Akko awoke at half-past five the next morning as abruptly and completely as if somebody had yelled in her ear. For a few moments, she lay motionless as the prospect of her upcoming trial filled every node in her brain, then, unable to stand it for much longer, she jumped out of bed. Anna had laid out a freshly laundered formal dress at the foot of her bed. Anna had mentioned pointedly that it was a dress that Diana had received for her eleventh birthday (that fact that it fit Akko's frame so well was a little humiliating.) Akko reluctantly changed into it.
Lotte lay on her side snoring softly while Sucy lay stiff as a cadaver and her arms crossed like a vampire. Neither of them stirred as Akko crossed the room, stepped out into the hall, and closed the door softly behind her. Trying not to think of the next time she might see them, when they might no longer be fellow students at Luna Nova, Akko walked quietly down the grand staircase and into the dining hall.
She had expected it to be empty, but it was not. When she reached the door, she heard the soft rumble of voices on the other side and when she pushed it open, she saw Mr. England, Mrs. Parker, Izetta, Athena, and Anna gathered around the table almost as though they were expecting her. All were fully dressed except for Mrs. Parker, who was wearing a thin silken night gown that did little for the imagination. Anna clicked her tongue disapproving at the woman and ushered Akko into her seat.
"Breakfast," she said sharply.
"M-m-morning, Akko," yawned Mrs. Parker, stretching her arms exaggeratedly over her head. "Sleep all right?"
"Yeah," said Akko, looking around again. "Where's Blair?"
"She had to leave early for America," said Athena.
"Oh," said Akko, disappointed her guardian couldn't at least see her off before her trial.
"I've b-b-been up all night," she said, with another over the top yawn, then splayed herself out on the table. "Sleepy time…"
"Show some decorum – this is the dining area!" Anna snapped. "What would you like, Miss Kagari. Porridge? Mufffins? Kippers? Oh, what is it you Japanese eat? Fish, right?"
"Despite how anime portrays us, we eat normal breakfast like anyone else," said Akko. "Just bacon and eggs are fine. Though I wouldn't mind a bowl of rice if you have any."
Izetta glanced at Akko, then said to Athena, "What were you saying about Gran Doma?"
"Oh…yeah…well, we need to be a bit more careful, he's been calling up Daryl often recently, asking funny questions. I doubt Daryl would say anything that would endanger the Cavendish name, but we should still watch what we say…."
Akko felt grateful that she was not required to join in the conversation. Her insides were squirming. Anna set a plate of bacon and eggs and a bowl of steaming white rice in front of her; she tried to eat, but it felt like she was swallowing rocks. Anna hovered around Akko and fussed with her dress, smoothing out the creases along the shoulders. Akko wished she wouldn't.
"….tell the higher-ups I can't do night duty tomorrow, I'm just t-t-too tired," said Mrs. Parker, yawning hugely again.
"I'll cover for you," said Mr. England. "I'm okay, I've got a report to finish anyway…"
Mr. England was dressed in a formal, light-brown suit with a red tie that enforced his image as an academic scholar. He turned from Mrs. Parker to Akko.
"How are you feeling?"
Akko shrugged.
"It'll all be over soon," Mr. England said bracingly. "In a few hours' time, you'll be cleared."
Akko said nothing.
"The hearing is on the sixth floor, in Karen Traer's office. He's Head of the Department off Magical Law Enforcement, though Fubuki is usually the one that handles all the paper work. He'll be the one who's questioning you."
"Karen is okay, Akko," said Izetta earnestly. "He doesn't mince words, so he can come off as rude, but he's a fair man. He and Fubuki tried to give me a fair trial, but Org ignored them and shipped me straight to prison. He'll hear you out."
Akko nodded, still unable to think of anything to say.
"Don't lose your temper," said Athena suddenly. "Be polite and stick to the facts."
Akko nodded again.
"The law is on your side," said Mr. England quietly. "As long as you stick to your story, they will realize you were acting in self-defense."
Something very cold trickled down the back of Akko's neck; for a moment, she thought someone was putting a Transparency Spell on her again, then she realized that Anna was attacking her hair with a wet comb. She pressed hard on the top of her head.
"Doesn't it ever lie flat?" she said desperately.
"You're fighting a losing battle, Anna," Izetta chuckled. "The Du Nord hair is untamable."
Mr. England checked his watch and looked up at Akko.
I think we'll go now," he said. "We're a bit early, But I think you'll be better off there than hanging around here."
"Okay," said Akko automatically, dropped bacon and getting to her feet.
"You'll be all right, Akko," said Mrs. Parker serenely, patting her on the arm.
"Good luck," said Athena. "I'm sure it will be fine."
"And if it's not," said Izetta, smirking, "I can always pay Karen Travers a visit. Then again, he might like that."
Akko smiled weakly.
"Try not to cause Miss Diana any further distress," said Anna.
"Right," said Akko. "Well…sayonara."
She followed Mr. England into the foyer. She could hear doors opening and shutting upstairs; the others must have woken up and noticed Akko was already gone. Mr. England unbolted the front doors and stepped out into the cold, ray dawn.
"The Magic Council is in Australia, right?" Akko asked him, as they set off briskly across the front lawn.
"Yes, the area it is located in is called Era," said Mr. England. "Shortly after the world reformation, when magic became free, the magical community needed a central headquarters for the convenience of the humans. Truthfully, it's more like giving them a place to run to when they want to complain. It's deep in the Australian Outback, far from most modern civilization."
"So, how're we going to get all the way to Australia from a British highland?" asked Akko. "We're not going to walk over ten thousand miles there, are we?
"Of course not, that would be ridiculous," Mr. England chuckled amusingly. "We're already here?"
Akko blinked, tilting her head in a dumbfounded way, until she looked up and realized the entire environment had completely changed around her. What had been a sea of grassland had transformed into a arid wasteland of red stone as far as the eye could see, sparse patches of plant life dotting the terrain.
Akko looked quickly over her shoulder quickly, spying a golden energy ring floating in the air behind them. It was seemingly tearing a hole into space itself, showing a vision of the Cavendish Manor before the ring collapsed inward and exploded in a shower off golden particles.
"Who – wha – when – why – huh?!" Akko gapped, unable to process what just happened.
"Oh, I suppose that's your first time traveling by Sling Ring, isn't it?" Mr. England chuckled heartily while removing a brass ring from his right hand. "Much more convenient than broomstick or Summoning Stones, but far more temperamental and dangerous to use if you're not careful. That's why no one underage is allowed to have one. Still, it's much safer than the Corridors, that's for sure. Come along, Akko, we need to get you signed in."
Akko had been so wrapped up in the suddenness of their travel that she had somehow missed the massive building that laid out in front of them. It looked more like a palace than a government building, easily grander and more imposing than Buckingham, made from solid-white bricks and pale-blue rooftops with halo-like protrusion. Despite being in the middle of a barren wasteland, a grand courtyard stood in front of the Magic Council building with neatly trimmed hedges around a row of intimidating statues of knights riding horseback. And all around them, Demi-Humans would come and go through golden portals every few seconds.
Mr. England lead Akko up to the expansive white marble double doors etched with a gigantic magic circle written in unreadable rune symbols and an Egyptian Ankh in the center. He veered off to the right as they ascending the staircase and walked over to a small booth off to the right. A bored-looking goblin wearing a uniform two sizes too small was flipping through an outdated magazine. He didn't look up at Akko or Mr. England when they stepped in front of his book; he didn't even seem to notice they were there. Mr. England coughed loudly to catch his attention and the goblin barely rolled his eyes at them.
"Ugh…welcome to the Magic Council," he groaned. "Please state your name and business."
"Professor Philip England here to escort Atsuko Kagari, who has been asked to attend a disciplinary hearing - " Mr. England explained.
"Yeah, yeah," the goblin interrupted uncaringly. He reached under the counter and pulled out a pair of bronze badges. "Visitors are to attach these badges on the front of their clothes."
Akko picked up one of the badges and looked it over; the words Atsuko Kagari, Disciplinary Hearing were scratched on the surface. She pinned in on the front of her dress as the goblin spoke again.
"All visitors are required to submit to a search and present your wand for registration at the security desk, which is located at the far end of the atrium. The Magic Council wishes you – ah, whatever," he finished lamely, returning to his magazine.
"Cheerful fellow, isn't he?" Mr. England muttered to Akko. "Let's head on in, Akko."
They didn't actually go through the giant double doors – there was a smaller door in the corner instead. They stepped inside the building and Akko stopped in her tracks, taken aback.
They were standing at one end of a very long and splendid hall with highly polished, white linoleum floor. The sky-blue ceiling was inlaid with gleaming gold symbols that were continually moving and changing like some enourmously heavenly bulletin board. The walls were lined with sterling suits of steel knight armor that were times Akko's size, each carrying a ten-foot-long broadsword. It might have been her imagination, but Akko thought their helmets were following them.
Halfway down the hall was a fountain. A group of white marble statues stood in the middle of a circular pool. Nine witches, each in a different robe and pointed hat, were grouped in a circle with their wands in the center underneath a floating stone slab carved to look like seven intersecting leaves. Glittering jets of water were flying from the tips of their wand and splashing down into a small basin glowing with a mysterious pale-green light, the water overflowing and spilling into the bigger pool. The trickling of the fountain water was added to the clatter of footsteps as hundreds of Demi-Humans, most of whom were wearing glum, early-morning looks, strode toward the elevators at the far end of the hall.
"This way," said Mr. England.
They joined the throng, wending their way between the Council workers, some of whom were carrying tottering piles of paperwork, others battered briefcases, others reading Sorcerer Weekly as they walked. As they passed the fountain, Akko saw hundreds of coins of every shape and make, likely from multiple countries around the world, glinting from the bottom of the pool. A small, smudged sign beside it read:
All proceed from the Fountain of the Nine Witches
will be given to the Alchemilla Magical Hospital.
If I'm not expelled from Luna Nova, I'll put in my entire allowance," Akko found herself thinking desperately.
"Over here, Akko," said Mr. England, and they stepped out of the stream of workers heading for the elevators, toward a desk on the left, over which hung a sign saying SECURITY. A three-horned demon woman wearing too much latex to be legal looked up as they approached and put down her Sorcerer Weekly.
"We're visiting for a disciplinary hearing," said Mr. England, gesturing to Akko.
"Disciplinary, huh?" the demon woman repeated with a lecherous grin. "You know, I – "
"She's fifteen," Mr. England cut her off.
"…Step over here, please," she said grumpily.
Akko walked closer to her and the demon woman held up a metal detection wand like the one in airports, passing it up and down Akko's front and back. When Akko was cleared, she did the same for Mr. England.
"Wands," grumbled the demon woman, putting down the metal detector and holding out her hand.
Akko and Mr. England produced their wands. While Akko's was polished metal with a white diamond pattern, Mr. England's had a leather handle worn from years of use and ended at a scratched metal ball. The demoness set them on a printer-like device. They began to vibrate. A sheet of paper was printed at the base of the device. The demoness looked it over and quirked her brow strangely.
"Huh, that's weird," she hummed.
"What's weird?" asked Mr. England.
"It says the girl is this wand's second user," said the demoness. "But that can't be right. It's probably a glitch."
It most certainly wasn't a glitch, Akko knew. This wand – the one she had been carrying for the past five years – once belonged to Professor Finnelan's daughter before her death. Wands were only supposed to have one master and then die with their uses, but for some reason, Akko was able to wield a wand of someone how was long dead.
"Oh well, probably nothing," said the demoness, setting the paper on a pile. "I'll keep this. You get these back," she added, thrusting their wands back.
"Thank you," said Akko.
"You can thank me properly when you turn seventeen," she said with a seductive wink.
"Thank you, Miss…," Mr. England read her nametag, "Lily, but we must be going."
Mr. England grasped Akko by the shoulder, steering Akko away from the demoness's catcalls and back into the stream of Demi-Humans walking toward the elevators. They joined the crowd gathered around one of them. A big, burly man with a thick beard holding a steel box stood nearby. The box was emitting rasping noises.
"Back again, Phil?" said the burly man, nodding at Mr. England. "Those stuffy old timers are working you too hard."
"Kind of you to say, Rodrick, but I'm not here for work today," said Mr. England, glancing at the box. "By the way, what do you have there?"
"Not sure," said Rodrick, tilting his head curiously. "We thought it was a chicken at first until it suddenly started shooting lightning from its eyes. I think it might be another mutation from that toxic waste dump in Muskoka. Damn that, McLean."
A sharp ding drew their attention forward as one of the elevator doors opened; Akko and Mr. England moved inside with the rest of the crowd. Several people were looking at her curiously; she stared at her feet to avoid catching anyone's eye. The doors slid shut and the elevator ascended slowly, shuddering all the while, as a cool female voice rang out.
"Second floor, Department of Sports and Games, incorporating the International Chariot League Headquarters, Magical Dueling League, and Ridiculous Patent Office."
The doors opened; Akko glimpsed an untidy-looking corridor, with various posters of Chariot Racing teams, including the teams from the championship last year, though Ooarai was unusually absent. A half-human, half-slug Demi-Human carrying an armful of broomsticks extricated himself with difficulty and disappeared down the hall. The doors closed, the elevator rose again, and the woman's voice said, "Third Floor, Department of Transport, incorporating Extra-Dimensional Travel Authority, Summon Stone Office, Sling Ring Test Center, and Corridor Watch."
Once again, the elevator doors opened and four or five Demi-Humans got out; at the same time, four different colored roomba and a drone flew into the elevator. There were tiny people that looked like action figures riding them, thought they were strangely more lifelike than any figmas Akko had ever seen. They were all carrying folded notes stamped with The Magic Council on the front.
"Frame Arm Girls," Mr. England muttered to her. "They were commonly used for infiltrating enemy territory during times of war, but the Magic Council now uses them to carry interdepartmental memos. The Council used to send messages by e-mail until the Head of the Department of Communication accidentally sent some…highly embarrassing pictures to the entire department."
As they clattered upward again, one of the Frame Arm Girls sneezed loudly in her hand and wiped it on the person next to her.
"Third Floor, Department of International Relations, incorporating the International Trading Standards Body, the International Office of Magical Law, and the International Confederacy of Demi-Humans."
When the doors opened, the drone and one of the roombas zoomed out with a few more people, but three more drones and two more roombas zoomed in, making the space rather cramped.
"Fourth floor, Department of Magical Wildlife, incorporating Beast, Being, and Spirit Divisions, Orc Liaison Office, and Pest Advisory Bureau."
"S'cuse me," said Rodrick, carrying the lightning-eyed chicken out the elevator pursued by two of the drones. The doors clanged shut yet again.
"Fifth floor, Department Magical Catastrophes, incorporating the Emergency Spellbinder Department, the Disaster Relief Headquarters, and the Public Information Office."
Everybody left the elevator except for Mr. England, Akko, and a dog woman who was reading an extremely long list that was trailing the ground. The elevator climbed again, then the doors opened and the voice said, "Sixth Floor, Department of Magical Law Enforcement, including the Custody Enforcement Office, Hunter Headquarters, and Anti-Entropy – Valkyrie Division."
"This is us, Akko," said Mr. England, and they followed the dog woman out of the elevator into a corridor lined with doors. "Karen Traver's office is on the other side of the floor, past the OSF area. Just around here…."
They turned a corner, walked through a pair of sliding doors, and emerged in a cluttered, open area divided into cubicles, which were buzzing with talk and laughter. An electronic sign on the nearest cubicle read Hunter Headquarters.
Akko looked furtively through the doorways as they passed. The Hunters had covered their cubicle walls with everything from pictures of wanted Demi-Humans and photographs of their families, to posters of their favorite celebrities, most prominently a pink-haired Japanese girl wearing electronic rabbit ears and carrying a chainsaw. A boy in white wearing a golden mask was sitting with his boots up on his desk, dictating a report to a toad. A little further along, a medusa woman wearing a blindfold was talking over the top of her cubicle to a rather handsome, silver-haired man who spotted Mr. England and Akko and flagged them down.
"Oh, there you are," he greeted pleasantly as they drew near. "You must be Miss Kagari. I'm Fubuki Spring, Karen Traver's right-hand man." He introduced himself, shaking her hand. "Though I think I do most of the day-to-day operations around here. It's nice to meet you, if only it were under better circumstances."
"Fubuki is with the Celestial Sphere," Mr. England whispered quietly in Akko's ear. "Karen doesn't know about it, so it's best to act like you don't know anything."
"Karen is currently out of his office at the moment," Fubuki explained, acting like nothing was out of the ordinary. "That man comes and goes as he pleases. You can stay with me until he gets back. Right this way."
They followed Fubuki along the row to the very last cubicle. Akko received a slight shock when she walked in; Mato Kuroi's face was blinking down at her from every direction. Newspaper cuttings and old photographs – even the one from her victory at the International Chariot Racing Championship – papered the walls. The only Mato-free space was a map of the world in which little red pins were glowing like jewels. But the oddest part was the small mountain of cushions that had been piled up in the corner of the cubicle.
"That used to be Izetta Du Nord plastered on these walls," said Fubuki, plopping down in his office chair with an exaggerated groan. "But after the Contest of Champions, Org has shifted his priorities. He's now placed a sixteen-year-old girl at the top of the international most wanted list. Can you imagine?"
Akko frowned at the wanted posted. It was just last year that Akko had met Mato and they became fast friends. Or at least, Akko had hoped they were friends. It was impossible to tell how much of it was Eveline's manipulations and how much was genuine.
"I heard you were close to her," said Fubuki sympathetically. "Don't worry, I'm sure everything will turn out all right. In the meantime, why don't you have a seat right over there?" He gestured to the pile of cushions. "My older sister likes to hide here when she's trying to skip out on work, but I don't think she'll mind you using them."
Akko tried to settle herself into the pile, but only ended up getting swallow by its fluffy embrace. Mr. England and Fubuki grabbed her arms and pulled her out; Akko chose to stand after that.
"Sorry about that; I have no idea how my sister does it," Fubuki chuckled good-naturedly. "At the very least, can I get you something to drink. One of my squadmates recommends – Ah, Luka, perfect timing."
A young boy who barely came up to Akko's chest suddenly appeared in a flash of green light.
"Fubuki, thank goodness I managed to get here in time," Luka said desperately before acknowledging Akko and Mr. England. "You must be Miss Kagari. You just saved us the trouble of looking for you."
"Why, is something wrong?" asked Fubuki, concerned. "Have you seen your brother Karen anywhere?"
"Yes, I have, I had just spoken to him a moment ago," Luka answered anxiously. "He wanted me to pass along an urgent message: they've changed the time and venue for Miss Kagari's hearing. It's starting at eight o'clock down in Courtroom Thirteen – "
"Courtroom Thirteen?" said Fubuki aghast. "But that is – "
Mr. England looked at his watch, let out a yelp, and yanked Akko by the arm, sprinting down the hall with Akko nipping at his heels
"Quick, Akko, we should have been there five minutes ago!"
"Why did they change the time?" Akko said breathlessly as they hurtled past the Hunter cubicles; people poked out their heads and stared as they streaked past. Akko felt as though she had left all her insides back at Fubuki's cubicle.
"I had no idea, but thank goodness we got here so early, if you'd missed it, it would have been catastrophic!"
Mr. England skidded to a halt beside the elevators and jabbed impatiently at the down button.
"Come ON!"
The elevator doors opened and they hurried inside. Every time it stopped, Mr. England cursed furiously and pummeled the "B" button.
"Those courtrooms haven't been used in years," said Mr. England angrily. "I can't think why they're doing it down there -unless – but no…."
"Basement level, Department of Secrets," said the cool female voice, and left it at that.
"Quick, Akko," said Mr. England as the elevator doors opened, and they sped up a corridor that was quite different from those above. The walls were bare; there were no windows or doors apart from the plain white one set at the very end of the corridor. Akko expected them to go through it, but instead Mr. England seized her by the arm and dragged her to the left, where there was an opening leading to a flight of stairs.
But before they even reached the first step, Akko felt the hairs on the back of her neck stand on her and something pulling at her chest. She glanced sideways over her shoulder and, for the briefest of seconds, Akko spotted someone standing at the end of the corridor that hadn't been there a moment ago: someone wearing a black coat, staring directly at Akko.
But Akko had no chance to react nor say anything before Mr. England dragged her down the stairs two steps at a time.
"Down here, down here," Panted Mr. England. "The lift doesn't even come down this far…why they are doing it there…"
They reached the bottom of the stairs and ran along yet another corridor, which bore a great resemblance to that which led to Professor Hex's class at Luna Nova, with rough stone walls and torches in brackets. The doors they passed here were heavy wooden ones with iron bolts and keyholes.
"Courtroom…thirteen…I think…we're nearly…yes."
Mr. England stumbled to a halt outside a grimy dark door with an immense iron lock and slumped against the wall, holding his side with sharp gasps.
"Go on," he wheezed, point his thumb at the door. "Get in there."
"Aren't – aren't you coming with - ?"
"No, no, I'm not allowed. Good luck!"
Akko's heart was beating violently against her ribcage. She swallowed hard, turned the heavy iron door handle, and stepped inside the courtroom.
Next chapter: The Magic Council