Chapter VIII

Concussa

After having helped Akko, Hannah quickly went to get ready to go out with Barbara and Avery.

She walked quickly through the hallways and didn't stop for anyone who probably knew her. Once in the room, she took off her uniform and left it scattered on her bed. She would organize it later. She ran to the bathroom where she quickly took a cat's bath, then she hurriedly put on her underwear and the spare uniform. Checking several times to make sure she hadn't missed anything, she headed to the gardens that Luna Nova had for small social gatherings.

Upon arriving at the place, the first thing she did was check herself in the reflection of the glass at the entrance. After ensuring everything was in order, she passed through the door adorned with various stained glass windows and looked for her two friends. Easily spotting the distinctive hair color of Avery, she began to approach slowly.

"Hello Hannah," Barbara called out, having already seen her. At the same time, Hannah greeted Avery, "Hello Barbs, Avery." The aforementioned Avery just nodded her head as she was eating something.

As she moved closer to grab a chair and begin chatting with her friends, she realized there was someone else at the table. Perhaps due to the angle or simply the lighting of the place, she hadn't noticed that she was there.

"Diana?" Upon hearing her name, the prodigious witch set her eyes on her and greeted her, "Good afternoon, Hannah." Looking at Barbara for an explanation, she responded, understanding the unspoken question, "We ran into her on our way here, and since the three of us haven't spent time together in quite a while, I invited her, and she accepted." Understanding the explanation, Hannah settled into her seat and they continued chatting for a good while.

.

.

They enjoyed the small pastries and tea that, with the help of magic, remained fresh. Hannah, for her part, was having a good time. It had been a long time since she had shared this kind of moment with such close friends, and it was quite pleasant to experience it again. But like every good moment, there's always something poised to ruin it.

"Hey Hannah, why were you late?" Barbara asked with innocent curiosity. But upon hearing the question, a slight nervousness began to rise within her. "I already told you, Barbs, I had something to do."

"Ummm, does that 'something to do' involve Akko?" she asked, now with a teasing smile. But what Barbs didn't realize was that upon mentioning the name, Diana's expression changed completely.

"What are you talking about, Barbs? Akko has nothing to do with what I was doing," she responded, feeling a slight chill run down her spine and blue eyes cutting through her like a knife through butter. "Speaking of that, didn't Akko lend you some notes recently? It seems you two have become quite close." This time it was Avery, only adding fuel to the fire.

"BAM!" Startled by the loud noise, Hannah, Avery, and Barbara looked towards the source and found a different Diana, who with a certain venom in her eyes asked, "Hannah, I also want to know. What is your relationship with Akko?"

With nervousness up to her neck, but not setting aside her stubbornness, she replied, "W-we're just friends." This time, Barbara and Avery remained silent, only Diana continued the conversation. "Pff, forgive me for saying this, but you sure have stooped low, Hannah." Not clearly understanding the intentions, but feeling the sentiment behind them, Hannah asked, "What do you mean by that, Diana?"

"Wow, not only have you lowered yourself, but you're also picking up some things from her," Diana said. Still not understanding, but now shifting from nervousness to anger, Hannah reformulated the question, "Diana, I don't know what you're talking about. What do you mean by stooping low? What things are you referring to?" As soon as she finished, she saw the green-haired girl, setting down her tea cup, finally respond while spelling out the girl's name for emphasis, "I'm talking about A-k-k-o." From there, the brown-haired girl began to connect the dots, and unparalleled anger began to take hold of her. "About Akko?"

"Yes, who else would I be talking about? Besides, don't you think you should start distancing yourself from her? It's clear that she's a burden and a bad influence on your growth as a witch," she responded bluntly, without any filter, as if trying to open a wound. Yet, Hannah didn't waver; rather, that burning fire inside her was about to burst out. "Diana, what's your damn problem?!"

"Why the hell are you treating Akko like this?!" she exclaimed, those blue eyes that so many knew and admired were now directly pointed at Hannah. But at that moment, Hannah was certain that behind those eyes was fear, and she wasn't going to let it go. She wanted to bring it all out, no matter what.

"Did Akko do something to you?"

"Is she constantly behind you, bothering you?"

"For heaven's sake, Diana! One can't even mention her name without you turning into a complete bitch from head to toe!"

"And yes, Diana! You heard right. If you want, I'll repeat it for you."

"Han, please," came the shaky voice of Barbara trying to calm her down.

"No! Barbs, she needs to understand what she's turning into, what she already is – a bitch towards Akko."

"Y-You, YOU HAVE NO RIGHT TO SAY THAT! Y-YOU, YOU ALWAYS MOCKED HER, NO MATTER WHAT HAPPENED OR HOW SHE FELT!" It was Diana replying, yelling, now completely unhinged.

"Yes, it's true, but do you know the difference between the two of us?" the brown-haired girl replied with certainty.

"One, at least I'm trying to make amends."

"And two, I wasn't so cruel as to reject her that way... in front of the whole school."

And after finishing that sentence, she turned on her heel and, without saying goodbye to either of her two remaining friends, left the place as best she could.

Author Notes

So, here we are with Chapter 8 a very important one. I hope that you really like it. Thank you, as always, for the support, Jagged203.

Any constructive review is really appreciated.

Thank you for the kudos.

Declaimer: I don't own any characters from Little Witch Academia, I'm just doing this for fun.