Akko Kagari and the Contest of Champions
Chapter Thirty-Seven: The Dream
"It's come down to this," said Lotte, rubbing her forehead. "Either Org attacked Diana and Andrew, or somebody else attacked them when they weren't looking."
"Zeref already confirmed that last night," said Akko tiresomely. "The Guidebook showed it was someone pretending to be me."
"Or it could've been the real you," said Sucy blandly. "It's not the first time you've been in two places at once."
"Okay, one, do you really think Croix would trust me with her time machine?" said Akko irritably. "And two, why would I want to attack Diana and Andrew."
"So you could avoid having to confess your feelings to the both of them," said Sucy immediately.
"That…definitely sounds like something I would do," Akko admittedly weakly.
"And what about Org?" asked Lotte. "How did he disappear off the map? You can pop in or out of Luna Nova – well, not without using the Corridors of Darkness, but that's practically suicide."
It was daybreak. Akko, Lotte, and Sucy had crept out of their dormitory very early and hurried down the front lawn with Haruka-san to send a note to Izetta. They were standing looking out at the misty grounds. All three of them were puffy-eyed and pale because they had been talking late into the night about Org.
"Just go through it again, Akko," said Lotte. "What did Org actually say?"
"I've told you a hundred times, he wasn't making any sense," said Akko. "He said he wanted to warn Chariot about something. He definitely mentioned Crowley and was talking about…Anti-Magic Armaments."
"Guess that means the rumors Sir Nyanta heard were true," Lotte murmured
"Yeah, that got me worried, too," said Akko, frowning. "He also said Crowley was dead, but we already knew that. He kept saying stuff was his fault…he mentioned Mato, too."
"Well, that part was his fault," said Sucy bluntly.
"He was out of his mind," said Akko. "Half the time he acted like he was talking to this Lahar guy about work and giving him instructions…. And he kept talking about her…. Saying stuff like 'she's coming back' or something like that. That was probably the only time he was actually sane enough to talk. He was having trouble stringing two words together, but that was when he seemed to know where he was, and know what he wanted to do. He just kept saying he had to warn Chariot…. He looked so terrified…."
"But who is her?" Lotte asked timidly.
"Your guess is as good as mine," said Akko. "If only Ram hadn't gotten in my way, we might have gotten there in time. 'Let's not be hasty…No need to bother her with such trifles.' She was blocking me off on purpose. Why?"
"Maybe she didn't want you to get there," said Sucy with her eye narrowed thoughtfully. "Maybe she intentionally kept you away from Ursula so that whoever was imitating you would have time to take care of Org."
"But why would she want to do that?" asked Lotte in disbelief. "Org is on the Council."
"Was on the Council," said Akko quickly. "And he was also supplying Anti-Magic weapons to Crowley. Izetta said that Ram has an extremely loathing of criminals, and if she found out that Org was making illegal weapons, then she would definitely want to get rid of him. Ugh, I wish I had gotten to Ursula sooner."
"Why did you go to Ursula, anyway?" asked Sucy. "If someone from the Magic Council showed up, I would go straight to Holbrooke."
"I thought about that, but Diana said I should get Ursula," Akko replied, rubbing her chin. "Huh, I wonder why."
"We should go see Professor Zeref soon," said Lotte. "We should find out if he found Org."
"If he had the Shiny Guidebook with him, it would've been easy," said Akko.
"But you said Org disappeared off the guidebook," said Sucy. "If he somehow made it past the boundaries – "
"Shh!" said Lotte suddenly.
Somebody was coming down the spiraling staircase inside. Akko could hear two voices arguing through the crack in the oak front doors, coming closer and closer.
" – but that's blackmail! You could get in a lot of trouble for that – "
"I've tried being polite; it's time to play dirty, like him. He wouldn't like the Time-Space Administration Bureau knowing what he did – "
"I'm telling you, if you put that in writing, it's blackmail!"
"I told you two what was going on because I trust you both! And now I'm trusting you to back off!"
The front doors banged open. Amanda, Constanze, and Jasminka came down the stone steps, then froze at the sight of Akko, Lotte, and Sucy.
"What're you doing here?" Lotte and Jasminka said at the same time.
"Sending a letter," said Akko and Amanda in unison.
"What, at this time?" said Sucy and Stan-bot.
Amanda grinned.
"Fine – we won't ask questions if you don't," she said.
She was holding up a sealed envelope in her hands. Akko glanced at it, but Amanda, whether accidentally or on purpose, shifted her hand so that the name was covered.
"Well, don't let hold you up," Amanda said, making a mock bow and pointed to the door behind them.
Lotte didn't move. "Who're you blackmailing?" she said.
The grin vanished from Amanda's face. Akko saw Jasminka half glance at Amanda, before smiling at Lotte.
"It's not blackmail, that was just a joke," she said easily.
"Didn't sound like a joke," Sucy interjected.
Amanda, Constanze, and Jasminka looked at each other. Then Amanda said abruptly. "I told you before that it's none of your business what I get up to. If you want to keep your noses the shape it's in – "
"It's our business when you start blackmailing someone," said Akko. "Jasminka is right, you could get in serious trouble for that."
"I told you, I was joking," said Jasminka.
But Amanda pointedly ignored them and reached over, plucking the Stan-bot Unit off of her head, and stuffing the letter through a slot in its box-shaped head. She tapped a button on the side, shifting the robot into a flying drone, and watched it take off toward the Ley Line Terminal. Amanda turned around and grinned at Akko.
"Well, unless you have anything else to complain about, we'll be leaving. See ya later."
She, Constanze, and Jasminka marched back into the school. Akko, Lotte, and Sucy stared at one another.
"You don't think they know something about all this, do you?" Lotte whispered. "About Org and everything?"
"No," said Akko. "If it was something that serious, they'd tell someone. They'd tell Professor Holbrooke."
Sucy, however, was looking suspiciously at the doorway.
"What's the matter?" Lotte asked her.
"Well…" said Sucy slowly. "I don't know if she would. I noticed for a while that she's been…somewhat obsessed with making money since the year started. It made no sense since she comes from a rich family, but she was always talking about winning the prize money from the Contest. That's why she was fighting so hard to get Nico off the team."
"Well, that doesn't matter anymore," said Akko. "She's on the team now…."
"Which means she has a good chance at winning that prize money now," said Sucy. "But Amanda saw first-hand the kind of competition she was going up against when she lost painfully in the third round and when she was brainwashed by the weirdo from Myojo. Maybe she's worried that her chances at winning the money are slipping away and she might be trying to rig the competition in her favor."
Lotte was looking uncomfortable now.
"Yes, but…she wouldn't do anything against the law to get money."
"Wouldn't she?" said Sucy, looking skeptical. "I don't know…she doesn't exactly mind breaking the rules, does she?"
"Yes, but this is the law," said Lotte, looking scared. "This isn't some silly school rule…. She'll get a lot more than detention for blackmail! Maybe…maybe we should tell Amanda's mother…."
"Whoa, whoa, hold on a second!" yelped Akko, throwing her hands up. "We don't know what's going on right now? We're just making assumptions. We don't even known why Amanda wants the money enough that she wouldn't just go to her mom for help. Let's just…let's just find out more before we go running to the Magic Council, okay?"
"Since when have you been the patient and thoughtful type?" said Sucy with a quirked brow.
"Okay, one, that's just mean," said Akko, grimacing. "And two, there's already happened with Mato, Nico, Jasminka, and me, I think Amanda deserves a little benefit of the doubt." She stared at the doorway through which Amanda's party had departed, then said, "come on, let's get some breakfast."
"Do you think it's too early to go and see Professor Dragneel?" Lotte said as they climbed the stone steps.
"Even I don't wanna risk waking that guy up at the crack of dawn," said Akko. "He'd probably kills us all on accident. We'll go see him during the break."
History of Magic had rarely gone so slowly. Akko kept checking the time on her phone, but it was moving so slowly that Akko had to check to make sure it wasn't broken. Though it was one of her better classes, Akko was so tired she could happily have put her head down on the desk and spelt; even Diana across the room wasn't taking her usual notes, but was sitting with her head on her hands, gazing at Professor Ymir with her eyes out of focus.
When the bell finally rang, Akko hurried out into the corridors, meeting Lotte and Sucy on the third floor as they headed toward the Self-Defense classroom and found Zeref leaving it. He looked as tired as they felt. The shadows under his eyes were more prominent than usual, making him look almost half-dead.
"Professor Dragneel?" Akko called as they made their way toward him through the crowd.
"Hello, Kagari," said Zeref. His eyes followed a couple of passing first years, who sped up, looking nervous, watching them disappear around the corner before he spoke again.
"Come in here."
He stood back to let them into his empty classroom, stepped in after them, and closed the door.
"Did you find him?" Akko asked without preamble. "Org?"
"No," said Zeref. He moved over to his desk, sat down, and leaned back in his chair with a slight groan.
"Did you use the guidebook?" Akko said.
"Of course," said Zeref. "It's how I found you in the first place, remember? I searched the entire grounds and even asked for the aid of the Arrancar and Croix's beasts in the forest. He wasn't anywhere to be found."
"What about those two people in the book?" asked Akko. "The one pretending to be me and the own with the blank name. I saw them before when they broke into your office months ago."
"I tried looking for them, too," said Zeref with an exhausted sigh. "But the only 'Atsuko Kagari' I could find that night was in the Polaris Dormitory. The two of them must have shrugged off whatever disguise they were using and blended in with the crowd. If there were from Luna Nova, they could be anywhere in the school. If they were from the other schools, they wouldn't on the grounds anymore."
"Which gives them a perfect way of escaping undetected," said Sucy. "And possibly even carry off Org without anyone seeing."
"We can't rule out kidnapping," said Zeref. "But I can't possibly understand how Org would go missing from the book entirely. Chariot and Izetta made a brilliant tool, but it's riddled with so many flaws, it's practically useless in this situation."
"So," said Lotte, "do you think he could be somewhere in Blytonbury?"
"He could be anywhere at this point," said Zeref, shaking his head. "Only thing we know for sure is that he's not here."
He yawned loudly, stretching his arms above his head, and said, "Now, Ursula's told me you three fancy yourselves as detectives, but there's nothing you can do for Org. The Council will be looking for him now, Holbrooke's notified them. Kagari, you just keep your mind on the final game."
"What?" said Akko. "Oh, yeah…"
She hadn't given the labyrinth a single thought since she'd left it with Diana the previous night.
"This one should be right up your alley, Kagari," said Zeref, looking up at Akko. "You've already been through the maze in the first challenge. And from what Ursula's told me, you've managed to get through stuff like this plenty of times. Broke your way through a series of obstacles guarding the Claiomh Solais in your first year, didn't you?"
"I had a lot of help on that," said Akko, scratching her head sheepishly. "My friends did most of the work."
Zeref smiled softly.
"Well, you'll be having your friends helping you this time as well, won't you?" said Zeref. "Just keep practicing and I'm sure you'll come ahead. In the meantime…keep a constant lookout, Kagari. And you two," his eyes snapped to Lotte and Sucy, who immediately went stiff when being addressed. "stay close to Kagari, all right? The staff is keeping an eye on things around the school, but al the same…you can never have too many eyes out.
Izetta sent Haruka-san back the very next morning. She skittered up to their table the same moment that Wangari dropped a copy of the daily news in front of Diana. She took the newspaper, scanned the first few pages, and said, "Thank goodness, it doesn't look like she's caught wind of Org yet," then joined the rest in reading what Izetta had to say on the mysterious events ion the night before last.
Akko – what the hell were you thinking, walking off into the forest like that? And for what, your
little love triangle dilemma? I want you to swear, by return letter, that you are not going to go
walking with anyone else at night. There is somebody highly dangerous at Luna Nova. It's clear
to me that they wanted to stop Org from telling what he knows, and you were probably feet
away from them in the dark. You could have been killed.
Someone has been tampering with the Contest, and you and Nico are at the center of it. If
someone's trying to attack you, this is their last chance. Stay close to your friends, do not leave
Polaris Tower after hours, and arm yourself for the final challenge. Practicing stunning and
disarming, A few curses wouldn't go amiss either. There's nothing you can do about Org. Keep
your head down and look after yourself. I'm waiting for your letter giving me your word you
won't stray out-of-bounds again.
Mikko
"Who does she think she is, trying to lecture me about going out-of-bounds?" said Akko in mild indignation as she folded up Izetta's letter and stuffed it in her pocket. "After all the stuff she did at school!"
"She's worried about you!" said Diana sharply. "Just like Professor Dragneel and Blair! So listen to them!"
"Hey, you were the one who dragged me out there in the middle of the night," Akko countered. Diana opened her mouth to say something, but nothing came out, so she closed it and sat slumped in her seat, glowering. "And besides, no one's tried to attack me all year – "
"I'm pretty sure the Xenomorphs would disagree," said Sucy bluntly. "Look, it wasn't an accident that Nico's name was chosen over Amanda's when the skull picked the champions. And it's no coincidence that you and Nico have ancient magical staves of Light and Dark Magic that date back since the Nine Olde Witches. Someone is purposely targeting you both and they want you together when they make their move."
"Exactly," said Lotte worriedly. "Akko, Mikko is right. The last challenge could be the moment when they're finally going to get you both."
"Look," said Akko impatiently, "let's say Mikko is right and someone attacked you and Andrew to kidnap Org. If what Zeref saw on the guidebook was right, they waited until after I was inside the school before they went down to the forest. I would've run straight past them and there was no one around when I did, so why didn't they attack me then when no one was around?"
"Because whoever is after you needs both you and Minoru together," said Diana sharply. "If something happens to one of you, then getting the other one would be damn near impossible because the teachers would be on high alert. They would never get a chance at Minrou then."
"But what about – "
"Akko, I know you well enough that you aren't conceited or foolish enough to believe you have all the answers," said Diana sharply, making Akko slump in her seat. "No matter what argument you try to make, you know for a fact that Mikko and the others are right and that you shouldn't trying throwing yourself into danger what it is not needed. Strange things have been happening all year: the Purifiers are gaining power, Minoru's name appearing in place of O'Neill, while Minoru just happens to have the Staff of One, the direct counterpart to the Shiny Rod, this second "Atsuko Kagari" running around with an unknown person, and Org showing up raving like a lunatic about someone coming back. All these strange events, and yet I see no connection between them. It's unsettling."
"Diana is right – Mikko is right – you've got to be careful, Akko," said Lotte. "There's something bigger going on that we don't understand yet. All we can do for now is make sure you're prepared for the final game. And you need to make sure you write back to Mikko and promise her you're not going to go sneaking off alone again."
The Luna Nova grounds never looked more inviting than when Akko had to stay indoors. For the next few days she spent all of her free time with Team Luna Nova either in the library, looking up curses, or else in empty classrooms, which they sneaked into to practice. Diana scheduled regular training sessions nearly every day whenever she wasn't busying preparing for final exams. Of course, any one of them could have reminded her that the champions didn't have exams, but they were just relieved to have a break given the almost fanatical way Diana was pushing them; it reminded Akko of Amelia O'Neill during the Racing season.
Right now, Akko was concentrating on the Stunning Spell, which she had never used before. The trouble that practicing it involved certain sacrifices from her teammates.
"Can't we use Blair or something?" Amanda suggested on Monday lunchtime as she lay flat on her back in the middle of their Charms classroom, having just been stunned and reawaken by Akko for the fifth time in a row. "Let's stun her for a bit. Or you could use Marianna, Akko, I bet she'd do anything to help you. I'm not complaining or anything" – she gingerly got to her feet, rubbing her backside – "but I'm aching all over…."
"Well, that's because you keep missing the cushions," said Fate in a teasing tone of voice as she rearranged the pile of cushions Makoto was using to practice the Repulsion Spell, which knocks targets away. "Just try and fall backwards."
"Well, it's kinda hard to aim when you're stunned, Testarossa!" said Amanda angrily. "Why don't you take a turn?"
"I think Akko's got it down by now," said Diana, who was swing a sword of light against Nico's sword of darkness. "Akko's has already mastered the animal metamorphosis spells, which is extremely useful, she's learned the Body Strengthening Spell, she's taking regular martial arts lessons from Professor Ursula, and above all else, she has the Shiny Rod. She's learned a significant deal in a short amount of time."
Akko felt extremely warm as Diana belted out her praises.
"Though she could stand to learn a few more spells that don't blow up in her face regularly," said Diana; Akko grimaced. "Just because she's learned a few tricks doesn't mean she's ready for what our opponents have in store, especially the ones from Black Star and Honnoji…. I think we ought to start on some of those curses this evening."
She turned away from Nico and looked down at the list they had made in the library on the teacher's desk.
"I like the look of this one," she said, "this Morabor Curse. It temporarily slows down the time of anything the spell hits. We'll start with that one."
The bell rang. They hastily shoved the cushions back into Professor Akane's cupboard and slipped out of the classroom.
"See you at dinner!" said Diana, and she set of for Magic Philosophy, while Akko headed toward the North Tower, and Foretelling. Broad strips of dazzling gold sunlight fell across the corridor from the high windows. The sky outside was so brightly blue it looked as though it had been enameled.
"It's going to be boiling in class; Professor Ursula never puts out that fire," Jasminka said as Akko joined her and Wendy up the staircase toward the ladder and the trapdoor.
She was quite right. The dimly lit room was sweltering hot. The fumes from the fire were heavier than ever. Akko's head swam as she made her way over to one of the curtained windows. While Ursula was looking the other way, disentangling her robe that had somehow got caught on the table, she opened it an inch or so and settled back into her beanbag chair, so that a soft breeze played across her face. It was extremely comfortable.
"All right, class," said Ursula, sitting down in her highbacked chair in front of the class and peering around at them, "we have almost finished our work on planetary divination. Today, however, will be an excellent opportunity to examine the effects of Mars, for it is placed most interestingly at the present time. If you will all looking up, I will dim the lights…."
She waved her wand and the lamps went out. The fire was the only source of light now. Ursula directed their attention to the ceiling where planets rotated in perfect orbit while the stars twinkled over their heads, giving the impression that they had somehow been magically transported to space. Akko watched lazily as Ursula began to point out the fascinating angle Mars was making to Mercury. The fumes from the fire washed over her, and the breeze from the window played across her face. She thought she heard a soft creaking somewhere behind her. Her eyelids began to droop….
She was flying unaided through a starry night sky over a small, sleepy town toward the grassland on the outskirts of the village. Near the bottom of a sloping hillside was a small amphitheater. Lower and lower she flew, the wind blowing pleasantly in Akko's face, until she landed flatfooted on the stairs running down the aisle of stone benches. She walked slowly – cautiously even – down the steps, approaching the stage….
There were three men standing on the raised platform…one was hunched over on a plastic prop, his dark skin marked with tribal tattoos…the man standing opposite of him, breathing raggedly, robbed himself in a tattered white cloak…and then there was the man near the back of the stage, his arms folded behind him, his gaze peering around the theater…. When Akko walked up the steps, the three men turned to her…. The man's hood cast a terrifying shadow over his bronze mask….
"I trust that the matter has been settled?" he said, his tone low and ominous.
"I took care of it," Akko spoke, but the voice that came from her lips wasn't her own; there was a strange sense of familiarity. "He is dead."
"Then you are in luck," said the masked man, stepping closer to Akko until he stood over like a terrifying ghoul. "You are very fortunate indeed. Your blunder has not ruined everything."
"I lost control – I readily admit that," said Akko. "But it is difficult to maintain when my attention is divided, especially at such a great distance. I have never been pushed to this extent."
"Fear not," said the masked man, resting a gentle hand on her shoulder. "You have recognized your mistake and corrected it. That's all that matters…. But there is still the children…Kagari and Minoru…."
There was a moment of pause; the masked man went still…. Then, he lowered himself until he was staring Akko squarely in the eye.
"Hmm…interesting…," said the masked man. "It seems there's still a connection there…. But it's too early…much too early…. We will be seeing you soon…Atsuko Kagari…."
He raised his right hand into view and curled his fingers slowly. Suddenly, Akko's entire body seized up. It felt like she was being stabbed repeatedly by a thousand needles, like someone was pressing a white-hot wire against her back. She was yelling…. Amon had her, he had control of her…she was gasping for breath….
"Akko! Akko!"
Akko opened her eyes. She was lying facedown on the floor of Ursula's classroom. The scars on her back felt like they were on fire, her clothes irritating the sensation further. The pain was real; her eyes were watering. The whole class was standing around her, and Wendy, whose palms were glowing with faint magical energy over her, looked terrified.
"Are you all right?" she said.
"Of course she isn't!" said Ursula, looking harassed. Her eyes loomed over Akko's face, then lowered to her back. "What was it, Akko? Is it your scars? Does it hurt? Did you…did you see anything?"
"It was nothing," Akko lied. She sat up. She could feel herself shaking. She couldn't stop herself from looking around, into the shadows behind her; Amon's voice sounded so close….
"It wasn't nothing, Miss Kagari!" Ursula snapped, grabbing Akko painfully hard by the arm. "You were rolling around on the floor, screaming in pain! Come now, tell me what happened!"
Akko looked up at her.
"I think I need to…go to the hospital wing," she said hesitantly. "For…for my back."
Ursula gave her a meaningful look, and said, "All right, but do you think you can get there on your own? Should I come with – "
"No, it's fine, I've got it," said Akko quickly.
She stood up. The class backed away. They all looked unnerved.
"See you later," Akko muttered to Jasminka, and she picked up her bag and headed for the trapdoor.
When Akko reached the bottom of the ladder, however, she did not set off for the hospital wing. She had no intention whatsoever of going there. Izetta had told her what to do if her scars hurt her again, and Akko was going to follow her advice: She was going straight to Holbrooke's office. She marched down the corridors, thinking about what she had seen in the dream…it had been as vivid as the one that had woken her over the summer…. She ran over the details in her mind, trying to make sure she could remember them…. She had heard Amon accusing someone – her – of making a mistake…but she – or whoever's eyes she was seeing through – had told Amon that the mistake had been corrected, somebody was dead…then, somehow, Amon knew she – Akko – was watching…he bloodbended her from wherever he was….
Akko had walked past the door to Holbrooke's office without noticing. She blinked, looked around, realized what she had done, and retraced her steps, stopping in front of it. She raised her hand to knock on the polished oak, but stopped herself. She could hear voices from inside the office. Akko pressed her ear to the door and listened.
"Miranda, I'm afraid I don't see the connection, don't see it at all!" It was the voice of the Magic Council Chairman, Crawford Seam. "Why would Org want to make weapons to use against the Magic Council. He has worked diligently for the Council for decades! Now I wouldn't put it past that Aleister Crowley and that science city of his, but there is no evidence that Org has ever collaborated with the man. As for his disappearance being linked with Org's!"
"And what do you think happened to Org, Mr. Chairman?" said Zeref's impassive voice.
"I see two possibilities," said Crawford. "Either Org has finally cracked – more than likely, I'm sure you'll agree, given his personal history – lost his mind, and gone wondering off somewhere – "
"He wandered extremely quickly, if that is the case, Crawford," said Professor Holbrooke calmly.
"Or else – well…" Crawford sounded embarrassed. "Well, I'll reserve judgment until after I've seen the place where he was found, but are you certain that everyone from the other schools were inside the school. Including Black Star? Miranda, you know what those children are?"
"I consider them to be a band of delightful young ladies," said Professor Holbrooke quietly. "That Strength girl is an excellent dancer."
"Miranda, come on!" said Crawford angrily. "Don't you think you might be prejudice in their favor because of certain…characters you keep in your school? I mean, it's enough that you have not one, but two Titan-Shifters in your school and you never bothered to bring it up to the Council! You might think they are harmless, but not all of them are – "
"I no more suspect the students of Black Star than my own, Crawford," said Professor Holbrooke, just as calmly. "I think it possible that it is you who are prejudice, Crawford."
"Can we wrap up this discussion?" said Zeref.
"Yes, yes, let's go down to the grounds, then," said Crawford impatiently.
"No, it's not that," said Zeref, "it's just that Miss Kagari wants a word with you, Miranda. She's just outside the door."
Again, please show your support for Serenity Academy, because you know I'm just going to keep repeating this message over and over again.
Next chapter: The Horologium Clock