As soon as classes ended, Akko sprinted to her room. The moment she got there, she grabbed her broom and immediately bolted outside.
Akko could hardly contain her excitement as she continued running across the fields. It was time for another session with Diana.
When Akko thought about how worried she was when these sessions started a couple of weeks ago, she found herself laughing about how silly she was. She was so sure Diana would take this opportunity to make fun of her. She thought Diana was going to be like most of the professors in the school: Akko would mess up and they would insult her talent as a witch, providing no more feedback other than telling her she'd had failed.
Akko really didn't want to have Diana as her tutor, but out of respect for the one teacher who was always there for her, she decided to give Diana a chance. It was a decision Akko had not regret since.
Diana had been extremely patient with her. In moments when Akko could tell Diana was worried about being too harsh, Diana softened her tone just a little. Not only that, Diana had also always given her good advice when she messed up and encouraged her to try again.
In the two weeks they've been working together, Akko had gotten much closer to flying than she had ever gotten in the past semester trying to fly by herself. And Akko knew she had Diana to thank for that.
As she began moving through the bushes and trees on the way to their usual spot, Akko began to slow down. Akko thought about how close she felt they had gotten as the days past. The two of them had gotten to the point where they could joke around with each other, something Akko'd never thought she'd be able to do with the so-called star of Luna Nova.
As she approached the spot, she saw Diana was already there, as usual. Akko took a moment to watch the blonde witch.
She was seated on a mat, back towards Akko. From what Akko could tell, Diana was reading a book. Akko thought about how she would greet her tutor today.
Would she go with the usual greet and salute? Or would she walk up normally and call attention to herself?
No, Akko had a better idea. She smiled to herself as she put her thought into action. Slowly, Akko began to sneak towards Diana. She had her arms widened, ready to entrap the unsuspecting blonde in a tight bear hug. Any and all concerns about how this might be a bad idea were shoved away the moment Akko thought of the idea. And now nothing was going to stop h-
"Paleis Capama!"
Akko suddenly found herself suspended in the air, surrounded by a large, transparent, green sphere of light.
Akko laughed nervously.
"Heeey Diana."
"Good afternoon Akko." Diana responded, clearly unimpressed. "May I ask what you were planning to do?"
"I was just… uh" Akko suddenly found it difficult to put exactly what she was going to do into words. "I was just going to greet you! With a… uh, a hug?"
"Is that so? Any particular reason why?"
"Not really?" Akko said. "I just thought it'd be fun?" Akko said, grasping for literally any reason to explain her action.
"I see." Diana responded, before going silent again. Akko found the silence particularly uncomfortable. Which, of course, had nothing to do with the fact she was trapped in a giant light bubble.
Luckily Diana broke the silence she had started. "Well, I suppose this is one way you could fly in the air with your broom" Diana said, referencing the state Akko currently found herself in. Akko could clearly see the small inklings of a smirk on Diana's face. However, something drew her attention away from that expression.
"Ne, Diana. Why do you have those bags?" Akko asked, referencing the two blue bags hanging from Diana's shoulders.
At the question, Diana's smirk grew slightly. There was a mischievous glint in Diana's blue eyes.
Akko suddenly found herself very concerned.
"S-So Diana… W-What are you reading?" Akko strained to say.
"I am reading about the origins of magic" Diana replied as she delicately turned the page of her rather ancient text.
"I-I see" Akko grit her teeth as she struggled to take a step forward. "Is it interesting?"
Diana scanned the page she was on, smiling gently as she happened upon a familiar name "Yes, I do find the subject matter interesting." Diana replied. "Although, I do not believe this would suit your tastes"
Akko was silent for a moment as she attempted to take another step forward.
"Hey Diana?"
"Yes Akko?" Diana answered, turning her attention to her tutee.
"Don't you think thi- Urk." Akko felt her control slip for a moment. "-this might be a little too much weight?" Akko asked, a slightly hopeful tone evident in her words.
Diana had brought two rather large bags and filled them with as many rocks as was possible. She then placed them on Akko's broom, one close to the bristles of the broom and the other close to the end of the handle. Diana herself had taken a spot in between the two weights. Akko was told she would need to keep her broom up in the air with this much weight. Something about improving the amount of magic Akko could channel into her broom. Initially, Akko was determined to meet the challenge. However, over half an hour had passed, and all Akko could feel was the burn in her arm as she attempted to keep the broom afloat.
Diana took a second to ponder Akko's question. "Perhaps you are right." Diana mused. Akko grew hopeful upon hearing those words.
Akko's hopes were dashed immediately. Diana had removed the hat that had been on her head and placed it on top of Akko's. The once hopeful smile was replaced with a rather frustrated, yet oddly adorable, pout.
"That should lower the amount of weight you are carrying, should it not?" Diana spoke, amusement laced with each word.
"Diana!" Akko whined, pleading for some relief.
Diana chuckled before hopping off Akko's broom. "Alright, we can take a break." Diana picked out a matt she had rolled up into one of the bags that were on Akko's broom. She unfurled it, laying it carefully on the ground before slowly sitting down on it.
At the sight of the mat, Akko smiled brightly. She swiftly shook off the offending bags from her broom before clumsily laying herself on it. Once she was comfortable, she sighed in relief.
The two witches remained quiet for a few moments, content to feel the cool breeze blowing across the field.
Akko was the first to break the silence "Neh, Diana." Diana looked at Akko at the call of her name. "Did you have to put so many rocks?" Akko asked, trying her best to let annoyance seep through the relaxation she currently felt.
"Of course Akko. We have to build up the amount of weight you can carry with your broom so that when you finally manage to fly on your broom, there will not be any issues concerning how much weight is on your broom." Diana answered.
Akko hummed in response. She guessed it made sense. After all, when she's flying up in the air she'd have to carry her own weight.
…
Akko shot up the moment she registered exactly what Diana had just said.
"Diana! I'm not that heavy!" Akko yelled out, obviously offended.
Diana was shocked by Akko's sudden reaction. Had she said something wrong? Had she implied Akko was heav- Oh.
"My apologies, I did not mean to imply…" Diana trailed off, slightly embarrassed by her poor choice of words. "I just assumed that once you mastered the spell, you would immediately begin offering to give rides to your friends."
"Oh." Akko vocally expressed.
"All things considered," Diana began, looking at the pile of rocks that had originally been hanging on Akko's broom, "you did remarkably well, especially considering this was your first time holding up what was essentially three people." Akko smiled at the compliment, scratching the back of her head. "Though I do think you could afford to focus on releasing magic without needing to tense your arm as much as your currently are." Diana finished.
"Understood." Akko nodded.
Diana stood up and offered a hand to Akko. "So, shall we begin again?" Diana asked, a soft smile on her face.
"Yes!" Akko exclaimed excitedly, grabbing Diana's hand with her free left hand.
Before going to bed, Diana smiled as she took a look at a heavily marked calendar on her desk. She dipped her quill in ink and began adding a new mark on her calendar, encircling the date for tomorrow.
When Diana had thought of a method to teach Akko how to fly, she had carefully laid out a lesson plan of sorts, based upon her expectations of how quickly Akko could grasp the concept of flight. Diana knew it would take a long time to make something unfamiliar feel natural. Diana knew how much guidance, practice, and work it takes to solve a problem when one does not even understand the source of it. She had expected for these lessons to progress slowly and scheduled accordingly.
However…
Leave it to Akko to completely shatter any plan Diana had in mind. The two had been having their tutoring sessions for about two weeks now. At this point, Diana thought Akko would be at the stage where she would be walking around with the weight of one person on her broom.
And yet, here Akko was, about a week and a half ahead of schedule. Akko had been very receptive to the bits and pieces of advice Diana had offered to her. Far more than she expected from the infamously stubborn witch. Diana had been forced to readjust her lesson plans several times due to the quicker than expected pace Akko had been learning.
Diana smiled as she thought of their last two weeks. When Professor Ursula had asked her to help Akko fly in her stead, Diana saw assisting Akko as nothing more than acting as a Cavendish should: helping those in need of help. Given Professor Ursula's request and Akko's determination, Diana saw it her duty to help the young witch.
And yet, it had somehow grown into something much more than that.
Diana thought of all of the ways Akko's emotions exploded as she continued to move closer to flying. The sheer joy and awe Diana heard Akko express as they flew up in the air on their first day. The absolute excitement Akko showed when she lifted her broom for the first time. Akko's self satisfied grin at accomplishing some on the first try. Akko's bashful smile at the insinuation of a compliment.
At some point, Diana found herself looking forward to each session, awaiting what way Akko would react upon reaching the next milestone. Diana wanted Akko to succeed, not just so Akko could grow as a witch, but now so that she could get a glimpse of the genuine joy and happiness Akko experiences as she inches closer to finally being able to fly. In a way, being able to see the young girl grow made these activities, things that could be seen by any other witch in the school as a chore, fun.
As Diana rested on her bed, she looked up at the ceiling, softly illuminated by the light of the moon through the window. Diana looked back at her calendar, and focused on the newly encircled date. Tomorrow. Diana closed her eyes and smiled as she thought of her tutee.
Diana thought of just what kind of reaction the red eyed witch would have when she finds out what is planned for tomorrow. Just the thought was enough to fill Diana with anticipation.
It was finally time for Akko to learn how to fly.
I'm scared for episode 21.