AN: Some elements of this chapter were inspired by Envenomation by The Black Mage of Phantasm.

Content warning: Description of an emotional breakdown.

Rain battered the windows of the dorm room. It was a late night hour, and three familiar witches were unwinding after a day of work shifts and university exams. Sucy and Akko were seated on the couch, the former playing a video game on the TV while the latter seemed to slowly drift off while watching. On the floor next to them, Lotte read an older volume of her beloved Night Fall series, presumably as comfort reading. Luna Academy was more accepting of modern technology and magic co-existing, which was beneficial in some ways, but one of the downsides would be demonstrated rather suddenly to the witches.

"Power's out."

As the words left Sucy's mouth, Akko seemed to snap awake, sitting upright and looking at the other two.

"What the heck? The power cut out?!"

She seemed absolutely incredulous. Lotte put down her book and lit the end of her wand to illuminate their faces once again.

"Akko, it's okay! It's probably just an issue with the fuse box or something," she said, placing her wand on the table as a temporary light source. Despite being in a place that ran on magic for three years of their lives, they all still grew up in regular households with electricity and non-magical technology, so it wasn't like they were oblivious to how that stuff worked. Lotte stood up and was about to investigate when they heard a knock at their door. She looked through the peephole and slowly opened the door to reveal a girl from the dorm next to them, Avery.

"Um, hi. Did your power also just cut out?" she queried, giving them all a look that indicated she didn't want to be there.

"Yeah…" Lotte motioned to their room, which was pitch-black. From the couch, Akko happily waved hello to their neighbour, who responded with an unenthusiastic eyebrow raise of acknowledgement.

"I can't stand this stupid technology bullshit. This would never happen if we were running on magic."

"Unless we pissed off the fairies again," Sucy chimed in from behind them. With her arms folded, Avery gave Sucy a quick glance before looking back at Lotte.

"Well, that's all I needed to know. Good night."

Before any of them could return the farewell, she had already gone back to her dorm and shut the door.

"Huh, I guess that answers that," Lotte remarked. "No need to investigate. Maybe we should just go to bed, it'll probably be fixed in the morning."

"Go to bed? I'd need to shower first, and there's no hot water!" The very thought of another cold shower after that blackout at Luna Nova gave Akko chills, despite the big blanket she was curled under.

"I kind of like the vibe. Real dangerous," Sucy said while flashing her shark teeth in a smile barely visible in Lotte's wand light. Akko glanced over and let out a startled cry, making Sucy cackle.

"Gah, Sucy!"

Lotte couldn't help but smile at their antics.

"Hmm, I guess I'm not ready for bed yet, either. But what should we do in the mean-"

"Scary stories!" Akko exclaimed before Lotte was even done.

"That works. Who wants to go first?"

Despite her enthusiasm, Akko had nothing to share, and neither did Lotte.

"Sucy?" Both witches looked at their purple-haired friend.

"Sure, sure. Why wouldn't Creepy Sucy have ghost stories to tell?" Sucy uttered, but her facial expression made it clear that she wasn't genuinely calling them out or anything, just ribbing them. She thought for a moment about something she could share. Surely, during all her time scavenging in the Arcturus Forest and encountering all manner of creatures, surely she'd have something to tell.

She hadn't realised it, but reminiscing wasn't something she did often. Akko and Lotte were watching her patiently, however, and she didn't want to disappoint them. Taking a deep breath, Sucy steadied herself and settled on something, anything.

"Well, uh… one time, I was hunting for mushrooms in Arcturus or whatever, and…"

Her friends watched her with interest.

"And I found a tree shaped like a dog. Poor sucker probably couldn't escape and got petrified."

Blank stares met her own sleepy eye.

"That's the story."

Thinking about the Arcturus Forest in particular was exceptionally difficult, but she didn't really have anything else befitting the occasion. Sucy forced a smirk and looked out the window.

"Sucy, that story sucked," Akko complained. Sucy searched rapidly in her mind for a fitting excuse.

"What can I say? You guys were there for the cooler stuff."

Akko and Lotte exchanged glances before agreeing that this was probably true. Subtly, Sucy breathed a sigh of relief as the focus was successfully shifted off of her.

"Lotte, you probably had some beasts hiding in the Finnish wilderness, right?" Akko asked. Lotte just shook her head.

"No, it was honestly pretty tame out there. Just us townsfolk, the nomads, and Mr. Yeti."

"What about that Greenman Disease?" Sucy asked. She had fished out a glowing mushroom from somewhere inside the couch and was examining it.

"Oh geez, please don't bring that up…" Lotte looked genuinely distressed by the memories from that trip, so Sucy didn't push the topic any further. However, it seemed Akko didn't quite get the message.

"Huh? The trip was fun, though! Sure, the pies were gross, and I almost froze to death, but we're still here, aren't we? And your family is lovely!"

Lotte still wasn't entirely convinced, but she appreciated the sentiment. Sucy developed an all too familiar craving for those tasty hapansilakka pies.

"I really do enjoy seeing other countries," Akko added. "Visiting Finland and living here in the UK has really shown me how many interesting people exist! Maybe the three of us should travel more often!"

"I wouldn't mind going to Japan," Sucy said, still observing the mushroom.

"Really?"

"Yeah, I wanna see those giant murder hornets. I need more mushrooms from around the world, as well."

"There are probably so many unique spirits resting in the most unlikely spots!" Lotte remarked. Akko was pleased to see that her friends approved of her travel idea.

"But I already know what Japan looks like! We should go somewhere else, like, uh…" She looked to her friends for help.

"France?" Lotte suggested. "It looks so romantic… plus isn't that Chariot's home country?" She gazed up at the huge, mural-styled Shiny Chariot poster hanging above the TV. Akko still really admired Chariot, even though she seemed a lot more tangible now that she and Akko were pretty much friends and coworkers.

"France is cool, but don't they eat, like, frogs and snails and stuff?"

"It's probably a little more varied than that, Akko…"

Sucy seemed to be into the idea, though. All this talk about frogs and snails and hapansilakka was getting her hungry, so she got up to get a snack.

"How about Australia?" she proposed from the kitchen. "I hear there are plenty of poisonous animals living there." Seeing Akko's frowning face, Sucy quickly added, "And, uh, cool birds or whatever." This did make Akko look a little more interested.

"Nah…" she ultimately decided. "It's probably too similar to Britain. I bet the people are really rude, too, like they are here…."

"Your girlfriend is British!" Lotte observed pointedly. "That isn't very nice."

"Yeah, but you know how much time it took to get her there?" Akko said this with love, but it was true that Diana wasn't the nicest to her when they first met.

"I still don't know how you two made that work. You seemed so different," Sucy remarked, now wielding a sandwich with mushrooms in it. She offered some to the others, but they declined, Lotte more politely than Akko.

"It just goes to show how people can be more alike than we think!" Lotte seemed to be fantasizing about her own perfect romance, which didn't exist just yet. Sucy just glared at them, looking a little bored.

"You aren't really one for relationships, are you, Sucy?"

"I don't think anything will bring me more joy than tormenting Akko."

Akko opened her mouth to reply, but Sucy stuffed a piece of her mushroom sandwich in her mouth, instead.

"Ack! This is… um, pretty good, actually. Is this shiitake?"

Sucy grinned slyly and took another bite. Lotte cocked her head at her.

"Really? You've never looked at anybody and imagined a future with them? Even just admired a perfect jawline and glimmer in their eyes?" She closed her eyes, seemingly fantasizing about someone the other two had no idea about. Sucy didn't look as amused.

"Nope. Besides, you know how I feel about being touched."

They couldn't argue with that. Even though several years had passed since their initial escapades at Luna Nova, Sucy was still quite steadfast in her dislike for others touching her. The only exceptions were hugs and other embraces from Akko, as long as there was enough warning.

Some time passed where no words were exchanged. Akko was still curled up under that big blanket, while Sucy sat with her back hunched forward, staring at the ground. Lotte sat on the floor, leaning back on the lower part of the couch. All three were seemingly lost in their own thoughts, not wanting to go to sleep just yet, but just enjoying each other's company. The deafening silence was only broken by the rhythmic ticking of a magic-powered clock, telling the time to an audience that wasn't currently interested. Nobody was sure if the silence was meant to be broken, but it was Akko who eventually did.

"Y'know, you guys really are the best friends a witch could ask for." She looked at them with a gaze of pure admiration.

"Aww, Akko! Right back at you!" Lotte wasn't expecting the remark, but really appreciated it.

"Don't make me throw up," Sucy said, rolling her eyes. Late nights always brought out the mushiest in Akko, even though she was always vocal about her thoughts.

"Do you guys ever think about the day we met?" Akko asked.

Sucy froze.

"Um, sometimes!" Lotte responded, looking at the ceiling. "Like when we accidentally ended up in the Arcturus Forest and Sucy used us as bait for the cockatrice?"

"They're some of my most treasured memories!"

Sucy hadn't moved a muscle. Here was the subject she dreaded most. Noticing her silence, Akko looked over.

"Don't feel bad, Sucy! We don't hold it against you. It was kinda fun, wasn't it, Lotte?"

Lotte's big, bespectacled eyes almost showed a pit of fear, but a blink returned them to their normal selves.

"It was fun! Totally! I doubt any other friend group has such an interesting origin story."

Akko beamed at her two friends. Sucy, however, was not nearly as enthusiastic.

"Aw, Sucy!" Akko exclaimed, but Sucy was unwavering. The Arcturus Forest incident wasn't something they ever really talked about in-depth since it happened, and while everyone had seemed to move on, a lot was left unsaid. After a moment's silence, Sucy finally turned her head to look at her friends, the dark circle around her eye seemingly even darker.

"That was such a shitty thing to do. Why do you guys still hang out with me?"

Akko and Lotte looked taken aback.

"Hey, it's really not an issue! The fact that you're here right now means we've forgiven you!" Akko said first, giving Sucy a warm smile.

"Yeah!" Lotte nodded enthusiastically. "It was a little scary, sure, but you've done so much since then to make up for it!"

"I'm so… I'm…" A particular word stopped Sucy in her tracks. Every time she tried to force it out, it got caught in her throat. She had never actually apologised for the incident, preferring to instead shove it aside and assume that her friends had forgotten about it. It was just too tough for her to confront properly.

"You two could have died that day. At my hands."

Akko and Lotte weren't really sure what was going on, so Akko reached out a hand.

"Hey…"

Sucy ignored her.

"How have I made up for it? By testing things on you? Being the direct cause of your most ruthless bullying?"

Akko thought back to a few times where the results of Sucy's experiments on her did indeed subject her to mockery, especially from Hannah and Barbara. She and Lotte looked genuinely concerned.

"I'm vile. A shitty friend. You're both too sweet for me."

Sucy's hands were tightly balled into fists in her lap, and her breathing was shaky. Akko reached out a hand again, but Sucy looked up at her with that sleepy eye of hers.

An eye filled with tears.

Before the other two could do anything, Sucy stood up and headed to the bathroom, quickly locking the door behind her.

"Sucy, wait…!" Akko and Lotte both called out, but they got no reply.

What the hell was this? Sucy Manbavaran did not cry.

But here she was, hunched over the bathroom sink, staring at herself in the mirror, tears flowing freely.

Despite her best efforts, she couldn't stem the flow. All she could do was keep her volume to a minimum so as to not alert her friends that something was wrong.

Who was she kidding? Of course something was wrong. They saw her face. Nobody just insults themselves and abruptly heads to the bathroom for fun.

Her hand, underneath an oversized hoodie sleeve, stifled her mouth as the other clutched the edge of the porcelain sink. It was a sight to behold, she thought. Someone as stoic as her, reduced to an emotional mess, releasing the tension of years of repressed memories. She just watched herself as her shoulders gently jumped with every sob.

Oxygen seemed incredibly difficult to take in right now, like her trachea was a maze that was getting the particles lost. The tightness of her chest didn't help, either.

When things seemed like they were about to reach their worst, Sucy heard the knock at the door that she was dreading.

"Sucy? Are you okay?" Akko's gentle, sympathetic voice was nothing Sucy felt like she deserved to hear right now.

There was no way Sucy could face her friends right now. She felt so vulnerable, so exposed. What kind of loser broke down like this? Somebody as disgusting and deplorable as her, maybe. Sure, Akko and Lotte cried all the time, but this was different. She was Creepy Sucy. Tough, emotionless, and the one comforting presence for her friends when things got rough. She distinctly remembered consoling a distraught Lotte back when Akko had discovered the truth about Chariot and ran away. What kind of role-reversal thing was this?

"J-Just a minute…" she managed to choke out, in a voice that wasn't anywhere near as cool and collected as she was hoping to sound. Running the tap, she haphazardly splashed some cold water on her face and did her best to mask her absolute despair with her trademark unamused expression, drying her face to hide any tears that were still forming. She clutched the doorknob with a trembling hand, unlocked it, and slowly opened it to reveal Akko and Lotte's faces, again full of genuine concern. Looks that Sucy really didn't enjoy seeing on them. Lotte's face in particular looked like she was about to break down at any moment, as well.

"What brings you here?" Sucy said, forcing a sharp-toothed smirk. It felt like it took a million times more effort to do than it usually did. She leaned on the door frame nonchalantly, looking as relaxed as she could manage.

"Sucy, we're… we're so sorry," Lotte uttered, sounding absolutely miserable. "I know I s-said it was scary… I went into detail about what h-happened… I'm sorry." Sucy's casual smirk very quickly became a frown, and the thoughts started up again, seeing just how upset she'd now made Lotte.

"I'm sorry too, Sucy… I shouldn't even have brought it up," Akko said slowly. "It's in the past, and we've all moved on. I didn't… know how tough it was for you."

Sucy gazed at her friends, feeling a mixture of searing guilt and some kind of incredulity.

"Why… why are you two apologising?"

Akko and Lotte watched silently.

"I'm the one at fault. I'm the one who should be saying s… I'm s…"

That word. That damn word again. It's five letters, why couldn't she just spit them out? Nobody needs a friend that can't just say them. With her arms folded, she continued leaning on the door frame.

"You two deserve better. I appreciate you tolerating me for so long, but-"

"Sucy."

Sucy and Lotte both jumped a bit, then looked at Akko. She had said Sucy's name with more firmness than they had ever heard out of her, and she was wearing a face that meant business.

"Sucy, I want you to look at me. C'mon, eyes here."

Reluctantly, Sucy met Akko's gaze. Throwing caution to the wind, Akko placed her hands on Sucy's shoulders, and even though Sucy was taller, she was a little intimidated. Akko's eyes were wide and serious. Gazing into them, Sucy saw just how fiery they could be when Akko was determined about something. It was a look she recognised from when Akko was learning to fly a broom, when she asked Diana on their first date, when she was doing her finals, and right now, at Sucy's lowest.

"I, Akko, promise that you, Sucy, are not unpleasant or a burden."

Akko's grip was tight, but it wasn't uncomfortable. Sucy's neutral expression faltered just a bit, but she caught it quickly.

"You're one of our best friends, and you're a joy to have around. I don't think I'd have made it this far without you guys."

Off to the side, Lotte looked a little unsure of what to say. Akko and Sucy both knew that she wasn't the most confident when consoling others. However, she still wanted to try.

"Akko and I are 100% genuine when we say the events at Arcturus don't affect our view of you at all. You helped stop the magic missile, you've comforted us so many times, and you're such a skilled potion maker! We love you, Sucy!"

Akko and Lotte looked at Sucy, both of their heads tilted, and with huge, genuine smiles. It was enough to crumble the temporary cool exterior Sucy had constructed, and she burst into tears again, throwing her arms around Akko and sobbing into her shoulder.

"I'm sorry… I'm so sorry…"

Akko gently stroked Sucy's back as Sucy let everything out. After a moment, Sucy looked over Akko's shoulder at Lotte, who looked like she was also about to cry, overwhelmed with everything that had just transpired.

"W-What are you waiting for?" Sucy asked her, sniffing and extending her arm. Lotte joined the hug without hesitation, and the three of them stood there, by the bathroom door, in a warm embrace.

None of them were sure how long their hug lasted. What they did know, though, was that they were interrupted by the sounds of a video game on the TV, and the lamp next to the couch suddenly illuminating again.

"Hey, the power's back!" Akko exclaimed. As if reading each other's minds, the three of them broke away from their hug, satisfied with it. Clearing her throat, Sucy looked at the others.

"We knew that, dummy."

The three of them exchanged smiles. It was now a very late hour, and all three of them were physically and emotionally exhausted, especially Sucy. By the time Akko had finished her shower, Sucy was collapsed on the couch, having fallen fast asleep just after turning off the TV again. Akko covered Sucy in that big blanket, then she and Lotte went to bed, satisfied that this cloud over all of their heads had finally dispersed.