Chapter IV

Florere

It was a rainy afternoon at Luna Nova, which meant that all the students were scattered around the academy. Some were enjoying peace and quiet in their dorms, while others took advantage of the soothing sound of rain to focus on their studies.

In the case of Akko, which may seem strange, she was in the library immersed in her notes. She glanced at them every five seconds and had even been researching more thoroughly to complement them, but ¿what was the reason for this?

Well, thanks to a certain American, she had made a somewhat impossible promise, and as always, her big mouth had made it worse.

"you'll see that they will be the best notes you've ever seen" Of course, the best notes. She was obviously going to outperform Diana, the best witch in school, and Barbara, her best friend.

"Aaaaaaaa," she sighed as she slumped over her notebook.

"Why did I have to say that?" she muttered to no one in particular as she closed her eyes.

"What did you say?" She barely heard the unfamiliar voice, and she got up abruptly from her seat, turning her head so fast she was sure it hurt.

For better or worse, the girl standing there, looking at her mess, was Avery, someone she definitely didn't get along with. "Are you okay, Akko? I think I heard something when you turned to look at me," the young witch said. Akko simply nodded to confirm her condition, as she was clearly intimidated by her visitor.

"¿And...?, ¿What was it that you shouldn't have said?" After hearing those words, Akko's nerves skyrocketed again. While trying to cover her things with her body, she replied, "N-nothing."

"Ummm, are those...? Are those notes?" It was too late, she had clearly seen them. Expecting the humiliation that would probably follow, Akko resigned herself, stopped covering the notebook, and hung her head to avoid looking her in the face.

"Who lent you those?" 'Wait, what?' She turned her head with excessive force once again in surprise and felt some muscles tense. "Ouch!" She had definitely hurt herself.

The Canadian girl, for her part, just watched her, and after Akko's bundle of nerves calmed down, she asked again, "Akko, you did something with that notebook, right? That's why you're so nervous," she finished while a smile formed on her face. "So, who was the unfortunate one?" She asked as she walked closer to take a closer look at the notes.

When she picked up the notebook and closed it, she clearly saw a name in the lower right corner in Japanese - 篝敦子 – "Is this YOUR notebook?" she looked surprised at the object. "Wait, so these notes are yours?" Now she looked directly at Akko, who could only shrink in her chair. "I really didn't expect that, especially coming from you." Now, she seemed to be congratulating her? This was truly a jumble of emotions.

After a few seconds of silence, which felt like centuries to Akko, Avery spoke again. "Hey, Akko, c-could you maybe lend this to me sometime? I think I'm missing a few things, and asking someone else would be a bit of a bother."

'Wait, What?' She raised her head and saw the purple-eyed girl looking at her seriously, confirming that everything she had just said was neither a lie nor a joke.

It was really getting weirder and weirder. "Why are you asking me for them?" she asked, extremely confused, and the answer came quickly. "Well, this may sound crazy, but I've never seen this type of notes before. I thought you had asked them from a teacher or something like that, as they are very well done." Akko still didn't know what to say; apparently, she had done something more than decent for Hannah.

"Then, will you lend them to me?"

Snapping out of her stupor, she responded while gathering her things, "Ummm, yes, of course, anytime, but not right now. First, I need to give them to Hannah." She replied as she rushed out of the place with a newfound boost of self-esteem. "Oh, and thanks, Avery."

The Canadian girl remained standing there like a statue with empty hands as the other girl rushed out of the library.

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After running through the hallways and arriving at the blue team's dormitory, Akko was standing at the door that connected to the room. She had already knocked several times and was playing with the notebook in her hands, waiting for someone to open the door.

She heard some noise from inside for a moment, and footsteps approaching the door. Taking a step back so as not to startle the person on the other side, she waited for the doorknob to turn.

When she finally saw the privacy of the room that the door concealed, she realized who was greeting her. Her body immediately froze, and a flood of images began to pass through her mind. The girl in front of her appeared to be in the same state, as she didn't move either.

Akko was beginning to tremble, and an irrational fear was slowly taking over. Her eyes started to well up with tears, and an urge to escape was welling up from deep within her.

Once the girl was about to turn around and get lost in the sea of students, she heard a voice.

"Diana, who was it? Why haven't you moved from the door?" It was Hannah, who had just noticed.

The Japanese girl, unable to escape, saw from the corner of her eye as the girl approached. As soon as she made eye contact with her, she heard, "Akko, what are you doing here?" The English girl, passing by Diana's side, took her by the hand, removing any means of escape. "Oh, I see you came to give me your notes, right?" The little girl with crimson eyes, overwhelmed by her feelings, could only nod. "Then come in," she said as she pulled her by the arm.

When they had entered the room, Hannah showed Akko where she could sit while waiting for her to organize some things before she could copy the information. Throughout this time, Diana hadn't moved from the door; in fact, she was giving her back to both of them. It wasn't until some time later, that on an impulse, she left the room, closed the door, and didn't say anything. By that time, Hannah had finished preparing her study desk and was approaching Akko.

"Okay, you can come now, Akko," but the brunette didn't respond.

"Akko?" Feeling the other girl approaching, she turned to look at her as some tears streamed down her face. "Hey, are you okay?" She shook her head as more tears flowed.

In her sorrow, she felt arms beginning to surround her, and instinctively, she clung to them. Every time she felt a caress through her hair, she strangely began to calm down, and an attachment to the other person grew within her, as if it were a little flower blossoming in the midst of spring.