Through The Blaze (ch4)

EALRY RELEASE FOR MY $10+ PATRONS! THANK YOU~!

Why did Diana cancel? Akko will soon find out...

Disclaimer: I do not own Little Witch Academia.

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														Chapter 4. Fall

When she wakes the next morning, Akko isn't sure if she wants to stay in bed all day or force herself to get up. Diana's cancelation of their session last night had really dampened her mood.

But she knows better. She knows Diana wouldn't cancel without very good reason.

/I gotta find out what happened.../

So Akko pushes herself up out of bed, rolls over the edge, pulls on her clothes, and gets ready for the day.

Lotte and Sucy wake soon afterward and are ready to go with her before long, but they can sense Akko is in a surprisingly unreadable mood. She leads them to the cafeteria with uncharacteristic silence and doesn't even run straight for the line as soon as they get there. Instead she looks around, scanning the room. Once again, Diana and her team are nowhere to be seen.

"What the heck is going on...?"

"We're wondering the same thing," Sucy grunts.

"Yeah," Lotte says. "Akko, you can talk to us. What's wrong?"

Akko turns back to her friends and sighs.

"I'm just... a little worried about Diana..."

"Thought so," Sucy nods. "You've been thinking about her an awful lot lately."

"Now that you mention it," Lotte murmurs. "I haven't seen her around a lot recently."

"Right?" Akko wails. "She canceled our study session last night, she hasn't been participating a lot in classes, and last week during our session she-" Akko stops herself and lowers her voice. "She got really dizzy all of a sudden. I've never seen her like that before."

"Dizzy?" Lotte tilts her head. "Could she be sick?"

"Maybe she's been swamped with work and patrols," Sucy shrugs. "Happens all the time."

"Maybe... But either way I wanna talk to her."

But before Akko can decide what to do next, the warning bell to signify breakfast will only be served for ten more minutes rings. Lotte puts a hand on her friend's shoulder.

"Let's eat first and get ourselves some energy. We can look for Diana today and see if we can find anything out."

Akko lets out a sigh of relief. She's glad she opened up to them about it. It's nice to have them on her side.

"Thanks, guys."

The three witches walk side by side into the cafeteria to have their breakfast, all the while keeping their eyes open for any signs of Diana. But not she nor her teammates ever come in.

Akko has her team hurry to their homeroom in hopes Diana might be there. But she isn't.

Nor is she in second period, or in third, or at lunch.

By then Akko is going crazy from concern.

"This isn't right..." She growls, folding her arms on the lunch table and hiding her face. "Something's not right. I gotta find her."

But just as she stands up, Lotte is pulling her back down.

"Akko, they day's almost over. Let's just finish classes and then we can look for her. You don't have any extra lessons today, right?"

"...No."

"Then that's perfect."

"I guess..."

Akko mulls through the rest of the lunch block, only nibbling half-heartedly at her food. Diana is nowhere to be seen in their astrology class afterward either.

But it's right when Akko has plopped herself down in Professor Finneran's class that a collective gasp rises through the crowds. She lifts her head and almost can't believe it when she spots Diana walking in, flanked as usual by Hannah and Barbara. Everyone is shocked and delighted to see her, but none more so than Akko.

"Diana!" she cries, standing. But the chatter is too loud and she's too far away to be heard.

She can't really see her face from here, and Diana doesn't seem to want to let her either. She goes directly to professor Finneran to speak with her, and Akko can see Hannah and Barbara gabbing as well.

Akko can't determine the nature of what they're talking about, because all she can see is Professor Finneran's stern expression all the way through. In the end the older witch gives a single nod, and Diana's trio turns to take their seats.

Akko all but falls back down into her seat with a sigh.

"She's here..."

"That's great!" Lotte chimes.

"Least she's not dead."

"Sucy! Don't even joke like that!"

Akko hardly hears them. She's trying her best to glimpse Diana where she'd sat on the far side of the room, but she can't see her at all.

"Ahem." Professor Finneran grunts to get the class' attention. "Quiet down ladies. We will now begin."

Akko isn't quite sure how to feel as the lecture commences. She's more confused than anything. She can't think of any reason why Diana would be gone for so long and come back at the second-to-last period of the day. She's antsy for the end of the day with how badly she wants to talk to her.

Finneran's class drags on, and Akko has reverted back to her unfocused self, scribbling instead of taking notes, and floundering when called upon.

Diana doesn't participate once. In fact, she does something Akko has never seen her do before. She excuses herself halfway through the class and quietly vanishes out the door.

/What the heck is going on with her? She's definitely hiding something.../

Diana doesn't come back until the final bell is just about to ring. Once again, Akko is thwarted in seeing or getting to her because of the crowds between them. Finneran shouts about the evening's assignments, but Akko doesn't listen. She needs to speak to Diana.

Their final class today is flying instruction. At least they don't have assigned seats outside at the training course.

"Come on you guys!" Akko waves her friends eagerly out of the classroom and into the hallway, then darts off toward the changing rooms.

"A-Akko, calm down!" Lotte yelps. "What's the matter? Diana's fine, isn't she?"

"Getting worked up as always."

Akko doesn't reply. She simply changes out of her lecture uniform and into her flying robes within seconds, pulls on her hat, grabs her broom from her locker and is outside on the field within minutes. Instructor Nelson is both surprised and happy to see her.

"Miss Kagari! This is the earliest I've seen you ready to go! I hear you've been practicing with Miss O'Neill recently. I can't wait to see what you have in store for me today!"

"Y-Yeah. I'll do my best." Akko steps back into the slowly-forming crowd, but there's no sign of Diana. Lotte, Sucy, and even Amanda and her team all come out before Diana does. She lines up several yards away from Akko, but with all the wide hats and broom bristles Akko can hardly see her.

Instructor Nelson claps loudly to get everyone's attention.

"All right, listen up, folks! Today I'm giving you a bit of free range. Advanced fliers can use the course I've set up at the treetops." She points upward, and all eyes follow her to the sky. An obstacle course consisting of hoops, flags, and markers have been enchanted and set up, floating in wait. "The rest of you," she continues. "May safely-" she glares specifically at Amanda. "-practice a range of acrobatics with partners or in groups. I will be around to help out and see how everyone is progressing. Got it?"

"Yes, ma'am!"

"All right, then let's get to it!"

There's a unanimous cry of "Tia Freyre!" and most of the witches take off right away. Akko watches helplessly as Diana shoots up to the obstacle course with a fraction of the others, high out of Akko's range. She sighs.

"What's with you?" Amanda heavily slings her arm across Akko's shoulders, and she nearly falls over.

"Amanda!"

"Swooning in heat, are we?"

"That's not it!" Akko scrambles away. "Just teach me how to do a loop until class is over."

"You got it!"

Lotte and Sucy take off and stay together nearby, and Constanze and Jasna aren't far away. Amanda stays with Akko, mounting her broom and speaking loudly.

"Tia Freyre!" She takes off rather quickly, whooping and hollering all the while.

"O'Neill!" Nelson yells from high above. "Slow it down!"

"Yeah, yeah." Amanda arcs back to hover above where Akko is still standing on the ground. "C'mon, Akko!"

Akko squints, trying to spot Diana at the advanced fliers' course, but to no avail. So she mounts her broom, gripping the handle with fierce confidence she's built up over the weeks.

"Tia Freyre!"

There's still a part of her that expects no results. But ever since she'd worked together with all of her friends to destroy that missile and spread magic freely across the world again, she's been able to lift off every time.

Now she feels her boots rising off from the grass at a slow, controlled speed. Amanda is nodding her approval nearby.

"Nice. You've really got it down-pat now, don't ya?"

"Don't jinx me." Akko rises a bit higher, until she's level with Amanda.

"All right! Let's start with some warm-up laps! Ready? Go!" Amanda shoots off in an instant.

"Wh- Amandaaaa!" Akko takes off after her. "Cheater!"

"I didn't cheat! I said go, and then I went!" She soars around the other witches, staying a good distance away from them as not to disturb.

Akko doesn't struggle nearly as much to keep up. Her extra lessons have really started to pay off. She's almost on Amanda's tail the entire time, except for when her friend suddenly does a flip. Akko pauses and stays put after that.

"No fair! You know I can't flip yet!"

Amanda slows her speed and drifts back to her, lounging on her broom now as though it were a beach chair.

"Then let's practice flips today."

"W-Wait, I change my mind-"

"No take-backs!" Amanda sits up properly on her broom and grips with both hands. "Now first thing you wanna do is lean forward, but keep your legs crossed and tight. You gotta take the back half of the broom over with you or else you'll get stuck halfway through. Wouldn't recommend it."

She demonstrates, crossing her ankles and leaning forward, pushing down the front handle of the broom as she lifts the back. "You also gotta maintain whatever height you're flying at, or else leaning forward will make you drop." She flips as slowly as she can and ends upright again. "Ta-da! Piece of cake!"

"Easy for you to say," Akko grumbles.

"C'mon, give it a try! No one's really watching."

That was what Akko liked best about their private lessons - that no one else was around to judge her. But now as she glances around and above, she can tell Amanda is right and everyone is more focused on their own techniques than hers.

"Okay. Here goes nothing!"

Akko tries out a flip, but gets nervous halfway through and reels back the way she'd come.

"That's okay!" Amanda says. "It's scary the first few times watchin' the world turn upside-down. Try it again. Start with a bigger circle first, then shrink it down as you get more used to it."

Akko gulps and tries again. After a while it feels just like one of their private sessions together, with Amanda helping to guide her through the technique.

She does her best. In fact, she's so focused on practicing she almost forgets she's still in class. She's even forgotten about her concern for Diana.

Until the screaming starts.

Akko is just about to roll forward in another flip attempt when the witches from above begin to shriek and cry out.

Everything is happening so quickly.

Akko looks up, already feeling the dread hot in her throat.

Someone is falling.

Everyone is drawing their wands, scrambling to remember a spell to help. They only have a few seconds-

Akko's heart is in her throat as she recognizes the wavy white hair. She's falling right towards her.

But Akko's already leaned into her flip, already shifting her weight forward as the world turns upside-down.

She doesn't have time to think.

She lets go of her broom with one hand and grits her teeth as she reaches out, up, down – she can't tell which direction it is anymore. She just closes her eyes and grabs as soon as she feels the weight of the witch falling next to her.

Akko's fingers make tight purchase on Diana's wrist, but the height and weight of her plummet drags Akko down as well.

But it's just enough time.

She slows the descent just long enough for Instructor Nelson to cast a spell and create a large soft white flower on the ground below. Akko feels the terrifying rush of air and then the soft, harmless landing. Her broom gets away from her, but she doesn't let go of Diana's hand for anything.

She can hear everyone shouting and hurrying toward them, but as Akko squints her eyes open she only looks to one person.

Diana is unconscious next to her. Her hat had been lost in the fall, which now allows Akko to see the alarming condition of her face. Her eyes are shut tightly and her skin is beaded with sweat. Her pallor is flushed with unnatural redness, and her breathing is labored. Akko can feel a tremendous heat coming off of her just from holding onto her hand alone.

"D-Diana-?!" She sits up on the petals of the big flower and gathers Diana into her arms. But neither her voice nor her touch rouse her.

Akko can feel an even greater heat coming from Diana's body now as she holds her in her lap. She's burning up. Akko's never seen or heard of a fever this severe before in her entire life. Her heart clenches.

"Diana! Diana, can you hear me?"

Tears fill her eyes and begin to dribble over as Nelson and a crowd of students finally reach them. Akko can't make sense of any of their words. She just notices when Nelson takes Diana from her arms and her friends help her to her feet.

The smallest comfort in all of this is that they bring her to the infirmary along with Diana to have her checked over from the fall.

But once they take Diana away, an ache in Akko's head turns her vision black.

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A/N: I'm a total sucker for Diana saving Akko from falls but even more so the other way around.