Magic
Hello everybody! I'm back in this fandom again. Don't worry, the Pokemon fic is still getting updated and Izuocha week stuff is coming soon, but I thought I'd throw the first chapter of this fic out there before all the chaos begins.
So, for this fic, I just wanted to address something real quickly, as there's a small thing that may turn some people off from this fic. For the premise of the main part of this fic, I need a certain event to happen. I've made the decision to introduce a villain that will only be around for a couple chapters so that they can serve their purpose. So, don't worry. I'm not throwing OC's into the fic. This entire thing will be mostly focused around Diana and Akko. The villain will serve their purpose then leave.
P.S. the villain is actually inspired off of a certain villain from BNHA, so take from that what you will.
Enjoy!
Everything started as a normal day at Luna Nova. Classes were going as scheduled, nothing out of the ordinary. Everyone went to class at their normal times, took normal notes and ate normal food when the bell rang for lunch. Normal.
"Why do I still have to go to magic history?" Of course, a day could not be classified as normal if it didn't include Akko complaining. "We opened the Grand Triskelion, and magic is back! Why do I have to go and learn about old people still?"
"Some things never change." Sucy muttered, ignoring Akko's question.
It was the start of a new semester, the first new semester since the Grand Triskelion had opened. With the start of a new semester, Akko had expected classes be modified due to the new influx of magic, but apparently the school had made the choice to keep all the boring classes.
"Come on, Akko, it's not all bad!" Lotte added in, trying to balance out Sucy's pessimism, "At least we have a few new classes!"
"Yeah, classes that were there before, we just weren't second years yet…" Akko grumbled. She hadn't expected for the school to completely get rid of all of its boring and stupid classes, but she'd expected for them to at least add something new. She'd opened the Grand Triskelion for crying out loud! Magic could be used everywhere, why not make use of that!.
"What's next?" Akko asked, not even knowing what class they were headed to next.
"I believe that the next class on today's schedule is Professor Chariot's new course." A familiar voice said to Akko's left. Akko turned to see that Diana had caught up with them, taking up a place next to the three red team members, "Hello, Akko."
"Hey Diana!" Akko said cheerfully, doing a happy little skip. Akko and Diana had grown closer ever since they stopped the Noir Missile together. Like, a lot closer. Diana spent more time with the red team than she did with her own team, except for when the red, green, and blue teams all met up.
Diana had essentially become Akko's permanent tutor, and they met up frequently to go over content for classes. Diana ate lunch with the red team pretty frequently, and sometimes showed up in the passing period between classes. Akko had called Diana her rival in the past, but in the recent few weeks, they'd grown to the point where Akko could confidently say that they were friends.
The four of them walked through the crowded hallways for a few more minutes until they made it to the lecture hall that their class was going to be held in. "What's this class even called?"
"I believe that this is the combat magic course, if I am not mistaken." Diana said, taking a seat in one of the middle rows. Akko followed her, taking a seat next to the blonde. Sucy and Lotte filed in after, sitting down, and a few minutes later, Hannah and Barbara finished off the last two seats in the dow.
Akko pulled out her notebook, opening it to a blank page and setting it down on the desk in front of her. Diana's portion of the desk was a lot more...crowded, no, busy. Busy was the right word. She had two separate notebooks on her desk, a textbook two pens, two pencils, and a cup of tea to top it all off. Looking onto the notebooks, Akko could also see that the page was set up in neat-looking columns, with different sections labelled different things. It was the ultimate way to take notes. It made Akko's notebook seem puny by comparison.
Akko turned her attention to the front of the room when the door opened and a red-haired professor stepped out. Akko still wasn't used to seeing Professor Ursu-no, Professor Chariot without her hair dyed. Of course, she'd known about the other identity of her mentor and idol for a while now, but she's made the decision to hold of on swapping her hair color back to its original hue until the start of the new semester.
As if on queue, the entire lecture hall went dead silent as soon as she stepped into the room, and all eyes were drawn to the front.
"Good morning, girls!" Chariot said, "My name is Professor Chariot duNord, but some of you may know me as Professor Ursula from last semester. Welcome to Introduction to Combat Magic!" She said, her voice noticeable cheerier than it had been during any of her lectures last year. Maybe it was because the class itself was more interesting, or perhaps it was because she could finally be herself. Maybe it was both.
A wave of muttering shot through the crowd at the introduction.
"Wait, is that really Professor Ursula?" one voice behind Akko whispered.
"Wait, Chariot as in the Shiny Chariot?"
"Was she Chariot the whole time?"
"Ahem." Chariot cleared her throat and the entire lecture hall went silent again within an instant. Akko couldn't help but smile. Not only was she going to be taught by her favorite teacher and idol, but she could already tell from the tone and feeling in the room that the class was going to be more interesting. It wasn't just going to be some class where you read about old people doing old things, like magic history.
Screw magic history.
"As many of you know by now, the world of magic has been changed forever. The Grand Triskelion has been opened and there is now an abundance of magic around the world. You can use magic practically anywhere in as large of quantity as you want. That's why we have this course." Chariot said, pulling out her wand. She waved it in a circle, muttering an incantation under her breath.
All of the sudden, all the lanterns in the room flickered out, plunging the room into darkness. Then, the air in the center of the room lit up as two figures appeared out of thin air. One was a witch, faceless but wearing the school's uniform, and the other just seemed to be a floating white blob.
"Illusion magic." Akko heard Diana mutter under her breath.
"The point of this course is not to give you the tools that could be used to hurt others. With magic everywhere, the spells and incantations we teach you in this class could be used for harm." The projection morphed as the black blob formed into the guise of a regular person. The fake witch raised its wand at the person, firing a green blast of energy that caught the other person in the chest, causing them to fall over, unmoving. Akko heard a few girls gasp throughout the room
Akko was just mesmerized. It went without saying that that level of control over the illusions was not easy, it was something that took a high level of skill and concentration to achieve. And Chariot was doing it while giving a lecture.
"This class is to give you the tools that you may need to fight against that type of magic. With the sudden abundance of magic in the world, there are a lot of troubles that will start to pop up as time moves on. Monsters that have been dormant for thousands of years will now be able to walk the earth due to the abundance of magic. Spells that had been previously unperformable due to the large amount of magic required will now be usable with ease." As Chariot talked, the illusion shifted and morphed into what she was talking about. It truly was incredible.
"The thing you must keep in your mind is that the spells used in this class are not weapons. Like all other magic, it's just a tool. Using that tool for something that isn't what it was originally intended to do can lead to consequences. Tread carefully," With a wave of her wand, the illusion disappeared and the lights in the hall flickered back to life, "Now, let's start with the first spell, one you all may already know."
Chariot started to walk up the middle aisle, heading up to the steps towards the exit to the room. Just before she got to the door, she stopped, turning around.
"Oh, by the way," She waved her wand and all the notebooks in the entire hall slammed shut. Akko heard Diana yelp in surprise as her note page was forcibly closed in the middle of writing something, "You won't be needing notes for this class. Let's call it...field work. Outside we go!" With that, the redheaded with was gone, stepping out of the lecture hall.
Everyone just sat in shock for a moment, before scrambling out of their seats to follow Chariot. Akko, for one, was smiling the whole way. She had a feeling she was going to like this class.
"Oh come on!" Akko complained after missing her spell for the fourth time in a row. They were supposed to be using the spell Murowa to hit target dummies down the range.
"You're bending your wrist when you shoot. Try to keep it straight." Diana said, gesturing to how Akko was holding her wand. Chariot had said to partner up. Even though they'd be shooting at test dummies, but in the future they'd be using spells on each other. Akko was going to partner up with either Sucy or Lotte, since they were going to be stuck with the same partner for the rest of the year, but Diana had actually approached Akko first, asking to be her partner.
"At least I'm not having any problems getting the magic to actually come out." Akko said. Ever since the Grand Triskelion, magic had started to become more and more consistent. She still had some problems getting it to work on occasion, but the more she practiced, the easier it came. Part of that was also probably due to Diana's tutoring.
"Murowa!" Akko shouted, aiming her want at the dummy that was down-range, keeping her mind on having her wrist straight. This time, the green magic aimed true, striking the target dummy right in the head, blowing it clear off its head.
"Yes!" Akko cheered, pumping a fist into the air.
"Good job, Akko." Diana congratulated. It sounded hollow, but Akko knew that was just Diana being, well, Diana. Reserved and emotions in check, "Now I believe it is my turn to practice."
Diana stepped over to where Akko had been standing. She aimed her wand at the dummy in the distance and fired three successive shots of the basic spell. Each one found its mark, hitting the dummy and reducing it to a pile of straw and wood.
"I believe that is sufficient practice." Diana said, tucking her want back into her belt. She confidently strode back over to where Akko was standing, waiting, "Oh, I forgot." She said, waving her want and muttering a repair spell. The dummy (or what was left of it) floated into the air, the pieces coming towards each other, forming back into the original shape of it had been in before its abuse, including the head.
"Dianaaa!" Akko wailed, leaning over and letting her arms dangle in front of her.
"What is it this time, Akko?" Diana asked with a sigh, expecting another complaint.
"This isn't fair!" Akko said, "I can't give you tips if you do it right on the first try!"
"I can assure you that more practice will-" Diana cut herself off when she realized what Akko had actually said, "Huh?"
"We're supposed to be a team! If you just give me tips and pointers and I never get to help you, then we aren't really a team!" Akko said, frowning. Diana just looked at Akko for a moment, processing her words. Then, she burst out into light laughter.
"I can assure you that I'm not bothered by that, Akko. A team helps each other when they need it, not just for the sake of helping."
Akko grunted, crossing her arms, "Fine, then you have to tell me when you need help. Don't keep it all secret and stuff!" Akko was nothing if not stubborn.
"Deal." Diana flashed a smile, "Now, let's go until you can hit the dummy three times in a row."
"Today, I want to lead off class with a very important announcement, as well as a word of advice." Chariot said at the front of the room. Akko was sitting up straight, genuinely excited for today's class. After the first lesson of combat magic, Akko had found herself pushing through all of her other classes because she knew what was in store for the class she actually enjoyed.
"You will be informed more about this topic in a later course next year, but I thought that it would be a good idea to go over this now, as some of it applies to this class, especially considering the new circumstances." Chariot waved her wand, and just like the previous day, all the lanterns flickered out around the room and a light appeared in the middle of the room.
This time, it was just a ball of light, green and glowing softly.
"As many of you know, and as I mentioned last class, the Grand Triskelion has been opened, and with it, a surge of magical power. Magic can be used for so many good things, from healing magic to simple cleaning. The thing is, magic is a tool. It isn't always used in those ways."
The ball of light shited color, the green light fading and mixing with other colors. It shifted to yellow, to orange, before finally settling on a deep red.
"There are spells that exist that are banned, and they are banned for good reason. The things they are capable of have so much potential to be used for bad. We call this type of magic 'Dark Magic'." Chariot let the word weigh on the air for a moment before continuing.
"You will take a class next year that focuses on this type of magic and the dangers associated with it that goes more in depth than I will here, but I want to give a message to all of you." Chariot looked around the room, a serious expression plastered on her face, "Under no circumstances will any of you research or use these spells on your own. It doesn't matter if you're doing it to educate yourself about their dangers. Practicing this magic without supervision is strictly forbidden."
The room was eerily silent as the light in the middle of the room disappeared and the lanterns on the walls flickered back to life.
"Now, let's get outside, shall we?"
Diana crashed onto her bed as soon as she got back from Chariot's new class. It was her last class of the day, and she wanted nothing more than to just sleep. Of course, she knew she couldn't do that, as she had things to attend to before her patrols that night. No rest for a Cavendish, they always said.
Still, a couple of minutes couldn't hurt, right? She needed a mental break from everything that had been going on recently. Between her classes, patrols, and tutoring responsibilities, she hardly had a moment to herself.
Her classes weren't particularly difficult, and most of it was just the same as it had been in previous semesters. The workload wasn't even that bad, all things considered. The thing that was giving her a headache was Chariot's new class, Combat Magic.
It was just so...unconventional. There wasn't homework, and there weren't tests to study for. She didn't have to go over her notes, since she didn't have any notes. It was all practical based, which was something far from formal for Luna Nova.
Though, maybe that wasn't a bad thing.
Then, there was the thing that was stressing her out the most. It wasn't some class, or some duty that she had to uphold as the school's prodigy. No, it was a person. Atsuko "Akko" Kagari, the girl who had barged, stumbled, and (only metaphorically) flew into Diana's life about a year ago.
Diana would be the first to admit that she didn't like Akko at first. She was immature, incompetent, and headstrong, as well essentially defying the way magic had been for hundreds of years. Every time Akko had done something, no matter how small, it had gotten under Diana's skin.
Yet, Akko still pushed her way in. She came after Diana when she left the school unexpectedly, saying something about them being rivals, despite Diana's obvious superiority. Diana was glad that Akko was the one that came after her that day, because if it had been anyone else, Diana had a feeling she would not be standing here, at Luna Nova.
Diana had learned something about Akko in those days. Diana learned that Akko didn't care who you were. She didn't care that Diana was a Cavendish, she didn't care that Diana was better at magic than her. She didn't care that Diana had been cold to her ever since the first day, and she didn't care that Diana didn't want her help. All she saw was that there was a friend in need, and she did everything she could to help them out. It was admirable.
Diana also learned something about herself. She learned just how close minded she'd been. Diana had written Akko off completely based on her first impression and magical abilities as a dunce that didn't deserve to be a witch. Just because Akko was passionate about magic in a different way, Diana had shunned her, and that had been so wrong of her. When Akko had come after Diana, she'd been annoyed at first, telling Akko to go back to school and get out.
Then, Akko had gone off and essentially saved Diana's life from her aunt, keeping a smile the whole time. Akko had gone with her to Beatrix's final resting place to try to help her accomplish the ritual on time, the very thing she'd come to stop Diana from doing in the first place. She'd done it because she thought it was what would've made Diana happy.
Akko had gone to so many lengths for Diana because she considered her a friend and a rival, and up until that point, all Diana had done was turn a cold shoulder. "No Cavendish has true friends, only acquaintances" her aunt had said once. So, Diana made a choice. She was going to let Akko in. She started being nicer, started looking out for the other girl. When Akko had learned about Professor Ursula's true identity, she'd gone to seek Akko out in an attempt to do the same for her as she'd done for Diana. Diana lent herself towards the friendship Akko had been striving for the entire time.
The best part was, Diana hadn't once felt like it was a chore. Becoming friends with Akko was one of the best decisions she'd ever made. Becoming friends with Akko had inadvertently made her also friends with the rest of red ream and the entirety of green team. They'd stopped the Noir Missile together, afterall. Ever since Diana had decided to open up, she'd found herself a lot happier a lot more often. Tutoring Akko didn't feel like a chore, just something that she was doing to help her friend that had helped Diana so many times in the past.
That's how things had stayed for a while. They were friends, the closest Diana had ever had. They'd spend time together during breaks, lunches, passing periods, and time outside of class where Diana was actually free. It was nice, having someone to talk to, even if Akko did most of the talking for her.
That is, until recently. Recently, Diana started to feel a little different around Akko. She'd always valued their friendship, but in the last couple weeks, especially when Akko had visited her for a couple of weeks over break, Diana had found herself grow more and more attached to that friendship. It was almost like a...craving. Diana found herself leaving Hannah and Barbara to go sit with Akko and talk about different topics, or even skip out on some studying she's had nailed into her schedule to go sit in Akko's room and do whatever it was the witch was up to that day.
Diana couldn't put her finger on what it was, which was the most frustrating part. She normally could quantify, qualify, and organize all of her thoughts, but every time she thought about what that feeling was, the words escaped her. Being around Akko made her smile more, it made her forget her troubles more, it made her want to curl up and stay there forever, to forget about all of her responsibilities.
Perhaps it was because she was just not used to having a close friend like Akko. Perhaps it was something else. For now, all she could do was hope that she'd be able to figure it out soon, because just thinking about it gave her headaches.
With a sigh, Diana looked over at the alarm clock. She had an hour and fifteen minutes before her first tutoring session with the freshman. If she was lucky, maybe she could get some much needed rest and recharge. She'd used a lot of magic during that Combat Magic class, afterall.
At the edge of campus, something was brewing. Roots spread under the ground, sliding under the ground, undetected. With them, seed pods. Wagandea's pollen.