Chapter Text
With the start of the new semester rapidly approaching, Diana had all but buried herself in mountains of books she’d scavenged from the library. Her fingers were numb and covered in inkstains from writing, her head was throbbing, and while she knew she could handle the workload somewhat fine, she still gave herself a few moments during her day to curse out her past self for feeling like a prodigy.
…Granted, yes, she was called the most outstanding witch since the founding of Luna Nova, but even someone with such a title couldn’t juggle multiple courses meant for third year students.
Diana stared at the pile of books she had yet to look through with bleary eyes. Despite working like a dog since morning, she only managed to finish half of what she hoped to.
Now that she wasn’t straining her eyes at the infinitesimally small texts of workbooks, the sharp sting in her eyes could finally make itself known. With a groan, Diana leaned back in her chair and rubbed her eyes fiercely, trying to will the soreness away. Her back and neck popped a few times to punish Diana for staying seated for so long. Her neck was especially sore; the mere motion of tilting her head back made her vision swim and head hurt.
Diana glanced back down at her ambitious pile of books, and sighed to herself, defeated. At that point, she was doing herself a disservice by not taking a break.
Once she made up her mind to take a small break, Diana planted her hands on the table and pushed herself to her feet, wobbling a little before she could gather her bearings. Wow, she was a lot more sore than she thought. It hurt to straighten her back.
By the time she left her table and began walking to the exit, Diana was already feeling a little refreshed. The afternoon sun shone though the massive windows of the library, casting a warm glow on the ground. A few windows were cracked open just slightly, letting a cool breeze sneak in to cool off the few students that decided to return to school early. Aside from Diana herself, the library was completely devoid of students, making the room feel larger than it actually was.
Unfortunately, beautiful view aside, Diana couldn’t help but continue to review the material she learned before. She just had so much to prepare for, with the upcoming semester and preparing to take over her family’s household. There was a reason for her overloading her semester after all…
Suddenly, she heard a faint sound from behind a shelf corner. Without thinking, perhaps from exhaustion, Diana sped up into a light jog as she searched for the source of the noise. She highly doubted it was a student—she was fairly certain she was the only one in the library—and animals were unlikely to wander inside. That left the fairies, and even then it was unlikely to be them as the term hadn’t started yet, thus only the bare minimum have arrived.
Diana’s mind was running through the different possibilities when she turned the corner and laid eyes on what was quite possibly the most adorable cat she had ever seen. The cat that was currently flopped on the ground had smooth, dark brown fur that looked relatively healthy and well taken care of. The cat’s eyes were an unusual but unique shade of red that looked startlingly similar to a certain Japanese girl.
“...A cat?”
Diana blinked a few times and tried to calm her rioting heart down. The sight had shocked her into silence long enough for her eyes to sweep over the cat’s body and notice a paw that the cat was holding gingerly above the ground.
Diana frowned, the action putting a strain on her head because of the long hours of stress. It seemed like the cat had fallen from the bookshelf and hurt itself in the process. A quick spell should be enough to do the trick.
Diana knelt down and tried to make herself look as non-threatening as possible. It wasn't easy to look like she hadn’t been slaving away for the last few hours but she was an expert at pushing away the residual exhaustion from her expression. A skill learned from years of performing for the elite.
This time though, Diana didn’t struggle at all. The cat was simply incredibly cute. Just looking at the fluffy creature made Diana feel a little overwhelmed and out of her element.
Diana had actually never gotten so close to a cat before. She always found them adorable, but she grew up with dogs and later became focused entirely on her studies so she never got to really interact with a cat. The little she knew about them came from observing the few strays that wandered on the estate and the few times she got to stare awkwardly at one at parks or other such locations.
So armed with her lacking knowledge of the animal, Diana waited for the cat to come to her with her arms outstretched. Her face burned from embarrassment—she, the heir to her family, was trying without avail to get a cat of all animals to come to her—and she thanked the Nine that the library was empty. If Hannah or Barbara or Nine forbid Akko were to walk in on her, she was certain she’d fling herself over the railing without hesitation.
Miraculously, the cat flipped to its feet and padded towards Diana, keeping the pressure off its injured leg. Astounded by the recent events, Diana refused to move as the cat sat down right in front of her and stared at her with those intelligent red eyes. Red eyes…
Diana’s finger twitched where it hovered just over the cat’s head. Diana got a nagging feeling about the animal that got harder to ignore the more she watched the cat.
The blonde grabbed her wand from her waistband and pointed it at the paw that Diana guessed the cat had sprained from the fall. If she wasn’t surprised enough, the cat lifting the injured paw and placing it on Diana’s leg certainly made it so.
But first, she had to heal the leg.
“Diosir Sorware,” Diana whispered as she tapped her wand gently against the injured leg. A gentle green light glimmered from the tip of Diana’s wand before floating down and landing on the cat’s paw. The glowing lasted a few seconds before eventually fading completely. Diana didn’t need to look to know the cat’s leg was healed.
The cat gingerly pressed its newly healed paw on the ground, testing it before fully standing again. Its tail flicked back and forth as the cat licked the healed paw, looking pretty pleased if Diana was getting the body language right. That, and the constant rumbling coming from the cat’s throat.
‘Is that…purring?’ Diana thought dumbly to herself. Never in all her years did she imagine something like this could happen to her. A pleasant feeling began to well up in her chest, but another, more questioning part of her rose up in equal measures. She had to confirm something of utmost importance…
Before she could be completely enamoured by the cat, Diana’s wand began to glow once more, casting a green light on the startled animal. Diana stared at it for a second, narrowing her eyes.
“Is…that you Akko?”
Diana felt a little ticked off, if she was being honest with herself. This cat was clearly a transformed Akko. Its eyes and fur matched the features of her friend, and its mannerisms were incredibly intelligent and human. Diana could only assume Akko tried to play a trick on her or something related. She wasn’t surprised in the slightest, because this was Akko she was talking about, but she was absolutely going to chew her out later.
“No matter. You can tell me when you’re back in human form.”
Diana tapped the tip of her wand against the cat’s forehead. A burst of smoke popped from her wand, which was a normal reaction from a reversal spell. However…
A paw shot out from the cloud of smoke and lashed out. A claw nicked Diana’s cheek right as the cat shot out from the smoke, catapulting off of Diana’s shoulder before sprinting away. Diana was left sitting on the cold ground, mouth open in shock. Her head turned and her eyes followed the cat right as it sprinted down the staircase and disappeared behind the heavy wooden doors of the library.
Then, before she could do anything to stop herself, a hearty laugh burst from Diana. She clutched her stomach as she tried and failed to calm herself, the scratch on her face forgotten. It stung a little, but Diana supposed she deserved that reaction after the stunt she pulled. Wiping a stray tear from her eye, she brushed imaginary dust off her skirt and tugged herself back to her feet.
So, evidently, she was wrong. That cat was not Akko. She had just blown a magic cloud over an innocent cat and gotten scratched in return.
Which she deserved.
Diana felt a little embarrassed for jumping to conclusions so quickly, but that embarrassment was nothing compared to the regret settling over her. That was her first interaction with a real cat, and she blew it only because those red eyes reminded her of someone. It was unlikely the cat would ever approach her after that horrendous experience, and Diana couldn’t blame it.
She sighed, feeling the energy leave her shoulders as the novelty of the interaction wore off. A pang in her gut reminded her to grab something to eat. Usually she’d ignore her body’s warnings, but now that she was already out and about, she supposed a little snack couldn’t hurt.
***
Holy fuck holy fuck holy fuck—
Akko flew down the hallways, her heart thundering in her chest as she swore over and over again in her mind. That was close, too close. How did Diana figure her out so fast? Was she too obvious? What had given her away?
Akko watched, wide eyed, as Diana’s hand hovered right above her head. Her ear flicked, anticipating something…anything. Wasn't she going to pet her or something? Why was she just holding her hand over her?
If it wasn't for the fur covering Akko’s entire body, she was pretty sure her face would be burning by now. Now why the hell was she waiting for Diana to pet her? She may be a cat but she was still fully human on the inside, damnit!
For reasons unknown to even herself, Akko raised her injured paw, and with great embarrassment and reluctance, pushed it on Diana’s leg. She kept her eyes trained stubbornly on Diana’s raised wand, waiting for her friend to end her suffering.
She didn’t have to wait long. Akko’s newly acquired sensitive hearing picked up on the sound of rustling fabric, the faint shimmering of magic gathering in the tip of Diana’s wand, and finally Diana’s voice, as soft and as gentle as the time she gifted Akko a precious gift.
“Diosir Sorware.”
Those questions and the scene she memorized in mortifying detail ran through her head as her legs carried her through the school grounds. Eventually, she skidded to a stop in front of her dorm room. The door was still cracked open slightly so Akko slipped in without issue. The moment she stepped through the threshold to her room, Akko relaxed, feeling her spine loosen.
…She was never doing that again. That would be her first and last expedition to the library; she totally couldn’t risk Diana finding out about her predicament or—
Wait. Why was she so worried anyway?
Akko sat down, her tail curling around her front paws. Her head dipped as she sorted through her thoughts. Diana was her friend wasn't she? And not to be dramatic or anything, but Akko would totally trust her with her life even! She already did during the Super Noir Missile incident anyway. Plus with Diana’s brains, Akko would be a lot more likely to get her little curse lifted and go back to living as a normal person.
And Akko blew it by scratching her friend and running away. She had the perfect chance to let Diana in on the issue too! She was right there, and all Akko would’ve needed to do was…
Was…
Oh, no. Diana already cast the reverse spell on Akko. The spell didn’t work—of course it wouldn't, even Headmistress Holbrooke’s spell failed—and now as far as Diana was concerned Akko was an honest to goodness cat. The Akko from an hour ago would’ve been overjoyed at the assurance that even the most gifted witch in Europe wouldn’t suspect anything, but now that such an obvious solution to her problem was right in her hands, she couldn’t do anything!
Well, she could write a message and pass it to Diana, right?
Akko’s tail lashed back and forth, but she couldn’t do anything to stop it. It would be so simple. Akko could scrawl a message with ink and a little time, and in no time flat she’d have another person researching her problem. But…
Akko’s ears flattened against her head as she began to pace around the room. It was messier than usual—probably Sucy’s doing—so Akko had to step around a few stray mushrooms and scrap paper. Scrap paper that she could totally borrow and send a message with.
Akko’s face burned. No, there was absolutely no way she could strut up to Diana after acting like an actual cat and scratching her face.
Akko felt a little less bad about scratching Diana because she got blindsided and acted out of reflex, but her actions as a cat—
How could she face Diana after what she’d done? After what she thought? Oh, Diana would hate her if she found out the truth!
Akko made a strange noise that sounded like a weird mix between a meow and a scream before diving under her bunk. Lotte and Sucy weren’t in the dorm, so she could vent her distress all she wanted. The only reason she abandoned her hiding spot was because of the dust and the spiders who also liked her hiding spot. It was then she learned she had a terrible dust allergy.
Akko clawed her way back into the sunlight, letting the warmth wash her stress away a little. After a bit of pondering, Akko had come to a very simple conclusion, one that if Sucy were to learn, Akko would have a better chance at saving her dignity by moving to a different country.
Since Diana already eliminated the possibility of Akko being the cat, Akko could act as an honest-to-goodness cat for the foreseeable future. That way, Akko could preserve her pride as a student of Luna Nova and Diana’s friend.
What could go wrong?