Akko Kagari and the Gospel of Aradia

by Red Reef

Akko has a lot on her mind this year: A wicked new teacher; the upcoming Standard Testing and Aptitude Results; hope of finding her lost mother, Shiny Chariot; and her complicated love life with Diana Cavendish. But all these pale next to the threat of the Great Witch Jennifer

2. Mixed Messages

Akko Kagari and the Gospel of Aradia

Chapter Two: Mixed Messages

"Huh?" said Akko blankly.

"He left!" said the cat, tail swishing furiously. "Left to see someone about some kind of Reishi conversion machine or whatever he was spouting on about! I told him I would beat his face in if he went, and now look! Heartless! It's lucky you were able to ward them off before I arrived! But we haven't got time to stand around! Hurry, now, we've got to get you back! Oh, the trouble this is going to cause! I will kill him!"

"Um – "

Knowing Blair, who had been posing as her pet cat literally since birth, Akko wasn't all that surprised by a talking black cat barking orders, so she was able to keep a cool head and calmly ask, "Are you a friend of Blair's?"

"Sort of," said the black cat. "I was her alchemy teacher at Luna Nova for the first few years before I retired and handed the position to Finnelan. The name's Yoruichi Shihoin. I was also the one who taught Blair how to turn into a cat."

"So you and this Urahara have been following me around?" asked Akko. "Wait a minute – it was him! He's the one that made that loud noise in front of my house!"

"Yes, yes, that idiot has no value for discretion," said Yoruichi in an exasperated tone. "I was hiding out near your house when I heard him leave and I tried going after him, but when I went back to your house, you were already gone – and now – ugh, what's I can already heard the Sphere chewing me out. Hey, you," he said to Umaru, still supine on the alley floor. "You're not dead, right? Oy, the talking cat is asking you a question."

"The Sphere?" Akko repeated, staring at the cat.

"The Celestial Sphere," said Yoruichi, prodding Umaru's prone form with her paw. "The group that I work for. Don't worry; you'll be meeting them soon enough. But right now, we should get out of here – who knows how many more Heartless are lurking nearby – "

The black cat slipped around Umaru's front, seizing her sleeve with her teeth, and tugged.

"Come on, you unrealistically perfect Human, get up!"

But Umaru either could not or would not move. She was still on the ground, trembling and ashen-faced, her arms crossed tightly around her chest.

"I'll do it." Akko stooped low, facing her back to Umaru, and heaved: with a bit of effort, she managed to hoist Umaru into a piggyback. Umaru seemed to be on the point of fainting: her eyes were rolling in their sockets and sweat was beading her face; she swayed dangerously from side to side until Akko adjusted her against her shoulder.

"Let's move!" said Yoruichi.

Akko hauled Umaru toward the street, sagging slightly under her weight. Yoruichi scurried along in front, peering anxiously around the corner.

"Keep your wand out," she told Akko, as they turned the corner. "There is going to be hell to pay for this; we might as well have stolen for stealing a dragon egg. This is exactly what the Sphere was worried about – hold on, what's that at the end of the street? Oh, it's just that Nano girl from the Shinonome house…. Don't put your wand away. I can't use Light-Based magic, so I can help beyond knocking them around."

It was not easy to hold a wand steady and to keep Umaru from falling over at the same time. Her head was slumped over Akko's shoulder, burying her face into the cook of her neck while her knees dug into Akko's ribs.

"Why didn't you tell me you were a Demi-Human?" Akko asked Yoruichi, panting with effort to keep walking. "All those times I saw you around the neighborhood – why didn't you say anything?"

"I couldn't – not without giving myself away to the Magic Council," said Yoruichi solemnly.

"The Magic Council?" Akko repeated.

"You haven't noticed, but the Magic Council has been monitoring you extremely close since you returned home at the start of the summer," said Yoruichi. "Agents for the Council posing as everyday civilians, watching you from a distance, sometimes even following in secret. And not just you either, but your parents as well. Your father's office suddenly had several new employees on his floor the day after you came back from Luna Nova and they were all 'conveniently' settled right next to your father's desk. And Midori-ya, the café where your mother works, also got a bunch of new regular customers that always come around every day at the same time, like clockwork."

"Why is the Magic Council watching my family so much," asked Akko, worry starting to bubble up in his stomach.

"It's because you're the Star-Born Child – oh, don't look so surprised," said Yoruichi, not even looking back at Akko to know her expression. "Everyone in the Sphere knows who you are."

"Okay…ignoring the fact that your 'Sphere' is starting to sound like a stalker network," Akko mumbled. "What does me being the Star-Born Child have to do with the Magic Council."

"Everything," said Yoruichi severely. "You were the one who came back from the Contest of Champions and reported Jennifer's return, which goes against the narrative that Crawford Seam and the Council are trying to push. The rest of the world doesn't know who you are, but if people find out that the Star-Born Child spoke out against the Council, it would cause them to lose face and disturb the accumulation of power they've built up for themselves. The Star-Born Child is a hero – a legend – everyone would readily side with you over a Council with a long track record of incompetence and failures. That's why the Magic Council seeks to discredit you before that happens. The Council wants to make it so that when people think of Akko Kagari, they think of a troublemaker instead of a hero."

"Well, they don't have far to go," Akko grumbled. "Scaglietti laid out the groundwork during the Contest."

"Yeah, that's a problem," said Yoruichi, "but I'm afraid this will be much worse. The Magic Council is going to jump on this little incident, you can count on that. They'll hang you for using magic on a Human – "

"But I didn't use it on Umaru!" Akko shouted. "I used it on the Heartless!"

"That's a matter of perspective," said Yoruichi solemnly. "And you can bet the Council's perspective is not going to match yours – KISUKE URAHARA, I'M GOING TO KILL YOU!"

There was a loud bang as a lankly, unshaken man in frumpy dark clothes and a striped bucket hat materialized in front of them. He had a general Laissez-faire vibe to him as he smiled quite serenely at the trio with unkempt blonde hair and a lazy look in his eyes.

"Sup, Yoruichi," he said casually, looking from the black cat to Akko and Umaru. "What happened to staying undercover?"

"I'll give you undercover!" Yoruichi hissed. "Heartless, you useless, rundown shopkeeper!"

"Heartless?" repeated, Urahara, blinking slowly. "In Japan?"

"Yes, in Japan!" Yoruichi howled. "Heartless attacking Kagari on your watch!"

"Oh," said Urahara, nonchalantly looking from Yoruichi to Akko and back again. "Well, then it's a good thing you were there."

"I didn't get there in time! Kagari had to defend herself! While you were off buying more useless crap!"

"Hey, it's not useless," Urahara whined. "I'll have you know, a Reishi conversion machine – "

Yoruichi pounced on Urahara's face and started scratching furiously. Akko watched Urahara flail back and forth around the street trying to pry the black cat off his face.

"Ouch – hey – quit it! Someone's gotta tell the Sphere!"

"Yes, they should!" yelled Yoruichi, still scratching at every bit of Urahara's face she could reach. "And it had better be you! And you can tell them why you weren't there to help!"

"Keep your whiskers on!" said Urahara, finally managing to throw her off. "I'm going, I'm going!"

And with another bang, he vanished.

"Sometime I wonder why I put myself out for that guy," Yoruichi grumbled. "Now come on, Kagari, what're you waiting for?"

Akko decided not to waste her remaining breath on pointing out that she was one who held them up. She readjusted the semi-conscious Umaru on her back and staggered onward.

"I'll take you to the door," said Yoruichi, as they turned into Akko's street. "Just in case there are more of them around…. Oh lord, this is a disaster…and you had to fight them off yourself…and now the Magic Council is going to be a problem…. Well, it's no good crying over spilled milk, I guess…."

"So," Akko panted, "these…Celestial Sphere guys…have been following me?"

"Of course we have," said Yoruichi impatiently. "Did you think they'd let you wander around on your own after what happened in June? Jennifer is after you and Minrou both. We needed to keep an eye on you for your protection, while simultaneously avoiding the eye of the Magic Council. I don't think I need to tell you how much trouble we've gone through…. Right…get inside and stay there," she said as they reached the Kagari house. "I expect someone will be in touch with you soon enough."

"What're you going to do?" asked Akko quickly.

"I need to patrol the area for any more Heartless activity," said Yoruichi, staring around the dark street. "Those heartless were Neo Shadows; that breed is only native to European countries. It's not natural. Just stay in your house. Good night."

"Hang on, don't go yet! I wanna know – "

But Yoruichi had already slipped over the low garden wall, her black fur blending into the night.

"Wait!" Akko shouted after her; she had a million questions to ask anyone who was in contact with the magical world. Scowling, Akko readjusted Umaru on her back and made her slow, painful way up the path.

The hall light was on. Akko stuck her wand back inside her pocket, rang the bell, and waited patiently for her mother to answer the door.

"Akko! It's about time you came back! Do you have any – any – oh kami, what happened?"

Akko looked sideways over her shoulder at Umaru and set her down on her feet just in time. Umaru swayed for a moment on the spot, her face pale green, then she opened her mouth and vomited over the doormat.

"UMARU! Umaru, what's the matter with you? Akko, what's the matter with her? Shuichi? SHUICHI!"

Akko's father came galumphing out of the living room, taking in the scene of his daughter holding back Umaru's hair as she expelled the contents of her stomach on the front step. He hurried forward to help Akko negotiate the weak-kneed Umaru over the threshold while avoiding stepping in the pool of sick.

"Akko, what happened?" he asked her immediately.

"I'll explain in a minute," said Akko hurriedly.

"Why are you two covered in dirt?" Mrs. Kagari came up behind them. "Were you lying on the ground? Hang on – you weren't mugged, were you?"

"Just hold on a minute!" Akko said, growing more impatient with the slew of questions.

"This is important, Akko!" Mrs. Kagari snapped firmly. "Taihei! I need to call Taihei! He'll be so worried!"

While Mrs. Kagari called Umaru's older brother on her cell, Akko and Mr. Kagari slammed the door behind them and made their way noisily down the hall toward the kitchen. The clean tiles and counter had an oddly unreal glitter after the darkness outside. Mr. Kagari ushered Umaru into a chair; she was still very green and clammy looking. Mrs. Kagari came surging into the room not long after as she ended the call on her phone.

"Taihei will be here as soon as he can," she announced.

"Then until he gets here, you can start explaining why his sister just threw up on our front door," Mr. Kagari said to Akko.

"It wasn't my fault," said Akko immediately; a reflex she was used to using after years of getting in trouble.

"We're not saying it was," said Mr. Kagari, who was now sponging the sick from the front of Umaru's dress. "We just want to know what happened."

"Everything that happened," Mrs. Kagari added sternly, like she already knew Akko was going to leave out a few details. Like turning the Shiny Rod on Umaru, for example.

But at that precise moment, a large black crow wearing an official-looking hat and collar swooped in through the kitchen window. Narrowly missing the top of Mr. Kagari's head, it soared across the kitchen, dropped a large envelope it was carrying under its wing at Akko's feet, and turned gracefully, the tips of its wings just brushing the top of the fridge, then zoomed outside again and into the night sky.

"OH, COME ON! AGAIN?!" bellowed Mrs. Kagari, the well-known vein in her temple pulsing angrily as she slammed the kitchen window shut. "WHY DOES IT HAVE TO BE BIRDS? WHO EVEN USES BIRDS ANYONE? IT'S THE TWENTY-FIRST CENTURY! SEND AN E-MAIL!"

But Akko was already ripping open the envelope and pulling out the letter inside, her heart pounding somewhere in the region of her throat.

Dear Miss Kagari,

We have received intelligence that you performed a light-based Extermination Spell at twenty-three minutes past nine
this evening in the active assault of a human.

The severity of this breach of the International Charter for the Relations of Humans and Demi-Humans has resulted in
your expulsion from Luna Nova Magical Academy. Magic Council representatives will be calling at your place of
residence shortly to destroy your wand.

As you have already received an official warning for a previous offence under Paragraph D of the International Charter
for the Relations of Humans and Demi-Humans, we regret to inform you that your presence is required at a disciplinary
hearing at the Magic Council in Era at 9 A.M. on August 12th.

Hoping you are well,
Your sincerely,
Mest Gryder
Department of Magical Law Enforcement
Magic Council of Era

Akko read the letter through twice. She was only vaguely aware of her mother and father talking in the vicinity. Inside her head, all was icy and numb. One fact had penetrated her consciousness like a paralyzing dart. She was expelled from Luna Nova. It was all over. She was never going back.

She looked her parents. Mrs. Kagari was staring her down like a hawk, waiting for Akko to explain herself; Mr. Kagari was still sopping up Umaru, who had retched again.

Akko's temporarily stupefied brain seemed to reawaken. Magic Council representatives will be calling at your place of residence shortly to destroy your wand. They were going to destroy her wand – Finnelan's daughter's wand – and they could even try to take the Shiny Rod as well. It was just as Yoruichi had predicted.

There was only one thing she could do. She had to run – now. Where she was going to go, Akko didn't know, but she was certain of one thing: At Luna Nova or outside it, she needed the Shiny an almost dreamlike state, she pulled her wand out and turned to leave the kitchen.

"Where do you think you're going?" shouted Mrs. Kagari. When Akko didn't reply, she stomped across the kitchen to block the doorway into the hall. "We're not done talking, Akko!"

"I need to go," said Akko quickly.

"You need to start explaining yourself right now – "

"Get out of my way or I'll hex you," said Akko, raising her wand.

"Akko, what is going on with you?" said Mr. Kagari aghast. "Threatening your own mother? That's not like you."

"I don't want to, but I will if I have to," said Akko. "I please, just get out of the way or I'll – "

A resounding CRACK filled the kitchen; Mr. Kagari yelled in a fright, Mrs. Kagari flinched and ducked, but for the third time that night, Akko was staring for the source of the disturbance she had not made. She spotted it at once: Haruka-san had smushed her face against the closed kitchen window, stretching her dopey smile farther than it should.

Ignoring Mrs. Kagari's exasperated yells, Akko crossed the room and wrenched the window open again. Haruka-san had a small roll of paper tied to her ribbon. The moment Akko pulled it out, the Puchi bounced away out of sight. Hands shaking, Akko unfurled the second message, which was written very hastily in blue ink.

Akko –

Granny's just arrived in Era, and she's trying to sort it all out. DO NOT LEAVE YOUR PARENT'S HOUSE.
DO NOT DO ANY MORE MAGIC. DO NOT GIVE UP THE SHINY ROD.

Lotte

Professor Holbrooke was trying to sort it all out…. What did that mean? How did she even know Akko was in trouble? How much power did Holbrooke have to override the Magic Council? Was there a chance that she might be allowed back to Luna Nova, then? A small shoot of hope burgeoned in Akko's chest, almost immediately strangled by panic – How was she supposed to refuse to surrender the Shiny Rod without doing magic? She'd have to duel with the Council representatives, and even if the Shiny Rod wasn't malfunctioning for some weird reason, she'd be lucky to escape Dol Guldur, let alone expulsion.

Her mind was racing…. She could run for it and risk being captured by the Council, or stay put and wait for them to find her here. She was much more tempted by the former course, but she knew that Lotte had her best interests at heart…and, after all, Professor Holbrooke had sorted out much worse than this before….

"Right," Akko said, "I've changed my mind, I'm staying."

She flung herself down at the kitchen table and faced Umaru and Mr. Kagari. Her parents appeared taken aback at her abrupt change of mind. Mr. Kagari glanced despairingly at Mrs. Kagari. Mrs. Kagari took a deep, calming breath before addressing Akko again.

"Who are all these messages from?" she asked evenly.

"The first one was from the Magic Council, expelling me," said Akko serenely; she was straining her ears to catch noises outside in case the Council representatives were approaching, and it was easier and quieter to answer her mother's questions than to have her start raging and bellowing. "The second one was from my friend Lotte, telling me her grandmother is sorting everything out."

Mrs. Kagari did not respond right away. She took a few carefully measured steps toward Akko, kneeling down so that they were at eye level, and said, "And why have you been expelled?"

"Because they think I used magic on Umaru."

"Did you?" Mrs. Kagari questioned. There was no judgment in her voice, but it sounded like the beginning of one of her lectures that Akko had received over the years. "Did you use magic on Umaru?

"No," said Akko hastily. "I mean, I used it near her – "

"Did," Umaru croaked unexpectedly. Mrs. Kagari raised her hand at Akko to quiet her and bent low over Umaru.

"Go on, Umaru," said Mrs. Kagari softly. "Tell us what happened."

"Pointed her wand at me," Umaru mumbled.

"It was the Shiny Rod," Akko began, "but I didn't use – "

"Akko, enough!" Mrs. Kagari snapped strictly, "Please continue, Umaru."

"All dark," Umaru said hoarsely, shuddering. "Everything dark. And then I h-heard…things. Inside my h-head…"

Mr. and Mrs. Kagari exchanged looks of suppressed fear.

"What sort of things did you hear, dear?" breathed Mr. Kagari.

"I…I heard m-mama's voice," Umaru sputtered, very white-faced and with tears in her eyes. "A-and I h-heard tires and – and a crash and – "

Umaru couldn't bring herself to say the rest as tears rolled freely down her cheeks. Despite the sense of numb dread that had settled on Akko since the arrival of the first letter, she felt a pang of sympathy for Umaru. The Heartless were creatures that fed on the light of people's hearts, leaving only darkness. People who got close to the Heartless were forced to relive the darkest moments of their lives, and Akko knew exactly which memory Umaru had gone through.

Akko heard the story from Hikari. A few years before Akko left for Luna Nova, Umaru and her mother had gotten involved in a car crash. Umaru had survived in the back seat with only a few scrapes and bruises, but Umaru's mother had been severely injured in the crash. The ambulance had arrived in time to pull her out, but Umaru's mother had died mid-transport. That's how Umaru ended up in the care of her older brother. Akko was no stranger to death after four years at Luna Nova, but she had never lost someone as close to her as Umaru did.

"What happened next, Umaru?" said Mrs. Kagari in an unnaturally quiet voice, the kind of voice she would adopt at the bedside of a very sick person.

"I – I ran away," said Umaru shakily. "T-tripped. And then – "

She gestured at her chest. Akko understood: Umaru was remembering the clammy cold that filled the lungs as hope and happiness were sucked out of you.

"Horrible," croaked Umaru. "Cold. Really cold."

Okay," said Mrs. Kagari in a voice of forced calm, while Mr. Kagari laid an anxious hand on Umaru's forehead to feel her temperature. "What happened then?"

"Felt…felt…felt…as if…as if…"

"As if all hope was lost," Akko supplied tonelessly.

"Yes," Umaru whispered, still trembling.

"Akko," said Mrs. Kagari, standing up to her full considerable height. "From what it sounds like, you lost your temper again, pulled out your wand, and cast some kind of spell on her so she'd hear voices and believe she was – was doomed to misery or something. Tell me this isn't true."

"It's not!" said Akko, temper and voice rising together. "It wasn't me! It was a couple of Heartless!"

"Heartless?" Mr. Kagari interjected, taken aback. "Those things that guard the magic prison? What was it call, Dull Girder or something?"

"Dol Guldur," Akko corrected, suddenly goggling at him in astonishment. "Wait, how do you know about that?"

"You think we wouldn't know after that Izetta business two years ago," said Mrs. Kagari coolly. "After you ran away from home and flew all the way to Finland, the Headmistress was kind enough to message us and tell us you were okay. She was also forthcoming about those…Heartless things guarding the school while Izetta was on the loose, for your protection. Why anyone would even consider putting those dangerous beasts within a hundred miles of school children is baffling. I mean, what the hell are those dumbasses on the Council doing?"

Akko was stunned. She supposed it shouldn't have been too surprising that the Kagaris would try to do everything in their power to keep Akko safe, even if they were a continent away. They were overprotective to the point of smothering her, which in a way Akko knew she should be grateful for, but most of the time she just thought it was insufferable.

Mrs. Kagari was still in the middle of her rant about the inadequacy of the Magic Council when another crow zoomed through the still-open window like a feathery cannonball and landed with a clatter on the kitchen table, causing Mr. and Mrs. Kagari jump with a fright. Akko tore a second official-looking envelope from the crow's wing and ripped it open as the crow swooped back out into the night.

"Enough – goddamn – birds!" Mrs. Kagari howled irritably, stomping over to the window and slamming it shut again.

Dear Miss Kagari,

Further to our letter of approximately twenty-two minutes ago, the Magic Council has revised
its decision to destroy your wand forthwith. You may retain your wand until your disciplinary
hearing on the 12th of August, at which time an official decision will be taken.

Follow discussions with the Headmistress of Luna Nova Magical Academy, the Magic Council
has agreed that the question of your expulsion will also be decided at that time. You should
therefore consider yourself suspended from school pending further inquiries.

With best wishes,
Your sincerely,
Mest Gryder
Department of Magical Law Enforcement
Magic Council of Era

Akko read this letter through three times in quick succession. The miserable knot in her chest loosened slightly at the thought that she was not definitely expelled, though her fears were by no means banished. Everything seemed to hang on this hearing on the twelfth of August.

"Well," said Mrs. Kagari, recalling Akko to her surroundings. "What now? Was that one of your friends? Or from the Magic Council again?"

"The Magic Council," Akko answered. "I've got to go to a hearing."

"When?"

"In August."

"Then we have a little bit of time, I guess," Mrs. Kagari muttered thoughtfully.

"Well if that's all," said Akko, getting to her feet. She was desperate to be alone, to think, perhaps send a message to Lotte, Sucy, or Izetta.

"Oh no, we are not done here, Atsuko Rukia Kagari!" Mrs. Kagari snapped. "Sit – back – down!"

"What now?" said Akko impatiently.

"Don't you take that tone with me!" roared Mrs. Kagari. "You are going to sit down and explain what happened to Umaru! Because I can guarantee Taihei is going to ask the same thing when he gets here!"

"FINE!" Akko yelled, and in her temper, green sparks shot out the end of her wand, still clutched in her hand.

"Umaru and I were in the alleyway coming back from Nabeshima Shoto Park," said Akko, speaking fast, fighting to control her temper. "Umaru came up to me and I got angry because she wouldn't leave me alone, so I pulled out the Shiny Rod, but I didn't use it. The Shiny Rod isn't even working for some reason. Then two Neo Shadow Heartless turned up with a guy in a black coat – "

"A guy in a black coat?" Mrs. Kagari repeated. "That's the first I'm hearing this."

"I…kinda forgot in all of this," said Akko, frowning. "I tried using the Shiny Rod to knock him away, but like I said, the Rod isn't working for some reason. So I used my normal wand instead. I fell down, but he was already gone by the time I looked up. I caught I to Umaru just as they were about to perform the Heart of Darkness - "

"Heart of Darkness?" said Mrs. Kagari, her eyes popping slightly. "What is that supposed to mean?"

"It's what happens when a Heartless steals your heart right out of your chest."

"Your heart?" Mr. Kagari gasped. He seized Umaru by the shoulders and shook her, as though testing to see whether her could hear her heart rattling around inside her. "They didn't take – she's still got her – "

"She still has her heart," said Akko exasperatedly. "She'd have turned into a Heartless herself if they took it."

"I suppose you did something to drive them off?" asked Mrs. Kagari.

"Yeah, I used a light-based spell – "

BZZT! Akko jumped at the sharp chime that cut through the kitchen along with the sudden vibration against her thigh. It took her a moment to realize that it was her smartphone; someone had sent her a text.

"Oh, now someone decides to send a message the proper way," Mrs. Kagari groaned, rolling her eyes as Akko fumbled around her pocket and whipped out her phone. "They couldn't think to shoot a text instead of messing up my perfectly nice kitchen with all those damn birds and…whatever that other thing was?"

But Akko was already scrolling through her inbox. She was so convinced it had to be from Lotte or even Amanda, whose mother was on the Magic Council, to explain everything – the Heartless, Yoruichi, what the Council was up to, how Professor Holbrooke intended to sort everything out – that for the first time in her life, she was disappointed to see that it had been Blair texting her. It had been weeks since her guardian/familiar had chosen to contact her. Akko read the message:

Yoruichi just told us what's happened.
Don't leave the house again, whatever you do.

Akko found this such an inadequate response to everything that had happened tonight that she scrolled up and down looking for the rest of the message, but there was nothing there.

And now her temper was rising again. Wasn't anybody going to say "well done" for fighting off two Heartless single-handedly? Both Lotte and Blair were acting as though she'd misbehaved and they were saving their tellings-off until they could ascertain how much damage had been done.

"Who was it this time?" Mrs. Kagari cut though Akko's burning thoughts.

"It's just Blair telling me to behave," Akko snapped, jamming her phone back into her pocket.

"There's something I'm not understanding about all this," said Mr. Kagari. "If it was those Heartless things that attacked you and Umaru, then why have you been expelled?"

Akko took a deep, steadying breath. Her head was beginning to ache again. She wanted more than anything to get out of the kitchen, to be alone.

"Like I said, I did a light-based spell on the Heartless," she said, forcing herself to remain calm. "It's the only thing that works on them. They were near Umaru when I did it."

"But what were Heartless doing in Jingumae?" said Mrs. Kagari.

"I don't know," said Akko wearily. "I couldn't tell you if I wanted to…."

Her head was pounding in the glare of the strip lighting now. Her anger was ebbing away. She felt drained, exhausted. Her parents were staring at her, while Umaru looked like she was teetering on the edge of sleep.

"It can't just be a coincidence," said Mrs. Kagari coolly. "There has never been a Heartless sighting this close to Shibuya before, especially in the middle of a suburban neighborhood. And they just happened to turn up, right down that alley you were in?"

"I don't know why they were here…."

But Mrs. Kagari's words made Akko's exhausted brain grind back into action. Why had the Heartless come to Jingumae? How could it be a coincidence that they had arrived in the alleyway where Akko was? Like Yoruichi said, the Neo Shadow breed weren't native outside Europe. Had they been sent? Had the Magic Council lost control of the Heartless, had they deserted Dol Gulder and joined Jennifer, as Ursula had predicted they would? Or maybe….

"Maybe…the Magic Council sent them…," Akko muttered.

"…What?" Mr. Kagari spoke after a moment's pause.

"I didn't actually use magic on Umaru, but the Magic Council think I did," said Akko, her voice growing stronger as the thoughts coursed through her head. "Maybe that's what they wanted? Maybe they sent the Heartless so I would use magic. Then they'd have a good reason to expel me and take my wand."

"Akko, you're not making any sense," said Mrs. Kagari, shaking her head. "Why would the Magic Council go out of their way to frame you for something?"

"Because I'm the Star-Born Child," said Akko firmly. "And the Star-Born Child is way more important to the rest of the magic world than the Council. They want to make me look bad; frame me so that everyone thinks I'm some evil witch that goes around attacking humans for no reason! Yoruichi said it herself! It all makes sense!"

"Why do you think the Magic Council is out to get you?"

"Because of Jennifer," said Akko darkly.

She registered dimly the piercing silence that suddenly fell over Mrs. Kagari's surgically clean kitchen, drawing Akko's attention upwards. Mrs. Kagari had her hands clenched around the back of a chair, her fingers threatening to break it, while Mr. Kagari went deathly pale, hardly blinking as he stared straight ahead at Akko. Umaru was the only person who didn't respond to the name of the most ancient and powerful witch of the age, but instead leaned forward against the table, folded her arms under her head, and finally succumb to her fatigue.

"Explain," Mrs. Kagari demanded quietly.

"You remember Crawford Seam?" said Akko.

"The fat blowhard from the Contest – hard to forget," Mr. Kagari spat with a grimace. Akko's father rarely spoke badly about other people, but it seemed that the Chairman of the Magic Council was the exception.

"Apparently, him and the Magic Council are trying to convince everyone that Jennifer isn't back because they're afraid of losing face or something," said Akko, her hands clenching the fabric of her jeans. "They've even been trying to make everyone think that I'm some kind of lunatic so that if it ever gets out I'm the Star-Born Child, no one will believe a word I say."

"And you think the Magic Council set up this whole thing to solidify that you're a threat and take your wand in a way the public can't argue against," Mr. Kagari skillfully summarized. "I can see why you might think that's true, but isn't that a little much? Even the Magic Council wouldn't go as far as putting people in danger."

"Like normal government wouldn't do the same," Mrs. Kagari said dryly. "No, Shuichi, it's sound logic. The Magic Council doesn't want anything to ruin their perfectly established powerbase, so they're getting rid of anything that could tear it down. They don't want to admit that they're wrong about Jennifer and those Purifier cultists working for her, so they're going after our baby. Those mother – they think I'm going to take this lying down, they've got another thing coming!"

"Calm down, Kaori!" Mr. Kagari shouted frantically, chasing his wife out the kitchen. Akko blinked for a second, before jumping out of her seat and following suit. "What do you think you are doing?"

"I'm going to go right up to those Magic Council assholes and slap the beard off that fatass chairman!" Mrs. Kagari raged as she strode down the hallway, stopping at the door to put on her shoes.

"Kaori, there are so many holes in your plan," Mr. Kagari said exasperatedly, running a hand down his face. "For starters, it's the middle of the night and there are probably more of those Heartless things roaming around. We're safer inside the house where we're protected by the barriers."

Akko stared at her father with a strange expression. She knew about the magical barriers protecting the Kagari household from Marianna after she had broken Akko's arm in Chariot Racing, but she didn't know her parents were aware of them.

"Secondly," Mr. Kagari continued, "you don't even know where the Magic Council is. It could be on the other side of the world for all you know. Let's just cool our heads before we do something dramatic – "

"Dramatic? Dramatic? We're beyond dramatic at this point, Shuichi!" Mrs. Kagari bellowed, rounding on her husband, who amazing didn't flinch away. "Do you not remember everything this family has been put through for the last five years? Giant flaming birds in the middle of a parade, letters flooding our house, ninjas coming and going, throwing birthday cakes at guests, birds treating our house like a rest home, my sister turning into a hippo – "

"like anyone could tell the difference," Mr. Kagari muttered out of the corner of his lips.

"- half our living room destroyed, spiders everywhere, and now the Magic Council is after our little girl!" Mrs. Kagari continued. "And that's not even going into all the crap Akko has gone through at Luna Nova!. I've had enough of this bullshit! Enough! It was a mistake to let Akko go to that damn school in the first place! If we had just sent her to a normal school, for normal people, none of this would have ever happened! Akko wouldn't have to spend the rest of her life looking over her shoulder for some Neo Nazi and her cultists goons, or have to be scared of our own government coming after her! I'm done! I'm not doing this anymore! I'm not letting our daughter – OUR daughter, not hers – go though this hell any longer! And I've had enough – BIRDS!"

Mrs. Kagari ripped the front door open in her rage, but was blocked off by the third crow that evening flapping in place at the threshold. Unlike the black feathered versions in fancy accessories sent by the Magic Council, this crow was ancient-looking with pale-white feathers and a star-shaped crest on its belly. Akko immediately recognized him: it was Alcor, Professor Ursula's familiar.

Akko darted forward, expecting to find some kind of letter from her teacher, but Alcor flew over her head and went straight for Mrs. Kagari. What surprised Akko was that Mrs. Kagari held out her arm for Alcor to perch on, like she had done it many times before. What was going on?

"What do you want?" Mrs. Kagari hissed, leering at Alcor. "Your owner better have a good reason for – "

Alcor leaned in close to Mrs. Kagari's ear like he was whispering a secret no one else should hear. Mrs. Kagari's glare shifted from shocked to uncertainty to mournful in only a handful of seconds. What could Alcor have said to her, Akko wondered. But the wizened crow had hopped off of Mrs. Kagari's arm and swooped out the open door before Akko could move closer.

"…Koari," Mr. Kagari said hesitantly. "Kaori, are you…that is to say…."

Mrs. Kagari said nothing. Without so much as a glance at Akko, she stepped over and closed the front door quietly before removing her shoes. Akko was watching her mother, utterly bewildered, her head throbbing fit to burst.

"Kaori, dear," said Mr. Kagari timidly. "K-Kaori?"

She turned slowly to face them with a blank look in her eyes.

"Shuichi, go check on Umaru," she said tonelessly.

"W-what?"

"Taihei will be along any minute," she said. She was regaining her usual brisk, snappish manner rapidly, though she was still very pale. "If he asks what happened, we'll tell him that Akko accidentally used magic when she didn't mean to. Tell him she will be punished for it. Do not mention anything about the Heartless."

"But Kaori – "

Mrs. Kagari ignored him. She turned to Akko.

"You are to stay in your room," she said evenly. "You're not to leave the house. Now go to bed."

Akko didn't move.

"What did Professor Ursula say?"

"I said go to bed," Mrs. Kagari snapped.

"Have you been talking to my teachers?"

"Go to bed!"

"How come - ?"

When Mrs. Kagari slapped her across the face and demanded Akko to go to be one final time, Akko complied.

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Next chapter: The Advance Guard