Title: Quiescis
Rating: T
Pairing(s): Akko-centric
Genre(s): Friendship/Humor/Drama/Hurt/Comfort/Romance
Summary: She remembered Shiny Chariot's show like it was happening right in front of her at that very moment. She remembered the twinkling of the lights, the roar of the dragon, the cheers of the crowd. Then silence. Deaf Akko!

Disclaimer: I don't own Little Witch Academia.

"Great works are performed not by strength, but by perseverance."

—Samuel Johnson

Chapter One:

Akko squirmed excitedly in her seat, waiting for the show to start. It was her sixth birthday, and her parents decided to take her to see someone named Shiny Chariot's magic show. Akko could hardly wait—she wondered if Shiny Chariot would be like Mickey Mouse from Fantasia or Sailor Moon. Maybe she was like both!

Suddenly, the stars twinkled above, and a bright light sprung from the expanse of the night sky. The bright light came closer, and Akko was able to see a beautiful white bird flying towards them. She stood up in her seat, wanting to get a closer look. The bird whooshed past her, creating a strong wind. Akko clutched her witch hat close, her eyes sparkling in anticipation. The bird flew towards the stage, expanding into an orb of light, before transforming into the form of a young woman. Akko gasped—this must be was Shiny Chariot!

"Welcome to the land of magic!" Shiny Chariot exclaimed. Akko jumped, her parents giving her chuckles at her obvious display of enthusiasm. Shiny Chariot extended her hand. "Reach out…" she began, and a magic staff appeared in her awaiting hand. Trails of light swirled around her as she twirled. "And your story will begin!" the woman yelled, casting a wave of water, surfing on top of it. Akko quietly held her breath, not wanting to drown, but the water immediately vanished, and the little girl glanced above her. The entire audience was incased into a galaxy of space, with millions of stars surrounding them. Akko looked down at her feet, finding them floating in the galaxy, and she squealed happily.

Shiny Chariot continued her show, flying past the audience, circling around to the stage, diving in and out of space, lights splashing with each action. She transformed herself into a mermaid, then an angel, and then a centaur galloping across the sky. A light burst forth from Akko in the form of a pixie, and she watched it join other images of light in awe. Shiny Chariot smiled, before she gasped, the lights combining together to form a ferocious dragon. The little girl screamed but didn't cower into her mother like some of the other kids. Shiny Chariot threw her hat, causing it to transform into the giant bird from before, and she sailed upon it towards the beast crying, "Noctu Orfei Aude Fraetor!" the staff turned into a bow and arrow. The witch pulled back the string and let it lose towards the monster. "Shiny Arc!" she shouted, letting the arrow fly into the creature's mouth. The dragon swallowed it whole, exploding into a symphony of fireworks. Akko's mouth dropped open at the beautiful sight. Shiny Chariot shot another arrow, opening up a huge glowing portal into the sky, sparks falling everywhere. She turned towards her audience smiling wide.

"Don't forget." She beseeched. "It's your belief in yourself that makes up your magic."

With that, she disappeared into the chasm in the sky, a pillar of light illuminating her departure. Sparkles rained down, and Akko rushed forward, catching one in her hands, and clutching it close to her chest, smiling softly. She just stood there, savoring the moment. That was Shiny Chariot…

It wasn't until she felt her mother's hand shaking her shoulder did she jump, turning her wide ruby eyes to the older woman. Akko squinted, watching her mother's mouth move but no sound coming out. She shook her head, not understanding why her mother was not talking, but moving her mouth. Akko opened her mouth, preparing to tell her mother to stop teasing her, when she felt her voice come out, but stopped short when she realized she didn't hear anything. She furrowed her brow, opening her mouth to speak again, but once more, she only felt she was using her voice, and not hearing it. Movement caught her eye and the little girl could see everyone was cheering, but she didn't hear any sound. Fear gripped her, and she turned to her mother, trying in vain to communicate to her. Mrs. Kagari figured out something was wrong, her husband and her growing frantic when they realized something wasn't quite right with their child. She was clutching her throat, tears coming to her eyes, and cried.

"Why can't I hear?!" she shouted, felling her vocal chords being used, but not the sound being produced from them. Her parents immediately picked her up, taking her away from the audience and rushing to find help. Shiny Chariot's words resonating in her mind.

She didn't realize those words would be the last she would ever hear before being plunged into a world of silence…

Akko grinned as she shielded her eyes from the bright sun. She clutched her suitcase in her hand and held her handbag in the other.

'I'm finally here! This is where Shiny Chariot learned her magic!' she thought in glee. Years have passed since that fateful performance that changed Akko's life. Shortly after Shiny Chariot's show, it was discovered that she had lost her hearing. Her parents demanded answers, and the doctors were as baffled as they were. Naturally, the family was devastated, not sure of what to do for their daughter, before quickly researching into ways to make it better for her. There was no solution, the doctors said, for someone who has gone completely deaf, but they could connect Akko with resources to help cope with it.

Her parents had pulled her out of school to send her to a school to help her with what they termed "her disability" and Akko was taken from everything she knew to be thrust into an unfamiliar environment and with few ways to communicate. She hated it. She fell into a depression soon after all the change, but Chariot's performance stayed with her, Akko repeating the memories in her mind like a religion in order to not forget what noise sounded like. She hated the world she was cast into—the silence her constant companion. It wasn't until a year later from when she lost her hearing, that she felt Shiny Chariot's words hit her like a burst of inspiration.

"Don't forget. It's your belief in yourself that makes up your magic."

It was like a fire was lit in Akko from that moment on. She had forgotten she still had power over her own life—her own magic, and Akko soon began putting effort into what her future could turn into, and not what her past was like. She began dreaming of being like Shiny Chariot, who inspired her to keep going even after she lost her hearing and wanted to be people's source of inspiration to move on from their own troubles. She wanted to make people feel like they weren't alone in the world like she thought she was. Like Shiny Chariot said, if she believed in it, she could make it happen. This belief caused her to force her parents to pull her out of special school, signing to them vigorously that the real world wasn't going to treat her like glass, so neither should she or her parents. She enrolled into a regular school the following year, and while not full-proof, learned the skill of lip reading. By the time she had discovered Luna Nova, she felt more capable than ever, and told her parents her intentions.

Naturally, they were very wary of the idea of their daughter leaving Japan to be by herself in a foreign country, but Akko signed "Don't worry! I am learning SSE!" to assuage their worries. It took a lot of convincing, but soon her parents joined in her efforts to contact Luna Nova's headmistress, and Akko recorded a video, signing excitedly in amateur Sign Support English "I would love to go to your school! It's my dream to make others happy with my magic!"

The headmistress had replied with her own video surprisingly, signing in Sign Supported English that she would love to have Akko enroll, making Akko squeal in excitement while her parents hugged her, signing to her how proud and happy for her they were.

And now, finally she was here in Great Britain! She was getting closer to her dream by the second! And if the headmistress knew sign, then she was excited at the prospect of the students also knowing sign. At her old school, Japanese Sign Language was shared amongst the students when Akko had joined, each wanting to understand and communicate with their classmate easier. She hoped Luna Nova was just like her old school.

Akko did a twirl in happiness, almost tittering off balance, and grabbed her bags. She hurriedly made her way across town, searching for the bus stop to take her to Luna Nova. The young teen had a bounce in her step, as she nodded a greeting to everyone she passed by. She approached an old woman sitting at a bench. She gave a bow in respect, opening her mouth to speak "Hello! Do you know where's the bus stop to Luna Nova?"

The woman gave her a confused look, as if she didn't understand her, and Akko blushed, realizing she spoke in her native language rather than English. She cleared her throat, trying again.

"Bus stop? Luna Nova?" she said, sure she was screwing up her English badly. She eventually had to bring out a notepad, making sure to write in English and gave it to the old woman. Reading it, the old woman shook her head, and Akko gave her a smile and left. She continued showing her notepad to residents in the town, each shaking their heads no—some had attempted to speak to her, but realizing she was deaf, didn't really bother continuing. This didn't deter Akko though—she would find the bus stop eventually!

However, the possibility of that happening seemed to diminish as more time passed, and Akko begrudgingly took out her map, searching for a clue.

'How do they expect me to find this place?!' Akko furrowed her brow in impatience. She followed the road with her eyes, coming across a tower where it listed 'Leyline Terminal'. She glanced above the map, staring straight at a replica of the tower on the map. She double checked the drawing before grinning, 'I found it!'

She raced towards the tower with her spirits renewed. Her eyes didn't leave the structure, smile wide, and not looking to where she was going. A sudden collision with someone threw her off balance, causing her to fall to the ground, her stuff flying everywhere.

"S-sorry." Akko said, unconsciously using Japanese to address the girl. A paper was on the ground, catching her attention, and she found it was the same Luna Nova brochure she had! Akko quickly turned her head, finding another girl with mauve hair, covering one of her eyes, picking up a broom from the ground. Akko's eyes sparkled.

'A student of Luna Nova!' she thought, her hands moving at rapid speed, "Hello! I'm A-K-K-O! You pronounce it like this!" she demonstrated the signs for the sounds a and ko in Japanese Sign as her name. "Anyway, I'm a student at your school! Let's go to the bus terminal together!" she signed in JSL, before realizing she was using the wrong one, and gasped, immediately switching it to Sign Supported English. "Sorry! I am still learning SSE! I'm used to using Pidgin and JSL, but I know that will only get me so far!"

The girl just stared at her blankly as she continued signing. Akko faltered. Could the girl understand her? If she was a student at Luna Nova, then she must know sign like the Headmistress! Maybe she only knew British Sign? Akko hoped not—BSL was vastly different than Sign Supported English, and often difficult to learn from JSL due to different sentence and grammar structure. An idea popped in her head and she retrieved her precious Shiny Chariot card, presenting it to the girl.

"Shiny Chariot? Luna Nova?" Akko spoke uncertainly, not being able to hear herself talking. The girl ignored her and walked towards her fallen stuff, uncapping a potion and pouring it on Akko's stuffed bird. The plushie came to life, and Akko gasped in amazement. A squeak escaped her, and the girl glanced at her before looking back down at the animated plush. Akko held out her arms towards the plush, but it pecked her in the eye. She yelped, nursing her injured eye. The mysterious girl just walked forward, ignoring Akko's cries. The animated bird flew on top of Akko's head as she hastily gathered her things and chased the other girl. Akko eyed her warily, deciding just to follow her and see if maybe she could find another student who could understand her. As they walked toward the tower, Akko spotted three girls her age wearing the Luna Nova uniform. She grinned, racing past the silent girl and towards the other students, readying her free hand to start talking to them, but stopped when she got closer enough, reading their facial expressions as displeasure. What were they disgusted with?

'Maybe I can make them feel better! It's never too late to start my dream to make people happy!' Akko decided, approaching them with a smile. She tapped the girl with red hair on the shoulder, causing the girls to direct their attention to her. She gulped at their critical stares but didn't let that discourage her.

"Hello!" she greeted, making sure she was using SSE. "I'm A-K-K-O! Akko! Are you guys okay? I noticed you were—" here she struggled with a sign, sticking her tongue out in concentration, "Upset! Yes! Upset!" she congratulated herself for a good job, waiting for their reply. They narrowed their eyes at her, the black-haired girl opening her mouth to speak.

"Who are you? What is that weird thing you're doing?" she spoke. Akko absorbed the sentence in her mind, furrowing her brow. Again? Why couldn't anyone understand her signing?

"She can't hear." the girl from earlier appeared, and Akko tilted her head since she was behind her, and therefore not able to read her lips. "My roommate knows Sign, so I recognize it. Her English isn't really that good either so who knows if she can understand you."

"Ah Sucy!" the purple haired girl greeted. The witch, Sucy, didn't say anything more and walked past them, going into the tower.

'Sucy? Is that her name?' Akko logged the information away. She began signing her question, but the three witches glared at her.

"Stop that! We can't understand you!" the red head exclaimed, and Akko read the annoyance clear on her face, wincing. She pointed to herself.

"Akko. You seem sad. Wanted to help." There was a moment of silence before the three witches burst out into laughter, and Akko felt the mean-spirited nature of their laughter rather than heard it.

"Wow, where did you learn English? A preschool?" the black-haired girl snickered. Akko felt shame well up within her. Her parents reassured her her English was fine, but maybe she should've practiced more on sounding out her words…

"Guess you're that new student from a commoner family." The red-haired girl said, smirking. Akko squirmed, understanding her words. "Bet she can't even ride a broom!" Akko wanted to crawl into a hole. They readied their brooms, shouting "Tia Freyre!"

Akko's eyes widened as they ascended from the ground, floating towards a glowing portal. They appeared to be talking to each other about something, but Akko couldn't read their lips from the ground. They disappeared in a flash of light, leaving Akko to frown.

'What do I do…?'

Should I continue this?