"You should wear this. We wouldn't want anyone getting hurt," Evelyn smirked as she handed Akko a necklace. The minor jab went right over Akko's head as she admired the blue gemstone in its center.
"What is it?" Akko asked.
"This amulet will protect you from substantial blows. If an attack lands on your body, this will put up a ward last minute. There will be a flash of light signifying you've been hit," Evelyn explained as she pointed to her own red stone. "We use it during sparring matches and training. A bounty hunter with broken bones is useless."
"Got it!" Akko said. "That means we don't need to hold back." Evelyn nodded, a bit surprised by Akko's enthusiasm.
"You seem confident," Evelyn said. "Remember, if the light flashes it means you've been struck. You need to accept your loss."
Akko nodded in response, meeting her gaze evenly. Evelyn was forced to acknowledge Akko. The weight of Akko's serious expression was too heavy to brush off. "Why does this mean so much to you?" Evelyn asked. There was no smirk or mockery, just honest curiosity in her voice.
"It's in pain, Evy," Akko responded. "There are times where extermination is the only answer, whether I like it or not." Akko slipped the necklace around her neck. "But not this time."
"No one else seems to mind," Evelyn said. She took a step back when she felt the atmosphere change again. Being an elf, she was more sensitive to shifts in magic. Akko was exerting pressure like a storm of magic. Maybe Akko was stronger than she looked, but it was hard to believe anyone could control such a wild magic.
"Because no one else cares, it's ok to kill it? I don't care what everyone else thinks, this is my decision," Akko returned sharply. Evelyn was quiet for a moment, eyeing Akko thoughtfully. It didn't take her long to figure out Akko's power was linked to her emotions. Evelyn's expression softened despite Akko's harsh tone.
"It's not often I meet someone so genuine," Evelyn said. "You back your words with actions. I respect that. However, don't expect me to go easy on you." Akko's glare simmered down, hostility disappearing in a blink of an eye.
The two witches took their positions, waiting for the signal to start. Akko turned her wand into her sword while Evelyn readied her staff. The audience quieted down and Wangari gave the signal to start the match—
Akko narrowly dodged a barrage of fireballs. Evelyn was on the attack, mercilessly firing at her. Akko put up a bubble-like shield, eyes widening when it waned under the strain of hissing flames. She didn't have time to think. Evelyn hurled a lightning bolt at her already waning shield. There was a slight delay before it shattered, giving Akko just enough time to evade. Evelyn tried to trip her with earth magic, but Akko jumped over the raised stones with ease. As Evelyn continued her hellfire, Akko morphed into a snake, a mouse, and finally a bird as she dodged. Akko didn't chance using her shield again, knowing Evelyn would break it with ease.
Evelyn furrowed her eyebrows, "You're only prolonging the inevitable! Why don't you just hold still so I can—"
She was cut off when Akko flew above her head and turned into an elephant. Evelyn put up her own shield, and Akko ended up landing awkwardly on top of the sphere. She looked down at Evelyn from her seat on the shield. "You're…really strong," Akko stated in awe. Evelyn huffed, unamused by the elephant butt over her head.
"My, how observant," Evelyn replied sarcastically. Akko jumped off in human form, before dashing forward and slashing at the shield. It was no use, Evelyn's shield held strong. Akko retreated and started firing her own destructive spells, but Evelyn's shield didn't budge. She gave Akko a smug grin. The difference in power was staggering. Akko wasn't deterred by this and tried to summon Gungnir, but the moment she tried to charge her spell, ice spikes rained down on her. Akko cursed and dodged again, forced to run because of Evelyn's aggression. Meanwhile, Evelyn continued her assault from the safety of her bubble. "You're quick, I'll give you that," Evelyn remarked. "I wonder how long you'll be able to keep this up?" Akko's mind raced, she couldn't get to Evelyn and the moment she stopped moving the match was over. She still had her ace, but would it be enough?
Akko started barreling toward Evelyn, blade raised. She avoided the onslaught of magic while her blade changed form. Her katana was now an oddly shaped broadsword. Akko's friends recognized the weapon. It resembled the Claiomh Solais in its final form, though there were a few adjustments to make it wield like a sword rather than staff. As Akko drew near, the sword hummed and the edges of the blade radiated with magic. Evelyn shook her head, "Are you really going to attack me with that silly prop?"
The moment Akko's blade touched her shield, the blade's gentle hum turned into a choir. Evelyn cursed when Akko's sword sliced through her shield. She was forced to jump back and Akko followed right after with a vertical slash. Evelyn parried Akko with her staff. She winced at the sheer force, then the tremor that followed made her arms shake violently. Evelyn ended up dropping her staff. She was forced to retreat. Akko picked up the staff and smiled at Evelyn.
She then proceeded to hurl it with all her strength.
Evelyn watched in horror as the staff soared far out of reach. While Evelyn was a strong witch, her staff was one of the few weapons that allowed her to use it to its fullest potential. Evelyn tried to retaliate but, Akko's sword was unlike anything she'd dealt with. Evelyn tried to blast Akko with sparks, courtesy of her magic earrings, but Akko was still too quick. Despite all her running around earlier, Akko didn't show signs of fatigue. Evelyn avoided Akko's swings with grace, but everyone could see her growing weary. Bounty hunters tended to end their battles as quickly as possible, but Evelyn made the mistake of underestimating her opponent. The tables have turned. "No one can keep up with Akko's stamina," Amanda said as she watched on.
"Don't forget that Gorilla has more strength than she can handle," Hannah added. "I can't believe she made Evelyn Cainhurst drop her staff! What kind of beast is Diana dating?"
"It didn't look like she dropped her staff from just the force," Barbara observed. Constanze started scribbling an entire paragraph in her notepad. Amanda looked over her shoulder.
"I can't understand a word of that," she said. Constanze sighed and flipped to a new page.
'Magic is moving rapidly around the blade.'
"So? What does that have to do with anything?" Amanda asked. Constanze flipped to a fresh page and wrote two words.
'MAGIC CHAINSAW' she wrote. Lotte's eyes widened at the word "chainsaw".
"Who thought it would be a good idea to let Akko wield something like that?" Sucy inquired.
'Chainsaws are cool,' Constanze responded with a pout. Amanda gave her a light thump on the head.
"Just because we let you play with your toys, doesn't mean Akko can too! Next thing you know, she'll be using a magic bazooka!" Amanda chided. The blade was originally going to debut on Akko's show. It was going to be a harmless prop until Constanze mentioned Akko could turn it into a legitimate weapon.
Back on the field, both witches were still playing cat and mouse "You're only prolonging the inevitable! Why don't you just hold still!" Akko mocked in Evelyn's accent. The match went on for too long and Evelyn's magic lost its bite. Now if only I could hit her! Akko thought. Every swing and spell, Evelyn avoided. She was untouchable and Akko was waiting for Evelyn's fatigue to set in. Unfortunately, Evelyn was almost as stubborn as her.
Akko stopped her chase. Evelyn was out of breath, but she wasn't giving in. The two engaged in a staring contest. The audience started chattering. Is this going to end in a stalemate? Then Akko lobbed her blade—no, magic chainsaw at Evelyn's face.
Taken off guard, Evelyn channeled all her magic into a wall in front of her rather than her usual sphere. It worked and Akko's blade was deflected, but Evelyn's shield cracked in the place it impacted. Evelyn let out a breath of relief. "That was stupid," Evelyn said. However, when she glanced around, Akko was nowhere to be seen. Evelyn picked up Akko's wand, no longer in its sword form. She was absolutely perplexed. Where did her opponent go? Why would she throw away her trump card when she was doing so well?
Suddenly, there was a flash of red.
Evelyn was hit.
"What!?" she shouted, looking in every direction. There was still no sign of Akko.
"I win!" came a tiny voice by her ear. Evelyn glanced at her shoulder. Akko was perched there in mouse form. Seeing Evelyn's befuddled expression, Akko made herself comfortable and started to explain Evelyn's loss. "You were so focused on protecting yourself from my sword, you didn't see me when I turned into a cat and dashed over. I turned into a mouse and climbed up easily since you only covered your front. Then I bit your ear." Akko nudged the tip of Evelyn's pointy ear for emphasis. The tactic was simple and Evelyn's face flushed in embarrassment. Bested by a mouse bite? Absurd.
"What? No, you can't win with parlor tricks!" Evelyn retorted, grabbing Akko by her tail.
"But I just did," Akko responded casually.
"You all saw it with your eyes folks! The winner is Atsuko Kagari!" Wangari announced to a bewildered audience.
"I-I can't believe this," Evelyn stammered. "How did you know such a preposterous plan would work?"
"No one expects you to throw away your weapon mid-battle! I didn't know how you'd react, but I knew you'd be shocked. I just improvised from there," Akko admitted. Evelyn gently placed Akko on the ground.
"Improvised? Such reckless behavior will get you killed!" Evelyn scolded. She let out a long drawn out sigh. "However, victory is yours. I suppose we'll be working together to help the Howler." Akko turned back into human form and gave Evelyn a hug.
"Thank you, Evy!" she smiled. The sudden gesture made Evelyn stiffen up. She returned Akko's hug awkwardly, unsure of what to do. The audience cheered, even the people who betted on Evelyn. The battle was definitely entertaining, to say the least. Akko released Evelyn and returned her amulet. She started talking Evelyn's ears off, asking her about where they should start looking and things they should bring.
"Let's save this discussion until we're inside," Evelyn interjected. Akko paused and examined the weariness on Evelyn's face.
"I guess we should take a break first," Akko suggested. "We'll go after you rest."
"I'm fine!" Evelyn lied.
"Ok, Evy," Akko responded with a smirk.
Evelyn bristled at the nickname. Akko had no intention of dropping it. "If you stay close and follow obediently," Evelyn started. Akko could see the exact moment a light bulb turned on in Evelyn's head. "Then everything will go smoothly, Pochi." Akko's face paled, her smirk disappearing. Evelyn was expecting anger or irritation, not fear. Before she could say another word, Akko turned into a mouse, scurried up her leg and hid in her hood. Evelyn cried out indignantly, demanding an explanation.
Until she noticed the answer heading toward her. Diana Cavendish was heading her audience parted allowing her to walk right into the battlefield. Evelyn froze. "Miss Cavendish! It's a pleasure to meet you. I'm—" Evelyn said nervously.
"I'm aware of who you are, Miss Cainhurst," Diana interjected. Evelyn's original arrogance was nowhere to be seen. Diana's very presence and charisma seemed to command the air itself, as everything stilled when she spoke. "Where is she?" Diana demanded. Evelyn was confused for a moment until she felt Akko wiggle in her hood. She reached in captured her before handing Diana the reluctant mouse.
"Good afternoon, Princess!" Akko said. Evelyn fidgeted while the audience stayed and looked on at the drama.
"One day. I leave for one day and you start picking fights with beasts and bounty hunters!" Diana seethed. Akko hugged Diana's thumb, giving her most innocent expression.
"You couldn't even take a minute to contact me first?" Diana continued.
"I'm sorry, Diana," Akko apologized. She jumped down and turned back into human form. She was going to give Diana a hug but Diana pulled her in first.
"I'm not mad at you for wanting to help others. That's who you are and I love that about you but by the Nine! Couldn't you have sent a single message? Did you have to rush into this alone?" Diana said, now sounding more hurt than angry. Akko's stomach twisted. Diana always tried to include her in everything, yet she went off recklessly on her own again. Akko knew she'd follow Evelyn in the hunt without a second thought if Diana didn't show up.
"I wasn't thinking. I'm sorry, Princess. It wasn't intentional," Akko responded holding Diana tightly. "I'll be more careful from now on." Akko had a sense of déjà vu. How many times had she said those very same words in the past?
Diana was quiet for a moment. "Do you think I'm…over reacting?" she asked with genuine concern. Diana was starting to wonder if she was taking things too seriously. Akko did this so often and Diana knew Akko would never intentionally distress her. Maybe she was the one with the problem?
"No! You're looking out for me and I'm— "Akko hesitated, "taking you for granted." Diana pulled away to look Akko in the eyes. Diana's gentle expression made Akko feel even guiltier. Sure enough, big tears formed in her eyes. Diana giggled and brushed them away.
"I missed you, you crybaby," Diana jested before placing a kiss on Akko's nose. Akko snuggled closer, hundreds of apologies muffled in Diana's shirt. Diana forgot Evelyn was standing there until their eyes met.
"I'm sorry! I didn't realize she was that Atsuko Kagari!" Evelyn blurted. She just attacked Diana Cavendish's girlfriend. Evelyn bowed and uttered even more apologies. Diana was now bombarded with apologies from both witches while the audience shuffled away.
"That was the closest thing to a fight I've ever seen between them," Sucy commented as she watched Diana try to calm both witches.
"That was a squabble at best," Lotte chuckled.
"Barb, should we help Diana?" Hannah asked as she watched Diana sigh again. Barbara didn't even spare a glance at the trio.
"Don't worry, Diana's good at handling stuff like this," Barbara assured while leading Hannah away by her hand.
Diana later returned to the common room dragging both witches behind her. Akko and Evelyn were now bickering over nicknames-or something. Diana was just happy Akko was back to her energetic self. There were still rough patches and things they needed to work, but they were trying. Maybe that in itself is enough?
Author's Notes
Fawk this fight scene. I wish time equaled quality. I scrapped this a few times. Feel free to leave criticism.
Oh, and I have a Tumblr with lots of Akko X Diana stuff. This site censors links and emails, but my name's KiwiKagari on Tumblr too. You can contact me anonymously there too.