Roommates, Rivals, Romance (ch1)

FOR MY $20+ PATRONS!

Again, just be warned the only stuff I know about idols are what I've seen from anime and even then my writing probably won't be accurate, please don't kill me.

I referenced the dances and songs from the actual lives of Kukugumi for this cuz I'm lazy and wasn't gonna make up my own haha.

Disclaimer: I do not own Shoujo Kageki Revue Starlight.

------------

													Chapter 1. The Interview

The Starlight Girls idol troop has a certain building they use as a sort of home base and training grounds. Of course they travel a lot when business demands it, but otherwise all nine girls' apartments are located in the same district of Japan, and therefore they typically remain local.

The building in point has a large studio, capable of holding three times as many girls, which gives them ample space to practice their choreography, formations, and anything else they may need. One wall is covered in mirrors so they may observe themselves and their positioning. The studio has all the necessary equipment, including radios, projectors, boom boxes, and a massive white board for them to write out their formations and make any necessary adjustments.

The building also has a lounge, a gym, an exercise room, and a pool which are all accessible to the girls both during and after work hours.

But the studio is where most of the girls spend most of their time.

And none more so than Claudine.

She is up early every morning without fail to come practice the routines and hone her voice. She often stays late after their workdays are done, and comes on her days off as well; anything to help her earn center.

This morning is no different. It's 6:30AM when she greets the office staff at the front desk before taking the stairs up to the second floor. She's dressed in the typical white and pink track suit top and shorts, as well as her dance shoes.

Their group has only been together for three months now, but Claudine is the only one who's needed to be given new workout clothes due to how hard she's been practicing and how worn her last pair had become.

Now, she reaches the top of the stairs and heads to the studio. And even though she knows she's alone, she still calls out a greeting on habit.

"Good morning."

Claudine flicks on the lights and sets down her bag with her water, snacks, and change of clothes in it. The sounds of her clicking shoes echo across the hardwood floor as she heads toward the CD player to select the song she wants. It's one of their newer and upcoming pieces, to be performed at a concert scheduled for a few weeks from now at the end of the month.

She's already learned all of the words and notes perfectly, while a few others (Karen, to be precise) are still struggling a bit. Claudine's biggest concern is still the choreography, as there are a few difficult movements and spins she still has yet to master.

And she has to get it down perfectly - no - more than perfectly if she's ever going to have any hopes of claiming center position for herself.

There are nine X's taped onto the floor at the center of the room in each girl's trademark color, and as the music comes on Claudine gets into position on her orange one. She gets into her starting pose, trying not to glare at the white X on her left.

Within only the first twenty seconds, she messes up a step, and fishes into her shorts pocket for a little remote control to rewind the CD from afar. The music starts over, and she's already at the point where she doesn't even really need the CD in order to hear it - she's just doing it for accuracy's sake.

No one has practiced these dances more than she has, and thus they always seem to be stuck playing in the back of her mind, especially when she's trying to fall asleep at night, which she often complains about.

Even so, she loves their music. Their songs all have excellent lyrics and phenomenal instruments, and they all sound like they could be happening during an intense, on-stage sword fight. "Starry Diamond" and "Words of the Stars" are two of her favorites, but it's the still-unreleased "Star Divine" that's been giving her a few issues.

As she practices on her own, she mutters under her breath as she moves.

"Karen, Hikari, and Mahiru start off the vocals… and then it's like this-"

She takes two steps forward, then whirls around, dips into a bow and takes two more back, then spreads her arms out as the first three would finish their piece. Then, it's herself, Maya, and Nana who take the center, though even then Claudine is still on the end and Maya is still in the direct middle.

Even though she's alone in the studio right now, Claudine still envisions the others here moving and singing with her, and she still gets a little annoyed even simply at her mind's projection of Maya.

But she knows that nothing is more helpful to her own learning than watching another performer who is more skilled than herself, and making adjustments based off of that person's habits. She's watched Maya go through these movements a hundred times already, enough to visualize her perfectly.

Claudine moves with a bit more vigor in her step, throws her arms out with a bit more flare, but when she sings she's mindful not to project too loudly and risk drowning out the others.

As a group, they've made it through and learned about 2/3 of the new song now, and this week's goal in their practices will be to finish it. Claudine goes over those 2/3's a couple of times on her own this morning, constantly pausing to rewind and make minor adjustments.

She's only been here for about half an hour when a small knock comes on the wall.

At the very least, her visitor had waited until she'd finished the routine to interrupt.

Wiping the sweat from her forehead, Claudine glances slowly back over her shoulder, already knowing full-well who it is.

"You're pretty late, aren't you?"

Maya is dressed in the same clothes as she is, leaning against the door frame with her arms crossed as she observes. Now, she dips her head in greeting and makes her way inside.

"On the contrary, you are exceptionally early, Saijou-san. I'm a bit hurt that you didn't notify me before coming here at such an hour."

"Give it a rest. It's not my job to wake you up and tell you where I'm going."

"That is true. And besides, creature of habit you are, I know I'll always find you here."

"Did you just call me a 'creature'?" Claudine snorts and Maya chuckles. At the very least, it's a good place for her to rest and take a drink of water.

Maya walks over to her white X and stands readily on top of it. To Claudine it almost looks like a boast of her prime position, even though it's probably not. Probably.

"Working on "Star Divine" again?" Maya wonders. "Did you happen to stretch before you began?"

Claudine swallows another mouthful of water before capping her bottle, looking down a little sheepishly.

"It… may have slipped my mind…"

"Oh my, that simply won't do," Maya chides her. "Stretching is essential before any-"

"All right, all right, I know!" Claudine crosses her arms and mutters in French to herself. Maya just keeps on smiling.

"No need to get so defensive, Saijou-san. I very much admire the fact that you get so passionate about the routines that you jump right into them without warming up sometimes. But now that you've been reminded, what say you to a bit of stretching?"

"Fine…"

Claudine takes her natural position to Maya's right side as they begin with some basic arm stretches. They go back-to-back and lock arms, then take turns holding each other on their backs. Claudine usually pulls Maya forward first in an effort to assert some sort of dominance, but when it's Maya's turn, she always suspends Claudine on her back for just a little bit longer to subtly get back at her.

They take turns holding onto each other's stomachs and raising one leg in the air, then sit on the floor and push each other's backs in splits. Claudine hates the fact that her back actually cracks loudly enough for Maya to hear it. As she's being pressed down to the floor, she can hear the smug little smirk on Maya's lips.

"My, my, Saijou-san, a bit stiff, are we?"

"Shut it! As if you've never had that sort of thing before…"

"Did you remember to have breakfast this morning before you left?"

"Of course I did! What kind of a question is that?"

They bicker on and off as they finish up their stretches, then get back into formation for the dance practice. As soon as they begin, Claudine feels a flash of heat travel through her body at just how on-point Maya is from the very first second. She'd only just gotten here, and yet Claudine knows she's moving more sharply and more accurately than Claudine had managed within the past hour of her private practicing.

She tries to mimic and match Maya's movements, stepping in time with her first off to the right side before moving back to the center. They don't sing for the time being, as they've already learned the song a week ago and the main focus is on the choreography. It's only a few seconds into the first chorus when Claudine feels that heat of embarrassment again when she misses a step and has to stop them.

"Sorry. I forgot that was three steps not two. Let's do it again from the first line of the chorus."

"Of course."

Claudine bites her lip. There are ups and downs to working alone together with Maya. On one hand she can learn a lot from watching her, as infuriating as she might be. But on the other hand she's always feeling like she's messing up, or that she's holding Maya back by constantly asking to redo certain parts.

Maya never seems fazed by it, but Claudine can't help but feel guilty most of the time.

As they review the part in question, Maya gives her a few tips, which Claudine accepts with a grunt. After another half an hour, at 7:30, the rest of the girls start coming in.

"Oh!" Nana says sleepily. "Of course Kuro-chan and Maya-chan are already here."

"Morning!" Karen calls out. "Who's ready to master this new "Star Divine" number?"

"I am," Mahiru smiles. "I really like this one."

Just then, their manager and overseer Ms. Sakuragi enters the studio and claps her hands.

"Good morning, everyone. I hope you're ready for some intense training today. Our concert is in two and a half weeks so we've got to get this song and all the choreography down by the end of this week so we can get started on the others. And don't forget we'll be having a brief, one-song performance on Wednesday at that little music festival in town, so we've got to go over the details for that."

All nine girls face her and bow their heads.

"Yes, ma'am!"

And so the day progresses as per usual, with Sakuragi calling out instructions and orders as the girls go through the dances. Several other adults and staff arrive, some being business partners or cameramen or reporters publishing works about the idols.

The girls do a few run-throughs of their newest number and learn the ending part before changing into their stage clothes. They often wear their performing outfits when practicing so they can get used to the exact feeling of how their clothes and bodies will move once they get onstage in front of an audience.

They have a lunch break, then an afternoon of individual interviews that had been previously scheduled. The nine of them sit in a little break room around a table with some grapes and crackers in the center as they wait for their turns with the journalists. Karen is fidgeting around in her seat, constantly messing with the red jacket on her shoulder.

"Ohhh man, I don't like interviews… they make me so nervous!"

"Why?" Hikari wonders. "Just answer their questions honestly."

"That's easy for you to say!" Karen whines. "You're always so calm and collected, Hikari-chan."

"She has a point, though," Kaoruko chimes in. "While you should always be honest, interviews are also the perfect opportunity to boast about yourself and your achievements."

"Little Miss Humble, over here," Futaba mutters.

"She isn't completely wrong though," Junna says. "It's not good to over-exaggerate, but you should kind of play yourself up a bit. Not to the point of conceitedness, of course, but don't be afraid to put yourself out there."

"Well said, Junna-chan!"

"Thanks."

"Just be careful how you word things," Futaba advises. "These press people can twist stuff weirdly sometimes and then you've got rumors flying everywhere."

Claudine listens idly as the others chatter to lighten the mood. She's already had a dozen interviews, and they always ask her the same questions, so she's more or less written a mental script for her responses.

Maya, of course, is the coolest and calmest of the bunch. When Sakuragi calls for her first, Maya stands and walks off, but not before giving a wink to Claudine in particular. Claudine huffs and crosses her arms.

When it's her turn to go, she walks into the room with confidence and grace, greeting the cameramen and journalists charismatically. And just as she'd anticipated, the interview begins with all the basic questions about her parents, her nationality, her childhood, and her earlier days in the career.

All in all, it lasts for about fifteen minutes, and Claudine assumes they're finished until the woman asks her a question out of left field, something she's never been asked before.

"Saijou-san," the journalist says. "It's a known fact that you and Tendo-san attended the same high school. Could you please tell us a little bit about your relationship with her specifically, given the fact that you've known her longer than you've known the other members of Starlight Girls?"

Claudine doesn't have a planned-out response for that. She hesitates, trying to work something out in her brain. She obviously knows she can't say anything that could be interpreted negatively by the fans; even if she jokingly were to call Maya infuriating or annoying, it could be bad news.

So, while suppressing her irritation, shouldn't it be best to just be honest?

Claudine clears her throat and maintains her pleasant smile.

"Yes, it's true that Tendo Maya and I attended the same high school. We've known one another for several years now, and we knew from the start that we would both be pursuing similar career paths. As I'm sure we're all aware, she's always been at the head of her class, and now she's landed center position. I've learned a great deal from observing her and I hope to keep improving myself. Tendo Maya is my rival, and my goal is to one day take center position from her and make my fans proud."

That was something unique to the idol industry. The most popularly "ranked" girl, or the one with the most fans, was rewarded with the center position. And it's only natural that Maya has the most fans, being she's the most skilled of the group, on top of being drop-dead gorgeous.

The journalist nods and hums in amusement.

"Oh? The two of you are rivals, even though you're in the same group? How romantic!"

It takes Claudine a moment to register what's just been said, but before she can comment again, the woman ends the interview.

"Thank you very much for your time, Saijou-san!"

"Y-Yes… thank you." Claudine has no choice but to dip her head, sending a nervous glance at Sakuragi in the corner of the room. But her manager doesn't seem bothered by Claudine's response to the question and just smiles at her approvingly. Claudine exits the interview room and returns to the others who welcome her back.

"Kuro-chan!"

"How did it go?"

Claudine sits down in her chair - beside Maya, of course.

"It was fine," she says.

For some reason, she just can't shake this odd little feeling in the back of her head. Her mind keeps going back to that one word: "romantic."

She shakes her head quickly. As she'd said, Maya is her rival.

But of course they're friends, too. All of them are. And all of Starlight Girl's members had one or two people they spent a little more time with than the others. It was completely normal, especially in this line of work that involved a lot of hand-holding and shoulder-touching in their dances.

She pushes the fuzzy feeling as far away as possible for the rest of the afternoon, where they work on a few more routines and on some potential lyrics for a new song.

They also propose ideas of what to talk about onstage after the concerts are over; typically, there is a brief portion where the idols converse with one another in order to let their fans see them being normal girls.

Then, they rehearse the song they'll be performing at the music festival on Wednesday to ensure they've got it down perfectly, and they call it a day at 4PM.

The other girls head out in pairs and the one group of three, but Claudine lingers behind to practice some more. And of course Maya stays behind with her.

They change back into their workout clothes and review the steps to several songs until 5PM hits. By this point, both of them are thoroughly exhausted, though Claudine wants to keep going.

"Just once more on that part-"

"It can wait," Maya says firmly. "You've been here since 6:30 this morning, Saijou-san. It's time to head home and rest."

Claudine pouts a bit, but she can't deny the ache throbbing all throughout her body. With a long sigh, she admits defeat.

"Fine…"

She stays put as Maya crosses the room to turn off and put away the equipment. Claudine watches her reflection in the mirrors. She'd been wanting to ask her about the interview all afternoon, but then she'd just tell herself she was being silly. But as Maya turns around, she catches Claudine's eye in the mirror, and then turns to her for real to give her a puzzled look.

"Is something the matter, Saijou-san?"

Claudine clams up as Maya approaches her again with that infuriatingly-genuine tone of hers.

"That reaction only confirms my suspicions, you know."

Claudine huffs sharply, but slowly turns back to her.

"It's just… in that interview… did they ask you about me…?"

Maya blinks in surprise, tilting her head a little bit.

"About you? No, they didn't. It was just the usual questions about my childhood and family life, and about a few of our upcoming performances." She takes one step closer, until she's just a foot away from her. "Why? Did they perhaps… ask you about me?"

Claudine grunts a little and doesn't look up at her. Maya can read her like a book.

"Oh my. What did you say?"

Claudine shuffles her feet, though she doesn't step away from her.

"I just told them the truth. That I see you as my rival."

"Did Sakuragi-sensei seem upset?"

"No…"

"Then I don't see the harm in it," Maya says. "After all, as idols, we all are made to take on a sort of persona, are we not? Aijou-san is the lovable energetic type, Kagura-san is cool and mysterious, Tsuyuzaki-san is a pure-hearted family girl, Daiba-san is like an older sister, Hoshimi-san is the studious type, Isurugi-san is the tomboy, Hanayagi-san is the mischievous type…" Here, she offers out her hand, which entices Claudine to look up at her. "And you and I, Saijou-san, are 'rivals' are we not? Our personas are based off of our actual characteristics, aren't they? It helps the fans identify with us."

"I know all that," Claudine mutters. "It's just…"

"Was there something else?" Maya wonders.

Claudine debates bringing up the "r" word that was used today, but the thought of it makes her heart do something weird and pang-like. So she decides against it.

"No. It's nothing."

Maya looks like she's going to pursue the topic, so before she can, Claudine keeps talking.

"Anyway, I'm hungry. I'm going to head home."

Luckily, Maya drops the previous topic.

"Very well. Then I shall, as well."

They use the locker room next door to shed their sweaty clothes, though they don't use the showers here except on a tight schedule and during actual work hours.

They dress themselves in skirts and blouses and alter their appearances in small ways that will prevent most people from recognizing them out on the streets; Claudine puts on a beret and Maya ties her hair into a ponytail and pulls a scarf up to her chin.

The two of them take their bags of personal belongings and exit the building together.

It's a warm evening and the sun is on its way to set, dyeing the city in pinks and golds. Their walk is a quiet one, lest some random passerby be a fan who recognizes their voices and then proceeds to inform the entire town about their whereabouts. While it was inevitable sometimes that idols be recognized by their fans in day-to-day life, it was often best to avoid that at all costs if possible for the sake of their personal privacy.

Claudine and Maya walk together at the crosswalks, pass the same little stores, and ultimately take the same path back to the same apartment complex.

And then up the same stairs to the very same room.

Because, of course, they're roommates.

Being an idol paid fairly enough, but most of their money went back to family or to pay off school loans, so it's only natural they'd decided to be roommates and share an apartment for the sake of saving funds.

Karen, Hikari, and Mahiru also share a room at a complex down the street, as do Junna and Nana, as well as Kaoruko and Futaba at another complex in the opposite direction. Like the rest of them, Claudine and Maya had made and agreed upon these arrangements after graduating high school, and they've lived together ever since. But none of their fans knew this about any of them, and it was crucial to keep it that way.

As they reach their door on the third floor, Claudine fishes out her key and lets them in. It's a rather small apartment, complete with all of the essentials. There's a small living area with a couch, love seat, and television, with a table and desk against the wall. There's a kitchen area with a smaller table and chairs, as well as a bathroom and bedroom.

Maya sighs as she trades her shoes for slippers and puts her things down on the couch.

"Home sweet home. Shall I get started on supper?"

Claudine puts her bag down as well and heads straight for the bathroom.

"I'm going to shower first."

"Take your time."

Claudine really has to give herself credit. Not only does she work with Tendo Maya on a daily basis, but she also wakes up to her every morning and goes to bed with her every night, and in general has just been around her 24-7 for the past three months after being with her through years of school. She's honestly surprised she hasn't combusted by now, given how infuriating she can be.

But she supposes she's worked up some kind of immunity to it. Sort of.

She takes a bit of extra time in the shower this evening, mainly because that interview is still nagging at her for whatever reason. It gets to the point where it's becoming more annoying that Maya herself, so Claudine finishes up and dresses herself to join her roommate for dinner.

Just as they have a routine at work, they have a routine at home as well. They discuss the day over their meal and talk about the upcoming festival and later concert after that.

Claudine cleans the dishes as Maya takes her turn in the shower, and then they sit on the couch together to either watch TV or go on their phones or laptops for leisure.

Today they decide to watch some TV - whatever random soap opera is playing. This one is about a girl who runs away from her strict parents to elope with the male drummer of some traveling band. It's a lot of drama, as expected, a lot of crying and crazy events. The protagonist has just leapt off a small bridge into her lover's arms and nearly killed them both in the process.

"Honestly," Claudine mumbles. "This is a bit much, even for a soap opera, don't you think?"

"Really?" Maya coos. "I'd say it's rather romantic."

And Claudine isn't sure exactly when the weird feeling had gone away, but suddenly it comes rushing back all at once, and her heart flutters again. Suddenly, she finds she can't look at Maya anymore. She gets to her feet and turns away.

"I think I'm going to bed for tonight."

Maya sits up and grabs the remote to turn the program off.

"Then I'll join you."

"You don't have to follow me."

"I'm not. I'm simply very tired."

"You're very infuriating is what you are…"

Together they turn off all the lights and appliances, and then head to the bedroom.

It's got two windows, two dressers, and two nightstands…

But of course, only one bed.

It had been all they could afford at the time when they'd first moved in together, and even though they'd saved up a bit more money now, there was no sense in relocating to another complex or a larger room since they were so close to their work here. And the room wasn't large enough to fit a second bed.

So they've been making due with this for the past three months.

Claudine climbs into her side and checks the alarm on her phone to make sure it's set, then buries her face in her pillow.

Maya takes her spot as well. Sometimes she would leave her lamp on and stay up to read a little bit, though Claudine could always feel her staring at her from time to time.

But tonight Maya opts to go straight to bed as well, leaving the light off and laying down beside her roommate. She turns to face Claudine, and Claudine turns away with a huff.

"You know," Maya murmurs. "I do wish you would wake me before you leave in the mornings. It's a bit lonely to wake up to an empty apartment, Claudine."

Then there's that. How Maya addresses her by her first name when they're here at home. All throughout the day it's "Saijou-san" but upon returning to the apartment she makes that switch, and it always makes Claudine's chest feel warm.

"Don't be so dramatic," she mutters. "You see me all day long. Isn't that enough? And besides, it's better if we leave at different times so no one finds out we live together."

"I suppose you're right."

"You know I'm right. Now if you don't mind, it's been a long day and I'm tired. Good night."

"Of course. Goodnight, Claudine."

Claudine almost doesn't hear her reply, because she's closed her eyes and her mind has started running rampant with thoughts of today.

She can't stop thinking about that interview. That journalist hadn't called Claudine and Maya romantic, but rather had implied that their rivalry was romantic in terms of literature and theater.

But that soap opera tonight, and how Maya had said the word had meant something very different.

Claudine can't understand why she's latched onto that word. She and Maya may be roommates, and they may be rivals, but they're definitely not romantic, in any sense of the word.

They can't be, for a lot of reasons.

As her mind drifts off into a restless slumber, Claudine inches toward the edge of the bed, and moves as far away from Maya as possible.

-------------

A/N: Say it with me: "and they were roommates!" I absolutely had to do that, for sure, no contest. I know it's in the title but I hope I managed to keep it a little bit of a surprise until the official reveal there.

I hope most of this was accurate and understandable! I'm gonna be using Ms. Sakuragi (they'll be calling her 'sensei' cuz it's respectful) a bit more in this story as well as some other random adult staff members, but again, I'm not 100% certain how all this idol stuff works. I'm really just winging it here haha