Reflect (ch2)

EARLY RELEASE FOR MY HIGHER-PLEDGING PATRONS! THANK YOU!

Wow, I'm so thrilled so many people enjoyed this fic! This is one of my most, if not the most popular LWA fic I have so far (in terms of the 'chapters to reviews' ratio, at least). I'll be honest, I'd wanted to write Mirror!Diana too, so I'm glad just about everyone who read and reviewed agreed! So I whipped up this and one final chapter for afterward!

Warnings: Since the mirror persona display the opposite qualities/mindsets of the real characters, there are some violent implications/actions in this chapter.

Disclaimer: I do not own Little Witch Academia.

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															Chapter 2.

Akko scampers down the hallway behind Diana, still musing about the last mirror she'd looked into, the purple one where she'd seen Diana's image reflected back at herself.

"Come onnn, Diana~ You've gotta know what that mirror does! You're just not telling me, right?"

"Certainly not," Diana huffs over her shoulder. "As I told you, I simply do not know."

"Ehhh? Sounds fishy. I don't buy it."

"I was not asking you to."

With a sigh, Akko gives in and lets it go.

They're on their way to inform the professors about that rouge mirror. But before they enter the Headmistress's office, Diana pauses. She first looks over herself, then Akko. Both of them are still unkempt from all the cleaning they'd done earlier, and though Diana's minor injuries had been healed by the light reflected by the other mirrors, her collar is still torn.

"We cannot enter the Headmistress' office looking like this," she sighs. "Let us make ourselves decent first and foremost."

Declaring as much, Diana takes Akko's hand and pulls her into the nearest restroom. She unrolls the girl's sleeves and adjusts her uniform for her, and all the while Akko whines.

"Dianaaa, I can do it! I'm a big girl!"

"That may be so, but I can accomplish it much more quickly."

Diana reaches into her skirt pocket and draws out a cotton handkerchief. She wets it in the sink, then begins dabbing the smudges of dirt off of Akko's uniform.

Akko moans and groans until she's finished, at which point Diana turns the handkerchief upon her own messy clothes. She splashes a bit of water onto her face simply to help herself regain her bearings, and then slips her handkerchief back into her pocket.

However, the rip in her collar is something she cannot hide or mend right now. She eyes it in the mirror with disdain, somewhat miffed by the way such a minor flaw can hinder her overall appearance.

Akko peeks over her shoulder to look at her reflection.

"Diana? What's up? Oh..." A frown forms on her lips when she notices what Diana is looking at. "Sorry. I did that, right?"

But Diana's demeanor immediately softens. She turns around and presents Akko with a gentle smile.

"You most certainly did not. Think nothing of it, Akko."

Akko looks down at the floor. But Diana takes her hand once again, regaining her attention and having Akko lift her head.

"Come now. We still have a job to do."

The two of them exit the bathroom and start back toward the Headmistress' office. Diana folds the torn part of her collar and tucks it beneath her shirt before knocking on the door.

"This is Diana. May I come in?"

Their Headmistress' voice sounds from the other side.

"Certainly."

Diana is about to push her way in, but realizes she's still holding Akko's hand. She quickly lets go before entering, and Akko keeps close behind her.

Inside, the Headmistress isn't alone. Several of their professors are gathered around her desk, clearing having a small meeting. They all glance back curiously to look over the last two students they'd expected to see together.

Diana inclines her head, silently requesting permission to approach the Headmistress' desk. The professors amiably step aside for her, and Akko timidly follows. Headmistress Holbrooke leans forward over her desk, hands folded.

"Good afternoon Diana, and Miss Kagari. How can I help you?"

Diana keeps things as brief as possible.

"While cleaning the mirrors down the hall, we discovered one that requires immediate attention in terms of pacification. We have come to request a powder."

"Oh my! Is everything all right?" Holbrooke asks.

Part of Akko wants to confess what had happened, but she keeps her mouth shut and lets Diana handle it. To her surprise, Diana says nothing of the incident.

"Not at all. We simply wanted to address it promptly."

The headmistress nods.

"I see. One moment." She lifts her wand and waves it, causing the drawer of a shelf across the room to open. A small blue bottle floats out into the air and pauses in front of Diana. "That should do the trick. I trust you two can handle this on your own?"

Diana accepts the bottle with a nod.

"Of course, Headmistress."

"Very well. Take care."

"Thank you very much."

With that, Diana turns and heads back for the door. Without even having said a single word, Akko scurries after her.

She waits until they're well into the hallway and out of earshot before she tugs on Diana's sleeve.

"Hey... why didn't you tell them what happened...?"

Diana gives somewhat of a shrug.

"There was no need to inform them of an incident that has already been resolved."

She says nothing else on the matter, but Akko can tell there's more to it than that. The main reason Diana had kept quiet was because she didn't want to humiliate her.

Akko smiles to herself as she follows her back to the mirror room.

Diana pauses outside and retrieves a key from the same pocket where she keeps her handkerchief. This way, no one else could've entered in her absence. As soon as Akko and herself are back in, Diana closes the door yet again.

"Let us powder that mirror first and foremost. Then all we need to do is clean the few we have missed."

"Maybe I'll keep my eyes closed this time..." Akko mumbles.

"That is an option, yes."

Akko picks up her rag from before where its been waiting atop the mirror she'd left it on. Diana takes hers as well and makes her way to the corner of troublesome mirrors that are turned to face the wall.

Several of the mirrors nearby are lying on the floor from where Akko had tossed her into them. Diana flinches at the memory, but quickly shakes it off.

"Let us right these first."

"Okay."

Akko crouches down and begins to pick up the mirrors, making sure to keep her eyes squeezed shut and only opening one or the other to check her peripheral vision, but not the mirror itself.

Diana assists her, and together they lift the heaviest ones before splitting up to take the lighter ones individually.

Diana has just finished righting her last mirror and reaches for the blue bottle of powder.

But then, an odd sound catches her ear. It sounds like something scraping across the floor-

"Hey, Diana?"

"Yes?"

Diana turns toward where she'd heard Akko's voice coming from.

But when she turns around, it isn't Akko looking back at her.

It's her own reflection-

"Eh?!" Akko whirls around when she hears something strange. "Wh-What the heck was that? It sounds like something just talked... in my voice? B-But it wasn't me? I didn't say anything, so what- Huh?"

She finds Diana standing in front of a mirror, looking directly into it. Akko recognizes the frame of the mirror from behind. "Gyaaa! Not you again!" She runs around the side to throw herself between Diana and her reflection.

But she's too late.

"Hee... aha ha ha!"

Diana's lips crack into a wide, giddy smile. She starts giggling like a schoolgirl in love, squealing and squeaking and holding both hands to her mouth.

Akko reels back.

"D-Diana? Don't tell me-"

"Tell ya what?" Diana leers. "That I'm gonna get my revenge? You bet yer ass!"

Akko's jaw drops hearing Diana's voice so warped. Her speech is unsettlingly informal and vulgar, and that alone tells Akko that Diana is now on the receiving end of this prankster spirit's tricks. Her eyes are a shade darker blue, there's a wicked smile on her lips, and an impish cackle in her voice. Diana lifts the blue bottle in her hand up in front of her face and hums.

"Hmmm? The heck is this? Don't tell me you kids were gonna douse me with pixie dust? I don't think so." She lifts her arm, and with one swift motion smashes the bottle onto the floor.

Akko shrieks as the glass splinters and the powder inside falls limply onto the wooden planks.

"H-Hey! What do you think you're doing?" Akko blurts. "G-Give Diana her body back! Go back inside your mirror so we can just finish our job and get out of this stupid room!"

Diana looks back at her with wide eyes, her mouth open slightly.

"Eh?"

Akko gulps. She isn't about to back down.

"Y-You heard me," she says firmly. "Go back in your mirror! Right now!" She ends up shouting, her voice rising up in frustration and anger.

To her surprise, Diana takes a step back.

"E...Eh? A-Akko... W-Why are you yelling at me...?" Diana lifts her hands to her mouth and sniffles. Tears begin to drip down her cheeks.

Immediately Akko's heart sinks.

/Crap! I made her cry!/

She hurries forward to take Diana's hands gently.

"D-Diana! I-I'm so sorry! I didn't mean to-"

/W-Wait... this isn't actually Diana. She told me the spirit of that mirror manifests the qualities opposite of the looker. So now it's making her really emotional, but that isn't Diana.../

Even so, Akko feels awful for making her cry. She looks so timid, so scared. Diana takes another step back and whimpers.

"Akko... y-you're being m-mean..."

"N-No! I-"

/I mean, I know it's not really Diana, but maybe that spirit acts differently depending on who it's inhabiting?/

Akko keeps her voice soft and her expression gentle.

"S-Sorry if I was being mean. B-But could you please give my friend her body back?"

Diana tilts her head to one side and puts a finger to her chin.

"Hmm, well I guess since you asked so nicely..."

Akko blinks, dumbfounded.

"Eh? Really?"

But then Diana suddenly jumps up right in front of her, bumping her nose to Akko's, all evidence of tears gone.

"Hah! You're such a sap! Maybe I should put you back in there. See how you like it..." She looks over Akko's shoulder, back at the mirror.

Akko gulps.

"W-What do you-"

But before she can finish, Diana lifts a hand up to Akko's chest and gives a hard shove to her collar.

"U-Uwaaaah!"

Unbalanced, Akko begins to fall backward toward the mirror. She can feel the glass beckoning her, pulling her in.

/No, no, no!/

At the last second, she flashes out her hand and grabs hold of Diana's wrist to pull herself forward again. Diana growls and yanks her hand away.

"Che. Lucky catch..."

Akko gets her breath back a little as she recovers from the scare, then straightens herself up and glares at her classmate.

"All right, that's enough! Didn't you have enough 'fun' being in my body? So let Diana go!"

"Well~" Diana sings. "To be honest, I could have had a lot more fun in your body if not for this kid. So havin' some fun in hers would be nice payback, I'd say. Bet it'd be a lot more fun to have this body and go around the school breakin' shit. That sounds like a hell of a fun time to me. In fact..."

With a devilish smirk, Diana whips around, raises her foot, and kicks the nearest mirror. Akko shrieks as she watches them domino, crashing and clattering to the floor one by one, creating a deafening ruckus.

"H-Hey! We just cleaned those! And we just fixed them too!"

Diana giggles, but it soon turns to almost maniacal laughter. She turns and kicks down another mirror, and then another.

Luckily, they aren't breaking due to a spell cast on the room itself, but the noise and disarray being made are awful. Diana spins and twirls around, making as much of a mess as possible.

Yelping, Akko tries to follow after her.

"H-Hey, stop it! Someone's gonna hear- duwah!"

She trips over a fallen mirror and hits the floor, just barely managing to close her eyes at the last second so she doesn't accidentally look into any glass. She can still hear Diana's hysterical laughter behind the sounds of all the crashing.

Akko scrambles to her feet and peeks one eye open to make sure she isn't in front of any mirrors.

/That's just what I need! To get possessed again and then Diana and I will both be in huge trouble!/

But just about all of the mirrors have been knocked down by now, and there's actually less of a risk of Akko looking into the glass. So she hurries as quickly as she can towards Diana, who's getting closer to the door by now.

"H-Hey!" Akko yelps. "H-Hold on!" She steps over another mirror and hurries forward, but ends up tripping again.

Diana laughs.

"You're funny~!"

Groaning, Akko pushes herself up again and finds Diana giggling once more.

/This is so weird... one minute she's cursing and the next she's laughing like a little kid! How am I supposed to handle her...?/

Diana sticks out her tongue as Akko pushes herself to her feet. But at the very least, her stumble just now distracted Diana long enough for Akko to get close enough to grab her wrist.

"Okay! That's enough! I don't care if you cry this time, you're going back into that mirror!"

Diana frowns, and a heavy pout puffs up her cheeks.

"No!" she screams. "I don't wanna!" Wrenching her arm away, she flails her fists in the air, swinging at Akko. With a yelp, the brunette jumps back to avoid being struck as Diana goes into a sudden fit. She starts slamming her fists against the wall, kicking the mirrors harder and harder.

"H-Hey!" Akko barks. "Careful! You're gonna hurt her!"

But no sooner had the words come out of her mouth than Diana's sudden tantrum ends with odd abruptness. She turns slowly and looks back at Akko, a smirk spreading across her lips.

"Hurt her? Now there's an idea~"

Akko's heart leaps into her throat.

"Hey, w-what are you-"

But she doesn't finish.

With a laugh and a twirl, Diana suddenly hurries back across the room, jumping over all the fallen mirrors as though it's an obstacle course.

Akko has a really bad feeling in the pit of her stomach.

"Hey! W-Wait!" She stumbles her way back across the room, frantically trying to catch up with her classmate.

Diana stops near the guilty mirror itself, which is the only one in the room still standing. She pauses above the little bottle of powder she'd smashed earlier. With the tip of her shoe, she pushes the chunks of shattered glass away from the blue dust, then bends down to pick up the biggest, most jagged piece. Grinning, she tosses the glass and catches it a few times, as though it's a toy.

"Hmm, where would be a good spot? Maybe..."

Akko watches in horror as Diana presses the glass against her own wrist and begins to slide it.

"N-No! Stop!"

Akko's shaking so badly she almost falls, but she forces herself to stay on her feet for Diana's sake. She stumbles up to her and grabs Diana's hand, and the shard of glass. She winces as she feels it pierce her own palm, but she's able to pull it away from Diana's forearm.

Akko steels herself and tears the glass from Diana's hand, cutting her own in the process. She drops the bloodied shard, and a mix of their blood drips to the floor after it. Diana tries to struggle free again, but Akko doesn't let her go this time.

"How could you do that?!" she shrieks. "H-How could you-"

"Haha!" Diana laughs cruelly in her face, pushing Akko back a step. "You're an idiot! Did you really think I'd kill my own host? How dumb are you?"

Diana cackles so hard she can't even speak anymore. The room fills with the sounds of her hysterics, taking her voice to pitches it's never been to before.

Akko just stares at her in horror. Her heart's still pounding painfully from how terrified she'd just been. Her eyes are wide and unblinking, and tears are beginning to form. Her right hand is bleeding from the cut on her palm, smearing blood onto Diana's forearm before it drips to the floor. She draws in a trembling breath, and her lips wobble as she releases it.

/This... This is horrible... H-How could a spirit be so awful...?
/
This has gone on long enough. Akko refuses to let it go any farther.

/How do I make it go back? Wh-What did Diana do when it was possessing me...?/

"Hey, hey~" Diana's sing-songy voice pulls Akko back into the present. "I think there's still something I can do~"

"W... What do you mean?" Akko growls. "You've done enough. Let Diana go!"

"Awww, you're no fun after all," Diana whines. She places her free hand on Akko's shoulder and moves closer to her, looking playfully into her eyes. "Can't ya lemme have a little more fun?" She presses herself flush up against Akko's chest, looping her arm around the back of her neck.

Akko freezes, but she can't step back because of the mirrors littered all over the floor.

"D-Diana... No, you're not Diana. Let her-"

"You know-" Diana cuts her off. "You're pretty cute yourself."

"H-Haah?!"

Diana giggles again.

"Whaddaya say? How about a kiss?"

Akko's jaw drops.

"A... A wha-"

In a split second, Diana's innocent smile vanishes. Her grip on Akko's shoulder tightens and yanks her forward. At the same time, she lifts her knee, ramming it hard up against Akko's chest.

"Agh-!"

Sputtering, Akko drops to the floor, wheezing and winded from the vicious hit. Diana starts shrieking with laughter, so hard she can barely stand.

Akko feels as though she's about to be sick. Hunching over herself, she clutches her stomach as she tries to get her breath back, wincing as she lifts her head.

She sees exactly when Diana suddenly begins to stagger, and her laughter cuts off.

"H-Hey! Quit it!"

But she isn't talking to Akko this time.

Akko can't remember the majority of the time she herself had been possessed. But she remembers fragments of it from near the ending, when she'd started to fight back.

She can tell that's what's happening to Diana now. Hurting Akko had been the final straw for Diana's conscious, even when she's being suppressed by the spirit.

But she isn't strong enough to fight it on her own. Akko wasn't either.

/I have to help her... like she helped me... but how...?/

She has to think. If she doesn't figure it out now, she might not get another chance.

/Think! What did Diana say she did... She told me... I was hurting her... because that's something I'd never allow. So then.../

She has to do this now, in this small window of time when Diana's consciousness is trying to make itself present in her mind again. Akko struggles to get her voice out.

"D... Dia... na..."

Diana's grabbing her head now, growling and flinching under her breath, muttering to herself. Akko forces her voice to be louder.

"Diana! Do... Do you... h-hate me... this much...?"

"Huh-?" Diana lifts her head and looks directly at Akko, crumpled there on the floor with tears in her eyes-

"Crap... not again..."

The spirit utters the last of its curses as it's expelled from Diana's body. A grey mist floats up around her, then is sucked back into its mirror.

Diana sways on her feet, putting a hand to her head as her senses come back to her...

"What... in the world..."

The room is a complete mess. It's been all but turned upside down, mirrors laying all across the floor. This dizziness in her head and this disarray in the room...

Diana can only draw one plausible conclusion – that mirror had tricked her this time.

Her eyes are drawn instantly to the space directly in front of her, where a familiar girl is on her knees, her skirt smeared with red.

Diana's heart seizes in her chest.

"Akko?!"

The position Akko's in is worrisome enough, but the most concerning thing about this chaotic scene right now is the puddle of blood on the floor, dripping down from Akko's person. Diana's on her knees in seconds, reaching out for her, holding firmly to her shoulders, voice thick with terror.

"Akko? Are you all right?"

Frantically, Diana coaxes her classmate to look up, trying to determine where she's bleeding from. Akko's clutching her stomach, so breathless she can't even speak, tears clinging to her cheeks, her eyes glazed over from pain. Diana checks her over inch by inch, running a hand through her hair, then up and down each of her sides, trying to find the source of the wound.

"Oh, what have I done... what have I-"

Emotion wells up in her chest and spills over from her eyes.

"Akko...?"

Akko's still rasping for breath, but it's coming a little easier by the second now. Weakly, she lifts her head and is finally able to make eye contact with Diana. A thin smile forms on her lips.

"D...Diana... I'm so glad-"

"Never mind that!" Diana blurts. "Where are you injured? Where are you bleeding from, Akko?"

"H-Huh? Oh..." Akko had forgotten about the cut on her hand after the blow to her gut had jarred her. Presently, she pulls her right hand away from her side and reveals her bloodied palm.

Diana gasps at the sight of it – it's a rather deep cut.

"Is this all?" she demands. "Is this the only place you are hurt?"

"Yeah..."

Diana wipes her eyes. This is no time for tears. She needs to focus.

"Can you stand? Lean on me, Akko." She slips her arms around Akko's back. With a grunt, the brunette staggers to her feet, still wheezing slightly.

At the very least, now Diana knows the blood covering Akko's uniform and skirt are only there because her hand had passed over her clothes. The amount of blood visible had made the wound appear to be much larger than it actually is. Diana is relieved to know it was only on her hand.

"Come. I cannot treat you with magic in this room. We must get into the hallway."

Diana keeps one hand on the small of Akko's back and one on her collar, guiding her step by step across the mess of a room. She nudges the fallen mirrors out of their path, whispering apologies as she goes, both to the mirrors' she'd mistreated and to Akko.

She goes at Akko's pace, relieved to feel her classmate is breathing more easily now. As soon as they reach the door, Diana pushes through and brings Akko outside. She helps her lean back against the wall and draws her wand immediately.

"Please give me you hand."

Akko pulls her right hand away from her side and offers it to her. Diana holds it gently with her left and waves her wand with her right.

"Merna Hecallox."

A pale green light emits from her wand as the magics flow freely, wreathing around Akko's injured hand. Bit by bit, the cut begins to heal until her skin is intact once more.

Diana withdraws her handkerchief and casts a very small water spell, then gets to dabbing the blood off Akko's skin and uniform. She's still fighting back tears at this point, unable to look Akko in the face as she gently pats the stains out of her clothes.

By this point, Akko's recovered from the blow to her gut, and she can tell Diana is still highly distressed by all of this. Lightly, she places a hand on the other girl's shoulder to get her attention.

"Diana-"

"Are you injured elsewhere?" Diana looks her over, everywhere but her eyes. "Why is it you could barely stand? What happened?"

"I just got winded. That's all."

"Something could be fractured-"

"Nothing's fractured, Diana. Nothing hurts anymore. I'm fine. Promise."

It's frustrating, but Akko knows exactly how Diana feels, because only a short while ago, their positions had been reversed. She knows the guilt Diana is feeling right now, and she also has to deal with the difficulty of trying to rid her of that guilt.

But Diana still won't look at her.

Akko taps her shoulder a bit.

"Diana, can I see your handkerchief?"

Surprised by the question, Diana simply nods and hands it over.

Akko folds it inside-out to a clean spot, then takes Diana's hand in hers.

Diana hasn't noticed until now that there's blood on her own hand as well, blood that's still seeping out. Her own blood.

"You got hurt, too," Akko murmurs, gently covering the cut on her palm. She then moves the cloth upward a bit on her wrist, locating the red line where she'd nearly hurt herself even worse. Akko presses the handkerchief over it and keeps it there for a moment. During that time, she feels Diana start to tremble.

"Akko, I-"

"You don't have to apologize," she assures her with a smile. "I mean it, Diana. I know how you feel now after watching it happen to me. I'm just glad you're back to normal now."

"Akko..."

Diana can't bear this guilt, even if Akko tells her it's all right. But she's right in saying they have shared this pain now, on both being controlled and watching the other go through it.

Diana feels the tears surging up again. So she buries her face in Akko's shoulder and hugs her as best as she can – as much as she dares.

Akko breathes a sigh of relief and hugs her in turn. She's glad Diana isn't scared of her, and she's glad that she herself isn't scared of Diana because of what happened.

/That mirror made her impulsive, hysterical, and cruel. All the things she's not. I know she would never hurt me.../

They are the same thoughts Diana had entertained earlier.

Akko waits until Diana has stopped crying before easing back to look up into her eyes.

"Are you okay?"

Diana wipes her face and dips her head.

"Are you?"

"Yeah. All better now that you're back!"

At last, Diana finally cracks a smile.

"If you are absolutely certain..."

"I am!" Akko clasps both of Diana's hands in hers.

Diana puts her handkerchief and wand away before cupping Akko's left hand in her own. Her eyes trace the area where her skin is still healing in a light pink line.

Copying the methods Akko used on her earlier, Diana lifts her hand to her lips and places a gentle kiss on the injury.

Akko blinks, then smiles before taking Diana's other hand.

"Come on. Let's powder that stupid mirror once and for all."

With Diana in agreement, she unlocks the door, and they head back into the room, mentally preparing themselves for the clustered mess they'll have to clean up-

But to their mutual surprise, the entire room is... immaculate.

All of the mirrors that had been knocked down earlier have somehow rearranged themselves back into their proper upright positions. Not a single one of them is out of place, not even the troublesome one. It's been turned back to face the wall with all the others in its row.

Even the bottle of powder now sits intact on the floor where it had previously been smashed, and the drops of blood around it have vanished.

Akko and Diana stare first at the room, then at each other. They share a knowing smile.

As Akko skips in, she calls out to whatever's been helping them.

"Thanks!"

Diana follows her inside and picks up the blue bottle. She opens the cap and sprinkles a bit of the powder into her palm. Akko offers hers as well and Diana gives her some.

Together, they face the back of that mirror that's caused them so much trouble over the past hour. Simultaneously, they blow the powder onto it.

The blue dust sprinkles down and all around the mirror from top to bottom.

Diana watches closely to ensure it takes effect. There's a slight glow around the mirror for a split second, but it soon fades. Finally, she takes a step back.

"It is done."

"Finally!" Akko glares at the frame of it. "You were a real jerk, you know that?"

"In any case," Diana continues. "It appears the mirrors we failed to reach no longer require cleaning."

"Huh...?" Akko looks at the row they hadn't gotten to yet and sees Diana is right. All of the mirrors, even the ones they didn't clean, (save for the one that prefers to be dusty) are now spotless. Akko's jaw drops. "Wait, so are you telling me these mirrors can just... clean themselves?"

"Only if they desire it," Diana notes.

"Whaaaat?" Akko cries. "If the professors know that, then why do they make cleaning an option for punishment?"

Diana ponders for a moment.

"Perhaps the mirrors allow themselves to get dirty simply so someone will have to be assigned to clean them."

"Hah? Why would they do that?"

"Perhaps they get lonely," Diana muses. "Or perhaps they have something to teach us."

For a moment, both of them are silent. The late afternoon sun has sunk, shrouding the room in a faint orange glow now. Akko scuffs her shoe on the floor.

"Hm. Maybe I learned something..."

"Perhaps... I did as well," Diana agrees.

Their eyes meet, if only for a second. Then, Akko clears her throat.

"But I wish they'd tell me what this mirror does!" she sighs, walking in front of the purple one that shows her Diana's reflection. "Since Diana doesn't know, maybe the mirrors themselves can tell me~"

"Akko," Diana pinches her sleeve and tugs her away. "Have we not had enough incidents in this room for one day? It would be best if we were to leave now and simply have our supper."

"Oh, yeah! I'm starving!"

Typical Akko to forget all else at the mention of food. She willingly turns away from the mirror and begins heading for the door beside Diana.

Diana lingers, only to turn back and look into that mirror. Reflected back at her is an image of Akko and herself. But they're on opposite sides.

"Diana! Are you coming?"

"Yes, no need to shout, Akko. I am right here."

"Ahh I'm so glad you're talking normally again. It just sounded wrong before how that spirit made you speak."

Diana sputters.

"I... Wh-What did I-?"

"You were talking like Amanda! You were squishing words together and slurring. And you even cursed!"

"W-What?"

"Yeah, it was so weird!" Akko shudders.

Diana lifts a hand to her mouth, utterly embarrassed. As they exit the room Akko notices Diana's dismay and slings an arm around her.

"Don't worry, I won't tell anyone~"

"...Of course you won't. Unless you would want someone else finding out what happened here today."

Akko softens her voice a little.

"Nah. That can stay between us. Right?"

The look she gives Diana is timid, and Diana feels the one she gives back is just the same.

"Certainly."

With a nod, Akko turns and begins heading off down the hall. But she subtly bumps her hand against Diana's and holds it as she goes. Diana says nothing and makes no move to pull away.

There is a thought in the back of her mind, something that begs her to address that purple-framed mirror with Akko.

But perhaps another time.

For now, she's content to simply walk beside her down the hallway, and Akko's happy to have her.

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A/N: All right now that we've seen both of them with the other's mirror self, the next and final chapter will be what they do afterward.

I decided to make that mirror's frame purple because it is the combination of red and blue~