She felt as if she was dreaming.

No, not dreaming. This felt too real, too familiar, to just be a dream.

A song from her childhood echoed in her ears; a song her Mima would whisper to her, hum to her.

A song she still held onto on her loneliest of nights.

But… This song did not come from Mima, did not come from herself...

This song is filled with so much love and pain.

It could only have come from one place.

"There…" She coos. Her voice is so loving, so painfilled. Yet her touch was so gentle, so warm. "It's all done." Akiko can remember the sound of her heartbeat, remember as her first and only gift from her was received.

"Kaede…" Mima.

"What do you think Momma?" She… Akiko's mother asked, "It suits her, don't you think?"

"..."

"It's not much. But I think it should hold her over for a long time!"

"Kaede… Please… You don't have to do this." Mima pleaded, her voice was cracking. Why had Mima's voice been so pained then? "You don't have to sacrifice yourself-"

"Hey, Momma." Kaede cut in. Pressing her lips gently onto her daughter's head. "Do you think… That you can both forgive me? For going off to-"

Akiko's body jolted awake, a sharp gasp escaping her mouth. Her hands clutched tightly onto the pillow and sheets of her newfound bed as she laid curled on top of the new mattress of her room. Her eyes in a confused stare at the almost empty half bookshelf that divided her sleeping space from the living area of her new room. Silent tears running down her face as she stared at the lone white rose clip that sat alone on the shelf.

"What… was that?" She whispered. Her hand shakenly reached out to the hair clip resting on her shelf, only to stop and pull away.

Forcing herself to sit up, she touched the more worn red rose still in her hair. Wondering about her dream, as her mind struggled to even think that what she dreamt of was ever even real. Shaking her head as if to clear her mind, she turned to look at the room's standard alarm clocks onto the half dressers that made up the other side of her sleep area's wall. Her facing paling as she noted the time.

"Ah…! No, no, no! I'm gonna be late for training!" She yelped, stumbling out her bed as she scrambled to get ready for her first lessons.

"HA!" Akiko's voice cried out, swinging her scythe in a horizontal line as she hit and almost sliced through an aragami known simply as an ogretail. "Woah~" She breathed out, jumping back to avoid the beast tail as it tried to retaliate. Screaming in shock when she had to deploy her weapons shield and was sent back a few feet by the beast's attempt to try to pounce and pin her down. "Kota!"

"Ah! Right!" The red-haired teen panicky answered, pointing his assault gun, God Arc, and fired a covering spread at the beast. Akiko taking the cover to get some distance between her and the beast.

"Well then…." Tsubaki hummed to herself, eyes staring down at the pair through the windows of the observational room above one of the Den's few training rooms. The operators with her taking notes and recorded all data from what they were observing as well as maintained the training grounds simulation. Her eyes tracking between Akiko and Kota as the two worked to take down the Aragami they faced.

Quickly shifting the weapons pole in hand alongside her footing, Akiko rushed in to try and kill her prey. Twisting and twirling her scythe as she did, and remaining light on her feet as much as possible as she finally cut through the 'small' aragami, killing it.

"Ogretail 1 has been eliminated by the New Type God Eater, codenamed AKI. With the assistance of the Old Type Ranged God Eater, codenamed KOTA. Time: Two minutes and forty-seven seconds into the first confrontation." One of Tsubaki's people reported, making the dark-haired Major's eyes widen at the time before smirking with some level of pride.

"Impressive."

"Hell yeah!" Kota cheered originally, paling though as the sound of rubble shifting had reached his ears from behind him. Trying to turn around quickly, the tip of the barrel of his gun became caught on to a broken wall's edge.

Looking down at the 'dead' creature before her, Akiko took a quick moment to look down at her God Arc. Looking over the blade, she smiled to herself as she moved her hand to pull on a part of the pole's staff and held it. "You hungry?" The weapon's blade straightened and curled into itself, the black mass that held its pieces together formed a dark beastial head around her scythe's blade. "Devour!" Releasing and lunging forward with her transformed arc, she watched the beastial form bite into and devour the creator. She watched in shock as the thing fed, and the ogretail broke down into nothing. "Woah~"

"Ogretail 2 has made contact with the second recruit!"

"Waah~!" Kota screamed.

Akiko jumped, pulling her God Arc out of its devour form, as she quickly turned to find the teen and gasped. "Kota!"

The teen had fallen back on his butt, his God Arc not far away; but frozen in fear. Staring up as the secondary ogretail that had appeared to attack him. Shaking he tried to back away, his hands shaking as he desperately tried to reach out for the weapon by his side, only to scream in horror as the aragami lunged at him. "Help!"

"HIYAH!" Akiko yelled, seeming to almost fly past Kota as she slammed the sickle of her arc into the ogretails open maw. Hooking the blade enough to not only cut into the beast's jaw, but lock into place long enough to vault her over onto the back of the beast. Planting her left foot firmly on the back of its neck, before quickly shifting her hands and pulled.

"Ogretail 2 eliminated!" One of the operators gasped. "Time from initial confrontation clocking at less than one minute!"

"That reaction time…" Tsubaki whispered, mouth slightly a gap, staring down at the scene before her. "How did she-?"

Heavy breathing escaped her mouth, Akiko feeling her heart still race as she stared down at the now partially decapitated ogretail lying dead beneath her feet.

"Woah…" Kota whispered in awe, watching as Akiko stumbled off the deceased creature's corpse before she looked up at him in concern.

"Kota!" Stumbling over to him Akiko hand held out once she had reached his side, eyes doing a quick scan of their surroundings as she refused to let her guard down. "Are you okay? Can you stand?"

"I…" His eyes went wide, Akiko's body tensed up. "Behind you!" Her eyes had been as wide and dilated as a wild beasts, as she turned to face yet another threat.

The training room's horn went off and the simulated landscape faded. Akiko and Kota stood back to back out of breath, both drenched in sweat as the two collapsed where they stood. Both boy and girl leaned back on one another as the two struggled to not only catch their breath and still the adrenaline that still flowed through their veins; but also soothe the returning ache in their muscles as their grip was released from their God Arc.

"Good work you two." Tsubaki's voice rang from overhead, "You've actually successfully survived your first day of training. Color me impressed."

"Oh… oh yeah!" Kota tiredly cheered. "We…. we rock!"

Akiko nodded alongside his cheer as she gasped out, "Take… that Aragami. You can't devour us...! Not today!"

"But there were still many mistakes made, and much room for improvement!" Tsubaki's strict voice stated, making the two teens moan. "Tomorrow I expect better from you! A report will be sent to you after this. You are to look over and review it. I expect you to correct any and all points noted. If you have any questions on how to do so, come to me." Tsubaki ordered, "As you are both in no state to continue training for the day, we shall end things here. I expect you both here at 0600 hours on the dot tomorrow. If there are any issues and you feel unwell, do not hesitate to report to the medical bay or Doctor Sakaki. I will not have fools with no notion of limits and self-preservation under my wing. Do I make myself clear?"

Taking deep breaths the two teens threw their heads back, "Ma'am! Yes, Ma'am!" They yelled back in response.

Never seeing the smirk on the Major's face as she dismissed them. "Good. Dismissed!"

Leaving the training room the two teens had found that it was afternoon it would seem. Having returned their God Arcs to the storage place, showered, and eaten dinner with Gen. Akiko now sat alone, dressed in a simple pair of sleep shorts and tee, in one of the few break areas around the base which had a view overlooking the Far Easts whole from within its very own Den. A personal tablet sitting open and idle by her side with the report Tsubaki had sent her and Kota on their performance. Moaning as she hid her face within her hands, as she tried to process everything.

"Oh… Shit." Kota almost gagged, he and Akiko freezing as they watched a senior God Eater from down the hall be rushed away in a freshly blood-stained gurney. Both nurses and doctors trying to keep the older man stable and conscious as they rushed them to the base's medical and science floor.

"What… what do you think happened to him?" Kota had asked her. Eyes wide with fear as he remembered their training from just a few minutes ago, and all the close calls he and Akiko had gone through.

"Aragami…" Was all she could reply, her hands shaking as she stared at the spot the medical staff had rushed past. Remembering the man's face of anguish as he was rolled by and pain-filled cries that could still be heard even as he was rolled further away from them.

"He was almost back to the base when it..." A pair of God Eaters whispered from nearby the two recruits.

"They say he let his guard down."

"Seriously! Yikes."

"If only help had arrived sooner."

"Let's just hope they survive and learn from this."

"You mean 'if' they survive."

Shaking her head, Akiko could not help slouching over more in her seat. Even now, the harsh reality of her new life, continuing to slap her in the face. The scene from after her training and now the report doing little to help. 'I wonder how long it'll be till I'm in that same spot…' Biting her lip she could not help but shut her eyes.

"Aki!" Sitting up from her slouched position, Akiko smiled as she turned to face Kota as he came to join her.

"Hey, Ko-tah!" She squeaked, hands shooting up in panic as she tried to catch a can of soda that had been tossed her way. "Ah! No, no, no, no!" Her fumbling stopped with the can's sealed top facing down. "...Fuck." She pouted. She definitely wouldn't be able to open that drink for some time with how it was now shaken up.

"Oops… My bad." Kota awkwardly laughed scratching the back of his head. "Sorry, Aki. Thought you could catch it."

"It's… fine. My brain and hands just…. Didn't connect." Akiko explained glaring at the cola drink in her hand. 'Great… Now I want to drink you. Curse you failed hand-eye coordination!'

Being careful with the open tablet Kota sat next to her, looking down at the open report with a curious eye. "Hey, is this your review? Mind if I look?"

"Knock yourself out." Akiko shrugged, flipping the canned drink back over before she set it down between them and handed the tablet over to the younger teen.

"Hm… woah!" Kota gapped, "That's… that's a lot of writing."

"Yeah… I… was sorta expecting that." Akiko honestly admitted.

"Progressive recklessness on the field…? Emotional distress under pressure…? Needed improvement over God Arc forms…? Lack of self-control…? Lack of proper tool uses…!" Kota questionly read out loud as Akiko simply nodded at what he read aloud. "What the hell?" Looking up at Akiko, Kota could not help but gape at her, "What's with this list? I thought you were awesome today!"

Laughing a bit nervously she leaned back in her seat, "Yeah… I suppose to you I would look that way." She admitted, not noticing the slight flinch and regret that flashed through Kota's face, as he remembered being saved during their training. "But… Like… Do you not remember me laughing like a complete lunatic when that monkey show'd up."

"Wait, was that a monkey? I thought it was a gorilla, I mean did you see the size of the thing!" Kota almost shouted.

"I don't think gorillas have tails Kota."

"Neither do chimps!"

"Anyway!" Akiko sighed, "I was laughing pretty out of control when that thing show'd up."

"Yeah, but… it's not like you were panicking… right? I mean we still somehow took that thing down!"

Shaking her head, Akiko groaned in embarrassment, "Yeah… But… I mean it was a surprise," She admitted. "And I honestly don't like surprises." She mumbled there before shaking her head with an exacerbated cry, "GAH! But my reaction was far from normal! I mean! Who just sees a giant monster, and starts to laugh hysterically! Uh! It was… My brain and heart felt like they were going a million miles per hour." She almost yelled. Falling fully sideways onto their seat in a curled-up ball, "I know that was just some simulation of the real thing! But-!"

"But…?" Kota curiously asked, trying to look at Akiko's face. Noticing as she hid behind the loose strands of her hair and her arms.

'But I'd felt so weird…' She thought in aggravatedly, 'I couldn't help but imagine it was real. Worry for your safety and my own and want to do everything in my power to keep us safe and alive…' She thought. 'I couldn't help the adrenaline that was literally making me word vomit everything single thing I felt and thought at that moment.' Biting her lower lip she felt her heart skip a beat, 'It was almost as if I was a little kid again back outside the walls… Only this time I could-'

"Akiko…?" Kota tentatively reached out. "Hey, are you still- Ah!" Kota yelp falling back off his seat as Akiko suddenly shot up from hers.

"I need to go to the armory!" She suddenly proclaimed.

"Huh? Wait! What! Why do you need to go back there?" Kota confusedly proclaimed, feeling severely whipped lashed with Akiko's sudden mood change and proclamation.

Turning to look down at Kota with her hands on her hips Akiko smiled wickedly. "I just realized I never used my God Arcs gun form!"

"Gun form…? Wait! You can use a gun too! How is that… when did you… what?"

"Hehehe." Akiko laughed, making the oranged head teen shiver in worry. "I'm a New Type, remember? Oh but… then again we never really shared what type of God Eater we had been brought in to be." Akiko noted aloud before shrugging, "Oh well! Water under the bridge, right! You want to come with me to check out my God Arcs gun form?"

Staring up at Akiko, Kota could only nod gapping. "Uh, sure?"

"Great!" Taking hold of the personal tablet Kota had dropped and Kota's hand, Akiko began to lead the boy towards the floor's elevator. "I haven't actually seen what type of gun my God Arc will be using so this can be a surprise for the two of us."

"I thought you said you hated surprises!"

"Pfft, only the unwanted ones!"

'Just what's with this girl!' Kota mentally gapped, wondering for once if Akiko was perhaps a bit more hyper than he first assumed.

Stepping out of the armory elevator to look into Akiko's God Arc gun form. Both Akiko and Kota were shocked, and a bit relieved to see not one but two mechanics still hanging around the hanger. Two of which, Akiko at least had already had brief encounters with.

"Damn it!" The frustrated male cursed.

"What's wrong?" His female companion asked with concern.

"Look at this. Some idiot thought it was a good idea to try a makeshift patch up with tape over the cracks on their God Arc's shield!"

"What! You're joking…! Ah! I can't believe them! Who's God Arc's is this anyways?"

"Don't know, don't care, but I'm definitely letting the doc and Tsubaki know. This idiot obviously needs a run down over proper God Arc maintenance, again!"

"Um… Excuse us!" Kota politely and nervously called out. As the male God Eater from their morning briefing with Tsubaki, and the silver-haired mechanic Akiko had seen on her way to her medical exam, both turned to look at the pair from their place besides a work table where a God Arc layed.

"Oh hey, it's you two." The male noted, his female compatriot looking back at him with a surprised stare.

"You know them Yuta?"

"Nah, not really. I just saw them struggling not to curl up in fear under Tsubaki's hazing, I mean- orientation." The young man, Yuta, explained as his friend struggled to not laugh. "But we didn't really… 'meet' per se. You know?"

"I see!" Turning back to face the two new God Eaters, she held out her hand. "How do you do? I'm Licca Kusunoki. I'm one of the mechanics part of the God Arc Maintenance crew here at the Far East. And this grumpy little sleepy head over here-"

"Hey!" Yuta exclaimed before yawning loudly with a curse. "Fuu- I need something to drink."

"Is Yuta Summers, he used to be a mechanic. It's nice to meet you both."

"Used to!" Yuta choked, spilling some drink he was about to sip from. "I'm still a mechanic! Don't just write me off because I had to become a God Eater, Licca!"

"I mean you are out on the field more than in here working on God Arcs."

"That isn't my fault! That's not by choice."

Laughing at the two older seniors Akiko reached her hand out to shake Licca's, "I'm Akiko Amano, but most people just call me Aki. And my friend here is-"

"Kota Fujiki! It's a pleasure to meet you both!" Kota both excitedly and nervously said.

"Right… Um… Nice to meet you again?" Yuta shrugged, giving Licca a look that easily conveyed to Akiko that the pair were close.

"So, Aki, Kota. Is everything alright?" Licca asked, "You finished training for the day right, so why are you here?"

"That's just it!" Akiko exclaimed dramatically. "Licca, Yuta…! Can you please teach me about my God Arc's gun form?" She begged, clasping her hands in a begging manner as she stared up at the two.

"Teach you about your gun form?" Yuta gapped in shock, Licca gasping in joy as her eyes sparkled with realization.

"You're the New Type!"

"Yep!"

"Um… Excuse me, but what's a New Type?" Kota confusedly asked as Yuta turned his tired eyes to the younger teen.

"Um, kid did you not go over the NORN database?"

"Oh come on! Am I the only one who can't get through all that reading!" Kota groaned aggressively, scratching his head.

"You know what, fair point." Yuta admitted as he winced remembering the amount of time it took him to get through half that system, "We all wish they'd actually use more pictures there outside of the aragami, weapons, and some other few things."

Licca giggled, "At least you're honest."

"As for answering your question…" Yuta yawned walking over to a select number of terminals as he gestured to Akiko to come over. "Let's first get that God Arc of our little friend here out of it's storage."

"Yes! Thank you!" Akiko excitedly giggled. Quickly walked over to the large system and placed her armlet caring hand into a slot in the machine. The system quickly connecting to and reading into the armlet's data before authorizing the unlocking of her God Arc from storage.

The group of four all walked towards the storage space that rose up and opened to reveal Akiko's Scythe. "As I'm sure you've noticed Kota, when you became a God Eater, your God Arc only really had one form."

"Yeah! It was this really big assault gun thing and only really had this thing called a… a…"

"A riot shield." Licca assisted as Kota snapped his fingers at her.

"Yeah! That! I was told it basically was just like a regular gun only for like aragami and that I had to manage my bullets and-"

"We get it." Yuta cut in before looking at Akiko. "Can you-?"

"Oh! Right!" Akiko embarrassedly exclaimed, moving to pull her weapon out of the storage rack and hold it out for the other three to see.

"Alright then. First things first." Yuta sighed, "Do you know how to devour?"

"Um… you mean when I make my God Arc turn into that super cute giant tar head?"

"Super?"

"Cute?"

Both Yuta and Kota gapped as Licca nodded approvingly. "Correct." Securing her gloves over her hands Licca gestured to Akiko. "You see. For New Types like yourself, the idea for changing your God Arcs form is much the same as if you were to devour."

Looking down at Kota, Yuta began to explain. "Originally God Eater's like the old man Gen and hell even you kid were known as Pistol users. God Arcs originally began as guns. Of course, though this came with issues."

"Ranged God Arc's could not devour or regenerate the oracle cell's they used as ammo; and, as such, the Melee type God Arcs were made not so many years ago with the ability to collect and devour oracle cells from the aragami they killed." Licca nodded. "Of course, there is more to devouring than just that, but-"

"Unfortunately, melee users such as myself, can't really use those oracle cells and thus have to instead hand them over to the ranged users," Yuta explained.

"Because of this, Fenrir began researching into and succeeded into making a new type of God Eater. One that could use both forms of God Arcs, ie-"

"New Types, Woah. Akiko that's so awesome." Kota whispered in awe before his awe shifted to confusion. "Wait… but if that's the case then why am I-"

"An Old Type?" Yuta cut in shrugging. "Unfortunately New Type God Arcs still aren't the easiest things to make, let alone finding people with compatibility with them. But of course, we are always in the need for more God Eaters." Yuta explained before patting Kota's back. "It's okay, you won't be the first, or last, of our generation. Welcome to the club."

"Thanks… I think?"

"As for our little friend here…" Yuta gestured to Akiko, "Well it's most likely you'll be our first, and only, New Type for a long while here."

"Now onto switching your God Arc's form to a gun." Licca excitedly began, whispering something into Akiko's ear as she pointed at a certain part of Akiko's God arc before pulling back. "And that should do it."

Nodding Akiko made to take into a fighting stance, while the other three took wide steps back to give her room staring in anticipation and giddiness. Closing her eyes and taking a deep breath Akiko adjusted the grip on her Arc, 'Alright God Arc time…' Akiko began to think, 'To change!' Her eyes snapped open as she pushed down on the scythes pommel. Feeling the weapon lurch and open as it shifted forms into a solid blue gun of sorts. "Woah! I did it!"

"Amazing!" Kota cheered.

"Damn… Now I'm even more jealous of you New Types." Yuta pouted as Licca almost squealed in joy.

"Oh! I have been dying to see how the God Arc's form change would go."

"Hey! Hey! Aki, what sort of Gun is that anyway?" Kota excitedly asked as Akiko slowly looked up at him wide-eyed.

"Um… I don't… Know…" Turning to look at the two seniors Yuta hummed as he looked over the weapon.

"It looks like a blue newer variant of Sakuya's." He mumbled to himself.

"So it's a customizable, high-impact sniper rifle," Licca stated as Kota gave the two seniors a confused stare.

"A wha-?"

"It's also a gun Kota," Akiko explained, trying to hold back a laugh.

"Oh! Right cause… That was what we were- And I… Really need to force myself to read that NORN stuff." The rest of the group ended up laughing at this. The rest of the visit was spent going over Akiko's gun. From how to use and fire it, to the bullets she could use, and even make within the armory lab. As well as a quick rundown on maintenance of their weapons should they find themselves needing to perform it out on the field.