How will the refined Miss Cavendish apologize? Will Akko accept?
Disclaimer: I do not own Little Witch Academia.
Chapter 5. A New Magic
Bee-bee-bee-beep! Bee-bee-bee-beep! Bee-bee-bee-beep!
"Uuuuhhh make it stooooooopp..."
After Akko's croak of a voice worked its way out of her throat, it was followed by a series of unsuccessful slaps as she tried to hit her clock. Lotte stretched out her arms and retrieved her glasses as Sucy uncurled herself from a cocoon of blankets.
It almost felt like that entire week without Akko's enthusiasm and antics had never happened at all. But having lived for so long without it was what allowed them to appreciate it once again now.
Lotte peered down over the side of her bunk bed to find Akko's arm flailing about on the table. With a giggle, she cast a small, silent spell that moved the clock so it was just underneath Akko's palm. At last, the alarm was silenced, and everyone let out a sigh of relief.
Normally, they might all sleep in some more on a Sunday. But today, Lotte and Sucy were too intrigued about Diana's plan to go back to sleep.
They couldn't discuss things with one another while Akko was present. However, their roommate soon shot up from her bed and scrambled out, half-falling onto the floor as she untangled herself from the sheets.
"B-Bathroooom!" Yelping as much, she darted across the room and slammed the bathroom door behind herself.
Lotte and Sucy didn't waste any time.
"So?" Lotte whispered down to her. "What should we do with her today? Should we bring her out into the school?"
Sucy only shrugged.
"Dunno. Did Diana say if her plan would require that?"
"I don't think so... but I can't really remember..."
"Me neither."
"Geez, Sucy, of all the things you've recorded, you didn't record something important like that conversation?"
"Didn't think I'd have to."
Just then, the bathroom door opened again, and the two of them cut off their conversation as Akko stepped out.
"Ahhh man. Now I'm too awake to get back into bed..."
"Then don't!" Lotte jumped at the chance to keep Akko on her feet. "Let's just get dressed and head to breakfast."
"Think you wanna go out today?" Sucy checked.
Akko pondered it for a moment. The others could see a faint flash of reluctance in her eyes, but she didn't let it linger.
"Yeah," Akko decided. "I'll go."
Lotte and Sucy both smiled.
"That's great!"
"It'd be good to start off slow on a weekend," Sucy reasoned. "That way you can work your way up to going back to classes tomorrow. Baby steps."
Akko gave a nod.
"Yeah! That sounds good!" She was obviously enthusiastic about finally getting out of her dorm room after having cooped herself up for so long in isolation.
Her friends were just as excited about it.
So they made quick work of freshening up and changing into their uniforms. They technically didn't have to wear their robes today since it was a weekend, but Akko had gone all week without wearing hers, and she missed it now. Therefore, Lotte and Sucy opted to wear theirs in order to match her.
When they were all ready Lotte got the door for them. They flanked Akko and slowly made their way outside into the hallway.
Akko trembled a little, and clung to each of them for support. Part of her felt like people might just appear out of nowhere and start tossing jeering comments at her.
But nothing like that happened.
So they began making their way to the mess hall, trying to act as normally as possible - as though the girl the entire Academy had been gossiping about for a week wasn't making a surprise appearance.
It wasn't long before other witches began passing them by in the hallways. Most of them needed to do a double-take to ensure they were really seeing what they thought they were seeing.
Akko tried her best to be her normal self, giving timid little waves and sheepish chuckles. Lotte and Sucy just hoped everyone else would play along and not make a huge deal about things.
By some stroke of luck, everyone seemed to understand. People greeted them normally, offering surprised but excited smiles, though they kept their voices controlled.
They didn't ask Akko what had happened, nor did they say anything mean that might potentially upset her. All anyone said was "good morning", or other casual, normal things.
It was almost strange how everyone was... behaving.
Lotte and Sucy brought Akko up to order their breakfast, then headed back to a table to sit and eat. Akko dug right into her food without hesitation, proclaiming she needed to eat right and keep up her strength if she was going to become like Chariot.
Meanwhile, her teammates mumbled more quietly together from across the table.
"What's going on?" Lotte wondered. "Everyone seems to be acting so normal. I thought for sure they'd be asking her where she's been and mentioning Diana."
"Who knows."
But no sooner had they finished asking questions than their answer arrived.
A familiar trio of witches made their way over to the table; they recognized Amanda and her team right away.
"Hey, Akko!" The ginger-haired witch gave her friend a hearty pat on the head, one that caused Akko to drop her spoonful of cereal. But when she looked back, her eyes lit up.
"Amanda!"
"Good to see ya out and about!"
"Yeah! I've gotta eat well so I can-"
"Become just like Chariot. Right, we heard ya. Well, keep at it!" Amanda offered Akko her fist, and Akko gave an enthusiastic bump. Perhaps it was a little too enthusiastic, because her knuckles turned bright red and she had to flap her hand about to wave off the sting.
Lotte and Sucy watched as Amanda and her friends made their way to the other side of the table. Amanda paused between them and bent down to talk to them privately.
"Huh, so did you guys like, get in cahoots with Diana or something?"
"Huh?" Lotte tilted her head. "What do you mean?"
"I thought we weren't supposed to tell anyone about that," Sucy mumbled.
"Oh, no, she didn't say for sure," Amanda shrugged. "I just had to assume since you guys brought Akko here conveniently right after Diana finished giving her speech."
"Speech?" Lotte repeated.
Amanda nodded.
"Yeah. She came in here and got everyone's attention with this speech. She told everyone to behave and act like proper witches when they next saw Akko. Well, actually, she didn't even specifically mention Akko's name. She just started talking ambiguously about how we should act like mature adults, even if something childish happened. She didn't have to say Akko's name in order for everyone to know what she was talkin' about. We could all assume that pretty easily."
Amanda paused as Lotte and Sucy took in the information.
"So, Diana was here?" Lotte asked. "Where is she now?"
"Dunno. Once she'd finished talking, she left. She was serious enough that everyone could interpret what she'd meant. It's like she subtly promised that if anyone caused problems or said anything mean to Akko, Diana would personally have their heads.
"I just assumed you guys must've been planning something with her. After all, she gives a speech like that in front of everyone, and then you guys just so happen to bring Akko out here? Seemed way too convenient."
Lotte met Sucy's gaze again and shrugged, silently telling her to keep quiet about their pact with Diana.
"We didn't know she'd be doing that," Lotte said honestly.
"Yeah," Sucy agreed. "We were just trying to get Akko outta bed and it worked this time."
"Huh..." Amanda put a hand to her chin for a second, then shrugged things off with a grin. "Well, doesn't matter. The most important thing is that Akko's back, and thanks to Diana's little speech earlier, no one's gonna bother her! Good work on gettin' her back out here, you guys!"
She patted each of them on the shoulder once before returning to her team. "See ya around!" With that, Amanda and her team took their leave.
Lotte and Sucy were left to mumble together again.
"So Diana came here and warned everyone to be nice to Akko?" Lotte clarified. "Was that her plan?"
"Could've been." Sucy considered it for a moment. "But something tells me if it was Diana, there's gotta be something else to it."
"I think you're right..." Lotte whispered. "But what else? How are we supposed to know what to do if she didn't tell us? Are we supposed to find Diana and bring Akko to her so she can apologize?"
Sucy only shrugged again, just as lost as Lotte was.
But by that time, Akko had finished eating, so they had to cut off their private talk once again.
"Ahhh, that really hit the spot! You guys ready?"
"Uh, yeah!" Lotte stood up promptly and picked up her tray. She and Sucy had only eaten a bit, but they weren't too hungry anyway.
They just wanted to know what Diana's plan was. But she wasn't here for them to ask about it now.
So they could only throw away their garbage and return to their dorm room.
There, Lotte and Sucy set to work in helping Akko get caught up on all the lessons and lectures she'd missed out on.
They went over all the notes, and Akko diligently took them all down herself, writing every word by hand in her own notebook so she'd retain the information better.
They helped her practice a few of the smaller incantations and spells. She practiced until she got them right and was certain she'd be able to surprise and impress the professors tomorrow.
They went over every assignment and spell she'd missed, and helped her study for a quiz that would be given tomorrow.
They studied long and hard together, only stopping briefly to have a snack or stretch out a bit.
They worked well into the afternoon, but still, there were no signs of Diana. Lotte and Sucy just assumed her way of apologizing to Akko had simply been to warn the rest of the school to be nice to her without taking credit for doing so.
Presently, Lotte was sitting on the floor with Akko helping her with a small spell. Sucy was at her desk, fumbling with a potion mixture.
"All right," Lotte said, sidling up closer to Akko. "Remember, this is a spell that allows you to manipulate every object of the same material as the one you're holding within a confined space. Try it with this." She handed Akko a slip of notebook paper. "Let's start out with something light and easy. Just repeat the spell I told you."
Akko nodded determinedly.
"Uh, let's see... Leva... Perpa... Tah-te!"
The limp paper in her palm suddenly shuddered.
"Good!" Lotte praised her. "Now pretend you're blowing a bubble. Breathe the motion into it!"
Akko did as instructed and gave a light, exhale onto the slip of paper. It lifted up into the air, and suddenly every piece of paper in the room was doing the same. Notebooks, reading books, and looseleaf pieces began levitating. When Akko moved the enchanted piece, the others followed exactly.
"Whooooa!" she gasped. "This is such a cool spell!"
"Just be careful," Lotte warned. "It might only be paper, but it can still leave a huge-"
"Ah... Ahh... -choo!"
Akko's sudden sneeze hit the lead paper directly.
In an instant, every book and piece of paper in their dorm room spiraled out of control. As the spell broke, a sea of papers came fluttering down on the three girls in a white flurry of rectangles.
"-mess..." Lotte finished.
Akko sniffled, then gave her trademark sheepish chuckle.
"Oopsie~"
"It's fine. You almost had it. Let me cast a re-order spell."
Akko sat back as Lotte prepared to tidy things up. But then, something out of place caught her eye.
"H-Hold on!"
Akko scrambled forward and dove beneath a pile of papers to grab it. When she sat back to inspect it, she realized it was a sealed envelope.
Titling her head curiously, she looked over one side of it, but it was blank.
"Su, is this yours? I think it came from your desk."
Sucy leaned over to glimpse the envelope, but shook her head.
"Not mine."
"Hmm..." Akko flipped the envelope over, then let out a yelp of surprise. On the other side, written in blue ink and very neat and fancy calligraphy, was her own name. "W-Whaaat? It's for me? W-When did I ever get a letter? And why was it on Su's desk?"
While she was asking herself all of these questions, Lotte and Sucy perked up and looked at one another. They knew what this was.
"Y-You should open it!" Lotte said hastily. "What if it's something important?"
"Y-Yeah! You're right!"
Swiftly, Akko pulled open the envelope flap.
The stationary inside was simple, but elegant, clean white paper without so much as a wrinkle on it, bordered by intricate streaks of blue, almost like vines.
But even more elegant than the paper itself were the words written there, in the neatest handwriting Akko had ever seen.
She recognized this handwriting, and this blue ink. She'd read it before on a certain page of notes she'd borrowed.
Her stomach flipped a little, and she bit her lip, not sure if she was feeling up to reading something from Diana.
But her eyes were already passing over the words before she could stop herself:
"To Akko:
It appears I've inadvertently crossed a line with what happened last week. Make no mistake, it was never my intention to upset you to such a degree. I offer my sincerest apologies for any and all distress this incident has caused you.
As such, I would like to make things right in my own way.
So if you'd please, once you've read this letter, proceed to the gymnasium. The broom relay courts are quiet, but they've got something to say.
Sincerely, Diana."
She needed to re-read it several times.
Akko couldn't believe it was real, but a pinch to her own cheek confirmed she definitely wasn't dreaming. She could feel the paper in her hands, and she could feel the strange bubbling in her chest. She thought it was just a ton of nervousness piling up on itself.
But after a moment, she realized it wasn't that at all.
It was... excitement.
Diana was... trying to mend things between them.
Until now, Akko had either seen or spoken to everyone else in the Luna Nova except for her.
She thought she might be reluctant or scared to see Diana again after what had happened. But on the contrary, she was full of excitement now, along with the hope that they could turn things back to normal.
It's okay if she doesn't like me that way. I just don't want her to hate me. And I don't want her to think I hate her, either.
"Well?" Sucy's voice suddenly yanked Akko back into reality.
"Duwaaah!" With a shriek, she jolted and fell backward into a pile of papers, still clutching Diana's letter to her chest. Dumbfounded and frazzled, she stared up at her friends.
"Diana..."
Lotte and Sucy looked to one another, then back to Akko.
"W-What about her, Akko?"
The brunette shot right back up again and held the letter out to Lotte.
"She's the one who wrote this! She wrote it for me! And it's not a prank! It's not a dream, either!"
"Oh!" Lotte smiled. "Did Diana apologize about what happened?"
"It was all a big misunderstanding, after all," Sucy said.
"Yeah! I mean... I think she apologized, in her own Diana-like way. B-But it says I have to go to the gym!"
"The gym?" Lotte repeated.
"Sounds like a wild goose chase," Sucy muttered. "But I guess that's right up your alley."
"I... I gotta go!"
Akko leapt to her feet and carefully folded the letter before slipping it back into the envelope. She put that into her pocket, then whipped around to head for the door. She paused, thinking over the contents of the letter and making the connection to Sucy's words.
"You're right... It was all just a big misunderstanding. She never meant to hurt my feelings..."
Her roommates were relieved she understood that much now. It was a huge step in the right direction for everyone.
Akko reached out to grab the door handle and pushed.
"I gotta go find Diana. I gotta talk to her!"
She turned back to face her friends, who were still covered in paper. Lotte and Sucy both sent her off with smiles.
"Go, Akko!"
"You can do it."
Akko reflected their smiles and gave them a thumbs-up.
"Yeah! I'll be back soon, you guys!"
And with that, she turned and took off down the hall.
She couldn't remember the last time she'd run so fast. Her heart was pounding, and she couldn't wipe the smile off her face.
She wasn't nervous anymore. She was excited.
She was excited!
I can't believe I wasted all this time sulking! I could've tried to make up with Diana right away! If she's gone as far as to write me a letter, she must've been feeling awful about what happened, too.
I never thought about it that way, but Su's right. It was just a misunderstanding. Diana never meant to hurt my feelings. She was just defending her own.
She should've known better. After the conversation she'd had with Diana that night in the library, Akko felt she should've been able to see through all of this.
But again, she'd been too wrapped up in her own feelings that she'd failed to recognize the feelings of the people around her.
But hopefully, now was the time to make things right between Diana and herself.
Akko ran all the way to the gymnasium. It was a large place with very high ceilings. The students often practiced their flying skills here in broom racing or relay games, or would test their problem-solving skills with treasure hunts and things of that nature.
Being it was a Sunday, everything was quiet now. Akko slowed her pace to a walk as she caught her breath.
"Now... what was it she'd written? That cryptic message. As expected, of Diana..." She retrieved the letter from her pocket and read it over again. "Hmm... 'The broom relay courts are quiet, but they've got something to say.' Now what the heck is that supposed to mean?"
She looked around, expecting to see Diana somewhere nearby, but discovered she was alone here. "How can the courts have something to say if I'm the only one here?" she asked out loud.
Part of her wondered if the place had been enchanted to give her a verbal answer somehow, but that didn't happen. So she headed off to the broom relay courts, where the floor was painted to designate the borders and scoring lines for when they played indoors in bad weather.
She looked high above at the hoops where stunts could be performed and points could be scored, but didn't find anything out of the ordinary there.
But something did catch her eye down below.
There was something lying in the middle of the court.
Akko hurried over to see what it was. She knelt down to find a blue ribbon and belt buckle, one that undoubtedly belonged to a student of the Academy. But every team had a different colored ribbon, and there were only three people in the entire Academy with this particular shade of blue as theirs.
Cautiously, she reached out to pick up what was definitely Diana's ribbon. When she touched it, she found it was wrapped around another envelope. This one didn't have her name written on it, but Akko could easily assume it was meant for her.
She unwrapped the blue ribbon with care, but was unsure of what to do with it. She ultimately decided to just tie it around her waist alongside her own red one.
Once that was done, she opened the second envelope to read the much shorter letter inside:
"Though I would certainly never go to the extents that you do, I must admit I've always been a bit envious of your skills in gym class. You may not be the quickest when it comes to treasure hunting, but you always manage to find some of the best rewards. Let's hope you'll enjoy what you find at the end of this one. Proceed to the auditorium, row 5, seat 99."
Akko was stunned yet again as she read over the fancy, swirly hand-writing.
"Is... Is this for real? D-Did Diana actually... praise me? I mean, I think she did, but she's so stuffy even in her writing that I can't really tell!"
But despite that, Akko couldn't stop her stomach from bubbling with a fresh wave of anticipation and excitement. Evidently, Diana had planned this elaborate little treasure hunt out just for her.
"I don't know what she's up to..." Akko folded the second letter and put it into her pocket beside the first one. "But I'm gonna get to the end of this!"
With that proud, eager declaration, she took off running once again, this time toward the auditorium. It was also empty, and she found the lighting was very dim as thousands of empty cushioned seats stared back at her.
Then, Akko was faced with her next little dilemma.
"Uhh... When she said "row 5", does that mean row 5 counting from the front or from the back of the room? Wait, they don't count them from side to side, do they? No, no, that's the seat number. Right? Seats go from side to side... But, do they start on the left side or the right? Uwaaaah, I don't know!"
She scampered to the rows of seats and started counting from the back forward first. Once she'd counted five rows, she began the much more arduous journey of counting each individual chair one by one.
This took her a great amount of time, because she kept counting or walking too quickly, or tripping over her own two feet, or any combination of these things. Either way, it kept resulting in her losing track of what number she'd been on, or which chair she'd been pointing at, and she was forced to start over multiple times.
Once, she got all the way to seventy-seven, but then failed to remember if she'd counted one chair twice or not, and as such, went back to chair one.
The ordeal left her panting and wheezing, but when she finally found what she believed to be the correct seat, Akko slumped heavily down into it.
"Okay... I'm here... N-Now what...?"
She looked up and all around as she caught her breath, but failed to see any more envelopes or clues. She waited for a moment, but nothing jumped out at her – figuratively or literally.
So she started thinking about a different angle.
"Okay, so either I'm in the wrong seat, or... Ah!" An idea sparked in her mind, and she quickly scrambled out of her seat and onto the floor. She turned around and reached beneath the seat. Sure enough, she felt a piece of paper tucked there.
"Got it!" She pulled the third envelope out with a triumphant cry, then opened it:
"I am guessing you couldn't figure out where to begin counting from, correct? You do realize the chairs are labeled on the backs with their rows and seat number, don't you?
Akko paused in her reading for a moment.
"Hah?"
She quickly lifted herself up to peer down at the seats and squinted.
Of course, Diana was right. Each chair was marked with a tag containing little golden numbers. When Akko checked the one she'd been sitting at, she found the numbers, "5 – 99".
"Ooohh... guess that makes sense..."
She returned to reading the letter, and it was as though she were talking to Diana directly:
"You just checked the seat number, didn't you? If you've managed to find this letter, then that means you've found the right seat, Akko. You don't have to check."
"Oh..." she mumbled. "Right."
Finally, she got to the next part of the letter:
"In any case, I commend you on getting this far. I decided to bring you to the auditorium because it is a place of character and personality. Yours have always been brilliant and exuberant. Though I must admit that sometimes your excessive positivity can be exhausting, I cannot blame you for always trying to see the better side of things.
"As such, hearing that you've been unwell for this past week has been a great disheartenment to everyone. Being it was my fault you ended up that way, please proceed to the cafeteria. And maybe try the salad for once?"
Akko's shoulders slumped just a little bit as she read the letter over. Diana had confirmed her fears, that she'd been blaming herself all this time about what had happened.
"It wasn't your fault," she sighed. "It wasn't anyone's. I should apologize, too..."
With this goal in mind, she took the third letter with her and hurried off to the cafeteria.
There, she went to the salad bar, counting her lucky stars that it was after hours now and not many people were there to see her picking up every salad cup and checking it as though she were some kind of health inspector.
In the end, she found the envelope on the very last salad cup, all the way in the back.
"If anyone else has picked this up, please disregard. If it is being read by the intended person (and I assure you, she knows who she is), then let us continue. If you recall the correct spell, you'll be able to read the rest."
There, the letter cut off. Puzzled, Akko turned it around and over, but didn't see any more words.
"W-What? C'mon that's no fair! Stupid Diana! You can't just bring me this far and then not finish the letter! Gimme the next hint! Where's the next location?"
Groaning, Akko slumped down against the food stand and sighed. "Well, at least I got this far..." Pouting, she re-read Diana's note again. "Geez, again with the cryptic messages. Why can't she just write it normally? "If you recall the correct spell, you'll be able to read the rest..." huh? Does that mean I have to cast a spell? Right now? B-But which one?"
She started raking her brain for every spell she knew. She immediately discarded the ones she couldn't entirely remember, and tried to focus on the ones that dealt with paper.
"Ahhh there was that one lecture... Professor Ursula taught us how to reveal hidden ink! That's gotta be what Diana means! B-But I can't remember the spell..." She made a fist and bumped it against her forehead. "Think, Atsuko, think! Paper, paper! Hnnnng... Ouh!"
With a gasp, she remembered the spell Lotte had just taught her earlier that day, the one about levitating paper specifically. Spells that dealt with similar elements or similar tactics always had something in common.
"Paper... the magic word we use for paper is Perpa! The words for ink are... Tenwa Per! A-And 'to reveal' is Seloc Sid! So then altogether..." She took in a deep breath and tried to create the spell on the spot. "Seloc Sid... Tenwa Per... Perpa!"
She drew her wand and brushed it over the blank section of Diana's letter. And miraculously, more words began appearing. Akko gave another excited shriek.
"I did it!" She jumped up and got to reading once again.
"Hopefully you've managed to recall the ink-reveal spell. It amazes me how you fail to correctly cast the simplest of spells during class time, but when the school is being attacked by an Ancient Dragon, you're suddenly able to use the Shiny Arc. (I reiterate, I've only heard of it in-passing!)
"Now then, your next hint is in the place where you first learned the spell to be able to read this far. Best of luck."
Akko found herself smiling as she read over Diana's letter. She could hear every single word in her head spoken in Diana's voice.
But she didn't have time to dwell on that. She needed to find her next hint.
"The place where I first learned the spell to read this far... Oouh! That one's easy! I learned it from Professor Ursula!"
She tucked the letter into her pocket, and off she went again, this time bound for the lecture halls and classrooms.
The process continued for a little over twenty more minutes. Akko would somehow manage to find her next hint, usually after having to answer some riddle or recall some specific bit of information via Diana's instructions.
She ended up going to many of their classrooms, and in each letter, Diana would recount a different instance when Akko had done something memorable or unique. She only ever mentioned good things, things that made Akko smile to remember.
Diana's writing was as stiff and proper as her physical appearance and voice were, but luckily for Akko, the letters were much easier to read. Figuratively and literally.
She went from room to room, unlocking hint after hint, saving each letter as she went. It got to the point where she needed to start storing them in both of her uniform's pockets because one was already full.
When she received a note hinting for her to go to the library, Akko felt the treasure hunt was coming to an end.
This time, she knew exactly where to look.
As soon as she got there, she slipped through the tall shelves packed with thousands of books on magical history and sorcery and spells, and headed directly for a specific study table.
"Where was it... I know it was somewhere around he- Duwah!" Right as she turned the corner, she found the intended table the hard way as it jutted out into her stomach. Just like the first time she'd come here to return Diana's notes to her, Akko crumpled to the floor with a whimper. "Geez... they really gotta move that thing..."
But before she could stand up again, she discovered this might have been part of the hunt. Her next envelope was taped on the underside of the table, and it was clearly visible to her from her current position on the floor.
"That Diana... she knew this would happen..."
Akko opened the envelope and started reading:
"I knew this would happen. It is just like you to go wandering about, blindly focused on your goal, and then you fail to realize what is right in front of you.
"But that is just one more thing I happen to admire about you. You are incredibly determined, and you never allow anything stop you from achieving your goal. Hopefully this minor blunder won't stop you from retrieving one of your final clues."
Again, Akko felt a warm, fuzzy feeling in her chest as she read over Diana's little compliments. Her way of apologizing was odd, but very personal, and even a little cute.
A new sense of excitement and determination flooded through Akko as she realized the hunt was almost at an end. She read on for her clue:
"You were reliable enough to return my notes to me here. And I will take this opportunity to thank you once again for everything you said to me when we were last here together. It is astounding to me how you prove to be trustworthy enough to return my notes, but still cannot ride a broom on your own."
Rather than feel offended by the final comment, Akko actually chuckled. It was clear enough where she needed to go.
She packed away the letter and hurried off.
Students at Luna Nova typically carried their own wands wherever they went. There was a small attachment that, when hooked onto the tip of a wand, allowed it to transform into a small broom, no larger than one foot in length.
This smaller broom could be held in one hand, and was typically used for lighter, slower forms of transportation, just for a gradual, easy descent or ascent.
But each and every student here had their own full-sized broom as well, one tied with their team's colored ribbon. Those larger, mountable, more agile brooms were all typically stored in one place, one the students had rightfully and accurately labeled as the Broom Room.
That was Akko's newest destination, and she made quick, breathless work of getting there.
Like most of the other places she'd been led to today, it was empty and mostly dark. But also like the other locations she'd been led to, the note wasn't right out in the open for her.
The first one in the gym had been given to her easily just so she could get started, but now she'd have to continue hunting.
She walked slowly along the rows and rows of brooms. When they weren't in-use, the brooms on the bottom-most row simply leaned up against the wall. But all those above where suspended on hooks as high up as the ceiling. Akko had always wondered what it might be like to see all of these brooms enchanted and flying all at once.
She made her way towards her own broom. It hung a few feet off the ground in line with Lotte's and Sucy's. Beginners like Akko typically had their brooms lower down so they could physically grab and use them. More experienced witches could use their wands to retrieve their brooms from higher up. And the most skilled were able to call their brooms down with a simple spoken spell or wave of their hand.
But as she was now, Akko couldn't reach her own broom, and she couldn't remember the correct spell to cast in order to retrieve it with her wand.
"Ugh, come on! I can't give up here! I'm almost done!"
She jumped up to try and grab it, but to no avail.
However, from what she could tell, there was no envelope attached to her broom anywhere. That brought a new possibility into her mind.
"D...Don't tell me... it's on Diana's...?"
She craned her neck back and looked up as high as she could.
Everyone knew Diana came from a family of pureblood magic-wielders. As such, her broom held one of the highest perches, probably just below the professors themselves.
Akko couldn't even see that far up, let alone get there somehow.
"Aw no... No fair! You can't do this to me, Diana!"
But then, just as she called out her classmate's name, something strange happened.
The far doors shuddered and opened all on their own, leading outside into the courtyards. Akko jumped back and shrieked.
"Uwaaah! W-What's going on?! How did that happen?!"
But there was no one around to give her any answers. Therefore, she had to make an assumption.
"Is this... part of the hunt...?"
Swallowing thickly, Akko timidly began making her way toward the exit. She could feel the evening breeze slipping in, cool and refreshing in the stuffy air of this giant closet full of brooms. She tip-toed her way to the door, froze, and checked her surroundings again.
"Feels like I'm being hunted..." she mumbled.
But nothing and no one jumped out at her, so she proceeded to step outside.
The campus was still and quiet, all the grass and cobblestone paths shimmering silver in the moonlight.
But Akko didn't have much time to admire the scenery. Because her final clue soon caught her eye.
A single, very neat broom was levitating all on its own, about three feet off the ground. Someone had clearly enchanted it and ordered it to stay put.
A familiar blue ribbon decorated the end, one that matched the ribbon Akko had tied on herself earlier. Beneath that ribbon, tied to the broom itself was another envelope.
There was no mistake as to whose broom this was.
Curiously, and with fresh excitement pumping through her, Akko approached the broom and slipped the envelope free. She unfolded the paper and read over the last blue-inked letter of her hunt:
"If you've managed to get this far, then well done. With your headstrong determination, it is no surprise that you've made it.
"There is one final location you will have to go to in order for all of this to bear fruit. It is the highest, most magical place on campus. Feel free to use what I've left for you. I'd prefer not to be kept waiting."
When she finally finished reading, Akko tucked the final letter away with the others.
"So I'm almost done. The last place I need to go is... the highest, most magical place...?"
Naturally, she tilted her head back to look up at the sky.
And she knew her destination right away.
The tallest tower on campus was a very familiar one. At the top, a certain stone emitted an ever-present green glow.
"The Sorcerer's Stone..." she mumbled. "Is... Is Diana up there waiting for me? B-But how am I supposed to get up there? What does she mean "use what I've left for you?" What does that- Gyaaaah!"
She shrieked and jumped as Diana's broom suddenly moved on its own, bumping its handle into her leg. Akko blinked.
"Oh! She means I can use her broom!"
Proud of herself for having figured that much out, Akko approached the mount that was still levitating all on its own.
"Uuu... but I'm no good at riding. Everyone knows that, especially Diana..."
Carefully, she gripped the handle with both hands, then swung one leg over. She was preparing herself to try and fly solo without damaging Diana's pristine broom.
But to her surprise, the broom began lifting all on its own, without Akko needing to say the command. She cried out again and clung to it desperately.
"W-Waaah! W-What's happening?! I-I'm not flying it, am I? I haven't even done anything yet!"
Diana's broom continued lifting her up, until she could see almost the entire campus from her perch. It took her towards the tower, and then began a gradual ascent to the top. Akko finally understood.
"Oooh! Diana must have enchanted it so it'd take me here all on its own!"
That was a bit of a relief. After all the running around she'd done this evening, Akko could certainly use a brief break. And it was nice to be able to catch her breath a little, since she knew what came next would probably be a little stressful.
So for as long as it lasted, she enjoyed the effortless broom ride up to the top of the tower. It had since been magically repaired after the Dragon had been defeated.
She climbed up level by level, and Akko had to take a moment to admire the slow, casual speed of the ride, silently thanking Diana for not casting it at a dizzying pace.
At last, she made it to the top, where everything was enveloped in a bright green glow. The broom took her in through the open arches and came to a halt inside, right beneath the Stone. As she dismounted, Akko marveled at its beauty, the dazzling, magical glow seemingly drawing her in...
She was so fixated on the Stone that she failed to notice the figure of another person emerging from the shadows.
"Well done."
"Huwaaah!"
Akko grabbed the broom and lifted it up in front of herself in a defensive stance, shrinking away. But when the other person stepped out into the green light, and Akko took a second to look her over, she straightened up again.
"D-Diana!"
"Why is it you sound so surprised?" She quirked an eyebrow, genuinely curious, with her hands on her hips. "Hadn't I left you sufficient hints? Didn't you assume you'd be seeing me at the end of all this?"
"W-Well yeah! Kinda..." Akko mumbled. "But I'm just confused about how you got up here! If I have your broom-"
"Can you not think of any alternative routes to get up here?"
Akko paused for a moment and put a hand to her chin to think. When she understood, she all but yelped.
"N-No way! D-Did you actually climb all the stairs to get up here?! Aren't there, like, a million of them?!"
"One-thousand, three-hundred and sixty-eight," she corrected. "But yes. In the hopes that you'd make it to the end and utilize my broom for yourself, I opted to use the stairs like some common person. Honestly, it is rather mortifying. I don't think a single witch in all of Luna Nova history has ever walked to the top of this tower before. Though I must say I am almost grateful you took so long to get here. At the very least it gave me some time to fix myself up a bit..."
Akko stared at her wide-eyed.
"Whoa! I think it's so neat that you climbed all those stairs on-foot!" she chirped. "No other witch can ever claim doing that, Diana! That's impressive!"
The green glow of light on Diana's skin made it hard to tell, but her cheeks seemed to darken in color for a second before she narrowed her eyes.
"N-Never mind that. It did take you a rather long time to get here. By my calculations, even if you encountered every possible setback while following those letters, you still should've gotten here about two hours ago." Here, Diana crossed her arms over her chest. "I was beginning to think you weren't coming in order to prove a point..."
Akko listened as attentively as she could up until that point, then tried to address everything in order.
"Ooooh well the only reason it took me so long was because I only found your first note a little while ago! It was stuffed with all of Sucy's papers so I didn't see it right away! But as soon as I did, I got started right away! I never expected something like that from you, Diana! A fun, crazy treasure hunt, specifically made and planned out for me! That's definitely the idea of a Chariot fan!"
"I-I am not a fan of hers!" Diana quipped. But a second later, she softened her expression and lowered her tone. "But I am glad you at least enjoyed partaking in it."
"Yeah! Definitely! It was a little confusing at times, but it made me think! It made me use some of the spells we'd learned in class, and it made me remember some of the fun times we had! If all the exams and tests in this school were like this, I'd pass them all with flying colors!" she declared, spreading her arms wide.
But then, she drew the broom back to her side, and was prepared to hide behind it with her next question. "Hey, Diana... why did you say you thought I might not come up here tonight...?"
Now that the more light-hearted conversation was over, both girls seemed to steel themselves for the real issue at-hand.
By some miracle, their conversation up until this point had been rather normal for them. It was as though they'd temporarily forgotten everything that happened last week and just gone back to normal for a few minutes without needing to think about it.
But they both knew what all of this was really about, and even though neither one of them really wanted to bring it up, it was unavoidably necessary now.
Diana kept her arms crossed tightly across her chest and heaved a sigh.
"You know very well what I meant," she replied tightly. "I had thought that... perhaps you might opt not to come tonight in order to communicate to me... that you refused to acknowledge my attempt at apology."
There was a pause, as though they were both trying to figure out whether she herself should say something next, or allow the other witch to talk.
Akko didn't know what to say, so she timidly stepped forward and offered her classmate her broom back. As Diana reached out to accept it, their fingers brushed for a split second.
Diana looked her broom over, seeming satisfied with its condition, then leaned it up against the nearest wall.
Akko then untied the blue ribbon from around her own waist and offered that as well. Diana accepted it with a nod, and their hands touched again during the transfer.
Once she'd put the ribbon back into place around her own waist, Diana decided she'd have to be the one to continue speaking.
"Akko. As you can safely assume, I planned all of this out for you today in hopes of meeting you here. My initial intentions were simply to apologize for what happened last week... but it has become clear to me that there is something else I've got to do as well."
Another pause, and the silence was tight.
This wasn't like Diana. She was always so confident in her speech. She never hesitated this much. The fact that she was stammering, pausing, and making mistakes told Akko something.
It told her that Diana hadn't studied this speech. She hadn't practiced it and gone over it in her head for a grade.
No, whatever she was saying now was coming from her heart.
Akko felt her lips forming a small smile, just for a second.
"But, Diana... you don't have to apologize for anything. It took me a while to realize it. Actually, it took me until today, when I read your first letter. But I realized that what happened last week really was just a big misunderstanding! I was being honest with my feelings, and so were you! You were just confused, but you never said anything mean to me! I just took it the wrong way, and then everyone else started to go along with it..."
She tapered off for a moment as the harsh memories came flooding back. But she shook them off and gave Diana a fierce, earnest look.
"But I realize now that you were never trying to hurt my feelings, Diana! So you don't have to apologize!"
Truth be told, Akko's declaration put Diana at a loss. She'd been planning on apologizing and recognizing what she'd done wrong – or at least, what she'd been perceived to have done wrong. She hadn't expected Akko to see through things like this, at least not so quickly.
Diana shook her head briefly.
"Manbavaran... and Yanson... did they talk to you about this? I told them-"
"Haah? What about Sucy and Lotte? W-W-Wait, d-don't tell me they knew about all of this?!"
"Not as much as you'd think," Diana sighed. "They confronted me on your behalf in an effort to look out for you. But they were the first to realize it had never been my intention to hurt you as I did."
Akko could imagine it as Diana described: Lotte and Sucy going out to talk to Diana in private and trying to defend Akko. She made a mental note to give them each a big hug when she got back to the room.
"B-But... you didn't really hurt me, Diana. That was just... I just took it the wrong way..." Akko's shoulders slumped, and she looked down at the floor.
"Perhaps you did," Diana acknowledged. "But then I should have sought you out and apologized sooner. I should never have allowed it to go on for this long. Everyone has been feeling horrible, even those who had initially laughed at you. When we heard the rumors that you might quit..."
She needed to stop again. The prospect of Akko leaving was so unpleasant it sent a physical pang through Diana's chest. She winced, took a breath, and continued.
"I'll be honest. It was... extremely awful. Everyone felt guilty. Everyone was upset. We all played a part in this, though some were bigger than others." She lifted her gaze back to Akko's. "But we could all agree on one thing; that it was no one's desire to see you leave. When we eventually realized what was at stake, everyone wanted to make things right again.
"Hence, that is why I had you come find me here tonight. Because you need to know how much of an impact you have on this Academy, and on the people here, Akko. The students and the professors favor your charm, they admire your enthusiasm and your heartfelt enjoyment of magic. You make things... entertaining. You make things interesting. You're... an inspiration to them – to us."
With that final correction, she let silence ensue for a moment.
Akko needed that moment to absorb everything she'd just heard.
W-Wait... so everyone... likes me? Even the professors? Even though I mess up their spells and ruin their classrooms? Even though I can't even ride a broom properly? And the students, too? I... inspire them...?
She was still staring at Diana, completely dumbfounded. Akko had to reach up to her own cheek and pinch herself.
"Owwie!"
Diana blinked, perplexed.
"What was the meaning of that?"
"S-So I know I'm not dreaming..." As she straightened up again, Akko tried to take it all in. "Wow... is... is all of that really true, Diana?"
Her classmate gave a tiny shrug.
"You fool. Do you honestly think I would bring myself to tell you all of that if it were a lie?"
"Oh, right. Guess not..."
Diana sighed again.
"Do you understand, Akko?" she persisted. "Perhaps... we never proclaim as much – in fact, more often than not, we deny it. But understand that I am speaking on behalf of all of Luna Nova Academy when I say that you are... unique to us. Your vigor and enthusiasm light a spark in this stuffy, ancient school that has tried to take the recreation out of magic. We know firsthand now that, without you, we would undoubtedly sink into a chasm. Luna Nova needs you, Akko. We really do."
A bit of defiance worked its way into her tone as she became more serious now. "Therefore, you cannot quit, Akko. In spite of what happened last week, you cannot give up. Should you quit, then how do you ever plan to become like that Shiny Chariot?"
Her words delighted Akko to the point of grinning like an idiot on the spot. She couldn't help but take a step forward and give a little twirl.
"I'm not quitting, Diana! No way would I ever quit! Luna Nova is the best! The lectures and history lessons are kind of a drag, but it's important stuff! This is where Chariot studied to become a witch! I can't quit when I've only just started!"
Normally, her enthusiasm might have exhausted Diana in just listening to her babble. But this time, it relieved her more than anything.
"So you... do not intend to drop out?"
"Nope! Definitely not! I mean I'll admit I was really down in the dumps there for a while, so I was sad and tired and lazy and I might've said something like that," she shrugged.
"Exactly," Diana said. "And it is because of what happened last week that you felt that way. As such, I shall be taking responsibility for-"
"Hold up!" Akko threw both hands up in front of herself. "Diana, we've been through this! It wasn't your fault!"
"But-"
"No 'buts'!" Akko cut her off firmly to make sure she was listening. Then she lowered her voice as she went on. "Diana, do you think I don't know what you're trying to do? It's just like last time, with the Dragon. You're beating yourself up over something that wasn't really even your fault! You don't have to take all the blame for everything that goes wrong! Sometimes, it's someone else's fault, too! Or it's no one's fault at all!"
Akko took a step forward, but Diana took a step back.
"But I-"
"What did I say? No 'buts'!" Akko reached out and grabbed Diana's hands, preventing her from recoiling any more. She got close to bore her gaze directly into her classmate's. "You don't have to keep blaming yourself for everything, Diana! I know you're not the bad guy here. So you don't have to act like one, okay?"
It was happening again. Diana could feel a stinging sensation behind her eyes. It was just like what had happened between them at the library...
"Akko..."
"Hmm?"
"My... my apologies..."
"Geez, you don't have to say that!"
Akko knew it might not have been the right thing to do, but she couldn't help it. She pulled Diana into another hug.
It felt like Diana was the kind of person who might appreciate being able to hide and not be seen when she was crying.
Even though Akko did still have feelings for her, it wasn't bothering her anymore. She could be more than fine with just being this way with Diana. Being friends, if only when they were alone.
She felt Diana return the embrace. Unlike last time, she actually decided on one spot and hugged Akko in return. She wasn't crying a lot, but it was enough to tell Akko she should give Diana a minute to compose herself.
"And besides," she went on. "I should be the one apologizing to you, Diana."
"Eh...?" Diana wiped her sleeve over her eyes and moved back just a little so she might find Akko's eyes. "Why should you-?"
"Because I... sort of broke my promise... I said I wouldn't tell anyone I saw you crying that night in the library, but I ended up telling Lotte and Sucy about it." She shuffled her boots.
"A-And I also... y'know, what happened last week... I took it the wrong way because I was making assumptions about you. I thought you were just trying to be mean to me again. I thought you were trying to maintain some reputation or something..."
By now, Akko was starting to sniffle as well, and she hid her face in Diana's shoulder. "Basically... I judged your actions without ever really considering how you might have been feeling in all of this. So... I'm sorry too, Diana. I h-hope we can... still be friends...?"
She heard Diana give a small, but sharp gasp, and her grip on Akko's back tightened a little bit.
"Akko..." Her voice was so thin, so tired. She was tired of all these misunderstandings, of accidentally hurting each other, and of being hurt. "Do you... truthfully still... after everything that's happened, you'd still want to be...?"
"Friends?" Akko repeated. "Of course I do! I know you're not a bad person, Diana! You're actually really nice! You work hard and you take things seriously. You're a model student and an amazing witch!"
"I could say the same about you," Diana countered. "You are just as serious as I am, though you express it differently. You... you have fun with magic. You are trying your best in your own way."
Akko smiled.
"See? We make a good team, don't we? So why shouldn't we be friends?"
Diana didn't answer her with words. But the way she started crying again and hugged Akko even tighter was answer enough.
Akko cried too, but there was a smile on her face all the while. It felt good to finally have everything out in the open. Or, almost everything.
As the minutes passed by, she remembered something, a small detail Diana had mentioned earlier. Therefore, once they'd both calmed down enough and pulled away, Akko decided to ask her about it.
"Say, Diana? You said there were a few things you wanted to do here, right? One of them was apologizing to me, and you've already done that. So what was the other thing?"
Diana wiped her eyes again, shaking her head.
"You... fool. Have you really not figured it out yet...?"
"Huh? Figured what out?"
"Honestly... making me say it out loud..." Diana drew in a deep breath, running a hand back through her hair. "Akko, think for a moment now, would you? You read those letters, did you not? Did I not say it clearly enough there?"
"Haaah? What are you talking about? The letters just told me how to get here! What else was in them? Did I miss something?"
"Obviously..." she huffed, looking away.
Akko thought her cheeks looked a bit darker again. But she couldn't be sure, because Diana turned her face away again.
"Yes, the letters told you how to get here. But didn't they tell you anything else?"
Again, Akko needed to think for a moment. She hummed to herself as she tried to recall the contents of the letters, but she still couldn't figure out what Diana was getting at.
"H-Hold on," she said, reaching for her stuffed pockets. "Maybe I should re-read-"
"'Though I would certainly never go to the extents that you do, I must admit I've always been a bit envious of your skills in gym class.' That was part of the first letter, was it not?"
Akko scrambled to pull out all the papers and noisily sifted through them until she'd found the first one and read it over.
"Y-Yeah!"
Diana nodded, then continued.
"'I decided to bring you to the auditorium because it is a place of character and personality. Yours have always been brilliant and exuberant.' Correct?"
Akko checked the next letter, the nodded in affirmation.
"'It amazes me how you fail to correctly cast the simplest of spells during class time, but when the school is being attacked by an Ancient Dragon, you are suddenly able to use the Shiny Arc.'"
Akko nodded again.
"'It is just like you to go wandering about, blindly focused on your goal, and then you fail to realize what is right in front of you. But that is just one more thing I happen to admire about you. You are incredibly determined, and you never let anything stop you from achieving your goal.'"
With each new statement Diana recited, Akko felt she was beginning to understand more and more of what she was getting at.
By the time Diana finished listing off all her written compliments, Akko couldn't wipe the smile off her face.
On the contrary, Diana had her eyes closed and arms folded, once again giving off an indifferent impression.
"I would've thought you might have at least been able to decipher the hidden meaning in those letters. Clearly, I over-estimated your ability to read between the lines. That is a figure of speech, by the way. There is nothing actually written between any of the lines.
"Regardless, I had hoped you would be able to understand what all of those things meant. I'll be honest, but I... hadn't even realized it myself. Not until you'd addressed it first. How I've come to... admire many of your skills. How I keep an eye on you, even when it may not be necessary. How I- eh?"
She was forced to cut off when she opened her eyes, only to find Akko lunging at her with her arms outstretched.
"Whoooaaaa!"
"A-Akko-!"
But it was too late. What had clearly just been meant to be an exuberant hug suddenly went awry when Akko quite literally stumbled into a usual bout clumsiness. She tripped over her own two feet and crashed into and onto Diana. The impact of the surprise hug was enough to bring them both to the ground in an unceremonious heap. Diana's breath flew from her chest as Akko excitedly pushed herself up to look down at her.
"D-Diana! W-wwhwhwwaaaaah! No way, no waaay! Diana, a-are you... confessing?!"
"W-What?!" Despite her breathlessness, Diana forced her lungs to work. Her face turned unmistakably red that time, even with the faint cast of green light from the Stone. Pinned beneath Akko as she was, she could only bring herself to wheeze out an unconvincing response. "O-Of course not! I-I was merely-"
"Because I've always liked you too!"
"...Eh?"
"Yeah! I mean, that's why I confessed to you last week, right? That's what brought us here in the first place!"
Diana stared up at her with a mixture of shock and confusion in her eyes. Akko finally seemed to take note of their positions and hastily scrambled off of her classmate, then grabbed Diana's wrists to help her sit up.
The letters had flown out of her hands and now lie scattered around them both, the written forms of Diana's confession now encircling the attempt at a verbal one.
"I... you-"
"Yeah!" Akko squealed. But she consciously caught herself this time. She was being too hyper, too excited. She didn't want to make light of this.
So she took in a deep breath, and kept ahold of Diana's wrists in her lap as the white-haired witch caught her breath as well.
For a moment, there was only silence as their faces became redder and redder beneath the glow of the Stone and the moonlight.
Diana had half a mind to pull her hands out of Akko's grip, but she didn't. She couldn't bring herself to say any more on the current topic. But thankfully, Akko was able to compose herself enough to do so.
"Diana."
Her voice was different this time. It was clear that she was taking this much more seriously. Diana straightened her posture and met her eyes with equally nervous, but determined ones. She gave a nod to indicate she was listening, and Akko bumbled onward.
"I... Like I said before... I-I mean I think I've always kind of liked you... It was weird at first, because I always thought you were so mean. But I could never hate you or resent you or anything like that. I never wanted to. I'd always been kinda drawn to you for some reason, but I couldn't figure out why."
She took a small break and tried to think about what she wanted to say next. Diana gave her a bit more time and took the liberty of speaking upon herself.
"It is the same for me, Akko. I could never understand why I was... so inclined to target you. There are plenty of other greenhorns who could've piqued my interest, but it was you."
"But now, I'm glad for that!" Akko beamed. "I'm glad we got to work together to fight the Dragon. And I'm sure glad you saved my life and didn't let me fall to my death and become a puddle! I guess that's just one of the times you were keeping an eye on me like you'd said, huh?"
Diana dipped her head.
"I admit that I... did pay particular attention to you, especially on that day..."
"And then you arranged a different kind of treasure hunt for me today! I'm so lucky you ended up being a fan of Chariot's too!"
"I-I am not-"
"Because this was so much fun, Diana!" Akko gushed. "Even though last week was really rough. Even though I was feeling sad... As soon as I saw that first letter from you, everything changed! I felt better right away, and I couldn't wait to see you again. I guess a part of me expected you might be willing to make up with me, and even if you weren't, I sure was. I'm glad we did."
"...As am I."
"And that time in the library... I got to see another side of you that no one else got to see. It kinda felt like I was getting a special privilege or something. Which I never get. Anywhere."
"...Indeed. I would never have shown such a side of myself to anyone else," Diana admitted. "Everyone else here... they would judge me. After all, I am the daughter of a very distinguished family of magic-users. I cannot afford to show such an unbecoming side of myself to anyone else."
Her eyes had become stern, but they softened again now. "But with you... it was different. I didn't have to worry about my prestige. I didn't have to save face, because I knew you would never judge me like anyone else might. You are very kind, Akko."
Akko was trying to appreciate what Diana was saying for all it was worth. The fact that Diana had only felt comfortable showing weakness in front of her and no one else - not even her own teammates. Akko's smile never faded, nor did her blush.
"So... m-maybe it's not something super serious," she concluded. "But we both seem to kinda... l-like each other. A-At least to some degree, right?
"I mean we've always kinda been secretly admiring each other, even though we never really showed it in front of other people. We were drawn to each other because opposites attract, right? O-Or something like that. A-And maybe now we don't have to act like enemies. Maybe we can at least start out by being friends, a-and then maybe one day if-"
She didn't really know where she'd been going with this anyway. Therefore, she didn't really mind when Diana suddenly cut her off.
But it wasn't with words.
This time, Diana silenced her with a new method.
It was very small, a tiny bump of her lips against Akko's cheek. It was both certain and uncertain, if that made any sense.
It only lasted for a second before Diana recoiled and turned herself away. But neither of them could conceal their bright red faces this time.
The kiss effectively silenced both girls for a long moment. They both just needed to take it all in, to try and make sense of everything.
It was like a small test, an experiment, to see if this was something they'd both like to pursue.
The rapid fluttering sensation inside Akko's chest was new to her, but certainly not unpleasant. Judging by the way Diana had lifted a hand to her chest, she was feeling it, too. It was refreshing and strange, sort of like casting a new spell for the first time.
But it was also incredibly exciting. It excited them into a state of silence.
They sat there awkwardly for a time, still surrounded by all of Diana's letters while a mixture of moonlight and the glow of the Stone lit up the tower around them. The white building itself was reflecting green and silver now.
For a long while, neither Akko nor Diana said a word. They just simply sat there, as though in a trance, as though that small kiss had cast a spell of its own.
Neither of them were opposed to this magic, though. It might take some time, but...
Eventually, the girls started to lose feeling in their legs. Without so much as mentioning the kiss or any of the warm, fuzzy feelings associated with it, Diana pushed herself to her feet and dusted off her robes. With a huff, she offered Akko her hand and pulled her up as well. Akko was still very much in her trance, and feeling Diana's warm hand on hers only served to spellbind her further.
"Dia...na..."
"Honestly, look at this mess," she huffed. "Would you at least help me clean it up?"
Akko shook herself and agreed right away.
"R-Right!"
The two of them picked up all of the fallen letters. Once they'd been folded neatly, Akko put them back into her pockets.
The initial awkwardness that had clogged the atmosphere just minutes earlier had begun to dissipate now as they moved around a bit. It was oddly satisfying, how they'd both spent so much time babbling away about one another, and about their own feelings, only to have it all silenced and summed up in a second.
They didn't need to talk about it anymore.
Both of them felt they could figure it out from here, even without words.
At least they were on the same page.
However, Diana did need to take a moment to get the remaining shred of her composure back. She leaned herself against the wall and stared out across the school, then closed her eyes.
She'd never thought that telling Akko how she felt would feel so... so cathartic.
She really hadn't even fully recognized her own feelings until Akko had confessed hers. It was a minor misfortune that came alongside neither of them ever having been in this kind of situation before. It had been messy, confusing, embarrassing, hurtful...
But now it just felt so... so nice...
But Diana didn't want to get lost in thought. There would be plenty of time for that later.
When she was finally ready, she turned back and cleared her throat.
"A-All right, I think it is about time we-"
She didn't finish. She spotted Akko sitting against the far wall with her legs stretched out, gazing wondrously up at the Stone.
"Ah, Diana! Come here for a sec! Just look at it! It's sparkling in the moonlight! It's so pretty!"
"Akko, we have classes tomorrow. We need to-"
"C'moooon, Diana!"
And Diana was far too tired to argue with her. So she merely heaved a sigh and relented.
She crossed the room and leaned her back against the wall, then slid down to curl her legs and sit beside Akko.
It didn't feel awkward anymore. It didn't feel stifling. In fact, Diana felt this was the easiest she'd ever breathed before in all her life.
They didn't have to talk about it. They could just feel it.
Diana turned her gaze upon the Stone. It really was a marvelous sight, especially so up close and especially with the moonlight streaming down over it.
The light was soft and enchanting, green wisps dancing around the room. It looked like the night sky, only the sky was green and the stars were silver.
She was so enraptured by the sight and the atmosphere and the warm feeling in her chest that Diana hardly noticed when Akko reached down to hold her hand.
The Stone continued to glow, until the moon shifted and the light stopped hitting it directly. The light in the tower faded back to its usual, softer green glow. Diana knew it was time to go now.
"Akko-"
She really shouldn't have been surprised to find the girl had fallen fast asleep. Akko was slumped against the wall with her mouth dangling open, snoring softly.
"Akko!"
Diana tugged at her hand in an effort to shake her, but the motion only resulted in Akko's slumping into her side, her head resting on Diana's shoulder. Her hat fluttered off and landed on the floor, allowing Akko to rest entirely against her now.
Diana stiffened. Her brain was telling her to be rational.
You have classes tomorrow morning! You cannot possibly stay up here with her all night! What if someone sees? What if we're late to class and come in together?
But when she paused for a moment to simply breathe, she took into account that her heart was telling her something as well.
After all that has happened today, and in the last few weeks... maybe it will be all right. Just this once...
In the end, that warm, fuzzy feeling, and Akko's childish sleeping face won her over.
Carefully, Diana released Akko's hand, just so she might reach into her own pocket. There was an extra sheet of paper she'd used to write her letters on.
On this, Diana wrote out two brief notes, trying not to move her arm too much as not to rouse Akko. She kept the notes short and simple.
One read: Do not concern yourselves about Akko. Everything is fine. We shall see you in class tomorrow morning.
On this note, she wrote down Akko's dorm room number, then enchanted it with a spell. The paper floated up all on its own and headed off to reassure Akko's roommates.
The other note simply read: Something came up. Do not worry. I will see you two in the morning.
This one, she sent back to her own room for Hannah and Barbara.
With all of the responsibilities now taken care of, there was only one thing left to do.
"How preposterous..."
Never before in all her life had she ever slept anywhere but on an actual mattress. She was already feeling aches in her bones as she leaned back against the cold, unforgiving wall.
But at least there was something much warmer and softer at her side.
Diana adjusted her hat, so that the rim blocked out the light of the Stone and would allow her to sleep if she could manage it. She shifted a little closer to Akko, then reached for her hand.
As far as Akko knew, she'd been the one to take Diana's hand. She'd never know that Diana had broken their grip, then decided to take it back of her own volition.
Diana pressed her palm against Akko's and slipped her fingers through hers. At last, she closed her eyes, and allowed herself to relax and just... breathe.
She stopped worrying. She stopped fretting. She stopped thinking.
Instead, she followed Akko's lead for once and just took it easy.
She'd never slept at the top of a cold tower with her back against the wall and a drooling classmate at her side before.
But she'd also never fallen asleep feeling quite so happy, either.
A/N: When I mentioned the "smaller brooms" I was referencing the ones used in the first OVA, where the little attachment let Diana, Hannah, and Barbara slowly lower themselves down into the labyrinth to find the Dragon. We haven't seen them used that way since.
And I wrote all of this before the anime aired, so there are inaccuracies about where the students keep their brooms (there probably isn't really a Broom Room in the anime. They probably just keep brooms in their dorm rooms). But for the purpose of this fic and Akko's treasure hunt, I created that room and added in some other details, obviously.
I made up spells by rearranging certain relevant words pertaining to each spell/its intentions.
I hope you've enjoyed! Just a bit more to go!
Please review!