Our Ideal Place (Little Witch Academia)

Chapter 23: Her Heart

Akko played with her cards behind the souvenir and charm display. By the shrine well, a miko spoke to a group of tourists. At the back of the crowd, a young man and woman were holding hands as they took a picture of themselves by the statue of the shrine guardian. Somehow, just looking at them made Akko feel lonely. She wondered how Diana was doing.

"Hey, Ari-nee-san, how do you know if you're in love?"

Her cousin, Arika looked up from a romance novel and stared at her. "Are you in love?"

"What? No! I was just curious..."

"Who is it? I bet it's Hiro-kun!" said Arika excitedly. "He's been coming here everyday since you started working."

Hiro was a childhood friend and had been buying charms for good luck. "I bet he just wants to pass his exams. It has nothing to do with me."

"Oh, look! Here he comes!"

Akko gathered her cards in a stack and put them behind the display.

Hiro strode over. "Hi Akko-chan, Arika-san. How are you?"

"We're doing fine. How can I help you?" aked Arika.

"I have some relatives visiting. What souvenirs do you recommend?"

"We have some shrine themed stationery and stamps. Oh, it looks like we're missing some carved bookmarks. Akko, can you get some from the storeroom?"

"Ok." Akko went inside and got a box of carved souvenirs. She gave the box to Arika who showed several designs to Hiro.

"I'll take these and some stationery... and this one too." Hiro put his choices on the table.

"That'll be 2100 yen," said Arika.

After Hiro paid and left, Akko started playing again. The Believing Heart card was missing. She looked around the stand and under the table. "Ari-nee-san, have you seen a Chariot card in English?"

"No. Where did you last see it?" asked Arika.

"I was just playing over here." Akko pointed to the empty area near the souvenir stand.

"Ah! Hiro put his things there. Maybe he picked it up by accident. He went left at the gate. If you hurry, maybe you can catch him."

Akko didn't wait for her to finish and ran to the gate. She ran down the street and about a block later, she saw him enter a shop. She went in and ran down the aisles despite the curious stares of patrons. At the sixth aisle, she saw him. "Hiro-kun!"

Hiro turned. "Akko-chan, what's going on?"

She drew several deep breaths. "I... I'm looking for my card. Shiny Chariot... Do you have it?"

"Why would I have that?"

"Ari-nee-san thinks you picked it up by accident. Please check your bag." Hiro dumped his purchases on a nearby shelf. Akko saw it as he moved the stationery around and grabbed it. "There it is!"

"Are you still playing that?"

"Yeah. Isn't it great? It's the premium card!" Akko held it up.

"Er, it's nice. Hey, there's this new card game, Magicmight. I have this booster pack." Hiro offered a package of cards.

Akko looked at the package and read that it contained a starter set of 20 cards which can be used to complete a deck of 50 cards. She offered it back. "No, thanks. I can't collect enough cards to play. I don't have much allowance." Her summer vacation had drained her pocket money.