Akko was admittedly nervous about what Diana would think of her haircut. She had been so understanding with Akko's behavior and so patient with how much had happened since just this morning. Akko couldn't help but feel slightly self-conscious.

Of course she hoped Diana thought the haircut looked good. She loved her, and she wanted her to think she looked nice. But more than that, she hoped it was fair to ask Diana to understand why she had to do it, when Diana had already done so much for her on top of that.

Though the next person Akko ended up coming across was not Diana, but rather, Wangari, who was still scrounging for something to fill the summer edition. The story behind all the gossip and rumors behind the cursed mirror and the pitiful girl who had fell prey to it was likely high on her list.

When Wangari approached Akko, with pre-prepared questions just on the edge of her tongue, she faltered in surprise, though just for a moment. Nonetheless, Akko didn't hesitate to seize the opportunity.

"Hey Wangari!" Akko greeted her cheerfully. "I got a new haircut!"

"Well, hey! You certainly did, Froggo! What an unexpected change! I don't suppose you have any particularly juicy reasons why that you wouldn't mind sharing with Luna Nova News Network?" Wangari gasped excitedly. "Did you have a breakup?"

"What? This isn't a breakup haircut! Me and Diana are doing just fine!"

"Am I allowed to quote you on that this time? Our 'Diana in Love' story did really well…!"

"Ask her, not me!" Akko happily shrugged as she continued right on her way. It took Wangari a moment to realize the fact she just let her story walk past her.

Lotte giggled at the sight. "I guess it's another slow news day for her?"

"She's probably still sore since she can't run the Seven Wonders of Luna Nova anymore…" Sucy said.

Having Lotte and Sucy still here, still trailing behind her like they used to, still made the smile on Akko's face far more genuine than it had been in a very long time. "I feel a little bad she doesn't have anything to write about! But still! It really feels like things are going back to normal, doesn't it?"

"You really are in a good mood again, aren't you?" Lotte noted.

"Of course I am! Like just this morning I was really sure at least one of you guys were gonna get mad at me for...that, but no one even made all that big a deal of it! Heck, you guys all liked my haircut too!"

A part of her had to wonder if they were exaggerating just a bit, showering her with compliments to keep her from shutting herself away again, but she supposed it only showed how much her friends were willing to stand by her.

"And isn't it great?" Akko smiled to herself. "Since everyone is wigging out about this, so it's almost like they all just forgot about you know what!"

When she turned around, she found Lotte and Sucy didn't share her enthusiasm. Their faces were less supportive and more concerned.

"You know after everything that happened, you can't just forget about it, right?" Sucy asked.

Akko faced forward once more. "Y-yeah, I know…I just don't want to hear about it from everyone all day, that's all..."

Lotte and Sucy shared an uneasy look, but neither pressed the subject any further, a fact Akko was grateful for. She may have made a lot of dumb decisions lately, but she wasn't stupid. She knew what she was doing.

The haircut was as much a shedding of skin as it was meant to be a distraction. Something for people to gawk at and give her a chance to steer the conversation away from how sorry they were for her and how awful it was that this was happening.

She knew it was wrong, but she also knew that after so many days of having her thoughts consumed with fear and plagued by nightmares, she didn't really care.

She had finally managed to hold a pleasant conversation with her friends again, had finally cleared her doubts that they might resent her for what had happened. She felt normal again. She wasn't going to just throw that away and go right back to square one.

And in any case, her only real concern right now was Diana. Once she was sure there was no bad blood between them for another one of her decisions, she would breathe far easier.

Diana was still holed up in the Tower with Croix and Ursula. She was still tense, and still undeniably pensive, though just slightly less so than Akko had seen her this morning. Akko herself still wasn't aware of what exactly their plan was, and she wasn't particularly eager to ask in the first place.

As far as she could tell, however, Diana felt more confident now that there was something, even if it wasn't something she necessarily she wanted.

"And this machine you're hoping to build will help stabilize…whatever it is you're doing?"

"I know you don't agree with the principles of magitronics." Croix replied. "But it's a lot safer than just injecting magic into someone, at any rate. There's not a lot I can do until we get more materials to work with, but I'll work on what safeguards I can. The kid deserves at least that much from me…"

Diana didn't look any more sure, but at any rate, she did her best to swallow her pride and relent.

"…I'll trust you on this, Croix. Whatever differences we've had, you've made all this possible." Diana nodded solemnly. "Thank you."

Croix paused, turning away from her work on the laptop. Whatever had happened to her since the Noir Rod's destruction, she seemed unused to having someone genuinely thank her for her efforts.

So she just shrugged and went right back to work. "...Now she says it's possible."

Diana shook her head, miffed at being met with sarcasm, though not entirely surprised.

Akko had been lingering in the door the entire time. All the confidence she had regained moments ago suddenly felt so fragile. The last time she had set foot in the lab, she had left almost ready to fall to tears.

She had felt a lot better since then. She didn't want to risk that. It was a small, reassuring look from Lotte and Sucy that allowed her the strength to take the step forward and stop hiding.

Diana glanced up. "Akko, how do you-?"

And suddenly whatever words of comfort Diana was about to say were stolen from her breath.

Croix arched a brow. "Oh hey. You cut your hair." She said, before turning right back to her work. Ursula frowned, but at what, Akko couldn't say.

Diana's reaction, however, made the surprise of everyone else look understated. But then, she supposed Diana had much more interest in Akko's personal appearance than anyone else. It only stood to reason that she'd be more taken away with her change.

Akko stepped closer and managed a small smile. "Hi, Diana."

Diana shook herself out of her daze, pressing her lips together tightly. "...Akko, you...wow."

"So. I got a haircut."

"You...yes. You certainly…did that."

"And okay, before you say anything, I just felt like I had to. And yeah, I didn't really think about it or anything. I dunno if that makes sense, but I just felt like...yeah."

Without any warning or buildup, Akko surged forward and locked Diana in a tight embrace.

"And thanks." Akko mumbled. "I know I'm...probably not easy to deal with, but thanks so much for doing all of this and being so cool about it. You're the greatest. I don't know how I'd do this without you."

Already conscious of everyone looking at the two of them, and especially Sucy's leering expression, Diana was red up to the tips of her ears. "Y-yes, well. That's…it's hardly any trouble, of course. I'm...merely...doing what's right, that's all."

Akko pulled away, brushing a lock of hair behind her ear. "S-so! What do you think of it, anyway?"

Sucy elbowed Diana before she had a chance to even close her mouth. "Yes, tell us your thoughts."

"Doesn't she look nice like that?" Lotte egged on.

Diana was visibly bothered by the teasing, and still somewhat beside herself at the sudden change of her beloved's appearance, but nonetheless ignored the attention and articulated her thoughts.

"I…your face is nice. Y-your head, I mean! Haircut. It…looks nice. On you. That is."

At the sound of Sucy's mischievous snicker, Croix shook her head. "…Was wondering why no one else had any hard feelings about last year. Guess they're all just cruel."

Ursula playfully elbowed her. "Croix, let them have their moment."

Diana loudly cleared her throat and attempted to straighten out her posture. "Ah...Akko? Why don't we...continue this outside...?"

She took Akko by the hand, an act that seemed much more hurried than simply flustered, and led her outside into the Tower's hall, fidgeting under the attention directed towards their retreating backsides.

Once they were alone, or at least out of the spotlight, Diana stopped and took Akko's other hand in her own, softly holding them in between their waists. It was gentle and loving, yes. But it also gave the impression Diana meant to keep her there and facing her, as if she was worried Akko would turn away.

In truth, the reaction itself made Akko want to shift on her feet. "Diana...? Is everything okay?"

"I was about to ask you the same thing. When you said you felt like you...had to do this, to change your appearance, does that mean you…?"

From the way she trailed off, Akko had little trouble guessing what it was she couldn't bring herself to say.

"No, no it's not…!" Akko shook her head. "I mean it's not that. Like I said before, I felt like I had to do something. And this is...something?"

"You're absolutely sure?"

"Sure I'm sure. Diana, I don't want you to have to keep worrying about me. I liked my old hairstyle, but after hearing how much Lotte seemed to like it, I actually feel a lot better about it now. I'm okay, really."

Diana searched her face in silence, and eventually, let out a sigh of relief. "Okay." She said, allowing herself a small smile. "If you say this is something you had to do, then of course I support it." And in a smaller voice meant only for her, added, "And...yes. I do think it looks...very good."

Akko's face lit up. "Do you really like it?"

Diana leaned forward and pressed a quick peck to Akko's lips. "...I love it."

Akko could do nothing but grin. Finally, for the first time since, honestly, the letter from her parents half a month ago, she simply couldn't stop herself from feeling genuinely happy.

For the first time in nearly half a month, Akko finally felt was like her life was her own again.

Diana stopped her staring and shook her head at herself. "In any case...before you came in, we were actually putting together the final details on how to purge this creature from your mind. Perhaps we should rejoin the others?"

"Oh, Lotte and Sucy mentioned you guys were working something out, but I didn't really know what to ask. I'm just happy you guys finally know what you're doing! I gotta find a way to repay you when you all finish this up!"

Diana fell silent. And the smile fell from her face.

"Akko, it isn't...quite that simple."

"...What do you mean? You...you guys do have something worked out, right?"

"Of course we do. But it's...not necessarily as cut and dry as I might like, and certainly not as fast."

Akko's face strained. "...how...long is it going to take?"

"It's difficult to say. But...we were discussing potential ways to speed this up, and there's a few things we might need on your part. Here, Croix and Ursula can explain it better than I-"

"Ah, we'll do it later."

Diana furrowed her brow. "Later...?"

"I mean, come on! There's nothing wrong with taking a little time to ourselves, is there?"

"...Normally I would agree. And I can hardly blame you from wanting to stop thinking about this. But there's still a lot we need to do, you know. I'm not sure we can afford to wait much-"

"L-look, just please? I haven't been able to think about anything else but this for days. Can't we just...do something else? Just for a little bit?"

Diana, grappling between her instincts, her wisdom, and her emotions, hesitantly agreed.

Whenever they were outside, or whenever she passed a window, Akko forced herself not to look at how low the sun was in the sky.

It certainly had been a busy day. With how much had changed since waking from her nightmare in the morning, it was only inevitable that nighttime would soon begin its unstoppable approach. The less time she spent thinking about what the coming night would bring, the better.

Ursula told her to focus on what's real, and the first step on the road to getting better had settled into something easy and comfortable. And to Akko, the more important fact was that the first step left her free with Diana.

Despite what she might say out loud, Diana absolutely needed the break. She breathed much easier, now that she was out of that lab and taking a reprieve from fretting all the time. The latter point continuously lifted Akko's spirits. She loved how Diana's once rare smiles came so much more frequently these days.

As if nothing was wrong, the two of them took the moment to spend with each other, walking and talking, grabbing a quick dinner, and simply enjoying an evening together, like they so often had since the evening they first got together, some months ago.

It was hard to tell if Diana truly did adore Akko's haircut that much, adored seeing Akko happy again, or some combination of the two. But it had been far too long since her gaze had been so tender and so light. Akko even managed to steal a kiss or two, earning her a formally worded reprimand from Diana.

She really loved it when she got formal.

Eventually, or at least when they had more privacy, Diana took it as initiative to play with the ends of Akko's hair as they walked. "Perhaps I could help you even it out in the back."

"Nah, that's fine."

"Admittedly I'm not a hairdresser, though I believe Verde is one? And I believe Jiji knows a thing or two about how to properly style this, should you like that."

"No, I mean I don't want anyone else touching my hair. I know it doesn't look the greatest, but…"

Diana either understood her meaning or trusted her well enough not to pry. "I understand." She said, with a soft smile. "And I do apologize if I made you feel at all emasculated, either here, or earlier at lunch."

"Don't be sorry! I don't even know what that word means anyway!"

Diana snorted. "You really are too much sometimes…"

"But in a good way, right?"

"The best way."

Diana felt great, and it made Akko feel great, and it was yet another reason why every time their conversation drifted towards the lab, or the plan, or even the parasite, Akko cleverly twisted it away to something that would make her feel greater.

Diana kept pointing out that it was getting late, and so Akko pointed out that she saw Constanze working on her laptop screen and decided to check up on her.

"Hey Constanze!" Akko greeted her happily. "I can't really remember if I said thanks for letting me crash in your room that one time, so uh...thanks!"

Constanze gave a curt nod, and her Stanbot sprung up to lecture her. "Miss Constanze is in the middle of an important negotiation! Please be respectful!"

Akko craned her neck over Constanze's shoulder to glance at the screen, ignoring the looks she got from Diana and Constanze herself, to see who she was talking to.

Fafnir slowly stroked his beard in thought. "You want an express shipment on Orichalcum? That's not exactly easy to get on short notice…"

"Orichalcum?" Akko swore she had heard the name before.

"Magic conducting metal." Diana explained. "Highly potent. I suspect Croix requested this to help stabilize her machine."

"You're making deals with Fafnir, Constanze?"

The Stanbot turned to her. "That is where materials for Grand Charion and the Stanship came from!"

Fafnir let out a small grumble. "I can get the Orichalcum to Luna Nova by morning...but in return, the next upgrade you do to my drones is free."

Constanze made a face. "Quarter price." The Stanbot argued.

"Outrageous. Fifteen percent or you can shop elsewhere."

"Agreed."

Fafnir nodded, before looking into the background beyond Constanze's small frame. "Weren't you one of those girls who broke into my home?" He said to Akko.

Akko wasn't sure how to answer. "Uh…"

"Yes, I remember. You were the noisy one, who told me how wonderful you thought magic was. Tell me, how have you been since then? Busy with your wonderful magic?"

"S-something like that!" Akko said, quickly grabbing Diana's hand. "Anyway sorry to eavesdrop on your thing with Contz! I gotta go! Nice seeing you!"

As she quickly retreated from the laptop, she swore she heard Fafnir mutter something about youngsters.

"He does raise a good point, Akko." Diana said, allowing herself to be led away. "We really should be getting back to work."

"M-maybe!" Akko conceded. "But Constanze's like the greatest inventor we know! She can totally build whatever she wants. We'd probably just be in the way. Besides! Aren't you having fun though?"

"That's...irrelevant right now."

"It's not irrelevant! You deserve to have a break from all this. You've been taking care of my mess all morning, and I feel bad."

Diana pulled her hand back from Akko's, and refused to take another step forward, no matter how much she wanted to. "Akko, I'm serious. I can't rest. Not until you're safe. And I need you to work with me on this."

Akko flailed for another excuse. "I...I'm supervising! We should go see what Sucy's up to! Amanda seemed like she was in trouble last time I saw her, maybe we can do something about that!"

Akko couldn't fight the feeling. All the evidence was adding up to a conclusion she couldn't stand for. Diana had said it was going to take a while. That they were going to need her help with something. Nightfall was fast approaching, and despite her best efforts, her eyes were still heavy, and she was still exhausted.

"Akko…I know you're scared. And believe me, I understand why you don't want to do this. But we can't just ignore this any longer. We need to focus on-"

"Focus on what's real? Ursula said the same thing to me, actually! And that's what I'm doing, right? I mean how can I focus on what's real more than by staying in the real world?"

"Akko…"

"Really what's wrong from just taking a break? Everyone's basically told me I shouldn't exert myself, right? So why shouldn't I just-"

"Akko."

She flinched at Diana's harsh tone.

Diana took a deep breath and centered herself. She tried to appear professional, controlled. And when that failed, she could do nothing else but grab Akko's waist and pull her close, resting her head on her shoulder.

Akko, acting more on muscle memory than conscious thought, rubbed Diana's back, and Diana sunk deeper into the embrace.

The normally proud, enunciated Cavendish voice came out as a low murmur, rumbling against her shoulder. "I don't mean to snap at you..."

"It's...okay, Diana. It happens. We can just-"

Diana's grip tightened around the fabric of Akko's uniform. "You told me you were afraid of losing me. Right now, there's nothing I want more than to take all this pain you're feeling away from you. And I swear to you, I'll be here for you until we can. You will never, never...have to go through this alone again."

"Then...why can't we just...keep doing this? This is the nicest day I've had in forever. I don't want it to stop."

"Because...I can't lose you either. And there's nothing more I can do to help you unless you work with me."

Akko's response was instantaneous.

"No."

She couldn't go back in there, just to hear it out loud. She already knew. The timespan Diana kept dancing around, refusing to put a number on, could only mean it was too long for Akko to stay awake for. And the only defense she had against inevitability was to try and act as though it wasn't there.

Diana was still, before she let out a deep sigh. Akko couldn't blame her for being frustrated. Diana loved her more than anything, but she hadn't asked to deal with this. She wasn't a therapist. She wanted to be a healer, but she was still a student. How much patience was she expected to give?

It was at that thought that Akko allowed herself to look out the window. The sky was a golden color. The sun was low on the horizon, and the moon was just barely visible in the sky.

Akko sighed. "I just wanna be done already. That's why I told you this morning. I just...wanted to have this fixed. Over and done with. They can find a way to fix this without me. They already know where the bug is."

Diana pulled away, and Akko found herself caught by the soft look in the blue of her eyes. "…Do you know what I really like about your new haircut?"

Diana caressed the short strands of brunette hair in between her fingers, and gently brushed them behind Akko's ear.

"When you wear it like this...you can see much more of your face."

Akko bit back a whine, out of places to hide. "...I don't know if I can handle going through another nightmare."

"And I don't know if I can handle seeing you go through one either." Diana confessed. "But I just...don't know what choice we have. You told me you tried staying up, and all it led to was you being trapped in a nightmare for two days. What if it gets worse?"

"I really don't know how it could get any worse than this…"

Diana pressed another kiss to Akko's lips, trying to find the reassurance that words could not.

"Perhaps this will take a few days. And I admit, I don't want you suffering from sleep deprivation anymore. But if we space this out right, this could be the last nightmare you ever have to go through. We make sure you get just enough rest, so you're prepared to get rid of this creature, once and for all. And then, it'll be behind you, and you'll never have to think about it again."

A small sliver of hope edged its way into the fringes of Akko's voice. "You really think this could be it? The last one?"

"If we time it right...yes. And then you're free. We can spend the whole summer together, whatever you want to do. But we just need to face this first. We can't beat around the bush any longer than we already have."

Akko frowned. "Easy for you to say. You're not the one who has to-"

Diana took her by the shoulders. "You're not alone in this anymore." She told her. "No matter what happens, no matter what you see in there...I'm going to be here. Right when you wake up. I promise you."

"You promise…?"

Diana nodded. "No matter what happens."

And somehow, Akko knew no amount of determination, or magic, or deflection could keep her from having to take the next step. It was the last thing she wanted to do. To have all the progress she made slip through the cracks of her fingers like water. But she could do nothing else.

"If you're be there...then I'll try." Akko said, before glancing out the window once more. "...I know today probably really sucked for you, and for everyone else too. But...I had a really nice day. It was...it was the nicest one I had in a long time."

Diana took a long moment to respond. "...And if you can promise me that...then tomorrow."

Akko looked at her curiously.

"If you promise me, that first thing in the morning, you'll work with us to solve this, then...we can space this out and allow you one more night. I'll stay up with you. All night long. I can't do anything more than that."

Akko smiled. It was more than enough. "Then...I promise too."

Diana stayed with her in the Red Team's room, always there the moment the dread began to creep back into Akko's mind. For blissfully short bursts of time, she managed to convince herself to forget about what was coming, and her nice day continued in the late hours of the night into the early hours of the morning.

When Lotte and Sucy came in, they stayed up with them. They spent the night enjoying themselves. They played card games. They talked about nothing and joked about everything. They prodded each other when someone began to nod off, and until the beams of sunlight broke through the window, Lotte, Sucy, and Diana found themselves at ease.

And all the while, they kept assuring her and reiterating to her that this would be the last dream she would have to face. Akko believed them when they said it was true. And when the sun began to rise and the next day was finally upon them, she had to wonder how exactly to interpret the statement.

A.N. Next Time, "Tribulations in Pohjola" Akko faces what may be the last of the dreams as the rest of the team prepares the plan. Between Croix's machinations, and Akko's own changes, she's going to make quite a startling discovery…