Thank you so much for all the support for this story! I'm very happy people seem to like it!
Disclaimer: I don't own Little Witch Academia
"The greatest discovery of all time is that a person can change his future by merely changing his attitude."
-Oprah Winfrey
Chapter Three:
Akko was soaring through Leyline, the bright colors leaving her in awe. She clutched Chariot's wand close, ready to use it if needed. Spiraling further, she noticed she was flying towards a figure in the distance. She squinted her eyes, trying to make out their features, but found she couldn't see anything. Closer and closer she flew—she would soon be able to make out a face—
Akko's eyes snapped open, sitting up quickly, startling Birdy-san and causing him to drop from her head. He pecked her angrily for interrupting his sleep, and Akko patted his head to calm him. Her ruby eyes surveyed her surroundings curiously, finding Sucy at their desk mixing potions.
Realization hit her that yesterday was not a dream after all, and she grinned, clutching Birdy-san close to her. The plush snuggled into her, not one to turn down cuddles, and Akko giggled. Sucy, hearing her, turned towards her.
"You snore like an ogre." Sucy told her. Akko blushed, grabbing a notepad and pen, writing down her apology. Sucy shrugged and resumed working on her potions. Akko watched in interest, getting out from her bed and creeping closer to Sucy. Sucy saw her out of the corner of her eye and turned back towards her so Akko could read her lips.
"Be careful. I'm extracting the poison from the cockatrice's feather." She advised her roommate. Akko squeaked, backing up quickly, and Sucy snickered, finding Akko to be entertaining. A light bulb went off in Akko's head and she went towards where Sucy placed the Shiny Rod the night before. Birdy-san bounced on her shoulder, inquisitive just as she was.
'I wonder why Chariot's wand was in the middle of the forest…' Akko pondered to herself. She waved it around, trying to make something happen, but alas, the wand was useless. She wrinkled her brow, waving it harder and rattling Birdy-san. Still, nothing happened. Akko sighed, giving up, and choosing to get ready for the day. She dressed in the standard uniform, grinning as she admired the clothing. She wished she could wear her ceremonial clothes, but she supposed the regular uniform was cute too.
We should go see Lotte when we get the chance. Akko passed the note to Sucy, who looked up from her potion work to read the note. Sucy put down her potions and rose from her chair.
"We'll go see her after classes." Sucy promised. Akko grinned, excited to see Lotte again. Sucy picked up Birdy-san from Akko's bed and placed him atop of Akko's head, making sure he was secured. With that, she changed and they both headed to class.
Traveling down the halls through all the school's corridors was surreal. Akko couldn't believe she was finally at the same school that Chariot studied at! She twirled around, looking everywhere to absorb it all in. Sucy walked ahead of her, not really giving her any attention. When they arrived at their first classroom, Akko felt herself do a double take. The room was huge! It was way bigger than any classroom at her old school in Japan. Sucy didn't bother waiting for her and journeyed to her seat. Akko jumped, quickly following her. They took their seats in the middle of the benches, and Akko felt intimidated by the size of the room and board. She squirmed in her seat while students filed in. Sucy tapped her shoulder.
"Why are you fidgeting?" she asked. Akko fiddled with her fingers. Sucy sighed. "I can't understand you unless you tell me what's wrong."
"Room big." Akko confessed. "Not sure if I can see." Sucy's eye alit with understanding.
"I want to sit here to sleep, but you can go to the front." Sucy told her. Akko glanced down where the front row was, really far from Sucy, and felt nervous. She wanted to sit next to her new friend, but she wanted to be able to learn. In the end, she decided to stay, telling herself that she would be able to understand the teacher's signing from there. Akko nodded, pleased with her decision, retrieved her notebook while Sucy snored away.
What appeared to be the professor walked in. Akko saw she was a stern looking woman in her older years. The young witch smiled—it was time to learn!
"Welcome to your first class. I am Professor Finnelan." The woman greeted. The woman continued talking, and Akko felt anxiety build up within her. She squinted, struggling to read the professor's lips due to being so far away. Horror bubbled in her stomach.
'Why isn't she signing?!' Akko cried. All her teachers at her old school had learned sign or always had an interpreter in order to accommodate her. Even in the front row, she saw she would have trouble reading the professor's lips. Didn't the headmistress say something to the rest of the staff? She clenched her fists, feeling frustration. She couldn't follow anything the teacher was saying! First, she's not told about needing to fly to Luna Nova, then nothing about carrying salt in Leyline, and now they expect her to just squint and try to decipher someone's lips?!
She gritted her teeth, standing abruptly, effectively waking up Sucy, and slammed her hands on the desk. She figured the sound must've echoed in the large classroom because everyone was staring at her confused. The teacher stopped talking, glaring up at her, appearing to have yelled something, but Akko didn't bother trying to read her lips, instead wringing her hands furiously as she signed.
"Why am I being left in the dark?! You're supposed to be a prestigious school! I have nearly died because you guys haven't told me a damn thing, and now I can't understand what you're saying! You're going too fast!" she finished her signing by slamming her hands on the desk again. The teacher narrowed her eyes, growing angry with Akko, and Akko wanted to tear her hair out. She roughly grabbed her notebook, jotting down what she wanted to say, and leaving her desk to approach the professor, thrusting the paper forward.
"What a pain…" Sucy murmured, slapping a hand to her forehead. The other students around her were whispering about Akko being rude and crazy, and Sucy sighed.
Professor Finnelan took the outstretched paper from Akko's hand, reading it.
I can't hear. Please use Sign Supported English or let me take a seat right next to you where I may read your lips.
Finnelan's eyes widened, before glaring down at the girl, recognizing her as Atsuko Kagari, the student that was admitted with no magical background. She placed her hands on her hips.
"I do not appreciate you interrupting my class for trivial things, Miss Kagari." Akko's eyes widened, reading her lips and she rapidly gestured with her hands.
"Trivial? A student can't understand you and you call that trivial?" she signed. Finnelan narrowed her eyes.
"I don't understand you, Miss Kagari, with you waving your hands like that! Speak!"
"Not trivial! Don't understand! Big deal!" Akko shouted, clenching her fists. Finnelan choked at the girl's horrible English, and Sucy felt herself frown when she heard their classmates making fun of Akko's accent.
"Enough, Miss Kagari! Leave my class this instant!" Finnelan commanded and Akko huffed, marching out of the classroom in anger. Birdy-san felt her emotional turmoil and snuggled into her hair. She stomped down the hallways, slowly coming to a stop. Akko sighed, leaning against a wall, slumping down to the floor, and hugging her knees close. Birdy-san squeaked, flapping his wings and landed in front of her, peering up at her. Akko gently picked up Birdy-san and cuddled him close.
Her eyes stung with unshed tears of anger. Feelings of inferiority filled her, and she held Birdy-san closer. It has been so long since she felt inadequate compared to others. She wasn't used to the sensation—not since when she was a child, trapped in a world of silence, unable to communicate with the rest of the world. Realization hit her that she was truly alone in a country with barely anyone who can understand her. Frustration rose within her at all the cards being stacked against her—no magical background and not even being able to hear or speak proper English trapped in a school that she saw now had no accommodations for her background.
'Chariot was able to do it all!' Akko reminded herself, not wanting to succumb to depression like before. 'I can do it! I'll show them what I can do! These are just minor setbacks!' her expression shown with resolve, determined to not let her lack of hearing or lack of magical background be an obstacle. She would not be that little girl who fell into depression like years ago! She had a goal now! 'I just have to believe! Chariot wouldn't let these things get her down! I can't either!'
Birdy-san gently pecked her cheek and Akko smiled, petting him. She would make people smile—just like Chariot made her smile! She wanted to make people feel like they weren't alone in the world—that anyone's dreams can come true no matter how much the odds are against them.
Having made her decision, she decided to head to Potions. Sucy seemed to be waiting for her at the doorway of the classroom, eyeing her when she approached.
"You ready?" Sucy asked her, not bringing up her turmoil in Professor Finnelan's class. Akko grinned, nodding. Sucy grinned. "Good. This is my favorite class." She took Akko's hand and Akko was surprised when Sucy led them to the front row. Tilting her head, Akko had a question mark above her head. Sucy saw her expression and shrugged. "I like this class. This way we both can learn."
Akko felt her heart warm at Sucy's consideration, squeezing her hand, as they both took their seats. Students filed in, giving her looks, some pointing at her while some snickered or outright laughed, making funny gestures as they glanced at her. Akko sunk in her seat, feeling exposed. She tugged at Sucy's sleeve to get her attention.
"Everyone thinks your accent is funny." Sucy told her. "They also never seen a deaf witch or sign before, so they are making fun of you." Akko blushed in shame. Truly, Luna Nova was way different than her old school. The young witch sunk lower in her seat, feeling them all staring at her in mockery. She gazed down at her lap, not wanting to face the stares, clenching the fabric of her skirt. However, she jumped when Sucy placed a hand on her shoulder. She turned an inquisitive gaze to Sucy, who was grinning evilly.
"Don't worry about it." A glint shined in her eye, and Akko wondered what mischief Sucy was planning. It wasn't clear until the end of class when they were dismissed that when Sucy and Akko got up from their seats, everyone else was struggling to rise, exclaiming they were stuck. "Kukukukuku." Sucy cackled, leading Akko away from the classroom towards their next class with Professor Badcock.
Professor Badcock raised an eyebrow when she saw only two students sitting in her class. Just then, the door opened, and the rest of her students were piling in, complaining while rubbing their butts. A blonde-haired girl went to Professor Badcock and Sucy heard the girl claim they were late due to her having to unstuck students from being stuck to their benches. The blonde-haired girl flickered her icy eyes towards Sucy and Akko, and Sucy scooted closer to Akko with a glint in her eye, warning the girl to back off. Akko didn't notice Sucy slide closer to her, too busy being curious about the girl who was examining her. Like Sucy, it was hard to read this girl's expression, and she wondered what she was saying to the teacher.
"I see." The professor cleared her throat. "Well everyone is here now. Thank you, Diana. As usual, your prowess in magic is amazing." The professor praised. The girl, Diana, gave a polite smile and went towards her seat where Hannah and Barbara were. Diana passed Akko, and they locked eyes, before Diana turned her gaze straight ahead.
'What's with her?' Akko wondered. Nevertheless, she turned her attention to the front of the classroom, squinting in order to read the professor's lips. It was difficult deciphering the Professors' lectures due to the complicated terms they used and the pace they went, but she reminded herself of what she told her parents before: she wasn't made of glass nor would the world treat her as such.
Class passed without incident to Akko's relief. Once it was over, Sucy and Akko made their way to the infirmary where Lotte was. Happy to talk to someone who could understand her, Akko immediately launched into recounting her day. Lotte signed as she spoke verbally to keep Sucy included, which Sucy and Akko both appreciated.
"No one's ever really encountered a deaf spellcaster before." Lotte told them. "Incantations are oral, so I would imagine it's going to be difficult for you. It is just unfortunate you have a double disadvantage with no magical background as well."
"But she was able to cast a spell yesterday." Sucy reminded them, recalling Akko opening the Leyline network. "She cast a spell with Shiny Rod."
"I didn't recite anything out loud. I just saw the portal in my mind." Akko signed. Lotte's eyes widened, speaking and signing at the same time.
"You… you didn't recite any incantation?!" Lotte asked shocked. Akko shook her head. Sucy gazed at her in interest.
"But then you passed out for hours. It looked like you were dead." Sucy recalled. Lotte placed a hand to her chin, pondering.
"I mean… there's never been a deaf witch before so there's never been a reason to not try oral incantation though I suppose there's another way to do spellwork, but is hard to do… That could be the reason one of our classmates also has trouble and resorted to magitek because she's mute."
"There's someone here who's mute?" Akko signed.
"We've never seen her talk, but that could be the reason why her magic is more modern. She may have trouble with oral incantation as well but hasn't figured out visualization could be a possibility." Lotte explained.
"So, does that mean we could do it too?" Sucy asked. Lotte thought hard.
"In theory? But it probably takes a lot of energy… you said Akko passed out before."
"I still feel kind of weak to be honest." Akko confessed with gestures.
"Try it again." Sucy said. Akko squeaked. "Let's go get the Shiny Rod and see if you can do it again."
"We'd have to be somewhere no one will see. I don't want us accidentally destroying something." Lotte said. "I'll be getting out soon so once I'm released, we can go get the Shiny Rod and experiment."
"Sounds like fun!" Akko signed, grinning. "Let's check you out now!"
"Eh? Now?" Lotte blinked. Akko nodded.
"Why not? They said you were fine now! We have time! This could be something big!" she excitedly gestured.
"Well… okay! Let's do it!" Lotte agreed. "This is exciting! We may be able to do a new kind of magic!"
"Or blow something up. Either way, I'm game." Sucy shrugged.
With that decided, the three witches immediately went to the nurse and checked Lotte out. The healer gave Lotte some potions for pain and discomfort, and they were off, Sucy scoffing that she could probably make something better for her than the generic stuff that was given. Birdy-san flapped his wings in glee while they journeyed to their dorm.
"There you are!" Akko exclaimed, picking up the Shiny Rod. Lotte retrieved some spellbooks with simple spells they could try while Sucy packed up some potions in case Akko passed out and she could test them out on her. Birdy-san kept lookout as they crept towards a desolate part of campus. Akko wished she could play the Mission Impossible theme while they were being stealthy; however, she knew without hearing it really wouldn't matter to her, but the sentiment was cool.
"What are you doing?"
Lotte and Sucy froze, grabbing Akko to stop her as well. She angrily turned to them, signing not to grab her like that, but blinked when she found the blonde-haired girl from earlier staring at them with a stern expression, her hands on her hips. Akko tilted her head, clutching Chariot's wand to her, causing the girl's eyes to expand when she caught sight of it.
"Shiny Rod?!"
Yeah, nothing really happens with this chapter, but I wanted to do some character interactions and no, Akko is not more powerful than everyone else. She just tapped into an alternative way to do magic, which will lead to her developing another way to cast spells for witches who cannot use oral incantation. Please let me know what you guys think.
Replies to Reviews:
SulliMike23- you will find out later.
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YuriTrash5ever- thank you! And yes, it is Akko/harem