Our Ideal Place (Little Witch Academia)

Chapter 24: Back to Normal?

Diana paced near the leyline terminal. She wanted to be the first to greet Akko, so she left Wedinburgh early. Where was she? Her watch read five minutes till the matriculation ceremony. Unable to wait any longer, she ran towards the main building while thinking of excuses to give Headmistress Holbrooke. As she approached it from the left side, students began running toward her and screaming. From a distance came the sound of something large pounding on the ground. A white blur, or more precisely, Arcas, skidded around the corner. She skidded as well and turned on her heels to run away.

"Diana!" Akko was riding Arcas.

For a moment, Diana stood there with her mouth open. The great bear dug its paws into the ground and stopped abruptly near the door. Akko flew off and Diana didn't have time to activate her wand so she braced herself as Akko fell on her.

"Ow..."

Arcas prowled over, covering them with his shadow. His great jaws opened wide. Diana felt her wand and prepared a shield spell.

Teeth hooked on Akko's hood and lifted her. "Thanks, Arcas," said Akko.

"Professor! It's over here!" yelled a student.

Akko grabbed her hand and helped her up. As they ran towards the door, Akko yelled, "Run Arcas!"

The great bear ran back the way he came. When they entered the auditorium, Diana smiled and squeezed Akko's hand lightly. Life was back to normal again.

-----

After their first class, Diana saw Akko putting a poster about the Shiny Chariot Fan Club on the bulletin board. Their friends were kind enough to fill in as fake members so they could get approval last April. Despite Akko's efforts to get more members, only she and Akko attended the weekly club meetings. Still, it was fun to forget about school and share their Shiny Chariot experiences.

"With all these new students, I'm sure we'll get more members," said Akko.

"I hope so too." Although she liked Akko's enthusiasm, part of her wished that no one would come today so that she could talk to Akko privately.

-----

Diana looked forward to Astrology class, but to her disappointment, Prof. Chariot was absent and Prof. Nelson told them to a read a chapter and make notes. After their last class, she and Akko met in the club room in one of the unused buildings. They floated dust out the window and tidied the shelves. Diana placed the Shiny Chariot figure on the center shelf.

"Why are you putting it there?" asked Akko.

"Only a few of these were made, so I wanted to share it with all the club members."

"That's nice of you! Everyone will love it!"

When they finished cleaning, they made some tea and sat down at a table. "By the way, why were you riding Arcas?

Akko rubbed the back of her head sheepishly. "Oh... that. I got here yesterday but the dorms were closed, so I stayed with Arcas, but I overslept then Arcas tried to help and we ended up running around..."

Diana giggled. That was so like Akko. Lotte and Sucy spent most of the matriculation ceremony plucking white fur from Akko's clothes.

"I can't believe how tall everyone is now. Lotte grew 3 inches!" said Akko. "How much did you grow?"

"Almost 2 inches."

"About an inch for me." Akko's shoulders slumped.

Diana patted her shoulder. "Don't worry. Just eat healthy and you'll grow more."