Little Mouse Academia
Life was busy as usual at Luna Nova Academy, the most prestigious witch school in Europe. The sun was bright, the sky was crystal blue, and the autumn air of Great Britain felt cool to the skin. The students of Luna Nova were busy preparing for the Samhain Festival, and whether they were painting a statue of the Witch Jennifer, setting up magically floating candles, or practicing their trumpet playing for the arrival of their prestigious guests, there was an infectious enthusiasm coursing through the entire school.
Perhaps the most excited witch of all was Akko Kagari. Akko and her friends were assigned as sacrifices for the Ghost of Grief, Vajarois, who would devour them whole. Mercifully, the ghost couldn't actually digest them, but the very thought of sliding through a ghost's bowels made Akko shiver. Instead, she would turn the sacrifice into celebration to put a smile on everyone's faces, especially Vajarois.
Its just not right. Vajarois has been mourning for centuries! She should lighten up and learn to smile again, Akko thought to herself. The brunette witch practiced her transformation magic in the comfort of her dorm room; her roommates were out for the moment, so Akko thought best to practice in the warm for once. And I'm gonna be the one to teach her.
And maybe, if Akko and her friends pulled the routine off, she would win the title of Moonlit Witch. Akko could already picture it, herself wearing the distinctive white cloak and horns of the Moonlit mantle, glowing as brightly as Shiny Chariot.
I just have to do my best, better than I've ever done before! Akko thought to herself. She held out the Shiny Rod and took a deep breath. She gathered all the magic within her small frame and reached out into the aether, drawing on the magic from the Philosopher's Stone. Okay, here goes nothing!
"Go! Metamorphie Faciesse!" Akko cried, waving the Shiny Rod through the air.
A contrail of emerald magic followed after the wand as it sliced through the air, bright sparkles floating around Akko like fireflies. With a rubbery sound, Akko's body bent and curved to match the image inside her head. When the spell was finished, a yellow mouse stood in Akko's place, wearing her unmistakable pony tail.
The mouse looked over her transformation. The ears were cartoonishly big and her long tail wispy like string, and glancing at a nearby mirror, Akko saw her ruby-red eyes. A slow groan escaped her lips as Akko tugged at the mouse ears.
"Oh, come on! I wanted to be a mouse, like a real mouse? This is cute and all, but how am I supposed to impress anyone when I look like a cheap cat toy?" Akko said. With a puff of smoke, Akko returned to her human form. The brunette slumped her shoulders, the weight of her burden bending her back. "We only have three days left... how am I going to do this in time?"
In the back of her mind, Akko heard faint whispers: voices of doubt, of disdainful laughter and snide remarks. The sneering grins of Hannah and Barbara came to mind, and Akko could picture Diana's face, her blue eyes cool and indifferent as if looking right through Akko. As if looking down on her dreams. As if Akko didn't matter at all.
Akko felt her blood boil.
"Grrr! Those three...! I'll show 'em!" Akko punched the air, her heart pounding. "I'm gonna become a great witch, no matter what! Okay, let's go! How about a rabbit this time, no wait, an elephant!"
Gripping hold of the Shiny Rod, Akko swung her wand around again. "Metamorphie Faciesse!"
Soon the dorm room was filled with the glitter of magic as Akko cast spell after spell, transforming into an elephant, a monkey, and everything in-between. The walls rang with each shouted enchantment and the air grew warm from the ambient magical energy. Akko kept at it without stop, determined to master this spell no matter what.
Unbeknownst to Akko, the brunette witch had an audience: peering through the front door was Sucy Manbavaran, Akko's roommate. The pale witch watched as Akko turned from a rubber-hose monkey to an egg-shaped chicken. The chicken desperately flapped her tiny wings to fly before plummeting to the floor, where she bounced across the dorm like a basketball. Akko cried "ouch" and "owie" with each bounce.
How like Akko, thought Sucy, watching Akko unflinchingly with her single red eye. That girl just doesn't know when to give up.
She wordlessly watched Akko explode into smoke and turn back to human, lying on her back. Akko's pitiful attempts would have been hilarious if the witch wasn't so determined to succeed.
No, wait. That's what made it funny in the first place. A light cackle escaped Sucy's lips.
Still, Akko's bullheadedness can be useful. Maybe I can have fun with this, Sucy thought. Abandoning her front row seat to the greatest show on earth, Sucy glided into the room with the grace of a ghost. Akko panted on the floor, hot and sweaty from practice. Not for the first time, Sucy thought it was a nice look on the brunette: it brought back fond memories of all the times she left Akko quivering from her experiments, Akko's body wracked with excitement as if hot lead flowed through her veins and electricity shot through her fingertips. Nothing warmed Sucy's heart more than to see Akko left drained and trembling beneath her, the air thick with the stench of potion fumes.
Some unenlightened simpletons might accuse Sucy of being a sadist of the highest caliber. Sucy just thought herself as a connoisseur of the performing arts, and what show was better than watching Akko suffer and make an idiot out of herself?
"I'm back," Sucy said as neutrally as possible, even as she sorted out the final details inside her head. To keep up with appearances, the slim witch held out a basket baring the fruits of her labor: a bottle of pixie dust bought from the Last Wednesday Society, a jar of frog's breath from the local apothecary, and half a dozen mushroom specimens picked around Luna Nova's neighboring forest.
"I got my share of ingredients for the Festival. Guess Lotte's still shopping in town," Sucy said. Perfect. No one to get in my way.
"Sucy?" Akko said. The brunette witch rose a little too quickly off the floor, and catching her foot on her own ankle, fell back down with an 'oof!' Rubbing her sore rear, Akko's face flashed hot pink. "Wh-when did you get back?"
"Just now," Sucy lied. She pointed to the Shiny Rod left on the floor. "How goes practice? You still suck at transformation magic?"
"Wha... n-no, not at all!" Akko said. Ignoring the pounding drum between her ears, Akko shot a finger out at Sucy and pulled out a semi-confident grin. "As a m-matter of fact, I'm doing much better! After another day or two, I bet I'll be better at transformation magic than even Diana!"
"You don't say? I bet Diana is quivering in her designer boots already," Sucy said, aiming for the truest target. She glided past Akko as the comment settled into the little dummy's brain, bending over at her work desk. She peered at the mixtures in her test tube rack. Hm, the mixtures were still a dingy orange; it'd take another two days for them fully coagulate. Then the final ingredient in her potion would be complete, just in time for the Samhain Festival.
Mt. Kagari ought to erupt any moment now, Sucy thought to herself. She started a countdown. Ten, nine, eight, se–
"What, you don't believe me?" Akko asked. She squinted at Sucy and pointed a finger at her. "You don't think I can do it, do you? Well, just watch! This girl won't be the class dummy forever!"
Oh, Akko, Sucy thought with a small grin, even as Akko shouted out the magic words. You might get better at magic and even become a great witch, but you'll always be a dummy.
With a twinkle of magic and a loud pop, an elephant about the size of a bear filled the room. The elephant had ridiculously big ears and orange skin, but swallowing down her doubt, Akko grinned proudly at Sucy.
"You see?" Akko said, waving her trunk in the air and giving her ears a little flap. "I totally have a handle on this! So I don't wanna hear... any of.. your..."
Just then, the elephant's body grew wider and wider like an inflating balloon. The pressure from the floor left Akko's feet as gravity lost its grip onto the elephant. She spun upside down, inverting the whole room upside down. The rising elephant didn't stop until she hit the ceiling, where she bounced off lightly before settling down like a rubber ball.
A pregnant silence hung in the air. Just before Sucy could open her mouth, however, the elephant stuck her trunk out.
"Don't even say it! I don't wanna hear it!" The elephant groaned, flailing uselessly on the ceiling. "Shoot, come on! Its been weeks since I inflated. Why did this happen?"
The elephant exploded into smoke and the human Akko fell down. Instead of falling on the floor this time, something much softer caught her. Akko turned to see Sucy's pale face, her face only inches from Akko's own face.
"Oh, look," Sucy said, holding Akko up bridal style. "Its raining idiots."
"S-Sucy!" Akko said, her face erupting as hot and red as a volcano. The brunette twisted in the taller girl's grip, and a roll of her eye, Sucy dropped Akko down. "Ooof!"
While Akko groaned in pain, Sucy eyed the brunette. It was adorable how clumsy Akko could be at times, sort of like watching a baby kitten get tangled in string. So much pep and vigor was a mystery to the sedate witch, but much like how a vampire feeds on blood, Sucy enjoyed feeding off of Akko's boundless enthusiasm: it made her full enough to tease Akko more.
So, with a sharp smile that could put a shark to shame, Sucy bent over and patted Akko on the head. "There there, dummy. You almost made it. How about I help you the rest of the way? I promise, you'll learn the perfect strategy on how to become the most life-like animal possible."
"Really? What's got you in such a charitable mood all of a sudden?" Akko looked up at Sucy, squinting suspiciously at her roommate. Deep down, Akko knew that Sucy was a good friend who did care about her, but a lot of the witch's so-called 'promises' often backfired on Akko. Just last week, Sucy gave her a potion supposedly for clearing a stuffy nose... and Akko wound up spouting fire like a dragon instead. It was kind funny at first, until Akko sneezed onto her class-issued Magical Linguistics textbook...
Professor Finnelan gave both of them detention for that, and now gave an Akko a stink eye every time she sneezed. To Sucy's credit though, Akko could smell just fine after taking the potion, even if she mostly smelled burnt paper and brimstone. She had every reason to doubt Sucy's generosity...
… but at the same time, she really needed to perfect her magic routine. Sucy was competent at transformation magic (Sucy made a pretty and cool-looking coral snake), and even if this did come back to bite her, Akko couldn't turn down her last chance at success.
With a nod of her head, Akko stood up, held out her hand and said, "You bet'cha! I'm ready for whatever you throw at me, Sucy! What do you got?"
Hook, line, and sinker Sucy thought. She shook Akko's hand, running a finger across the girl's calloused skin, earned from hour after hour of broom practice. "Its simple, really. Simple enough that even a dummy like you can understand: you just gotta get into the proper mindset of an animal. If you can think like a rabbit, then you'll look and act more like a rabbit."
Akko nodded her head, her eyes filling with stars. That did make sense, like a lot actually. "Really? That does make sense!"
Akko pulled out her wand. "Then I'll give it a go! Come on out, elephant! Metamorphie–!"
Sucy held up a hand. "Wait a minute."
Akko paused in mid-spell. "Huh?"
"Do you really want to turn into a elephant?" Sucy asked, raising her only visible eyebrow. "You realize those things eat hundreds of pounds of food a day, right?"
Sucy poked Akko in the stomach, smirking slightly when she earned a squeak from Akko. "You're already a glutton, but do you wanna put on an extra thousand pounds right before the Festival? Not that I'd be surprised if you did..."
Crossing her arms, Akko huffed. "Well, what did you have in mind?"
The pale-skinned witch shrugged her shoulders. "Why not a mouse? You wouldn't need to eat so much, and you'd hardly take up any space at all."
"Fine fine, whatever it takes to get this done sooner. We only have three days left! Metamorphie Faciesse!"
With a wave of her wand, Akko transformed into the same yellow mouse as before. Twitching her tiny pink nose, she looked up curiously at Sucy, who towered over her like a giant.
"Okay! Now what?" Akko said.
Sucy said nothing. She simply reached into her student uniform and pulled out her wand. She pointed it at Akko.
"Metamorphie Sigillum."
A bolt of green magic shot out of Sucy's wand like lightning and struck Akko. The mouse flinched and froze on the spot as magic coursed through her tiny body like a wave of electricity, making her yellow hairs stand on end. She quickly looked over herself from paw to paw to see what horrible change Sucy made to her transformation, but Akko looked the same. She turned back to Sucy with a look of triumph.
"Hah, nice try! Guess I'm not the only one who sucks at magic!" Akko said. She raised a paw in the air. "Guess I'll just practice on my own. Now, Metamorphie Faciesse!"
There was pregnant pause. Nothing happened. Akko looked over her mousy body again.
"Huh? Metamorphie Faciesse!"
Again, nothing happened. Akko remained a mouse.
"What is going...? Metamorphosis Faciesse!"
A third time, nothing. Akko started to sweat.
"What's happening? I'm still a mouse. Why am I still a mouse!?" Akko gripped her face, tugging at her whiskers. Just then, a light flashed through her mind and she looked up at the giant Sucy, who had covered her mouth with a hand to keep a giant, toothy-grin from ripping across her face. "Sucy! What did you do!?"
Despite her best efforts, Sucy chuckled darkly. Stepping towards Akko, she picked up the tiny mouse by her tail and lifted her up until she was eye level. Akko stared deeply into Sucy's single red eye. Was it always so pretty? It reminded Akko of poppy flowers.
"Akko, you really are an idiot." Sucy wiggled the mouse around by the tail so she swung from side to side like a pendulum. "Can't you recognize a simple sealing spell when you see it?"
Cupping Akko into the palm of her hand, Sucy continued. "I just sealed you into that mouse form. Relax, it won't be permanent: you'll just be a mouse for the next twelve hours or so."
"T-twelve hours!? I cannot be a mouse for twelve hours!" Akko wiggled in Sucy's hand, her tiny claws like needles prickling the pale, smooth skin. "I gotta keep practicing!"
"But this is practice." Sucy sighed and rolled her eyes. "Did you forget so soon? If you want to look like a real mouse, you have to think like one. So the longer you stay in that form, the better. I wouldn't break a promise just to prank you..."
"Really?" Akko said. She felt a stab of guilt in her heart for suspecting the worst of Sucy. "So this is really prac–?"
"...Not when I can prank you like this." Sucy, snapping her eye wide. Was it Akko's imagination, or was Sucy drooling? The pale witch gave her wand a flick and said with a sinister snicker, "Metamorphosis Faciesse!"
There was an enormous explosion of smoke, and Akko suddenly felt gravity seize hold of her as Sucy's hand vanished without trace. The yellow mouse fell to the floor, bouncing slightly.
The air was thick with noxious purple smoke, which smelled heavily of rotting mushrooms. Akko coughed and skittered from the mushroom cloud, the smoke rising to the ceiling before it evaporated away. Akko peered into the cloud to see what form Sucy had taken. A shadow rested in the middle of the smoke, peering out with glowing red eyes. Akko felt a tremble of fear as the shadow raised off its haunches and stepped out into the light.
The shadow melted away to reveal a cat that wouldn't look out of place in a witch's hut, or perhaps an old lady's home. The cat had short ears, a long tail, relaxed whiskers, and puffy, well-groomed fur that in combined an air of cuteness with the cool mystery and pride of a cat. The fur was pale gray with the black stripes around the ankles and a pink mane that partly covered one eye. Her eyes were ruby red and her teeth long and needle-like.
Sucy the cat looked down with half-lidded eyes at Akko, her lips drawn into a Cheshire Cat grin. She swished her tail back and forth, looming over Akko with all the grace and effortless elegance bred into cats over millions of years of cold, merciless evolution. The cat said nothing, letting the moment sink in.
Oh geez, oh man Akko thought, feeling the borrowed mouse genes deep inside her quiver with primordial terror. Her eyes widened as a vice seized her heart. Cat. Cat cat cat cat cat. Hair, claws, teeth. Run. Must run. Run run run run run.
Before Akko realized it, she already on all fours, backing away. She gritted her teeth and forced herself to stand back on her haunches. No, she had to keep her wits about her. Sucy would just take advantage of any sign of fear. Akko might love her friend, but goodness did that girl know how to strike at weakness with the ruthlessness of a viper.
Finally, Akko found her tongue. Her whiskers trembling on her nose. "Uh, Sucy...I don't think I like where you're taking this 'practice'..."
Still wearing her catty grin, Sucy took a step closer to Akko, then another. Akko backed up again, only to tumble backwards on the dorm room carpet. She landed on her back, her wispy tail rolling out like a piece of string.
"But Akko!" Sucy said, her voice thick with barely-restrained glee. She put a paw onto the exposed tail and dragged the mouse forward, until she was beneath Sucy. With a paw on each side to corral the mouse in, Sucy leaned down until her pink nose was mere inches from Akko's own nose.
"I'm just trying to help you get into a mouse's mindset." Sucy said. She gave the mouse a quick lick on the cheek, her rough tongue dragging against Akko's yellow fur. She felt a short rush of excitement as Akko shivered at the rough texture. "And what better way to do that than teach what its liked to be hunted?"
Despite her situation, Akko found herself glaring at the giant cat. She twitched her whiskers at Sucy with all the aggression whiskers could convey, and fought hard to ignore the pale blush blooming underneath her fur. Why did it feel good to have Sucy lick her?
"Hmph, you're just saying that. You just wanna see me run around like my head's cut off while you chase me!" Akko said.
Sucy somehow shrugged with her cat-like shoulders. Why deny the truth? A small nugget of her soul truly did want to help Akko, but teasing and tormenting her guinea pig came first and foremost.
Sucy's silent admission only incensed Akko even more. Turning her nose up to the air, the mouse squeezed out of Sucy's grasp and flicked her wiry tail at the pink nose.
"Well, if you want a chase, I'll give it to yah! Come on, just try to catch me!"
With that, Akko darted out of the cat's paws. Her tiny paws danced on the wooden floor of the dorm room like it was lava. Before Akko even knew it, she was at the foot of her bunk bed. Wow, who knew mice could run so fast? Guess this small body is good for something after all!
Sucy went immediately on the hunt. The cat crouched to the floor, tensing up her muscles tightly. She licked her lips as the chunky mouse scurried across the floor. Deep inside her bones, Sucy heard the whisper of a million feline ancestors reach out to her, calling out through the dusty millennia and sending her mind straight back to the hot, sweeping plains of Africa. The all-consuming heat of the angry sun, the thrill of the chase, the taste of copper on a red-stained mouth.
This was it. This was what Sucy lived for. She and Akko, predator and prey. They spun around each other in a perpetual cycle, just as the Earth spun around the sun. The cat flickered her tail.
Silently, Sucy leapt through the air and pounced on the mouse just as she reached the bed. Her right paw caught Akko by the tail.
"Eeep!" Akko squeaked, a short burst of pain flashing through her tail. She pulled away just before the cat could tighten her grip, the floor shaking from the giant's fall. She scrambled up the slack bed sheets of her unmade bed and across the mattress. For once, being messy paid off.
The cat was not far behind. Moving as if her body was made of living water, Sucy took the short keep onto the bed. She followed after Akko, purposefully missing the mouse with each step. Her eyes glittered with glee at Akko's pitiful attempt to escape.
Run run run as far as you like, Akko. Just show me the panic on that pretty face of yours, Sucy thought. She took a lazy swipe at Akko, knocking the mouse across the bed. Akko rolled with the blow as if doing cartwheels.
"Aaah, Sucy! Stop it!" Akko said. The mouse took a moment to pout over her shoulder at the smirking feline, just before ducking under the sheets for cover. It wasn't the perfect cover as a tiny bump moved beneath the sheets, but it was better than nothing.
That girl is gonna be the death of me. Why does she gotta be like this? Akko thought. Why cannot we do more stuff that normal friends do, like play card games or go out for ice cream or watch movies together or eat ice cream while watching a movie about card games? Its always something crazy with potions and experiments with Sucy.
Fueled by her frustration, Akko crawled as quickly as she could beneath the bed sheet. Maybe if she could find the ladder to Lotte's bunk, she could escape Sucy. But as she crawled further and further through the white sheets, she got hopelessly lost. Every direction looked the same and short of falling off the bed, Akko didn't know how to escape.
Wasn't that just typical for her life?
Meanwhile, Sucy sat stone still on the bed, watching the tiny bump run in circles. Her tail hung lax over the side of the bed.
"Wow, this is just sad." said Sucy. She wasn't sure if it was kind or cruel to pounce at the moment. It was certainly boring.
She closed her eyes and yawned. No animal could yawn quite like a cat: it started from the chest and worked all its way up to the mouth. Cats yawned with their whole body, and it felt immensely more satisfying than yawning as a human. Sucy savored the moment of peace, and when she opened her eyes again, the circling bump was gone.
What? Where did she-? Sucy thought, just before something hard bumped her at the base of the tail. Perhaps it was the heightened awareness of the hunt or a cat's natural high-strung nature, but Sucy immediately leapt into the air, the hair rising off of her back.
Straight into the bottom of Lotte's bunk. Sucy's head hit the hardwood with a thunk.
"Ow! Son of a–!" Sucy yowled, falling back onto the bed. The bed bounced, unsettling Akko, who rubbed a rising red welt on her head.
"Ooof, what did I hit?" Akko said. Shaking off the pain, Akko could feel a massive weight right beside her, which was surely Sucy. She darted away as fast as she could in a straight line: whether she reached the bunk ladder or ran straight off the bed didn't matter any more. Either way, she had to escape.
Sucy recovered just as quickly. Her eyes darted towards the fleeing bump on the bed, and taking a moment to crouch and waggle her tail, Sucy pounced again. Akko had reached the edge of the bed, so when Sucy landed just an inch from her, the bed bounced again. Akko was flung into the air and landed a short distance away on the dorm's work desk.
"Waaah!" Akko shrieked, her high-pitched mouse voice making the girl's scream of sheer terror sound positively adorable. The room spun in a whirlwind of colors as Akko cartwheeled through the air, only to land on the desk. She landed on her back with her rear in the air. Her wispy tail went limp and draped over her face.
She blew it out of the way, looking at the world upside down. An upside down Sucy frowned at her from the bed, her ears bent back.
"Hmph, Sucy! Don't play too rough! My body will be aching all day tomorrow after this," Akko whined. Sucy just rolled her eyes and shrugged her shoulder.
"Eh, what else is new? Now, show me the true face of fear!"
With that, Sucy leapt onto the desk. Squeaking in fear, Akko darted away just in time when Sucy swiped at the air just above the mouse's head. She felt a breeze of wind blow past her fur from above.
As usual, the work desk was a cluttered mess of magical tomes and homework assignments, from books on astrology and how to speak raven to half-finished essays on the Golden Age of Witchcraft. A good half of the desk was dominated by Sucy's things from bottles of bubbling potions and petri dishes growing mushroom molds to arcane ingredients from across the world. Not for the first time, Akko couldn't tell if Sucy was a witch or a mad scientist at heart. Regardless, Akko dashed into the heart of the potion equipment.
I bet she won't follow me in here! Akko thought. As she ran along, the mouse reflected along the glass bottles and jars in distorted images, not unlike standing in front of funhouse mirrors. If there was one thing Akko knew Sucy treasured above all else, it was her experiments and lab equipment; she surely wouldn't risk endangering all her work just to chase her, right?
True to Akko's expectations, Sucy halted immediately in front of her equipment. A low growl rumbled in her throat, her red eyes honed on the yellow mouse. She kicked herself mentally; how could she be so clumsy as to punt Akko so close to her own experiments?
You're supposed to catch her, not help her get away. She chided herself. She paced back and forth, looking for a safe place to enter the dense forest of lab equipment.
"You better not mess up my ingredients, if you know what's good for you..." The cat growled deeper in her throat. Akko just looked over her shoulder and threw a defiant smirk at Sucy.
"Hah, you should follow your own advice!" the mouse said. Her tail wiggled enticingly in the maze, as if daring the cat to follow her. If Sucy thought of it, she would note just how utterly unmouse-like Akko was at heart. "Come and get me, if you dare!"
Still, Akko knew that this protection wouldn't last forever: if Sucy got impatient, she could just turn back to human and easily pluck her up. So eyeing the equipment carefully, Akko looked for someplace to hide.
Her eyes fell on a black box resting atop a book labeled Poisons of the World. She climbed atop the book and threw open the box. Before Akko could even climb into, however, something inside the box stared back at her: the decapitated head of a large green snake. A row of red-and-white feathers formed a collar just above the snake's stump neck. The dead snake's glassy eyes stared back at the quivering mouse with eyes unseeing.
The mouse froze up like a statue, then fell onto her rear. She crawled away quickly from the dead snake head until she reached the edge of the book.
"Wh-wh-what!? What is that thing?" Her face pale, Akko pointed at the snake head and stared at Sucy. "Sucy, why do you have that? I'm pretty sure this breaks some school rule!"
A snicker escaped the cat, her heart beating faster at the beautiful sight of Akko's terror. Her claws itched with the desire to sink into the mouse, to hold her tight and drink her in. She just shrugged.
"Oh, that's just a baby Biscoine head. Its said to be a man-eating snake with venom strong enough to kill an elephant, but healing blood that can sprout flowers from lifeless soil. I wanna reverse engineer the blood magic to create a potent healing potion." The cat flickered her tail, eyeing the book Akko rested on. Surely that was a large enough safe spot where she could snag Akko in a flash.
To keep suspicions low, Sucy ducked low to the table table and reached as far as she could among the bottles, her paw grabbing for Akko. "Now come here! I've want to test that blood on you first!"
The paw nearly brushed past Akko, making the whiskers on her face twitch. She backed up, climbing off the book until she reached a large measuring flask. She grinned a nervous grin. "No way! I-I've found your weak point! No way you can get me now."
Akko laughed as best as she could, hoping the tremble in her voice didn't betray her. She looked around for any place to hide; she could practically feel the sands of time running out for her as Sucy kept swiping at her. Her eyes fell on the measuring flask behind her.
Ah, that's perfect! An expensive-looking glass like that is an iron wall to Sucy! Sorry, Sucy, but I'm gonna think like a mouse and hide! Turning around, Akko gripped the smooth glass with her mousy paws and climbed up the flask. She slipped and fell back to the table a couple of times, but on the fifth or sixth try, she reached the mouth of the flask.
"Try to catch me now! Bleh!" The mouse stuck off her tongue at the cat before climbing through the flask's neck. The neck was a tight pinch and pushed the mouse's face back, but after a faint pop, Akko dropped into the measuring flask.
The hairs rose off of the cat's back when Akko plopped face first into the flask. She hissed lightly, baring her needle-like teeth. "Don't mess with my stuff, dummy! Knowing you, you'll get your dirty paws all over it."
In a single bound, Sucy hopped over the bottles and vials and onto the potions book. She loomed over the measuring flask, casting a dark shadow over Akko. She had to find some way to get her out of there, but how?
"This is pretty clever, for an idiot like you..." Sucy said, putting her front paws on the flask, a single red eye peering down the length of the tube. Akko gulped as the cat bared down on her, the only thing separating her and the giant predator being a thin layer of glass. Surely Sucy wouldn't break the flask just to get to her, right? Right?
The cat licked her lips. Her mind bubbled like a cauldron fit to overflow. Much like a bloodshot eyeball in a frothing potion, Sucy got an idea. She got an awful idea. Sucy got a wonderful, awful idea. If Akko was going to insist on messing with her things, why not play along? Gripping the flask as best as she could with her paws, Sucy lifted up the flask. One paw was placed over the flask's mouth, while the other held the bottom.
"That said..." Sucy said, grinning from ear to ear as Akko's face fell, the pieces falling into place. The yellow mouse gulped hard, her ears bending back. "I think I know how to smoke you out."
"S-Sucy... you don't mean..."
"Hope you enjoy the ride!"
With all the strength she could muster, Sucy shook the flask. Akko was sent flying around the glass bottle, bouncing back and forth like a bouncy ball. The world spun in a rainbow of colors for the yellow witch, as if pulled through a tornado, but the most prominent color was the pale, creamy color of the cat's coat and her pink hair.
"Woah woah woah woah!" Akko cried, ricocheting to and fro. This was almost as bad as her first time riding the Shooting Star for the first time, only without the beautiful scenery to appreciate. After a solid minute, Sucy changed her grip and swiveled the flask around instead, forcing Akko's body against the glass walls like in an orbiter ride at an amusement park.
"Having fun in there, Akko?" Sucy laughed. She swiveled the flask in an circle until Akko was spinning around like a yo-yo. The mouse looked like a small yellow blur inside the glass. "Just tell me when you're ready to give up!"
"Ne-ne-never!" Akko squeaked, even as her head spun in circles. "I-I'll never give up! This mouse won't be scared of some big ol' cat!"
At least her survival instinct as a mouse is strong Sucy thought. It'd almost be a shame to break her spirit, really.
After three more minutes of spinning, the cat stopped when her joints ached too much. Akko kept on swiveling around the flask for a few seconds before she rolled to the bottom and came to a stop. The flask hit the table with a glassy clink while Sucy caught her breath, her pink tongue hanging out slightly.
"Well? Ready to give up?"
Lying on her back, Akko watched the pretty colors dance before her eyes. It made her sick to her stomach, but thankfully her stomach was empty, or else she might have gotten sick all over the measuring flask. In the middle of the swirling rainbow spun three Sucys, their red eyes brilliant as gemstones and pink hair as pretty as sakura flowers.
Perhaps it was the budding concussion, but Akko giggled loudly. She reached out with a paw to stroke the cats behind their ears, but for some reason her arm wasn't long enough. Huh, weird. "Gee, Sucy, why are there three of you? That's three too little! Come here, pretty kitty! Mama Akko wants ta rub your soft kitty belly. Meow!"
Sucy blinked. That wasn't quite the response she was expecting.
"Did you forget already, idiot?" Sucy said. "I'm the evil cat hunting you, and you're the innocent fawn of a mouse. You're supposed to go 'squeak.'"
The mouse rolled onto her side, smiling dumbly at the cat. "Daw, what are you talking about, pretty kitty? You're not evil! Maybe a bit mean sometimes, and you're always teasing me, but you got a good heart."
The mouse stood up on her hind legs, reaching for Sucy. She took a few half-steps forward before falling back down to all fours. An almost drunken giggle bubbled out of her chest.
"Mmm, yeah..." Akko rubbed her face against the glass, smiling dreamily. "I like you for who you are, kitty. That's enough for me."
The cat's ears tilted back. She didn't know what to say. What could she say? Akko was always too honest for her own good. That's part of what Sucy liked about her: Akko never shied away from what she wanted. The girl had the courage to reach out and claim what was rightfully hers. Sucy was the same way.
Well, almost the same way. Beneath her pale coat, the cat blushed a faint pink. She felt her heart beat faster as she looked over the still dazed mouse.
Damn traitor, Sucy thought, beating her own chest. Like she really feels that way; she's just drunk on adrenaline.
Sucy planted both paws on the flask again. She took a moment to savor the sound of Akko's panting, of the mouse's weary form. This feeling, this excitement was enough for now. If Sucy could have Akko be her guinea pig for the rest of her life, even if she never spoke the dark words that whispered in the back of her mind, Sucy would be satisfied.
With a grunt, Sucy flipped the flask upside down and gave it a few good shakes. With another pop, Akko fell onto the table. The mouse groaned faintly as the cool air of the dorm room hit her fur; only now did she realize how hot and humid it was inside the flask. Her head started to clear from her impromptu ride, but even as Sucy towered over her, Akko couldn't help but find the cat adorable. Terrifyingly huge and dangerous, but adorable nonetheless.
"Heh heh... cute..." Akko said, the world flickering with light before she plopped her tired head down. Sucy just rolled her eyes even as her cowardly heart kept beating hard inside her chest.
Akko, you're gonna be the death of me.
With a sigh, the cat bent down with her mouth open and picked the mouse up by the end of her tail, careful not to hurt her friend. With another jump, Sucy landed safely on her nearby bed and plopped Akko down. She laid down herself, and drawing Akko between her paws, embraced the mouse. Telling herself that she was only playing as a cat who'd caught her prey, Sucy gave Akko a gentle lick on the back of the head.
"Don't keep me waiting, you dummy. Wake up," Sucy said. She licked Akko again and again, her pink tongue brushing the mouse's yellow fur and combing over her ears and whiskers. "Come back from the land of the dead."
Akko moaned weakly when Sucy licked her, her body shivering at how the hairy tongues scraped at her fur. Still, she tightened her grip onto the paws, almost like a child may cling to a security blanket.
"Mmm, Sucy..." Akko moaned. She opened one eye, just now realizing that she was in the clutches of the larger cat. Her mind briefly flickered back to the big chase before it melted away in the heat of the moment. "Wha-? What happened?"
Sucy gave Akko another lick. This time, it was closer to the cheek. She could feel Akko's body's body tighten up as full consciousness returned. She did her best to ignore the sense of relief that washed over her. She simply nudged the mouse's small frame with her nose and clutched tighter.
"How are you feeling? You okay, dum-dum?" She asked. "Still alive, I see. Good, it'd be a real pain in the neck to explain to the teachers how I wound up with a dead mouse..."
"Mmm, I'm okay..." Akko said. Her mousy body still ached slightly, but she'd lived through worse. Like a rough ride like that would keep her down! She opened both eyes, drinking in the huge cat. Even in the arms of a predator like this, Akko felt strangely safe. "... thanks, Sucy."
Sucy said nothing. She gave Akko another lick on the cheek, finally managing to assuage the inkling of guilt that ached in her heart.
"...I'm sorry." She grumbled, barely able to be heard. "For, you know, chasing you all around and stuff. I just wanted to scare you, not hurt you."
"... what?" Akko blinked in surprise, then wiggled a finger in her big, mouse ears. Did she just hear that correctly? "Sucy, did you just... apologize to me? Without being forced to? Or even asked?"
The cat frowned and snorted. She tightened her grip on Akko.
"Don't get used to it. I don't want to hear you complain is all. Sucy said. Or for you to actually hate me.
A wide grin crossed Akko's face, and captured as she was between Sucy's paws, the mouse wiggled forward and grasped Sucy by the chest. The mouse hugged the cat, burying her face into her thick, smooth fur. "Wow, to think I'd ever see the day! Sucy, thank you! Don't worry, its all water under the bridge!"
Akko gave Sucy an extra tight squeeze. Sucy was glad she had a nice layer of fur covering her face. It meant Akko couldn't see her cheeks blushing as the mouse hugged her chest.
"Ugh, fine fine." She groaned, pushing Akko away with her paw. "There's no reason to get all emotional..."
That only got a giggle out of Akko, rolling onto her back. "Oh, admit it! You were worried about me! That's why we're friends, after all."
Akko gave Sucy's cat paw a squeeze, their chase all but forgotten from the mouse's mind. It was easy to get mad at Sucy, but also easy to forgive her too. Deep down, Akko knew Sucy cared in her own special way, and that was good enough for her. That's why she was proud to call Sucy her friend.
Still, it never hurt to show that all things were forgiven. Perking up, the mouse said, "Hey, I know! How about we go out for ice cream, my treat? I can literally dive into a double-scoop cone in this form!"
A small smile returned to Sucy's face as she looked down at the little mouse hugging her paw. Akko was a dumb guinea pig, but she was her dumb guinea pig, and Sucy took care of her lovable pets.
Sucy brought her head lower, rubbing her cheek against Akko. "Sure, why not? Ice cream is great when you pay for it. Just no sprinkles this time."
She slowly curled into a ball, letting out a small yawn. After all that chase, the cat felt drained and her bed felt awfully comfy right now. There was even a sun beam pouring down on her, warming the pale cat's body up like a toasty oven. "But for now, I'm gonna take a nap. Wake me up in an hour or two..."
"Sure thing!" Akko said, just before she yawned as well. She smacked her lips together. "Mmm, now that you mention it, a nap does sound good."
Akko leaned her weight against Sucy's paw. "I'll just... shut my eyes for a minute, then practice again until you're... ready..."
No sooner had the words left Akko's lips when she collapsed like a dead weight. She started snoring in seconds. All those late nights of magic practice and the chase had worn the poor little witch out.
Sucy's smile grew a little wider, as her own eyes slowly began to close. She curled up tighter, making sure Akko was safely tucked against her body. She purred softly, and felt herself drifting off to sleep.
"Good night... my dumb mouse..."
Together, Sucy and Akko slept upon the pale witch's bed. The two slept peacefully, and maybe, just maybe, shared a dream together.