Chapter 8: Blood witches.
Akko felt like a zombie. Her mind was hazy, her eyelids were dropping, and her feet could barely move. Why? Because it was Sunday. And Sundays were for sleeping in until midday. Yet, here she was, seven AM and already in Blytonbury with her bicycle. All because she had to sneak out of her room and come to see Croix in secret.
"Hey, kid. How you doing?" The lilac-haired woman was already waiting for her on her motorcycle at the entrance to the Leyline.
"I'm sleepy." She complained after chaining up her bicycle in a nearby post and going to sit behind Croix.
"Hey, you were the one who suggested this hour." She said in an amused tone, giving her a helmet for her to put on.
"I knoooow." Akko whined, almost hating past Akko for that decision. This earned her a chuckle from Croix.
"Alright kid, hold on tight. I like going fast."
So, Akko wrapped her arms around Croix's waist and rested her head on her back, already feeling her eyes starting to close.
The next thing she knew, she was waking up on a comfy couch, feeling a lot more rested and alert.
She sat up and looked around, trying to decipher where she was, but she was pretty sure she had never been to that place. It was some sort of office, rather small, she would say, that only had a wooden desk, two chairs, a window from where the sunlight was already coming in, a bookcase to the right, a mini fridge and a microwave to the left, and the couch where she was currently sitting, overlooking it all from its place next to the door.
Honestly, it was such a mundane sight. Where was she?
"Oh, you're awake." Croix said as she stepped into the office and went to sit next to Akko, holding a cup of coffee in her hands. "You must have been really tired."
"I was." She replied, stifling a yawn. "Yesterday I went into the forest searching for clues of my mom's whereabouts. I even broke a magical barrier using only my strength!"
"Your… physical strength?" Croix asked, raising an eyebrow. When Akko answered with a simple nod, she burst out laughing. "I should have imagined. You just had to inherit that from Chariot."
"Huh?" Akko tilted her head. What was she talking about?
"Oh, please, don't tell me you've never noticed just how freaking strong your mom is!" Croix continued laughing. "She used to carry me bridal style all the time, as annoying and embarrassing as that was." She then sighed, nostalgic. "Now, those were good times."
"Well… I once saw her lifting an entire bookcase, books and all, with only her hands." Akko admitted.
"See? So freaking strong!" Croix laughed once more. When she calmed down, however, she turned to look at Akko. "But anyways, if you don't mind me asking, why didn't you just use magic?"
"Well…" Akko pursed her lips. "I just… I haven't been able to do magic." She finally admitted with a grimace.
"At all?" Upon receiving a shake of her head, Croix frowned. "Well, as I said, it's still in experimental phase. But hopefully a few more sessions with my magical inductors will be enough to fully awaken your powers."
"You think today could be the day?" Akko asked, excitement shining on her eyes.
"I don't know kid, but let's try."
As soon as they exited Croix's office they found themselves on her lab. Still as dark and full of machines as Akko remembered. Just like last time, the Japanese witch then went to lay on the metal table-thingy and, just like last time, Croix first took a look to her magical channels. The primary channels were as dead as ever, sure, but the secondary channels seemed to have expanded throughout all her body, and now the red pulsing energy filled most of them. But it still hadn't reached her hands or feet.
"I see." Croix said, pursing her lips. "So the magic I gave you wasn't enough to fully fill your channels. I'm afraid I'll have to make this session a bit longer."
"Okay."
The wait was long and boring as the little black cubes vibrated on Akko's whole body, making her skin tickle. It was torture, honestly! She couldn't even move, much less scratch! And she had to be like that for about half an hour, after which Croix revised her magic channels once again. Now, the red energy had finally reached every confine of her body, including the tips of her fingers and toes.
"Alright, that should be enough." Croix nodded, apparently satisfied. "Still, I would recommend not using magic for at least 24 hours, least your body rejects it."
"Okay." Akko mumbled, unable to hide her disappointment. She had even brought her mother's wand, just in case Croix managed to awaken her powers!
"Oh, come on!" Croix chuckled. "Don't give me that face. Let's go to my office and talk for a little bit, alright?" She then started walking back towards the small white door at one side of the lab, and Akko hurried to follow her. "Do you want tea? Coffee?" She asked, once they were inside.
"Uhhh… chocolate?" Akko requested shyly.
"I could make some." Croix smiled kindly at her. "With magic, of course." She winked, making Akko giggle. "Come on, take a seat. I'll be with you in a second."
Akko sat down on one of the chairs at the desk, but thankfully she didn't have to wait too long before Croix arrived with two steaming cups; one of coffee and another one of chocolate for Akko.
"Here." She placed the cup at the desk in front of her and then went to sit at the other side, sipping her own drink.
"Thanks." Akko answered, happily taking a sip from her hot chocolate, which was not only the perfect temperature, but also reminded her of the brand her mother used to buy.
"I'm sorry if doesn't taste as good. Magical food can never quite replicate the authentic flavor."
"No, no, this is perfect. Really." She quickly reassured her.
"You are way too easy to please." Croix smiled.
"And you are way too nice with me." Akko countered. "I think I'll take you as my temporary mother, while she's not here. Or you could, you know, become my stepmother, once we find her." She wiggled her eyebrows suggestively.
"I told you, kid. Chariot and I are ancient history." She drawled out, rolling her eyes.
"Right." Akko answered, skeptical. "That's why you befriended her daughter."
"I just want to help you find her, okay?" Croix quickly replied, rather defensively. "And speaking of which, have you found any clues at all?"
"Well, I think blood witches kidnapped her." Akko said, kinda expecting Croix to either look at her with utter confusion, or just laugh in her face. Instead, she tensed.
"That's… a bold accusation." She finally said, her hands subconsciously tightening their grip on her mug.
"Huh? So you do know about blood witches?"
"Yes, but I really don't think they are responsible for her disappearance."
"It would make sense, though!" Akko argued. "You know the prophecies about a war of witches and the chosen one who'll end it all?"
"You think Chariot is the chosen one." She said before Akko could tell her all the arguments and proof she'd prepared.
"Uh… yeah. How did you…?"
"I thought so too. Every single important person in the world of magic believed it as well, although it was kept a secret from the general public. Still, blood witches soon started to notice. That's why she went into hiding."
"But then… maybe they finally found her! Maybe the blood witches kidnapped her!" Akko kept arguing, feeling like her point got stronger at each new discovery. To her surprise, Croix just chuckled bitterly.
"If blood witches really do have her, then I feel sorry for them."
"Huh? But aren't they super duper powerful and stuff? I mean, I get that my mom is strong, but against two or three of them…"
"They'd be powerless to do anything." Croix cut her off, smiling mysteriously. "You probably don't know this, but Chariot was, during her prime days, a famous blood witch hunter."
"What?!" Okay, yeah. She wasn't expecting that at all. But a smile immediately appeared on her face. Her mom was a hero?
"She would use her Shiny Chariot persona, drawing attention, tempting blood witches to go find her. Many tried to either steal her magic or become friends with her, hoping to gain the chosen one's favor and survive the war of witches." She paused, giving Akko a pointed look. "But she killed them all. I counted a little more than twelve."
Her mom… killed more than twelve people? Really? She had been capable of such a thing when she was younger? It was both a relief and a shock. Relief because at least now Akko was sure she could protect herself well enough, meaning she wouldn't be as easy to kill. Shock because… her gentle, caring, loving mother was an… assassin?
"They were blood witches though, right?" Akko waved it off, trying to rest it importance.
"You say it like they're not people." Croix frowned.
"Well… they're evil, aren't they?"
"So? Would you be able to exterminate an entire group of people based on such beliefs? Who are you to pass judgment?" Although Croix's words were harsh, her tone of voice remained calm. Yet, Akko did notice how her fingers were starting to turn white from how tightly she was squeezing her mug. It looked like this subject was affecting her.
"Well, I-I… I don't think I could ever do something like that." Akko decided to answer honestly. Really, just the idea of taking someone's life, even a blood witch's, was enough to make her skin crawl. "But I also don't think my mom did anything wrong."
"I agree." Croix conceded, taking another sip from her coffee. "Chariot only did what she believed was her destiny, and I can respect her for that." She then paused, looking up to the ceiling with an almost lost gaze. "Plus, it is true most blood witches are evil. But not all of them."
"But… they kill to gain power, right? How can they not be evil after that?" Akko argued. At this point of the conversation, her chocolate was not only cold, but also forgotten.
"Listen, Atsuko." Croix said, using her full name for the first time since they'd met. "What I'm going to tell you is a secret for almost everyone, but as a researcher on magical induction, I've had more than a few contacts with blood witches, and they told me something rather… interesting."
"Okay?" The girl raised an eyebrow. This was starting to get mysterious. And confusing.
"Blood witches aren't born with magic like normal witches, you know that." Croix started explaining, returning her gaze towards the Japanese girl. "However, they can be breed."
"Uh… what?"
"There are only a few hundred blood witches now-a-days, but they all know each other, and they all descend from a handful of families that decided to cultivate power through generations." She continued explaining. "It's said that, with each generation, the offspring becomes stronger, being able to absorb more magic and use it more efficiently." She paused, wetting her lips. "More so, the younger they are when they drink the blood of their first victim, the stronger they become."
"Wait… did you just say they drink blood?" Akko exclaimed, shocked.
"Of course. That's what gives them the name." Croix answered rather casually. "But at least they don't have to kill their victims every time they do so. Only the first time, since they have to consume every last drop for the conversion to be effective."
Akko could only gulp at that, feeling a chill run down her spine.
"That… was that supposed to make them seem less like monsters? Because it certainly didn't succeed." Croix only chuckled at Akko's answer before getting up from her chair and slowly walking towards the window, choosing to stare at the scenery outside instead; her expression grave and serious.
"Allow me to tell you a story, Akko." She said, but didn't wait for the girl to answer before starting her tale. "There was once a little girl, couldn't be more than five or six years old. She lived with her mother; a blood witch. She had tried to force the girl multiple times to kill a witch and drink her blood, but the girl refused… until one day, she threatened her with the most painful and cruel death you can imagine if she didn't drink a baby's blood." Croix sighed, her posture becoming slightly hunched at her words, like their weight literally was pressing down on her shoulders. "When she refused once more, she beat her half to death, knowing full well only magic could save her. Magic that she wouldn't use if she didn't kill the baby, drank her blood and became a blood witch." Croix then let out a shuddering breath. "You see, she was only a scared little girl who was terrified and more than anything wanted to live. She… she really didn't have a choice."
"Croix…" Akko wasn't even sure what she wanted to say. It was such a horrible story. Had it really happened? Judging by how much it seemed to affect Croix it looked like yes, it was real. It was too horrible to consider though.
"Don't worry. This story has a happy ending." She assured her, finally turning around and smiling kindly at her. "The girl swore not to kill anyone ever again and, in the future, all her victims got to live."
"She still drank their blood though, right?" She made a face.
"Well, yes… for a while." Croix admitted, still smiling despite the subject being addressed. "Only enough to survive."
"Survive?"
"I'll explain that later." She quickly dismissed her question. "Anyways, the point is… one day she finally stumbled upon my creations, and never had to drink blood ever again. The end."
"And how exactly did your creations help her?" Akko asked, tilting her head. She didn't understand a thing. She sure was glad Croix wasn't a professor, or else she'd fail her class.
Croix just sighed and went to sit again, wearing a sad smile. It was obvious she hadn't exactly enjoyed telling the story to Akko. She couldn't blame her though; despite the ending, she still wouldn't consider it to be happy.
"Well, you see Akko, when a regular human drinks a witch's blood for the first time, something weird happens; they gain magic. More precisely, their secondary magic channels develop to a full extent and are filled with the consumed power."
Okay. Blood gave them magic. Got it. But why did that sound like…?
"But still, a blood witch is unable to produce her own magic. Meaning, she has to drink blood again every time she uses it." She continued explaining, wearing now a grave expression. "If a blood witch ever ran completely out of power, she would die."
"So… by forcing their daughters to drink blood when they're young, blood witches are basically ensuring they keep doing it for their entire lives?" Akko exclaimed. "That's horrible."
"It is." Croix agreed. "Some come to enjoy it, I won't deny that. But others are really just the victims in this story."
"Yeah… I kinda feel bad for them now." She admitted with a grimace.
"I do too. That's why I invented another way of gaining magic." Croix informed her, now wearing a happy and proud smile. "Actually, now that I think about it, you're technically a blood witch now."
"What?!" Akko pretty much screamed, her eyes wide. "But I've never drank anyone's blood!"
"No, but the principle is still the same." She kept explaining, being way too calm about this for Akko's taste. "Remember what you drank the first time you came to my lab? You can think of it like a substitute for a witch's blood. Like stevia."
"But it's not actually blood… right?" Akko asked worryingly.
"Just like stevia isn't actually sugar." She nodded. "Now, you don't have to keep drinking it, because once your magic channels are fully developed, I can merely inject magic into them using my cubes."
"Okay…. Let me see if I understood." The girl took a deep breath, trying to organize her thoughts. "The strange drink you gave me is the equivalent of me drinking a witch's blood for the first time, and the cubes are the equivalent of me replenishing my magic every time I run out of it?"
"Something like that." Croix nodded. "Now you see how my creations helped blood witches?"
"Yeah… but does that mean you work closely with them?" Akko didn't know how she'd feel about a positive answer. Like, she knew Croix was a good person, and now she kinda understood a little more about the blood witches and kinda felt bad for them. But still. They had killed, they had drank blood… it just… it still upset her.
"You got a problem with that?" Croix raised an eyebrow.
"N-no! I just… uh…"
"As a scientist, I work with both witches and blood witches. I can't let any biases interfere with my results." She frowned. "Although some blood witches aren't exactly pleasant to be around, I'll give you that."
"Right. You still know an awful lot about them, though." A dumb thought was starting to form inside Akko's head. It was stupid, and it probably couldn't be farther away from the truth, but the urge to ask was almost too strong to be contained.
"As I said, my line of work…"
"Croix… are you a blood witch?" The words were out of Akko's mouth before she could stop them, but when she saw Croix's eyes harden, she immediately regretted it.
"I-I… well…" She stopped, taking a deep breath and trying to appear calm. "The same way as you are." She said in the end, giving Akko a smile that wasn't exactly convincing at all.
"No, I meant… the story you told me earlier… that little girl… it was you, right?"
The woman just deviated her gaze and frowned, clearly upset by the question. Still, it didn't exactly look like she was mad at Akko. More like she was having a discussion with herself.
"It was a long time ago." She finally answered after a long pause.
Honestly? Akko had been kind of expecting for her to deny it all, preferentially also convincing her in the process. She wasn't at all prepared for her to just downright admit it. Or for how much her heart started hurting for her at the revelation.
"I'm sorry." Was all she could say.
"Don't be. As I said, this story had a happy ending." She tried to fake a smile, but Akko could see right through it. The past still hurt Croix a lot more than she was willing to admit.
The brunette girl then knew there was only one thing she could do; she got up from her chair, walked around the desk and then quickly wrapped her arms around Croix's neck, not giving her a chance to protest, squeezing her as hard as she could.
"I'm sorry." She repeated, feeling her own eyes fill with tears as she remembered what Croix had told her earlier. About the poor little girl, too scared to disobey her mother's orders.
"Thank you kid." Croix finally wrapped her arms around her as well, pulling her closer. "Not everyone is so understanding."
"I was wrong about blood witches. You're right. I can't just blame them for all my problems; it's unfair."
"Well… I mean, they could still have your mom." She admitted hesitantly. "But if that's the case, you really have nothing to worry about." She then separated slightly from Akko and gave her a small smile. "For now though, we just have to keep looking."
"Of course! I won't rest until I find her." She assured her, giving her a wide smile that was promptly mirrored by Croix. "No matter how much energy or magic it takes, I'll do my best to find her as soon as possible."
"I'm glad to hear that." She answered, but then paused, as if remembering something. "That said, if you ever do feel too tired or dizzy, come see me immediately. We wouldn't want you to run completely out of magic, right?"
"Okay." She easily agreed. "But for now, what about we do something fun to cheer us up? We could go to the cinema! There's a new movie I've been meaning to watch."
"I'd love that."
A/N: Happy New Year, you all! I hope you liked that because Croix is definitely one of my favorite characters to write XD. Might explain why this is my second favorite chapter to date lol. Well, please let me know what you think! And be sure to leave a favorite/follow to help support me, alright? Well, see you in two weeks!
Thanks to my beta reader moonwatcher13.