"...And this is hardly the first time this week you've been caught running in the halls, Kagari, you know better than this."

"Uh-huh," Akko nodded, her eyes darting between the Professor and the hall behind her. She bit her lip as she bounced lightly on the balls of her feet. 'Maybe I lost her?'

"Furthermore, I needn't remind you that many of the new applicants for the coming school year did so because of you and your exploits, Kagari; as a student of Luna Nova and the chosen wielder of the Claíomh Solais, there are certain expectations placed upon you by your station," Finneran continued, arms crossed.

"Yah-huh," Akko replied, quickly whipping her head in reaction to the clacking of heels to her left; she sighed and turned back after realizing it was just another member of the faculty. 'Then again, she always finds me somehow whenever I'm breaking curfew…'

"You must lead by example, Kagari; while you have accomplished much, you simply cannot afford to rest on your laurels, especially now that you've proven what you are capable of when properly motivated. Complacency is unbecoming and—"

"—Y'okay," Akko said, subtly leaning her body to the right to get a better view of the hall past Finneran. 'Maybe she has a tracker on me? No, that's dumb… Or is it? I should ask Cons to scan me fo—' Akko yelped when Finneran leaned left to intercept her attention.

"Miss Kagari, am I keeping you from something?" Finneran asked, hands at her hips as her ever-present frown deepened into a scowl. "If you must rush everywhere to make your appointments, Kagari, then you must reconsider the way you prioritize your time. Tardiness is rude and as unacceptable as it is avoidable." Finneran turned her gaze past Akko as she spotted someone turning the corner at the end of the hall. "Besides, how could you ever hope to win the affections of someone as unfailingly punctual as Ms. Cavendish with your poor time management?"

Akko's posture wilted as she let her head loll back. "Aww, c'mooon…."

"Perhaps you will heed her words instead if you are so adamantly set on ignoring mine," Finneran said, bringing her eyes past Akko once again. "Ms. Cavendish?" she called, making sure to speak clearly, not loudly.

Akko jerked, her eyes widening. "W-what?!" She turned to find her pursuer making her way towards them. "D-Diana!"

Finneran turned back to Akko after catching Diana's attention; "As for your punishment, I—" she paused, realizing that Akko was no longer right in front of her. The rapid thump-thump-thump of Akko's of footfalls had been the only indication that she hadn't just teleported away. By the time Finneran had turned towards the sound, the only thing she managed to catch was a fleeting glimpse of Akko's top-knot disappear around a corner.

Akko ran down the hallway, startling and dodging students and faculty alike as she darted around, under, and over them in search of a place to hide. Most of the doors she'd tried were locked now that the school day was over; the few classrooms that were open remained that way for after-school clubs, tutoring, or extra-curricular work, which meant they were occupied by witches and teachers. Even worse, they outright refused to give Akko safe haven; a recent revision and reprint of the academy regulations handbook had mentioned Akko by name a number of times vis-à-vis the harboring of known troublemakers and other related infractions.

Finneran—upon personally handing Akko the revised book—had assured her that the revisions were merely a stop-gap measure while the entire handbook underwent a complete rewrite. Later on, Holbrooke had let it slip that the last major rewrite had been during Chariot's time as a student at the academy, and Akko couldn't help but feel rather proud to be following in her mentor's footsteps. Akko gasped; 'Ursula-sensei'll let me hide in her homeroom!' Akko knew her mentor tended to stay in her classroom during exam days to get the grading done instead of taking the work back to her loft.

Akko dropped her body low as she skidded to a halt in a way reminiscent of a slide tackle, before exploding into a run in the opposite direction and towards the staircase she'd passed midway down the hall. Most of the students around her witnessed the impressive maneuver in muted awe and lamented the fact that Luna Nova's football club had been one of the first things cut when the budget took a nosedive so many years ago.

Reaching the staircase, Akko preserved her momentum by grabbing the handrail's post as she ran past, pivoting her body out of the hallway and launching herself at the stairs. Taking the steps four at a time, Akko reached the top in no time at all only to be immediately lifted from the ground by the collar of her shirt as she ran past a faculty member. "What the—"

"Well, looks like I caught myself a runner! Lemme guess: Professor Finneran's cross with ya again, Kagari?" Professor Nelson smirked as Akko flailed her legs uselessly, hanging from the instructor's arm like a petulant cat.

Akko's top-knot twitched and shook from side to side at the accusation. "No! I mean, not this time!" she sighed, bringing her palm to her face, "I mean, yes, but that's not why I'm running; Diana's chasing me!" She explained, holding out her arms.

Nelson blinked at Akko, then smiled widely. "Cavendish? Sounds like everything's coming up roses, then! Haven't you been fancying that girl for ages?" she asked, putting Akko back down and slapping her back in congratulations.

"Ah, er, well…" Akko hesitated, scratching her cheek and pointedly not meeting Nelson's eyes.

Nelson blinked again. "Oh, I getcha: Diana's the one cross with you," she said, flicking her gaze between Akko and the hallway; her smile widened when Akko flinched, confirming her deduction. "Reckon yer gonna hole up at Professor Ursula's?"

"Yeah, Diana looked really, really mad, so I'm just gonna…" Akko began, pointing with both hands down the hall as she took a step away from Nelson, trying to end the conversation.

Professor Nelson guffawed. "She's really got ya spooked! How'd ya cock that up, Kagari? What'd you do?"

"I-I don't know!" Akko said, her cheeks reddening as she continued to avoid eye contact. She took another half step away from the staircase and into the hallway.

Nelson raised an eyebrow. "Sounds like you know exactly what you did." Akko blushed further, starting to sweat. Nelson shrugged. "Alright, alright, you don't wanna tell ol' Nelson, I see how it is," she began, starting to descend the staircase, "You go on and hide, I'll see what I can do about Cavendish," she added as she reached the bottom of the staircase.

Akko dashed to the railing, smiling brightly at the professor below. "Thank you, Nelson-sensei!" she said, waving at her new favorite flight instructor.

Nelson returned her smile. "Of course! Oh, one more thing, Kagari…?"

"Hm?"

Nelson pulled her wand from her belt. "Enjoy sleepin' in the doghouse."

"W-wh—"

"HEY, CAVENDISH! SHE'S UP HERE!" Professor Nelson shouted into the hall with her megaphone spell.

It took a couple of seconds for Akko to react; had she just been sold down the river? "Ahh?! Nelson-sensei, why?!" she flailed, almost falling over the railing as she did.

"Ha! She looks absolutely livid!" The echoes of Nelson's cackling followed Akko as she sprinted away from the staircase and up the hall. Luckily, she quickly noticed that Professor Ursula standing at the very end, arms resting on the sill of an open window. On her shoulder, Alcor appeared equally at peace.

"Ursula-sensei!" Akko shouted as she neared, using both feet to screech to a stop, the sound of it prompting Alcor to give her a baleful stare for breaking their peace. "Uh, hi, Alcor!"

Chariot turned, raising a hand to comb back some of her hair. "Akko; I thought I'd heard you and Nelson back there. Is everything alright? You're not in any trouble with her, are you?" she asked, her hand automatically reaching up to scratch Alcor behind the ear. The Familiar tried his darnest to not let it show in front of Akko how good the scritches felt.

Akko smiled brightly and innocently, "Um, could we hang out in the classroom, Ursula-sensei?" she asked, pouring on as much charm as she could, interlocking her fingers and letting her leg dance on the tip of her shoe.

Chariot smiled back at her apprentice. "Ah, it was rather stuffy in there so I decided to step out and cool off. I was thinking of taking a walk to the Archives, if you'd like to accompany me," she offered with a shrug.

"Uh," Akko turned back to look down the still-empty hallway before facing Professor Du Nord again, "Yeah, a walk sounds great! But, um, maybe we could still sit in the classroom for a bit before—" Akko shivered as a frisson made her hair stand on end; she'd never felt it before, but she instinctively recognized it; 'Sakki,' she thought; killing intent. Not even all her years of playing fighting games had prepared her for this.

Alcor puffed his feathers as he unfolded his wings, holding them up in a threatening manner. Chariot's glasses flashed as she frowned; something powerful was approaching them. The entity was surrounded by a field on untamed magic; but it felt familiar, somehow. Chariot's hand hovered over her wand at her belt as she watched the staircase at the end of the hallway with unblinking eyes.

...That is, until a golden head of hair became visible coming up the steps; Chariot had to blink at that. "Diana?"

"...Crap." Akko's interjection had brought Du Nord's attention back to her apprentice. "So, uh, do you know any invisibility spells you could cast on me like, right now?"

Chariot looked back down the hallway again; Diana walked passively and collectedly towards them, her face neutral. To any non-magical being, she would appear as nothing more than a girl taking a walk. To Chariot, Akko's words and Diana's presence flashed her mind back to a memory from eleven years prior, to a point in time when she'd found herself in Akko's position: pleading with Professor Woodward to save her from Croix's well-deserved ire.

Admittedly, unlike Chariot herself, Akko didn't seem like the type to goose someone in public with an artifact of incalculable magical value in some monumentally misguided attempt at flirting… But Akko was nothing if not beautifully creative in her mischief and mayhem. Whatever she'd done to Diana, it must've been quite something.

And just as Woodward had helped her apprentice a decade ago, now too could Chariot guide her young charge, imparting upon Akko the sage witch's own words. "Akko," Chariot smiled softly at the girl, laying a hand on her shoulder to grab her attention. When Akko met her gaze with hope in her eyes, Chariot continued. "Know that I will always love you, and I will always be at your side, if not in body then in spirit… But there are some paths that a woman must walk alone," she continued, lifting her hand from Akko's shoulder and gesturing towards Diana.

"Ara?" Akko turned towards Diana for a second before turning back to Professor Du Nord… Or rather, the space that Professor Du Nord had been occupying just a split second ago. "Eeh?!"

Click.

"Aaahh?!" Akko turned her entire torso right towards the sound, realizing with mounting dread that her mentor had slipped into the classroom and locked it, leaving Akko to walk The Path of Aloneness.

"Atsuko."

Akko twitched as her arms erupted in goosebumps again; 'Why does she sound so hot when she's angry?! How is that even fair?' With a loud gulp, Akko turned around to face Diana. Silence befell them as Akko made quick work of her current situation: Diana, as intelligent as Akko was clever, had stopped midway down the hall. If Akko wanted to run away again, she'd have to go through Diana; they both knew it.

Diana was well aware that Akko was a quick thinker when cornered; she'd left ample distance between them so that she could give herself time to react to any action Akko might take to get past her; Diana's honed reflexes were just as swift as Akko's cunning and guile. They were rivals for a reason, after all.

Akko gulped again; the longer she drew out this encounter, the more the balance would shift in Diana's favor. It was very likely that the blonde had already come up with a response to any trick Akko might pull to get past her. Akko's vision was momentarily filled with her own hair as a breeze blew across her back; her mouth formed into an 'O' as her eyes widened. Her lips then stretched into a toothy smile as she saw Diana's own eyes widen.

'You wouldn't,' Diana's eyes seemed to plead.

Akko's cheshire grin communicated her thoughts loud and clear: 'You know I would.'

Diana frowned in exasperation. 'I know you would,' her posture replied, even as she finally allowed herself to break into a run. Alas, the distance was too great; Diana was no slouch when it came to physical activity, but in leaving herself so much room to maneuver, she'd unwittingly conceded the same to the brunette. "Akko!" she shouted as she witnessed the girl hop backwards from where she stood to sit on the open window's sill, stick her tongue out at Diana, and then perform a graceful backwards roll out said window. "Bloody hell!" the girl didn't even have a bloody broom to not fly with!

Diana reached the window with one leg already raised on the sill, ready to jump after Akko until the utterly ridiculous sight of that utterly ridiculous girl's utterly ridiculous elephant form forestalled her own jump. Diana remained there propped on the window, eyelid twitching as Akko gracefully unfurled her giant ears near the bottom of her fall, artfully gliding away from Luna Nova's main hall, giggling in her silly elephant voice all the while.

Diana startled slightly as a hand landed softly on her shoulder. "My, my, Diana; running in the halls? What has this world come to?" Chariot said, Alcor still perched on her shoulder.

Diana flushed red at Professor Du Nord's teasing admonishment. Immediately hopping back into the hallway, Diana faced her once(and not-so-secretly, still)-idol, standing straight with arms folded behind her back and head bowed in contriteness. "I-I apologize for my behavior, Professor Du Nord, now and during your class. It is reprehensible and unacceptable, and I shall bear any punishment you see fit to assign."

Chariot couldn't help but giggle. "Diana, I think we can overlook your little misstep this time around; after all," she said, letting her eyes flicker towards the open window for a moment, "don't you have a girl to chase?"

Diana blushed redder still; though technically correct, Professor Du Nord's choice of words and tone left a lot to be desired! Just what was she implying? "I… I suppose I do," Diana replied, bowing her head once more. "Thank you, Professor," she added, walking away and trying not to think too hard about how Alcor almost seemed to be smirking at her.


Finally, we get to see a bit from Akko's side! Poor thing, what's a little witch to do when all her teachers keep teasing her about her crush? In fact, how do they all even know about her crush? I think a flashback chapter is in order... Now, do I keep you all in suspense and post that first, or do I post the resolution of the chase first? Hmmm...


Let's get to some more replies to reviews, shall we?

SuperR: Your wish is granted, three chapters down and still going! And I'm sure Diana has no idea what you could possibly be implying; the only one staring at Akko is Amanda, of course.

thewatcher509: Haha, yes, LWA just invites all sorts of coziness and fluffiness, doesn't it? I hope you enjoy this chapter too!

TAWOGfan2000: Diana has never been to Egypt, but she's definitely been up and down that river!

eternalovers: I can't wait to show you why everyone seems to know!

Scarlet of the Sea: Diana secretly found it just a teeny bit funny when she looked it up. Just a teeny bit.

Mazamba: Haha, I hope it can continue to be!

Hydrocity3: I've got to resist the urge to write a story just about Amanda snarking out every witch she meets (or just Diana, honestly.)

Smashdenslap: I'm glad!

Psykoakuma: She did, in fact, bust out the Three Stooges! And poor Akko, it seems anything Diana does is her fetish. Plus, apparently Akko can sense Satsui no Hado?

Gymnopede: Keeping and upping, as requested!

Kurokanako: Oh, you'll soon finally see what specifically had Diana so riled up that morning she plowed through all the students!