Hey all you witches and wizards out there. Here's more of this thing. Anyone else looking forward to that LWA game? Looks so bloody cute! Can't wait to run around Luna Nova and digest every piece of dialogue I can find. Oh and blowing shit up with Cons too, of course.

Replies Yo:

Psykoakuma: Cheers for sticking with this little thing. So Avery would be your pick? Maybe, maybe not :P

8ytan: Thanks for the continued reading, friend. Ya, Zero is not an OC. (I'm not good at those, I either make them boring or an asshole.)

Your Intellegence: I appreciate the support. Thanks for taking the time to read and review so regularly.

Anon: Y'know I considered using Woody as part of the regular harem, but there's so many characters to juggle out of the gate that I couldn't see how to fit her in. Would've liked to use her, maybe I still can and make her totally jelly.

YaKuKu: Aww, thanks :) It makes me happy you're enjoying it. I feel amped!

Kid face1028: Stay with me! I got another shot for ya lol

Reviewer: Yes~ Chariot needs the love. I'm happy you found a bit of a laugh from this.

Away we go. Some silly references in this one. Find em all and get free hugs!

Little Harem Academia

Constanze Amalie von Braunschbank-Albrechtsberger

Constanze wasn't the type of person who attracted much attention from her peers aside from the initial curiosity of her "quirks." That was the nicest way she could think of describing her more odd features. She had trouble speaking, she liked machines and engineering, she was small and German with a name hardly anyone was able to remember no matter how many times she had to write it down for them. That was the gist of what most people saw her for, and usually where their interest in her ended. Most of the time she was fine letting others think what they wanted in regards to her personality, she didn't try to hide the fact she didn't deal too well with the nuances and complicated machinations of peer-to-peer relations. In the end it gave her plenty of time to delve into the peerless clockwork of her main passion and hobby; inventing and building things with every last scrap and tool the girl could find.

At times Constanze would get distracted, as all great inventors would. Like right then as she sat indecisive at her desk in the buzzing sanctuary of her hidden workshop; her pen poised an inch away from an entirely blank piece of paper. She'd wanted to jot down a blueprint for some kind of robot, or a flying fortress, or anything at all really…but that day her total block of creativity continued without any end in sight. With a gruff sigh she flicked the pen aside and leaned back in her chair, crossing her arms as she glanced about at the rest of her workshop. Papers were scattered everywhere, tools and kits splayed about without rhyme or reason, blackboards clogging the floorspace inefficiently with unfinished scrawlings dotting them…Constanze was at a loss as to how such a mess had built up. Last time it'd gotten that bad Akko had been-

-and there it was. Like a red-hot piece of iron applied to a bath of icy water, Constanze's thoughts refused to reshape unto her will. She'd been trying to refocus on anything to take her mind off the girl, but yet again Akko's image sparked brightly, reforged stronger than ever before.

"Uuugh…" The little German patted the sides of her head repeatedly, frustrated at her absolute lack of progress. She'd gotten up earlier than normal and after confirming with the head nurse that Akko would be right as rain that morning, she'd thought it kind to send a few of her Stanbots to the infirmary in order to drop off all the particular effects Akko would be needing for the day. She had hoped a simple and helpful act such as that would help her move on a little so Constanze could focus her efforts on things that weren't utterly beyond her abilities as a person.

Of course, Constanze knew she'd only made her lingering feelings sting more painfully; prickling her rustic and stubborn heart with a wave of emotions so alien to her it made it practically impossible to shunt them aside.

Akko would be grateful, maybe the girl would take a minute to thank her. That was enough for Constanze, wasn't it?

She looked about herself pensively at all the scrambled items littering her workshop. The papers, the blackboards, diagrams…it all pertained to Atsuko Kagari. Renderings of her smiling innocent face, recreations of the time they'd fought together in that robot Akko had inspired her to create, a still of her laughing in joy as she rode that customised broom Constanze had built to thank her…

…It wasn't enough. That girl had a power over her that no amount of metal and material could hold back. That brief time Akko had took it upon herself to help her during the Wild Hunt remained her happiest memory to date; scorching within the furnace of her heart; powering it to a blinding flare strong enough that Constanze could believe in herself to create anything.

One of her Stanbots sauntered clumsily over to her after emerging from a little hatch in the wall. It saluted before giving a status report.

"Beep! Master. Task is finished. Atsuko has been properly supplied and outfitted. Mood levels: High. She wants to thank you."

Constanze peered at her little helper, nodding in acknowledgement and little bit of relief as she allowed herself a small smile. She did raise an eyebrow questioningly when she noticed the Stanbot was holding something in one of its stubby arms; a small glass vial containing some kind of swirling liquid she'd never laid eyes upon. The Stanbot raised the peculiar item to which Constanze took it in her hand, raising it to her eyes to get a closer look. Shades of ochre and amber twisted and turned within the vial as what seemed like miniature cyclones spun from within it; coalescing and reshaping endlessly and without momentum to the vial holding it at all.

"Hm…?" Constanze queried at the Stanbot, tearing her gaze away from the fascinating concoction which was honestly starting to give her a headache.

"Found it. Found it bzzt. In the room we were sent. On the floor. Did not belong to Akko. No Data Available. Took initiative to bring it to Master."

She nodded at that, pleased with her helpers work. After setting the vial carefully on a stand at her desk and petting her Stanbot affectionately atop its clunky head, Constanze began to pace about a little as she wondered what else to do for that day. She did have a few classes later in the day but an extended study period was the rut she found herself in until then. A few minutes were spent deliberating on whether to try and study the odd liquid brought to her, thinking it may just be some powerful fuel source she could use on a new robot prototype, but she thought better than to get stuck in; the reason being twofold. One, her expertise was metal and machines not mystery fluids and two, her concentration was still muddled with constant thoughts of that particular Japanese girl.

Constanze had been so consumed in her thoughts she'd jumped three feet into the air like a sprung cat when her friend and team mate Amanda O'Neill came flying into the room from the entrance chute in the ceiling. The brash redhead emerged with an acrobatic twirl and a confidant laugh as she stuck a perfect landing on the couch.

"Yo!" She greeted with a wide toothy smile and promptly hopped off the couch, ambling towards Constanze but slowing her pace considerably as she looked about at all the scattered Akko "Research" littering nearly ever square centimetre of that room. Constanze immediately berated herself mentally for putting off the clean up for so long, and felt an increasing heat of embarrassment flare across her face as Amanda stopped to get a better look at some of the diagrams and pictures, turning them over in her hands with wide curious eyes.

"Wow. Look at these things. Just like the other morning, huh? Only more of em." She carefully stepped over a haphazard stack of frame-by-frame renderings on the mechanics of Akko's smile. "A lot more. Is this what you've been doing lately, Cons? Didn't pin you for such an artist."

Constanze blushed madly, gripping the sides of her chair in the hope she could somehow command it to launch into space. Unfortunately that prototype was in the other room and not ready for testing.

Amanda continued to carefully edge her way through the mess and stopped again but at one of the many blackboards that time. On it was a hyper-detailed diagram of an 'AtsukoTron T-1000'; a shape-shifting robot that the German girl lacked a powerful enough memory chip to even consider building. "Hey, I like this one!" Amanda pointed to it with a cheerful chuckle. 'It says it can imitate anything it touches? Now that I'd like to see.'

The boisterous girl soon reached Constanze, regarding her patiently with hands on hips and a knowing smile to go with it.

"This is some…heavy stuff, I gotta say." Amanda began as she glanced about the room once more before settling her brilliant green eyes on the girl. She managed to pull a loose stool that had been knocked to the floor from the various debris and sat herself down, leaning expectantly towards her. Constanze couldn't move, couldn't do anything except continue to stew in the nervous shame of her own making, dreading whatever it was Amanda wanted to talk about. Considering the state of her workshop, she honestly didn't have to hazard a guess.

"Cons…you're going all red." Amanda went on, but her voice was measured, comforting even. Constanze had expected the American to berate her with jokes and jabs, so to hear her such trepidation from Amanda calmed her down a little. "You ok to talk for a bit?"

"Hm." Constanze murmured with a sharp nod, still sizzling from nervousness but with a better measure of control. Amanda could be surprisingly compassionate and understanding when she allowed herself.

"Y'know, I'm really not good at this kind of thing. But I think it'd be good if you talked to me about all this. The other day, when we went to visit Akko in the infirmary…I got a bit worried. You split right out of there without even going in. Akko seemed pretty happy to see you…"

Constanze's breath caught in her throat at the mere mention of that girl, but she stubbornly willed it to flow once more. She'd briefly pictured that warm and fuzzy image of Akko sitting up from her bed, beaming happily at the mere sight of Constanze peeking out from the doorway, the brunette's arms wide ready to wrap her up in one of those darling hugs that cleaned the little German off her feet and unto a cloud nine of intangible bliss. It'd been one of those things Constanze had never expected to miss so much at the time.

Constanze! Akko needs Hugs!

But she'd run away. Akko's light. Akko's unconditional kindness had blinded her. Had she had the nerve to leap into the waiting girls' arms, Constanze felt an immense desire to never let go would have overcome her.

"I was…" Constanze managed to peter out a scarce few words, to which Amanda leant further forward from her stool, her brow raised in slight astonishment, but graciously waited for her to continue at her own timid pace. "…Scared, Amanda. Akko is…bright. Too bright…"

Amanda hummed in reply, resting back in her seat as she looked to the ceiling, seemingly deliberating in her own thoughts.

"Constanze…" She said slowly. "There's something I need to confess. You'll hear me out, won't ya?"

Constanze nodded gently with a soft murmur under her breath, prompting the redhead to go on. She was a little taken aback with how hesitant Amanda was to speaking further as she continued to avoid eye contact; emerald green eyes tracing randomly across the ceiling as a light-pink dust of a blush glowed on her well-defined cheeks.

"Constanze…" Amanda repeated her name and thinly grit her teeth between her laboured words. "I've been trying to get a bit closer to Akko recently. It's been a lot harder than I thought. That girl's gotten a lot of new admirers lately. Sometimes I feel I can't get along with her friends any more because of the way they look at me; like I'm some snake hiding in the grass. Geez, what a pain in the ass this is turning out to be…"

She didn't know how to respond to that. What was Amanda trying to tell her? That she loved Akko too? That Constanze's childish desires would be further shoved into an abyss of apathy as Amanda, Diana, and who knows who else trampled her heart with carefree flourishes of dance that the shy girl could not imagine herself doing. Why did things always turn out that way for her? She supposed it was her fault for the most part, in particular due to her reluctance to speak, or even make that great an effort to grow closer to others as opposed to pushing them aside at gunpoint if need be.

It hurt so much. To have such feelings but be unable to express them. It seemed so easy for others to laugh and love…but for her…Constanze didn't…she couldn't…

"Listen, Cons…I'm getting a little off track. What I wanted to say was, I've been trying to get closer to Akko…for you…"

Constanze blinked in surprise at that, looking to the American girl with questioning eyes. Amanda was staring back with her nerve shaken and wavering; arms crossed tight to her chest as if shielding herself from a pain Constanze could not see.

"Akko's a great girl. A great friend to me. I don't know if I feel for her the same way you do, Cons. That's why it breaks my damn heart to see you hiding yourself away like this. I thought if I got friendlier with her, it would've helped you open up to her a little instead of doing it alone. But that didn't work…and now I feel like I made things worse for you…"

Constanze was at a loss watching the cast-iron will of her friend and team mate melt before her eyes as the American poured out her heart and soul to her. Her own insipid embarrassment was nothing in comparison to what Amanda appeared to be going through. Constanze felt…touched and cherished that her friend had such strong feelings of concern for her, even though the German girl had shut herself away like a child.

"I don't want to see you alone, Constanze. You think it gets easier but it doesn't. Trust me, I've been there. After a while you fool yourself into thinking its ok not to care, to just let crap like this go by like its a goddamn bus to a better life…I won't let that happen. I won't let you…"

Amanda stomped to her feet and leapt towards her, making Constanze yelp briefly at the sudden movement. She shut her eyes on reflex, unsure of what was happening at first, but she soon realised the much-larger girl had thrown her arms around her, cradling Constanze in a powerful and firm hug as the American buried her face in her tiny shoulder as best as could be managed.

Constanze felt an easy smile grace her face, returning the warm gesture and adding a few little pats of reassurance to Amanda's back, humming softly as she did so. That girl, her perfect mirror. For the first time in her life Constanze understood perfectly what it meant to have a true friend. Amanda wanted her to be happy, and in turn Constanze felt an invincible strength surge in her compact frame, a passion and power that belied any limitations caused by doubt, all so she could make Amanda happy in return.

"What do you want me to do?" Constanze asked her as they parted the hug slowly, surprised at the sound of her own voice coming out so steadily. Amanda rekindled her signature smirk and moved over to a wooden stand holding pads of big A3 sheets of paper nearby, flipping the current image of a Warlord Class Akko-Titan over the top to a new page before excitedly snatching a nearby blue marker and scribbling something onto the blank sheet.

Constanze watched the girls back, curious as to what the she was writing with such energy. Amanda soon stepped to the side of the page to show that she'd simply written her own name in all caps; each word big, bold and lined vertically.

"The real question, little Cons, is what you want to do!" Amanda pointed the marker at her, putting the little German on the spot with the sudden question. Normally she would've scrambled for an answer or tried to construct some sort of jetpack for a quick get away, but the steel-born determination in Amanda's eyes reinforced her courage so she answered without hesitation.

"I have to tell Akko. Tell her how I feel."

"Right! Which brings me to the first step of the patented Amanda Operations System!" The girl yelled excitedly and put the marker to the first letter of her name on the page. Constanze had no clue what kind of system Amanda was on about, but she chose to humour her nevertheless. For a moment she comprehended how people like Amanda and Akko would constantly get into trouble yet brush it off as nothing more than mere inconvenience; it felt liberating to simply go along with reckless enthusiasm. Anything was better than moping around!

Constanze continued to watch intrigued as Amanda jotted down a line next to the A on the page; completing it to read 'Assure Confession'.

"That's where it all starts. If you're the first to confess, your chances of a successful mission increase by 42 percent on that alone! Ok Cons, next we have-" Amanda wrote down the next bit next to the M as she spoke. "-Make her dreams true! Find out exactly what it is she wants to do more than anything in the world and help her any way you can to that end. It doesn't matter what as long as your heart is in it, yeah? A girl like Akko will respond to something like that."

Constanze nodded fervently, whipping out a pen and paper from a satchel on her waist. She didn't know where Amanda was pulling the metrics from, but felt compelled to intently write down everything she was saying. Her analytical mind hummed with latent power as she formulated Amanda's system in her mind to the best of her abilities and quashed any second guessing.

"Now onto the next A: ASSERT YOURSELF!" Amanda yelled loudly to hammer the point home more effectively, adding in a sharp slap to the page that spooked and amused Constanze in equal measures. "Be noticed! Take the plunge and make her see you. But remember not to force it the way Diana did at breakfast yesterday. Akko will scamper out of there faster than a mouse on sugar if she gets put on the spot. Wait for the perfect moment, and if that doesn't happen, we will make it happen!"

"Hm, hm!" Constanze offered an enthusiastic thumbs up in acknowledgement and continued to scrawl on her notepad, already four pages deep.

"Next! This is a simple one…" Amanda punched her fist into her palm, the sharp sound ringing out from the impact. "No Fear! Don't listen to that voice that tells you 'Ooh this is scary, this is a bad idea' or anything like that, right?. Punch that voice in the face and move on, got it!?"

"Ja!" Constanze yelped confidently in reply, defaulting to her mother tongue.

"Awesome, Cons! That brings us to…Don't compare! That means don't worry about what everyone else is doing. Don't think about what qualities you think they have that you might not! Every second you spend doing that is a damn waste, ya got me!?"

Constanze threw up a sharp military salute in response.

Amanda laughed at that and mimicked the gesture with a goofy yet somehow endearing flourish of her hips, displaying her penchant for exuberant dance with an added twirl as she spun quickly and planted the tip of the marker to the last letter of her name on the page.

"Last one!" Amanda threw out a devilish grin. "Wanna take a guess?"

Constanze hopped off her chair and pointed to the spot on the page with shaking triumph.

"Acquire…Akko!" She screamed louder than she ever had before in her quiet life. Amanda's face lit up in bright fervour at her response, her grin growing not only wider but also somehow softer at the same time, like a wise master just vindicated that their ancient teachings were finally grasped by their hopeful pupil.

"Ya got it, don'cha?" Amanda said in a soft voice, holding that effervescent smile. Constanze stared into the brilliant green of the American's stern eyes, suddenly feeling put on the spot for a few silent seconds until Amanda whirled her gaze back to the page and smacked each completed letter with the tip of her marker in sequence.

"A-M-A-N-D-A! The Amanda Operations System! That's that! Phew!"

With a dramatic and whooping exhale of breath Amanda dropped the marker like a smoking microphone and sat back down on her stool, fanning herself with one hand as she leaned backwards with the other gripped to the base of her seat.

"Oooh!" Constanze started to clap, genuinely impressed at such a performance. A few of her Stanbots had gathered as Amanda had been surging through her presentation and joined in with the applause, clinking their little hands together in appreciation.

"Haha, no worries. I'm just glad you didn't laugh…" Amanda chuckled a little whilst sheepishly rubbing the back of her wild tufts of fiery hair, then she eyed Constanze with a mischievous arc of her brow. "So what do you say, Cons? Ready to fly?"

Constanze mirrored the American's sly look before responding the best way she knew how; an ardent double thumbs-up.

=][=

Phew. Ok, I've got some bits written for the next chapter. Finally get to use Hannah and Barbara a little more. Hope you'll tune in, but thanks so much for reading! Any feedback is always appreciated; a Witch can never truly fly without it!