Perhaps against my better judgement, I've started a new story. Let's see if my love for LWA lasts long enough for me to actually complete a story this time…
Yes, this is also a repost I tried posting a few months ago back when I was working on RWBY fics as well. Now that my focus is solely on LWA, however, I'm hoping I can actually get farther than chapter two. Again, we shall see… Also have other (LWA) fic ideas I'd like to get out there, but only time will tell.
.:Crime of Passion:.
Chapter One
"Get back here you little thief!"
Laughing from the adrenaline rush, Akko pushed herself to run faster, the wallet she had just nabbed remaining tight in her clutches.
"You can't catch me!" she hollered behind her, her glee increasing as the man chasing after her gradually fell behind.
Akko vaulted over a small wall before she was outside the park boundary, zipping across the street and dodging traffic like a pro. Living on the streets for so long made things just like this second nature, after all.
Darting into an alley, Akko finally came to a stop, leaning heavily against the wall of a building as she caught her breath. She was unable to engage in her spoils, however, as the wail of sirens quickly approached. Akko grinned, her eyes glinting upon seeing the police car pull up on the street beside her.
"Stop right there!" one cop ordered upon getting out of the driver's side and pointing at Akko.
After making sure the wallet was stashed securely inside her hoodie pocket, Akko spun on her heel and darted off down the alley.
"Catch me if you can!" she taunted again, giggling with mirth as a second cop bolted from the passenger's side to pursue her.
Akko knew these back alleys by heart, however, so the thundering of two pairs of footsteps behind her didn't cause her to fret in the slightest. She knew that, given time, she would eventually lose them.
Upon turning into a particular alleyway, however, Akko skidded to a halt upon seeing another police car blocking her escape, an all too familiar and imposing figure looming by the street entrance and waiting for her.
"Crap! Chief Finneran!" Akko shrieked before quickly backpedalling and turning yet another corner. She couldn't hear the two cops from before anymore so she slowed her pace to allow herself to think of her best means of escape. Still, the thrill never left her.
"Miss Kagari! Stop right this instant!" the stern voice of the police chief echoed after her.
"Yeah right," Akko grumbled with a roll of her eyes. While she saw running from the cops as a sort of game—though it was more of a hobby, honestly—Chief Finneran was the final boss she knew to stay away from.
All of Akko's previous run-ins with the woman had taught her well.
"Crap!" Akko exclaimed once more upon seeing she had miscalculated somewhere. Her latest turn had led her to an alley with a tall chain link fence separating her from her freedom this time.
Akko recalled her last attempt to scale it, and her tailbone began to tingle from the haunting memory.
Though with the resuming sound of duo footfalls, Akko knew she didn't have much choice. Another fall was nothing compared to the sure wrath of Finneran, or another overnight in jail.
The two cops from the beginning rounded the corner before coming to a halt, and though their caps obscured their faces, Akko could see their grins. A similar look formed on her own lips as Akko simply stuck her tongue out at them.
"Watch this!"
Taking off at breakneck speed, Akko leapt at the fence before beginning to clamor up it haphazardly. Not even halfway up however, she felt a tug on the leg of her pants. Huffing, Akko looked down and into familiar green eyes that were flashing in amusement.
"You really want to fall on your ass again, Akko?"
Akko groaned before letting her face fall against the cool metal of the fence.
"Shut up, Croix."
The cop, Croix, just chuckled before stepping back from the fence and holding out her arms. "Need a hand?"
Begrudgingly, Akko accepted, and let herself fall into the waiting arms below her. Before the purple-haired woman could mock her anymore though, Akko broke free of the bridal carry, landing on her feet with a "hmph."
"It's not like you to choose this alley as your escape," Croix pointed out. "You're getting sloppy."
"It's not my fault Finneran showed up and spooked me," Akko rebutted. "You know how much that woman hates me. Why'd she get called in anyway?"
"Perhaps because she knows it's you we're dealing with, and of our…incompetency when it comes to apprehending you," the second cop finally spoke up with a gentle laugh.
Akko just smiled warmly at the second woman before closing the short distance between them with a hug and laugh of her own.
"I can't help that you became so taken with me," she jabbed playfully.
"Yeah, Chariot, what a great cop you are, falling for the little delinquent we're always supposed to catch," Croix joined in as well.
"Hush, the both of you," Chariot huffed before pulling Akko back and trying to fix her with her hardest look. "Now, Akko, you know Croix and I love you and favor you, but this is the third time this week that we've been called for something you're involved in. If we don't show up with you in handcuffs, we need to report back with something."
"And it's only Thursday," Croix piped up, which earned her a half-hearted glare from her redheaded counterpart.
Akko immediately deflated when the conversation took a turn south, shoulders slouching and hands fisting around the wallet in her pocket.
"It's been a rough week," she mumbled, kicking at the ground beneath her in hopes to earn her more pity points. "I'm grasping at straws here."
"What keeps happening to the money Croix and I give you each month?"
Akko folded in even more on herself. "I owe some people…"
Chariot sighed and squeezed Akko's shoulder. "Akko… Please tell me it's not the Rebels again."
"Okay, I won't…"
When Chariot simply sighed once more, Croix chuckled lightly before taking her turn.
"Akko, why do you keep bothering with them? You don't really want to be a part of them, do you?"
"I don't know," Akko continued to mumble. "Sometimes I think it'd be nice to belong to something like that, but then I know that I'm just not cut out for it. I mean, you both know I already feel bad for having to steal and pickpocket, even though I put on a good show; I couldn't join a gang with a good conscience…"
"Then why do you keep giving money to them?"
"B-Because Amanda keeps tricking me!"
It was Croix's turn to groan and roll her eyes. "O'Neill, huh? Yeah, she can be a slippery one."
"You're telling me," Akko grumbled as she looked away from her friends. "She keeps saying that if I invest in her, good things will happen, and sometimes they do, but then she just asks for more money, and I guess I'm too stupid to stop."
"You are far from stupid, Akko," Chariot consoled, pulling the brunette back against her in another hug. "You try to make the best of your circumstances, as unfortunate as they are. Even you're bound to make mistakes sometimes."
"But seriously," Croix deadpanned, "stop giving that girl money."
"Croix!"
"I'm right, aren't I?"
Akko giggled a bit at the women's usual banter, the two of them always managing to brighten her days, even if their meetings sometimes ended up with her in a cell for the night.
"So do you guys really have to take me in?" she asked hesitantly. "I'll give you the wallet back if it'll keep me out. I haven't taken anything from it yet, I swear."
Chariot looked contemplative for all of a second before she seemed to give in and smile.
"Just give us the wallet and we'll let you go," she said.
Akko beamed and fished the billfold out before quickly tossing it to Croix. Chariot fixed her with a stern look then, but Akko merely huffed, knowing what was coming.
"But next time you'll have to arrest me, I know."
The two officers escorted Akko back to the entrance of the current alleyway before the brunette spun back around and gave both of them a hug.
"Thank you both. Again."
"I'd say stay out of trouble, but I know who I'm talking to," Croix joshed.
"Shut up," Akko replied with a chuckle.
"Do take care though, Akko," Chariot said next. "Why don't you play more in the park? I'm sure that guitar of yours would like the practice."
"Maybe," Akko shrugged. "People usually just ignore me though, and so it gets disheartening after a while."
"Still, you're good at it, Akko, and I know it makes you happy," Chariot responded. "Maybe we'll try to stop by and leave a 'tip.'"
"Well, if that's a promise…"
Both of the women laughed before Chariot lightly swatted Akko on the behind.
"Get out of here you little troublemaker. We'll go endure Finneran's wrath in your stead."
"Thanks, Officer du Nord," Akko smiled with one final hug. With an added shout of, "Bye Croix!" last minute, Akko darted back off between the many buildings surrounding them.
She made it back out to the street with no more hassles and no sight of Chief Finneran. Relieved, Akko finally took the time to relax. Even though she knew Chariot and Croix were on her side most of the time, she still didn't like having to run into them. She knew she was constantly putting their jobs in jeopardy, and she had spoken up on their behalf before and told them she didn't need them to protect her all the time. Yet they always refused to budge, even going as far as giving her so much money a month to help her feed and take care of herself.
After all, they knew it wasn't her fault she was homeless.
Akko didn't know much about her mother, and nothing about her father. All she had managed to learn was that her mother had come to America from Japan by sneaking aboard a ship when she was pregnant. She hadn't been any older than Akko at the time, however, and so once Akko had been born, she had left her on the stoop of an orphanage, a note explaining what she could tucked within the folds of a blanket.
Akko had lived at the orphanage until she was fifteen when she decided to strike out on her own. No family had ever seemed interested in adopting her, so she had gradually grown bitter and concluded she didn't need a family anyway. Of course, two years later, Akko wished she hadn't acted so brazen.
Sure, she could always show back up at the orphanage and would most likely be taken back in, but her pride wouldn't allow it. She had always thrown a fit while she was there, what reason should she be allowed to come back after acting like the little delinquent she was? Besides, she only had a few months until she turned eighteen, and then she really would be back on the streets.
It wasn't like she was homeless because she was lazy or incompetent either. Akko had applied for several run of the mill jobs, but even then she was simply cast aside in favor of some other applicant who had experience, no matter how little. People didn't realize how difficult it was to get a job when you had no place to live. Even if she happened to land something, how was she to manage her uniform, or dress professionally? She barely had enough money to feed herself most of time, never mind going to a laundermat. Not like she even had clothes that needed to be washed. The extent of her wardrobe was the overly large burgundy hoodie she always wore, a pair of jeans with holes in the knees, ratty sneakers, and her signature gray knit beanie. She had one pair of sweatpants she wore to sleep in, and one graphic t-shirt she had nabbed from Goodwill back in the quite literal hole in the wall she lived in, and that was it.
Even though she hated to rely on them, Akko was grateful for Chariot and Croix's kindness. Despite the opposite ends of the spectrum they resided on, they tried their best to treat Akko as daughter, or at the very least a friend. Hell, Akko had even been invited to spend a night or two at their place before, though she only took their offer when she was desperate. She was usually able to find other means, even if that meant breaking into a gym after hours to use the showers there, or shoplift a single bag of chips from a convenience store for dinner.
Deciding she had done enough brooding for one day, Akko resolutely shook her head to clear her thoughts. She stuffed her hands in her hoodie pocket, readjusted her beanie, and continued to shuffle down the sidewalk. Glancing up at the sun, she noticed it was about one in the afternoon.
Smile flickering across her face, and her next destination firmly in mind, Akko picked up her pace. She guided herself through the maze of the city until she came to its outskirts, the most recent corner she turned dropping her right in front of a huge expanse of land, one archway proudly telling everyone where they now were.
Luna Nova Academy.
She stepped through the archway tentatively, keeping an eye out for any students or campus security. Even though the grounds weren't gated and the school didn't have uniforms, Akko knew she stuck out like a sore thumb and didn't belong regardless. As the most esteemed school in the area, the brunette was certain none of its students would be caught dead dressed the way Akko was.
Or wear the same outfit two days in a row, let alone seven.
Still, from her experience on campus, Akko was pretty sure the next change of class wouldn't be for another few minutes, so she quickly made her way to her choice spot on the grounds: a large oak tree which overlooked one of the many class halls. With a running start, Akko ran up half the length of the trunk until she could grasp the lowest hanging branch. From there, she expertly climbed her way higher and higher.
Thank the heavens her tree-climbing skills were better than her fence-climbing skills.
Meandering her way out onto her favorite branch, Akko stretched her legs out before her and leaned back against the trunk, her eyes trained on one of the many windows to the hall she overlooked.
School, at least in the usual sense, had never been an option for her. Sure, the orphanage had their own classroom set up for the kids, so Akko had been through basic schooling. Even after running away, she would make her way to the library quite often to keep up to date on the most basic knowledge she felt a girl of her age should know. She may not be able to write a thesis on differing political views and their influences on society, but she still knew general history, math, science, and language.
For a homeless girl her age, Akko considered that pretty substantial.
She always found herself up in this tree on campus, however, because she longed for one of the many things she had missed out on: companionship.
Having been taught in a class with maybe five students at the most, Akko had yet to experience the general immersion public or private schools offered. She didn't have any friends her age, and even though she had browsed several Social Skills for Dummies books, had little to no idea how to go about talking to her peers.
Hell, her two best friends were cops; and while she loved both Chariot and Croix to death, they weren't exactly the kind of friends she had always dreamed of having.
This was the biggest reason Akko constantly spied on the populous of Luna Nova; she liked to imagine herself down there amongst the daily routine of classes and free time. She lived vicariously through its students, getting the school experience she had always dreamed of from afar. It was fun in its own way; she didn't have to worry about homework or tests, or showing up every day on time, yet it still let her feel even the tiniest bit included. Sometimes, when she was feeling extremely bold, she would forgo her tree entirely and huddle up outside one of the classroom windows and listen in on the lecture firsthand. Sure, she couldn't participate, but at least she could hear the lesson.
The school bell echoing across campus had Akko sitting up from the trunk of the tree to instead shift on the branch so her legs were dangling off. She leaned forward in anticipation, a smile on her face as she watched the class change. She had the perfect vantage point, able to watch as one room emptied completely before refilling with a new group of students, some exiting the building to mill about the grounds on their break, others heading to different halls on the opposite side of campus.
She stiffened a bit when a group of four girls made their way beneath the tree Akko currently occupied, chattering all the while. They had to be gossiping, Akko assumed, with how quiet their conversation was, as well as the constant fitful of giggles that bled out of them. They each settled down in the grass, still chatting away, and some began pulling food out of their bags, others books and homework. Akko marveled how she had yet to be spotted to this day. All one would have to do is simply look up to find her sitting above them. She tried to quiet her giggles at the surprised expressions she was sure to garner, before her nerves flared at the notion of being caught. Surely her being here wouldn't warrant the cops like many of her other daily activities would, but she was technically trespassing, so she was certain to get in trouble regardless.
With those thoughts in mind, Akko chose to huddle back against the trunk, hoping the foliage of the tree would continue to conceal her. She didn't need to see Chariot and Croix twice in one day; Croix would never let her live it down.
She waited another hour, observing each and every aspect of a normal day at school that she could before another bell sounded. She heard the four girls sigh below her before they got up and headed back towards the building they had come out of. Once things had settled down yet again, and no one else took refuge under her tree, Akko deemed it her time to leave. She shouldn't overstay her welcome.
Even though she hadn't been welcomed in the first place…
She scaled down the tree with finesse and had just gotten her feet back on the ground when a throat clearing behind her had her cringing.
Busted.
"Don't you know it is rude to spy on others?"