably dealt with was your own mother."
Another ooh rang out and we were all enraptured by the display now. Even Mello was getting a kick out of this.
Light flared his nostrils before poking his finger into L's chest. "At least I have parents."
The entire crowd of us were downright shocked at the insult but nearly laughed at the low blow. It certainly was uncalled for, but if the two were keen on going at each other's necks then I guess they had no better choice than to throw insults at each other.
L didn't seem too fazed. He even grinned wickedly.
"Well, I may not have parents, but at least I have an army of my own. And I did it without sucking arse to anyone from the higher ups. Tell me, is there a permanent smell of shit in your nose or have you just gotten used to it?"
This was thoroughly enjoying now. I'd never seen a scrap between two grown men before, but they both acted so childishly it was amazing they were our superiors. I'd known Light for a very long time, and when I first met L I thought he was just eccentric. But these two together! It was like watching a stage show!
The two went back and forth for a bit before each started pushing the other. When it looked like it would become a full blown fist fight Mello stepped in to help…
…but not in the way we thought he would.
With the rattle of a chain we heard two cuffs link on to either of their wrists and the fighting silenced. It'd been a long chain, yes, but the fact that they were linked together in the same way that we were was priceless!
They watched in abject horror as Mello took the key to their cuffs and swallowed it whole, effectively making everyone around them laugh at their faces. It truly had been a sight to behold.
Mello then crossed his arms. "As my mentor, L, I'd expect you to show some restrain. I'm not a fan of the military either but I do show some respect for them when deserved. And as for you Light, I demand from you the same respect I give to my mentor as well. You can't act like this and expect for me to stand here and watch you fight like silly children! So, you will spend the next week chained together and learning what each other has to offer."
"Excuse me!" Light said in horror. "You can't expect me to go along with this! What if the titans attack!?"
"Did I say a week? I meant a month." Mello replied happily. "And as for the titans, we'll be able to handle it. Right, troops!"
"Yes sir!" We replied happily.
L just stood there with a look of pain in his eye. "After all I've done for you…"
"And I thank you, L." Mello interrupted. "But even you won't take a child's way of acting sometimes. I have my troops to prepare, and you were keen on distracting them. So please, take a seat and learn with us, or be on your way. And take your boy toy with you."
We held down our snickers and giggles as the two grown men looked over at my father for sympathy.
But again, there was none to be had.
"You heard your commanding officer." He replied and gestured for them to join us. "Together you could learn something you know."
The two glared at one another before begrudgingly joining in on the lesson.
Mello nodded and grinned. He then looked over to one of his larger companions. "Rester, see that each of the groups is tasked with dodging at least ten pebbles or stones. All except L and Light. They have to dodge twenty. I'll take Jean and Armin off to perform another task."
I looked up at Jean who looked back. "Another task?"
He shrugged. "Better than getting pegged with pebbles."
I nodded at this. "Agreed."
When the lesson began we followed Mello out to the rear fields were the post was still there, still with the same blade stuck at the top. It angered me slightly that no one was able to retrieve it yet when it was closer than it appeared, but I guess we just couldn't figure out our goals yet and how to get to them. Still…I'd like to have known what the secret to retrieving the blade was.
Mello stopped us near some crates and barrels of supplies while he went behind one of the walls to the mess hall, sticking a finger down his throat. After the disgusting heaving sounds and an unpleasant odour hitting our noses, Mello came back to us – a cold sweat on his brow – and handed the key to the cuffs to Jean.
"Take it and get rid of it somewhere. Keep the binds on though so the others don't find out I let you ditch this exercise. Be back before noon." He instructed.
Jean looked down at the slightly damp key then back at Mello. "What exactly does this training do for us?"
Mello cocked an eyebrow. "It brings all of us a good show or two."
"But why us?" I asked him.
He punched my arm playfully. "Because you're my brother and I'll give you double rations tonight if you can guarantee it'll never be found."
One look at each other and we were off. I managed to keep up with Jean the entire run to the wall, but only because I had a perfect hiding place for it already. And when asked where we should stash it, I dragged him up to the top of the wall and told him to drop it into the river below. And, without fighting me on it, he did so happily.
The brunette laughed. "I was right, you're brother's a sadist. But hell, at least it's not me this time!"
"You deserved all the times you were his target!" I said angrily, but with a slight smile. "You really don't have any respect for someone like him, do you?"
"Look, Armin…"
"No, you listen to me!" I interrupted. "My brother gave his life for me and my family, even before falling from Wall Maria! He cooked for us, he cleaned, he washed and dried, he took care of us since the beginning! Losing him killed a part of me when I find out, and now that he's back I won't allow you to treat him like you do! So stop it, grow up, and show some god damn respect! Lord knows he's a better man than you ever could be anyway!"
The man was silenced. It was hard to imagine, but he'd finally shut his mouth for once and listened to someone else speak. I know he liked attention, but he couldn't have it all the time. So now he had to know that.
I scratched the back of his head before silently apologizing to me. "I'm sorry for upsetting you like that. I know you can be a bit sensitive to a lot of things…"
At this my eyes slit into a glare. I knew this as well as anyone, but I didn't need to be reminded of it.
"…but it's nice to see you so passionate about something for once. You're usually so quiet. I'll stop ragging on your brother, I promise. But… only if you start showing more of this Armin instead of that quiet little friend of Yeager's."
I grumbled at this before dragging him away by the wrist. "You'd be surprised what a lifetime of bullying could do to a kid in his future."
"You were bullied?" He said in shock. "Come on! With a brother like yours!? I'm surprised anyone even spoke to you without getting hurt!"
I huffed. "You really don't know us, do you."
Silenced followed us as we continued our way back to Mello. It was nearly noon now so it was time for food then more training. Once again we'd have to endure the wrath of the post, but then it was laps before quitting time then we could have our dinner and go to bed.
I wasn't in the mood to really eat after what Jean had said though. Something about his disbelief made me think…
…but no. Jean wasn't like that. He always said one thing but meant another. I couldn't read too much into it right now. Not while I was trying to focus on training. Besides, I was much happier with Eren than anyone else. He cared about me, didn't bully me…
…so then… what was this conflicting feeling in my heart?
I shook it away and dragged him further. "Pick up the pace."
He chuckled. "Maybe you're the sadist in your family."
I glared back at him before picking up the pace and ignoring him.
Definitely not my cup of tea.
