A/N: Hello all, I'm excited to join the Sukko trend. I've been reading fanfics for a few weeks, and decided to try and add a little myself. I plan on taking the story on slowly, so expect a lot of content. Hope you enjoy!

The snow was falling in earnest now, blanketing the surrounding countryside in a soft and frozen blanket of pure white. Amidst the flurry, two young witches stood upon a small stone bridge that spanned the small frozen river that split the forest in two. The darker haired witch turned to walk away.

"Akko-"

"No!" Atsuko Kaguri exclaimed, turning in anger toward the puce haired witch. The desperate look on her best friend's face filled her with more determination. Turning again, she began to head toward the shelter of the forest. She stopped for the final time, unable to face the alchemist again, for fear of showing her tears. "I'm sorry, Suce. I really am." With her final goodbye, Akko sprinted off into the tree line, disappearing from sight.

Sucy Manbavaran stood shaking, her slim figure shivering more from emotion than from the cold. As the sight of her world ran away from her, the sheer blow upon the alchemist's soul from Akko's departure finally hit her, buckling her knees out from under her. Collapsing onto the bridge, her body trembled with emotion- fear, anger, and overwhelming loss. She began to sob uncontrollably- Akko was gone.

The snowfall would show her no mercy, as the flurry began to pick up around her into a raging blizzard. Defeated, Sucy lay on her side, hand outreached toward the trees where Akko had disappeared into. Her eyelids began to close as the cold began to overtake her, her body too weak from its emotional fit and her heart too wounded to cling to life. Of all the times she had wished for her own death, this was not a circumstance she had ever desired. As the frail girl's consciousness began to fade, the falling snow resting upon her as a sheet that covers the dead, her last thought became a question.

How had it come to this?

-One Year Earlier-

"Ah jeez. I'll never forgive that old hag for making me do this for her."

Sucy Manbavaran grumbled as she walked toward the looming leyline tower that stood imposingly in the distance. 'I was really looking forward to some more testing, too.' The girl thought internally, shivering inwardly at the memory of this morning. Ramzan, her adoptive "mother" (if you could use the word for the shrivelled old hag), had woken her up before the sunrise, forcing her out into her next ingredient assignment.

"The cockatrice feather. Rare ingredient. Highly volatile. Found only within the forbidden forest of Arcturus; see 'Luna Nova' for more details-" The girl read aloud from her Rare Ingredients book, allowing her feet to lazily follow the path down the hill towards the small river that split the valley. The elderly potions master had approached her weeks ago with the ridiculous plan: Enroll in Luna Nova, pose as a student, enter the forest, get the ingredient, leave. Sucy of course had complained for the weeks leading up to the entrance ceremony day. But the old woman would always just grin her jagged tooth smile, before complaining about how her mind wasn't what it once was, and that her feeble old form was simply too old to go on such a dangerous mission.

And so, the little potion master in training had been set off on her infiltration mission, mostly thanks to the alluring reward that was promised her. "If you do this, I'll be sure to split the ingredient with you!" The old witch said with a wink, knowing this would entice Sucy to do… well, just about anything. Rare potion ingredients was one of the few things in this world that could hope to get a rise out of Sucy's otherwise bored expression. 'That old woman sure knows how to push my buttons…' She thought vindictively. 'I'll be sure to make her pay for that with her next round of medicine.' Sucy's grin had grown to match her guardian's wickedness throughout the years, though hers still possessed all of the owners teeth, lined with sharp fangs that resembled a shark more than a human. A little potion accident from her youth, though she had refused Ramzan's help in fixing it. "I like it," the preteen had commented, grinning into a mirror. "It makes me look more vicious, scarier. People won't get close to me this way!"

Remembering the interaction, Sucy's right arm unconsciously lifted to brush and mat the hair down that covered the left side of her face, which constantly hid her scar from the rest of the world. It was best not to let people get close. People couldn't be trusted.

She sighed, and looked back down at her book to continue reading. "The cockatrice feather has a variety of uses, most commonly used for a variety of deadly poisons and their antidotes. Be warned, the feather becomes unusable if-" She was forced to stop, as the path she was walking intersected with another, and three school-aged girls ran in front of her giggling, throwing sly glances her way. Luna Nova students she guessed, their uniforms and brooms proving her correct. Not wishing to be bothered with them, she let them run by without changing her bored expression, before setting back forward on the path and over the little stone bridge that crossed the stream. She couldn't wait for this day to be over.

Though she hated to stop there, she realized that she wasn't quite sure which path to take in order to reach the station. Stowing her book and retrieving the brochure she had received in the mail with a map, she began poring over the instructions. 'The path was probably the one those girls took…' She thought begrudgingly, finally locating the bridge she had just crossed on the map. Yep, she needed to turn around. Then suddenly, as she was about to turn around-

WHAM.

A small figure had run into her, sending both itself and Sucy's brochure into the ground, leaving Sucy upright and confused. She looked down with a bored expression, just barely disguising her irritation. She would have yelled at the girl for not looking where she was going, but she realized that she was guilty of the same thing. It didn't stop her from being pissed off, though.

"I'm really sorry about that…" The figure turned out to be a girl, probably around Sucy's age. While Sucy had reached down to pick up her broom, the girl stood up, holding the brochure that Sucy had just dropped. "Hey, you dropped this! Are you a new student too?!" The girl stepped incredibly close to her, causing Sucy to look up in surprise. The young new girl's eyes shone with anticipation, a pair of bright yet soft scarlet eyes meeting a single crimson one. Sucy, though startled, didn't want to show it, and continued looking at the girl with a bored expression as she introduced herself.

Akko. The scarlet eyed witch with matching jacket that seemed to clash with her red-tinted mahogany hair. Before Sucy could decide whether or not to even respond, the girl was off on a rant about magic, shiny chariots, school, you name it. Seemed like once she got on a role, she wasn't the type to shut up.

"You have heard of her, right?!" The smaller witch held out a trading card for the other to examine, showing off the image of a red haired witch. Now Sucy remembered- Shiny Chariot. Some old magic performer from a decade ago or so. She had seen her younger adopted siblings run around talking about her before. Embarrassed, Sucy looked away from the card. Wasn't that kind of stuff just for baby's and non-witches?

'This girl could use a real display of magic. Real, adult magic, not the showman stuff of some hasbeen.' Sucy looked around, spotting a stuffed bird on the ground where the girl's possessions still fell scattered. 'Perfect.' She thought mischievously, leaving the girl to talk to air and approaching the bird with a hidden bottle. Pouring a small drop onto it, the magic began to take hold of the bird, glowing purple for just a moment before springing to life with a caw.

"A-amazing!" Akko stammered. "Puppet magic- I've never seen it up close before!" Akko leaned down to further inspect the bird. Reaching her arms out, she tried to coerce the puppet into her arms. 'That's right, just a bit closer.' Sucy inwardly smirked. With surprising agility, the bird sprang forth, pecking Acko in the left eye with a sharp jab. Luckily, the thing was only a plush toy, so there wouldn't be any permanent damage; but the look on the girls face still filled Sucy with the kind of impish glee that only a successful prankster could fathom. Funny how her constructs always attacked the left eye, she pondered, once again stroking the hair over her own. Must be a subconscious habit.

"That wasn't very nice!" Akko exclaimed from the ground, her eye watering. The bird fell lifeless on the ground again. Sucy had already begun walking away.

As she walked, Sucy figured that the girl would leave her alone from now on. It was for the best, she thought- most people had the good sense to leave her alone, but occasionally there was that dense individual that need a little more persuading, seemingly unaware of the malevolent aura that she produced in public. Only her family had access to any interactions without spikes- and even then, the spikes were more dull than absent. Life had raised her to be tough and weary of others.

So it came much to her surprise when Akko began running up after her to continue their conversation- or in this case, monologue.

"So what's your name?" Akko asked.

No response.

"Is puppet magic difficult?"

Still, no response.

"I tried to learn it using a mail order kit, but it was pretty hard to follow…" The girl continued to ramble on, walking in pace behind Sucy as she steadily ignored the girl. Deciding it was best to get rid of the girl once and for all, Sucy stopped walking, pausing in the middle of the small stone bridge she had passed earlier. Turning with a still-bored expression, she offered her hand to the excitable witch, offering a handshake.

'This oughta get rid of her.'

Akko eagerly gripped Sucy's extended hand with both of hers, closing her eyes and giggling as she seemed to finally have made a friend. Upon opening her eyes however, she was greeted by the sight of two vicious serpents wrapped around her arms, lunging straight toward her throat!

She screamed in surprise, backing far away from the witch and her snakes, which remained wrapped around her arms. The back of her legs made contact with the stone rail, and she tumbled backwards, falling several feet before landing into the stream below.

Sucy had already continued walking.

She smiled to herself for her trick- a simple illusion involving ropes and and a gullible idiot. Still, the face the girl had made when she opened her eyes… Sucy snickered. It was kind of adorable, in a surprised puppy dog way. Still, she kept her ears strained to make sure the girl had emerged from the water without serious injury. The splashes the girl made as she waded from the river told Sucy that Akko was indeed okay. She liked pranks, but she wasn't looking to kill anyone. 'At least not the girl…' She thought dryly to herself.

The rest of the walk to the layline was more mundane. Finally arriving, she noticed the same giggling trio that had crossed her path earlier. Checking her watch, she saw that she still had a few minutes before it was necessary to leave. Not wishing to travel within earshot of the girls, she skulked her way to the back of the tower and sat within the grass. Opening her book, she looked for the page she had been on earlier.

"Did you hear? Apparently one of the new students this year isn't from a witch's family!"

Christ, wouldn't these girls ever shut up? She couldn't focus on her book at all! Sighing and standing back up, she decided to head out before the girls, hoping to get some reading time while she flew. She peeked around the corner just in time to see Akko running up to join the gaggle. Ducking back around the wall, she decided to wait, so as not to get an earful again. The girl was kind, but far too much to handle.

So she thought, until she became aware of what the girls had begun talking about. Two things became very clear to her in that moment: First, that the new student not from a witch's family was none other than Akko; and Second, Akko did not deserve the kind of ridicule she was being handed by these snobbish witch bitches. Sucy actually began to feel sorry for the girl, a small taste of hypocrisy left in her mouth, as she realized she had also taken advantage of the girls' lack of magic knowledge. Still, Sucy was no hero, and she was grateful to hear the sounds of the girls' departure. There was no need for her to get involved.

There was a snapping sound, followed by a loud thud, accompanied by whimpers of pain. 'Oh crap.' Sucy remembered, the girl's failed attempts at climbing the wall becoming obvious to her. 'This girl didn't have a broom; she can't fly.' Steeling herself, Sucy's pity for the girl finally overwhelmed her intense dislike of other people. She went to round the corner to help the girl up and offer her a ride.

Another loud crash sent her hiding behind the wall again. 'What is with all of the clumsy witches around here?' She pondered incredulously, as Akko rushed to help a blonde uniform clad girl up with her things. Watching the interaction slyly, Sucy sighed a huff of relief as this new girl begrudgingly offered Akko a ride. She felt a sting of guilt watching them soar up into the leyline, before again agreeing that it was for the best. Sucy didn't mesh well with other people. Hopping onto her own broom, she waited a minute before rising up after the clumsy pair.

The swirling green vortex surrounding her, ripe with magical energy, had once been a fascination to Sucy. She had once begged Ramzan to travel with her on her distant ingredient gatherings, eager to both learn more about magic and to travel through the branches of Yggdrasil. Now, however, these sites were common place to the adolescent witch, and she lazily retrieved her book from under her cloak. She thumbed to her current page and began reading the next paragraph.

"A witch who is not properly trained cannot enter the legendary forest Arcturus." She read aloud, hoping to cut out the noise of the day's distractions. She wouldn't be so lucky, however, as was lightly tapped on the head by a falling object. She looked up, curious to find the source, only to be greeted by the site of a small white object flying toward her face. With a soft "poomf!" the thankfully light and cushioned object collided with her face, causing her to veer off course.

She was just able to pull the plush toy from her face before her vision was filled- yet again- with the face of a scarlet eyed girl, their heads colliding and sending Sucy into unconsciousness.

A/N: I wanted to finish the first episode, but it was getting rather long, and I wanted to get the content out there sooner rather than later (Otherwise I might give up, oops). I won't be following the canon as closely after Arcturus, so don't worry: You'll get your fluff. And some darkness. I've got some fun plans in mind.