…because actually, it was the best idea she ever had in her entire life. Why didn't she think of doing this ages ago? And as soon as she snapped the small emerald gemstone onto the bracelet, she jumped off her bed.

"Tada!" She said, proudly waving her wrist for her roommates to see. "The bracelet's finally done, guys! Which means I'm as ready as I can be for tonight!"

Lotte shifted awkwardly on her chair, clearly not sharing her considerable enthusiasm. "Are you sure you're not…overreacting with all this? Because this might not be…you know…"

Sucy, sitting indifferently on her own bed, decided to finish as Lotte trailed off. "Pretty sure she means the fact that you're weaponizing the limitless power of time travel…to try and impress a girl on a date. You really think this won't blow up in your face?"

Akko waved her hand, the smile still bright on her cheeks. "Yeah, I know a lot of my plans sometimes don't go…totally how they're supposed to, but that's exactly why this one is so smart! This way, it won't even matter if I mess up, because I got this!"

She continued to wave her newest bracelet around, excited to show it off to someone. At first glance, it was nothing more than a cheap metal band hanging loosely off her wrist. And for the most part, that was what it literally was. The only thing even remotely eye-catching was the light green gemstone now firmly secured on top. And with any luck, no one but the three of them would ever realize it was the same type of emerald gemstone that encrusted the giant clock within the Chamber of Time.

And if this bracelet worked like she hoped it would, it'd give its wearer the power to reverse time itself.

Of course, this one little piece of those magic gemstones was not nearly as powerful as the full Chamber. That had trapped them in a time loop and had them and their friends reliving entire days. This would only be able to reverse up to a few minutes at best. It was a pretty tiny rock, after all.

But that was fine. Being able to redo a few minutes at a time was all Akko really needed in the first place.

She and Diana hadn't been dating for terribly long, but Akko had pretty quickly become aware of the kind of girlfriend she was to her. She could talk to Diana about (almost) anything, and she knew that the both of them were always there for each other. And it was an amazing feeling to be able to call Diana her girlfriend, more thrilling and exciting than anything she could put to words. She wasn't sure if there was enough combined words in English, Japanese and Fish to describe it.

But that was…sort of the exact problem, wasn't it? Whenever she and Diana were alone together, and she tried to be romantic, she really had no idea what to do. Most of her experience with romance at this point consisted of A) screaming and running away and B) chasing after insects with a magic flyswatter.

She couldn't even do it normally, so whenever she tried to be romantic with someone as smart and pretty and overall completely amazing as Diana, she ended up making herself look like a goofball at best and a complete idiot at worst.

Combine all that with the (now undeniable) fact that anything that could go wrong for Akko almost certainly would go wrong for Akko, and she really couldn't imagine why Lotte would think this was an overreaction at all.

Lotte sat up in her seat. "I mean…be that as it may, I'm still not sure why you think something like this is worth all the trouble. You have to admit, this plan is a bit…over the top?"

"It's not over the top." Akko crossed her arms. "Whenever I'm with Diana on a date or something, I always end up getting way too nervous and saying something stupid. But tonight's going to be different! Now even if I do say something stupid, I can just go back and unsay it!"

"But that's not…really solving anything, is it? I think you're just using it as a crutch. You already know Diana likes you for you-"

"Unbelievable as it is." Sucy interjected.

"-So you should just be yourself instead." Lotte finished. "Have more confidence in yourself. You're usually really good at that!"

Akko just grumbled. "I am being confident, and it's because I have a really good plan that you guys keep making fun of! And yeah, all that being myself stuff works fine for just getting her to like me, but there's no way that's gonna work if I wanna impress her tonight!"

Lotte frowned. "Akko, that's really not-"

"No, no." Sucy set a hand on Lotte's shoulder. "She's got a point there."

Akko smiled. "Exactly! No matter what goes wrong tonight, I can immediately fix it, and look really impressive to Diana all at the same time! And besides that, I heard that couples who kiss during the Spring Festival are blessed with good luck, so I gotta do something!"

Sucy turned to Lotte. "Do they actually say that?"

Lotte shrugged. "I've never heard that before."

By this time tomorrow, Akko was positive both her roommates were going to see just how brilliant this idea actually was. And it's not like she was going to just throw away all the effort it took to even get their hands on getting the thing.

Getting this bracelet was a long, arduous struggle. It was a difficult journey for all three of them, and it was an epic tale almost as exciting and worth telling as their first grand adventure within the Chamber of Time…

…But Akko decided it was best not to think about either of those stories in any way at all. Right now she was only going to be thinking about her festival date tonight and nothing else. Being the most spectacular girlfriend possible needed her full concentration, after all.

Sucy leaned back on the bed. "So how do you know it actually works?"

Akko stopped fiddling with the bracelet. "…That's…a good point, actually."

She had to be sure it could undo an actual crisis without anyone else realizing there was one in the first place. It would do her no good if she messed up on the date and the bracelet couldn't reset everything back, and it certainly wouldn't help her make a good impression on Diana if she knew she was messing with this kind of stuff.

Akko perked up. "Hey Sucy. Remember all the times you used your potions on me and embarrassed me in front of everyone?"

"Yeah? What about-?"

Akko kicked Sucy directly in the shin.

Sucy doubled over, clutching her knee in pain. As soon as she got past her initial shock, she glared hot angry daggers into Akko. Even Lotte winced, and she wasn't even on the receiving end. She moved from her seat to try and stop any confrontation, but Sucy had already bolted from the bed.

"Y-you little-!" Sucy growled, darting towards Akko. Her hands outstretched, like she was going to wring her neck in retaliation.

She actually might have, if Akko hadn't already concentrated her magic into her finger and touched the gemstone on her bracelet.

Sucy, alongside everything else around Akko, slowed and slowed until it completely froze in place. Her fingers were paralyzed only centimeters away. Everything around Akko seemed to turn shades of gray, as if all the color in the world had faded.

And then, the world started playing in reverse. Slowly at first, but steadily increasing speed. Sucy walked backwards to the bed. Lotte's shocked expression melted away. Akko could really only describe it as like watching someone rewind a movie.

A strange, indescribable light started to glint from the corners of her eyes, and she couldn't help but squint. As the seconds passed were gradually taken back, the light grew brighter and brighter, until…

Akko opened her eyes.

Sucy leaned back on the bed. "So how do you know it actually works?"

She was back to sitting on her bed, staring as indifferently as ever. And Lotte was back at the desk, waiting expectantly for her answer. The world, the colors, the light, everything was back to where it had been only seconds before. Akko studied their reactions for a moment, until it became undeniably clear.

They had no idea what just happened.

Lotte jumped as Akko suddenly began to cheer, pumping her fists through the air. "Ha! It really does work! It totally works!" She briefly stopped to shrug in Sucy's direction. "Oh, and sorry I guess, Sucy."

Sucy's brows furrowed. "…Okay? For what?"

"Tell ya later!" She said, with no intention of actually doing so. "Right now, I gotta get dressed and go!"

Akko quickly shed her school uniform (Lotte and Sucy averted their eyes, and the former let out a resigned sigh that she wasn't going to get another word in on this argument) and traded it in for a casual shirt and shorts, something easy to walk around in.

With everything ready for the big night, Akko checked out of Luna Nova and headed into town, her heart pounding in her chest. They had agreed to meet at entrance at about seven, and she didn't want to start this out by being late. And truth be told, even if she didn't have to worry as much about mistakes, she didn't want to be constantly using the bracelet's power if she could help it.

She wasn't stupid. She was perfectly aware of how much of a hassle the Chamber of Time was, and if there was one lesson that had been thoroughly drilled into her head since she enrolled, it was how utterly easy it was for everything to go wrong, even when she had the best of intentions.

This bracelet was a powerful thing. And it had the potential to be super dangerous if she wasn't careful.

So she was only going to reset time if it was an emergency. If she somehow made Diana upset, or some random coincidence rained on their parade, or if she said something really stupid. Something that would irreversibly ruin the date.

…Except not actually irreversibly, since she would then reverse it. But only if it was absolutely necessary to make the date the best date Diana's ever went on.

The moon was rising by the time she got to the festival grounds. She actually had to stop and stare in awe for a second. There were so many colorful booths and attractions set up for the Spring Festival. When she overheard about it, she just knew she had to go, and who better to go with than Diana?

Akko weaved through the crowds of people, breathing in the smell of fried food, fresh air, and that distinctive unidentifiable carnival smell. There was supposed to be a modest fireworks show a few hours from now. How perfect would that be? Fireworks and a kiss, at the tail end of an unforgettable date? There was no way Diana would ever forget a night like that.

She wasn't actually surprised to find Diana already waiting at the entrance. But she was surprised to see Diana's date outfit. She was wearing a light and flowing summer dress, a simple denim jacket and some sensible walking shoes.

The easy-going look was almost unlike her. Akko had seen her in riding outfits and fancy ball gowns, and even her school uniform always managed to look meticulously put together. But she couldn't recall ever seeing her wear something so…casual, and relaxed.

…she looked…really pretty like that…

Akko's hands unconsciously went to fiddle with the ends of her shirt. She sort of wished she wore something nicer now. It was too late to change, and there was no way she could keep up a clothes transformation spell all night, but…maybe she could hit the bracelet a few times, go back and…?

No. No, she needed to save the bracelet's power for when it was absolutely necessary. It was only a matter of time before something went spectacularly wrong, after all. By this point, Akko knew her luck.

Taking a quick breath to quiet her jitters, Akko cheerfully waved. "Diana! Hi! Hope you weren't waiting long!"

Diana looked up, and a wide, genuine smile spread up her cheeks. It was when she made expressions like that that Akko got intimidated and couldn't talk to her right anymore.

"Good evening." She greeted pleasantly as ever. "And no, I wasn't waiting too long. I arrived a bit earlier than we agreed upon, after all."

"Were you excited?" Akko asked hopefully.

In response, the corners of Diana's lips turned up just a little bit more.

Akko felt like her stomach flipped. "B-because I was, you know? Excited, I mean. I like carnivals and everything, and going with other people is fun. And I thought, you know, i-if we went to…because…y-yeah." She pinched her eyes shut. Her face felt hot. "…I'm sorta rambling, aren't I?"

"A little bit." Diana bit her lip. "But I…certainly don't mind. I like hearing your thoughts."

This statement did not make the heat leave Akko's face.

"Well then?" Diana smiled. "Shall we go in?"

Akko quickly returned the smile, and happily walked over to Diana's side. She was so ready to have a great time tonight, and she was sure Diana was going to be more than impressed once it was all over. Maybe she could do enough right she wouldn't even need the bracelet.

Diana had been looking at her as they walked side by side into the festival grounds, and her lips parted to begin telling a story, but before she could even get a word out, she stumbled. The two of them both looked down at the sound of a splash.

Having not been looking where she was going, Diana had stepped right into a puddle of mud.

(She hoped it was mud, at least.)

It had gone all the way up to her ankle, which definitely met her sock would be soaked through. "Ugh…" She groaned. "Hold on a minute, Akko. I need to get cleaned up here."

Diana went to sit on the curb to find a way to clean up, awkwardly trying to avoid putting weight on that foot. Akko was actually a little dumbfounded the first bad thing to happen on this date hadn't been to her.

But something like this probably justified using the bracelet, didn't it? They were at a festival. Most of what they were going to be doing during this date revolved around walking. Having to walk around with a soggy, squishy shoe was definitely a deal breaker, wasn't it?

She just barely noticed the fact that Diana's cheeks were reddening. Well, of course she'd be embarrassed by something like this, wouldn't she? That sealed it. There was no way she was letting Diana start this off feeling bad.

Concentrating her magic, Akko tapped her bracelet. Once again, everything froze and turned gray. The world started to play in reverse, and the strange temporal light grew brighter and brighter.

"Well then?" Diana smiled. "Shall we go in?"

Man, that was a weird sensation.

But now Diana was clean and more importantly, back to good spirits. Once again, they walked in and Diana was about to start telling a story, but this time, Akko stretched out her arm in front of her, stopping her in her tracks.

"Watch out Diana. There's a puddle there."

"Oh!" She flashed a grateful smile towards her date. "I didn't even see that. Good catch, Akko."

Akko couldn't help but puff out her chest a little bit. Now she looked competent and chivalrous. This was actually going better than expected.

She and Diana began to walk the fair's grounds, and Akko found herself really looking at Diana's dress. How could someone manage to look pretty in anything? It was almost unfair.

Akko flushed as Diana turned, catching her staring.

"What's on your mind?" Diana asked.

Akko swallowed. "Y-yeah, it's just…I think you look really p-pretty in that dress. I-I mean, you always look pretty! You're…b-but I mean, it's…" Akko winced, and her voice gradually died in her throat. "…it's a…pretty…yeah."

Diana's cheeks turned a light shade of pink. She began to say something, but Akko was too busy hiding her face in her hand to hear.

What was that? That was the most pathetic compliment she could've possibly said. Was that dumb enough to justify using the thing? Because she felt completely stupid. But stupid enough to go back…?

"Y-you don't have to be so embarrassed, Akko. I mean…it…it was kind of you to say, but…"

Wait, Diana even noticed how embarrassed she was? You know what? Yeah. Definitely qualified as being worth it. She did not want Diana thinking she was this bad. Even if she, you know, was.

With a quiet grumble, Akko tapped her bracelet, and time reversed. The world turned gray, froze, all of that.

Ugh.

Alright. Deep breath, and be confident. She could do this. Diana would be impressed if she was confident. In fact, maybe she could even do something funny. Make her laugh. That would ease both their nerves, right? She could kill two birds with one stone.

She snapped her fingers and made some cheesy finger-guns, and spoke in a deeper, more masculine voice. "You know, Diana? You're lookin' fine in that dress tonight!"

Diana frowned. "…erm. W-what?"

"Y-you know! You look fantastic! A+!"

Words seemed to fail Diana for a moment. "Thank…you…?"

...Oh god, that was even worse.

If her face was flushed before, it was burning up to her ears now. And even Diana seemed completely unsure how to take that. Why did she even think that was funny in the first place? So, so dumb.

Come on, this was stupid. Diana was pretty, so all she needed to do was be honest. She needed to just…not overthink it. Just let it out and be done with it.

She tapped the bracelet once more. Third time's a charm?

Akko briefly glanced in Diana's direction and said her piece as quickly and efficiently as possible, not even giving herself the chance to screw it up.

"I like how you look in that dress."

"Oh." Diana blinked. "Thank you. That's kind of you to say. I'm glad you liked it."

A rather awkward silence hung over them.

Akko scratched the side of her head. "…That sounded…kinda forced, didn't it?"

"…somewhat. But you don't have to force yourself, okay? Just relax, Akko."

"Yeah, yeah. Sorry. Here, let me try this one more time. I got it for sure this time!"

Diana tilted her head. "What do you mea-?"

She took a quiet breath. Be confident, don't overdo it, and don't underdo it and say something dumb. Just let it out and be cool.

Akko turned to Diana and smiled much more genuinely. "That dress looks really pretty on you, Diana! I r-really like it on you!"

Her voice cracked.

Gaaaaaaaaaaah.

But a light smile snuck up Diana's cheeks, and she brushed a lock of hair behind her ear. "Thank you. But...well, this is just…it's nothing really. Do you really it?"

Akko nodded. "Yeah! I mean, you always look really nice, but this is a really good look for you! I like it!"

Diana's face turned from pink to full-on red at the compliment. As opposed to actually saying anything, Diana just stared at her feet, her smile spreading from ear to ear.

She made Diana smile. Not only that, she made Diana blush. Smiles and blushes. What a wonderful combination.

Still, it was…probably not great that it took three tries to even get this far. She was hiding it, but she was so, so nervous right now. She couldn't tell if there was a lot riding on this date, or if she was just overthinking things again.

And now she was overthinking about overthinking. Not great.

She fiddled with the bracelet as they walked, deciding to overthink that while she was at it. She had already used it a couple of times already, and sure, there weren't any major consequences or world-ending catastrophes, but…could she use it too much? She really didn't understand how it all worked.

But she knew she really didn't want to be alone with Diana without something to fall back on when she inevitably fell.

She was snapped from her thoughts when Diana set a hand on her shoulder. "Are you alright? You seem a bit quiet."

Akko chewed the inside of her cheek. Did she really want to tell Diana all of this? Whining, especially only a few minutes into the date, certainly didn't make her look good at all.

But…

…it might be nice to hear what she thinks…

"Hey Diana?" She asked quietly. "Can…can I be honest with you?"

"Of course you can. Please, tell me what's troubling you."

Akko took a deep breath, and then the words just seemed to spill from her mouth. "The…okay…the truth is I'm really trying to…you know, impress you tonight, but I don't really know how."

Diana gently squeezed her shoulder. "You don't need to impress me, Akko." She said, with a reassuring smile. "You've done more than enough for me these past few months. You never need to prove anything to me."

"I know, I know. It's just…" A long sigh escaped Akko's lips. "…Okay, let's say I really do wanna impress you anyway, because I really like you and I think you deserve it. What should I do?"

"I'm not sure where all this is coming from, but you shouldn't worry. All you need to do is b-"

"And don't say be yourself, okay? Because I'm serious here! I wanna make tonight really special for you and I'm…I'm sorta not good at it."

Diana went very quiet, her eyes studying the sad expression on Akko's face. After a long, almost painful, pause, she gestured to one of the nearby stalls.

"…Here. Why don't we go and get some shaved ice? I'm sure we could both do with a nice treat."

Akko chewed on the inside of her cheek. "I mean…would doing that really make you happy?"

"If you'll join me, it certainly will." Diana offered her hand for Akko to take, and let a bright smile spread across her cheeks, one that made her heart skip a beat. Akko couldn't help but return the expression in turn.

And then she brought her hand to her bracelet. "…Thanks, Diana."

Back to before Diana had noticed her being quiet, Akko turned and smiled with a little (perhaps exaggerated) cheer in her voice. "Oh hey, Diana! Do you wanna get some shaved ice?"

"Shaved ice?" Diana glanced at the stall, and shrugged rather simply. "I've never tried it before, but alright."

Akko blinked. That didn't sound very excited at all. Hadn't she just asked for it? (Technically she hadn't, but hadn't she been about to if Akko had went and spilled her guts like that?)

"Do…do you not want any or…?"

Diana shook her head. "N-no, shaved ice sounds fine. If you'd like some, I'm willing to try it. I didn't mean to sound disinterested. I was just…surprised, is all."

She smiled much more sheepishly than Akko could recall her ever doing. The whole exchange struck her as being weird. Why had she…?

"…Oh." Akko finally realized. "You were just saying that to make me feel better."

"What?"

"N-nothing." Akko took Diana's hand and led her over to the stall. "Here! I'm sure you'll like this stuff! They got a ton of flavors! You gotta like one of them, right?"

Once again, nothing bad had happened, and this was…what, the sixth time? Maybe the bracelet wasn't actually that bad at all. She could be worrying about nothing at all again. And hey, maybe eating something sugary and sweet together would help both Diana to have an unforgettable time, and Akko's own confidence.

Honestly, she couldn't tell if she was more annoyed at not getting an easy answer, or more touched at just that little gesture of kindness. Maybe she wasn't always the most open about her affection, but Diana could be a really sweet girlfriend sometimes. There was a reason Akko thought she was worth all the effort this bracelet took to get.

They ended up getting a large rainbow colored cone of shaved ice. One with two spoons for them to share. Diana seemed…pensive at the sight of the syrupy treat, but once she slipped a spoonful into her mouth, her eyes lit up.

Akko held the cone for her, and made a note of how Diana seemed to favor cherry. She herself took large spoonfuls of the raspberry side.

"This is…better than I expected it would be." Diana said between bites.

"What did you expect?"

"Well…it's ice. I just expected it to be…water, really. But the flavoring is actually quite nice. Probably not very good for you, but it tastes better than it looks."

"That's nothing!" Akko grinned. "The best part about this stuff is once all the ice is gone, you can just drink the extra syrup from the bottom!"

Diana's nose wrinkled, but nonetheless giggled at the mental image. "That sounds disgusting, Akko."

"Ooh! And plus, it like colors your tongue! See if mine's blue yet!"

She stuck her tongue out, and judging from the amused eye roll Diana made sure she could see, she suppose it must've actually been blue.

"Very nice, Akko."

"Now you do it!"

"I'd rather not sticking out my tongue in public." Diana fondly shook her head. "Besides, it'd just be red. You'd never be able to tell."

Akko just giggled, and even Diana let out a happy little noise. And that vindicated a lot of the whirlwind of emotions going through Akko right now.

And it's not like she was abusing the power of the bracelet…was she? Because if she hadn't used it at all, their date would've started off with Diana having to clean mud off herself. And maybe that last trick she pulled was a little unnecessary, but it gave her the idea, which Diana ended up liking, so it all evened out to Diana having fun and being happy.

Her thoughts were cut short once more when she and Diana turned the corner around a stall, at the same time a heavier set man had been briskly doing the same. Akko ended up walking right into him. And what parts of their shaved ice that hadn't spilled onto the ground instead spilled onto the man's shirt.

The man groaned, and Diana sheepishly went to help him. "I am so sorry, sir. Here. Allow me to fix it."

Akko just sighed. "No, I got this one too…"

Once more couldn't hurt, after all. And this one was actually more necessary than most of the others. In all honesty, the worries were draining from her heart with each reset.

This time around, Akko stopped in her tracks before the corner. And right on cue, the man brusquely turned past, barely missing the two of them.

"Some people should really watch where they're going." She muttered.

Diana nodded. "It's a bit crowded tonight. It's probably a good idea to keep an eye out for all the people here."

Akko held out the cone for Diana to take another spoonful. And as they continued into the festival grounds, she began to tell her about some of the many things the professors had her help with earlier in the day. And truth be told, Akko didn't understand most of it, but she found herself hanging on every word all the same.

At least, until Diana paused, in the middle of something about proper handling of phoenix remains or something fancy like that. "Oh. My apologies. I…didn't mean to start going on about schoolwork. I'm sure that's not what you want to hear on a date."

"No, no, it's fine!" Akko said. "I…like hearing your thoughts too."

And when Diana let out a smile so much more genuine than Akko had ever seen her wear, and knowing it was actually seriously being directed at her, she wondered why she was even worried about this date at all.

Her luck may be bad, but even the universe had to cut her a break every now and again. And whenever it didn't, she'd just ask time for a quick re-do of the now and again until it did. So let it all go wrong tonight. Because even if everything did, tonight opportunity was going to knock twice, and as many times as she needed to until she got it right.

After all, when she was literally wearing it on her wrist, how hard could it be to be the best girlfriend of all time?

A.N. And as we all know, Akko having such phenomenal cosmic power at her unsanctioned disposal is absolutely going to lead to nothing but good things. But more on that later, eh?

The original idea was the date being at school, and Akko constantly running back to the Chamber of Time itself to reset everything. But since I don't actually know how the Chamber really works in canon (since the game isn't out in the west yet and I don't speak Japanese) and Akko running herself ragged only works so far, so decided to give her a bracelet, and the official answer as to how Akko got it is "don't worry about it"