Agents of Light: Kagari & Cavendish Investigations
Chapter 1 – An End is Just a Return to a New Beginning
"Oof!"
Akko landed with a grunt. She rolled and tumbled down the grassy incline for a moment or two, still carrying her momentum, before coming to a stop. Behind her, the broom tumbled down and came to rest with its handle on the back of Akko's head.
"Ow…" Akko groaned. Although she had recently gained the ability to fly with magic, she was not yet used to the finer intricacies of the magic required for precise control. In fact, in the 2 weeks since, she felt as if she hadn't improved at all.
"Are you okay!?" Lotte cried out from behind Akko as she came running. There was concern in her voice, though not a sense of urgency. The scene in front of her was one she had already witnessed multiple times while accompanying Akko on her broom practice.
"I'm fine." Akko replied as she dusted off her uniform, wincing slightly. "It's just a scratch."
"Are you sure you don't want a fortitude potion or something? I'm sure Sucy could whip something up." Lotte turned to look towards Sucy, who was gathering mushrooms under a nearby tree with her back turned, seemingly unperturbed by the recent event.
"Pain is part of the process, Lotte!" Akko stood up with a slight look of indignation. "How am I going to learn not to fall if there's no penalty for falling? It's like riding a bike; no training wheels for me!"
"You didn't have training wheels?"
"Well…" Akko shrugged her shoulders. "It's a metaphor."
Akko turned to gaze down the hill. The Luna Nova campus was spread out in front of her, its white marble buildings almost shimmering as they catch the midday sun.
"Although if there were a spell that could just make me a good broom flyer, then I can see this view without having to climb this stupid hill." Akko crossed her arms and continued staring at the campus.
"So you're not willing to accept help, but you're willing to cheat?"
"I was just saying!"
"Akko…" Lotte looked ready to launch into another lecture.
"Hey, what the heck is that?" Akko interrupted. A light gray blur was moving towards the two, coming from the direction of the academy. Akko squinted her eyes, trying to discern its identity. As it moved closer, it became clear to the two that it was one of Luna Nova's messenger doves, used for long distance communication in lieu of the prohibited cellphones.
Akko stretched out one arm, which the dove proceeded to land on with great precision. Around its neck was a chain necklace with a small green stone in the centre. Before long the necklace began to glow a faint emerald hue and floated up from its resting place on the pigeon's breast. A clear voice emanated from the stone.
"Kagari Atsuko, please report to the headmistress's office."
Immediately, Lotte looked towards Akko with a furrowed brow.
"What!?" Akko huffed. "I didn't do anything!"
"…I think."
"Better go now before you have to repair any more brooms!" Sucy yelled from across the hill, back still turned.
Akko paused for a moment at this, turned towards Lotte, and departed down the hill with a final shrug.
Akko arrived at the headmistress's office finding its floor to ceiling double doors were already open. Headmistress Holbrooke, upon noticing her student's presence, beckoned her inside with a gentle smile. As Akko entered, the doors closed behind her and revealed the presence of two other individuals standing to her left. Ursula Callistis, Akko's mentor and idol, was in the middle of a conversation with Akko's long time rival (though one sided), Diana Cavendish. The two turned to look at Akko as she entered, and whatever conversation between them faded away.
"Good, you're here." Professor Ursula remarked. She stumbled her way towards the headmistress's table and turned to face Akko and Diana, who were now left standing parallel beside each other. Akko threw a quizzical look towards Professor Ursula, who replied with a wry smile and deferred the matter to Headmistress Holbrooke with a glance.
"Ahem." She began, clearing her throat. "Miss Kagari, Miss Cavendish, I've called you here today to discuss a serious matter. It has to do with the noir fuel energy incident."
Akko and Diana shared a look of concern. Even Diana could not remain perfectly composed when faced with the topic. Just last month, they had both battled the ballistic missile that was taken over by Ex-Professor Croix's noir fuel energy.
"We've received reports of remanent fragments of the missile still powered by noir fuel energy scattered across the United Kingdom. It seems like they've retained their intelligence and are trying to continue on with causing havoc to anyone that comes across them."
"Oh no!" Diana exclaimed.
"What!?" Akko cried in shock. "How did we not know about this sooner!?"
"Well, from what we can tell they've mostly just been trying to stay hidden and out of sight. The fragments seem to have lost a significant amount of their power, although still quite enough to cause quite a disturbance, mind you."
"And you want us to do something about it?" Akko inquired. "Shouldn't this be a job for the pros to handle?"
"That would be our preference, yes." Headmistress Holbrooke ruminated. "Though they are not as powerful as they once were, the fragments retain one crucial aspect of their former iteration: they still possess the anti magic field. With just our normal magic, we can delay and weaken, but not completely eliminate them."
The headmistress stood and paced behind her desk. "That is why, Miss Kagari, as the former holder of the Claiomh Solais, you are the professional most suited for this task. Miss Cavendish, you are to assist her in any way you can."
"Headmistress," Diana began, "I understand that Akko is crucial for this role, but why am I part of this arrangement? Would it not be more prudent to send a senior staff member instead?"
Headmistress Holbrooke looked towards Professor Ursula, urging her to explain.
"W-Well," Professor Ursula began, wearing a slightly troubled expression. "Akko is still inexperienced as a witch, so we decided it was best to have someone be…"
"Her keeper." Diana sighed.
Akko shot Diana an indignant glare.
"A-Anyway," the professor continued. "even though we don't understand the mechanisms fully, you've also been able to use the Claiomh Solais with Akko during that final battle. In case anything goes wrong, we thought perhaps you could serve as a backup plan. That, and your teamwork with Akko should be of great help."
"I don't think our teamwork is anything out of the ordinary."
"One does not simply save the world together without great teamwork." Headmistress Holbrooke chimed in.
Diana glanced towards the large windows to the left of the room.
"I suppose." she acquiesced.
"So… When do we start?" Akko queried hesitantly.
"Immediately. Professor Ursula will brief you on the details when she escorts you to the leyline terminal." At this, Professor Ursula moved to escort the two girls out of the room. Akko and Diana followed behind her somewhat hesitantly.
"Oh, and girls?" the headmistress turned towards the group as they headed out of the office. "Be safe out there."
"We're taking the train!?" Akko exclaimed in surprise as she stood on the eastbound platform of the Castle Cary train station beside Diana.
"Well of course we are. We can't just go flying into the city on our brooms. And I don't want to have to give you a ride on mine anyway."
"Why not?"
"Akko, we still have to follow laws." Diana explained, her expression troubled but not without a small hint of amusement. "You've never seen a witch just flying on her broom in the city, have you?"
"There aren't exactly a ton of witches in Japan, you know. How would I know if it's normal?"
"Besides," Akko continued. "Are there even any laws about witches flying brooms? That sounds ridiculous."
"Akko, just so you know, we're legally classified as light aircraft."
"We're light aircraft?"
"Enthusiast hobby aircraft, in fact." Diana answered as she stepped forward, readying herself to embark on the just arriving train. "Gliders. Less than one engine."
Akko followed Diana up the steps, too baffled to give any sort of reply.
The Sunday afternoon train bound for Bath was quite empty. Diana and Akko shuffled amongst the retirees and students returning to school after visiting family for the weekend, not feeling particularly cramped. Soon they found their seats and sat facing each other, finding that they had ample room to take up both halves of a double seat by themselves. Akko glued her eyes to the window beside them as they took off from the station, and Diana was for a moment, buried deep in thought, trying to grasp the challenges that lay ahead.
"Come on, Akko." Diana sighed as she looked up. "This is official business. Have you considered that this could be dangerous?"
"Well it can't be all that dangerous if they're sending us alone! Besides, I've never been to this place before."
"Hmm…" Diana pondered. Akko had a point, but she couldn't shake the feeling that they were not seeing the whole picture. Still, it would do no good to anyone to dwell on that anxiety.
"I guess I didn't realize until now, but you really haven't been anywhere here except the academy, have you?"
"Yeah, I can't wait to see what the city's like! It was straight from the airport to the academy when I first got here."
"Don't get too excited, Bath isn't exactly a thriving metropolis. It probably seems like a small village by your standards."
"Hey, let's go to a café!" Akko exclaimed.
"Akko, just because we're excused from classes for however long this takes does not mean we have any time to waste."
"Aww." Akko groaned, peeling her face away from the window to show Diana her best sad puppy impression. "I meant like, you know, strategizing!"
"We barely know anything about what we're up against. Besides, if you really wanted to strategize we have an hour now to do it."
"Ooh, strategy meeting! This is going to be fun!"
Diana sighed. Where had Akko's initial apprehension gone? She really hoped for both their sakes that everything would go without a hitch. She glanced towards Akko, still animated and wiggling in her seat.
This was going to be a long day.