Goddess

Armin's eyebrow twitched; he was trying to weigh the situation before him. The petite girl only smiled at him—albeit holding her wooden knife a little bit nervously.

He wasn't one to judge though—he was shaking in his boots—literally. He had never sparred with Christa before. She looked small—but so was Mikasa when she would give the bullies back in Shiganshina a daily beating.

Another thought crept into his mind. What if, as unlikely as it was, he was stronger than her? Should he go easy? Would she go easy on him?

"Beat his ass down, Christa!" Ymir's voice snapped him out of his thoughts. He heard Eren retaliate. Other students crowded around—he could hear their snickers. Some of them whistled. Others shouted 'catfight.'

He really didn't want to make a fool out of himself.

"Armin, are you ready?" Christa said. Her voice was very kind and sweet. Armin nodded and braced himself.

An idea sprung into his head—what if he tried that move Annie always does? Theoretically, it was just a swift kick of the leg—he was sure he could handle that.

Christa ran at him, at a surprisingly fast speed. There was determination in her blue eyes; she wanted to do well on this assignment. He wanted to too.

He narrowed his eyes, waiting for the right time to strike. He kicked at her with as much force as he could muster, but missed. He didn't know what happened but he must have did an about face and at some point flopped pathetically on the ground. He was greeted by a fit of laughter—he even heard Eren snickering at him.

He felt sick. He just wanted the ground to swallow him up. Or better yet to go find some books somewhere. He didn't feel like moving though.

"Are you ok?" Christa said with concern in her voice. She held out her hand to help him up. Armin's eyes widened. The way the sunlight hit her made her look very angelic. His face felt hot.

She really was a goddess.