Several days progressed in this fashion: Jean issuing commands and Arya following them to the letter underneath the blistering summer sun. By the time it had reached high noon on the third day of training they were all drenched in sweat and panting. The last hour had been spent on the roof of the complex, tin burning the soles of their feet as Arya adjusted to the new weight of her gear during airtime.
The added weight of the scabbards wasn't nearly as detrimental as she had expected. The only learning curve she encountered was making sure they were out of the way and not banging around as she lifted off and when she landed. Luckily this type of ODM gear was designed to come apart if you landed to hard, otherwise they wouldn't last more than one bad fall.
They were both on the ground now, drinking heavily out of canteens underneath the shade of the tree. Jean was very pleased with the speed that Arya learned, desperately wishing that all his recruits had the same sort of tenacity and skill. He had managed to level all of them during combat training within a few minutes, not that he was surprised. Connie trained with him when he could convince him to, but even that was few and far between these days; Jean wanted a challenge.
He looked at Arya with a daring smirk.
"How about we shake things up a bit with a little one on one combat exercise?"
Arya, who had just finished dumping the last of her water over the top of her head, wiped her face and glanced over at him with an equally intrigued smile. She didn't like to admit it but being back in action like this was more thrilling than she could have predicted.
"You sure about that, commander? I wouldn't want to damage that already fragile ego of yours."
Levi, who was stretched out on one of the large low hanging branches of the tree just above, was glad they couldn't witness the grin he was wearing.
Jean laughed heartily. "Confident words for someone so rusty." Jean turned to Connie who headed back from lunch with a chunk of bread in his mouth and called out.
"Con, go grab us a stack of practice blades."
It took only a quick look between them for Connie to match their energy. Running to the supply shed at the edge of the building, he came back with an armful of practice blades that were made from dull wood planks to be used in place of their regular steel.
"Hold on, don't start yet!" He said gleefully, sprinting over to the Gabi and Falco's open door. "Jean and Arry are sparring, get out here!" He ran back onto the field as Gabi and Falco hurried to follow him animatedly. Jean was helping Arya connect the false blades as they arrived, puffing and practically humming with anticipation. Once everything was secure, they walked to the center of the training grounds and faced off.
"This ought to be good." Reiner nudged Pieck and gestured in the direction of the training grounds from Armin's second story balcony.
"We'll start thing off light; you need to get a good grasp on how your body moves in combat compared to in flight, and the positioning of your blades." Jean said as he slunk into a low attack stance. Arya nodded and mimicked his position, body tensed. Every able body that resided within the compound had stepped outside to watch by this point, intrigued to see what their resident doctor was capable of.
Jean, who had been holding his position tightly, suddenly charged at her, wooden swords at the ready. Just as he rounded on her, Arya bent her knees and pushed off hard from the compacted dirt, launching herself in a volley over Jean's head.
Arya had no intention of starting "light".
The moment she hit the ground she was running towards him, but Jean was able to get his practice blades up in time to fend off her blow. Her blades hit the ground off to his right as they slide down the wooden edge, But Arya was ready. Crouching down low, she whipped her leg out and swept Jean's out from under him. Rolling over backwards he regained his footing with a laugh and charged at her again. Arya caught both of his blades with hers this time as he rammed into her. Shoving them both skywards, she ducked under his outstretched arms and slid gracefully into a low attack stance behind him.
Jean grunted and wiped the sweat from his face. Damn, she's fast.
Having come down to watch the spectacle Pieck clapped loudly from the sidelines, and Reiner gave an appreciative grunt as the two squared off again. Levi dropped down from his perch now, striding to the edge of the field to observe their sparring with rapt attention. This time Arya was the one to initiate the offense, feigning one way but spiraling around the other into an extraordinary leap that sent her crashing down onto Jean in a heap. Rolling quickly out of the way of her wooden weapons, Jean activated his ODM with a loud pop.
"Now, what happens when an attack comes from above? Blades up!"
With one quick movement he was above her, closing the distance fast.
The surrounding company let out a collective gasp as Arya fell backwards. At the last second, she triggered her own cables, pulling herself almost parallel to the ground underneath Jean's outstretched hands. The next ping of her gear sent her skywards just as Jean leapt into the air. The wood of their blades splintered as they collided, ricocheting backwards to whack Arya hard against her shoulder. Jean grinned triumphantly as they landed roughly on the ground, but before he could begin to boast Arya was advancing again, blades extended.
"Keep your elbows in tighter, extending them too far leaves you open for a rib shot." Levi called loudly over the noise of their skirmish. Arya heard this just as Jean went for a jab at her exposed side. Pulling her arms in, she rolled into a quick somersault and slid out behind him, rapping one of her blades smartly against Jean's shins.
He stumbled only slightly, but that was enough. Using the compressed gas tanks to propel her, Arya flung herself into the air in an incredible spinning motion, smashing into Jean as he braced. Both of their blades cracked in two as they held strong against the blow her momentum caused.
A dust cloud billowed out from around them, obscuring the onlooker's view. As it settled, Jean was found kneeling on the ground, wheezing with exertion. Arya was miraculously still standing, though only just.
Pieck and Gabi exploded into cheers as Arya pulled the trigger on her hilts to allow the broken practice blades to tumble to the ground, then collapsed roughly into the dirt, breathing hard. Pieck hurried over to her and passed her a canteen which she accepted gratefully. Getting to his feet, Jean lumbered over to where Arya sat and extended his hand.
"Not bad, Jaegerist." He said with an approving look, though clearly dissatisfied.
Arya accepted his hand and allowed him to hoist her up.
"Ah, you were going easy on me." She said with a knowing smile.
"Maybe, but not by much." He replied truthfully, and only a little ill-tempered. "You did well, though combat is not often one on one; that's all well and good for sparring, but the real challenge is facing off with multiple opponents." He looked to the sidelines. Connie was already fully geared, knowing Jean's next steps for recruit combat training, and came forward at Jean's signal.
"What do you say, pint-size?" He said happily, slapping Arya hard on the shoulder. "Think you're up for it?"
She gave a breathless laugh. "I guess we will see." Reaching down into the pile of wooden swords, she picked up her replacements and armed them.
Armin was now standing underneath the shadowed reaches of the oak, watching intently. He had seen only a fraction of Arya's abilities that night they escaped the Capitol, and he was astounded at the skill she managed to retain after so many years dormant from battle. He was reminded of Mikasa as he had watched her fling herself around the training grounds at astonishing speeds, though she certainly had a different flare to her movements that was all her own. He tensed as the three of them began their skirmish, the sounds of missing and connecting blows as Arya desperately tried to defend herself against not one but two attackers.
I have to be the only one here that feels genuinely worried over a simple combat exercise. Armin thought to himself, trying to shake his anxiousness. He looked around at the bystanders who watched with gusto as the three of them moved both on the ground and through the air, but suddenly he realized he might not be the only one feeling the stress of watching Arya fight.
Levi was making his way slowly around the edge of the field, his steel blades removed from their place in his scabbards. His gaze did not stray from Arya for a single second as he stopped in front of the pile of wooden shafts, scooping several of them up and locked them into place.
Arya was putting up a valiant fight, yet it was clear that she was losing steam. Jean got off a hard strike to her ribs as she dodged around an overhead blow from Connie. She rolled over backwards and slid to a stop, panting. Despite the overwhelming force of two highly trained militants she continued to push forward, running full tilt towards them and using her gear to swing in a wide arch along the ground to attack from the rear.
Vaulting at the last second, she managed to both knock Connie to the ground and deflect Jean's swing, though it pushed her so far back towards the edge of the arena that even as she dug in her heels, Arya could sense that she was about to fall. Her center of gravity shifted to throw her backwards and the ground closed in fast.
Mere inches before she made painful contact with the earth, a hand shot out and gripped tightly around the chest strap of her ODM harness. Reeling with the force of her arrested movement, Arya let out a gasping breath.
Levi held her tightly in one of his fists, suspended over the packed dirt. Giving a pull he righted Arya onto her feet and lifted his blades all in one swift motion. She staggered a bit but regained her composure and instinctively returned to a defense position next to him.
The crowd went deadly quiet as Connie and Jean looked wildly between one another, unsure of whether to proceed.
"You were right to say that combat is not normally one on one, commander." Levi began in an airy but serious voice. "But you forget the lesson I taught you all those years ago when you first became a Scout, and that's that we never fight alone." He held his wooden blades out in a gesturing manor. "That's if you think a retired solider and a crippled old man are worth the effort."