So kind of spoilers from episode 22? During the Ursula part of the chapter, so... yeah.
"…"
"Akko, you know staring at the door won't magically cause Diana to knock on it. Maybe she isn't coming today." Sucy said.
"But Sucy! Diana said she'd be stopping by when she was finished." Akko pouted
"Maybe the meeting with Professor Ursula was running late." Lotte offered on the bunk above Akko. "After all, she wasn't at dinner earlier. Though, it is almost curfew…" Akko's pout grew as she turned to the window. It was already night time.
"Akko wouldn't know that. She refused to leave the room until Diana stopped by." Sucy noted. She then turned her attention to Akko. "If you want to see her so much, why don't you just go look for her?" Sucy asked teasingly.
"You know what? Maybe I will!" Akko announced as she reached for her broom.
"But Akko! What about curfew?" Lotte questioned.
"Doesn't matter. This is more important." Akko declared, determined to find out where Diana was. "I'll just be sneaky." She quickly opened the door and was surprised to see Diana, her left arm positioned as if she were just about to knock. There was bag hanging off her left shoulder. From the looks of it, Diana had not expected the door to open so suddenly.
"Oh hi Diana!" Akko perked up. "I was just about to go look for you."
Diana quickly regained her composure. "I apologize for coming here so late. I hadn't expected my meeting with Professor Ursula to run as long as it did." Diana said apologetically. "I would fully understand if you wished to cancel tutoring for today."
"Eh? No way! I've been looking forward to this all day!" Akko said.
"Yeah, she'd been staring at that door for hours like some sad puppy." Sucy commented, earning an exasperated whine from Akko.
"I see." Diana said softly, trying to fight back a smile. "If that is the case, we had better start as soon as possible."
"Alright! Lead the way." Akko said excitedly.
"Eh Diana. What about curfew? If Professor Finnelan catches you, I'm not sure even you could avoid scolding." Lotte asked.
"I appreciate the concern." Diana smiled. "I went back to Professor Ursula's office to get a permission slip, so we will be okay." After a nod of affirmation from Lotte, Diana and Akko proceeded to the fields.
"So Diana, what did you and Professor Ursula talk about?" Akko asked.
"We mainly talked about you." Diana responded.
"Ooh. What about me?"
"Just about your progress… Oh right. Tomorrow, Professor Ursula will be stopping by our tutoring session to see what we have done so far."
"Really?"
"Yes. I did not tell her what we were working on the past two weeks, because I felt that you would prefer to show her in person. Was that alright?"
"That's more than alright! It's exactly how I'd want to do it." Akko assured, a bright smile on her face. "So, did you talk about anything else?"
Diana flinched at the question. "O-of course not."
"Eh? But how come it took so long… Diana are you blushing?" Akko teased.
"Abso- I am not!" Diana denied, looking away from the grinning brunette, ignoring the rest of Akko's questions.
Ursula found herself looking outside the window in her building, a habit she'd picked up over the years. She did this whenever she felt like she needed to think about something. She thought of the meeting she'd just had with Diana.
…
"May… I make a request?"
"Of course Diana."
"I would like to continue tutoring Akko, at least with the subject matter we have been working on the past couple of weeks. I believe it would be best… for Akko."
Ursula was surprised at Diana's request. Not that she was opposed of course. It was just unexpected.
"That is not to say that I believe I would be better suited to teaching Akko than you are. I just feel that I have a good understanding of Akko's growth in regards to this matter and would very much enjoy the opportunity to continue helping her. Of course I would never ask to take your place as her mentor. I would only request I be able to continue teaching her what I have been teaching her… Would that be acceptable?"
Ursula found herself almost chuckling at Diana's need to justify her request. She was happy to see Diana wishing to help Akko. After all, when she asked Diana to tutor Akko, she did want them to get past their animosity and become closer.
She just hadn't actually expected it to work so well.
"Of course it would. All that matters is whether it'll help Akko, and if Akko would be okay with it. Though I think it would be best to work a teaching schedule for her" Ursula gave Diana a soft smile as she replied, a smile which was returned.
"I-I see. Thank you very much professor." Diana responded, becoming more visibly relaxed.
"That being said, I'm sure if you told Akko you wanted to spend more time with her, she would not be against it." Ursula teased.
"E-excuse me?" Diana stuttered, a blush slowly creeping on her face.
"Knowing Akko, I'm sure as much as you enjoy tutoring Akko, she enjoys the time she spends with you at least twice as much." Ursula said. She noted that while Diana's facial expressions hadn't changed much, she did begin to fidget slightly.
Ursula looked to the window on the upper level of her room, noting streams of orange light shining through it. "Actually, my apologies Diana, but we have to cut our meeting a little short right now. I believe it's getting late." Ursula stated. Diana's eyes widened in response.
"Ah yes, I am afraid I have somewhere to be right now." Diana got up and hurriedly excused herself. "Shall I tell Akko to expect to see you tomorrow?" Ursula nodded in response. "Understood. Well, I shall see you tomorrow." Diana concluded, before bowing and rushing out the door.
Ursula giggled at the memory. She hadn't expected to see the ever so composed Diana acting as awkward as she had.
Ursula's smile grew wistful as she thought of those two growing closer together. It reminded her of better days, back when she was still a student at Luna Nova.
Ursula took out a picture she always kept on her person. A picture of her back when she still attended Luna Nova as Chariot. A picture of her with the one person who had meant the world to her, who used to always be there to support her: Croix Meridies.
The two of them separated on bad terms, and Ursula had not seen her since. Not a day went by she didn't miss her. Not a day went by that she didn't regret how things happened between the two.
Ursula regretted many things. She felt responsible for how bad things got between her and Croix. She regretted how she'd lost the Shiny Rod a decade ago. And now, she regretted being the reason the Rod's new chosen wielder struggled with magic.
Ursula sighed as she thought of her pupil. A person who idolized who she used to be. One who could so proudly proclaim Chariot's old saying: A believing heart is your magic. If only Akko knew that her own magic had been stolen because she had attended a Shiny Chariot show… A show meant to spread the wonder of magic to the world. The irony itself would be laughable if it was not so tragic.
There were many things she felt she needed to atone for, the greatest of which was what she had done to Akko. Akko very much reminded Ursula of how she used to be. All Akko wanted to do with magic was spread its wonder to everyone, to spread the joy magic can bring. And she had shown that she was capable of this, in her own unique way.
She even managed to give hope to Ursula herself.
It pained Ursula to see someone so full of hope and energy be crippled. While Akko does improve with practice, it took an extraordinary amount of effort for her to perfect spells. Not to mention Akko had still shown no signs of ever being able to fly.
Ursula felt she had to guide Akko. It had become more than just a sense of responsibility, more than a way for her to atone for her sins.
From the bottom of her heart, Ursula wanted Akko to become greatest witch she could be. And she would do anything she could to make sure Akko had everything she needed to reach that goal.
"So, what am I going to do tonight? More movement drills?" Akko asked.
Diana took note of their surroundings. The fields were softly illuminated by the bluish light from the moon.
"Hm… I want to try something new, if that would be okay with you?" Diana questioned. When Akko gave her a quick nod, Diana smiled and grabbed her wand. She took a deep breath as her wand began to shine its usual bright green light. She waved it, casting out streams of bright green light that danced around the field.
The lights spun and tangled together until they took form. Akko watched in awe as the streams of light combined to form several rings around the field, each with a number floating above them.
Diana breathed out once she was finished.
"Okay Akko. So for today I want you to… Akko is everything alright?" Diana was caught off guard by how close Akko was. She could see Akko's crimson eyes shining brightly staring right at her.
"You have got to teach me how to do that later!" Akko announced.
"What?"
"Diana! That looked so amazing!"
"It… really was not all that special." Diana said, looking away from Akko's intense gaze.
"No way! It was so pretty! Cmoon! Please teach me it?" Akko pleaded. Diana found herself growing more embarrassed as Akko complimented her display.
"M-maybe some other time." Diana replied. "Maybe after you have fully mastered flying."
"Okay!" Akko excitedly said. "So what should I do?"
Diana cleared her throat. "Well, as I was saying, for today I want you to fly through each ring in the order dictated by the numbers above the ring. You can go however quickly or slowly you want, but please be careful."
"Okay! Tia Freyre!" Akko straddled her broom and yelled out. Akko smiled excitedly as she floated off the ground. She turned back to Diana. "Can I get a countdown?" Akko asked.
Diana smiled as she shook her head at the girl's request. "If you insist. Three."
Akko gripped her broom.
"Two."
Akko leaned forward.
"One."
Akko took a deep breath.
"Go!"
"You know Akko, you are moving a lot slower than I expected after asking for a countdown." Diana voiced loudly.
"Shush. I'm trying!" Akko pouted as she flew through her 6th ring. She felt herself struggling to focus.
"I can see that." Diana said, the smile apparent in her tone of voice. Diana noticed Akko slowly rotating off her broom. "Akko. Balance."
"W-woah. Thanks Diana." Akko said smiling, trying to hide any signs of weakness. She could feel herself running out of energy. Maybe she should have eaten dinner.
Diana observed Akko and decided that the two of them should be safe right now. Akko was moving at a steady pace, and, ignoring the minor mishap earlier, Akko seemed to be totally in control.
Diana laid a mat from her bag on the ground. She took out a plastic container and a thermos from her bag.
Truth be told, she hadn't eaten yet and was quite famished.
She knelt down on the mat, preparing to eat.
Before she could begin however, she began to notice her friend staring at her. When she looked up, she saw Akko eyeing the container.
"Akko, is everything alright?" Diana asked.
Akko blushed upon hearing the question. "Eh? Y-yeah everything's just fi-" Akko was cut off by the sound of her stomach growling, further intensifying the embarrassment on her face.
"… Would you care to join me?" Diana questioned, a knowing smile on her face. Akko slowly lowered herself as she nodded in response, averting her eyes from the look she knew was on her friend's face.
The two witches sat shoulder to shoulder on the mat.
Luckily, Diana was prepared and had brought two cups. She poured the tea that in her thermos into the cups and gave one to Akko.
"Here, you can have half." Diana said, splitting up the food in her container.
"Eh? Mashed potatoes?" Akko questioned.
"Unfortunately it was the only thing the dining hall had left for dinner." Diana answered apologetically. "They did offer me this, however." Diana said as she took out a slice of a large fruit tart from her bag.
Akko's eyes lit up as she eyed the dessert. Diana laughed when she saw the look on her friend's face.
"Wow Diana. That looks delicious." Akko said, drool dripping from the side of her mouth.
"I am aware, which is why I felt bad about bringing only this one tonight. And that is why…" Diana said, reaching back into her bag, "I asked if I could have another one. I intended to save this for after our session… but now is a good enough time as any. Would you like to share?" Diana asked.
Akko's eyes lit up, extremely happy about the gesture. After all, Diana made sure there was an extra piece just for her.
"Don't mind if I do!" Akko announced as she gratefully took the piece from Diana. Before she could stab it with a fork however…
"Akko, please finish your dinner first." Diana reminded, pointing towards the barely touched potatoes.
"…Right." Akko said in response.
The two of them sat in silence after finishing their meal. Diana decided to wait some time before telling Akko to continue flying to avoid any… potential accidents.
Diana looked up to the sky to admire the stars. She loved the way they decorated the night sky. It was a view she wished she could see more often.
Suddenly, she felt a pressure on her shoulder. She felt hair begin to tickle her neck. She felt her face heat up at the contact.
"A-Akko? Is everything alright?" Diana asked out loud. She received no response.
Or rather, she received the sound of a barely audible snore in response.
"Akko… are you sleeping?" Diana questioned. She looked at her friend to see that she was… indeed sleeping. Diana found that she had trouble looking away from Akko's peaceful face lit up by the glow of the moonlight. It just looked so… so…
Cute.
Diana blushed at the thought before trying to wake the girl up, which took far more willpower than she was willing to admit.
"Akko. Akko. Wake up." Diana said as she shook her friend. She was met with a pout and a grunt from her friend.
Which she also unfortunately found adorable.
Before she could shake Akko anymore, the sleeping girl gripped Diana's arm, like she would a pillow in her sleep. Diana felt her heart quicken from the contact.
Diana sighed, figuring she should just give up trying to wake up the girl. After all, it was late, and it would not do good to try to practice when she was clearly this sleepy. She decided she'd better take Akko back to her room.
With great effort, Diana managed to pick Akko up so that she could gather everything back in her bag. With even more effort, she managed to get the both of them on her broom.
To ensure Akko's safety, Diana pressed the two of them close together. Akko's entire upper body was pressed on Diana's back, almost like a piggy back. While finding the pressure oddly pleasant, Diana found the heat in her face flare up when she realized how close the two of them were.
With a steady breath, Diana quietly chanted the spell before taking off, constantly making sure that Akko was, indeed, still there.
Akko did wake up a little bit at one point on the broom ride. The moment itself felt like a dream, and Akko didn't really remember much about it.
However, she did remember seeing Diana's face in the soft glow in the moonlight, her hair flowing in the wind.
She found herself admiring this beauty in the moonlight... until she was lulled back to sleep by the warmth of whatever she was leaning on.