In the second OVA, we see that Akko isn't all just happy-go-lucky and carefree all the time. She gets angry, she gets upset, and she overreacts and gets herself into a slump. I tried to stick to what we saw of her personality in canon there, and interpreted it within the conditions of this story.
Disclaimer: I do not own Little Witch Academia.
Chapter 3. A Little Understanding
Akko fell into a deep melancholy after her confession and subsequent rejection.
She didn't come out of that bathroom stall for hours, not until Lotte and Sucy found her and talked to her for a while. They offered sincere apologies for the way things had turned out, and hugged her from both sides.
They made sure only to bring her back out into the hallways and back to their dorm room when no one else was around.
Once back at their room, Akko limped over to her bed and disappeared beneath the blankets without so much as removing her shoes. Lotte and Sucy shared concerned looks with one another, but decided to let her be. Their hope was that Akko might be better in the morning.
But when dawn broke and her alarm started going off, there was no Akko-like shrieking or moaning as she fumbled around like a fish out of water to hit the snooze button. She simply reached out, tapped the clock, and was still again.
She was so quiet, and all they ever heard from her were sighs.
Lotte peered down at her friend from her top bunk, but Akko's face was hidden beneath the blankets. Worriedly, she glanced over at Sucy. The potion master shrugged and sat up, then slunk her way over to Akko's bed to clear her throat.
"Akko? Better get up soon. You're gonna miss breakfast."
They feared her response might only be more tight, anxious silence. But when she actually spoke, her voice didn't end up bringing them any solace.
"Not hungry."
She sounded so... defeated. So sad.
Lotte whimpered softly and cast Sucy another imploring look, begging her to try again. Sucy was getting concerned too. She tried giving Akko another rational reason to get out of bed.
"Well, you might at least wanna shower. You haven't changed clothes since yesterday."
But again, Akko's response was dry and lifeless.
"It doesn't matter. I'm just gonna stay here today. There aren't any classes, so it's fine..."
Lotte couldn't keep quiet any longer.
"B-But Akko! Remember? There's a guest speaker coming today! The Academy planned for her to visit on a weekend so everyone could see her without worrying about conflicting class times! You should come see her!"
But still, Akko didn't budge.
"Maybe some other time..."
Lotte saw Sucy's shoulders slump just as easily as she felt her own.
Despite their best efforts that morning, they couldn't get their friend out of bed. In hopes that letting her rest and think things over for the day might do the trick, they left her with words of encouragement and comfort, then headed out together.
They enjoyed themselves in attending the guest speaker. The woman was much more fun than a guest lecturer they might've been made to see during class times. She demonstrated fun magics and cast humorous spells that had the entire auditorium laughing.
But Lotte and Sucy could only enjoy themselves so much without Akko.
When the performance was over, the guest witch conjured up pink cotton candy from a giant cauldron, and distributed it all to the happy students. Lotte and Sucy each received one stick, but decided to split one between them and save the other for Akko.
As they exited the auditorium amongst the joyful crowds, the two girls conversed a bit less enthusiastically.
"It's such a shame..." Lotte sighed. "Akko would've loved that."
"At least we got her a souvenir."
"Yeah... I just hope she's feeling better by now..."
The two of them picked away at one stick of cotton candy, and by the time they got back to the dorm room, they'd finished it. Lotte gave a timid little knock and called out to their friend.
"Akko! We're back! Are you still there?"
There was no response of any kind. Lotte and Sucy shared a glance. They were a bit hopeful that perhaps Akko had gotten up and gone out on her own.
But that also was a bit worrisome, to a degree. Nonetheless, they opened the door and stepped inside.
To their dismay, Akko was still in bed, on her side facing the Chariot poster on the wall, silent and unresponsive. Lotte sighed, but it was less out of relief and more out of disappointment.
"Oh, were you still asleep? Sorry if we woke you."
Akko merely shrugged.
Biting her lip, Lotte sat down on the edge of her friend's bed. "S-So, the guest performer was really fun. We think you would've liked her."
"We got you some cotton candy," Sucy added, waving the treat around like a glow-stick.
But any hopes that Akko might perk up or go off rambling like her old self were shot down as she remained monotonous.
"That's nice... But I'm not hungry. Use it for your potions, Su."
Normally, Sucy might've been thrilled at the prospect of getting to try out a new ingredient in her potion mixing practices.
But now, she was more confused and upset by the fact that Akko had rejected the cotton candy in the first place. She laid the treat down on her desk and made her way over to sit beside Lotte on the bed, peering curiously over the lump of blankets that was Akko.
Lotte didn't want to give up yet. She kept trying to get her old friend back out of the shell she'd become.
"S-Say, Akko... if you're feeling up to it, w-why don't we go for a walk or something? Just so you can stretch your legs?"
It got a reaction out of her, but not the kind Lotte had been hoping for.
"Why?" Akko mumbled bitterly. "So everyone else can just laugh at me some more? I'd rather not."
Sucy tried her hand at comfort.
"Everyone's in a good mood today. I bet they already forget what happened."
"And I bet they haven't. As soon as anyone sees me, I'll become a laughing stock again. So I'd rather just... stay here..."
"Akko..." Lotte reached out and tapped her shoulder. "This isn't like you. Do you want us to call for the nurse?"
"No. I wanna be left alone!" Akko snapped the comment and wrung herself away from Lotte's hand. Lotte recoiled, looking as though she'd been physically struck.
"Akko..."
"We just wanna help," Sucy reminded her.
"Well, the best way you guys can do that is by leaving me alone..." With that, she pulled the blankets up over her head, without ever showing them her face once.
Lotte and Sucy were at a loss for what to do. Akko had had her fair share of little temper tantrums before, but they could tell this was different. She wasn't just moping or complaining. This time, she was angry and depressed. It was worse than anything they'd seen her go through before.
Again, Lotte tried to reach out to her friend.
"Akko..."
But before she could touch her, Sucy stopped her. She shook her head and stood, bringing Lotte back a pace with her.
"Let's give her what she wants. Let her be for now. That's all we can really do."
Lotte sighed.
"I guess you're right..."
So the two of them left the room once again.
But this time, just as they closed the door behind them, they heard the sounds of crying from the other side.
They had hoped by Monday, Akko would be feeling well enough to go back to attending their classes.
However, that morning, she told her roommates she was going to skip, just for one day.
But she ended up skipping the next two days as well.
It got to the point where professors started asking about her, even seeming to miss her enthusiasm, as unprecedented as it might've been at times.
Every class without Akko was so much more... boring. Lifeless. There was no energy in those rooms anymore. No more mumbling jokes or incantations behind the professors' backs. No more excited, sing-songy comments or hyperactive speeches about how Chariot had probably once taken that very same class and sat in the very same seat.
By the end of the week, everyone was asking about Akko, wondering where she was. Lotte and Sucy just kept telling them the truth, saying she wasn't feeling well.
Those who had been present during the incident that had sparked all of this started feeling guilty for laughing and making fun of her. Akko's teammates were a little glad to see that, at the very least.
By the time their final class had ended on Friday, an entire week after the event, everyone was gossiping about Akko. Talk of her filled the air of just about every lecture hall and classroom.
"Did you hear? Akko's still in bed."
"She hasn't come out of her room for a whole week!"
"Is she that sick?"
"Not sick. I think she's depressed. Like suuuper depressed."
"Rumor has it she's going to fail her classes since she's not showing up. Then she'll be expelled!"
"Really? I heard she'd already packed her bags and is planning on quitting by herself."
"Really? That girl's leaving the Academy? Of all people?"
The chatter was nonstop and laced with a tone of unease and even concern. Everyone was feeling upset about the news of Akko potentially leaving the Academy. Even those who hadn't been present to laugh at her at the time were sad, knowing they'd eventually come to miss Akko's presence here.
But no one was feeling quite as horrible as the girl who had caused all of this in the first place.
Diana couldn't even stand to stay in the classroom a second after the bell had rung. She grabbed all of her things and rushed for the door, but still managed to hear every comment.
"It's because Diana rejected her, isn't it?"
"Well I mean, that's not Diana's fault."
"But it's not Akko's either, right?"
All week, people had been pestering Diana about what had happened, asking her why Akko had confessed, and why Diana herself had reacted the way she had.
She'd just told them the truth of what had happened; that she didn't know why Akko had confessed to her, and that she herself had only replied with natural confusion and disbelief.
The school seemed to be split down the middle, half the students on Akko's side and the other half on Diana's.
How absurd! She thought as she made her way out of the room, leaving Hannah and Barbara to chatter with the rest. They talk as if I planned all of this! As if I did this on purpose just to get her out of the Academy! Ridiculous! I never wanted her to leave...
She pushed open the door to the nearest bathroom, finding it empty. Heaving a sigh, she walked over to the sink to hold onto it, but couldn't even bear to look up at her own reflection. She was too ashamed.
"I didn't... mean for this to happen," she reminded herself. "It's not my fault..."
She turned on the faucet and cupped her hands, then splashed her face with warm water. She told herself whatever warm wetness she felt slipping down her cheeks was from that, and nothing more.
As she busied herself, she didn't notice that two other girls had followed her into the bathroom. Diana tore off a paper towel and hide her face in it to let it dry, then grabbed her wand. With a quick flick of it, she created a warm gust of air to dry off the rest of her face and hair.
Just as she was turning to toss away the paper towel, someone tapped her shoulder.
"Diana?"
With a gasp, she whipped around to find herself face to face with Lotte and Sucy. Diana squared her shoulders and tried to straighten up.
"Oh? If it isn't Akko's teammates... W-Where is she, by the way? Is she really still cooped up in your room? That isn't healthy. You two should bring her out of there."
"We've tried!" Lotte snapped.
Diana flinched and took a step back at her vehemence. Lotte Yanson had always been a polite, soft-spoken girl. To hear her shout so suddenly and desperately like that was unheard of. Her eyes were narrowed and angry behind her glasses, and her hands were balled into fists.
"We've tried everything, Diana! But she won't listen to us no matter what we do! And now... n-now she might quit the Academy... or be expelled..." She staggered back, the anger draining from her voice and body all at once. Tears rose up instead, and she buried her hands in her face. "She'll... she'll never be able to live her dream if that happens..."
Sucy put an arm around her for support.
Diana was stiff in her place, gripping the wet paper towel so hard her nails tore through it and back into her own palm.
"Of course... no one wants that," she sighed.
Lotte's anger flared up again as she shot her an accusing look.
"Then why did you do that?!"
"Eh?" Again, Diana took a step back and found herself trapped against the sink. Lotte tried to advance on her, but Sucy held her back.
"Hold on a sec," she said. "Let's all calm down."
"H-How can you say that, Sucy?!" Lotte cried. "A-Akko's about to leave the Academy! It's Diana's fault!"
"Is it?" Sucy deadpanned. Lotte stopped, sniffled, and blinked, trying to make sense of things more rationally now.
Sucy went on. "If I recall..."
She retrieved her wand and cast a familiar spell, one that created a makeshift movie screen of sorts in midair. On it was the image of Akko's confession to Diana. Lotte grabbed her roommate's sleeves.
"S-Sucy! You recorded that, too?"
"Just watch." She swished her wand, and the magical video started playing.
Diana didn't budge from her spot pressed back against the sink, but she did incline her face to watch as well.
All three of them were silent as they re-watched the scene that had taken place a week ago.
But having to see it all again made Diana's chest ache. She looked away so she wouldn't have to see Akko's dejected face, but she still had to listen to her timid voice and the cruel laughter of their classmates.
By the time Akko had run off, Diana couldn't take it anymore.
"Enough."
Sternly, she flicked her own wand and canceled Sucy's spell.
Diana put a hand to her mouth, feeling so wretched she feared she might be sick into that paper towel.
Sucy willingly let the spell dissipate before putting her own wand away. She turned back to Lotte, who seemed to have composed herself by now.
"See?" Sucy grunted. "What did Diana do wrong? What did she say?"
Lotte looked from Sucy to Diana and back again.
"She... just asked if it was a joke..."
"Exactly." Sucy nodded. "And if you think about it, anyone would've reacted the same way if a classmate of theirs suddenly drew a crowd and confessed to them out of the blue, right?" She kept her eye on Diana, who by now had let her hand fall from her mouth.
"That's right," she mumbled. "That's exactly right. I truthfully thought it was a joke. What was I supposed to think? It's Akko, after all. She's notorious for her little pranks all over campus. I wasn't trying to hurt her. I just truthfully thought she was kidding..."
Sucy nodded.
"Just like you'd said, you thought she might be trying to embarrass you or make fun of you. As the daughter of such a prestigious family, you've probably dealt with just as much mockery as you have praise. So you naturally thought Akko was trying to humiliate you. Which wasn't her intention, but it might've been the result, to a certain degree."
Diana grit her teeth, her eyes trained on the white tile floor.
"I don't care about that," she rasped. "I don't care if people start talking poorly of me. I'd just... hate to see her leave because of this..."
Sucy nodded again.
"We all would. Especially since this was just a big misunderstanding."
"Misunderstanding?" Lotte repeated. "How could it be? Diana rejected her, even when Akko insisted she was being honest..."
"Did she reject her?" Sucy prompted. "What did she say? Do you remember?"
Lotte closed her eyes and thought back to the recording Sucy had just shown them. She tried to recall the last thing Diana had said in all of this.
"'I don't believe you...'"
She ended up saying it out loud, at the same time Diana herself repeated the phrase.
Lotte finally looked up at the other witch, now that her initial sense of anger had subsided. Not for a single second since she and Sucy had entered that bathroom had Diana shouted at them or defended herself against the accusations. She wasn't angry or livid in any way.
In fact, she looked... she looked a bit like Akko.
She looked exhausted, upset, like she was constantly about to break down. Only Diana did a much better job of concealing it, on top of still attending all of her classes diligently.
But Lotte could tell now. Diana had been just as hurt by all of this as Akko had.
She understood that now.
Diana lifted her gaze to meet Lotte's, keeping her voice low and regretful.
"I didn't reject her. I wasn't the one who called her names. All that I said was that I didn't believe her. And I didn't. I truthfully didn't. How could I have...?" She fell silent once again and lowered her eyes.
Sucy gave a grunt.
"Right. All Diana did was react, but she didn't ever attack Akko. She was just confused and in disbelief, sort of like the rest of us." Here, her lips curved up into a small, soft smile, and she placed a hand on Lotte's shoulder. "But since we're Akko's friends, we couldn't help but want to place the blame on someone. Naturally, we decided this was all Diana's fault, didn't we? But I don't really think it is."
Lotte let out a long sigh, no traces of anger or bitterness left. Now, she was back to her old self, patient and open-minded.
"You're right, Sucy." She looked up to Diana once more. "This... this isn't your fault. Sorry."
Diana finally took a step away from the sink, though she still leaned back against it a bit.
"That's what I've been saying..."
"You're right," Lotte admitted. "I'm sorry for accusing you. Like Sucy said, I was just blinded by my friendship to Akko. I needed to blame someone for what happened to her, and I decided to blame you. And I shouldn't have. I'm sorry, Diana."
At long last, the white-haired witched released her hold on the shredded paper towel, and the blood began to flow properly back into her fingers.
"There is no need for you to apologize," she murmured. "After all, it really seems like all of this is my fault."
"B-But it's not!" Lotte cried. "Sucy just showed us that, and she's right! You never rejected Akko or said anything mean to her! You were just surprised and confused, and that's to be expected! It isn't your fault Akko and the rest of us viewed it as a rejection."
Diana held her gaze for a moment, but said nothing. Lotte could tell she really had been feeling awful about it all this time. It must have been nice for Diana to finally have someone see her side of things.
A moment of silence passed, and all three girls got ahold of their bearings.
Lotte turned to her teammate, a little impressed and a little upset with her.
"Geez, Sucy! If you'd known it was never Diana's fault, then why did you let it go on for so long?"
"I only just re-watched the footage last night," she shrugged. "And I knew we were gonna try to talk to her today, so I figured I'd tell you at the same time. But now you understand, right?"
Lotte nodded.
"Yeah... Thank you for being so level-headed with everything, Sucy. I sure wasn't."
"You were just trying to defend Akko. That's what a friend would do."
"Yeah, but not if it meant wrongly accusing someone else." Again, she looked up rather guiltily at Diana. "I'm sorry."
"You've already apologized," Diana reminded her. "Though I must admit I'm... rather relieved you two understand now. I never meant to hurt Akko like that..."
"Yeah... now it's obvious," Lotte agreed. "It was really just the mean things everyone else said about her."
"And I am at fault for allowing them to make such comments," Diana sighed. "I shouldn't have let them. Now look at this mess..." Her gaze made its way to Sucy's neutral one, and Diana was sure to address her as well. "On another note... why did you go through all of this trouble to defend me, Manbavaran?"
Sucy just shrugged again.
"I wasn't particularly trying to defend you. I just wanted everyone to view the situation objectively." She smiled. "But I'm glad it worked. Because now we're all on the same page."
"Yes we are," Diana agreed. "And something must be done."
"But..." Lotte sighed again. "Sucy and I have done all we could for Akko. We've tried everything..."
Now, Diana stepped forward and placed a hand on each of their shoulders.
"You're right. You two have done all you can." Then, for the first time in a week, Diana put on a smile of her own. "So allow me give it a try."
A/N: I figured Sucy would be the one to be objective in this situation. From what we've seen so far, I feel Lotte would be the one to get blinded by her friendship with Akko, but Sucy might be more likely to see things how they really are.
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