"Will it really be okay to have our study session in your home, Kagari-chan? I wouldn't want to intrude into your home…" Diana says in a nervous tone, feeling embarrassed about entering a Akko's home, especially when the one being talked about was a fellow teenager like her.

It didn't help that Akko was also her tutor, and… the girl she was developing feelings for…

Akko waved off her concern, continuing to lead the way towards her home. "Don't worry, it's just the three of us living together anyway. My old man, my little sister, and myself. We'll just be having this study session for about an hour and a half, and then we'll be done for the day. After all, it's only the first session between us, and I'll have to spend some time devising a study plan specifically for you."

"That sounds fair," Diana nodded with a smile. "But… may I ask if you could escort me to the station afterwards? I…I am still trying to know my way around here so you wouldn't need to bother with me in the future…"

"I'll take you to the station later on then, but please don't think you're bothering me by asking for such a thing." Akko told her while shaking her head in amusement. "I really wouldn't mind taking my time showing you how to know your way around this neighborhood."

"W-Well, I was just being considerate of you, Kagari-chan!" She turned her look elsewhere, a pout forming on her face. However, she had a blush on her face which made it harder for her to be taken seriously. "There is no need for you to continue showing me directions after this. I'm not like that green-haired buffoon from that one show who gets lost all the time."

"Diana, you don't need to worry about me. The moment I agreed to be your tutor, I have a responsibility to look after your well-being while you are out of the school premises. I would rather not have your family storming down to my home with threats if something bad happens to you. Besides…" She sent her a smug yet awkward grin, deciding to try and see the extent of her 'feelings' for her. "Deep down, I'm sure you want me to accompany you when you head home, right?"

Like what Akko had predicted, Diana looked down as her blush became deeper, showing that Akko was right. She then closed her eyes and turned away once again, puffing her cheeks more and causing her pout to become bigger.

"A-Alright I do, so what…?" she fired back, a hint of hesitation visible through her look. "I enjoy your company, Kagari-chan, but… I feel that it would be too much of me to ask for you to do such a thing… when you're already my tutor. It isn't fair on your part if I continue asking you to keep doing things for my sake." She quickly shook her head upon noticing that she had spoken too much. "J-Just focus on teaching me, and I will be fine…!"

Akko looked surprised with her conflicting answer, but realized that it may just be a part of Diana's personality. What was that particular trope called? Akko could have sworn she heard it somewhere…

Ah yes, a tsundere. Though, she was showing more of her 'dere' side so far.

Akko shrugged nonchalantly, before sending her another smug look. "Whatever you say. Regardless of that, I'll still be accompanying you whenever we're done with our study sessions because it's what I'm supposed to do. You can't tell me otherwise, Diana. You better get used to it."

Diana pouted at her even harder after her words, but didn't choose to say anything else. Arguing about such a small matter would be pointless at this point. If Akko wanted to go with her the whole way even if she didn't have to, she'll just leave her be… which is rather embarrassing to think about, now that the idea had sunk in her mind.

After a few more minutes of venturing along the suburbs, the pair had reached an apartment where they stopped right before the front door. Diana took a quick glance around, now understanding what her tutor meant when she said that her financial standing wasn't in a good state and causing her to secretly give her a sympathetic look.

"Now I feel more embarrassed to be here,"she thought to herself.

Moments after knocking on the door, a young girl with long, black hair with a huge ahoge atop her head came rushing out and hugged Akko tightly. Akko looked a bit embarrassed by this, especially since Diana was just behind her and was surprised by what she was seeing as well.

"A-Atsumi…" she called out to her younger sister, who was as cheerful and energetic as any child out there, while also having enough maturity to handle most of the responsibilities inside the house. Akko then turned towards Diana and gave her an awkward grin, showing that she was used to her sister being like this. "Diana, this is Atsumi, she's my younger sister."

Diana's eyes widened slightly. "Your… sister?"

"Welcome back, Onee-chan!" Atsumi Kagari pulled back from the embrace with a big smile, before noticing the green-haired girl who was standing behind her big sister. "Oh, and good afternoon, miss…?"

Diana quickly snapped herself out of her trance and knelt down for a bit, before giving the young girl a bright smile. "It's Diana Cavendish. I'm a friend of your big sister. Nice to meet you, Atsumi-chan!"

"Friend?! O-Onee-chan has a friend…?" Atsumi asked incredulously, almost unable to comprehend what she was hearing. "I thought for sure she would stay as a moody girl who keeps her distance from everybody, but thanks to you, Diana-san, Onee-chan will finally smile a lot more!"

Akko paled, since her own sister just gave Diana some potential blackmail material against her. No, she wasn't embarrassed at the fact that she never had 'friends' before, but rather it's because Atsumi let it slip that she almost never smiles, which she has clearly done several times today.

And all of them were directed towards Diana herself.

"Now, now, Atsumi, I think you've said enough to Diana…" Akko attempted to speak, but was quickly cut off by the sound of someone giggling.

"Oh, Kagari-chan? Am I perhaps the first friend that you've ever had? I feel like I should be honored" Diana sent a smirk of her own towards Akko, while the young girl herself looked nervous.

"At least she hasn't caught on to what Atsumi said about me smiling a lot more…"she thought to herself while sweat-dropping."But damn, I never knew Diana had a teasing side in her. I don't know if that's a good thing since she's my soulmate…"

Atsumi went back to the door and invited the two older teens inside with a wave of her arm. "Please come in! I made some onigiri, let's eat them together!"

Diana's eyes sparkled at the mention of food, before she clasped her hands together happily. "I'd love to have some, Atsumi-chan! Come on, Kagari-chan! We can eat some while we're studying!" She then turned towards her tutor and began to pull on her arm like a child asking for candy.

"Sure, why not?" Akko shrugged, causing Diana's smile to grow wider before the girl took off her shoes and rushed inside to try some of Atsumi's homemade rice balls, leaving Akko in the doorway.

"I guess... this isn't as bad as I expected it to be," she admitted to herself, finding herself focused on the happy look on Diana's face while munching on an onigiri. Atsumi looked overjoyed at this and not long after that, the two girls were laughing along with each other.

Akko then came to a sudden realization. Compared to when she met Diana several hours earlier, Akko wasn't complaining much about her situation compared to way before she met the girl. She could clearly remember how she wondered why the God of Love had to choose her for this and everything else, until she stopped doing those after school ended.

In the eyes of a normal person, one would describe that as being too fast, but wasn't Akko's situation anything but normal? Diana was her soulmate, and it was terribly obvious that the girl harbored feelings for her. If that wasn't enough, the old god had told her that two soulmates will 'fall in love with each other that it hurts'.

But despite that, Akko didn't feel like complaining anymore. She didn't even have something to complain about in the first place. The fact that her relationship with Diana as of now made Akko smile in a genuine way several times was enough to tell herself that she was secretly liking her situation. To add to that, the girl wasn't rushing their relationship despite her obvious feelings.

"You know… what was I even worried about? Everything is completely fine and I think this could have gotten worse if my soulmate wasn't Diana." she said rhetorically in her thoughts. Shaking her head in amusement, she went inside her home and closed the door, while the bubbly sensation in her chest promptly returned, and the young girl couldn't stop herself from smiling at the scene before her.

"Oiii, Kagari-chann!"

Akko shook her head to snap herself back to reality, where she saw Diana giving her a small pout, before it turned into a sweet smile as soon as her eyes were set on her.

"If you just stay there, we won't be able to get some studying done! Aren't you supposed to be getting ready to teach me, Kagari-chan?" she asked, munching on another onigiri quietly.

Akko allowed herself a small chuckle, before raising her hands in defeat. "Yeah, you're right. Sorry for spacing out, Diana. Let's get started then." She joined her sister and student near the table, taking an onigiri for herself before taking out the books that Diana bought for their study session.

Atsumi's jaw dropped at what she was seeing before her. "Onee-chan is actually laughing!"

"It's already 4:30? But it feels like time passed so quickly!" Diana put on an annoyed look as she stared at the clock on her phone. Everything was going well during their study sessions; while she was constantly munching on the onigiris that Atsumi made, Akko gave her a brief summary on what they would be learning about in every subject area for the next several weeks. Her explanations about their subjects were concise and straightforward, and she pauses her lectures whenever she was writing down her words, in order to make sure that she wouldn't be going too fast for her pace.

However, all good things had to come to an end.

"Yes, and I'm afraid that'll be the end of our session today, Diana." Akko only gives her a small nod while helping the girl pack her books. "No need to worry, because we will be meeting tomorrow, the day after that, and so on. A tutor's job isn't over until her student is fully capable of passing exams with flying colors, after all."

"Kagari-chan, can't we continue until 5:00 at least?" She asked, looking up at the young girl pleadingly. "I can still learn more from you and I certainly don't feel tired at all. Furthermore, your discussions are engaging and I feel more motivated to learn as a result!"

Akko gritted her teeth at Diana pulling out the 'puppy-dog eyes' card and luckily, she managed to overcome that deadly weapon. She folded her arms across her chest, before shaking her head.

"Like I told you earlier, today is only our first session together, so it wouldn't make sense to push through your limits right away. Trust me, you don't want to go home withverynoticeable bags under your eyes."

Diana was about to give her one of her huge pouts as a response, until her words slowly registered into her mind. Akko had a point, but she didn't have to turn her down that way. What a meanie. "F-Fine, I get it," she huffed and simply turned away.

Akko sighed, placing her hand on her shoulder, which surprised the girl for a bit. It seems that her student needs to learn when to work hard and when to take it easy. "I appreciate your enthusiasm in wanting to learn more, but we're just getting started, Diana. Take this as the first step to learning under my tutelage instead. Of course, we're bound to get to that level soon, especially when it's time for the exams. But for now, let's take it easy so you don't get overwhelmed with too much information off the bat. Okay?"

Losing most of her earlier grumpiness towards Akko, Diana nodded quietly, not choosing to say anything more. All that was left in her mind was how her tutor spoke with her calmly in order to resolve their little problem, and Diana was left thinking about it in particular. Akko then removed her hand from her shoulder and stood up.

"I'll just drop off my bag in my room, then we can leave. I still have to show you the way to the station." She told the girl, before picking up her bag and walking off. This prompted Atsumi, who was finished in washing the dishes, to walk up towards Diana with a concerned look on her face.

"Don't be sad, Diana-san. You'll come back tomorrow with Onee-chan, right?"

"Of course I will, Atsumi-chan. Kagari-chan is my tutor, after all. Why are you asking such a question?" The green-head asked, tilting her head curiously.

"Maybe I can try to make onigiri tomorrow too? Or something else, so we can eat together again!" Atsumi exclaimed, which only caused Diana to feel even more confused than before. "Please don't stay mad at Onee-chan. She can be a bit grumpy, but she's a good person! Please don't stop being her friend, Diana-san."

"Oh, Atsumi-chan…" Diana shook her head and let a smile appear on her features, before she pulled the younger girl into a warm embrace. "I'm not mad at your sister at all, and I'm not going to stop being her friend. I was just thinking deeply about her, that's all."

"Why were you thinking of Onee-chan?"

"I've heard what some of our classmates have been saying about her. Some of them have said that she's scary, a delinquent, a know-it-all, and many other things. At first, I didn't believe them because Kagari-chan has been nothing but civil and understanding towards me since we met. She can be blunt and look somehow intimidating, but I really enjoyed her company when we met at lunch," Diana explained with a healthy blush covering her cheeks.

"Then why did it look like you were mad at her...?"

"When I noticed your reaction when we met, Atsumi-chan, it made me think that our classmates might not be making complete lies after all. I didn't pay attention to the thought at first, because I believed that Kagari-chan is a good person. I happened to have the chance to see it for myself, so I tried to make it seem like I was angry with your sister a while ago, but I only wanted to see how Kagari-chan would handle it."

Atsumi's eyes widened. "Wait… so… you were just pretending to be mad at Onee-chan because you wanted to see how she would react to it?"

"That's right. This only affirms my belief that your sister is a good person, and no one can convince me otherwise!" Diana smiled brightly. "Although I still want to continue our study session for some more, I understand why we do need to stop now. Besides, I'll be coming back tomorrow like you said, Atsumi-chan!"

The young girl's eyes were filled with emotion, as she hugged Diana tightly. "T-Thank you, Diana-san… for being Onee-chan's friend. She won't say it, but I'm sure that she feels the same way that I do. I know Onee-chan better than anyone else, and she already sees you as someone important to her. Onee-chan doesn't invite people into our house, but she did it for you. Diana-san, you're the first friend that she made in years."

"She…She does…?" Diana thought to herself, wildly blushing in the process. Now having a good idea of what Akko was like, hearing such a thing was like something akin to a confession! However, being a complete beginner when it came to romance, she didn't give it too much thought and simply took it as Akko sees her as a friend she can trust."Perhaps… we can be more than that in the future."

"I'm happy to be Kagari-chan's friend, Atsumi-chan. I'm your friend too from now on, okay?" Diana asked happily, and the younger girl could only respond with the same level of enthusiasm.

"Yes! I'll be your friend too, Diana-san!" Atsumi said, forming a big smile of her own.

While the two were busy in their own little world, they never noticed that Akko had been watching the whole scene play out before her, as the corners of her lips curved upwards by the end of it.

man, i hate this