Chapter Text
As the supply truck crested the hill through Luna Nova's gates, Akko climbed out of the crate of potatoes she had hidden in, wiping off the dirt as she jumped into the bushes once the truck had slowed down. Akko had been so excited to get to go to magic school, but she had no broom to ride, and no one had come along offering to help her out, so as the sun set and she was still just on the ground under the Leyline, Akko received a letter by owl that she had been expelled, the only student to have missed orientation.
However, that wasn't enough to stop Akko, nothing ever was. The aspiring witch refused to go home magic-less, and had begun a weeks long trek following witches, magic and any sign of Luna Nova. In the end, she had come across a magic item shop where she had been able to stalk some red haired witch to the local Leyline. All her previous sources had been wild goose chases that usually left her farther from Luna Nova than she had been previously, but the redhead had finally been her lucky break. The student was on her way back to school, and Akko just needed to wait for the next food delivery to arrive so that she could hide inside.
The campus was massive... Akko didn't even know where to start! She couldn't just go to the school, she had already been expelled, and term was already weeks in session, Akko needed some way to either be re-accepted in, or to learn magic on campus in secret.
And that was what had led her to the spirit of the Blue Moon. Her cards had told her of how fickle the ancient spirit that appeared there was, but she had to do what she could to achieve her dream. Akko would never give up!
So here she was... standing before the spirit in her dirty civilian clothes, all of her Shiny Chariot memorabilia spread along the ground from her fall into the chamber, and the massive, tree-like spirit staring down at her.
"...You are not supposed to be here, small one." It spoke, it's gnarled face contorted in a scowl. "You failed before you ever came to me, you bear no connection to Luna Nova."
Akko dropped to her knees, placing her forehead on the ground in the deepest bow she could muster. "I know! I know I got expelled, but please, oh powerful tree spirit! Please take p-pity on me and help me fix this!"
"...And how do you plan to do that?" The spirit asked, continuing its unflinching gaze.
"I-" Akko realized that she hadn't actually thought this far ahead. In all honesty, she was half expecting to be smited for even daring to approach. "Uhh... I mean, I need magic, so I guess you could give me some, but I don't know if that's how it works..." At the unimpressed expression the tree gave her, Akko decided that was probably not how it worked. "What if you taught me? I could stay down here and you can give me lessons-"
"Enough!" The spirit roared, shaking the ground under Akko. "You invade these sacred grounds and demand my help? You are not worthy of the magic I posses!"
The beast reached out a hand of vines, as if to grab Akko, but as its finger made contact with her chest, right over her heart, it instead pulled out a small golden orb from her soul, gazing at it.
"However... that does not mean I will not help you. You are not yet worthy, but I can sense you have hope yet to achieve your potential. Follow this light, and it shall guide you to what can truly help you find yourself. Be warned, Atsuko Kagari, you might not receive the answers you expect. It is how you act upon these opportunities given to you that will determine how far you'll go..."
Akko nodded, turning around to follow the light, before she thought of something. "Wait, how did you know my name?" But as she turned around to ask the question, she found herself outside of the spirit's home, the entrance blocked with thorny vines.
The golden light took off across campus, and Akko watched it go for a moment before she remembered she was supposed to be following it. "Ack! Wait for me, Blinky!" Akko gathered up all her belongings from the ground, and began to sprint across the fields after the now named 'Blinky'.
---
As Akko reached the spot where Blinky had deemed appropriate to stop, the girl looked around frantically, catching her breath. "Gosh Blinky... you're... fast!" That was when she saw it.
A portal had opened up in front of her, a massive staircase leading up to what seemed to be a mystical ball of water under a starlit sky. "O-Oh my gosh... Is that...?" Akko pulled out one of her trading cards and held it up to the portal, gasping softly. "It is! The Fountain of Polaris! EEEEEEKK! I knew it was real!" Akko performed a little victory dance for herself before Blinky entered the portal and began to float up the staircase. "Oh right! Wait for me!"
When Akko reached the top of the staircase and gazed upon the power that would hopefully see her 'hidden radience' she felt her knees grow weak. She had been traveling for so long, hunting for some way to redeem herself, and she didn't know what to do now. Reading more of the card, Akko knew she had to make a request of the power, ask it for something, but what if she guessed wrong? She wasn't worthy enough for the spirit yet, what if she wasn't ready for the fountain either?
But the blinking light that hovered around it seemed insistent, and so, Akko thought to herself, deep down, what was it that she truly needed most? What would be the one thing that could make her feel better?
Should she wish for power? No, she still wouldn't know how to use it.
Wish for knowledge? No, there's so much magic to learn she might fry her brain.
Wish for a do over? No, she's pretty sure that the Fountain can't do time travel.
Then, she had an idea. "I've got it, I know what to wish for!"
With all her heart, all her determination, all her willpower, Akko shouted out her wish.
"I wish I had friends that I could learn magic from!" Akko specified magic just in case, but deep down, she just wanted to have friends at all.
The magic of the fountain fizzled away, and Akko thought that nothing had happened, and that her wish had been rejected, until...
Blinky flew up into the starry sky of the fountain, and Akko watched as two stars fell out of the sky, looking much like the soul light that the spirit had pulled from Akko's heart. The fourth and sixth stars of the Big Dipper descended down, down, down into Akko's palm, and Blinky split in two to replace them in the night sky.
As the light of the stars faded away, Akko found two little creatures sitting in her hand. They were chibi, with large heads and small bodies. Each of their limbs bore stubby little nubs instead of any fingers or toes, and they seemed to have a translucent, almost ethereal glow to them, reminding Akko of the spirits she had seen on her cards.
The one that had come from the fourth star had sharp teeth and puce colored hair that fringed over to cover its droopy red eyes. On its head it wore a hat made out of a mushroom which seemed to weigh more than the creature itself did, small pointed horns puncturing through the mushroom to hold it on. The being gave off a toxic aura, like even being near it could be toxic.
Meanwhile, the sixth star being was shorter, with orange hair and little glowing dots on its cheeks that gave it a freckled look. This one seemed to wear glasses made of pure light, and despite its adorable appearance, it gave off a strange aura, and Akko felt like it was sitting on top of her heartbeat rather than her palm.
"Wh-what are you?" Akko asked, resisting the urge to drop the unfamiliar creatures.
The glasses wearing one stood up and dusted off the glowing skirt that Akko was having a hard time telling whether it was part of her body or not. "Hello there Atsuko Kagari. The Fountain of Polaris heard your wish, and sent us down to assist you! We are spirits of the stars, minor gods of the heavens that represent the material world. I am Lotte, bearer of the domain of Peaceful Passings. I embody what comes after death." So that explained the sensation of Lotte sitting on Akko's very lifeforce.
The other didn't say anything for a long while, only even seeming to notice Akko after Lotte had to elbow it in the side. "Eh? Oh, I'm Sucy, and I represent the domain of Decay. Poisons, Illness and Plagues are all my thing. But I'd get in trouble for cutting your destiny short, so I won't use anything lethal on you, I suppose..."
Akko blinked. "I.. don't understand."
Sucy sighed, and flopped back in Akko's hand, using the girl's finger as a hammock. "Told you she was stupid. Let's just go back up there and join the others, I'm pretty sure ☆✰𓇼✭✭☆'s party is still going on. Atsuko here is way less fun than that would be."
Akko quickly butted into the spirit's conversation. "Uh, you call me Akko. Atsuko sounds way too formal!"
Lotte nodded politely to Akko, before she shot a disapproving expression Sucy's way. "Come on Sucy, be a team player. It is our duty to be Akko's friends and help her learn magic so she can achieve her goals. And if you want to go back up to the sky, then you should be trying to help! The fountain won't allow you to go back up their until your duty is fulfilled!"
Sucy grumbled something under her breath, before she finally nodded and sat up, the mushroom wearing witch jumping off of Akko's hand before starting to float away. "Fine, but if we want our little friend here to be able to learn any magic, she's going to need a wand, and there's only one wand that's good enough to make up for her lack of skill, kekeke..."
Lotte gasped. "You don't mean-!"
"I do~" Sucy giggled, "We need to bring Akko to the Forest of Arcturus..."