Swept Away (ch7)

EARLY RELEASE FOR MY $10+ PATRONS!

Slowly, cautiously, they will continue to meet...?

Disclaimer: I do not own Shoujo Kageki Revue Starlight.

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														Chapter 7. Secret Place

When morning comes, both girls wake with a giddy tingle in their chests.

Claudine glances to her nightstand, where she'd fondly arranged the treasures Mahiru had given her, and smiles.

Likewise, as Mahiru is pulling a comb shell through her tresses, she keeps touching and playing with the flowers in her hair.

Claudine gets ready for work, already planning on which flowers she'll take from the shoppe to bring to her secret friend today.

And Mahiru begins hunting the surrounding waters for the prettiest rocks or shells.

For each of them, the day seems to go by excessively slowly in contrast to the excitement speeding through their veins.

Mahiru manages to find a dazzling orange shell streaked with whites and pinks. She swims up to the surface with it and holds it up to the scarce sunlight, which causes the shell to glow in a beautiful gold. Content with her find, Mahiru takes it with her and swims back down.

Claudine is limited in what she can take from the shoppe, and asks her manager if she may bring along some flowers from the plants that haven't sold in weeks. She's granted permission, and Claudine happily picks a few blue and purple pansies, as well as one white lily. She tucks them into her trench coat pocket and continues with the rest of her day until 3 o'clock finally sets her free.

Mahiru has learned the exact position of the sun by now to know when Claudine will be arriving, so she swims in close to the rocks and waits for her, cradling the shell to her chest.

/I hope she likes it…/

And as Claudine hurries down the quiet afternoon sidewalk, she checks the flowers in her pocket as her shoes meet sand.

/I hope she likes them./

But as she makes her way onto the beach, she hears voices from behind and turns around. There are a few people farther down the beach nearer to the dock where the boat rentals are. It's the opposite side from hers and Mahiru's meeting place, but Claudine still isn't willing to risk her friend being seen by others.

She swiftly makes her way to the rocks and begins traversing across them. Even before she reaches the edge, she can see a blue shadow there waiting for her. Mahiru peeks her face above-water just as Claudine reaches her.

"Kuro-chan!"

"Mahiru!"

They both smile softly at one another, hearts soaring, as if they almost hadn't believed the other would really come again, and overjoyed that they really had. But the moment ends abruptly when Claudine remembers the other people on the beach.

"We can't stay here," she says. "I don't want anyone else to see you." She glances nervously down to the far end of the beach. Mahiru follows her gaze and sinks a little further down.

"B-But…" She fidgets beneath the water, clutching the shell she has yet to give. "I want to… I want to see you, Kuro-chan…"

Claudine's heart flutters as she slowly sits herself down, trying to get as close to her as possible.

"I know. I want to see you too, Mahiru. But if it means you'll be put in danger-"

"W-Wait!" Mahiru squeaks. "Follow me!" She swims back a little, then begins skirting the rocks, heading away from the side open to most of the beach.

Claudine stands up and follows her from solid ground, climbing over the rocks as she tries to match Mahiru as closely as possible. Mahiru waits for her, gradually swimming around the line of boulders toward the cliffs on this side of the beach. Claudine maintains her balance, making sure to be careful of where she steps.

Gradually, Mahiru guides her back toward a small corner of the beach, just a small patch of sand tucked between the cliff and the rocks. She pauses in the shallows, watching Claudine hop down the last few rocks until she's on the shore once again. She looks back over her shoulder, surprised that she can't see any of the rest of the beach from behind the rocks.

Which means, no one else can see them either.

"My…" she says. "I had no idea this little spot was here. This is perfect for us." She turns back to the water where Mahiru is still treading several yards out. There isn't a strong flow coming into this little spot, so the water is fairly still and calm. Claudine can see her tail rather clearly now even beneath the surface.

She knows Mahiru must not be comfortable coming onto land. Therefore, Claudine steps out of her shoes and begins wading into the sea toward her.

Mahiru jolts when she realizes what she's doing.

"K-Kuro-chan! Wait! Y-You don't have to-! I-It's too cold!"

Just as Mahiru says the words, Claudine feels a harsh shudder shoot through her body. She only goes in up to her knees before stopping.

"Just this much is fine, then." Where she's stopped, she's now only a few feet away from Mahiru.

Mahiru bites her lip a little nervously.

"Are you sure…? Wh-What if you get sick…?"

"Then it will have been worth it to be able to see you again." Claudine smiles as she reaches into her trench coat's pockets and presents her gift. "I brought you some more flowers."

"Ah!" In spite of her worries for Claudine's wellbeing, Mahiru can't help but gasp in excitement at the sight of the flowers. "Th-Those are blue! I didn't know flowers could be blue!"

"Flowers can be any color," Claudine chuckles. "I was worried you'd be tired of seeing blue all the time, living in the ocean and whatnot."

"N-Not at all!" Mahiru swims up a little closer. "They're marvelous!"

"I'm glad you like them."

Now, the two of them are only a few feet apart. Mahiru's tail meets the underwater sand a little, and she glides up closer to Claudine, floating a little awkwardly in the shallows.

"I… brought you something too…" She lifts her arms out of the water to reveal the orange-stripped shell.

Claudine beams.

"Mahiru! It's beautiful!"

"Y-You really like it?"

"I love it!"

Both girls reach forward to exchange gifts. Mahiru touches the flower petals incredulously, feeling the different textures of each one. They feel different from the ones in her hair, especially the white one, whose petals are about as thick as her tail fins. Claudine turns the orange shell around in her palms, rubbing her fingers over the smooth little ridges.

"Wow," she sighs. "The ocean is full of so many beautiful things."

But she isn't looking at the shell when she says it.

Mahiru blushes.

"S-So is dry land, it seems…"

Both girls smile and giggle.

"There are thousands of different kinds of flowers," Claudine tells her. "Most of which I've never even seen before."

"It's the same with shells and sea stones," Mahiru says. "There are even legends of there being magical ones that can grant wishes. I've never found any of those, though."

"Are you a collector?" Claudine guesses.

"S-Sort of." Mahiru swishes her tail, and it kicks up a cloud of sand underwater. "I hide whatever I find all around different parts of the ocean as I travel."

"That sounds wonderful. I wish I could see them all. Ah, but that doesn't mean you should start going out to swim the whole ocean just to go find them and bring them back to me, all right?"

Mahiru laughs.

"Don't worry. I won't go too far form here." From you…

For a moment, the sounds of the tide and wind are the only things. Both girls look away into the water.

"So then, Mahiru…" Claudine says, clearing her throat. "Are there… are there others like you…?"

Mahiru doesn't reply right away. She tenses up a little bit as her mind throws her into darker thoughts again.

She shouldn't be talking to Claudine like this. She shouldn't be seeing her. She shouldn't have come back.

But doing all of those things only endangers herself.

However, if she were to reveal that there were others, it could put them all at risk too. If Claudine told other humans about them, if she ever turned around and betrayed her…

Mahiru shakes her head, and her heart clenches in her chest.

Claudine's heart aches too at the sight of her reaction. She takes a step closer to her into the water.

"I'm sorry. You don't have to tell me. I didn't mean to make you feel like I might be putting you in danger."

"N-No! That's not it. I-I know you would never…" Mahiru looks to the tentative hand Claudine has reached out to her with, but refrained from touching her with. Mahiru swallows and inhales deeply, then reaches out to place her hand in hers. "I know… you would never hurt me, Kuro-chan. I just know it."

Claudine's eyes widen as Mahiru makes contact with her first. The fact that she is the one at greater risk between the two of them, and that she'd been the one to close the distance between them, makes Claudine's eyes feel watery.

Mahiru's hand is small and soft in hers, her skin smooth and glistening. Claudine places the shell in her pocket and slowly reaches out with her other hand to cover Mahiru's now.

"I won't," she says firmly. "I won't ever hurt you, Mahiru. I can promise you that."

Mahiru's eyes widen now, too. Claudine's hands are so warm and soft around her own, not dry and rough like she'd expected them to be after so many years living in direct sunlight. In only seconds, the smile returns to her lips. Claudine's promise gives her courage.

"Yes…" she murmurs. "There are others like me. A lot of us. I have a big family and a lot of younger siblings."

Claudine smiles as Mahiru comfortably opens up to her.

"So you're a big sister, then?"

"Yes!" Mahiru swims a little closer to her, lifting herself up as much as she can. Claudine bends down a little, keeping Mahiru's hand in hers.

"Somehow that doesn't surprise me," she says. "You've got that nurturing air about you, Mahiru."

"R-Really?"

Claudine nods. But even she can see by now that Mahiru is having difficulty constantly craning her neck to look up at her. So Claudine lets go of her hand and wades in up to her stomach. Now, Mahiru can swim freely all around her without getting her tail stuck in the sand.

"Kuro-chan!" she cries in nervous excitement. "Y-You're not too cold?"

"Just a little. Tell me more about your family."

"Right! Well you see, my grandmother…"

Mahiru begins circling her as she speaks, sometimes swimming on her front and sometimes on her back. Claudine has to admit she's a little more engaged in watching her than she is in listening to her. Just a little bit.

But she still listens seriously and offers her comments and reactions to the descriptions and stories Mahiru tells her.

Mahiru talks for a while, and only when her throat starts to hurt a tiny bit does she realize it's the most she's talked all at once in a long, long time. Perhaps ever. She finally ends with a story about her youngest sibling.

"Ah, I-I'm sorry!" She stops swimming and bows her head in apology. "I was rambling! I-I don't know what came over me. I just… felt so comfortable talking to you…"

Claudine only smiles back.

"Don't apologize. I loved hearing about your family, Mahiru. They sound wonderful."

And although she's smiling, Mahiru sees a bit of sadness in Claudine's eyes. It's too late to stop herself before she's already asking.

"What about your family?"

Claudine flinches a little bit, and Mahiru instantly regrets it.

"Ah, b-but you don't have to tell me if you don't want to!" She swims up to her and grabs Claudine's hand in earnest, giving her a squeeze.

But Claudine just chuckles again.

"It's all right. I'm just sorry to say my stories aren't as fun as yours. My family isn't like yours at all…"

This time, it's Mahiru's turn to listen as Claudine pours her heart out. She finds herself feeling angry listening about the parents who had tried forcing Claudine to do so many things she didn't want to do. Mahiru doesn't let go of her hand all the while, even after Claudine has finished.

"That's awful," Mahiru says.

Claudine shakes her head.

"It's all right now, though. I've moved here away from all that. This town is very beautiful and calm. And I've actually… made my first friend here…" Her cheeks tint a little pink, almost matching the color of her eyes.

Mahiru tilts her head.

"You made a friend? Who's that?"

Claudine says nothing. She just keeps smiling at her. Mahiru squeaks.

"M-Me? You mean me?"

"If I might be so bold as to think of you that way… then yes."

Mahiru can't explain the wave of happiness that washes through her. It's like the warmest, gentlest tide she's ever felt.

"O-Of course! I want to think of you as my friend too, Kuro-chan!"

"Then please go right ahead."

Another moment passes between them, and they say nothing. They just keep holding onto each other's hands.

But then, a sharp shiver suddenly makes Claudine gasp as the chill of the water finally catches up to her. Mahiru instantly starts to fret.

"Ah-! Y-You should get back onto dry land! You'll catch your death if you stay in here so long! A-And it's getting dark out-" She puts a hand on Claudine's back and urges her to turn around, then slowly begins pushing her back toward the shore.

Claudine is baffled; it's the first time Mahiru has ever touched her so surely like this, with such familiarity. Like a friend would.

The thought makes her so giddy that she lets Mahiru push her as far as she can toward the shore, until the shallow waters restrict Mahiru from being tall enough to keep touching her any longer. Claudine turns back to her where she's hovering on her belly in the shallows, staring up at her with compelling eyes.

"Please, Kuro-chan. You should go home and warm yourself up…" She's sad just to say it, simply in telling her to go. But she just wants her to be all right.

Claudine understands as much. She doesn't want to risk anything that might endanger Mahiru, either.

"All right," she complies. "But… would you mind…?" She glances from Mahiru to the water and back again.

Mahiru nods instantly.

"O-Of course! Of course I'll come see you again! I've got nowhere to be! My family is letting me do as I please for a few more weeks, s-so I can…" She realizes she's babbling again and lowers her voice, but not her eyes. "I can come see you tomorrow."

Claudine smiles.

"Really? I'm so happy." She backs out of the water and steps into her sandy shoes once more, wringing out her wet clothes as much as she can and never taking her eyes off Mahiru all the while.

Mahiru watches her too, churning her tail slowly, still holding the new flowers to her chest. Claudine reaches into her pocket to pick up her new shell, too.

"Goodbye, Mahiru," she calls with a little wave of her hand. "I'll see you tomorrow."

"Y-Yes! Goodbye, Kuro-chan." Mahiru raises her arm and waves in return.

Both linger a little longer than necessary, still lost in each other's eyes.

Then, at long last they turn and head off in their respective directions.

Tomorrow can't come quickly enough.

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A/N: Something has sparked...