Chapter Text
Luna Nova was a school that bred the best and brightest, one of the few remaining places of magic in the world, even if it was slowly becoming obsolete. There were still witches who wanted to learn.
Atsuko Kagari was one of those witches, spurred on by her admiration for who she believed to be the greatest witch to live, Shiny Chariot.
Days had passed since she'd first arrived, Akko had even managed to obtain what she'd dubbed the Shiny Rod. And so, Akko, Diana, Lotte, and Sucy stood at the foot of the great tree, Akko jumped in front of a blast that Diana had shot toward the pupae.
Due to her own recklessness, they had continued to grow, spreading along the roots akin to a parasite. At least that was how Diana saw it, but Akko thought otherwise, "Diana wait!! I think those things are the tree's pupae," Collapsing from the blast, Akko weakly held onto the Shiny Rod, the cards in her pocket scattering all over the grass.
Taking notice of one of them, Lotte pulled up the card, "Akko look. This Pappiliodya it's just like the one on this card, try casting the spell on there!" Lotte suggested, helping the brunette back on her feet as she clutched the Shiny Rod.
Lotte and Sucy stood alongside her holding it tightly, "The magic butterfly Pappiliodya please spread your wings and give us all hope, Pappilio Inferio Pereus!" Akko chanted, brimming each of the orbs with a glowing green light an engulfing ray burst from the staff, spreading across the greenhouse and the roots.
As quickly as they'd sprouted, the pupae unraveled releasing the hoard of Pappilodya. All of them flapped their golden wings, soaring high in the air as they did, all the witches could do was watch.
"We did it!" Akko cheered, latching onto the closest person, that being Lotte.
"Yeah, that's great Akko but could you let go now please," Lotte's voice was muffled by Akko's body pushing into hers. Sucy purposefully stepped away, not wanting any of Akko's public displays of affection.
Diana felt a pit of guilt fill her stomach, if Akko hadn't intervened then she was sure to have eradicated the Pappilodya and all of its beauty. She blinked, feeling a strong magical presence beginning to grow within the room, "Wait a minute...Akko something else is coming!"
Ripping open the space above them, the world of the leyline opened up in front of them, growing larger by the minute, "Why the heck would that appear now!? What's going on Diana?" Akko exclaimed, her eyes squinting at something plummeting ever closer toward the opening.
A booming voice came along with it, "SHIIIIITTTTTTTTTTTT!!!" It only continued to grow louder.
"Is that...screaming?" Lotte questioned.
"Ooh, maybe someone got stuck on the leyline. That would be hilarious.." Sucy continued to cackle to herself.
"Don't say something so creepy Sucy!" Akko retorted, shivering a little. Unable to peel her eyes away from the figure seeming to get closer.
"OHHHHHHHH SHIIIIIIITTTTTTTTTT!!" The voice continued to scream, and Akko watched as they finally came into view.
"What the? Is that a-?
Akko wasn't able to finish as the boy rocketed out the leyline smacking directly into her before rolling over to the patch of grass underneath the great tree. Rubbing his head, they all saw a boy rubbing his head groaning, "What the hell...I was just walking away from Iina and then this thing opened up from under me.." They murmured to themselves.
"Oh...it's just a boy how boring."
"I mean it is a pretty cute one though," As soon as the words left her, Akko went bright red before covering her face, kicking at the boy in sheer embarrassment.
"Ah! What the shit!? Who just kicks a stranger, and where the hell am I!?" The boy yelped, annoyance filling his tone.
Diana scowled at him, meeting his bewildered gaze with her sharp one, "Honestly, could you not use such vulgar language? You're the one who's entered Luna Nova without any warning, and what I can only assume illegal leyline access!"
"Illegal leyline access!? What the hell are you talking about I don't even know what that is!? Can I get a second okay? I fell through some massive portal...and that shot me through that weird tunnel and now I'm here, I don't know anything that happened okay!?" He explained, making sure to shoot Diana a look of his own.
Before Diana could answer, Akko did it for her, "You're in the best school ever, Luna Nova!! I don't where you fell into the leyline but you must have heard about it, witches from all over come to this school to study magic!!"
Unexpectedly, the confusion only continued to grow taking a second to adjust all the information that had just been thrown at him, "Woah...I can't believe I actually got any of that. Just double-checking to make sure I did hear you correctly, this is a school for witches where you learn actual magic..?"
He held his head, muttering under his breath, "You can't be serious. I've actually been isekaied...shitttt." He noticed the group of girls still glancing at him up and down, "Seriously, this is every weebs dream but I can't be stuck here can I...in another world."
"Another world? You're being a bit exaggerated, aren't you? I'm sure we can get you home fairly quickly, it's not as if we want you here anyway," Diana interrupted him, beginning to wave her wand at him.
"Woah, woah!! Relax for a second, that girl explained that this was some magic school right, like actual magic. Well, I hate to tell you, but where I'm from that doesn't exist? Not unless you count films, games, or things like that.."
A small part of him did enjoy watching the color drain from Diana's face, just before a realization hit him as well, "Oh shit! If I'm from another world then how in the hell am I supposed to get home!? Wait, is that something you can do!?" A small glimmer of hope lit in his eyes.
"I mean...with magic anything possible?" Akko shrugged.
"Seriously!? That's all you have to say?" The boy panicked, unconsciously grabbing onto her uniform.
"Hey!! You can't grab someone you've just met!? Especially since I'm a girl!" They both got embarrassed due to their own proximity, backing away from each other, "Alright, look we all got off on the wrong foot okay? I'm not looking to start any fights or arguments, not like eel hair over there. I just wanna work out a way for me to get home."
"W-What did you just call me!" Diana yelled in outrage, her usually prim and proper demeanor faltering as she flared up in a bright red hue.
Ignoring her badgering; he introduced himself to the group, "Anyway, my name is Kenji Otsuka. I hope we can get along, for however long I'm stuck in this world," He held out his hand somewhat awkwardly.
"I'm Atsuko Kagari but you can just call me Akko," Being the only one to hold her hand out, Kenji begrudgingly took it, "Hey! Don't look so disappointed! You should be grateful a girl is even holding your hand!!"
"Grateful! You're just shaking my hand! Don't get so full of yourself!!" Kenji spat back out. Akko retaliated throwing her feet forward, forcing him to the ground in pain, "S-She...she grazed them she's a devil..." Kenji moaned in pain clutching his jewels.
"What on earth is going on here!" A voice interrupted them both, marching over to the group.
Panick struck Diana, quickly hurrying over to derail the situation, "P-Professor Finnelan your here! W-Well you see we have a small problem... b-but don't worry! I'm sure it can be fixed," Diana answered flailing her arms about.
"Can we not talk about me like I'm not here...little miss perfect?" Kenji commented, watching as Diana's eye twitched in response.
"What on earth? Why is there a boy here? Did you sneak into Luna Nova?" The teacher's voice filled with skepticism.
"I can assure you, Professor. As...strange as this situation is this boy actually fell through from the leyline, and he's saying that he has no clue how he ended up here.." Diana answered, explaining the situation as best she could.
"Why are you acting as if you don't know my name, eel hair?" Kenji persisted, angering the girl even more.
"Then quit calling me eel hair! My name is Diana Cavendish and you treat me with the respect that name deserves!" She fumed from ear to ear.
"That's enough out of you two...you can't be blamed if a random leyline sucked you here. It shouldn't be a problem though...we can just send you back through," Professor Finnelan brandished her wand once more.
"Why is that always the first response? Look, that's not an option ok? I'm not from here, as in this world. I can't explain because I don't anything about why I'm here," Kenji admitted defeat sluggishly drooping his shoulders.
Walking up to the group, Professor Holbrooke approached Kenji looking him up and down, "Well, this is quite the surprising development. What do you propose we do in this kind of situation Professor?" She queried, rubbing her chin.
"Why don't we just let him stay here?" Akko proposed, speaking up.
"Are you insane Miss Kagari!? We can't just allow a stranger to stay at Luna Nova, let alone a boy! Who knows what kind of heinous act he could commit!" Finnelan argued, scowling down at him.
Kenji blinked, offended, "Hey! What kind of person do you think I am!? I'm not some mad pervert just cause I'm a boy ok?" The brown-haired boy defended himself.
"I suppose we could have some fairies renovate an empty dorm room on campus for him. As sad as it is to say, we don't have as many students as we used to... and I don't see the harm in letting him attend magic lessons, I'm sure we could learn a lot from each other," Miss Holbrooke agreed, sharing a warm smile toward him.
With some deliberation, Professor Finnelan agreed and the rest of them began walking back to the dorms, "Hah! It's gonna be a riot tomorrow! I guarantee every girl at Luna Nova is going to freak out!" Sucy wore a large toothy grin as she spoke.
"What's she talking about? And why does it seem like she's enjoying herself so much.." Kenji cringed, already hating his current situation.
Akko's eyes widened in realization, "Oh yeah! We probably should've mentioned...Luna Nova's and all-girls school you know?"
"Huh!? Are you...KIDDING ME!!!"
Hours had passed, and once everything had finally settled down. Kenji slumped into his bed, well what would be his bed for the time being, for now at least he was completely stuck in this world, without a single clue on how to get back.
The room was empty, the floor filled with old wooden floorboards, the walls stained with years of decay, it was clear it hadn't received any maintenance. A single desk and bedframe occupied the space, for now, at least this would be his home.
That was the best he could put it at least.
"Better get some sleep..."
As the morning light peered into the room, Kenji stirred in the old mattress before swinging his body upward at the sound of the door being bashed repeatedly, "Uhhhh...who is it?" He groaned trying to sleep back beneath the covers.
"COME ON KENJI GET UP!!!" A voice boomed from behind his door, continuing to knock on it loudly. He hadn't even known her for anymore than twelve hours and he was already confident who it belonged to.
Akko.
"Go awayyyy..." Kenji said tiredly, not having the energy to yell.
"Why did we have to be the ones to wake him again?" Another voice that Kenji couldn't quite remember spoke up.
Akko replied smugly, "Well, that goody-two-shoes Diana suggested that we should show him around. And she made us do it because she thinks she's better than us!!"
"You definitely just made that up in your head..." A third voice echoed behind the door, Kenji again couldn't quite remember who it belonged to.
Shuffling through his only set of clothes Kenji was surprised to see a uniform amongst the pile, 'This wasn't there yesterday...' Nevertheless, he hurried to get it on, letting out a sigh of relief seeing they'd managed to get him a male one.
"I'm coming alright so can all of you shut it!" Stomping over to his door, the brunette through it open staring down the three witches through the small bags under his eyes, "You did not need to wake me up this early.."
"Woah! You're actually wearing a Luna Nova uniform! I'm surprised they managed to get you one so fast," Lotte exclaimed, her eyes gleaming through her glasses.
"I think it would've been better if the school gave him a skirt to wear," Sucy commented, only receiving a dry stare from Kenji in return.
"Trust me, I'd pull that off. However, I was wondering why that blue-haired teacher was taking my measurements yesterday...although with how easily flustered she was getting it just made it uncomfortable," Kenji grimaced, flashing back to it.
"I can see someone like Professor Ursula getting embarrassed by that," Akko snickered.
Adjusting the outfit to make sure it properly fit, Kenji stepped out into the hall locking his now bedroom behind him, "So why exactly do I need to be shown around the school? I'm not saying it wouldn't be cool to see a magic school, but judging by what I saw yesterday it kinda all looks so same..."
"What! No way, Luna Nova's amazing! There's so much magic in every classroom!" Akko was practically jumping on her feet as she spoke, getting right up in his face.
'Too close!!'
"I-I'll take your word for it," He stammered out, "I guess we can look around a little bit."
Sucy let out a grunt of disapproval, skulking down the halls as Akko excitedly explained everything to the new student, "Oh good, I guess that means we're gonna miss Professor Lukric's lesson. And today we were supposed to work on mushroom potions..."
"I'm terribly sorry that I've taken time out of your day to do this, Sucy was it?" Kenji grinned watching the empathetic girl glare at him.
Kenji followed the three witches throughout Luna Nova, of course, the more they continued down the halls, the further Kenji became aware of each and every stare from the witches as they all peered out from their class to see him passing by.
"It's him...I guess he's kinda cute?" He heard one girl say, earning a small blush.
"Yeah, but why's he even here? There has to be a reason they let a boy into Luna Nova, he's the first one," Another muttered, "Can he even do magic?"
"This is an all-girls school I'm sure some boy can only make things worse, besides what if he's some major pervert!!"
'I should've expected this...if anyone likes to spread gossip it's girls. And I can imagine how much worse ones with magic are.'
Although he hadn't said so out loud, Kenji had to admit he was a little awestruck by the school. It was substantially larger than he first thought. With a magical lesson taking place in almost every room, he managed to take a peak into it without being quickly noticed and soon swarmed with questions.
He had to admit, the idea of learning even a little magic did excite him.
"Thanks for the tour you three, I was against it at first. But, Luna Nova really is bigger than I expected..." Akko beamed with pride, mentally sticking it to Diana for giving a better tour.
Lotte glanced at the time, shaking a little, "Um you guys, we were permitted to miss our first lesson for this tour...but the class ended over twenty minutes ago. And you remember what happened when we were late to Professor Nelson's lesson the first time.."
"I thought she was going to make us jump off the building without a broom," Sucy shuddered.
"We're late!!" Akko bellowed, the four of them heading off to class as fast as humanly possible, dragging Kenji behind her.
As expected, upon racing to the other side of Luna Nova they were quickly chewed out by the professor, laughter rattling around the group of witches mainly focused on the three witches, Kenji honestly expected more animosity.
'Maybe it was just that Diana girl...she hated me the moment I showed up'
As quick as he arrived, Kenji was circled by the group of witches clutching their brooms bombarding him with as many questions as possible. Before he even had a chance to answer, Professor Nelson yanked him by his uniform pulling him away from the hoard, "Alright that's enough girls, you can ask all the questions you want later for now we're in class!!"
Kenji sagged a little as they dispersed, crowds were never his strong suit.
Standing everyone to attention, Kenji clumsily caught the broom that was chucked his way earning a few giggles from the witches, "Now, it's time for flying practice. Much like we did last lesson, Miss Kagari you can feel free to try and get your broom in the air this lesson okay?" Nelson explained properly turning her gaze back to Kenji.
"Now, Otsuka was your last name correct? We're not entirely sure whether or not you can even fly a broom considering your...circumstances," She deliberately paused, all of the teachers had been made aware of his situation and were doing what they could to keep quiet about it, "But do feel free to give it a shot?"
"First! You hold your broom and pay respect to it, picture yourself in the air, and cast the spell. Tia Freyre!" Professor Nelson instructed, Sucy couldn't help but chuckle already airborne beside Lotte, "This'll be good Lotte, we're about to see someone with even worse flying skills than Akko!"
"That's mean Sucy. To Akko and Kenji," Lotte turned her head away from the witch.
Visualizing the idea of him up in the air, Kenji peered at all of the other witches already soaring through the air, 'Just imagine myself up in the air, I have to see if I can do this..'
"Tia Freyre!!" He exclaimed, holding his eyes shut tight hoping he'd open them to see himself floating above the ground. Of course, he never once felt his feet lift from the floor, "As expected, even in another world I'm just the same as before.."
Most of the girls watched him with solemn looks on their faces, feeling sorry for Kenji. That was until, two witches rode their brooms back down to the ground on either side of Diana, a clear smarmy look on their faces.
"He really doesn't have any magic. I still have no clue why Luna Nova broke their rules to let him in here in the first place, I guess it really stooped so low," Hannah, a girl with autumn red hair tucked in a ponytail spoke, chuckling into her hand at her snarky comment.
Kenji was dragged out his own train of thought, realizing just how tight he was holding the broom, 'I mean...what did I really expect?'
Barbara swaying long black hair spoke up as well, "Come on don't be too harsh Hannah. If Diana said there was a reason for it then we should believe her, and it's not like anyone expected him to. What's really embarrassing is Akko, what's her excuse for still not being able to fly a broom?"
Akko had to force herself not to snap the broom she was holding in two, steam practically erupting from her ears as stewed in her own anger, watching the girls laugh to themselves regathering with Diana, who was already finished with her training.
"This is not fun at all," Kenji whined, dropping the broom in defeat, "I thought I could handle a girl's insults but they don't hold back do they?"
"Look at it this way. It wasn't as if you had any chance of flying a broom anyway it was your own fault for thinking you could," Sucy patted his back, although anyone looking could tell there wasn't an ounce of sympathy in the gesture.
Lotte at least attempted to be comforting, "Maybe you'll do better in our other lessons Kenji. We should find Akko before we head over there though.."
"Knowing her, she's probably still shouting Tia Freyre..." said Sucy.
Most of the day had come and gone, and as expected Kenji was completely unable to perform any kind of magic, no matter how many spells he chanted or swung his wand there wasn't even so much as a fizzle that came out.
He'd sat himself alone at first, trying to talk away the hoards of witches still interested in talking to him. It was honestly the first time he'd ever had so many cute girls surround him so quickly, sure the interest was only due to him being the first-ever boy in Luna Nova, but he was sure the novelty would die out soon enough.
Again, as happy as he was to receive that kind of attention he couldn't deal with large groups like that in the first place.
Eventually, though both Sucy and Lotte found themselves at his table eating their food as they shared small talk between each other. Although he couldn't help but feel a pair of blue eyes glaring at him from an opposite table.
Proudly walking over to the table, Akko smacked her hands onto it grinning at the three of them. Kenji was surprised at how easily she could bounce back, already giddy with another determined smile on her face.
'Guess that's just the kind of person she is...'
"Ah, it's the great broom rider herself," Kenji joked, laughing as Akko shot a quick frown at him, "Hey, I can't do it either. Jokes are fair game for me."
"You're not funny Kenji! But that doesn't matter I have something that's gonna solve everything, that I can ride a broom, that I'm better than Diana, and most of all!" She promptly slammed a poster in front of them, "I'll prove I can be just like Chariot!!"
Observing the poster Kenji sighed, "So...despite not being able to fly a broom? You want to enter a race that consists solely of that?" Akko was oblivious to his sarcasm nodding gleefully.
"There's only one thing I know Kenji, that it doesn't matter if I can't ride a broom!!" She purposefully paused for dramatic effect, "That I want to win that race and have my picture right next to Chariot's!!"