Akko Kagari and the Evil Within
Chapter Eleven: The Dueling Club
Akko woke up on Sunday morning to find the hospital wing blazing with winter sunlight and her elbow healed but very stiff. Akko sat up quickly and looked around for Evie, but it seemed she had already been moved to quarantine; where that is, Akko had no idea. Seeing that she was awake, Porlyusica came bustling over with a breakfast tray and then began bending and stretching her arm.
"Everything seems to be in order," she said as Akko clumsily fed herself porridge left-handed. "When you've finished eating, you may leave."
Akko dressed as quickly as she could and hurried off to Polaris Tower, desperate to tell everyone about Evie and her ninja visitor, but they weren't there. Akko left to look for them, wondering where they could have gotten to and feeling slightly hurt that they weren't interested in whether she had her bones fixed or not.
As Akko passed the library, Blair came strolling out of it, looking in very high spirits as she flipped through a book entitled "How to Raise your Dragon" by Hiccup.
"Oh, hey there, Akko," she said. "Heard about what happened yesterday. Sorry I couldn't be there. I've been going off campus on weekends to visit Eco. She's just the cutest little thing – "
"You haven't seen Lotte or Sucy, have you?" Akko interrupted what could only be described as maternal babbling.
"Hmm, now that I think about it," Blair hummed, tapping her chin in thought. "I think I saw them heading to the southwest area of campus. But the only thing there is the New Moon Tower."
"The New Moon Tower?" Akko repeated curiously.
"Oh, these days they call it the Abandoned Tower," said Blair. "Back when I was in school, it was used as a research facility for magical study. Croix converted it into her own personal lab when she was in school with special permission from the headmistress."
"Croix has a secret lab on campus?" asked Akko.
"Not anymore," said Blair. "When Croix was expelled twenty years ago, she sealed it shut so that no one could get in; she had a lot of dangerous stuff inside there. I don't think she's ever gone back since she became a teacher. Maybe O'Neill thought they could break in and steal whatever tech is inside. Heh, like they could ever get past Croix's defenses."
Akko forced a laugh, watched Blair walk out of sight, and then ran downstairs through the front doors, across the lawn, and went straight to the tower on the southwest side of campus. How could she have not noticed it before? It was one the place where they held the famous Sorcerer's Stone. Akko came up to the massive stone doors etched with the Luna Nova emblem and had to shoulder her way inside when the door refused to budge. Inside the tower was a long, spiraling staircase that ascended to the top of a wide pillar with hundreds of stone statues standing in alcoves like watchful sentinels. Akko grimaced, wishing she had the foresight to bring Shooting Star with her so she didn't have to climb the whole way.
There must have been over a million steps – whoever built this tower was a sadist in Akko's mind – but she managed to make it to the top in good time. She spotted Sucy and Lotte standing over a large cauldron with a crackling fire underneath; Lotte was adding the next ingredient while Sucy stirred, cackling wickedly. Amanda and Constanze were near a massive steel door that looked like it belonged to a high-security vault, trying to break it open with a drill attachment on Stan-Bot, only for the drill to snap on the surface. Jasminka had been sitting on the edge of the pillar with a fresh bag of chips, being the only one to notice Akko when she reached the top step.
"Hey, Akko, how's your arm?" she asked politely.
There was a clunk, a splash, and a gasp as the rest of their little group spun around, finally taking noticing of Akko's arrival. Lotte was the only one that ran up to Akko while Sucy remained stirring and Amanda and Constanze were trying to hide their attempts at breaking into Croix's lab.
"Akko!" Lotte gasped. "You had us so worried! Are you sure you're okay?"
"I'm fine," said Akko calmly. "What are you all doing here, besides trying to break into private property." She directed that comment toward Amanda.
"We thought about coming to meet you, but Ina's package arrived this morning and we thought we'd get a head start on the Golden Perfect," Sucy explained. "We thought this would be the best place to hide it because no one comes here. Amanda and Constanze have been trying to break through that security door for the last hour."
"I don't think you're gonna get anywhere with that," said Akko. "That's Professor Croix's old lab and she locked it up so tight that no one could break in. Anyway, listen, you'll never believe what happened last night – "
"We already know," Lotte interrupted her. "We heard Professor Ursula telling Professor Finnelan this morning. That's why we decided we'd better get going – "
"The sooner we get a confession out of Diana, the better," said Amanda. "D'you know what I think? She was in such a bad mood about what happened during the race that she took it out on poor Evie."
"Diana tried to save me during that match!" said Akko fiercely. "Diana is innocent until proven guilty!"
"You're only saying that because you have a huge crush on her," Amanda retorted.
"I – wha – uh – I have no idea what you're talking about!" Akko sputtered, her face feeling very hot. "A-and besides that, there's something else. That ninja girl came to visit me in the middle of the night."
Everyone looked at her, amazed. Akko told them everything the little ninja had told her – or hadn't told her.
"So the Purifiers are the ones behind this," said Lotte, "and now they're targeting the school to eliminate the next generation of Demi-Humans."
"It certainly sounds like Professor Croix knows more than she's letting on," said Amanda, translating for Constanze's silent language. "She said that the people who knew about this virus are already dead, so that means she knew about what's causing this disease and who used it before. If she knows so much about this virus, then why hasn't she done anything to stop it? Wait a sec…you don't think Professor Croix and Diana are working together on this, do you?"
"Remember last year when we though Croix was the bad guy trying to take the Shiny Rod," Jasminka jumped in defensively. "But all along, she was trying to keep Akko safe. I'm sure that Professor Croix is doing everything she can to figure this out."
"This is so confusing," said Lotte with a heavy sigh. "The more we look into this, the less we understand. It's just like our first year all over again."
"Only this time we have crazy midget ninjas instead of mind-controlled minotaurs," said Sucy sarcastically. "That little girl is the one that stopped Akko and Amanda from getting on the train and the one that broke Akko's arm. You know what, Akko? If she doesn't stop trying to save your life, she might end up killing you."
The news that Evie Winters had been infected and was now kept under lock and key in quarantine had spread through the entire school by Monday morning. The air was suddenly thick with rumor and suspicion. The first years were now moving around the castle in tight-knit groups, as though scared they would be attacked if they ventured forth alone.
Akko was even more worried about Diana, who looked to be getting worse every time she saw her. Her skin was constantly flushed, looking like she might collapse at any moment, and her once glistening platinum-blonde hair was frayed and lack-luster from days of neglect. Amanda spared no effort to point out that Diana's condition only grew worse after every attack, and though Akko wanted to argue that it was just nerves, she couldn't deny the possibility of a connection.
Meanwhile, hidden from the teachers, a roaring trade in talismans, amulets, and other protective devices was sweeping the school. Naturally, the crew of Amanda, Constanze and Jasminka capitalized on the market, performing secret dealings in bathrooms, broom closets, and, if they were bold enough, during classes. Akko and Lotte caught Amanda in the middle of haggling a large, evil-smelling onion, a pointed purple crystal, and a rotting newt tail to Sóla Lokisdottir from Corona house when Lotte berated her for taking advantage of everyone's fears.
"I'm just trying to make everyone feel safer around school," said Amanda smoothly, slipping a disfigured shrunken head into Sola's hands. "And if they happen to give me money for their gratitude, who am I to refuse?"
In the second week of December Professor Ursula came around as usual, collecting names of those who would be staying at school for Christmas. It took a lot of effort for Akko to convince her parents to let her stay for Christmas – her mother was very sore for the stunt she pulled at the beginning of the year – but when she expressed concerns about Diana's deteriorating health, they conceded only if she promised to come back for Easter holidays. Sucy and Lotte volunteered to stay as well, but Amanda, Jasminka, and Constanze couldn't get out of their prior obligations. They had also heard that Diana, Hannah, and Barbara were staying for the holidays, which did nothing to alleviate Akko's concerns. The holidays would be the perfect time to use the Golden Perfect and try to slip it to Diana.
Unfortunately, the potion was only half finished. They managed to get newborn dragon scales from Aurora, Amanda's oldest sister currently living in the Lautreamont Knight Kingdom, but they still needed to get the powdered unicorn horns, which Sucy insisted needed to be recovered fresh if the potion was going to work best. The only place where they could hope to find a unicorn was in the dense Arcturus Forest.
"Remind me again why we can't just steal the stuff from Professor Hex's lab," Akko complained Thursday afternoon as Sucy lead her and Lotte through the thick brush of the forest.
"Because Professor Hex has a lot of spells guarding his closet," said Sucy like it was the most obvious thing in the world, "and I'm pretty sure most of them will kill you. And even if it didn't, you'd probably get expelled if you were caught, Akko."
"But how are we even supposed to find a unicorn?" asked Lotte. "They are most elusive magical creatures in the world. The chance of running across one are a million to one – "
"Found one," said Sucy.
"Wow, that was easy," said Lotte shockingly.
Akko, Sucy, and Lotte crouched low behind bush as they slowly peered around a small clearing where their target had stopped. Here as Akko was expecting to see a beautiful, majestic horse with a coat of silky silver and a glistening white mane, she quickly understood just how disappointing reality really was.
The unicorn was far from beautiful – it's legs were so boney and shaky that they barely supported its round, overweight body, its skinny tail looked more like a donkey with a repugnant smell to match, and several disproportionate buck teeth were exposed over its lips. The only thing that made it look made it remotely look like a unicorn was the long, pointed silver horn sticking out of its forehead.
"That's a unicorn?" said Akko, disappointed. "Man, that's so lame."
"Akko, keep your voice down, you might spook it," hissed Lotte.
"Look at the legs on that thing; it's not going anywhere," said Akko, standing up in plain view. "Let's just grab the stupid thing's horn and – "
The unicorn turned its head and Lotte barely managed to pull Akko down by her sleeve before a beam of white light blasted through the space where she once stood. Akko's jaw dropped when she looked at the sizzling hole gaping through the bush and the holes in the dozen trees in its path; two of them fell over with heavy thuds. The girls peeked over the bush and spotted the Unicorn turning on them with its eyes narrowed dangerously and its horn radiating with power.
"It can shoot lasers from its horn?" Akko yelped.
"That's why unicorns are so elusive," said Lotte
"Because no one's crazy enough to get close to one," Sucy added dryly.
The unicorn shot another laser at their bush and the girls quickly jumped out of the way; Akko bounced to the right and Lotte and Sucy exited to the left. Unfortunately for Akko, the unicorn seemed to hold a grudge against her as it steadly followed her around with its horn trained on the witch-in-training; it must have heard her call it stupid. Akko squeaked and scrambled to her feet, dashing out of the way just before another laser shot at her spot, creating a small fire in her place. She tried taking cover behind a thick tree, but then another white laser shot through the trunk like it was made of paper, barely missing Akko's head by a few inches. Akko cried in panic and just started running around, feeling very much like she had landed in a George Lucas film.
Sucy and Lotte were just watching the entire scene play out in the background; Sucy giggled when Akko tripped and went sliding across the forest floor with her face.
"Sucy, don't you think we should help her?" asked Lotte worriedly.
"Maybe in a little bit," said Sucy with a wide grin. "I wanna see if the Unicorn burns all her hair off."
"Sucy!" Lotte shouted, stamping her feet with authority.
"Ugh, fine," Sucy groaned.
Sucy practically glided up to the Unicorn while the hideous animal was busy shooting at Akko. Sucy reached inside her cloak and pulled out a bottle of all-too-familiar venomous-green liquid with made a skull and crossbones out of smoke when she uncorked it. Sucy dumped the contents over the unicorn's head and –
Akko and Lotte immediately looked away and covered their ears from them the unicorn's mutilated cries; vivid memories of last year's minotaur incident coming to the front of their minds. Neither of dared to turn around until Sucy causally strolled between them, carrying the Unicorn's untouched horn.
"I sometimes forget just how scary you really are," Akko told Sucy as they and Lotte hurried back to the New Moon Tower.
"Heh, thanks," said Sucy proudly as she threw the new ingredient into the cauldron and began stirring feverishly. "With this, it'll be ready in two weeks."
"You do realize what we just did, right?" said Lotte uncomfortably. "We just killed an endangered species. We could have just knocked it out and cut off its horn."
"Eh, no one likes unicorns anyway," said Sucy with a shrug as the potion frothed and bubbled.
A week later, the Polaris group was walking across the entrance hall when they saw a small knot of people gathered around the notice board, reading a piece of paper that had just been pinned up. Nanoha and her best friend, Fate Testarossa, beckoned them over, looking excited.
"They're starting a Dueling Club!" said Nanoha. "First meeting tonight! I wouldn't mind dueling lessons; they might come in handy one of these days…."
"What, you think knowing how to zap people is gonna stop you from getting infected?" said Amanda, but she, too, read the sign with interest.
"Could be useful," said Jasminka as they went into dinner. "Should we go?"
Akko and the others were all for it, so at eight o'clock that evening they hurried back to the dining room. The hundreds of tables had been pushed to the sides and a golden stage had appeared in the front, lit by thousands of glowing fairies overhead. Most of the school seemed to be packed in the room, all carrying their wands and staffs, looking excited.
"I wonder who'll be teaching us?" said Lotte as they edged into the chattering crowd. "Someone told me Professor Ymir used to be a war veteran – maybe it'll be her."
"After what happened during detention last year, I'll believe that," said Akko, remembering the incident from when Ymir saved her and Diana from one of Barbara's attacks.
But to Akko's surprise, it was Professor Ursula that was walking onto the stage, having discard her usual teaching tunic and donned a simple combat uniform of dark pants and short-sleeved shirt. She was accompanied by Professor Croix, who looked the same sans the cape.
Ursula waved an arm for silence and called, "Gather round, gather round! Can everyone see me? Can you all hear me? Excellent!"
"Now, Headmistress Holbrooke had granted me permission to start this dueling club, to train you all in case you ever need to defend yourselves. I would hope that you would never be in a situation where you would require these lessons, but given recent events, we feel it would be for the best.
"Let me introduce my assistant, Professor Croix Meridies," said Ursula, flashing a wide smile. "Croix and I both have experience in dueling in the past, though often my colleague likes to go a little overboard."
Croix grinned, not even denying the accusation.
"Professor Croix and I will provide you with a little demonstration," said Ursula. "Um, if you all wouldn't mind stepping back a little – thank you."
Ursula and Croix turned to face each other and gave a gentlemanly bow; Croix did so with an extravagant twirling of her hand while Ursula rolled her eyes at her partner's antics. Ursula raised her wand like a sword in front of her while Croix crossed her arms smugly; four Sorcerer Units hovered down from the ceiling around her.
"It might not be as easy in actual combat," Ursula told the silent crowd, "but proper form is always the foundation for a good defensive strategy. Always be conscious of your footing and keep your wand close to your chest at all times for faster reflex time. Now on the count of three, we will cast our first spells. Neither of us will be aiming to kill, of course."
"Ten bucks say they make out," said Amanda, grinning.
"What is wrong with you?" said Akko.
"One – two – three – "
Croix wasted no time sending her Sorcerer Units flying at Ursula. The blue-haired teacher shot a beam of energy from her wand without needing to recite the spell, tearing one of the machines into scrap. As the remaining Sorcerer Units came flying at her, Ursula bended backwards just underneath them, slapped her hands on the stage, and performed an elegant backflip. During mid-flip, she swung her leg in an arc above and smashed her foot through another one of the Sorcerer Units, displaying a feat of strength no one would have expected from the timid teacher.
Ursula landed on her feet and dashed across the stage, summoning a sword of energy from her wand. She leapt into the air for an overhead strike, but Croix's two remaining Sorcerer Units quickly came to her defense, opening their side panels to a set of projectors. The Sorcerer Units emitted beams of light the formed a spherical force field around the magical scientist. Ursula's energy sword clashed with Croix's force field, showing green sharks all over the stage.
Students were in mixed states of awe and admiration; some like Akko were cheering loudly. Lotte was dancing on her tiptoes. "Don't you think they're going overboard?" she squealed through her fingers.
"Who cares?" said Akko and Amanda together; Constanze gave a double thumbs-up.
Ursula bounced away to the opposite side of the stage. She evaporated her energy sword and returned the wand to her belt as Croix shut off her Sorcerer Units.
"That's just a little bit of what we hope to teach you," said Ursula. "Now we're not expecting you to doing something like out of a Galaxy Fight movie – those were just some advance level spells Croix and I thought might interest you – but we hope you learn the important of maintaining your composure and always be thinking ahead. Rushing in without a plan is suicidal – I'm speaking to you in particular, Miss Kagari" – several students snickered, including Sucy – "Right then, I think that's enough of a demonstration. Professor Croix and I are going to be coming around and put you all into pairs. Please wait patiently to be sorted – "
They moved through the crowd, matching up partners. Ursula teamed Jasminka with Makoto Kowata, but Croix reached Akko's group first.
"All right, girls, time to step out of your comfort zones," she said with an amused smirk. "Let's see – Jansson, you'll be working with Vasquez. Kagari – "
Akko moved automatically toward Sucy.
"Do you really want Manbavaran as your partner?" asked Croix; Akko automatically stepped away from Sucy. "That's what I thought. Kagari, you'll be paired up with England. I'm sure you two will…mostly not hurt each other. And you, Manbavaran – you can work with miss Dubois. Try not to kill her."
"No promises," said Sucy.
Hannah strutted over, smirking. There was no one in Luna Nova Academy who was more devoted – or more likely, obsessed – to Diana Cavendish than her. While Diana never considered Akko her rival, and for good reason, Hannah had always felt threatened by Akko ever since last year during their brief bout of friendship over their mutual love of Shiny Chariot. Akko had the distinct feeling that Hannah wasn't gonna go easy on her just because she wasn't good at magic.
"Face your partner!" called Ursula, back on the stage. "And bow!"
Akko and Hannah barely inclined their heads, not taking their eyes off each other.
"Wands at the ready!" shouted Ursula. "When I count to three, cast your charms to disarm your opponents – only to disarm them – we don't want any accidents – one…two…three – "
Akko swung her wand high, but Hannah had already started on "two": her spell hit Akko so hard she felt as though she'd been hit over the head by a frying pan. She stumbled, but everything still seemed to be working, and wasting no more time, Akko pointed her wand at Hannah and shouted one of the few spells she had been able to master: "Belga Veeda!"
A shot of green energy hit Hannah in the chest, sending her flying on her back.
"I said disarm only!" Ursula shouted in alarm over the heads of the battling crowd, as Hannah flopped over on her knees, wheezing. Akko hung back, with a vague feeling it would be unsporting to bewitch Hannah while she was on the floor, but this was a mistake; gasping for breath, Hannah pointed her wand at Akko's feet, chocked, "Label Forminis!"and the next second, Akko found herself sinking into the floor from the waist down.
"Stop! Stop!" screamed Ursula, but Croix took charge.
One of her Sorcerer Units released a pulse of green energy; the floor spat out Akko like a piece of used gum and she looked around as the room suddenly fell silent. Jasminka was sitting on Makoto's back, the latter trying to reach her wand; Priscilla Vasquez was holding up an ashen-faced Lotte, apologizing for whatever spell she had used; Sucy was admiring a giant mushroom that with Chloe Dubois. It finally happened, Akko thought; Sucy finally turned someone into a mushroom.
"Well, that certainly could have gone better," said Ursula, skittering through the crowd, looking at the aftermath of the duels. "Miss Antonenko, please stop sitting on Miss Kowata…Careful there, Miss Minoru…Ah, don't pick that, Miss McVinegar –
"Maybe we should have started this lesson by teaching them how to block spells," said Ursula, standing flustered in the midst of the hall. "Maybe we should start with a volunteer pair – Miss Vasquez and Miss Jansson, how about you – "
"Yeah, I don't think Miss Jansson is in any condition to be giving any demonstrations," said Croix, looking up and down Lotte, covered in soot. "She looks like she could fall over with a breeze. Maybe someone with thicker skin…. How about Kagari and England?"
"Hmm, I suppose that would be best," said Ursula thoughtfully, gesturing Akko and Hannah into the middle of the hall as the crowd backed away to give them room.
"Now, Akko," said Ursula. "I don't want you to use the Shiny Rod – "
"I know, professor," groaned Akko. "Never use the Shiny Rod for selfish desires."
"Just want to make sure," said Ursula. "You do have a tendency to go out of your way to get what you want."
Croix moved closer to Hannah, bent down, and whispered something in her ear. Hannah smirked. Akko looked up nervously at Ursula and said, "Professor, are you sure I can't use the Shiny Rod? Just this once?"
"Scared?" muttered Hannah, so that Ursula couldn't hear her.
"You wish," said Akko out of the corner of her mouth.
Ursula pulled Akko back some and said, "Just remember that spell Blair's been having you practice and you should do fine."
"But I never got it to work," said Akko.
"Now's a good time as any," said Ursula, standing up straight and walking to the side with Croix. "Both duelists ready! Three – two – one – go!"
Akko raised her wand quickly and bellowed, "Metamorphie Faciesse!"
The Animal Transformation spell, said to be one of the most versatile spells in magic and, according to Blair, Akko's magical affinity. Akko didn't know what she was basing this off of considering she had never done a single transformation in her life, but Akko liked to think she had some talent. Unfortunately, her spell completely missed its intended target and bounced back to Akko, giving her a pair of long rabbit ears and a pink button nose. The hall broke out in fits of giggles and laughter; Ursula scratched her chin nervously while Croix tried to disguise her laugh as a ragged cough.
"Oh my god, just when I thought you couldn't get any lamer!" Hannah cackled cruelly. "You're so useless. It's a wonder how you even got into Luna Nova in the first place when you can't even do a simple transformation spell. Here, let me show you how real witches do magic – "
Akko was used to the mockery and humiliation, always bouncing between being the best Chariot Racer in school to the worst student to ever set foot in Luna Nova. But something different this time. Their taunting laughter seemed to be amplified a hundredfold, bouncing around like an echo in her head. And she might have been imagining it, but there was something about the way they were looking at her that seemed so…menacing, so scornful, like they wanted to hurt her. Akko pulled down her rabbit ears, trying vainly to block them out. She wanted to scream – she wanted to shout –
"SHUT UP!"
When Akko opened her eyes again, she realized that no one was laughing any more; they weren't even looking at her. All eyes were drawn to Hannah, who had suddenly dropped her wand and was holding her head like she was having a migraine. Hannah was making a lot of grunting noises and her limbs were twitching restlessly. Ursula and Croix were approaching her cautiously; Ursula had her wand out and Croix whipped out her phone.
Hannah stopped twitching and her arms fell limp at her sides. She let out a long, rattling breath as she slowly turned until she was facing Makoto Kowata. Her movements were sluggish, like her arms and legs were weighed down by cinder blocks. Then, only a few feet away from her, Hannah snapped her head up; her face was an unnatural gray color and black veins were crawling across her skin – she was infected!
Hannah lunged at Makoto, but Croix's Sorcerer Units smashed into the side of her face to knock Hannah to the ground. Before she could get up, Ursula hit her with a spell that Petrified her into place, making her still as a statue.
Akko ran over to Makoto worriedly, expecting her to be frightened of Hannah's near miss – what she wasn't expecting was for Makoto to be frightened of her.
"Stay away from me!" she screamed, and before Akko could say anything, Makoto had turned and ran out of the hall like she was being chased by Arcas.
Ursula and Croix, too, were looking at Akko in an unexpected way: Ursula's brow was furrowed in a hardened expression while Croix stared, shrewd and calculating. Akko was also dimly aware of an ominous muttering all around the walls. Then she felt a tugging on the back of her tunic and was suddenly lifted off the ground onto Jasminka's shoulders.
"Come on," said Sucy's voice in her ear. "Let's get out of here – "
Jasminka carried her out of the hall, her roommates hurrying alongside them. As they went through the doors, the people on either side drew away as though they were frightened of being infected as well. Akko didn't have a clue what was going on, but she was smart enough to know that it looked bad. Her friends weren't saying anything until they dragged her all the way up to the empty Polaris common room Jasminka dumped Akko into an armchair and Sucy said, "If there was a record for how bad a person could screw up, you would break it."
"It's not what it looks like – " Akko sputtered.
"It looked like you threw a fit and Hannah got infected," said Amanda. "Okay, come clean, you don't have anything to do with - ?"
"No!" yelled Akko, looking scandalized. "I can't believe you would even ask that!"
"You have to look at this from our point of view, Akko," said Lotte calmly, gently pushing Akko back in her seat. "The whole school saw it happen and what they saw was you yelling at Hannah just before she turned. That's incriminating no matter how you look at it."
"And there's the fact that Akko would have a motive for each of the attacks," Sucy included. "Lightning was the captain of the Lunar Chariot Race team. When she found out that she was going to be racing against Diana, she would have felt threatened and try to put the team out of commission. Then there was Evie. She's always clinging to Akko like a leech. She would have had dozens of opportunities to infect her, so when she got her butt kicked by that midget ninja, she decided to take it out on poor Evie. And we just saw Hannah publicly humiliate her – "
"Okay, yeah, it looks bad!" Akko snapped. "But I didn't do it! I mean, why would I want to get rid of all the Demi-Humans? I'm a Demi-Human, too!"
"Who was raised by humans," Jasminka pointed out.
"Yeah, and you know people are going to pick up on that," said Lotte worriedly. "People will probably start accusing your mom and dad of being Purifiers who raised you to be some kind of sleeper agent or something – "
"But I'm not!" said Akko, with a panic she couldn't quite explain. "I'm…I love magic more than anything in the world…."
"And we know that, Akko," said Lotte soothingly. "But it'll be hard to convince anyone else after today…."
Akko lay awake for hours that night. Through a gap in the curtain around her four-poster she watched the snow starting to drift past the tower window and wondered…
How did Hannah suddenly become infected in front of the entire school like that? Was Akko being set up, or was everyone correct in believing that she may have unintentionally caused her to turn. Akko had waited for nearly an hour in the common room, expected Ursula or even Professor Holbrooke to interrogate her, but no one ever came. Either they didn't believe she was responsible, or they were being cautious around her. At this point, Akko wasn't feeling to optimistic.
Quietly, Akko tried to see if she could summon up whatever was infecting the school, holding up her own hand and staring at it so hard she might end up glaring a hole through it. Nothing happened, of course, which strangely did not make her feel any better. If she was the one responsible for the infection, at least she would have been able to take steps to prevent it.
"I can't be the plague bearer, Akko thought. My mom was Shiny Chariot, the purest witch that ever lived. The Shiny Rod bonded with me. Even the Magic Mirror said I belonged in Polaris, so I can't be evil….
Ah, said a nasty little voice in her brain, but the Magic Mirror wanted to put you in Eclipse, don't you remember? Just like Aradia….
Akko turned over. She'd see Makoto the next day in Charms and she'd explain that she wasn't the one who infected Hannah and had no plans of attacking her either, which (she thought angrily, pummeling her pillow) any fool should have realized.
The next morning, however, Makoto had not been in Charms class. Akko was used to feeling singled out in class for her lack of talent, but now she felt singled out because the majority of the class had moved their seats to be as far away from her as possible. Even the usually cheerful Professor Akane seemed unnaturally cold toward Akko, refusing to answer her questions and throwing her assignment from across the room. Akko supposed she should have expected this since Makoto was Professor Akane's younger sister. Professor Akane cut class earlier that day, appearing to be in a great hurry as she zoomed out of class before anyone had got up from their seats.
Akko fretted about this next to the fire in the Polaris common room while the others observed Constanze absolutely destroying Lotte in a game of chess.
"For mushroom's sake, Akko," said Sucy, exasperatedly, as one of Constanze's bishops took Lotte's knight. "Just go and find Makoto if it's so important to you."
So Akko got up and left through the hidden wall, wondering where Makoto might be.
The castle was darker than it usually was in daytime because of the thick, swirling gray snow at every window. Shivering, Akko walked past classrooms where afternoon lessons were taking place, catching snatches of what was happening within. Professor Finnelan was shouting at someone who, by the sound of it, had turned her friend into a warthog. Resisting the urge to take a look, Akko walked on by, thinking that Makoto might be using her free time to catch up on some work, and deciding to check the library first.
A group of Twilights who had been in Charms were indeed sitting at the back of the library, but they didn't seem to be working. Between the long lines of high bookshelves, Akko could see that their heads were close together and they were having what looked like an absorbing conversation. She couldn't see whether Makoto was among them. She was walking toward them when something of what they were saying met her ears, and she paused to listen, hidden in the invisibility section.
"So anyway," Alice Little was saying, "I told Makoto to hide up in our dorm. What I mean is, if Kagari's marked her down as her next victim, it'd be better if she keeps a low profile for a while. I always knew there was something weird about that Kagari girl. There's no way someone could have so little magical talent and still be able to keep up with someone like Cavendish."
"You really think it is Kagari, then, Alice?" said Zizi Delevingne.
"Zizi," said Alice solemnly, "you saw it for yourself. One moment she's the laughing stock of the entire school, the next moment she gets pissed off and Hannah turns in the middle of the entire school. That's not something that can be counted as a coincidence. And remember Lightning and that Evie girl who's always hanging around her? Kagari had a reason to infect every one of them."
"She's always been so nice, though," said Zizi uncertainly, "and, well, she's the one who saved Diana from that minotaur last year and stopped Barbara from stealing the Shiny Rod."
Alice lowered her voice mysteriously, the Twilight students bent closer, and Akko edged closer so that she could catch Alice's words.
"No one knows what really happened last year. Everyone in the school knew that Kagari was the worst student in school, but what if it was an act. I'll bet you anything she's the one that sent that Minotaur after Cavendish and then 'rescued' her to make herself look like a hero to throw everyone off. I'll bet she was even the one that planted all those nasty rumors about Barbara being the one trying to kill Cavendish and steal the Shiny Rod for herself. I'd wager a hundred pounds that Barbara was the one trying to stop Kagari from doing all those terrible things last year, but Kagari used her Purifier tricks to defeat her and stole the Shiny Rod so that no one else could use it to stop her. But she made a mistake; she's shown her true colors now. All that's left is for the headmistress to kick her ass out of Luna Nova."
Akko couldn't take anymore. Clearing her throat loudly, she stepped out from behind the bookshelves. If she hadn't been feeling so angry, she would have found the sight that greeted her funny: Every one of the Twilight students looked as though they had been petrified by the sight of her, and the color was draining out of Alice's pale skin.
"Hello," said Akko. "I'm looking for Makoto."
The Twilight's worst fears had clearly been confirmed. They all looked fearfully at Alice.
"What do you want with her?" said Alice in a quivering voice.
"I wanted to tell her what really happened at the Dueling Club," said Akko.
Alice bit her lips and then, taking a deep breath, said, "We were all there. We saw what happened."
"Then you would know that I never even touched Hannah during our duel," said Akko. "I couldn't even get a metamorphosis spell to work."
"Obviously a misdirection," said Alice stubbornly, though she was trembling as she spoke. "It's very fishy how you can pull off a super complicated spell like the Shiny Arc, but can't even do a simple metamorphosis spell. Maybe you've been lying to us this whole time and are actually good at magic. Yeah, that way no one would suspect you."
"No, I suck at magic!" Akko said, her voice shaking with anger. "The Shiny Arc is just different, okay!"
"As if I'd ever believe you," said Alice. "And in case you're getting any ideas," she added hastily, "you should know my family's magical liniage dates back eight hundred years. My magical bloodline is just as powerful as the Cavendish, so – "
"Why would you think I even care?" said Akko furiously. "My mom is Shiny Chariot! I'm a pureblooded Demi-Human like you!"
"But you were raised by humans," said Alice swiftly. "They probably taught you all about being a murderous Purifier – "
Alice promptly shut her mouth when Akko slammed her fist on the table, leering at her.
"I don't care what you say about me," she hissed, "but don't you ever talk bad about Otou-san and Okaa-san…."
She turned on her heel and stormed out of the library, earning herself a reproving glare from Professor Badcock, who was polishing the gilded cover of a large spellbook.
Akko blundered up the corridor, barely noticing where she was going, she was in such a fury. The result was that she walked into someone as she turned the corner, which knocked her backward onto the floor.
"Oh, sorry about that, Professor Croix," Akko said, looking up.
The technological teacher shook her head to dismiss the apology, brushing her disheveled hair out of her face. Now that Akko had a better look, it seemed like Croix was extremely exhausted and only moving through sheer willpower. Her normal immaculate and calculated clothes had a number of noticeable stains, her perfectly coiffed hair looked akin to a rat's nest, and there were deep bags under her eyes, a clear sign that she hadn't slept in a while. There were a number of books tucked underneath her arm.
"You all right, Miss Kagari?" she said. "Why aren't you in class?"
"Professor Akane cut it early," said Akko, getting up. "What are you up to?"
She held up the books – they were all medical texts.
"Been up all night studying the infection," she explained. "I'm still waiting for the BSAA to send their research notes over, but I thought I would try to get a head start. The sooner I can recreate a vaccine, the sooner we can end this madness." She peered more closely at Akko with deeply concerned eyes. "Are you sure you're all right? You look upset – "
Akko couldn't bring herself to repeat what Alice and the rest of the Twilights had been saying about her.
"It's nothing," she said. "I'd better get going, Professor Croix, it's alchemy next and I need to pick up my books before Professor Finnelan finds another reason to expel me."
She walked off, her mind still full of what Alice had been saying about her.
Akko stamped up the stairs and turned along another corridor, which was particularly dark; the fairies had seemed to have wandered off, seemed was most unusual for the hard-working sprites. A strong, icy draft was blowing through a loose windowpane, making her shiver. She was halfway down the passage when she tripped headlong over something lying on the floor.
Akko groaned, rubbing her head, which was throbbing painfully, when she felt something wrap around her ankle. She flipped around and suddenly felt as though her stomach had dissolved.
Makoto Kowata was crawling on the floor, her hand gripping Akko's ankle, letting a prolonged rattling breath; the familiar black veins spreading across her paling skins were a clear indication that she had been infected. Akko didn't even think about what she was going to do next when she kicked Makoto in the face, freeing herself and hopping up to make a desperate run for it. Unfortunately, her path was blocked by someone else.
It was Professor Akane Kowata, her rich, exotic mocha skin now as white as a bedsheet with black veins throbbing on the surface, stumbling as she lurched forward with her hands outstretched. Akko narrowly ducked out of the way and Professor Akane tripped over Makoto, sending her sprawling over the floor.
Akko slowly backed away, her breathing fast and shallow, her heart doing a kind of drumroll against her ribs. The Kowata sisters made guttural noises as they pulled themselves up to stand, turning ever so slowly with their bones cracking as they moved. Akko looked wildly up and down the deserted corridor and saw another albino snake peering in through the loose windowpane. If not for her dire situation, Akko would have found this strange.
Akko considered just running. The Kowata sisters didn't look very fast; she could leave and no one would ever know she had been there. But what if someone else came along…Akko would feel guilty if someone got hurt because of her negligence….She could go for help….Would anyone believe she hadn't had anything to do with this?
As she backed away from the sisters, panicking, a door right next to her had opened with a bang. Mr. Mxyzptlk came shooting out.
"Well, if it ain't the main character," said Mr. Mxyzptlk, knocking Akko sideways as he bounced past her. "Whatcha up to this time? The author doesn't let me read the script anymore because they're afraid I'll break the fourth wall like I'm doing now – "
Mr. Mxyzptlk stopped, halfway through a midair somersault. Upside down, she spotted the Kowata Sister, both were looking up at his with their heads tilted strangely. He flipped right way up, filled her lungs and, before Akko could stop him, screamed, "ATTACK! ATTACK! ANOTHER ATTACK! NO STUDENT OR TEACHER IS SAFE! RUN FOR YOUR LIVES! ATTAAAACK!"
Crash – crash – crash – door after door flew open along the corridor and people flooded out. They all jumped back when they saw Makoto and Akane, who looked surprised by the large number of human targets that suddenly presented themselves. Before either of them could decide who to go after first, Professor Finnelan suddenly came running through the crowd. She whipped out her wand and wordlessly cast a spell, creating several stone hands from the floor that grabbed both of the Kowata sisters and pinned them down to the ground. She raised her wand over her head again to set off a loud bang, which restored silence, and ordered everyone back into their classes. No sooner had the scene cleared somewhat than Alice Little arrived, panting, on the scene.
"I knew it was you!" Alice yelled, her face stark white, pointing her finger dramatically at Akko.
"That will do, Little!" said Professor Finnelan sharply.
Mr. Mxyzptlk was bobbing overhead, now grinning wickedly, surveying the scene; Mxyz always loved chaos. As the teachers bent over Makoto and Akane, examining them, Akko slowly turned around waiting for Professor Finnelan to declare that she was happily expelling Akko on the spot. But strangely enough, Finnelan maintained a neutral expression the whole time.
Makoto and Akane were contained in the same bubbles Ursula had summoned for Lightning and carried off to quarantine by Professor Hex and Professor Lovecraft from the Magical Mythology department. This left Akko and Professor Finnelan alone together, which did not settle well in Akko's stomach.
"This way, Kagari," said Professor Finnelan.
"Professor," said Akko at once, "I swear I didn't – "
"This is out of my hands, Kagari," said Professor Finnelan curtly.
They marched in silence down the corridor and up the stairway to the top floor until they stopped in front of a large, ornate door with a large, spiraling green stone embedded in the polished oak. Professor Finnelan knocked on the door before opening it, gesturing for Akko to go inside.
"You will wait in here until the headmistress arrives," she said briskly. "And just so you know, some part of me was hoping it really wasn't you…."
Professor Finnelan closed the door behind her and Akko knew immediately where she had been taken. This was Professor Holbrooke's office.
Having someone turned into an infected in front of the whole school seems a whole lot more incriminating than being able to speak to snakes, don't you think, especially when the victim in question was a known bully. The evidence is greatly stacked against Akko and it looks like the entire school has turned against her. This may very well be the end of Akko's days at Luna Nova Academy.
Next Chapter: An Unexpected Friend