Chapter Text
Anniversary Adventure
Chapter 1. The Proverb
As the sun sets over Luna Nova that evening, Akko is still bursting with energy.
Due to Sucy having stayed up the night before mixing potions, Lotte having stayed up reading blog posts about Nightfall, and Akko having forgotten to set her alarm, all three witches had slept in this morning and missed half the day of classes.
Of course since it had been this particular trio of witches who had been absent, the professors had immediately become concerned they'd snuck off to do something potentially dangerous and had preemptively sent Chariot to check on them. She'd been relieved to find all three girls still snoring in their beds, and after a brief chiding had ushered them to hurry to classes.
All in all, it had been a bit of a hectic day for the three of them. After supper, they'd needed to return to Chariot's lecture hall for detention.
Presently, they've only just finished their sentence of making up the lessons they'd missed earlier that morning.
"All right, girls," Chariot says kindly. "That should be more than enough for today. Good work. Just take care not to oversleep again."
Akko pops up from her seat with a cheer.
"Finally! Freedom!"
"Akko, don't say it like that," Lotte scolds her. "It's our own fault we got detention this time."
"Well, mainly Akko's fault again," Sucy grunts.
"Haaaa? You could've set an alarm too, Su!"
"Maybe I should look into mandrake," she mutters. "Given a certain potion, they always screech at sunrise."
"Geh! No way! I can set my own alarm!"
As the three of them head out, they dip their heads and say their goodbyes to Chariot.
"Thanks, Professor!"
"Enjoy your night, girls. And head straight to bed this time."
"We will!"
The trio sets a pace back to the dorms, discussing some of the lessons they'd learned today. By now, the hallways are empty and dyed with the reds and oranges of fading sunset. Lotte yawns.
"No Nightfall tonight," she decides. "Just like Professor Ursula said, straight to bed."
"I might mix a few things."
"Sucy."
"Fine."
But unlike her drowsy roommates, Akko is, of course, still bursting with energy.
"You guys're tired already? It's only, like, 8PM!"
"And if we go to bed now," Lotte reasons. "We won't sleep in tomorrow."
Akko crosses her arms and grumbles, but continues back with them. But she doesn't really want to go back to her room just yet, so she scours every inch of the building as they go, looking for an excuse to stay out a bit longer.
I could report that rusted pipe to the faeries… Nah, that's so boring! They might even make me fix it myself! Maybe go to the Headmistress and tell her about the picture that fell over in the display case…
Everything she thinks of is too mundane, and not at all what she's hoping for. She's almost resolved to just go back to her room anyway and toss around in bed for hours due to her excess energy.
But then, just before they reach the dorms, Akko catches sight of movement down the far hallway. A certain white-haired witch is making her way down, hands folded neatly as per usual. A grin breaks out across Akko's face as she shoots up her arm to give a wave.
"Diana!"
Diana jolts from afar, then turns slowly to casually dip her head, then continues on her way. Akko's arm flops down to her side and she frowns.
"Aww, is that it?"
"Akko, don't bother her," Lotte says. "She's probably on patrol again."
"Must be nice," Sucy mumbles. "The school must be so quiet at night without Akko running around."
"Hey! I'm not the only person on campus who makes noise, y'know!"
"Maybe not, but you're definitely the loudest."
Akko pouts, then turns away from her roommates.
"You guys go ahead! I'm gonna go talk to Diana!"
"Eh? Akko, she's working…"
"It won't be long! I'm just too awake to go to bed right now! I gotta do something! Don't wait up for me!" And with this, Akko takes off down the hallway as Lotte and Sucy heave sighs behind her.
Akko half-runs, half-skips toward Diana, who must feel the impending migraine as easily as she hears her stampeding toward her, because she also sighs softly before turning to face her classmate.
"Akko," she says calmly, while Akko comes screeching to a halt so she won't crash into her.
"Whoa! Hey, Diana!"
"Good evening. Is there something I can help you with?"
"I mean, not really. I'm just bored."
Diana sighs again.
"I'm sorry to hear that. But it isn't my responsibility to entertain you, Akko. I'm on duty."
"Can't I just walk with you a little bit? Pleeeease? I don't wanna go to bed yet!"
Diana's strict and sophisticated hall-monitor expression softens at Akko's childishly innocent complaint.
"Honestly, what am I going to do with you. First you sleep in and miss half the day's classes, and now you want to stay out past curfew? You may have been here for a year now and improved in many ways, but somehow certain things about you are still just as they'd been on day one."
Akko gives her a puzzled look, then blinks.
"Is that an insult or a compliment? I couldn't tell."
Diana sighs again.
"Never mind. If the alternative is you wandering about the school alone in an effort to stave off your boredom… then I suppose I would rather accompany you."
Akko perks up right away.
"Really?"
"Just for a little while," Diana says. "Technically speaking, I am working at the moment. And there is something I need to attend to tonight..."
"Huh?"
"Never mind," Diana says again. "You may accompany me for a short while, Akko."
"Yay! Thank you! I won't get in the way of your work, Diana! We can just walk and talk! Promise!"
Diana's smile blossoms just a bit.
"I suppose I wouldn't mind the company. The night shift does get lonely at times."
"Then I'll definitely stay with you!"
So with their deal decided upon, the two witches continue their walk side by side down the now-quiet halls. Akko fiddles with her hands behind her back, glancing all around them as they go.
"So what do you even do on patrol, Diana?"
"As you can assume," Diana replies. "I am merely ensuring that all is well on campus. While we have plenty of faeries and other staff on security, Headmistress Holbrooke prefers a student to patrol the dorms, because other students feel much more comfortable speaking to someone they know well if something is amiss."
"Oooh, that makes sense! What kinda stuff do you usually have to deal with?"
Diana ponders for a moment.
"Not much, typically. Sometimes I'll walk someone to the restrooms and back. I understand it can be quite unnerving to walk the halls alone at night after just having woken up."
"So you're like a guide!"
"I suppose so. Or if there is a minor issue that can be mended with magic without bothering the staff, I'll handle it myself."
"Wow! As expected of Diana!"
"At times," Diana continues. "There have been disputes as well. It is my job to bring things to a peaceful resolution."
Akko's jaw drops in awe.
"Wow! Diana, you're really incredible! I mean, you normally do all that stuff like helping people and keeping the peace in the daytime, but you do it at night, too?"
The exuberant praise is beginning to make Diana blush slightly, so she promptly turns away.
"It is all a part of my duty. The Headmistress trusted me with this task."
"Diana, you're such a good girl!"
Diana can't think of anything coherent to say in response, but her heart flutters happily.
They continue walking for a bit, and Akko tries to keep her voice down as she watches Diana do her work. A few girls exit their rooms and seek Diana out to ask questions, which Diana answers perfectly and professionally. She helps a trio of teammates who had messed up a hair-drying spell after a shower and ended up with all their hair tangled together. And she assists a fellow classmate who has been fretting anxiously about an exam tomorrow, giving her advice and kind words until the girl smiles brightly and thanks Diana for her help.
Akko stays back and watches Diana work her magic without ever drawing her wand.
"She really is incredible. But I already knew that!"
It's been a little over a year since they'd started attending Luna Nova, and even when Akko was convinced Diana was nothing but a stuck-up rich girl, she'd known Diana was actually very hardworking, helpful, and brave. But as she's grown to know her better and befriend her through everything that had happened, Akko can't help but think Diana is becoming more and more amazing by the day.
And by the night, too!
For almost an hour, Akko walks with her around the dorms as Diana assists the girls in need. But soon after, there are no more requests, and everyone stays in their rooms.
Once Diana has sent her last patient back to bed, Akko jogs over to join her again.
"Wow! Diana, you're the best!"
"There is no need for that."
"Yes there is! It's true!"
Diana smiles.
"Thank you, Akko. But now I should send you back to your room as well."
"Are you gonna go, too?"
Diana shakes her head.
"My shift is until midnight. And there is still something I must attend to."
"Haaa? Three more hours? You'll barely get any sleep tonight yourself!"
"I am accustomed to it. When the Headmistress offered me this task, I readily accepted while being aware of the requirements. I have been doing it for months." She tapers off for a moment, then adds again more quietly. "And besides, tonight I have something to attend."
Akko frowns.
"But you're always studying and helping people before and after classes, and then you do patrols all night too?"
"Only until midnight," Diana reminds her. "And it isn't every night. There is no need for concern, Akko. But thank you."
Akko pouts a little.
"I feel bad going back when you still have to work all by yourself."
"You needn't get upset." Diana smiles and places a gentle hand on Akko's shoulder. "Go on now, Akko."
Akko's shoulders slump a little bit. But there's something telling her not to go, and Akko always trusts her gut. She meets Diana's gaze directly.
"What's this thing you keep saying you need to do tonight?"
Diana looks away.
"That… I cannot say."
With that red flag now raised, Akko officially refuses to go back to her room.
"Diana? What's wrong?"
Diana blinks, shaking her head briefly as she withdraws her hand.
"No… It's nothing."
A prickle of worry wriggles up Akko's spine.
"Diana-"
"Akko." Diana speaks more firmly now, but her eyes are still gentle. "Please. Go back to your room."
"Tell me what you have to do first."
"Akko-"
"Why can't you tell me?"
"Because it could be problematic. I must handle it alone."
"What?!" Akko plants herself firmly in place, refusing to move like Diana wants her to. "What do you mean it's problematic? Why do you have to do it alone? It sounds dangerous!"
"That is precisely why I must handle it alone."
"So it is dangerous, then!"
"Akko, please keep your voice down!" Diana takes her by the wrist and brings her farther down the hall, away from the dorms of the sleeping witches. They pause by one of the large windows, where the distant green glow of the Sorcerer's Stone is gleaming more brightly than the crescent moon. Diana's eyes wander to it as she lets go of her classmate. Akko follows her gaze.
"The Stone? Something with the Stone? Diana, what's going on?"
Diana gives her a complicated look, but knows by now that it's useless to try and get Akko off of a topic once she's invested in it. So with a long sigh, Diana tells her the truth.
"You see… You recall the incident with the dragon, yes? The one that was sealed away. And after I accidentally released its seal, it nearly ate the Stone…" She tapers off, as though still feeling guilty about what she'd done a year ago.
Akko gives her a puzzled look.
"Yeah, I remember. How could I forget one of the first times I used Shiny Arc? Not to mention you saved me, Diana!"
Diana fidgets a little, but her eyes ultimately flash back to the Tower outside.
"In truth, it slipped my mind once you joined me unexpectedly this evening, and I only just recalled…"
"What?" Akko prompts.
"You see…" Diana says quietly. "Tonight is the one-year anniversary of that incident…"
"It is? Huh, I guess you're right…"
Diana nods. "And, you see… there is an old proverb... One I'm not sure the professors know of. I came across it in my reading as a child when I was studying dragon languages."
"What did it say?"
Diana bites her lip, clearly hesitant to say more, but with Akko staring at her so intently, she can't possibly dissuade her now. So Diana relents and tells her the truth.
"Evidently, in the case of a sealed dragon being freed from its bindings, the one-year anniversary of the event sees trouble."
Akko's eyes widen.
"Trouble? Like what?"
"It was not discussed further than that," Diana says. "However, since it was my fault the dragon was freed, I ensured I would have patrol tonight so that I may monitor the situation in case anything were to happen."
"What?!"
"Akko, your voice."
"I can't help it!" she blurts. "So you knew about this proverb thingy and you knew tonight was the anniversary, but you were gonna handle it alone? Diana, that really could be dangerous!"
"Akko, please calm down." Diana puts a hand on Akko's shoulder again to reassure her. "I merely plan to patrol the Tower briefly. If anything is truly amiss, I will contact the Headmistress. I don't intend to get involved."
"You don't intend to," Akko says. "But what if you can't avoid it? What if something happens and you get hurt?"
"Akko-"
"Nope! I'm not letting you go alone, Diana. If all you're gonna do is walk around the Tower, then I can come too, right?"
Diana's gaze hardens just a little.
"I was granted permission to patrol," she says. "You, however, should be back in your room at this hour, Akko."
"Well, I'm not going."
"You really are still just as childish as the first day you stepped foot here…"
"And you really are still just as stubborn," Akko pouts. "I'm coming with you, Diana. If something happens, we can protect each other. And if nothing happens, then we just go on a late-night walk together!"
"Akko, I really-"
"Sorry! Can't hear you!"
"Now who is the stubborn one…?" Diana heaves a great sigh, one that's only gotten heavier after over a year's worth of Akko's shenanigans. "Very well."
"All right!"
"Akko, this is not a recreational event," Diana warns her.
"I know!" Akko gives her a genuine smile back. "I'm just glad you don't have to do this alone, Diana. You've got Kagari Atsuko now!"
Diana shakes her head.
"Still as strange as ever."
"Heehee~"
And so, the deal they had struck up at the start of the evening has been extended.
A/N: I know I often write them as a couple, but it's also still fun to write them as canon bickering friend-rivals too haha
Wow! Absolutely love Vhale's artwork! The colors really set the tone of the hour, and poor nervous Diana is soothed by Akko's presence~
Please leave comments or kudos!