Little Pilot Academia

Chapter 146: Epilogue

The little girl watched her holographic screen with wide eyes as the brooms moved through the track. Four of them, two ahead and two behind. They were going so fast that the ground was nothing but a blur.

Her heart thumped against her chest as she watched, intently, at every movement one of those four ships made. The red ship. Long and slender, with three sets of wings, one at the nose, one in the middle and one in the back, with a cockpit that looked too narrow to be comfortable. The Red Rod. Piloted by the one and only Atsuko 'Akko' Kagari.

In front of it, two ships. A blue one with an incredibly long nose that looked like it could cut through anything. The Kirin, piloted by Diana Cavendish. A green one that looked like it hadn't changed at all in the past six years since the twelfth Inter-Planetary race, the Shooting Star Z, piloted by Amanda O'Neill.

But those two didn't matter. Only Akko mattered.

With a flip over the fourth ship, Akko confused its pilot and it had no option but to fall behind as Akko tried to shove her way in between The Kirin and the Shooting Star.

Both ships tried to get in its way, but the Red Rod was unstoppable. The little girl jumped to her feet as Akko suddenly started flying vertically and shot forward with a short burst of speed. Sparks were thrown into the air as the Red Rod's wing scraped the ground, but Akko didn't stop for a second and was able to get ahead of both the green and the blue ship. Now with more frantic movements, the Red Rod kept them behind as a curve came. Curve after straight, the little girl felt more and more like her heart was being tugged at with strings. At one point, the Kirin managed to get ahead. Not again! Come on! The girl thought, frustrated. Last race, Akko had lost with a similar move.

But not two times in a row. Akko suddenly barrel-rolled to the side and shot forward.

In the final straight.

She'd done that so soon after coming out of the curve that it had left no time to react. In fact, she almost ran herself against a wall.

But that was classic Atsuko Kagari.

The girl felt a second of stillness as the Red Rod crossed the finish line and, after gathering enough breath, she cried in excitement at her idol having won. So cool! She had to run away and tell her parents, they...

She paused in place, looking as Atsuko Kagari came out of her cockpit. This had been the last race in a small tournament the three ex-IPR pilots had joined because it was named after the two-times world-champion Bernadette Cavendish, mother of Diana Cavendish.

As much as many had wanted Diana to win that tournament, the girl had always been cheering for Akko.

Soon, she and the second and third places - Diana and Amanda respectively - had climbed the small pyramid near the finish line. Reporters rushed in to ask things, but none of the questions they asked were of much interest to the girl.

"Oh, and remember," Akko's voice suddenly became crisper in the girl's mind as she realized what was coming. "A believing heart is your magic!"

The girl yelled the catchphrase in unison, smiling. She was about to rush out, now for real, when she paused again.

What was that black box Akko was carrying in her hand? "I have one other thing to say, too," her red eyes glimmered with excitement as she smiled and the girl cocked her head at her.

Akko turned to her right and extended her hand to Diana. Confused, the cabbage-haired girl - her mother said it was rude to say that, but it was true, her hair did look like cabbage! - took the hand and stepped on the top of the pyramid. Amanda, on the lower step of it, snickered, clearly knowing what followed.

"Diana Cavendish," Akko suddenly dropped to one knee, opening her little box. It contained a golden ring inside. "I just won this tournament, as I happened to win your heart so long ago. But..."

Wait, this couldn't be, could it? The girl, as everyone, knew that the two famous pilots were in a relationship. But this was too sudden!

"... I want to make it known to the entire world!" Akko pointed at the screen. Diana was blushing furiously. The girl found that cute. "And I want to claim to everyone that we'll be together forever! Diana," Akko did a pause for dramatic effect, but it went on for a tad too long and it became uncomfortable. "Would you marry me?"

Diana looked at Akko for a few seconds, one hand still on hers. "You really had to do it here, huh?" Diana said. She sounded severe, but the big smile plastered across her face kind of diminished the effect. "What would you do if I said no?"

Akko beamed. "Well, I think I happen to know you very well, and..."

Diana cut her off by suddenly leaning down and stealing her lips. The girl blushed, making a gagging gesture. Why did grown-ups like to kiss so much? Gross. "Of course I accept," Diana said, beaming as much as Akko was. Akko didn't lose a second to slide Diana's ring in a chain and hang it around her neck - which would be done like that because Diana's g-suit wouldn't let the ring fit.

The stadium around them burst in cheers.

The girl burst in cheers.

She couldn't wait to become a witch!