Fusion Cuisine – Part X: Sharpening Knives

Disclaimer: In case you haven't figured it out yet, I don't own Little Witch Academia. All LWA-related characters, settings, etc. are the intellectual property of Studio Trigger and Yoh Yoshinari.

[-]

Takeuchi Holdings

One Day Ago

Masato Takeuchi sat in his office chair, admiring the green, teardrop-shaped gemstone in his hand.

"In less than twenty-four hours, every authority in the nation of Japan will be searching for this little jewel," he said. "Fools, the lot of them. They kept it hidden away like some mundane trinket, to be trotted out for meaningless ceremonies. Never realizing the true power it holds."

"But boss…" asked his aid, a large man in an even larger suit. "Ain't it a bad idea ta nab somethin' that puts so much heat on us?"

Takeuchi leaned over and patted the man on the cheek. "Oh, how quaint. Still making attempts at independent thought, are we?" he replied, without expecting an answer. "Well, I'm sure we can do something about that."

Without any further ado, he popped open the Somnarca on his desk, twisted it around, and let the other man drift off into peaceful slumber.

He didn't know the man's name. He'd long since given up on trying to tell one faceless goon apart from another.

Most people could shake off their first or second exposure to the Somnarca without much issue. But repeated "treatments" made it more and more difficult to snap them out of the wonderful dreams it offered.

Until they were little more than a hollowed-out puppet. Waiting for Takeuchi to tell them what to do.

"There doesn't seem to be much point in answering you in this state, but…oh, what the hell. I'm in a good mood," said the businessman. "It's pretty unlikely the Japanese government will be able to track me down. Not when the magatama's own guard is the one who stole it and tossed it in a garbage can for me to retrieve. I expect the excuse 'I was sleepwalking while dreaming I was Indiana Jones' won't hold up in court."

The other man, of course, said nothing. A bit of drool did fall down his chin, however.

"Ah, and therein lies the rub. Fantastically obedient, but not all that much of a conversation partner," Takeuchi added, shrugging his shoulders and smiling. "Be that as it may, my plan is so, so close to completion. Only one obstacle still remains."

His grin vanished just as quickly as it appeared, crumpling a pitifully unsigned Bill of Sale in his palm.

"Isn't it just a peachy coincidence…" he growled. "That it's that family who stands in my way at the very end? Every other shopowner in Kagemori was willing to sell. Either with a big enough buyout…or a bit of persuasion from our friend here."

He stroked the Somnarca with his finger like it was a favorite pet, while being careful not to close the casket's lid.

"But these Kagaris are all so…stubborn. And Miss Cavendish, even more so. She reminds me ever so much of dear, sweet mother," said Takeuchi, his voice growing as dark as it always did whenever he broached the subject. "Problem is, that land needs to be mine, if the ritual is to succeed. Contract magic is funny that way."

Growing bored with the continued silence, Takeuchi reached forward and began opening and closing his aid's mouth, filling it with a cartoonishly high-pitched voice.

"I just don't get it, boss, because I'm sooooooooooo darn stupid!" he pretended the other man was saying. "If this little shithole restaurant is so important, what're you gonna do next?"

Takeuchi released his grip on the man and settled back into his chair, fondling the Yasakani no Magatama once again.

"Well I'm glad you asked, my dear friend," was his faux-response. "Fortunately, even if my last gambit fell short of expectations…"

His eyes drifted to a photograph in the file on his desk. One secretly taken a few days ago, and featuring Atsuko Kagari and Diana Cavendish…

With their hands laced together.

"It did let me know where to attack next."

[-]

Their "war party" had grown large enough that they'd spent most of Sunday divided into two groups.

Akko, along with the unlikely companions of Sucy, Hannah, and Barbara, were going to visit Taichi and Kenichi and get them caught up, in advance of the big meeting tonight. Diana felt a little antsy about involving the young men in this business any further – especially as they lacked magic to defend themselves – but ultimately this was their restaurant too. They had just as much a stake in saving it from Takeuchi as she did.

Meanwhile, Diana was shepherding Amanda and Jasminka along in her car, on the way to reunite them with the third member of their old dormitory.

"God, I'm lookin' forward to seein' Conz again," said Amanda, stifling a yawn behind their hand. Jetlag, as they'd so eloquently put it earlier that day, was a bitch. "Sure, we text all the time, but she's not really all that big on voice or video chats. For, uh…obvious reasons."

"Myself as well!" exclaimed Jasminka, between noisy bites of karinto. It seemed that, since moving to Japan, she'd added the crunchy snacks into the same rotation as her usual crisps. "We were planning to catch up during a European vacation папа had scheduled for this summer, but Putin's war of aggression put a stop to that."

A sour expression briefly appeared on the rotund woman's normally sweet face, for which none of them could really blame her.

"…In any event!" she added with a clap of her hands, all smiles once again. "She texted me that she'd be coming laden with snacks. Oh, you're both in for a treat! German chocolate is second to none."

"And that really is the most important thing about reunions," Amanda declared, in a tone that made it impossible to tell if they were being sarcastic or sincere.

The rest of the trip to the airport passed by mostly in silence, as Jasminka continued her snacking and Amanda busied themself with what appeared to be some kind of mobile video game on their cell phone. One that, judging by their harsh whispers of "Just one more summon…" and "Damn, I have the worst luck with Moon Cancers…" was causing them no end of consternation.

But eventually, the thought that'd been gnawing at Diana's mind all day bubbled up to the surface.

"I apologize for bringing this up again," she said in a quiet voice. "But you both truly bear me no ill will for our lack of contact? I've missed so much of your lives – and of Barbara's and Hannah's as well. Yet you dropped everything to come to our aid here in Japan. Akko may have performed deeds that warrant such kindness…but I certainly have not."

Amanda sighed and put down their phone, blinking dark circles out of their eyes.

"Okay Di, this is gonna sound a little harsh, but I think you need to hear it," they told her. "You really don't understand this whole 'friendship' thing."

Diana's grip tightened around the steering wheel. "E…Excuse me…?" she stuttered, taken aback.

"All I mean is that friendship isn't supposed to be…what's the word?" Amanda added quickly. "Y'know…where each person gives as good as they get."

"Transactional?" suggested Jasminka.

"Sounds right," said Amanda with a shrug. "Anyway, point is, ya don't keep score in friendships. You and Akko are both good people. I like ya. And ya needed help. Simple as that."

"I feel the same way," Jasminka spoke sweetly. "And I'm sure if you asked Hannah or Barbara or the rest, they'd say the same thing too. We all love you both, Diana. How many times you answer emails or text messages doesn't change that."

Diana blinked a few times, before finally allowing her chin to dip into a quiet nod.

"That means a great deal to hear," she murmured, as she directed the vehicle onto the turnoff for the airport. "And I promise, I'm going to make more of an effort to maintain those threads of contact in the future."

Diana had assumed that Constanze's stature would make it a bit difficult to spot her in the crowd, so she'd made sure to prepare a locator spell ahead of time. She quickly realized, however, that she needn't have bothered.

The half-dozen robots clanking about in the German woman's wake meant the other passengers were giving her a wide berth.

"Did they…allow you to take those through airport security?" Diana couldn't help but ask as four of the Stan-bots teamed up to load Constanze's baggage into her boot.

While their mistress offered naught but an indifferent shrug, one of the automatons turned around to opine:

[I'd have liked to see them try to stop us.]

"That's my Conz! Casually threatenin' Terminator-esque murder!" said a delighted Amanda, picking up the much shorter woman with both arms and twirling her around. "Oh man, lemme get a good look at ya!"

Constanze's only response was to offer a very serious expression, paired with a thumbs-up.

Meanwhile, the remaining pair of Stan-bots approached Diana with another, much smaller suitcase.

[This one should be held by a passenger rather than stowed in the trunk, to minimize chance of impact. The contents are extremely volatile.]

"I'll take it," offered Jasminka, stowing away her bag of snacks and accepting the black case, which was protected with a padlock, combination lock, and fingerprint scanner. "Although this is only making me more curious about Diana's 'airport security' question."

Constanze took one look over either shoulder, then began moving her hands in tight, controlled motions. Diana guessed that she was repeating the same sentence in multiple sign languages, though the only one she recognized was BSL. She was a bit rusty in the language, but understood enough signs to get the gist.

"This isn't something we should be discussing in public," she attempted to translate. "Come along. Let us rendezvous with the others."

[-]

"Now don't get me wrong, I know that magic exists and all," said Kenichi, his bare skin glistening as he leaned against a heavy shovel. "But this is all pretty hard to swallow, isn't it?"

"Says the guy whose working theory on how Takeuchi was taking over the shopping district before now, was that he's secretly a space alien," Taichi remarked dryly from off to the side, not looking up from the book he was reading. "Everything they said fits into the same general nutso mold. Might as well assume it's all true."

"I like this one," drawled Sucy, hooking a thumb in the blond man's direction. "We can keep him."

This was Akko's first visit to her employees' home, which turned out to be a small apartment complex outside urban Tokyo. It had a neat little yard with several trees and bushes out front, which it seemed Kenichi worked a few days a week to supplement their rent.

She'd been a bit embarrassed to find that this meant she had to hold this entire conversation while the muscular former fireman was shirtless and sweating. Hannah and Barbara, who were monogamous but still very pansexual, didn't seem to mind nearly as much.

"It's not cheating if we're both drooling over the same guy, right?" the former whispered to the latter. She shook her head rather vigorously in response, her blink rate having been reduced to almost zero.

"You're both barking up the wrong tree, either way," said Taichi, causing the couple to flush at being overheard. "I've at least dated a couple girls before, but Kenichi pretty came out of the womb…"

"With a heart of flaming passion! In every sense of the word," the blue-haired man finished for him, without a hint of irony. "Ain't that right, Taikkun?"

He came up behind the other man and nuzzled at his cheek, finally causing him to drop his book and rear back.

"Ugh. We've talked about this, Kenichi. Shower first, then hugs. Or no hugs at all, also fine with me. We do have one of our bosses standing right there, you know," Taichi chastised his roommate. It seemed he wasn't quite as enamored by the scent of dirt and sweat as Hannah and Barbara were.

(Akko felt compelled to agree. Her own taste in men – such as it was – tended more toward the Lelouch and Levi mold.)

Still, what she said aloud was, "You're fine, don't worry. We're the ones bothering you on your day off."

"Technically, every day's gonna be a day off until we get a handle on this Takeuchi situation," Taichi reminded her. "So yeah, we're in. Not sure how much help we can be compared to a literal coven of witches, but we'll be there tonight."

Kenichi palmed a fist, his usual joviality giving way to fierce determination.

"I'm still not sure how much of this I believe. Or understand," he added. "But if you're telling the truth, then that means that bastard tried to off Junya-san and Rio-san. He's not getting away with that."

"For the record, I'm still advocating the direct approach," said Sucy, pulling a very suspicious-looking vial of purple liquid from her pocket and waving it around.

Hannah and Barbara both took two wide, wordless steps away from the Filipina witch.

"If everything goes okay tonight, then it shouldn't come to that," Akko told her, teeth gritted tight. "But that does remind me. There's someone else I need to catch up with."

[-]

"So…that's it," the Japanese woman said about an hour later, staring intently into her phone's camera. "That's everything we know so far."

From their hospital beds, her parents shared a lingering look. She'd excused herself from the rest of the group to make the call, so the three Kagaris were the only ones sharing these words.

Then, with tones of deliberate calm, her father asked, "My dear, why didn't you come to us about this sooner?"

"I don't know," Akko gave her honest answer. "Diana asked the same thing, and I didn't have a good response for her either. It just…it all spiraled so far out of control, so quickly. I probably wouldn't have even asked for help from my friends if Jasminka hadn't been there."

Her mother's frown deepened. "But that isn't like you, Akko," she stated pointedly. "You were always so friendly, so social. Maybe a little too much."

Akko's gaze turned askance, that all-too-familiar feeling of guilt bubbling up inside her chest.

"There's…a lot I haven't really been telling you lately. About…About me," she admitted at last. "And I'm starting to think I really need to. Just not right now. Not until this mess with Takeuchi is over with."

"Oh? Except that once that happens, you're just going to find some other excuse to delay even further," said Rio Kagari, her gaze turning stern. "Don't forget, Akko-chan, I'm the woman who raised you. I know how you think."

Akko wanted to deny the accusation, but she had to admit her mother had a point. She hadn't shared these feelings with her parents before Takeuchi reared his ugly head, had she?

Any time while out on tour, when she was lying awake and unable to sleep, she could've picked up the phone and talked to the two people in the world who loved her more than anything. Could've had her fears and anxieties massaged away; her burning questions answered. So why hadn't she?

It was the kind of thing she just…hadn't thought about. Touring was necessarily a lonely, isolating experience. It pulled her in a thousand different, competing directions. Exhausted her mentally and physically.

She hadn't meant to draw away from her parents, and yet that was what wound up happening. Same with her friends.

Same with…

"I just don't know what to do with myself," she finally said, eyes screwed shut. "I feel like I'm messing up everything. I feel like I don't know who I am. Or what I want. It's all so confusing and I'm just…just…"

Akko clenched her hands into fists, willing herself to continue speaking, no matter how much it hurt.

"I know…I never told you guys the full story. I wasn't sure you'd understand. But I'll try now," she went on in quieter tones. "Five years ago, when I first came to Luna Nova, I was 'chosen' by something called the Shiny Rod. The very same wand used by Shiny Chariot. At first, it felt amazing! It meant I could be just as awesome as she was. Heck, even better! She never got to finish the Seven Words and revive magic, but I could."

"And…you did, didn't you?" asked her father, frowning slightly. "That was what that tree in the sky was about."

Akko let out a low sigh. "It was a lot more complicated than that, but…yeah, basically," she murmured. "But then the problem was…well, then what? After I achieved its mission, the Shiny Rod left me behind. I couldn't just go back and…and be some ordinary witch then, right? I had to live up to its legacy."

"That's why you became a performer, like your idol," said her mother. "But didn't you always want to do that?"

"I…thought I did. Just like I thought a lot of things," replied Akko through tight lips. "Let's just say it…it hasn't been what I expected."

"It's not making you happy," her father spoke softly. It wasn't a question.

Another, breathy sigh. Then…

"No. Not for a long time."

Seeing the look on her parents' faces, Akko knew that she'd made the right call in choosing to have this conversation over video rather than in-person. Because if she was in the hospital room with them, she knew that she'd be breaking down in their arms, unable to speak any further.

Instead, the distance forced her to suck up her sniffles and continue, "So now you know the real reason I decided to come back to the restaurant. I couldn't get away fast enough. From the awful schedules and the paparazzi and so, so much stress…"

"Atsuko," Rio Kagari cut her off. Her daughter automatically snapped to attention at the use of her full name, the instinct ingrained in her from earliest childhood. "I don't believe for a second you returned to Japan for any reason other than that you wanted to help your parents. And even if you did, there's no shame in leaving something behind if it's making you miserable."

"Helping you guys. Right…" said Akko with a humorless chuckle. "Because I've been doing such a great job of that. You entrusted the restaurant to me, and I was two seconds from signing it away to a murdering piece of slime…"

Junya Kagari folded his bandaged hands upon his lap.

"I won't pretend to understand all the magical terminology involved," he told his daughter. "But it sounds like he used a spell to force you into signing. In which case, you're being far too hard on yourself."

Akko allowed herself several deep breaths, holding the phone away from her mouth so her parents wouldn't hear.

Eventually, she brought it back in front of her face and said, "Maybe. Or maybe if I was better at magic, I wouldn't have gotten sucked in by that stupid box in the first place."

She wasn't actually sure that was how it worked, but the nasty thought had been running through her mind ever since the incident. And she was too afraid of the answer to ask Diana for certain.

Not for the first time, Akko got the uncanny impression that her mother could read minds, because the woman's next question was, "Have you told Diana any of this?"

If Akko were drinking something in that moment, she would've spit it all over the screen.

"Wh…Wh…Why would you bring her up all of a sudden?" she sputtered.

"Akko-chan, I think it's past time you stopped being coy about this," said Junya Kagari, his normally boundless patience evidently wearing thin. "You have feelings for this girl. It's none of our business whether you choose to act on those feelings or not. But there's clearly a reason that when you needed help running the restaurant, she was the first person you called."

"Because she's, like…amazing at everything!" Akko tried to protest. "Not because…because…"

"All we mean to say, darling," her mother interjected, gently but forcefully. "Is that we think you'd feel a lot better if you confided these things in her as well. Wouldn't you want her to do the same?"

Echoes of Diana venting about how much she hated medical school, and how much her own dreams had soured, rang through Akko's mind.

However, that didn't stop the next question from pouring from her dry lips.

"Do I even deserve that?" she whispered. "After how I treated her…?"

"We can't answer that question, Akko-chan. Only she can," said her father. "But for what it's worth…she seems like a very kind girl. I can see why you fell for her."

"She is," Akko breathed out, thumbs twiddling anxiously with one another. "Maybe a little too kind."

"Either way, we got your Zoom link. We'll be on the call tonight," her mother assured her. "Should be interesting to finally meet all of your witch-school friends."

[-]

In terms of dinner preparation, yesterday had just been the warmup. Tonight's meeting was where Diana's talents really needed to shine.

In total, they were planning to have ten in-person diners – herself, Akko, Jasminka, Sucy, Amanda, Constanze, Hannah, Barbara, Kenichi, and Taichi – which necessitated an appropriately large meal.

The guests who'd be joining virtually – Lotte, Ursula, Croix, the Kagaris, and even Andrew had accepted at the last minute – obviously didn't need food prepared for them, yet it still seemed appropriate to include them in the count. If she boxed some up and stored it in the fridge, perhaps she'd at least be able to offer to Lotte when she arrived in a couple days…

After a fair bit of careful thought, Diana had settled on Soßklopse, a meatball dish traditionally from the region of East Prussia. As with the adobo she'd made for Sucy, it seemed appropriate to prepare a German dish to welcome Constanze, and it was easy enough to throw together with the ingredients they already had on hand. The only necessary component she had to go to the market for was capers, for which she paid out of her own pocket.

It also helped that this time, she had not one but two sous-chefs assisting her.

"I've got the roux prepared," said Jasminka pleasantly. "Should I go ahead and mix in the cream and egg yolks?"

"Yes, and the capers can go in as well. Once it's fully thickened, the broth is essentially ready to go," Diana answered, not looking up from the balls of ground beef, breadcrumbs, and anchovies she was simmering together. "How are the potatoes coming along, Akko?"

"Of course you put me on this part," the brunette's voice returned, though it was light and teasing rather than actually irate. "But nah, they're boiling fine. I know the recipe calls for beets to go with them, but we didn't have any, so I subbed in eggplant."

"As long as we adjust the spice profile accordingly, that should work well enough," Diana told her, nodding once. "Just make sure to prepare as much as possible. Based on the way Amanda inhaled the pork adobo last night, I expect a veritable army's worth still won't be sufficient."

Akko let out a loud, cheerful laugh, the sound of which made Diana's heart sing.

Not for the first time, Diana reflected on how…pleasant this felt. Working in the kitchen side-by-side with Akko, all their other worries pushed to the side as they sought nothing more than to craft the best meal imaginable.

It was the same feeling she'd gotten while dancing with Akko the other day. While watching her sing all those silly anime songs. While getting to bear witness to her performance magic, up close and personal.

A feeling that'd been conspicuously absent from her life for the past two years.

How differently might the trajectory of her life have been, if she'd thrown caution to the winds and confessed her feelings at Luna Nova? Again, it was hardly a new thought, but as Diana stood there over three saucepans full of sizzling meatballs, she forced herself to truly interrogate it.

She'd spent so long obsessing over the possibility that Akko wouldn't have returned her affections, while steadfastly ignoring what might've happened if she did. Would medical school and the other trials of her life be easier to swallow, if she had a devoted girlfriend waiting half a world away?

Or would it only make the separation sting even more? Diana was, above all else, driven by cold logic and data. She knew the statistics on long-distance relationships weren't especially favorable.

Yet now that they were in the same location once more, seeing each other every single day, those feelings had not only persisted but were burning stronger than ever.

She'd resolved yesterday that she couldn't keep running from or denying this. It'd tear her apart, otherwise.

But she was at a loss for how to take the next step. No class she'd ever taken, no book she'd read, had even remotely prepared her for this.

This afternoon, she knew, was only a brief reprieve. Before the meeting tonight, where all cards would be laid on the table, and their stratagem for defeating Takeuchi finalized.

But if – nay, when, she forced herself to append – they emerged on the other side of this crisis…

Diana Cavendish knew there were a few things she needed to say at last.

[-]

The Soßklopse, thankfully, turned out to be quite a hit. As their guests streamed into Kagari's, each one made a plate and dug in quite eagerly, offering a wide range of compliments for the fragrant meatballs. Even Sucy and Taichi lacked anything negative to say when they tried it.

But dinner was a necessarily brief and rushed affair. Everyone was antsy to get on to the "main event."

Thankfully, Conz had volunteered to handle the technical side of things. After polishing off her own plate and granting it the most coveted of Constanze reactions – not one, but two thumbs-up! – she pulled out an enormous pile of her own equipment and began coordinating the Zoom call.

Her personal laptop, several dozen generations more advanced than Akko's own, was now projecting onto one of the restaurant's walls, filling it with blown-up faces broadcast from all around the world.

"Seeing that spread of yours makes me regret we didn't head over there ourselves," said Croix approvingly, streaming from the flat she shared with Ursula in Paris. "Getting arrested again might be worth it for a taste of those meatballs."

Her fellow professor, who was sitting side-by-side with her on a threadbare couch, rolled her eyes and sighed, "I never know whether to take you seriously when you say things like that. By the way, how in the world do you get them all together on the screen like that? When I had to use Zoom for my continuing ed course, I could only make people show up when they were talking…"

As Croix muted their microphone so she could explain to her wife the finer points of "Gallery View," another webcam popped up from Antananarivo, Madagascar.

"Same here! I'm really, really sorry I won't be able to get there until Tuesday!" exclaimed Lotte. "I finally got permission from the expedition lead, but it's a fifteen-hour flight and there's only one available! I leave around noon tomorrow."

"My greetings as well," spoke Andrew from his office in London in his usual clipped manner, only to be shoved aside a moment later by a fresh-faced blond man in an equally fancy suit.

"Hey, is that Lotte? How's it going!" Frank called out cheerfully, eliciting a blush and a slightly awkward wave from the Finnish girl.

Through their own camera, Diana offered a raised eyebrow, to which Andrew shrugged his shoulders and said, "He was in my office discussing a new educational proposal when the call started, and wouldn't take no for an answer when I asked him to leave."

The final screen in the Zoom gallery was displaying the Kagaris' hospital room, and each of them bowed their heads toward the webcam.

"It's truly an honor to meet so many of Akko-chan's dear friends," declared Rio Kagari. "As well as the teacher she's spoken of so fondly in the past. Thank you for taking such good care of our girl at school."

"Oh, well now…"said a suddenly rather flushed Ursula. "She made it easy by being a delightful student."

Now it was Akko's turn to blush. She hadn't anticipated the dangers of inviting both her mother-figures into the same discussion.

"Much as we appreciate the love-in, I think we've all got schedules to keep," droned Sucy from the back of the room. "Can we keep this moving?"

Slightly rude as it was, Akko had to admit her old roommate had a point. Any call with (she counted quickly) seventeen participants was inherently going to be pretty unwieldy. She turned to Diana, who seemed to be thinking the same thing.

"Why don't we go around and make introductions, since not everyone may yet have met," suggested the blonde witch. "Then we can get started."

The introductions went smoothly for the most part, other than Amanda's attempt to introduce themself as "I.C. Weiner" and see how long it'd take before anyone called them on it.

With that out of the way, Constanze pulled up a set of images on the screen.

"This is Masato Takeuchi. President and sole owner of Takeuchi Holdings, ostensibly a real estate firm that owns the majority of surrounding properties," Diana explained for the benefit of those not already aware. The photo was from an article in a business magazine, Takeuchi's face plastered with a smile that didn't quite reach his beady eyes. "In reality, he seems to owe the significant majority of his business successes to the use of the Somnarca, a dark artifact that lets him manipulate people's dreams."

"After our last discussion, I did some digging into their corporate history. His overall track record is impossible to explain naturally," added Andrew. "No one's business judgment is that good. But if you can magically mind-control people into agreeing with your terms…well, mergers and acquisitions become a lot simpler."

"Geez. What a creep," said Frank at his side. "But what's he gotta do with all this?"

"He's trying to pressure the Kagaris into selling their family restaurant," Jasminka was the first to answer. "But I'm still not sure why he wants it so bad that he was willing to…"

Her voice trailed off awkwardly as she stared through the camera at Akko's parents. Her father sat up straight in his hospital bed and cleared his throat.

"Yes, Akko-chan told us earlier today," he declared, bitterness adding a sharp edge to his voice. "Won't pretend it wasn't a shock to hear our 'accident' was anything but."

"Except now I'm confused," his wife went on. "Are you saying there's a reason other than the obvious that he's trying to acquire Kagari's?"

"The 'obvious,' of course, being that he's a greedy son-of-a-bitch," said Amanda. Several of the others stared at them for the coarse language, but nobody could really deny the underlying point.

"There is. And after doing a couple days' worth of research, we think we finally know what," Croix piped up. "Constanze, can you let me share my screen?"

A few keystrokes later, and everyone was staring at a digital map of the surrounding area.

"The whole idea of it kept bothering me. If he has an item as powerful as the Somnarca, why bother with real estate at all? It would easily facilitate success in any field he chose, from politics to sports betting," Ursula mused, stroking at her chin with her thumb and forefinger. "That's when I came across a certain passage in one of the tomes I borrowed from Professor Holbrooke. It is, quite literally, about location."

"Notice anything?" asked Croix, grabbing the map with her cursor and adjusting it. "How about now?"

Another click caused everything but Kagemori Shopping District to disappear. The next adjusted the angle, so they were viewing it from directly overhead.

Diana, Lotte, and Constanze all immediately gasped – the latter albeit silently.

"It's a perfect Ring of Ouroboros," whispered the Cavendish heiress breathlessly. "I can't believe I never noticed before…."

Seeing the blank looks on all the non-magical faces – not to mention Akko's – their resident expert in artifact magic attempted to explain.

"It's a type of magical circle. Way bigger than any we dealt with at Luna Nova," said Lotte, her lip trembling. "It disrupts the natural leylines of the Earth, completely shutting down any other magic within its borders. But that's not all. With enough fuel, it can channel and amplify…well, any spell."

"Enough fuel?" repeated Hannah, staring at her girlfriend. "You mean, like…"

Barbara already had the article they'd discussed the previous night pulled up on her phone. The one about the stolen magatama.

"Like a Sorcerer's Stone?" she finished for her.

At this point, the jaws of every remaining witch dropped – Akko's included. She could hardly ever be called quick on the uptake, but even she could connect these dots.

"Professor," she asked of the former Shiny Chariot. "If this is really all true, then…"

She heard her throat let out an audible gulp.

"Then what happens if he uses this circle-thing to amplify the Somnarca?"

[-]

Both the physical and virtual rooms were abuzz with discussion at this latest revelation, and Diana couldn't exactly blame them.

Still, she shut out the voices for a few minutes, needing to process the information herself.

The Ring of Ouroboros – a concentric circle, with one building resembling a dragon's head completely enveloping another in the rough shape of a tail – was too perfect to be a coincidence. Kagemori Shopping District had to have been designed by witches, specifically to harness power. And Takeuchi, as both a real estate developer and the son of a famous witch, would've been in a prime position to know about it.

By combining the Somnarca and the Yasakani no Magatama, it could serve as a conduit for a spell powerful enough to ensnare all of Japan. Even if his estimates were accurate, and roughly ten to fifteen percent of the population were naturally immune to the vessel's magic, that was still more than enough to make him untouchable.

Forget being a wealthy businessman. If this plan succeeded, Masato Takeuchi would become a god.

It explained everything. Rings of Ouroboros were incredibly rare, and supported by spirits bound into the deep earth. To use one, a contract with the spirit was required.

And as everyone in Lotte's profession knew quite well, mystical spirits were absolute sticklers for the rules.

So unless Takeuchi was the legal owner on paper, Kagari's represented a gaping hole in the magical circuit he'd built. Meaning the only thing standing in the way of his complete dominion over Japan…

Was two middle-class restauranteurs, and their stubborn witch of a daughter.

The witch in question, unfortunately, looked like she was about to lose her lunch. As the only person in the room who'd experienced the evils of the Somnarca firsthand, she was no doubt deeply disturbed by the idea of millions falling under its spell.

Not everyone seemed quite so concerned, however. Amanda tossed their hair back in a blasé fashion, kicking one leg onto the nearest table.

"Well this is pretty simple, ain't it?" they said. "He needs this place for his big dastardly plan, and Akko ain't sellin'. Only shot he had was with the element of surprise, and he blew big chunks on that one."

"Perhaps. But that failure's going to make him desperate, and desperate people are capable of anything," Croix pointed out. "Trust me, I know."

A dark shadow briefly flitting over the engineer's face, before it was dispelled by a quick squeeze from her wife.

"And as that attempt demonstrated, Takeuchi doesn't require actual consent for his plan to succeed. As long as he winds up with the land in the end, he can gain it by trickery, subterfuge, even outright theft," Ursula continued the explanation. "No doubt he still has a few more tricks up his sleeves."

"Do you know anything about the spirit that lives in your district?" asked Lotte. "Every magical contract is different. I'm worried he might be able to find a loophole."

"Up until an hour ago, we didn't even know there was a spirit to search for," said Diana, crossing her arms and frowning thoughtfully. "But it seems that will be the first thing we shall need to ask from you once you arrive in Japan."

"Ouroboros spirits can be…scary. My mentor dealt with one in Pakistan once, and to be honest it sort of scarred him for life," Lotte responded, a shiver running up her slender frame. "But I'll try my best. You girls can count on me."

"If anyone can pull it off, it's you, Lotte," Akko told the orange-haired girl, causing her to flush.

But Sucy tapped her fingers on her table impatiently.

"Not sure we'll have that long to wait," she said. "If he's gone through the trouble of stealing a priceless national treasure, then he's gotta be close to his endgame. We need a way to take the fight to him."

She pulled out her purple vial again, before adding, "And since it seems I still don't have any takers on my solution…"

"Don't ask," Barbara whispered to Kenichi, who seemed about to.

"Have we had any luck determining where Takeuchi might be hiding?" asked Diana. "I surmise it won't be as simple as paying a visit to his office."

"You surmise correctly. All records I've reviewed to date indicate he spends very little time at Takeuchi Holdings corporate headquarters. And he has no private residence registered in his name, either," said Andrew, shuffling a few papers around his desk. "Be that as it may, I did have success with one other lead."

This time, he was the one who took over the screen-share. Displayed for all to see was a photo of a nondescript office building.

"Takeuchi Holdings sublets several suites in this building through a shell company. Ostensibly just for off-site record storage, but there seems to be far more activity in and out than one would expect if that was the case," he went on, pressing a button to blow up a portion of the photo. Indeed, right there in the corner, they could see what was unmistakably one of Takeuchi's well-muscled goons. "My theory is that this is Takeuchi's real 'home base,' if you will. A place for him to plot the less-than-legal portions of his schemes."

"Meaning that's probably where he's keeping the magatama. And the Somnarca," spoke Jasminka with a frown.

"That's our Andrew!" Frank exclaimed approvingly. "Really went full-time detective on this one."

The bureaucrat raised an eyebrow toward his friend, but did not dispute the assertion.

"An artifact like the Somnarca would radiate an enormous amount of mana. It was how I was able to ward this place to alert me if he tries approaching again," said Diana. "Getting within half a mile of that office building should tell me for certain if he's storing it there."

"Which brings us back to that whole 'nullification spell' plan," Amanda replied, now casually tossing their wand from one hand to the other. "If we know where he is, I say we all just go there and rush him. Take the box and sort out the rest later."

"But didn't Diana say she doesn't have enough juice for that spell?" asked Akko. "And if she doesn't, then I kinda doubt any of us have any hope of…"

She was cut off, however, by a small but powerful hand pulling forcefully on her skirt.

[Forget about us already?]

Constanze directed her Stan-bots to retrieve the locked suitcase she'd brought along with her. Her face serious and determined, she began undoing each of the three locks.

Croix's own face broke into a wide grin. "Oh, I've been looking forward to this…" she said.

The contents of the mysterious case turned out to be remarkably mundane. A pair of high-tech gloves, resembling StanCorp's other magitronics product lines in form and color scheme.

[Introducing…drrrrrrrumroll please…!]

Each of the Stanbots had their own little quirks, and Diana was quickly discovering this one was her least favorite.

[The latest in mana-sharing technology…]

It stood atop the suitcase and struck a dramatic pose, one which its mistress perfectly mirrored.

[The Harmony Gauntlet 1.0!]

[-]

Constanze was now pacing back and forth along the front of the restaurant, trying to sign in a way that kept her hands visible to both the in-person audience and the webcam. Thankfully, another of the Stan-bots provided a running English translation.

[Now that Yggdrasil is back and more people are casting magic than ever, StanCorp's number-one goal is increasing the amount of magic each person can use. We've got dozens of projects running at once.]

[The Harmony Gauntlet came out of one such project. It lets the wearer of one glove share their magic with the other, allowing them to cast far more powerful spells than they ever could alone!]

Akko felt the breath catch in her throat, and she turned to one of the virtual screens.

"Uh…no offense, sensei…" she said in a small voice. "But doesn't that sound a lot like…?"

"It's very different from Dream Fuel Spirit. Though I'll grant they have some similarities in concept," Croix cut in, though her tone and expression were both sympathetic. "Most importantly, this sharing isn't permanent. The mana lent from one party to the other should refill within a matter of hours."

[Plus, it's completely voluntary. The sender needs to put on the glove and say a specific spell to activate it. No trickery afoot here!]

Amanda tried on one of the gauntlets, flexing their fingers experimentally.

"I love the Power Glove. It's so bad," they intoned in an overly serious voice, before quickly breaking down into snickers. "Sorry, always wanted to say that."

"I believe I understand the point to which you are alluding," said Diana, ignoring the American witch completely. "Using these devices, I shall 'borrow' enough magical power from a compatriot to cast the Inanitas Summa spell."

[Or several of them. The "sending" glove is designed so it can be passed along from one person to the next, if two isn't enough.]

"In other words, you're talking about making a magical daisy-chain," stated Ursula shrewdly, before turning to her wife. "No wonder you wouldn't share this project with me. You knew I wouldn't approve."

"Hey, I'm under an NDA. One which means this conversation definitely never happened, and Constanze is going to scrub away any evidence to the contrary," replied Croix, offering a truly atrocious attempt at a whistle of innocence. "Oh, I do love end-to-end encryption."

Akko had never seen Conz give a more serious thumbs-up.

"I'll be honest. I haven't understood, like…ninety percent of what you've all been saying tonight," said Kenichi, running a hand through his spiky blue hair. "But I just heard the words 'daisy-chain' and all my old firefighter instincts started going off. This thing gonna be safe?"

Constanze and Croix exchanged a long, lingering glance through the webcam. Then the German woman began signing again.

[I won't lie. It's still in the testing phases. Definitely not ready to go to market yet.]

[But I believe in my magitronics. I believe in my friends. And I believe in the me that they believe in.]

"Couldn't resist throwing in one of those, huh?" asked Akko, cracking a wry smile and a wink.

Conz paused in her signing for a moment, as if thinking something over. Then…

[No, this one added that part on his own. That's what I get for looping mecha shows in the background while I program them.]

"We've also been pretty lost, to be perfectly honest," said Rio Kagari. "But Akko-chan, I don't want you doing anything dangerous. Aren't there some kind of…magic police you can turn this information over to? Instead of going after him yourself?"

"I wish that were the case. But no uniform authority exists to prevent or prosecute magical crimes. Historically, the volume has simply been too small," Diana explained to her. "And those that do are generally ill-equipped to deal with the unique threat that Takeuchi presents: a non-witch with acute magical knowledge."

"Yeah, did you ever find out how that ugly dick knows so much about magic?" Barbara piped up. "Or did that come up before and I missed it?"

Diana let out a brief sigh. "In all honesty, I've told the story so many times at this point that it's difficult to keep track of how much everyone knows," she said. "But yes, he told me all about his so-called 'tragic backstory.' He was the son of the White Lotus Witch, and…"

Her voice was cut short by the crash of a glass falling out of someone's hand. Everyone turned toward the screen, where Ursula Callistis looked like she'd seen a ghost.

(Or probably something more severe, since seeing ghosts was a near-daily occurrence at Luna Nova.)

"M…My apologies…" she stammered, as Croix busied herself with her wand and a dustpan to clean up the remains of her wife's wine glass. "But you just said…I mean, you could've mentioned before…the White Lotus Witch?!"

Akko couldn't fathom what her old teacher was panicking about. "Uuuuuh…sure?" she said. "I mean, I think I've heard that name before, maybe, but what does it…"

But the woman who'd been born Chariot du Nord was now pacing around her couch, biting nervously at her thumbnail.

"Could he really…no, I would know…but then, if he is…" she mumbled to herself, before taking a deep breath and pressing her face directly up against the webcam, her expression grave.

"Akko, Diana, everyone. If this is true, then it changes everything," Ursula declared, with such force and sternness in her voice that even Croix looked disturbed. "You all need to get out of there, and go somewhere he doesn't know about. If the son of Shira Hasuno is really after you, then nowhere in Japan is safe right now."

"Wait a minute," said Rio Kagari, before anyone else could get a word in edgewise. "What does my aunt have to do with any of this?"

Several jaws fell to the floor, but none more than Akko's. If she'd just heard what she thought she did, then…

She and Takeuchi were related?!

But before any of them could properly adjust to this latest revelation, Diana told her former astrology teacher, "Regardless of any other…factors, my alarm systems should ensure that we have ample warning if he tries to attack again. I assure you, we are safe here. At least for now."

"Might want to get a second opinion on that, sweetheart."

Akko's blood, which was already running cold as ice from her mother's words, essentially turned solid. Slowly, she pivoted on her heel toward the front door.

Where Masato Takeuchi and about three dozen of his burliest henchmen were streaming in, guns raised and ready to fire.

[-]

"I'm pleased as punch you rolled out this great welcome for me," said Takeuchi, grinning broadly. "So many smiling faces! And a few frowns, but we won't hold that against them."

Constanze had been hastily shutting down the Zoom call and all her equipment the moment the criminals arrived, but before she could reach the case with the Harmony Gauntlets, one of the goons seized it in his beefy arms.

"Oh, and you even brought me a gift! Apologies for my rudeness, not having anything in return," he added swiftly. "Oh, I can think of a lot of fun things I can do with these babies…"

His words were cut short by the protesting shouts of half a dozen Stan-bots, who rushed him to try and get their mistress' creation back. Takeuchi arched an eyebrow at the curious sight of the tiny, chattering automatons.

Then he aimed a sharp kick at their numbers, sending several flying into the opposite wall and splintering into scrap metal.

Constanze's tear-soaked scream was entirely soundless.

"Restrain the rest," he ordered coldly.

Several of them raised wands or fists as the henchmen advanced, but against so many guns, no one was willing to take the risk of fighting back. Amanda, at least, seemed ready to throw caution to the winds, staring daggers at the nearest assailant, but Hannah and Barbara forcibly held them back.

Meanwhile, Diana's thoughts were racing. How could Takeuchi have gotten past her defenses? The only possible explanation was…

"Sabotage," she said, just as one of the goons seized both of her arms, forcing her to drop her wand. "How did you do it?"

Takeuchi crossed his arms and stared off to the side, as if he really couldn't care less about this particular question.

"Come now, you're a smart girl. We established that the other night," was his tossed-off reply. "You can figure this out. Same way I got through a supposedly locked door. Same way I knew you'd all be meeting here tonight."

Diana's heart thumped rapidly in her chest. He couldn't mean…but no, that really was the only thing that made sense.

"You have an inside source," she murmured, absolutely horrified. "A mole."

Her eyes darted around the room, at all her friends and allies being captured by Takeuchi's men. She hated herself for it, but they went for Kenichi and Taichi first.

She knew them the least, after all. They had no magic to defend themselves from the Somnarca. And Taichi in particular had been oddly quiet all night.

But…no, that didn't fit. Neither of them had been involved in setting up the electronic alarm. And they wouldn't have had the first clue how to subvert the magical one.

Which left only…

She felt the cold iron of a magic wand press up against the back of her head.

"I'm sorry, Diana," said a chillingly familiar voice. "I'm so, so sorry."

Diana felt like it took an eternity for her head to turn around. Only to meet the gaze of Jasminka Antonenko, a distant, dreamlike look in her muddy brown eyes.

Her voice tinged with sadness, the Russian witch spoke one more word: "Murowa."

And then everything went dark.