Chapter 1

Akko had nearly finished her potions essay for Professor Lukic when someone stood in front of her. She didn't pay the person any mind as she finished it with her name with a jaunty flourish.

"Hi, Akko!"

The high pitched voice inside the library startled her as she was used to the fact that she's the one always noisy and needs to be shushed. Akko looked up at the person.

"D-Diana?" she yelp. She never heard Diana addressed her like that before or even speak with that range of voice in contrast to her usually reserved one. "W-what do you want?"

Akko immediately thought of all the screw ups and troubles she did the past few days to come up with explanations for them.

Diana's intense blue eyes that Akko used to stare so much had an unfamiliar gleam in them. Then with a playful smile that crossed the posh girl's features, Akko's jaw dropped when she realized that Luna Nova's best student who was reserved and formal in all of her facial expressions made a mischievous smirk.

"Shush," Diana placed a finger on her lips indicating silence.

At first, Akko thought that she was being too loud but then a sudden explosion happened behind the shelves in front of her. The smoke grew into a separate blue and violet color and students who occupied that space all ran about in distress.

The prestigious girl usually was the one who fixes it before the teachers in the vicinity could but instead, she giggled. With a sound that Akko never heard her utter, she watched awestruck at the jolly laughter Diana Cavendish was making.

A slight blush heated on her cheeks when she stared at her. "Diana, are you feeling okay?" she asked worriedly.

"I'm feeling fine Akko." She tried to stifle her uncontrollable giggles. "Actually I feel so much better! Akko, come with me, let's do more tricks!"

"Tricks?"

"Oh my, you're slow at observation." She then rephrased. "Prank Akko, let's prank more of the girls!"

"WHAT?" Akko bellowed. She turned around and saw that the smoke commotion is slightly being controlled by Prof. Finnelan.

She yelped when Diana grabbed her hand to flee. "Come on Akko, we must not get caught!"

"HUH?" Akko remained immobile as the British girl grabbed her headfirst towards the exit, leaving the hard work potions essay she had to do extra credit for on the table.

"Diana, are you sure we should be doing this? We have class in 5 minutes." Akko carefully followed Diana through the corridors by making fewer noises as she could. "Diana where are we going?"

"Akko, history of magic bores you. Why do you want to go back to class anyway?"

Akko stopped in her tracks and stared incredulously at the brightest witch of their batch. Diana brought her on the third-floor veranda, overlooking the courtyard where Jennifer the Witch's statute stood with all her glory. "Diana, umm… have you been listening to yourself? You sound... unlike you at all."

"I feel a lot like myself, actually Akko. And it's very exciting and thrilling to be sneaking through the corridors, skipping class with you.

Diana's face was just a few inches away from Akko's, and she started to feel the heat tingling in her cheeks. "W-what? Diana, this is not you!"

Akko withdraws a step away from her. "Diana, did you accidentally drink a potion? Got hexed? What could cause such a thing?"

Diana seemed to enjoy the worries and concerns the Japanese girl makes and gave her a bone crushing hug. "Oh Akko, I greatly admire your passion and your determination; however, as you see there's nothing wrong with me. I just wanted to get some fun." As soon as she got that, she took her wand from her sash and pointed it on one of the students below the balcony and casted. "Oruihon Deance!"

The poor girl who just happened to pass by innocently got hit with an object transformation spell as the book she carries suddenly became a monstrous book whose pages tried to devour her. With desperate pleas and screams echoed the area, the girl scampered away, trying to remove the book from her hair and face.

Diana crouched down and started laughing uncontrollably with her mischief.

"Uwahh, Diana you're scaring me."

"AKKO!" the girl thought it was her.

"Geh!" Akko crouched down to escape the fury she was about to receive because she got all the blame. She leaned towards Diana's gleaming eyes to try to persuade her "Diana, tell her it's you. No one will believe I was innoce—!"

Before she could even finish, Diana's face turned rosy red as it was inches away from Akko's. Their breaths brushed against each other's gaping mouth. For a moment, they stared deep into each other's eyes. Akko's cheeks started to burn.

Diana reached out for something in Akko's face. That's what she thought at first before Diana's hand reached behind her neck and got pulled over until their lips smashed into each other completely. Diana tilted her head to deepen the kiss.

Akko squealed then quickly protested by pushing the girl on the shoulders back. "What's going on Diana?" she yelled. Though the taste still lingered in Akko's lips, she tried speaking out the rational part of her mind.

Though, Diana merely stared at her in mischievous wonder, her cheeks still tainted with a cute pink hue.

"ARE YOU PRANKING ME?" Akko raged.

"Oh no, my dear Akko," she reached for Akko's hand and placed it above her heart. "What I feel is truly genuine." Diana leaned towards her pinkish ears and whispered. "Meet me tonight at midnight; make sure your teammates are asleep. I'll wait outside your room."

"Ehhhh?"

"Promise me, okay?"

Akko involuntarily made a loud gulp. "Yes, D-Diana."

Diana's on her way to her dormitory room after a hard work on night patrol. As soon as her shift's over, she can't wait to rest her muscles and drink some tea to relax. She has had trouble sleeping lately, which is why she decided to make most out of her wake state. She would read books and research up to advance on her studies in all of her classes and mull things over a nice cup of warm tea until sleep gently comes to her.

When the moon was frail as the edge of a fingernail and the sudden gusts of wind sent shadows from the fairy spirit's lights scampering along the ground, upon turning on a corridor, she nearly bumped into someone. Once she spotted the familiar short brown ponytail, she sighed in irritation. "Akko! This is the umpteenth time where you currently try to disobey the curfew rules. Might I still ask why it is this time?"

Akko smirked devilishly, it caught Diana off guard. She's used to a fidgety Japanese girl who looked like a rabbit caught in a trap, but not overconfidently full of herself. Akko's bright and huge red eyes narrowed into a glare.

"Hi Diana," she winked her eyes.

"Eh?"

Akko grinned at her, her back straightened in a good posture. Her shoulders back, her neck exposed by her jutting chin.

"Akko," Diana sighed. "If you're about to do something crazy again, I'm afraid I must escort you back to your dormitory room. Your teammates might notice you've gone and must be worried. After all, you kind of disappeared after the free period."

The girl rolled her eyes. Diana's eyebrow furrowed as the action didn't go by unnoticed.

"Seriously, this girl."

"Why don't you just admit it?" Akko drawled. "That beneath that prodigal exterior of yours is the heart of a child who idolizes Shiny Chariot."

Diana was lost for words as warmth crept up on her cheeks. She ran a hand through her hair before composing herself to discredit the claim. "I told you, I'm not sure I understand what you're claiming." She rose her chin up with a snub, "As if I'm anything like you."

The shorter girl went over to hug her. It was a full hug Diana wasn't accustomed to for so long. Akko leaned to her easily. Diana distinguished Akko's heartbeat, her soft chest against hers, and a soft sweet smelling of the girl's hair. Intoxicated, she inhaled a lungful of it. For a flitting moment, Diana felt strange in her body—A chill of some sort.

After her shock dissolved, she tried to push the clingy Eastern girl and kept her hands on each of the smaller girl's shoulder. "You're acting very odd, Akko."

"Good evening Diana, it's really past our bedtime. All I wanted was to see your face before I went to sleep." Akko winked again before she spun on her heel and turn back to where she came from.

There was something truly wrong. Maybe Akko tried to fly on her broom again and hit her head massively. A bonk on the head could fully change a person's state of the mind or psychological thinking. With her perfect posture, she strode away determinedly, but Diana decided to follow the girl to make sure she was heading towards her dormitory room.

When she turned to the corridor, the Japanese girl was gone. Surprised, Diana hauled her tired body towards the direction of Akko's dormitory. It's one of her duties as someone who was appointed of night patrolling to make sure students out of bed are escorted back to their rooms.

Arriving at the place, she saw Akko's somewhat nervous silhouette. Akko jumped upon seeing her.

"Diana!" Akko blushed while scratching her nape, she had taken great care to be silent while patiently waiting outside her room at midnight fall, but the drumming of her anxious heart reverberated in my ears. "You really came."

"Of course I came. I had to make sure you head straight to bed."

Akko snorted. "You always say stuff like that. You're like a tsundere."

"I believe I don't know the term."

"Oh sorry! It's Japanese lingo, you know it basically means someone who is cold to a particular person then gradually shows their warmer side."

Diana huffed in annoyance. "Just go back to bed."

"Eh?" Akko pouted, disappointedly. Discomfort set like heavy stones in her stomach. "I thought you were going to show me something."

"What are you talking about? Go to bed. It's late; I have somewhere I prefer to be."

"Uhmm okay?" Akko added uncertainty. "Good night Diana."

"You've greeted me twice. Once is already enough, Akko."

"What? But I—" she said in a sad and embarrassed voice.

"But it just seemed you only wanted me to reply. Go back to bed and get some rest, Akko. We both have 7:30 class tomorrow."

Diana caught her eyes then. The look in them was hard not to resist. Akko's lovely face was tight with conflicting emotions when she started to walk away towards her door. The slump of her bare slender shoulders made Diana's heart ache with guilt.

"Akko…" Diana called out to her. The shorter girl stopped and turned hesitantly back.

"Yes?" she bit her bottom lip nervously.

"Good night."

Akko's heart warmed at it, with a smile she said back. "Okay, see you in class."