Chapter Text
Sirens began blaring throughout the city, signalling another air raid was near. Akko sat alone in her home at the top of the world, she felt her age weigh upon her like a mountain, almost as much so as her guilt. After her fame landed her a spot among the highest ranking Japanese, she moved into a traditional home that sat atop a skyscraper, she didn't have to live here in Tokyo, in a house like this, but hey, 'a girl's gotta treat herself'. While chuckling lightly at her inner musings, Akko felt a wave of sadness hit her. She knew today was the day it was all over for her, the air practically sang it, so why was she feeling this way? She came to terms with her own mortality long ago, what with her old friends getting picked off by the war one-by-one. She shook her head as a dry chuckle slipped from her. My death won't be as grand as theirs it seems. Done in by an incoming missile! Hah! Diana went out healing entire waves of soldiers on the European front, Chariot was killed by Croix's ultimate weapon, hell, even Lotte died in an epic battle against Jasminka. Jasminka of all people! Akko stewed on her thoughts for a minute before sighing.
"They're all gone aren't they. No longer the innocent girls I knew and loved, all of them died in the war..." Akko began monologuing, "And here I am, alone, talking to myself 'cause I have no one left to talk to."
She slouched as a grim snort left her.
"Croix and Constanze took one another down in an awesome mech battle in the Alps, Amanda, Jasminka, and Sucy fell to my wand... But here I am, 'the Red Witch', 'the slayer of evil', 'the most powerful of the Nine New Witches', about to die in Atomic hellfire." She laughed.
"This is how we all should have went out, protesting the war by spending all our time with one another, and dying only when the nations of the world got desperate enough... Bah! It's too late to think of 'what if's' Akko! What's done is done..." She scolded herself.
Akko ran a hand through her graying hair, which was done up in a bun, and sighed deeply. It was then that the first strike hit, a magic-infused nuclear missile hit the heart of Tokyo in a last ditch effort to undermine the hegemony she had built for her country. She could have fled, summoned a leyline to get her out, hell, she could still do that, but she was tired. Too tired. This was her chance to get the rest she needed, even if she deserved to suffer a million hellfires, she needed the break. She closed her eyes, the radiance of the blue tinted glow of the now forming mushroom cloud flooded over her, she was warm, probably burning, but she didn't care. Her world started to shake as everything slowed to a crawl, and she smiled her first real smile in a long time. Not long after did the blast wave topple her home on top of the world.
Akko gasped for air, the world was spinning and she took note of the one thing that was apparent. I'm not dead. She thought bitterly, I'm in a fucking hospital! She was fuming now, she looked around the room and took note of the rudimentary hospital supplies, and distinct lack of machinery around her, as well as the lack of doctors, or guards keeping an eye on such a high priority target. She'd been to the hospital numerous times throughout the war, and it had become the norm that she'd be hooked up to the most modern equipment and have at least a guard or two to banter with. The eerie, sterile silence that came from this room made her nervous, but what freaked her out more was the fact that the burns and aches she expected from getting fried and slapped by the blast wave of a nuclear blast were non-existent.
"What the fuck is going on?" She muttered to herself, taking note of her higher voice.
She lifted the covers and noticed her apparel was not the traditional kimono she dawned later in her life, but instead it was a really tacky orange coat. Her mind started going through all the explanations it could, until she saw another thing that threw her for a loop. Her hands weren't wrinkled. Clearly freaking out at this point, Akko began taking in the room in it's entirety. It was familiar, no, it was somewhere she'd been before. Nostalgia mixed with the fear and confusion, until she saw the one thing she didn't want to see. The Claiomh Solais, Chariot's old god forsaken Shiny Rod was sitting on a chair along with an Alcor plushie and a bag. To finalize the checklist, Akko reached into her pocket, pulled out a fifty-year-old phone, opened the camera app, and looked as a teenage her stared her in the eyes. All emotion drained from her and she let loose a dry chuckle. The chuckle evolved into near hysterical laughter, as tears fell from her eyes and she gripped her once more purely brown hair. When her laughing finally subsided, she wiped her eyes and sighed deeply.
"It's official. I'm in hell." She reasoned.
"Thought there'd be a lot more demons poking me with pitchforks, not being forced to relive my biggest failures." Akko thought aloud.
Suddenly the door opened, drawing Akko to it. The figure who walked through made her rethink her earlier statement as they were revealed to be her old professor Finnelan.
"Am I dead and are you a demon come to torment me for my sins?" The girl asked brazenly.
"What?" Finnelan asked, confusion clearly evident on her face.
"I'll take that as a no." Akko said, relief soaking her words.
"I don't know what that even means, and frankly, I don't care. I'm just here to guide you to your dorm and introduce you to your teammates." Finnelan announced.
"Huh." Akko said simply, by now all of her emotions focused into one big 'oh fuck' feeling, and she honestly didn't know what to expect anymore.
"Come with me." Finnelan said, motioning for Akko to follow.
Akko got to her feet and began to feel reality, as absurd as it is, sink in. She was in the past. Somehow, someway, she was once more her sixteen-year-old self. Not only was she sixteen again, she had a full school career ahead of her... I take it back, this really is hell... She sighed, which caused Finnelan to look at her oddly.
"Are you expecting a conversation? You should just be glad Headmistress Holbrooke allowed you to attend this school, you were late to the ceremony, and that's terms for immediate expulsion!" Finnelan seethed.
"I mean, I'm not taking that for granted..." Akko began cautiously, "I was just lost in thought for a moment..."
"Hmph, spacing out is not indicative of good conduct." Finnelan scolded.
That's why I hated her! Akko remembered, She's a bonafide bit-
"And here is your dorm." Finnelan announced.
Akko hadn't noticed they made the exact turns she made over a thousand times during her stay at Luna Nova, but now that she knew what lay behind the door, she gulped. She shakily extended her hand to the doorknob and twisted it, before pushing the door open. She breathed a large breath of air in as she saw the occupants of the room, her old best friends. She looked to Lotte first and remembered how they stayed in touch longest, but fell out of it as the situation around the world worsened. She remembered how horrible she felt when the headlines on that fateful day read 'The Spirit Tamer Killed in Battle: Finland in Turmoil!'. She fought away the tears welling up in her eyes, and steadied her breathing while attempting not to look in the direction of her other teammate.
"Remember your classes start tomorrow, so make sure to be punctual!" Finnelan huffed before leaving.
"I-" Akko began, cutting herself off when she felt her voice was going to crack, grief welling up behind the mask she was trying to maintain. She cleared her throat and looked toward the bunk bed before continuing, "I think I'm going to go to bed, I call bottom bunk." She said evenly, in a voice that told the tale of her mental reciting of the line.
"O-Okay." Lotte said, thrown off by the girl's change in attitude from this morning.
"Doesn't bother me, I'm sleeping over here." Sucy said.
Akko started to shake, she watched as Lotte climbed off the bottom bunk, her vision beginning to blur as tears welled up in her eyes again. Carefully, she went and laid down, and put her face in her pillow. Once she covered her face, she felt the tears finally fall, they started slowly, but soon started pouring out. Her body was violently shaking as she started sobbing into her pillow, and she could only pray that the others weren't looking. Akko clenched her teeth and bit her tongue a little to try and snap out of it, but it didn't work. The battle, her battle, their battle, the battle, her battle, their battle, the battle, her battle, their battle. Her thoughts began looping, twisting in on themselves as scenes of carnage, and bloodshed filled her vision. Eventually she bit hard enough on her tongue that she snapped out of it, but now she felt blood begin to pool in her mouth. Deciding to suffer through the taste of iron, she forced herself to swallow the blood. Her shaking had stopped, and she could hear the sound of soft snoring throughout the room. What time is it? How long was that episode? She asked herself, Well... At least they didn't seem to notice...
Eventually her heart rate slowed to the point that she could sleep, but as she would soon find out, it was going to be a restless night.
After getting ready for the day, Akko left for her morning class earlier than her teammates. When she arrived, she found it nearly empty, bar the instructor and another old friend. Diana Cavendish, her old crush, was talking to their old instructor Badcock. Another wave of nostalgia almost sent her reeling, and tears again threatened to surface. She closed her eyes momentarily as she remembered when the news spoke of the death of the 'Thousand Armed Goddess of Life', and how her mass healing left her weak enough for enemies to overwhelm her position on the battlefield. Akko reopened her eyes, nodded to the instructor, and made her way to the old desk she used to sit at. Once seated she breathed deeply before looking down at her hands as she messed with them. Her left hand had a minor shake to it while her right was stiff as a board, she flexed her hands a few times before rubbing them together to distract herself from the emotions she was feeling. She closed her eyes again to focus on calming herself, and was close to it when suddenly she heard footsteps approaching her. Cracking her eyes open see who was coming, she froze. Diana walked up to her desk and looked directly at the brunette, before she cleared her throat.
"Hello there, my name is Diana Cavendish, and you are?" Diana introduced herself.
Akko took a deep breath to calm herself and put on a smile before introducing herself.
"Nice to meet you Diana. My name's Atsuko Kagari, but you can call me Akko." She said smoothly.
"Nice to meet you too. If I may..." She tested, "Are you the new student who's rumored to have not come from a magic lineage?" Diana asked.
"I am." Akko answered simply, trying to stay brief in order to get out of being questioned.
"I see." Diana began, "Well, if you need help with anything, please come to me." She offered.
"Thank you for the offer, I'll think about it." Akko said with a smile, remembering the ever-present kindness the blonde had.
"Well, it was nice meeting you Akko, but I think class will start soon, so I must get seated and ready." Diana said.
"See you later." Akko added.
Akko looked around the room as Diana made her way to the seat behind her, and noticed that most of the students were already there and seated, only a couple were missing, including Lotte and Sucy. The brunette let loose a sigh as she pulled her supplies out as she readied herself for class, as well as the arrival of the one who just so happened to be the subject of her worst mistake. Breathing deeply and counting in her head to stave off thoughts of the battle, Akko steeled her resolve, and thought herself ready. Eventually her two teammates arrived, and took their seats next to Akko. The brunette gulped, but again breathed slowly and rhythmically to stave off the coming panic attack. Class started, and soon Akko was able to distract herself by trying to see how much she remembered. The class was about magical numerology, which Akko forced herself to learn in her later years in order to develop the leyline spells she had in her arsenal, so she pretty much knew everything there was to know about this subject. Hell, she even invented new fields of magical numerology in her time. Ha! I really was a great witch in the end wasn't I? All it took was trauma to top the cake! Her dark humor lifted her spirits like it always seemed to, and she smiled as she continued listening to the lecture.
Right after lunch Akko made her way to broom flying class. Professor Nelson had everyone line up, and Akko instinctively stood beside Sucy as Nelson gave a 'first time flyers' speech. To Akko's surprise she lifted straight off the ground, and began flying toward the group of witches that were converged in the sky.
"Alright, we'll be doing laps, so get to the starting line everyone!" Nelson called out.
The group began lining up at the start and Nelson took up post as ref, she raised her left hand and put her whistle to her lips. The group readied themselves to launch, and Nelson blew the whistle while bringing her hand down. On the signal Akko took off. Her decades of flying, paired with her ability to ride the shooting star, made for the perfect combination of skill and power, which allowed her to take to the front of the pack, smirking, the brunette began showing off. She performed a barrel roll, and then a tight, gravity full, loop. She was used to maneuvers like that from dodging enemy fire during the war. The rest of the laps went the same, Akko pulling stunts that got Nelson to shout at her, all while staying at the front of the group. After class Nelson made certain to make it known that what Akko was doing was absolutely off limits, what with a loud 'talking to'. Akko shrugged off that encounter and attended the last class of the day. Magic Linguistics. When she sat down, she was approached by another familiar face, one which caused a great deal of grief akin to what seeing Sucy does. Amanda had approached Akko with a smug look on her face and a glean behind her eyes.
"You're really good with a broom you know that?" Amanda began, "I'm not too shabby myself, name's Amanda by the way." She extended her hand to Akko, to which the brunette took it in her own and shook.
"I'm Atsuko Kagari, but you can call me Akko." Akko greeted.
"Strong grip," Amanda said with a wink, before sliding back into her 'butter-up' mode "You're one of those prodigies I've only ever heard about, smart, strong, competent. But you're also warm, nice, and humble. Unlike miss Ice Queen over there." She finished while jerking her thumb in the direction of Diana, which forced Akko to stifle a laugh.
"Well, it was nice meeting you Amanda, but class is about to start." Akko announced.
"How about we make this an 'extracurricular' exchange then?" Amanda said smoothly, "You and me should head out to town to get something to eat."
"I-" Akko cut herself off, Is Amanda O'fuckin'neill flirting, and offering to go out on a date, with me? No way! What??? "I-I'm sorry but I already had plans for later tonight." Akko finished.
"You already caught another? Damn your slick as hell, well, if you got a free day, hit me up." Amanda called back while slinking off toward her seat.
"I'll think about it." Akko said.
"Alright class, everyone take a seat!" Finnelan ordered.
Right, I hated this class because of her... Well good thing I forced myself to learn Luna Script after Diana passed on, so I can do some more showing off. Akko mentally smirked. I take what I said about all this, it's not hell, it's just heaven with war flashbacks! She joked silently.
This is going to be fun.