Back To Back (ch6)

Early release! A reward for Antiqua! They asked to see something set early on in the anime when Akko and Diana were still at odds.

Disclaimer: I do not own Little Witch Academia.

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															Chapter 6.

When Diana had enrolled herself at Luna Nova – the secret school of her dreams – she had expected somewhat of a docile semester.

What she hadn't expected was to have her peaceful campus disrupted daily by a certain new Japanese student.

Akko – Atsuko Kagari – seemed to be in just about all of Diana's classes, and she seemed to invite chaos in every single one of them, whether it was causing minor explosions, unleashing a hoard of nesting insects from inside a plant bud, or otherwise simply casting the incorrect spell at the incorrect time.

Every day Akko seemed to do something else wrong, and every day her blunders seemed worse than they'd been yesterday. Instead of using a spell to fill a glass with water, she'd flooded the entire classroom. Instead of flavoring an apple to make it sweet, she'd made it salty. Instead of transforming a mouse into a rabbit, she'd given herself a pair of tall furry ears. There seemed to be no end to her magical incompetence.

And of course she was constantly getting reprimanded and punished for it.

That girl had single-handedly impeded on Diana's studies without fully intending to, and thus she had forced her way into Diana's life.

And Diana doesn't quite know how she feels about it all. She certainly doesn't want to let Akko distract her from her studies anymore than she already has.

But ever since Akko had shown the entire school that Chariot's Shiny Rod had come into her possession, Diana had been more than a little inclined to keep an eye on her.

Presently, Diana and her teammates are on their way out into the courtyard to enjoy a free period for self-study. A near-daily occurrence is they will check out the books they need from the library and then carry them outside to enjoy them at one of the tables set up beside Luna Nova's impressive gardens.

And along the way they always pass by a certain someone.

As always, today Akko is pitifully trying out some of her failed spells. She's standing next to a stump in the grass which has an empty glass sitting at the center. Akko is mumbling to herself under her breath, wand in-hand.

Diana pauses to observe, a book tucked under her arm. Hannah and Barbara take their chance to start throwing out comments.

"Hey, look! Akko's at it again."

"Why doesn't she just give up? She's no good at any spell."

"Seriously! She should just go on home back to China, or wherever it is she's from."

"She obviously has no magical powers."

Diana is quiet for the moment, watching the brown-haired girl's shoulders stiffen as every comment reaches her ears. Akko whirls around to glare at the three of them and stick out her tongue before turning back to the empty glass on the stump. She draws in a deep breath, then raises her wand.

"Sennori Acquaria!"

Water appears at the bottom of the glass and rapidly begins to fill it. In only seconds it's already overflowing and then spurting out like a fountain. The flow gushes up and out, pouring down on Akko and drenching her instantly as she wails and flounders to try and cancel the spell.

Hannah and Barbara nearly break down with laughter, holding onto one another for support as they howl.

"You've gotta be kidding me!"

"I've never seen anyone so bad at magic before!"

Diana heaves a sigh and hands them her book to hold onto while she draws her own wand. She's found herself cleaning up after this girl far too frequently.

The water keeps spurting up from the glass and raining down on Akko and the area all around her until Diana cancels the spell with a single word.

"Nierro."

And with that the water gradually begins to shrink back down until it is only filling the glass perfectly to the rim. Akko, drenched and dripping, doesn't budge as Diana strides up beside her and sheaths her wand.

"You would do well to learn a little self-control."

Similar things have been happening for weeks now; Akko messing up spells, and more often than not Diana is usually around to fix things. And every time Akko would stick out her tongue and declare she doesn't need Diana's help, and things of that nature. Diana is prepared to hear the same lines again as she glances almost expectantly down at Akko.

But this time the girl's reaction is very different. Waterlogged and shivering as she is, it's still clear that the water dripping down her cheeks is coming from her eyes. Her fists are clenched at her skirt, teeth digging into her bottom lip as she turns angry eyes up at Diana.

"You're always so high-and-mighty! All you ever do is make fun of me! Why can't you just leave me alone?" Akko whips around and tries storming off, but she slips in the wet grass and ends up on the ground.

Hannah and Barbara burst into louder, more obnoxious laughter. Akko half-snorts, half-sniffles as she pushes herself up and runs off without a second glance at them.

But unlike the others, Diana isn't laughing. She's shocked that Akko hadn't been her usual stubborn playful self this time. They'd often end up bickering with one another, but this is the first time Akko has shown true anger and dejection.

Diana often comes away from her encounters with Akko feeling rather amused. But right now there is only a stifling guilt in her chest.

She glances down at the stump where the glass is still sitting, now half-empty.

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Diana does her best to focus on her readings once her team has settled down at their usual picnic table by the gardens. She'd gotten used to Hannah and Barbara's background chatter long ago, so she knows they aren't what's distracting her. Rather, her mind keeps wandering back to the earlier incident with Akko.

She just doesn't feel right considering how things had ended. It hadn't been the playful banter and exaggerated reaction from Akko, but genuine frustration and exasperation.

It still isn't sitting well in Diana's stomach, enough so that she's failing to concentrate on the pages in front of her.

Eventually it's to the point where she's re-reading the same passage without absorbing a single word of information. It's clear to her she won't get anything done until she's settled things with Akko.

So she slowly rises from the bench, gaining her teammates' attention.

"Diana?"

"What's up?"

Diana closes the book she'd been reading.

"Do not concern yourselves, girls. There is simply something I remembered I needed to attend to. I won't be long." She dips her head to them as they wave her off.

Diana sets her course for the tree stump where the grass is still a bit damp. The glass left there on the wood is now entirely empty again. Diana reaches down to pick it up and takes it with her.

She isn't exactly sure where Akko might have gone, but when she thinks about it logically, it can't have been far. Akko isn't the type of girl who would retreat inside a building when she's upset. Not only would it be more likely more people would spot her, but it would also be much more stifling to have walls all around her.

Diana keeps her senses alert. But for once, she can't see or hear any large group gathered around and shrieking at one of Akko's failed practices, nor can she smell anything burnt or excessively out of the ordinary that could indicate a botched spell.

She searches the main courtyard, but for now everyone seems to be enjoying their free time without incident or interruption from Atsuko Kagari. The campus seems a lot less lively without her antics.

Diana continues her search, confident Akko is still outside somewhere.

It's a trail of wet grass that finally leads her to her. She follows the path of droplets along a cobblestone path into one of the garden areas. Tall ferns and flowers and bushes nearly conceal a bench surrounded by pale pebbles, and in the center sits Akko, still dripping slightly with her knees pulled to her chest and her face in her skirt.

Diana walks up to her slowly, ensuring Akko can hear her approach. Sure enough Akko peeks up, but immediately hides her face again.

"Oh, great," she mutters. "Did you come here to make fun of me some more?"

Diana says nothing just yet. She simply places the empty glass on the path in front of Akko and then ventures over to sit beside her on the bench, keeping a fair amount of distance between them.

"On the contrary. I came to apologize."

For a moment Akko is still. But then she slowly raises her face once again.

"Huh...?"

Diana nods, turning her head to look out over the garden in front of them.

"It is as I've said. I came to apologize, Akko. For taunting you when you are merely trying to practice your spells and better yourself. At least you are willing to put forth the effort to try, which is more than can be said for some. You also decided to practice that water spell outside, so if things did get out of hand, you wouldn't be damaging school property inside the building."

She pauses, able to see that Akko is lifting her head little by little as she listens. Diana eventually turns to look her in the eye. "It has come to my attention that I have not been giving credit where credit is due." She draws out her wand and points it at Akko, then murmurs a spell. "Ina Hareo."

It's a warming spell that envelops Akko in a soft red glow, evaporating all of the leftover moisture from the incident earlier. Akko shudders at the pleasant sensation as the clamminess leaves her skin in seconds, leaving her feeling comfortably dry and warm. She lets her shoes drop down to the ground and perks up smiling.

"Wow! Thanks, Diana!"

"Think nothing of it. Let this be my apology." She now points her wand at the empty glass on the path before them."Sennori Acquaria."

She fill the glass to just beneath the rim with cool water, then stands to collect it before handing it to Akko.

"Do keep practicing. With your vigor and commitment you are bound to improve sooner or later." She turns away from her, almost a bit bashfully. "And... should you ever feel the need, you may come to me for advice."

But she isn't sure if Akko is listening. The girl is chugging down the glass of water loudly.

"Ahhh~! Thanks, Diana!"

Whether she's being thanked for the offer of assistance or simply for the drink, Diana isn't sure. But for now, the energetic new student is smiling again, and that's good enough for her.

"Well then. Until next time." She turns back to dip her head briefly, then heads off through the garden.

From behind herself she can hear Akko's loud voice shouting, "Sennori Acquaria!"

And as expected, another fountain of water spurts up in the middle of the garden, and Akko's yelp of surprise soon turns into a bout of laughter.

And as she walks off, even Diana smiles, just a little.

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A/N: As much as I love writing them as friends (or something more) I do enjoy writing their initial canon 'rival' relationship so long as things end well for them both!