Healing Kisses (ch27)

A reward for nadie95! Definitely a unique kind of "AU" for the girls!

Disclaimer: I do not own Shoujo Kageki Revue Starlight.

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							Chapter 27. Love Behind Bars

Seishou Correctional Institute for Girls was a strict and serious facility.

Claudine ended up in their garish orange jumpsuit for crimes of international disputes; in short, while acting as a translator for ministers of France and Japan, she had purposefully skewed words and caused a good amount of political uproar. She knew she'd get caught eventually, but in her opinion the chaos she'd caused had been worth it.

It isn't her first time in prison, either. As a matter of fact it's her third, and as the burly female guards lead her down the aisles of cells, Claudine grumbles in knowing exactly which one she's being taken to.

She isn't surprised to find her old cellmate, Tendo Maya, behind bars once again. She'd been in and out of jail as frequently as Claudine herself had, if not more.

Presently, Maya looks up from where she'd been sitting on her bunk and smirks at the sight of her.

"My, my. We meet yet again, Saijou Claudine."

"Unfortunately, yes."

The guards shove Claudine into the cell and lock it, then begin patrolling the aisles. News of a familiar name among them rouses the other inmates from next to and across from them.

"What's that? Kuro's back?"

Claudine recognizes Futaba's voice.

"Of course she is," comes Kaoruko's sneer. "Didn't you hear what she said? She had those prime ministers wrapped around her finger. We could be in the midst of a war right now because of the lies she told."

"Good!" said Junna's voice from another cell. "Historically, war is good for the economy!"

"Welcome back, Kuro-chan!" Nana sings.

"It's good to have you back!" shouts Karen. "Well… sort of. It'd be nicer if it wasn't prison."

Claudine gives a shrug as she walks to her old bunk across from Maya's and sits down with a sigh.

"So, what are you all in for this time?" she asks. "The same? Tendo Maya, did you finally upgrade to murder?"

Maya chuckles and shakes her head.

"Only attempted, for the moment."

"Slacker."

"Tax evasion here," Junna calls over. "And Nana may have signed a few dozen faulty checks here or there."

"Hey," Nana pouts. "It was definitely more than just a few dozen. Give credit where credit is due, Junna-chan!"

"Right, my bad."

"And?" Claudine says. "What about you and your merry band, Karen? Still stealing from the rich to give to the poor?"

"Yup!" Karen says. "Mahiru-chan had a really good plan for the last mission! But Hikari-chan ended up tripping and-"

"Karen and Mahiru could've gotten away," Hikari says. "But they went back to help me, so we all got caught."

"Of course we did!" Karen says brightly. "We're a team, Hikari-chan!"

"That's right," Mahiru agrees. "If we go down, we all go down together."

"How cute," Claudine sighs. "And? Futaba?"

"Grand theft auto."

"Of course."

"Arson here~" Kaoruko purrs.

"And Tendo Maya is attempting murder," Claudine sighs. "What a bunch we are."

"I will finish the job eventually," Maya says. "Probably much sooner now that you have returned to us, Saijou-san."

Claudine smirks. The nine of them had proven to be quite the band of escape artists in the past, though each time they'd fallen short just barely. Now that she's back, Claudine will be able to help think of a new and better plot.

The nine girls murmur and pass notes when their guards aren't around, already trying to devise a new escape plan.

Junna knows the prison's schedule like the back of her hand, and Mahiru had memorized the positions of all the guards. With a long iron nail Futaba had found lying around, Kaoruko is confident in her lock-picking skills.

They want to avoid any violence at all costs, though Maya is more than willing to get rough with the guards if she has to. Claudine makes it her personal goal to keep her cellmate in check.

Everyone decides the parts they will play in their great escape; now it's just a matter of when to do it.

"Tomorrow." Nana's declaration takes everyone by surprise.

"Haaah?" Karen blurts out. "Really, Banana? That soon?"

"That's exactly why," Nana says. "No one will be expecting it the day after Kuro-chan got back. They'll probably be expecting it in a week or so once we've had time to plan an escape. They'd never expect us to do it so quickly."

"I see…" Hikari says. "The element of surprise."

"Hell yeah!" Futaba cheers. "This time tomorrow it'll be blue skies and open roads!"

"I am very much looking forward to it," Maya smiles.

As they all get ready for bed that evening, Claudine eyes her cellmate a bit warily. Maya chuckles.

"Fear not, Saijou-san. There is only one person on my agenda. You can rest easily with me."

"Good," Claudine snaps. "Because if I'm dead in the morning I won't be able to help you with this plan."

"I would never," Maya vows. "We are partners after all, are we not?"

"I should hope so."

But just to prove her honesty, Maya lies down to sleep first, allowing Claudine peace of mind to do the same.

-

So the following day, the nine inmates enact their plan of escape. It's at their lunchtime, when the girls are allowed outside in a fenced-in area to exercise and get some fresh air.

Once Kaoruko and Futaba are ready, the other seven girls play their part. They all approach different guards at the same time, all to keep their attention away from the pair heading for the lock.

Karen and Hikari are fumbling awkwardly, trying to think of good topics to keep the guards' attention. Karen blurts out random questions about if they can get the prison cells painted, and Hikari asks about lunch options. Mahiru goes with discussing the weather, while Junna decides on discussing the history of the place, and Nana goes with current events.

Claudine distracts her guard by speaking mostly in French and pretending to have a terrible Japanese accent, acting puzzled about something and watching the guard flounder to try and respond.

Out of the corner of her eye, she observes Maya with her guard and notices she isn't just talking like the rest of them are. She's definitely flirting.

Claudine feels a surge of heat rush through her that's probably jealousy, but she has to admit Maya is smart to use her charm in this situation. The female guard is reduced to a puzzled, blushing mess as Tendo Maya takes a suggestive step toward her. Claudine looks away and tries to focus on her own perplexed guard, who is speaking Japanese slowly back to Claudine as though she's a child.

All the while, Futaba guards Kaoruko as she fiddles with the lock on the gate, keeping watch to ensure none of the guards are looking.

Claudine continues feigning language difficulties while watching Maya from the corner of her eye, asking her guard to help her with her hair snagged in her jumpsuit and being awfully extra in tilting her head. Claudine tries to stay focused on her task.

Kaoruko works in an excited panic, and nearly cries out in glee when the lock comes apart. She pulls the gate open and slips through like a snake. Futaba glances back to catch Claudine's eye and then follows after her.

This is their plan, to leave the gate slightly ajar and not make a big fuss about it. The rest of them will trickle their way to the open gate and out to freedom one by one.

Karen goes first, chuckling sheepishly as she walks away from her guard who heads off in the opposite direction. Once Karen is out, Hikari and Mahiru follow. Junna quickly wraps up her lecture about finances and politics and goes next, and Nana is right behind her.

Claudine and Maya are furthest from the gate, so they go last. Claudine smiles and awkwardly thanks her guard for her time, then marches over to grab Maya by the scruff and haul her away from the dumbstruck guard.

"You disgust me," she grumbles.

Maya giggles.

"My. Jealous, aren't we?"

"Shut up. We're getting out of here."

They walk slowly toward the gate hanging ajar, knowing they only have seconds before the others are likely caught on-camera. The two of them start to run right as the guards begin to notice and shout.

The alarm goes off, and Claudine and Maya take off sprinting. Claudine takes her by the hand and runs with her. They're going to reach the gate before the guards do.

But then she's jerked backward as Maya suddenly trips. Their hands break apart as Maya crashes to the ground. She lifts her head quickly, wincing in pain.

"Claudine, go!"

"Quoi?" Claudine is both confused and offended at the idea of Maya thinking she'd leave her behind.

"You must!" Maya cries. "I will find my own way out eventually."

"That's not how this works, you idiot!" Claudine doubles back to get her, but can already see the gates being swarmed with guards. It clangs shut, taking their freedom with it.

The guards are rushing toward them, shouting. Claudine drops to her knees and helps Maya sit up. For a brief moment they're the only people in the world.

"Claudine…" Maya murmurs. "You should have gone…"

Claudine reaches out, gently touching a cut on Maya's cheek.

"As if. You'd never survive being apart from me again, Tendo Maya."

Maya's eyes shimmer and she dips her head.

"That is the truth."

They lean close, lips straining to reach before the guards can tear them apart-

"Wait just a second!"

Claudine's outburst destroys the fantasy world Karen had painted. The nine girls are sitting together in their lounge, listening to Karen's far-fetched proposal for a possible play. Claudine has jumped up from her seat on the couch next to a calm and bemused Maya.

"Why do I suddenly have to kiss Tendo Maya?"

"Because your characters are in love!" Karen sighs. "In and out of prison, and in and out of love!"

"Since when are we in love?! That romance came out of nowhere!"

"It does sort of feel like a baseless romantic subplot," Junna agrees. Claudine nods in satisfaction until Junna continues. "If we're going to make this a play, we're gonna need to develop Saijou-san and Tendo-san's relationship more at the start."

"Why do we have to have a relationship?" Claudine yelps.

"I mean, the title is Love Behind Bars," Karen says.

"Since when?"

"I just thought of it now!"

"A prison romance…?" Kaoruko cuts in. "Spicy."

"Gross," Futaba says. "But I'm really likin' that last part. Reminds me of when we all had to cover for Karen and Hikari that one time. Kuro had to dramatically fake sickness and Tendo had to hold her like some star-crossed lover. That still gets me."

"Right?" Nana smiles. "We could've thought of a million different diversions, but that was the one everyone agreed on! It was so convincing!"

"Surely the success of it was all due to Saijou-san's convincing act," Maya says.

"Hey, don't try to flatter me! And that isn't what we're talking about right now!"

"Right!" Karen says. "Love Behind Bars!"

"K-Karen-chan…" Mahiru says. "Does it really have to take place in a prison? Just thinking about it makes me feel all messy…"

"Mahiru could never be in prison," Hikari says. "The laundry would be too crazy."

"Plus, Mahiru-chan is just too sweet!" Nana says. "I think stealing to give to the less fortunate is the only crime I could ever envision her committing. Though I could definitely see Junna-chan evading taxes."

"H-Hey!" Junna blushes. "I'd never do that! Rather, I'd never allow myself to fall into a situation that would force me to stoop to that level."

"I know you wouldn't," Nana smiles. "But if you had to evade taxes, I'm sure you'd be good at it!"

"Was that a compliment…?"

"I, for one," says Kaoruko. "Could definitely envision Futaba-han stealing cars. She is a bit obsessed with certain models and bikes and whatnot."

"Better than arson," Futaba shoots back. "Which I could definitely see you doin', Kaoruko."

"How barbaric! I would never! Though fire is quite a lovely sight from a safe distance, is it not?"

When she realizes everyone else seems fine with hers and Maya's characters' romantic relationship, Claudine admits defeat and sits back down.

"It's always the two of us, isn't it?"

"Are you opposed, Saijou-san?"

"I didn't say that," she sighs. "But if we are going to do that, then Junna's right. We definitely need to develop it more."

"It's not like this is a real play anyways," Futaba reminds them. "Karen's just spouting random stuff."

"It could be a real play one day! Maybe!"

"Right. A prison romance where they try to escape together. Never heard of that before…"

"Hmm… then how about if we make it a space prison? On a giant spaceship! And the leads try to escape to an alien planet!"

So Karen goes off on a brand new tangent about the modified idea, and everyone sits back to listen and enjoy. Claudine rubs her temples, muttering softly to herself.

"It's always Tendo Maya and I…"

Maya moves in to her side and leans against her, wrapping an arm around her waist.

"And you wouldn't have it any other way, would you?"

Claudine checks that no one else is watching, then presses a small kiss to Maya's cheek, where she would've been cut had she fallen in a prison yard.

"Mechante va."

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A/N: When nadie came to me with "the Starlight girls escaping prison" idea, it was definitely something I'd never heard or considered before! And I just had to put into writing how it was canon that Mayakuro did such a dramatic 'holding your ill lover' diversion, when - as stated - they could've thought of literally anything else.

This was a fun cute silly little story~ But it was definitely fun to explore what I could imagine each girl in prison for. I think they're all feasible in certain ways (though who Maya would be trying to kill, I don't have a direct answer for haha)