Diana made no mention of Akko giving self-defense lessons for two whole weeks after her original suggestion. In that time, Akko occupied herself by bring Luz up to speed in Chariot Racing practice. She was an excellent flyer once she finally got a handle on her nerves and Avery had less reasons to yell at her. Akko had also managed to vanish her mouse (Diana had actually progressed to vanishing kittens) before the subject was broached again, on a wild, blustery evening at the end of September, the two of them were sitting in the library, looking up potion ingredients for Professor Azusa.
"I was wondering," said Diana suddenly, "whether you had given any more thought about self-defense class, Akko."
"Of course I have," said Akko grumpily. "Hard to forget it, with that old hag teaching us – "
"I meant the idea I had," said Diana, frowning, "about us teaching lessons together."
Akko did not answer at once. She pretended to be pursuing a page of Asian Anti-Venoms, because she did not want to say what was on her mind.
The fact was that she had given the idea a great deal of thought over the past two weeks. Sometimes it seemed like an insane idea – the kind that Akko would have done in a heartbeat back in their first year, regardless of consequences – but other times, she had found herself thinking about the spells that had served her best in her various encounters with the dark forces – found herself, in fact, subconsciously planning lessons….
"Well," she said slowly, when she could not pretend to Asian anti-venoms interesting much longer, "yeah, I – I've thought about it."
"And?" said Diana eagerly.
"I don't know," said Akko, shifting uncomfortably in her chair. "You remember me saying that most of my wins were just a bunch of dumb luck, right?"
"Yes, Akko," said Diana gently, "but all the same, there's no point pretending that you're not good at self-defense, because you are. You were the only one able to throw off Evie's mind control when you were only twelve, you've managed to successfully combine magical natures in your third year, you can do all sorts of things that evet most adults can't – "
"You make me sound more amazing than I actually am," said Akko.
"You are amazing, Akko," said Diana, gently wrapping her hand around Akko's. "I just wish you could see it yourself."
"I think my girlfriend might be a little biased," said Akko teasingly.
"So what if I am?" said Diana, grinning playfully. "Well, what do you think? Should we teach together?"
"Just our friends, right?"
"Actually," said Diana, now looking slightly anxious again. "Well…now don't lose your temper again, Akko, please…. But I really think we should teach anyone who wants to learn. I mean, we're talking about defending ourselves from Jennifer. It doesn't seem fair if we don't offer the chance to everyone."
Akko considered this for a moment, then said, "Yeah, but I doubt anyone except our friends would want to be taught by me. I'm the crazy one, remember?"
"I think you might be surprised how many people would be interested in haring what you have to say," said Diana seriously. "Look," she leaned toward her, "you know the first weekend in October is a Blytonbury weekend? How would you feel if we told everyone who's interested to meet us in town and we can talk it over?"
"Why do we have to do it outside school?" asked Akko.
"Because," said Diana, returning to the diagram of the Chinese Super Idol Ai-Chan Cabbage she was copying, "I don't think Light Spinner would be happy if she found out what we were up to."
Akko had been looking forward to the weekend trip into Blytonbury, but there was one thing worrying her. Izetta had maintained a stony silence since she appeared in the fire at the beginning of September; Akko knew they had made her angry by saying that they did not want her to come – but she still worried from time to time that Izetta might throw caution to the wind and turn up anyway. What were they going to do if the great red fox came bounding up the street towards them in Blytonbury, perhaps under the watchful eye of the Magic Council or the Purifiers?
"Well, you can't blame her for wanting to get out for a bit," said Sucy, when Akko discussed her fears to her and Lotte. "She's been on the run for over two years, and I know that can't have been fun, but at least she was free to go where she wanted, right? And now she's stuck in that mansion all the time with nobody but Diana's irritating aunt."
"The trouble is," said Lotte, "that until Jennifer comes out into the open, Izetta is gonna have to stay hidden. The Magic Council isn't going to realize Izetta is innocent until they accept that granny's been telling the truth all along. And once they start catching Jennifer's real followers again, it'll be obvious that Izetta isn't one of them."
"I don't think she's be stupid enough to turn up," said Sucy. "Chariot's the one that told her to stay put, right? Izetta would definitely listen to her sister, wouldn't she? Besides, I think Blair would rip her a new one if she came anywhere close to Blytonbury."
When Akko continued to look worried, Lotte said, "Listen, Diana told us about what you two've been planning and we've been helping find people who would want to learn real self-defense, and there were a couple who seem interested. Diana set up a meeting in Blytonbury."
"Right," said Akko vaguely, her mind still on Izetta.
"Don't worry, Akko," Lotte said quietly. "You've got enough on your plate without Izetta too."
She was right, of course; she was barely keeping up with her homework as it was. Lotte was even further behind with her work than Akko, because she also had prefect duties on top of everything else. Diana was also scrambling to catch up, having to juggle homework and prefect duties on top of Chariot Racing practice twice a week. But as always, Diana was slowly learning to adapt and get better at managing her time, coming off from her dreadful experience with the Chronal Accelerator in their third year.
The morning of the Blytonbury visit dawned bright but windy. After breakfast, they queued up in front of Elma, who matched their names to the long list of students who had permission from their parents or guardians to visit the town. With a slight pang, Akko remembered that if it hadn't been for Izetta, she would not have been going at all.
When Akko reached Elma, the caretaker gave a great sniff as though trying to detect a whiff of something from Akko. Then she gave a sharp nod and Akko walked on, out onto the stone steps and the cold, sunlit day.
"Er – why was Elma sniffing you?" asked Lotte, as she, Akko, and Sucy set off at a brisk pace down the wide drive to the gates.
"I guess she was checking for mud bombs," said Akko with a small laugh. "I almost forgot about it…."
And she recounted the story of sending her letter to Izetta and Elma bursting in seconds later, demanding to see the letter.
"It's lucky she understood who it was for," said Lotte. "It would've been bad if anyone else had gotten that letter."
"She said she got a note saying you were ordering mud bombs, right?" asked Sucy. "I think we all know who that was."
"That goes without saying," said Akko.
"But at least they didn't succeed," said Lotte optimistically.
They flew their brooms through the Lay Line terminal between the wrought iron gates and came out on the outskirts of Blytonbury. They left their school-issued brooms with the goblins at the check-in station and made their way onto the road into town.
"Where're we going anyway?" asked Akko. "The Rabbit House?"
"Uh – no, no, not there," said Lotte. "It's always packed there and really noisy. Diana reserved a hole-in-the-wall restaurant for the day on the opposite side of town. It'll be invited guests only, so we won't have to worry about being overheard."
They walked down the main street past the Magical Item Shop, where they were unsurprised to see that Garie and Sabi had snuck out of school with their friend, Chinatsu. They passed the post office, turning the corner on the monument of the sealed Mad Titan, and stopped in front of an otherwise normal bakery that was apparently having a sale on Mont Blanc. There was a set of stairs to the right of the bakery, which lead to a nondescript door with a small sign of a calico cat that read "Western Restaurant Calico." A chalkboard sign was left outside with a small notice: "Closed for Reserved Party."
"This is the place," said Lotte.
"Wow, you really wouldn't know this place existed if you didn't look," said Akko.
"Probably why Diana chose it," said Sucy. Akko led the way inside.
It was half the size of the Rabbit House, but the décor was similar in taste with it polished tables lined in two rows, an old-fashioned gramophone played cool jazz in the corner, an assortment of knickknacks hanging on the wall that gave it a wholesome feel, and a counter that opened up into the kitchen where they could see the cook at work. It wasn't anything too fancy, but it was definitely a step above from the family restaurants Akko's family used to visit as a kid.
As the door closed behind them and the overhead bell rang, a waitress came out of the backroom. She was fairly young – probably in her early twenties – with blond hair tied up in ponytails behind her curled goat horns. She paced across the room quickly to approach them.
"I'm sorry," she apologized, bowing politely, "but the restaurant is closed for a party – "
"They're with me, Aletta."
It was Diana. She was sitting at the counter talking to a tall, bearded man in a chef's uniform. The goat-horned woman named Aletta stepped aside with an apology as Diana waved them down. Akko took the seat directly next to her girlfriend with Lotte and Sucy on her other side.
"If anyone people in Luna Nova uniforms come by, be sure to let them in, Aletta," Diana requested to the waitress.
"As you wish, Miss Cavendish," said Aletta, bowing.
"Wow, you really reserved the whole restaurant for the day?" said Akko, whistling impressively. "How'd you manage to swing that?"
"I'm rich; it's my superpower," said Diana jokingly.
"Not as rich as Bruce Wayne," said Sucy tauntingly.
"We don't talk about Bruce Wayne," Diana grumbled before Aletta offer them some menus. "Order whatever you like. Everything is on the Cavendish tab."
"Sweet!" Akko cheered.
"Thank you, Diana," said Lotte gratefully.
"Food always tastes better when someone else is paying for it," said Sucy.
"Excuse me for a moment," the chef suddenly spoke up. "Are any of you by any chance Akko Kagari?"
"That's me," said Akko anxiously. Was he another who believed the Magic Council's lies and report her to Light Spinner? "Why do you ask?"
"I have something for you," said the chef with a kind smile. She reached below the counter and pulled out a one of the most beautifully crafted parfaits Akko had ever seen, even better than the professional confectionaries in Japan. "Here you go, one strawberry parfait. I hear that the Japanese are big fans of these kinds of sweets and I figured strawberry is something that everyone enjoys. I hope it's to your liking."
"Whoa, this is awesome," Akko said in awe; it looked more like artwork than a dessert. "But, I didn't order anything yet."
"It's on the house," said the chef, smiling warmly. "Though if I have to give a reason, I suppose I've just always wanted the opportunity to spoil my niece a little."
"Your niece?" Akko repeated curiously.
"Yeah, my niece," the chef nodded. "Surely Cherri or Izzy told me about me at least once."
"Chari and Izzy…," Akko murmured thoughtfully, wracking her brain as she took her first bite; it was unbelievably creamy and delicious. After a few seconds of think, a single memory came to mind: the night when Izetta helped Akko pack up before their departure to the Cavendish Manor.
"Chariot and I were never very good at cleaning. Our brother Orion was always the tidy one. Every year before we left for school, we used to beg him to help us pack."
"WAAAH!" Akko screamed and shot up from her seat, startling everyone. "You're Chariot and Izetta's big brother! You're my uncle, Orion du Nord!"
"So they did mention me," said Orion, chuckling heartily. "That's good. I was afraid they might have forgotten."
"Wait, since when do you have an uncle?" asked Sucy curiously.
"I only found out when we left Japan," Akko explained. "Izetta-obaasan said she and my mom had an older brother named Orion, and that he became a professional chef and opened his own restaurant. I didn't know that restaurant was in Blytonbury."
"I've seen you kids walking around town sometimes," said Orion. "But I never said anything because I didn't want you to think I was some kind of creeper. Chari and Izzy have sent me lot of letters about you, though, Akko."
"What about?" asked Akko, taking another bite of her free parfait.
"Only that you are a constant pain in the butt looking for trouble wherever you go," said Orion jokingly.
"That sounds about right," Diana giggled along with Lotte and Sucy; Akko huffed, puffing her cheeks out like an angry chipmunk.
"All right, I'll stop teasing you," said Orion, ruffling Akko's hair good-naturedly; Akko tried to act mad, but instead felt giddy since he was her uncle. "Just order whenever you're ready. Aletta, could you help me in back. I get the feeling we're going to have a full house today."
"Right, coming," said Aletta as she disappeared in back.
"Speaking of which, how many people are coming to this thing?" Akko asked Diana while taking another scoop.
"Just a few people," said Diana, checking her pocket watch and then looking anxiously toward the door. "I told them to be here about now and I'm sure they all know where it is – oh look, this might be them now –
The door of the restaurant opened and a surge of people suddenly poured inside.
First came Amanda, Constanze, and Jasminka, who were closely followed by Nanoha, Fate, and Hayate with Nico Minoru and Wendy Marvell trailing behind them; Marianna shuffled in silently like a shadow, almost going unnoticed if not for her ninja-esque uniform. Then (on her own and looking like she had wandered in by mistake) Molly McIntyre. Then Avery, Rashmi and Rajani flanking fifth-year Sóla Lokisdottir, Luz Noceda holding hands with the moss-haired elf girl from Eclipse, Makoto and her cousin Chinatsu joined by Garie and Sabi; three Twilight fifth-years Akko faintly remembered as Alice little, Chloe Dubois, and Zizi Delevingne; Barbara entered grumpily with Hannah not far behind arm-in-arm with fifth-year Solar Verde Shidariza; Lin-Lin Chang shouldered her way through the crowd for being so short with Sarah Bernhardt and Catherine Ainsworth coming up behind her; the entirety of the Eclipse Fifth-year comprised of Carmen Diaz, Irene Jilani, Priscilla Vasquez, and Elfriede Coch brought up the rear.
The entire restaurant was completely filled to capacity in only a handful of minutes and most of them consisted of everyone in Akko's year. The only notable exception was Gaëlle Müller from Lunar, who Akko knew wouldn't be coming because she believed the Magic Council.
"A couple of people?" said Akko hoarsely to Diana. "A couple of people?"
"Yes, well, the idea seemed quite popular," said Diana happily. She called to the backroom. "Aletta, could we get some more menus out here!"
"Coming," Aletta replied, walking back out with only a few menus in hand "Welcome to – WHA?!"
The waitress had frozen in place, eyes practically bulging out of their sockets, jaw dropped dumbfoundedly. Doubtful she expected the small restaurant to fill so quickly. Even Orion looked surprised when he came out to see what was keeping Aletta.
"…We're going to need more ingredients," he said slowly.
"Please order anything you like, everyone," Diana announced, snapping Aletta out of her stupor, who proceeded to pass the menus around. "Everything is already paid for by the Cavendish House."
"Sweet!" Zizi cheered.
"Not about to pass up on a free meal," said Sarah eagerly.
"I wonder if they have any bamboo dishes…," Lin-Lin hummed thoughtfully.
Akko watched numbly as the large chattering group perused their menus and flagged down the haggard-looking Aletta to place their orders. She could not imagine what all these people had turned up for until the horrible thought occurred to her that they might be expecting some kind of speech, at which she rounded on Diana.
"What did you tell these people?" she questioned in a low hiss. "What are they expecting?"
"They just want to hear what you've got to say," said Diana soothingly; but Akko continued to look at her so furiously that she added quickly, "You don't have to do anything yet, I'll speak to them first."
"Hey, Kagari," said Nico, smiling and taking a seat on Diana's opposite side.
Akko tried to smile back, but did not speak; her mouth was exceptionally dry. Aletta was running ragged between tables trying to fill out the orders of over thirty people at once, nearly tripping over her own feet twice if the students didn't catch her. Some people looked excited, other curious; Molly McIntyre had a glazed look in her eye that made Akko wonder if she was having another vision. When everyone had placed their orders and Aletta disappeared into the kitchen, the chatter died out. Every eye was upon Akko now.
With the group's attention now on them, Diana rose from her seat, back straight and shoulders squared like a drill sergeant.
"Good evening, everyone," Diana greeted politely. Everyone's attention shifted to her, though eyes continued to dart back regularly to Akko. "You all know why you are here. With the way things are now, we have no hope of learning self-defense from that rubbish Light Spinner and her Council mandated lessons."
"Preach, sister!" shouted Irene, punching her fist in the air.
"These so-called 'lessons' will only leave us vulnerable and unprepared for the real world," Diana continued, her voice becoming stronger and more confident. "That is why we have considered taking matters into our own hands. By learning how to defend ourselves properly. Not just in theory, but with real spells – "
"You want to pass your self-defense S.T.A.R. too, though, I bet?" said Elfriede, watching her closely.
"Of course I do," said Diana at once. "But I want more than that, I want to be properly trained to defend myself. Because no matter how much the Council tries to deny it, Jennifer is back and she's not the hero we all thought she was."
The reaction was immediate and predictable. Almost everyone sat up a little straighter, some more attention and others skeptical. But all of them, however, looked fixedly, even eagerly, at Akko.
"That's the plan, anyway," Diana finished solemnly. "If you want to join us, we need to decide how we're going to – "
"Where's the proof any of that is true?" said Chloe in a rather aggressive tone; she seemed to regard Diana with open hostility rather than Akko.
"Well, Professor Holbrooke believes it – " Diana began.
"You mean, she believes her," said Chloe, nodding at Akko.
"What's with you?" asked Amanda, sounding annoyed.
"I just think we've got the right to know what makes her say Jennifer's back," Chloe responded rudely.
"Because I said so, too," said Nico, raising her hand. So many seem to forget that she was also involved in the battle against Jennifer, probably because the Council was more focused on tarnishing Akko's reputation than hers.
"How dare you question, Kagari-dono's honesty!" Marianna yelled outrageously, slamming her hands on the table. "You shall atone for your insult by committing seppuku!"
"Why is that the only Japanese thing you know how do correctly?" asked Nico strangely.
"Look," said Diana, intervening swiftly. "That's not what this meeting is supposed to be about – "
"It's okay, Diana," said Akko.
It had just dawned upon her why there were so many people there. She felt that Diana should have seen this coming. Some of these people – maybe even most of them – had turned in hopes of hearing Akko's story firsthand.
"What makes me say Jennifer's back?" she repeated, looking Chloe straight in the face. "I saw her. Nico saw her. But Professor Holbrooke told the whole school what happened last year, and if you didn't believe her, you don't believe me, and I'm not gonna waste the whole day trying to convince anyone."
The whole group seemed to have held its breath while Akko spoke. Akko had the impression that even her uncle was listening in. There had been a notable pause while he and Aletta were frantically filling out thirty plus orders.
Chloe said dismissively, "All Holbrooke told us last year was that you and Minoru fought Jennifer and came back. She didn't give us details; she didn't tell us what happened or how you escaped – "
"I was bleeding all over the stadium grounds that night; I was dead for three whole minutes!" Nico said heatedly. She was unconsciously touching her choker that hid the scar caused by Ruvik's knife. She probably had nightmares of that traumatic night; Akko certainly did. "If that's not enough proof, then there's no point in saying anything. We don't want to talk about that night, all right? So if that's what you're here for, you can clear out."
Akko cast an angry look in Diana's direction, who, to Akko's irritation, seemed wholly unperturbed. This was, Akko felt, all her fault; she had decided to display her like some sort of freak and of course they had all turned up to see just how wild their story was…. But none of them left their seats, not even Chloe, though she continued to gaze intently at Akko.
"Yes, well," said Diana, clearing her throat. "As I was saying, if you want to learn some self-defense, then we need to work out how we're going to do it, how often we're going to meet, and where we're going to – "
"Is it true," interrupted the elfish Eclipse first-year sitting beside Luz, looking at Akko, "that you can mix magics."
"Yeah," said Akko, slightly defensive.
"And you combined a light spell with an extermination spell?"
That phrase stirred something in Akko's memory.
"Er – you don't know Councilman Belos, do you?" she asked.
"My parents have dinners with him and his nephew on occasions," said the elfish first-year. "I'm Amity Blight. He told us about your hearing. So – it's really true? You mixed magics when you were only thirteen?"
"Yeah," said Akko.
"That's awesome, Akko!" said Sarah, looking deeply impressed. "I didn't know you could do that! I've tried mixing magics for over a year and they always blow up in my face!"
"What do you expect when you combine a fireball with a freezing spell?" said Lin-Lin sarcastically and a couple people laughed while Sarah rubbed the back of her neck sheepishly. Aletta was running back and forth anxiously in the kitchen.
"Did you really kill the monster that infected the whole school?" demanded Verde. "They never told us what really happened that year…."
"Yeah, she did," answered Sucy. "After she let the monster in the school in the first."
"I said I was sorry," Akko whined.
Carman whistled, Makoto and Chinatsu exchanged awestruck looks, and Sola said "wow" softly. Akko was feeling slightly hot around the collar now.
"And in our first year," said Barbara to the group at large, "she saved the Shiny Rod from falling into the wrong hands."
"Weren't you the wrong hands?" asked Jasminka innocently.
"That has not been proven in the court of law," said Barbara quickly.
"And not to mention," said Molly, startling a few people who didn't realize she was there, "she survived the first challenge in the Grand Magic Games, against the horde of Xenomorphs and the queen. And she fought the Kiryuin Sisters two-on-one…."
There was a murmur of impressed agreement around the restaurant. Akko's insides were squirming. She was trying to arrange her face so that she did not look too pleased with herself. She had already heard these things from Diana, but she figured her girlfriend was just being biased. She didn't think so many people thought that highly of her.
"Look," she said and everyone fell silent at once, "I…I don't want to sound like I'm trying to be modest or anything, but…I had a lot of help with all that stuff…."
"Not in the labyrinth last year, you didn't," said Priscilla at once. "Seriously, you were awesome…."
"Yeah, well – "said Akko, feeling it would be rude to disagree.
"And nobody helped you fight of the Heartless this summer," said Amity.
"No," said Akko, "no, okay, I know I did some things without help, but my point is – "
"Are you trying to weasel out of showing us any of this stuff?" said Chloe.
"I'm not even the one really teaching anything," said Akko, gesturing to her girlfriend. "Diana's the one with the brains. I'm just a…what's the word I'm looking for?"
"Test dummy," Sucy offered.
"Yeah, test dum – HEY!"
"Well, we've all turned up to learn self-defense, and now you're saying you can't do anything," said Chloe.
"That's not what she said," sneered Gari.
"Would you like us to clean out your ears for you?" inquired Sabi, pulling out a tube of lethal-looking bubbling black liquid with a skull and crossbones label.
"Or any part of your body, really, we're not fussy where we stick this," said Gari.
"Yes, well," said Diana hastily, "moving on…the point is, do you agree that you want to learn proper self-defense lessons?"
There was a murmur of general agreement. Chloe folded her arms and said nothing, though perhaps this was because she was too busy keeping an eye on the tube in Sabi's hand.
"Right," said Diana, looking relieved that something had at last been settled. "Well, then, the next question is how often we do it. I really don't think there's any point in meeting less than once a week – "
"Hold on," said Avery, "we need to make sure this doesn't clash with our Chariot Racing practice."
"Or ours," said Fate.
"Or ours," added Chloe.
"I'm sure we can find a night that suits everyone," said Diana, slightly impatient, "but you know, this is important, we're talking about learning to defend ourselves against Jennifer's cult – "
"Well said!" barked Hayate, whom Akko had been expecting to speak long before this. "Personally, I think this is of the utmost importance, possibly more important than anything else we'll do his year, even with our S.T.A.R.s and Marks of Mastery coming up!"
She looked around impressively, as though waiting for people to cry, "Impossible!" When nobody spoke, she went on, "I, personally, am at a loss to see why the Council has forced a useless teacher on us at this critical period. Obviously, they are in denial about Jennifer's return and her true nature as a villain, but to give us a teacher who is actively trying to prevent us from learning self-defense – "
"We think the reason Light Spinner doesn't want us trained in self-defense," said Lotte, "is because they've got some…some insane idea that Luna Nova is using students as a kind of private army. They think we'd be mobilized against the Magic Council."
Nearly everybody looked stunned at this news; everybody except Molly McIntyre, who piped up, "Well, that makes sense. After all, Crawford Seam has always been afraid of Chariot du Nord because of her strength and popularity. That's why he tried to deny her from staying in Luna Nova."
"What?" asked Akko, completely thrown by this unexpected piece of information.
"Yes, he's worried Chariot might rise up against him inside the school," said Molly.
"Whaddya mean 'inside the school?" asked Akko.
"I mean, Chariot du Nord is inside Luna Nova," said Molly like it was obviously.
That got a lot of people talking; the idea that the famous magical entertainer Chariot du Nord was hiding somewhere in Luna Nova was even more wild than an underground self-defense club. Orion visibly paused for a moment before going back to work.
"That's crazy," said Hannah. "If someone like Chariot du Nord was in Luna Nova, don't you think someone would know about it."
"Diana knows," said Molly; the aforementioned blonde stiffened in shock. "She figured it out in her first year."
Akko now rounded on Diana, who nervously met Akko's gaze and then quickly turned away, biting her bottom lip.
"Diana…," Akko leaned in close, speaking in a low voice so only her girlfriend could hear. "Is she telling the truth…."
Diana sighed miserably, and answered, "I'm sorry, Akko…I've wanted to tell you for so long, but…I couldn't."
"I mean you knew where my mom was hiding for the past five years," said Akko, her temper starting to flare up, "and you never once said anything to me? How could you do that? We're you the one who said that we shouldn't keep secrets from each other?"
"It's not my place to say anything," Diana retorted harshly. "Chariot made me swore not to say anything. She said she wanted to be the one to tell you when the time was right. And before you lecture me about keeping secrets, can you tell me, with complete honesty, that you're not keeping anything from me?"
Akko opened her mouth to snap back, but quickly closed it before she did something she could regret.
It suddenly struck her how similar this situation was to the one in Professor Holbrooke's office last year, just after she had discovered the Horologium Clock. Professor Holbrooke had made her swore not to say anything about the true nature of Bernadette Cavendish's death, that Diana's mother would be the one to tell the truth when the time was right. Akko wasn't about to break her promise to Holbrooke, so it would be hypocritically is Akko blamed Diana for making a similar promise. That didn't mean she couldn't be upset about it, though –
"Hem, hem," said Lotte in such a good imitation of Light Spinner that several people looked around in alarm and then laughed. "Weren't we trying to decide how often we're going to meet and get self-defense lessons?"
"Yes," said Diana at once, "yes, we were, you're right…."
"Well, once a week sounds cool," said Makoto.
"As long as – " began Avery.
"Yes, yes, we know about your training," said Diana in a tense voice. "Well, the other thing to decide is where we're going to meet…."
This was more difficult; the whole group fell silent.
"Library?" suggested Luz after a few moments.
"I can't see Badcock being happy with us doing jinxes in the library," said Lotte.
"Maybe an unused classroom?" said Nanoha.
"Yeah," said Amanda, "Ursula might let us use one, she did when we were practicing for the Contest…."
But Akko was pretty certain that Ursula would not be so accommodating this time. For all that Diana had said about study and homework groups being allowed, she had a distinct feeling this one might be considered a little more rebellious.
"Right, well, we'll try to find somewhere," said Diana. "We'll send a message around to everybody when we've got a time and place for the first meeting."
She rummaged through her bag and produced a rolled-up, yellowing piece of paper and an old timey quill – the kind that existed back in colonial days. Now Diana might be more traditional than most students, but this was going a little overboard in Akko's opinion.
"I think we should write our names down, just so we know who was here," said Diana. "But I also think that we should agree not to say anything about what we are doing. So if you sin, you're agreeing not to tell Light Spinner – or anybody else – what we're up to."
"The first rule of magic club is don't talk about magic club," said Amanda jokingly.
"Exactly," said Diana, completely missing the reference, which make several people snicker behind their hands.
Amanda was the first to reach out and cheerfully put down her signature, but Akko noticed at once that several people looked less than happy at the prospect of putting their names on the list.
"Er…," said Chloe slowly, not taking the paper as Chinatsu was trying to pass her. "Well…I'm sure Zizi or Alice will tell me when the meeting is."
But Priscilla looked hesitant about signing too. Diana raised her eyebrow at her.
"I – well, we are prefects," Priscilla burst out. "And if this list was found…well, I mean…you said yourself, if Light Spinner finds out…."
"Hayate-chan said this group was the most important thing you'd do this year," Akko reminded her. "You don't believe her, even though she's your senior?"
"I – no, that's…," Priscilla mumbled, "that's not what I meant…."
"Priscilla, do you really think I'd leave that list lying around?" said Diana testily.
"No, no, of course not," said Priscilla, looking slightly less anxious. "I – yes, of course I'll sign."
Nobody raised objections after Priscilla, though Akko saw Chloe give Diana a disapproving look before reluctantly adding her name. When the last person – Sola – had signed, Diana took the sheet back and slipped it carefully into her bag. There was an odd feeling in the group now. It was as though they had just signed some kind of contract.
"Excuse me," Aletta spoke up, appearing timidly around the door to the kitchen. "Erm – if you're done with your meeting, we've finished preparing your meals if you're ready."
"It's about time!" said Sarah enthusiastically. "We're starving!"
All the tension in the room seemed to magically disappear at the mere mention of food. Aletta and Orion had to used use three carts to carry everyone's plate to the main room, and then there was chaos of trying to keep track of everyone's order since they were shouting over one another. Akko was honestly relieved to be done with the subject of their secret club as her uncle set her pork cutlet rice bowl. One sniff of the delicious smell made Akko's stomach growl furiously, reminding her just how hungry she was.
"Well, I think that went quite well," said Diana optimistically as she cut into her tender beefsteak.
"That Chloe girl's a real brat," said Sucy, taking a spoonful of her mushroom soup. Apparently, it wasn't to her taste, so she decided to add her own special ingredient: a drop of venomous-looking liquid that turned her soup a bubbling purple color.
"She was glaring at Diana the whole time," Lotte noted, sampling her macaroni gratin.
"The Dubois family have a one-sided rivalry with the Cavendishes," said Diana, sighing exasperatedly. "They seem to be under the impression that they are more deserving of recognition because their family is as old as ours. The Cavenishes never really cared much for their petty grudge, so we just ignore them for the most part."
"So why'd you invite her," asked Wendy, taking a bite of fruit jelly.
"I didn't," said Diana. "But she overheard me talking to Zizi and Alice and she seemed interested in coming, so what could I say? But the more people the better really – I mean, I doubt Verde, Catherine, or Elfriede would've come if Verde wasn't dating Hannah – "
Akko, who had been taking large gulps of soda when Diana dropped that little bombshell, gagged and sprayed the counter. Good thing Aletta was so attentive and quickly wiped it up.
"Hannah's dating who?" yelped Akko. "When did this happen?"
"They started hanging out together after the Winter Ball and got together at the end of last year," said Diana composedly. She subtily looked over her shoulder to the table across the restaurant where Hannah and Verde were feeding each other like a disgustingly sweet couple. Barbara, who was sitting across from them, was stabbing her food unnecessarily hard.
"No wonder Barbara looks so pissed," said Nico while slurping her carbonara noodles. "She's been crushing on Hannah since first year."
"But Hannah is too obvious to notice," said Lotte sympathetically. "First, she was too infatuated with Diana while Diana was in love with Akko, and now she's coupled up with someone completely unexpected. I can't help feel bad for Barbara."
"It's probably karma for what she did first year," said Sucy.
"If we're going to talk about something unexpected," Wendy chimed in, "why don't we talk about you, Diana?"
"What about me?" said Diana, looking slightly apprehensive like she knew what Wendy was going to ask.
"Is it true that Akko's mom is in Luna Nova?" asked Wendy.
"…yes," Diana answered after a moment's hesitation, glancing at Akko, whose eyes were firmly set on her meal.
"And you won't tell anyone where she is?" Wendy continued. "Not even your own girlfriend."
"I told you, I was sworn into secrecy," said Diana shortly, indicating that she was done with the subject. "Though I do wonder how Molly McIntyre found out…."
Akko kept her mouth shut by slowly chewing her food.
Next chapter: Educational Decree Number Twenty-Four