It will probably take around 3 or 4 chapters more before the next girl makes eye contact with Akko. Until then, Diana has a very big headstart over her step-sisters (Akko's harem). This'll allow the other girls to catch up when they finally meet Akko, hehe.

Exiting the bookstore, Diana could be seen carrying books for English, Math, Social Studies, Japanese, and Science (all of her subjects) while Akko dealt with both of their bags. Taking a glance at the books that Diana had, Akko was starting to wonder if buying reference materials for all subjects was really necessary. She can't be that bad, right?

"Not to be rude, but do you really need all of those?" Akko asked her. "I know I asked you to buy some learning materials, but I think this may be too much…"

"A-As much as I hate to admit it, yes…" Diana blushed and looked down in shame. "I have said earlier that my grades aren't so good compared to yours, and that much is true. In fact, the very reason why my sisters and I had to transfer schools was because of low academic remarks in every area, and I want to change that."

Akko ignored the part where Diana said that she had sisters who transferred just like her, focusing completely on the lone fact that this girl was struggling to get good grades in every subject. "I see… that definitely explains why you were asking me to tutor you," Akko concluded.

Diana nodded in confirmation, before she looked quite hesitant about her next words. She was somehow afraid of what Akko might think of her if she said it. Nonetheless, Diana chose to speak her mind and share her thoughts with her companion. Akko was someone she could trust, as shown when she agreed to be her tutor and was willingly spending time to act as one.

"Kagari-chan?"

"What?"

She looked back towards Akko, her eyes showing her clear nervousness. "Do you… Do you think it's childish of me to dream about graduating from college and becoming a teacher in the future?"

Now this was a question Akko wasn't expecting. Where did that come from?

"Childish? Why would you say that?" she asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Well… I've heard that most people would rather set short-term goals to accomplish instead of ones like mine. They say that it's impossible to reach that kind of dream when I don't even know the steps I will have to take in order to get there, and that only a child would do it."

Akko thought about her words for the next few moments, letting them fully register into her mind. So Diana wanted to be a teacher as her dream profession, but was experiencing some problems that could interfere with that. Well, Akko was no expert in making a person feel better, but she was the only one with Diana at the moment and she was expecting an answer from her, anyway.

Akko shook her head. "No, I don't think it's childish to dream of such a thing at all. It's normal to aim for graduating college and get your degree, before choosing your desired job. To be completely honest with you, Diana, I am somewhat similar. I dream of finishing college, but I haven't made a decision yet on what career path I should choose."

The girl widened her eyes as a result. "Y-You haven't…?"

"I see no reason to, not when I haven't even stepped into college yet," Akko shrugged. "Anyway, the only thing I can say to you is that not all people go through the same experiences while growing up, but that's not important. Some may be born in a life of poverty but has excellent academic skills, some people get better as they learn more, while there are also some people who are born rich but are as dumb as a brick."

Akko's last comment rang in Diana's ears like an alarm clock, feeling that it was somehow directed towards her, and it caused the girl to scrunch her eyebrows before puffing out her cheeks in a big pout.

"What matters is how—" Akko stopped in her words when she saw Diana pouting at her, causing her to feel confused. "Uh, did I do something wrong? Why are you looking at me that way?"

"Kagari-chan," she stated in a very serious tone, completely different from her happy self, which was all that she's been seeing from her so far. "Who were you talking about when you said that 'there are some people who are born rich but are as dumb as a brick'?"

"No one. I was just stating an example, so stop glaring at me already," Akko explained without hesitation, but all her words did was make Diana pout even harder at her. "What are you even angry at? It's not like you're born—" It then hit her, causing Akko to widen her red yes in surprise. "Wait a second, don't tell me that you're rich!"

"How else could I have bought these books that you asked me to buy?!" she cried, as her frown deepened in anger. "Muuuuu, I can't believe you, Kagari-chan! T-Teasing me like this when I'm asking you a serious question! I even trusted you with something personal…!"

Akko frowned, not liking the fact that she was getting accused for something she had no fault in. "Hey, hey, hang on, I never even knew you were rich! We just met this afternoon, how do you expect me to come to that conclusion after only a few hours?"

"You couldn't even figure it out after seeing the lunch that I ordered? Mmmuuuu, you're just teasing me right now, I know it!" she pointed towards her in an accusing manner, with small tears beginning to form in her eyes.

"I'm not! There's no possible way for me to come to that conclusion because, if you can remember, my lunch was vastly inferior compared to yours in just about everything. Perhaps, if I had given more attention to what you were eating, I could determine that you had a nice upbringing. The only thing I did was take a quick glance at your lunch, and I didn't say anything else after that. But in a similar way, you should have been able to realize that my financial standing isn't in a very good state and therefore, I am clueless to the concept of who is rich compared to those who have enough money to sustain themselves. I sincerely thought you were a part of the latter and didn't give it much thought, that's all."

The girl's pout slowly disappeared, but her frown remained. Diana still didn't look entirely convinced despite her reasonable explanation. "Really…?" she said, breaking their eye contact and looking towards the side instead.

"There's no reason for me to lie. Now as I was saying, what matters is how you choose to spend your life to reach that dream you have. Will you work hard and believe in yourself to reach what you thought was impossible? Or will you just lie around and think that your dream will happen even if you didn't do anything? That is what's childish, if you ask me. What you're doing is completely acceptable and normal in my eyes."

"But..." Diana lowered her head, her bright green hair shadowing over the entirety of her face before she spoke in a sad tone. "But I'm a failure when it comes to my grades. Even though I try my best to study, I always get the same results. Isn't that more of a childish action? Not being able to improve at all? At this rate, I don't think I will even get to step into college…"

Diana was quickly brought out of a near-depressed state when she felt Akko's large, warm hand rest on top of her head, causing her to look up at the young girl with wide blue eyes.

"Diana, it's not the end of the world for you. You're not one of those people who laze around on their couches and do nothing but watch television and play games all day. You still work as hard as you can, and you clearly know your limits. All that's left for you is to improve yourself through your academic grades."

The girl shifted in her position a bit, looking doubtful for a brief moment before looking back up towards Akko. "How exactly…?" she asked softly, her voice still holding some of her worries for her own self.

"Have you forgotten who I am?" she asked rhetorically with a deadpan look, before it shifted into a genuine smile, something that one would never expect from Akko. "I'm the tutor that you hired, and it'll be my job to help you elevate your grades. Why do you think I asked you to buy all these books you're holding?"

Diana's cheeks turned red. "I…"

"Diana," Akko placed her hands on her shoulders, causing the girl to quickly turn back towards her with a surprised look. "Personally, I'm not someone who would normally care about other people and what they want to do in life, but you're an exception to that. It's not just because I'm your tutor, but I also respect your dream now that I know about it, and how you strive to achieve it. You don't laze around on a couch, doing whatever you want like one of those typical spoiled rich teenagers. You actively try to improve yourself, and you can admit your own faults. For that, I swear that I will do my best to help you improve in your studies and to make sure that you get through high school."

Dians's eyes widened afterwards, taken aback from Akko's declaration to help her, to the point that it caused small droplets of tears to form in her eyes once more, and her lips trembled with emotion. This alarmed Akko, thinking that she somehow made her cry by invading her personal space.

"Wait, don't cry! I'm so—!"

Akko was immediately cut off when Diana launched herself towards her, wrapping her arms around her body and burying the side of her face into her chest. Akko's eyes widened at her action and took a few steps back as a result, before she felt her face heating up.

"D-Diana…?"

The green-haired girl knew that her face must be burning, but she didn't care about that at the moment. Diana only hugged Akko tighter, feeling the warm comfort provided by her body heat. This made her smile through the tears that escaped her eyes, and caused something to click in her mind.

"Is this… love? I have never felt this way before, but I don't mind being like this…"Diana thought to herself, fighting an internal battle in which her 'diligent and studyholic' side was losing badly against the side that wanted to rely on her newfound friend, just like how she would do the same for Akko. That wasn't a bad thing at all, because Diana couldn't help but be curious about this newfound feeling that she was experiencing and wanted to learn more about it. She was someone who never entertained the idea of romance, until she came across this young girl, who used only words and actions to somehow win over her.

And Akko wasn't even doing it on purpose!

Diana wanted to ask her about these feelings that she was experiencing, but pushed it into the back of her mind instead. She didn't want to burden Akko with a serious matter, not when they just met and while she was like this. However, she could still enjoy their time as friends until the day comes when she can tell Akko about the lingering feeling in her heart and what it meant.

She knew she would be in safe hands with Akko Kagari being there for her as a friend, as a tutor and hopefully, more than those in the future.

"Thank you… Kagari-chan," she whispered loud enough for her to hear, before closing her eyes and letting herself melt into her warmth for as long as she could.

"Uh… don't mention it," Akko replies in an awkward tone, before slowly wrapping her arms around her in an attempt to return the hug with a red face. Diana nearly jumped in surprise at her action, but soon relaxed and buried her face deeper into her chest, having this moment of bliss with her apparent soulmate.

"This feels… nice," Akko whispered, finding herself to be enjoying this, much to her own confusion. These interactions were way out of her league, as she preferred to be alone. Akko never hugged anyone outside of her family, so why was this fine with her? It was a completely different experience to when the green-haired girl hugged her in front of everyone earlier too. Was it a sign that she was falling in love with Diana just like what the God of Love said would happen? It would be a reasonable answer, since she was her soulmate… right?

"Whatever, I'll deal with it later."Akko pushed the issue into the back of her mind and focused solely on her current situation, giving into her impulse to enjoy this moment of affection while she still can. She even tried patting her back gently, earning a comforting sound from Diana and prompting her to continue.

Unaware of her own feelings towards this issue, Akko Kagari had no idea that she was truly falling in love with her soulmate, Diana Cavendish.

Akko's situation is not good, she's slowly surrendering to the cuteness of Diana, which isn't something to complain about at all. If this was any normal romance fic, it would be a slow route in development, but it isn't. HAHAHAHAHA! Did you expect me to take the slow route for this? They are already soulmates, there's no need to be slow! Bring on more fluff and wholesomeness next chapter, screw waiting around!