A Soul of Dust and Eternity

by Redler Red7

Homura Akemi, a huntress from Vale, lived a life filled with loss, grief, and tragedy. But the world moved on, and so would she. Though her past still haunted her, she would live her new life in Atlas city to the best of her ability, if only for Madoka's sake. [AU, Multi POV, World Building Overhaul]

10. Family Reunions

After half a year, I finally update. What an absolute travesty. At least it's out now, though.

I have things to say in the ending author's notes. I suggest you stick around for that.

A few years ago, Atlas Training Arena F waiting area...

The four academies for huntsmen and huntresses all had different means of separating prospective students into teams and different means of initiating them into their curriculum.

At Beacon, students were catapulted into a Grimm-infested forest and were tasked with retrieving relics deep inside of it. Teams were determined via direct eye contact between the students and the synergy they show during the initiation. Those who survive were known to be adaptable, able to work well with most anyone should the situation require it.

At Haven, prospective students were allowed to choose their teammates and whether or not they pass the initiation was a matter of traversing the entire southern coast of Mistral. Initiates who go on to graduate tended to be close friends with their team and rarely worked without them.

At Shade, students would be randomly teamed up by the professors and were then dropped at random points in the Vacuo desert in the early evening. They were given no map and only a single water bottle each and were told find their way home within twenty four hours. Those that pass were known to be hardy and determined - some might even say stubborn.

And finally, at Atlas, detailed analysis was done on students and they were grouped according to what the prediction models deemed to be their ideal team among their batch. For initiation, teams were to hold out against increasingly large waves of Grimm attacks for a minimum of three hours.

It used to be that the hold out would be conducted in an abandoned town deep in the mountains. Students were told to choose a building and defend it. Failure to do so would mean death.

More recently, however, new training facilities allowed for Atlas to simulate the initiation process within the walls of the academy - an artificial city and mechanical creatures of Grimm that could be shut down with a press of a button. Failure would not mean death, in that case.

Sayaka Miki was one of those students lucky enough to be part of the batch to get the simulation that year.

As Sayaka waited at her seat, she eyed her teammates worriedly. Due to extenuating circumstances, she was assigned to a team of three instead of the standard four. They had exchanged information regarding their combat prowess and general likes and dislikes. So far, there weren't any alarm bells ringing based on what she was told. Still, she couldn't help but wonder.

Take Kyousuke Kamijou, for example. He was a grey haired, unassuming boy and didn't look all that strong. However, his weapon was a dust-powered violin that, when played in combination with his semblance, could cause small earthquakes and topple buildings. It wasn't particularly effective at dealing with individual Grimm, but the sheer power of it was remarkable.

Then there was Hitomi Shizuki who was equipped with a wide array of bombs with many different effects, ranging from simply exploding and dealing damage to dispersing paralysis, sleep, and even hallucination inducing gas. Her equipment was made even more deadly by her semblance which allowed her to give mild mental suggestions to any target that could think. Usage of this power was restricted by the Atlas Military but was an invaluable asset regardless. She also seemed nice and agreeable.

As for Sayaka herself, she was an agile and aggressive swordsman, with a semblance that allowed her to numb pain and even heal herself and others of various injuries that aura didn't heal naturally. She liked to think she was quite adaptable thanks to her semblance and naturally hardy constitution.

With the three of them in one team, Sayaka had a hard time not seeing them pass the initiation. If she had any doubts at all it was the fact that none of them had any reliable ranged attacks. Kyousuke's was too dangerous to use in enclosed spaces and Hitomi's bombs were hand tossed. Sure, Sayaka had a pistol built into her cutlass but she had terrible aim.

Supposedly, there was to be a fourth member of their team whom Sayaka assumed would compensate for their lack of range. Obviously that didn't end up happening. Unfortunately they had to make do with their glaring weakness.

Sayaka sighed as she shook her head. Her mind was starting to wander, which was not something she was happy about. She wouldn't be able to forgive herself if her head wasn't in the game when the initiation started.

Sayaka felt someone tap her shoulder. "Hey, Miki, right?" her teammate, Kyousuke asked. "I sorta just noticed your combat outfit... Don't you get cold?"

Sayaka found herself fidgeting in her armored blue dress. She expected to get reactions like that when she moved to Atlas - and had gotten them more than once before - but the fact that her own teammate was questioning her clothing choices felt a little bit embarrassing.

"N-not really. I don't get cold easily."

Next to her, Hitomi made a mildly worried hum. "This isn't going to a problem during missions outside the walls, is it? Temperatures usually go as far down as twenty below freezing."

Sayaka frowned. She had made her outfit to fit the environment she lived in which, at the time, had been the tropical Mistral. Now that she had moved to Atlas, however...

"Well... I hope it won't be a problem at least," Sayaka replied, feeling unsure of herself.

Following that short exchange was silence which lasted roughly a minute until the attendant wearing yellow spoke to them.

"My name is Mami Tomoe. I shall be overseeing your initiation. Please proceed into the training arena. We will begin shortly."

Sayaka swallowed a breath as she stood up and followed the attendant to the door. Her two teammates followed shortly after.

Early morning, Conifer Apartment Complex, Atlas Shopping District...

Sayaka groaned when she first opened her eyes that morning. It was the second and final day of her leave and she still felt unbelievably tired. Which didn't make sense since, aside from her nightly jogs, she had spent the majority of her leave relaxing at home. The whole two weeks of training had taken a bigger toll on her than she realized.

Next to her, under the blanket, she felt something stir. A head of green popped out of the covers and drowsily looked to Sayaka.

"Oh, Good Morning, Sayaka."

Sayaka smiled softly. "Mornin' Hitomi."

Hitomi purred as she closed her eyes once more and snuggled closer to Sayaka. The fencer smiled wryly at this. "Come on, Hitomi, don't go back to sleep. Don't you have work today?"

"I have an afternoon and evening schedule on Mondays and Thursdays," Hitomi replied airily as she continued snuggling.

Sayaka chuckled as she patted Hitomi's head on her chest. With every breath, she could feel the weight press down on her. It was comforting.

The two of them stayed like that for a long while but they eventually jerked into full wakefulness when both of their scrolls' six o'clock alarms sounded off simultaneously. With a notable grumpiness, they both got up and began their morning routine.

"We're visiting Kyousuke today at ten and I have a lunch appointment at noon," Hitomi said during breakfast. "After that, I've got work. Do you have any plans today?"

"Not really," Sayaka answered, taking a sip of her coffee. "I hear Winter's taking challengers again today. It runs for most of the afternoon. I might drop by Arena A and watch. Other than that, nothing."

"Well, my dinner break is at nineteen thirty. If you want, meet me at Central Plaza south and we can eat out."

Sayaka nodded quietly. "Sounds good..."

The two ate in silence for a moment. It was just a simple meal of sunnyside eggs with toast but it was really good eggs and toast. It was enough to warm Sayaka's mood on such a cold morning.

"It feels good being back," Sayaka said with a sigh. "I never really realized how much I missed you until I got back. It all kinda hit me all at once. I didn't really know how to deal with it..."

Sayaka pursed her lips. She didn't want to continue speaking. This wouldn't be the first time she broke into a spiel about how much she missed her two teammates. It wouldn't even be the third. The first time was when she first got home. She arrived at the apartment and broke down on the couch. The second time was when Hitomi finally arrived from work and Sayaka literally started sobbing while she clung to Hitomi like a child. After that, she had stopped counting. She just knew it was more than three and it was kind of embarrassing how often she was slipping into such a sentimental mood recently.

"Sorry. I'll stop with the sappy stuff. You've heard enough of this yesterday..."

Hitomi put a hand on Sayaka's cheek. "Hey, chin up. I'm right here, Sayaka. And Kyousuke's not going anywhere either. Just relax."

Sayaka shook her head, brushing Hitomi's hand off. "R-right-right. I'm cool. I'm cool. We're good..."

Hitomi chuckled. "It's okay to cry, you know? You're actually kinda cute when you're crying."

Sayaka felt heat rise to her cheeks. "Oh, shut up! You're ruining the moment!"

"Ruining it? I don't see that. Don't you feel better now?"

"I said shut up!"

With that, Sayaka began shoveling food into her mouth in an attempt to distract herself from the situation she found herself in. Hitomi giggled quietly but made no further comments.

Late-morning, Atlas Hospital Ward...

Sayaka and Hitomi stood by Kyousuke's bed as the doctor spoke to them. Much to their surprise, the doctor had good news to tell them.

"Firstly, I'd like to congratulate Mister Kamijou on making such a miraculous recovery," the doctor said, sounding actually impressed. "Sixty percent of the nerves and and a similar amount of the muscles in his right arm had been damaged beyond repair. And yet, with the help of Miss Miki's semblance and modern medical science, we managed to recover almost all of it."

Sayaka shot Kyousuke a small smile which he returned in kind.

"Unfortunately, his hand still has fine motor control issues, such as sudden and uncontrollable twitching. We are still testing to see how this can be fixed. However, rest assured that he can return to civilian life with no major issues."

"What's the other news, doctor?" Hitomi said quickly, aware of how upset the thought of being demoted to a civilian made Kyousuke.

"Well, it's about the prosthetic Mister Kamijou wants to have installed. We still maintain that a standard prosthetic that completely replaces his arm will not be a viable way to return to combat solely due to the complexity of using and maintaining his weapon. However..."

All three of them leaned forward at this. This tiny ray of hope was what they had been waiting for.

"There is something else you can try. Before I say any more, I want you all to know that this should remain off the record. Do you understand?"

Sayaka rolled her eyes and shared a dry look with Kyousuke. Hitomi seemed to want to do so as well be suppressed that urge. "With all due respect, doctor, we are all members of the military," Hitomi said flatly. "We have all been briefed on Atlas's security clearance laws the consequences of breaching it. We'll keep silent."

"Just double checking," the doctor said with a feeble chuckle. "There is currently an experimental nanomachine serum made to replace the body's nervous system. Its purpose is to allow for huntsmen and huntresses who suffer from full-body paralysis to return to duty by artificially creating nerves that allow them to move."

As the doctor continued speaking, Sayaka's eyebrows gradually started rising. She understood what was being said but was still unsure whether or not to believe it.

"The serum can only work within a small area of the body, however, and only allows for the faintest feelings of control. At its current state, it is useless to the people it was originally designed for. But on Mister Kamijou, it may prove very useful. It is theorized that it will allow him to regain full control of his hand again."

"That's... that sounds..." Kyousuke looked shook, eyes alight with confusion and excitement.

"The scientists working on this serum have actually taken an interest on him. They gave me security clearance to see some of their design documents for the sole purpose of speaking to him about it. It's all quite unusual, but not unprecedented."

An insurmountable feeling of dread seemed to well up inside Sayaka at that moment, caused by a combination of deja vu, intuition, and general worry for Kyousuke's well being. Sayaka had been struck with a similarly too-good-to-be-true offer before. While she didn't necessarily regret accepting, the mere fact that Kyousuke too had such an offer dangling within arms reach right now simply couldn't be a coincidence. Something was up.

"Details regarding this possible solution to Mister Kamijou's problem has been sent to your scrolls. It also has the contact of the scientists in case you have any further questions. That is all I have to say on the matter."

As the doctor spoke, Sayaka was keenly aware of the beads of sweat forming on Kyousuke's forehead as he looked at the new unread message icon on his scroll. Sayaka and Hitomi were similarly looking warily at their scrolls.

"Well, I suppose my work here is done. Mister Kamijou is slated to leave the Hospital Ward today at seventeen hundred hours. Just one last slew of tests before he's released. I'll leave you three some privacy for now."

"Thank you for your help, Doctor," Hitomi said as the doctor left the room. Once the door closed she immediately turned to her two teammates seriously. "There has to be a catch. There can't be such an easy way to fix your problems just like that."

"I agree," Sayaka said. "But to be fair, I kinda got an offer like that from Winter and I haven't really gotten any negatives yet aside from the three of us not really seeing each other much - and that would've started happening regardless."

"That's beside the point, Sayaka. Not all the horror stories people telling us when we were in the academy were just stories. There could be some very real risks to this."

"I don't care what either of you say. I'm taking this offer," Kyousuke stated, an intense look on his face. "There's nothing you can do to stop me."

"Who said anything about stopping you?" Hitomi asked, instantly deflating Kyousuke's intensity.

"Wha-?"

"Look Kyousuke, we basically assumed you were going to accept the moment we heard the offer. Two months now you've been dying to be able to play Elsa Maria again and this is giving you that chance. It wasn't hard to guess you'd accept."

When Kyousuke heard Hitomi say this, he looked to Sayaka with questioning gaze. Did she agree with Hitomi? Sayaka raised her hands in a shrug. "Hey, she's not wrong."

"Oh..." Kyousuke nodded thoughtfully at this. "I guess it's okay... I just expected you guys to put up more resistance..."

A moment of silence passed and Sayaka and Hitomi shared a look of amusement. There was something of an inside joke between the two of them about how obsessed Kyousuke was with his violin. And what made it even more amusing was how he wasn't even aware of his obsession.

"In any case," Hitomi continued. "Strings were pulled to get this opportunity to Kyousuke's reach. The people in charge have plans and like it or not we're a part of it. It's best that we all be cautious - more so than usual."

There was a another, heavier silence for a time as those words lingered in their minds. The only sound to be heard was the beeping of the heart monitor and the ambient thrum of walls.

"Well, that got dark real quick," Sayaka quipped. "You know, it's things like this that make me hate living in Atlas. Like, I know this stuff just sorta happens around here - it's just the way things are - but the fact that it's considered normal just rubs me the wrong way."

"It is what it is," Hitomi said with a sigh. "I think it's time we move to a different topic - preferably something less depressing."

"Oh, right, didn't Sayaka go on a trip for two weeks?" Kyousuke asked, turning to the girl in question. "How was it?"

Sayaka smiled wryly. "I thought the topic was supposed to be less depressing."

"Oh but it is~" Hitomi chimed. "Go on, Sayaka. Tell Kyousuke of your suffering."

Kyousuke smiled in confusion. "You two are giving me mixed signals here..."

With a shake of her head, Sayaka began recounting her time training under Winter in the mountains.

Even after the story finished, the conversation continued as the jumped from topic to topic. Eventually they exhausted all relevant topics to discuss and were stuck simply enjoying each other's company.

They would have been content to sit there for the rest of the day but Hitomi had work and the nurses and doctors planned to do one final series of tests on Kyousuke that afternoon. With a smile and a wave, Sayaka and Hitomi said their goodbyes and left Kyousuke's room.

"I actually really have to go now. I'm about to be late," Hitomi said, eyeing the time on her scroll.

"Don't let me keep you waiting. Go on ahead. I've got some buddies around these parts that I wanna catch up with."

With that, Sayaka and Hitomi parted ways as well.

The aforementioned "buddies" Sayaka was speaking of were several paramedics she had worked with for a few months during her days as a trainee. Since she had a healing semblance, the academy thought it best to put her in a position where she could help the most.

Thus, just under two years later, she walked towards the deployment area where most of the paramedics hung around.

As she made her way there, she smiled and nodded to a few familiar faces who smiled and nodded in return - like one extremely short nurse whom Sayaka once healed a minor headache of. It was all a pleasant surprise to see them all again. Though, there was one person she was not pleasantly surprised to see. Rather, she was more puzzled.

There in the hallway heading towards the Terminal wing was Homura Akemi, silently walking past everyone as if she wasn't even there. She was like a ghost.

For a moment, Sayaka thought about calling out to her but stopped herself. In that very same moment, Homura halted her ghostly march to look at her. Sayaka felt an intense chill well up inside her as their eyes met. And just as quickly, the feeling faded and Homura looked away, continuing her walk towards the Terminal wing.

Sayaka shook her head, immediately trying to expel the scene from her mind. She resumed her walk to her destination, increasing her pace without really meaning to. She didn't understand what she just felt. She wasn't even sure if she really did feel what she thought she just felt. She just knew that, whatever that archer lady was doing, she wanted no part in it.

A few years ago, Atlas Training Arena F...

Sayaka had to admit, the large mechanical beowolves that were flooding their section of "city" were a lot more intimidating than she first expected.

She had faced plenty of beowolves in her time in Mistral but very rarely had she fought alphas. They were bigger, tougher, with more bony plates of armor and spikes. They seemed to have enough wits about them to not just charge in and get gunned down like their lesser brethren. Instead, they attacked from the flanks while the enemy was distracted. She had helped take down a few of them during Sanctum field trips, stabbing a few in the shins while her professors were keeping them busy. The professors were the ones who ultimately took the alphas down of course but she still remembered how much more difficult they were to dispatch than regular beowolves.

The mechanical beowolves being sent at them were modeled to look and act like alphas and were similarly difficult to take down. The only difference was that she didn't have trained huntsmen and huntresses around to bail her out if she got in over her head. She supposed the shut-off switch was a close enough equivalent, though.

"Shizuki, they're coming in from the breach in the wall," Sayaka yelled as she dashed towards said breach to dispatch the beowolves that had entered from it.

Two of the wolves howled and jumped at Sayaka simultaneously, one of them sweeping low and the other sweeping high. Sayaka pitched forward and somersaulted between the two attacks, landing behind them. She then performed a series of quick slices to the back of the machines' thighs. They toppled forward, no longer able to stand upright. She then stabbed decisively through their necks and they moved no more.

As she fought, a cyan glow stick - a dust grenade - flew over her, hit the ceiling, and bounced towards the breach. A second later, wall of ice burst forth, blocking the way.

Sayaka let out a laugh, impressed by the trickshot. "Beautiful, Shizuki!"

Two beowolves trying to enter had gotten caught in the ice. It was quick work for Sayaka to stab up from under their armored ribs into what she assumed were their heart and lungs. They too shut down.

Sayaka still couldn't quite believe it. Even though they were mechanical, the training beowolves had the same weak points as an actual beowolf. She could still perform the same kill moves she learned during her training at Sanctum.

"Miki, need some help!" Kyousuke called.

Sayaka quickly left the scene and made up the stairs where Kyousuke was.

Generally speaking, defending a small location was much easier than defending a big location. It was rather unfortunate that the house assigned to them was as large as it was.

It had two stories and multiple entrances from all directions. Thankfully, the walls of the building were quite solid so they didn't need to worry about more breaches other than the ones that were already there. There was also plenty of debris and furniture to barricade some of the entrances for a time - they wouldn't last all three hours but it would certainly be better than nothing.

There were four entrances on the first floor. To the south was the front door which Sayaka had barricaded with every single piece of furniture and home appliance on the floor - sofas, refrigerators, even the kitchen sink. To the south east was the door to the garage - a structure that Kyousuke and Hitomi had managed to collapse in order to block attempts at entrance. There was a breach to the west that was too large to block with furniture. Hitomi's had to regularly reinforce and reapply the wall of ice she had created to block the way. Across the hall from the wall breach was another breach in the floor where Grimm would crawl out. Hitomi also kept it locked down with ice.

The second floor had three entrances. To the north and south were balcony entrances, one of which was barricaded similarly to the front entrance. The other balcony entrance was situated close to a breach in the ceiling, both of which Kyousuke guarded.

When Sayaka arrived, Kyousuke was currently fending off three beowolves, dodging and weaving around their claw swipes. He then dragged his bow across the strings of his violin and produced a shrill noise. A localized explosion knocked away the machines surrounding him. Sayaka took this opportunity to jump in and stab the dazed beowolves in the neck.

"Nice hustle, Kamijou." Sayaka said with a small smirk as she stood from the fallen machine.

"There's more and more of them with each wave," Kyousuke remarked, adjusting the tension of his violin strings and checking his dust reserves. "I don't think I'll be able to hold this floor alone for much longer."

"I got your back. Don't worry." Sayaka put a hand on his shoulder and activated her semblance. Both she and Kyousuke felt their fatigue drain from their limbs. "The next wave should be here soon. I'm going back down."

"Don't!" Hitomi cried, running up the stairs, a wall of ice exploding behind her. They could hear muffled howls of angry beowolves for a moment before another explosion shook the building. No further noises came from the ground floor.

Hitomi breathed a sigh of relief and fell to her knees. Sayaka lunged, skidded to a stop, and knelt down in front of her. Hitomi stammered, panting, "They... broke through the south barricade... and swarmed me. I... I barely got out..."

"Deep breaths, Shizuki," Sayaka said soothingly, activating her semblance once more. . "It's nearly over. How's your ammo?"

Hitomi shakily got back to her feet and produced a number of glow-sticks from the container on her belt. "I'm doing okay. Three ice grenades left. The rest are explosive and stun."

"Stun is electric, right?" Hitomi nodded. "You think they'd be good against them?"

Hitomi thought for a moment before nodding again. "They're machines so I imagine yes."

"Okay. I need-"

"They're here!" Kyousuke yelled right before playing another shrill note that blasted a group of beowolves back out the balcony entrance.

Sayaka grabbed three of the dust grenades Hitomi was holding and shoved them into her belt. "Keep the ground floor blocked." With that, she dashed to Kyousuke who had already been surrounded.

Mid afternoon, Atlas Training Arena A...

Winter Schnee was famous among those in Atlas for a number of reasons. Those reasons ranged from her rank being the second highest in the country to how she had apparently abandoned her inheritance to the Schnee family business in order to pursue her military career. All of them were valid reasons to know her name. However, in the context of the open challenge she had issued to everyone willing, the most relevant claim to fame of Winter Schnee was her combat prowess.

Winter Schnee had booked the Atlas Academy Training Arena for the purpose of fighting any and all contenders in a sparring match. Originally, she had done these matches as a method of resolving conflicts, challenging the many stuck-up military veterans who had a problem with her to duels wherein she handily mopped the floor with them. She found that she enjoyed these duels more than she first anticipated and decided to make it a regular thing.

Now that Sayaka thought about it, the story made Winter sound awfully similar to a certain huntress with wild red hair. And it came as no surprise when she entered the arena and found that very same red huntress was Winter's first opponent.

"Oh you have got to be kidding me," Sayaka muttered to herself, barely audible over the cheers from the crowd. Even as a wry smile tugged at her lips, she couldn't deny that she shared the their enthusiasm. Kyouko liked to show off and so did Winter. It was bound to be a fun match. Quickly she looked for somewhere to sit.

Winter Schnee stood at attention, her blade drawn and held lazily at her side. On the other side of the arena stood Kyouko, her chain-spear coiled around her shoulder. They regarded each other with analytical stares.

"Kyouko Sakura, I presume?" Winter asked. "I believe we've met once? I've heard much about you."

"Okay, if this is about me dating Mami, that's just a rumor. We're just friends."

Winter regarded Kyouko with a raised eyebrow. "I... do not see how that is relevant... In any case, I've been told of your persistence and adaptability. I look forward to testing it." She gave a fencer's salute and took a readied stance. "Bear your arms, Kyouko Sakura."

Kyouko grinned and uncoiled the her chain spear, the segments connecting until they formed the six foot spear shaft. She then dropped to a crouch. "Don't need to tell me twice. Let's dance, lady."

"Set timer, two minutes. Begin in five seconds."

Sayaka had never been one to imagine what it would be like when her colleagues and superiors got into a fight. They seemed happy to do so in reality so she never really needed to imagine such scenarios. Still though, the thought of Winter and Kyouko engaging in combat certainly left her mind wondering how it would play out.

The starting buzzer sounded and Kyouko lunged forward, her spear flashing red as it separated into three long segments. She began a complicated series of twirls with the blunt end of her chain spear, holding the bladed end with her other hand. Winter dodged and weaved through the attacks before performing a counter attack of her own.

There was a spark as Winter's saber collided with the blade of Kyouko's spear which she held up to block. Kyouko then followed up with a low sweep with the blunt end, the segments separating into even more segments as they wrapped around Winter's legs. Kyouko tugged hard and Winter slammed into the ground. She then summoned several layers of her latticework barriers to lock Winter's arms in place.

In a massive swing, Kyouko brought down her blade into Winter's face only to be stopped by Winter who had summoned a glyph to lock her arms in place. Kyouko could only smile wryly at this. To think she'd be thwarted by her own tactic.

"Not even a minute in and we're at a stalemate," Winter said with a smile. "I'm impressed. Shall we call it a draw?"

"Up to you, lady. I could do this all day," Kyouko said as several more barriers locked Winter's legs and her spear segments reconnected until there were only two. She swung at her own arm with the blunt end and shattered the glyph that was holding her in place.

Winter kept smiling as a larger glyph appeared under them and several beowolves made of ice started climbing out of it like it was a portal from hell.

"I too could go at this all day," Winter quipped, still pinned to the floor.

Kyouko ended up laughing. "You have got to be kidding me! That's why people say you're invincible, huh?" She reconnected her two spear segments and gave it a twirl. "This is gonna be fun."

Sayaka winced at how Kyouko's match ended a few minutes later. Winter managed to escape her bonds while Kyouko was busy fighting her summon familiars. The white fencer used the distraction to incapacitate Kyouko with a glyph that flashed, crackled, and then completely paralyzed the lancer. She was in mid-swing when it happened and in mid-swing she remained.

"As enjoyable as that match was, I do have other combatants who wish to face me," Winter said as she tidied her hair which had gotten slightly tousled in the battle. "I believe that was my win. Miss Sakura, please exit the arena."

The medical personnel arrived and carried Kyouko off, fumbling a bit when sparks of electricity arced towards them when they approached.

Sayaka nodded her head solemnly. Winter would normally hold back during matches - most people didn't warrant the full use of her combat skill set. The fact that Kyouko forced her to bring out her summons and paralysis glyph was a testament to Kyouko's ability.

Sayaka also noted how Kyouko still had a lot of aura when she became paralyzed. It might be that the lancer had not been exposed to a lot electrical attacks and had not build up enough of a resistance to them yet.

The next few matches came and went with a decisive victory to Winter in every one of them. It was entertaining at the very least, but Sayaka was starting to get bored. She was just about to get up and leave when an unexpected challenger came up on stage.

"Homura Akemi," Winter said. "I know of your reputation. It is an honor."

Homura bowed slightly at this before taking a readied stance. She stepped her right foot back and raised her shielded left arm. Winter took a similar stance, holding her saber at the ready. The start timer began counting down.

Sayaka stared curiously. Where was Homura's bow? She recalled the woman being an archer. And what was this reputation Homura supposedly had?

The buzzer signaled the start of the match and was followed by silence. Neither Homura nor Winter moved. Tension rose among the audience as they awaited the first move.

Then there was a click. Suddenly, Homura disappeared and four explosions occurred in a square around Winter, shrouding the arena in smoke. There was the sound of several gunshots then a gust of wind from the center of the arena cleared the smoke. Dissatisfied murmurs started in the crowd when they saw the combatants.

Homura had pinned Winter down in an arm lock, holding a pistol to Winter's head. Winter's sword lay discarded several paces away. On the screen, Winter's aura levels which had been well above eighty percent were now less than fifty.

Somehow, Homura had won in less than ten seconds.

"I know when I've lost. I surrender, Homura Akemi. Please release me." Homura let go and Winter stood up. "Your reputation holds true. That battle was... informative... Thank you for agreeing to my request."

Sayaka blinked. Request?

Homura bowed once more and exited the arena. The next challenger approached but they no longer held Sayaka's interest. She quickly got up and made for the locker rooms.

"Is everyone holding back when they fight me?"

Right before Sayaka turned the corner, she heard a voice that stopped her in her tracks. It was Kyouko's.

"You're not exactly equipped to deal with most of our higher level techniques. How do you feel?"

Sayaka went wide eyed. That was Homura's voice.

Kyouko chuckled. "Eh, still feeling a little jittery. Big shock, ya know? Anyway, your match - what was that all about? You were so fast, I could barely even see you drop those bombs. Wouldn't going that fast cause severe whiplash or something?"

"I have my ways..."

There was a pause in the conversation. Sayaka felt like it was time to move but hesitated. In her hesitation, conversation resumed again.

"Oh right, I forgot to tell you, there's a charity event this Saturday. Mami told me to invite you."

"Did she now? Why did she send you?"

"Because she knows you and me are close? I don't fuckin' know, man. She was being weirdly passive aggressive about it."

"Perhaps it's your punishment for fooling around with other girls behind her back?"

"Oh, shut it, you."

Sayaka nodded slowly and started to walk away. She was not about to butt into a private conversation - especially not one about those topics. She could speak with Homura and Kyouko on a different day. She made her way back to the arena stands.

Early Evening, Atlas Hospital Ward...

At the end of the day, Sayaka returned to the Hospital Ward to pick Kyousuke up. She had arrived a little bit early and thus, had some time.

Before Kyousuke was officially released, Sayaka asked the doctor if she was allowed to do some light healing so that Kyousuke could walk out of the Hospital Ward unaided. The doctor agreed and said that he and some of his colleagues would stand by and observe the process.

Thus, Sayaka, Kyousuke, and three doctors and a nurse stood in the middle of the hospital room while Sayaka summoned a three-foot-wide glyph in front of her.

She addressed Kyousuke. "Alright. Get in and stamp your feet. You should be able get some feeling in them again."

Kyousuke did as told and shakily took a step into the circle of music notes. Once inside, he wobbled slightly before attempting to jog in place. After a moment of sluggishness, he was able to achieve a nice and steady pace with no signs of fatigue.

Kyousuke laughed nervously. "Feels a bit tingly."

"That means it's working. Can you walk now?"

"I think so...?"

They spent a few moments to confirm that Kyousuke no longer suffered from the soreness caused by his two months confined to a bed. In that time, Sayaka also answered a short batch of questions from the doctors. When all of that was finished, the two exited the Hospital Ward with smiles on their faces.

"Ah, feels good to be out of there!"

Sayaka grinned and hooked her arm over Kyousuke's shoulders. "Tell me about it. Do you have any idea how quiet the apartment is without you constantly playing?"

Kyousuke raised an eyebrow. "You do realize that I won't be playing again yet, right? My hand is still damaged."

"Yeah, but at least you'll be there with us. That's already as good as you constantly playing."

Kyousuke smiled awkwardly at this. "I don't think that's how that works."

"Yeah. I don't really know what I was saying either." Sayaka laughed. "It's good to have you back, Kyousuke."

Kyousuke chuckled and returned the gesture in kind, throwing his own arm over Sayaka's shoulder. "Good to be back, Sayaka."

They walked like that for a moment before Sayaka separated. Upon doing so, she pulled out her scroll to check the time. She hummed in thought.

"Alright, we've got about an hour to kill before Hitomi gets off work. She says she wants the three of us to have dinner together tonight." She looked up to Kyousuke. "Wanna go anywhere in the meantime?"

Kyousuke crossed his arms, nodding slowly. "Hmm. Not particularly. I heard Winter sent out an open challenge today. That still going?"

Sayaka forced a smile. "Haha... yeah... about that..."

"What, is it over now?"

"Well, yes, it's over but also..."

Sayako told him what she had been doing all day and Kyousuke burst out laughing. "You challenged her to a duel?" he gasped as his shoulders continued to shake from laughter. "It's your day off and you decide to have an early sparring session with your sword master? What, were you trying to get extra credit?"

Sayaka pouted. "Hey, fighting her is fun. And I at least lasted longer than most of her other challengers."

Kyousuke kept laughing, needing to lean on a wall to keep from keeling over.

Sayaka groaned. "Fine, if you're gonna be that way, I'm just gonna go." With that, Sayaka bounded off the streets onto the second-story rooftop of the nearest building. Very quickly, she heard shouted apologies from Kyousuke who she suspected had not recovered enough to perform aura-augmented jumps yet.

She leaned over the ledge and smiled at him. She pulled out her scroll and speed-dialed his number. "You wanted to say something?" she said as soon as he picked up.

Kyousuke looked up at her with a wry smile, his scroll pressed against his ear. "Was it really necessary to jump up a building?"

"Was it necessary to laugh as hard as you did?" Sayaka replied cheekily.

Kyousuke kept smiling, though very clearly he was getting more distressed. "I'm sorry, Sayaka."

"Why don't you come up here so we can talk?"

"You know I can't," he replied tiredly.

Sayaka giggled. "You can't?" She ended the call and pocketed her scroll. She then waved a hand and summoned a glyph at Kyousuke's feet which launched him upwards into Sayaka's arms. "You were saying?" she asked with a grin, bringing their faces close enough to touch noses.

The nervous smile never left Kyousuke's face. "Hilarious," he mumbled. "Why are you really doing this?"

"Call it a sudden bout of mischief." She pronounced that last word with an appropriately mischievous edge. Kyousuke squirmed in her grip. "And since you don't seem to know what you want, I figured I'd show you a good time."

A twinge of understanding twinkled in Kyousuke's eyes as he stared. He then chuckled. "Did you really miss me that much, Sayaka?"

"Yes," Sayaka replied simply. "I had Hitomi, though. You were trapped in a hospital room. I figured you'd miss me more than I missed you."

Kyousuke turned away. From such a close distance, Sayaka could clearly see he was blushing "I won't say you're wrong," he muttered.

"Aww, you're cute when you're being honest." Sayaka then tossed Kyousuke up and caught him princess-carry style. "Let's go home for a bit of privacy. Shall we?"

Kyousuke's face grew redder. "I... I'd complain about the indignity of being in this position is but at this point I don't think I have much of a choice anymore."

Sayaka crouched down and tensed her legs. "Hey, you're the one just sitting there not struggling."

"Touché"

Sayaka summoned a glyph under her feet and jumped, soaring across the city to their apartment.

A few years ago, Atlas Training Arena F...

The final wave had come. Sayaka could tell. Why else would she hear the tense and steady beep of a countdown timer?

In the previous wave, the barricade and ice wall had collapsed. The sudden influx of machines had taken them a long time to clean up. They had only the shortest of moments before howls from a distance pierced the air.

Things seemed to move in slow motion for team SShK as they knelt down in the middle of the hall backs against each other. In hushed whispers, they spoke, awaiting the mechanical beowolves to arrive.

"How's your ammo?" Sayaka asked both her teammates, hands on their shoulders.

"I'm all out," Hitomi said grimly. She produced two combat knives from her sleeves. "I'm competent at melee, though. We'll see how it goes. Kamijou?"

Kyousuke nodded. "I'm still good on dust. And I actually have a song that's perfect for this scenario. But yeah. We'll see how it goes."

"If you think it'll help, go for it," Sayaka muttered. She released a heavy breath. "I admit it. I'm running on fumes. Keeping you all wired and alert is taking its toll." She stood. "Worst comes to worst, sacrifice me first."

"Then we'd lose our best melee fighter," Hitomi said scoldingly, standing up as well. "Sacrificing you won't make our situation any easier."

Sayaka chuckled weakly. "It was a joke. Sorry if it was in bad taste."

"They're here." Kyousuke stood and pressed his violin against his chin. "Decretum," he whispered and he began to play.

The next five minutes passed by in a blur of clashing steel. The only thing she remembered with absolute clarity was the sound of a violin playing a melancholic tune. It gave strength to her limbs. It urged her to keep fighting.

The rest was lost on her.

When Sayaka next opened her eyes, a mechanical beowolf was looming over her, jaws open and ready to bite at her head. It didn't bite, however. It merely stood frozen in place like a statue.

Sayaka then noticed the buzzer sound, drowned out by the ringing in her ears at first but eventually became clearly audible.

She slowly dragged herself out from under the beowolf and sat up, surveying her surroundings. Hitomi was collapsed on the floor, eyes open and staring at the ceiling. Her chest rose and fell quickly and heavily. Kyousuke was sitting dazed in the corner, backed against the wall, his violin resting on his lap. Academy personnel were swarming around, dragging the mechanical grimm away. A woman in yellow stood nearby, fingers flicking over a large scroll - she had told them her name but Sayaka couldn't remember it.

"Team Shock, congratulations. You all passed with flying colors," the woman told them with a smile. "And congratulations, in particular, to Sayaka Miki because you are now team Shock's leader."

Sayaka nodded at this before letting herself fall back to the floor. A hitched breath escaped her lips. Then a laugh. Soon she was cackling. Hitomi and Kyousuke also laughed. They had passed initiation. She almost couldn't believe it.

They were later brought to the arena infirmary where they were given some peace and quiet to rest.

"We did it," Sayaka breathed from her bed. "We're on the road to becoming a team of huntsmen and huntresses."

"And they assigned you the leader that team," Kyousuke said from the bed directly to Sayaka's left. He smirked. "I'm not gonna contest it. You were amazing, Miki."

Sayaka's lips curled up wryly. "Was I? It didn't feel like it."

"He's right," Hitomi said in agreement from her bed past Kyousuke's. "I've never seen someone take on that many Grimm at once before. Without you distracting them, I wouldn't have been able to kill as many of them as I did."

"I didn't even know what I was doing. I was running on autopilot. Without Kyousuke's music guiding me somehow, I wouldn't have been able to do it."

"And without you and Hitomi keeping them off me, I wouldn't have been playing," Kyousuke countered. "And before that, you were dashing up and down the stairs to in case we needed backup."

"Also, you were always using your semblance to make sure we were never tired," Hitomi added, "and you were also keeping our morale up, giving us words of reassurance and cracking jokes."

Sayaka sat up on her bed to look at them meaningfully. "You guys seem to be laying the compliments real thick. Seriously, it wasn't a big deal."

Hitomi smiled at her, also sitting up. "Whether you think it or not, you were a leader, Miki. You are a leader. And as long as you keep being that way, I'll keep following you."

Kyousuke chuckled and sat up as well. "Same here."

Sayaka stared at them nodding slowly, tears starting to form in her eyes. "I... uh... Thanks. Glad to know you guys... trust me..."

Hitomi and Kyousuke looked at each other in panic.

"Um, Miki, you don't need to cry," Hitomi said nervously.

"Yeah, uh..." Kyousuke reached over and awkwardly patted Sayaka's head. "There, there... We're all friends here..." He turned to Hitomi and hissed, "Shizuki, grab some tissues."

Hitomi kept up a polite smile and searched her bedside drawer. "Oh dear, she started crying," she muttered.

"I'm not crying!" Sayaka cried, tears flowing down her face.

End of Chapter

This chapter (unlike previous chapters) is told solely from Sayaka's perspective. I took this as an opportunity to show her team's dynamic and further reinforce how attached she is to them. To that end, I show their dynamic in and out of combat, both as a team and as individuals in relation to Sayaka.

I'm actually a little bit worried by how people are going to react to my portrayal of their personalities and their relationship with each other. They're just so different to what they were in the anime.

Sayaka is more mellow, less of a jokester, and definitely has the confidence she was lacking in canon. Hitomi is less of a stick in the mud and is cheeky and sarcastic when the situation allows for it. Kyousuke is still obsessed with his violin and dense beyond hope but is willing to play along with Sayaka's (and Hitomi's) whims.

All of that and the minor tweaks to their currently unwritten backstories make their dynamic so far removed from their canon dynamic. And that's not even getting into the bigger change ups I incorporated into the story.

I'm gonna go out and say it: they're in a three-way romance. In-universe, they've been together together for over two years. I was as subtle as a sledge hammer at hinting at it in this chapter and perhaps too subtle in previous chapters but here I am saying it outright.

Yes, I did say that romance is not the primary focus of this story and it still isn't. It's not to say that romance will be completely gone from this story. Further clarification on what I mean will be at the end of this note.

I have read a number of fan works that detail the different kinds of systems used by the academies for initiation. I focus mostly on Atlas' system because that's where this story takes place but the others are loosely based on many of those fanworks. I haven't actually reread those works in a long time so I can't name them but at least a few keywords in the brief exposition might pop out for some of my readers.

I have vague yet vivid memories of playing zombie survival video games with my friends. Most of the details regarding the games are lost to time but the emotions I felt while playing are still clear in my mind. I still remember frantic scrambling from breach to breach, putting up barricades and shooting down all that enter in a futile attempt to keep the endless tide of zombies at bay. I remember the strategic planning and teamwork demanded of us to survive the later waves. It had been both hell and a hell of a time. These experiences were what inspired the Atlas initiation system in this story.

I don't know when the next chapter will be released but it will arrive. That I promise you. Until then.

EDIT 2020-10-25: removed a warning that was in the ending author notes of both chapter 1 and this chapter. Now only chapter 1 contains the warning.