Swept Away (ch8)

EARLY RELEASE FOR MY $20+ PATRONS!

If you're startled by the chapter title, just read until the end.

Disclaimer: I do not own Shoujo Kageki Revue Starlight.

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													Chapter 8. Drowning

As soon as she wakes, Claudine is bursting with energy and excitement. She all but jumps out of bed at the first light of dawn and starts her day, showering, dressing, and eating with a bounce in her step.

She leaves her apartment early, but not so she can head straight to the cafe. Since she can't bring any flowers from the shoppe to Mahiru today, Claudine had decided on trying something else.

She'd begun decorating her entire apartment with the little trinkets Mahiru had brought for her, and now Claudine glances back with a smile at the little shells she'd placed on the kitchen windowsill before she locks the door and heads out.

She bounds down the steps to the sidewalk, but instead of heading toward town, she turns and makes her way toward the forest. There's a bit more sunlight today than usual, and fewer clouds. It makes her heart feel all the lighter and merrier.

It only takes her a few moments of walking to pass by the last of the little houses and step into a softer place. The trees here are thin but numerous, and even though it's autumn there are still plenty of leaves and plants thriving.

She'd debated picking wildflowers to bring Mahiru, but she can assume flowers can only survive so long in the ocean. She wants something sturdier; something Mahiru will be able to remember her by even on the days where Claudine might not be able to come to see her, something that will never wilt or break apart.

The stones she finds aren't nearly as pretty as the ones Mahiru had found on the ocean floor. Unlike the smooth, pale-colored rocks that had been perfectly rounded by the continuous flow of waves and water, the forest rocks are dark and ragged and covered in moss. But it's the permanence Claudine wants from them if nothing else, so she gathers up three and puts them into her coat pocket before exiting the forest.

Today, she is brighter and merrier with her customers than ever before, presenting each and every one of them with a smile even more delightful than what she usually would show.

And in the meantime, out in the depths of the sea, Mahiru scours new recesses and trenches in search of the most beautiful treasures possible. She dives deep into darker waters where the sunlight almost doesn't reach, searching for anything she thinks might strike Claudine's fancy.

All day she searches, occasionally swimming back up to the surface to glimpse the position of the sun.

In the end, her haul consists of a small purple stone flecked with white speckles, and a perfectly-preserved pink pearl.

It's a little strange. All of the trinkets and bobbles she'd found would typically get stored in all of her secret treasure troves around the different corners of the sea.

But now Mahiru is bringing them all straight to Claudine.

She'd swam out a good few hours from the cove, so now she pumps her tail and begins making her way back.

And just a little while later, Claudine finishes up her shift and hangs up her apron before taking her leave. With the stones still in her coat pocket, she hurries out into the streets, crossing over to follow her usual daily path toward the beach.

To her relief, there is no one else on it today, but she still keeps an eye out and makes sure no one is watching her from afar as she makes her way over to the far end. But instead of climbing out over the rocks that lead into the water like she'd used to, she instead makes her way through them, staying on the shore. It only takes her a moment to come out on the other side, where their secret little corner is perfectly concealed.

Claudine stands on the little stretch of sand and gazes out to sea, waiting. It doesn't take long before she starts to sing, letting the wind carry her voice out over the water, letting it reach the one it's meant for.

And even from miles and miles away, through the thickness of the water, Mahiru still hears that voice calling for her. It makes her swim a little faster, a little harder. Anything to see her even one second sooner.

It feels like hours, but she doesn't slow down, not until the familiar cove and shoreline are visible when she pokes her head above-water. Mahiru only begins to decrease her speed as she nears the jutting rocks, but she doesn't swim to the edge of them this time. Rather, she weaves between and around the submerged boulders and heads for the little corner of the beach, blocked off from anyone else's view.

She spots Claudine from a little ways off, and knows she's been spotted too when Claudine starts to wave to her. Mahiru gives her last burst of energy and slows down as she reaches the shallows. Claudine runs into the water to greet her, bending down to wrap both arms around her shoulders.

"Mahiru!"

Mahiru lifts herself up as much as she can to return the hug, giggling as she catches her breath from the swim.

"Kuro-chan!"

The water splashes softly around them both as they maintain the soft embrace for a moment. Neither can really explain the urge for it, but neither really care to. Mahiru finds herself straining up a bit more to be closer to her.

She's so warm…

But then she gasps with a start and pulls herself away.

"K-Kuro-chan! You're getting all wet again!"

"It's all right. I don't mind."

"B-But you'll get sick!" She uses the same excuse as yesterday to turn Claudine around and get her moving back toward the shore. Mahiru might not know everything about humans, but she does know they typically can't handle cold temperatures and water very well.

She swims back toward the sand as far as she can until only her stomach and tail remain submerged. Claudine is only in up to her knees by now as she starts wringing out her clothes. She looks back down to Mahiru, hovering right at the edge, and frowns.

"We can't be close like this…"

Mahiru can see it in her eyes that she intends to come back into the water, so she quickly shakes her head.

"Th-Then I'll come out!"

"Eh?" Claudine tilts her head, her eyes widening in shock. "Mahiru, I really don't mind going in-"

"N-No, it's fine." Mahiru swallows hard, but she's resolved herself. "I'll come onto shore."

Now it's Claudine's turn to deny her.

"Mahiru, you can't. If someone were to see us somehow it would be too obvious to see what you are. At least in the water we can pretend you're a human girl. But out here-"

"It'll be fine!" Mahiru insists. "No one will ever find us here anyway. In all the years I've swam through this place, I've never seen another human in this spot."

Claudine thinks it through for a moment. There's still a part of her that doesn't like the risk. But so long as they stay close to the water and she could help Mahiru get back to safety quickly, perhaps it could be fine.

"All right."

"Yay!" Mahiru slaps her tail fins in delight. She uses her arms to pull herself up as far onto shore as she can, swinging her tail from side to side to move herself forward. Claudine crouches down a little to take hold of her arms and gently help pull her out all the way.

Now, she can see just how dazzling her tail is beneath direct sunlight. The gown and frills of her blue skirt are understandably soaked and limp, but her scales shine brightly underneath, like hundreds of tiny, sparkling shells. Claudine marvels at her figure, and admittedly forgets to breathe for a few seconds. It's Mahiru's timid prompting that gets her to snap out of it.

"Kuro-chan…?"

"Ah. I'm sorry. I just…" Claudine sits down fully beside her now, bringing her gaze back to Mahiru's eyes. "You're so beautiful, Mahiru."

Mahiru nearly squeaks as a heat rushes up to her cheeks. Blushing above-water sure feels very different than blushing below it. Her face feels so much hotter now.

"N-Not at all. There are plenty of mermaids much more beautiful than I am…"

"That seems unlikely," Claudine scoffs. "I doubt any of them could compete."

Mahiru blinks, surprised and happy to see this bolder, more confident side of Claudine. She likes it.

"Th… Thank you…"

"You don't need to thank me for speaking the truth."

"E-Even so…" Mahiru swishes her tail in the sand bashfully. But doing so kind of throws her off balance sitting up, and she sways a little bit. Luckily, Claudine is right beside her, wrapping an arm across her back to help keep her steady.

"I guess it's a little tough to sit up like this when you don't have knees to bend," she chuckles. "Just lean against me, Mahiru."

"R-Right… thank you…" Mahiru accepts the offer and rests her side against Claudine's, feeling a little guilty about getting her clothes wet again.

But Claudine doesn't seem to mind one bit. Her eyes are fixed over the ocean for the moment, but Mahiru finds she can't stop herself from staring only at her…

"Oh, that's right." Claudine turns back to her excitedly and reaches into her coat pocket. "I brought you something."

Mahiru feels a trill of excitement as she leans closer to look.

Claudine produces three little rocks, but they aren't like any of the ones Mahiru has ever seen before. They aren't as dark or sharp as the underwater rocks of cliff faces or trenches or volcanoes. They're a bit lighter than that, which tells of how much sunlight they've seen. And they're covered in soft fuzzy green grass, which is also lighter than most sea grasses and weeds Mahiru knows of. Claudine offers one to her with a bit of a shrug.

"They aren't nearly as pretty as the ones you bring me."

But Mahiru shakes her head vigorously.

"N-Not at all! They're lovely, Kuro-chan! I've never seen anything like these before… C-Can I touch them?"

"By all means," Claudine smiles. "They're yours, Mahiru." She carefully transfers the rocks into Mahiru's hands.

Mahiru is dazzled by the sensation of the green fuzz on them. Touching it out here in the open air feels different than it must've felt to touch them while being underwater, too. All of these new feelings, as small as they may be, fill her heart with joy.

"I love them. Thank you, Kuro-chan. Ah! I-I have some things for you, too."

Mahiru rearranges the folds of her skirts and tucks the forest stones safety into a hidden pouch, then pulls out the purple stone and pink shell she'd found today. It's her turn to place the treasures into Claudine's palms, and for Claudine to marvel at them.

"I've never seen colors like these before…" she murmurs. "These aren't like the ones you can find in gift shops or anything like that."

Mahiru feels fidgety and happy as she drinks in Claudine's smile and the sparkle in her eyes. After a moment of admiring the sea stones, Claudine tucks them into her coat pocket for safekeeping.

"Thank you, Mahiru. I'll add them to my collection from you."

"So will I!" Mahiru leans a little more closely into her now, resting her head on Claudine's shoulder as they gaze out over the water.

The blue sky is beginning to turn red and gold with sunset. The sounds of sea birds and the rush of water drift around and above them. It feels so wonderful and nice, Mahiru doesn't even fully realize how outlandish all of this is. A mermaid and a human, bringing gifts to one another in secrecy, sitting on the beach together to watch the sunset. It's unthinkably risky and foolish and dangerous - for both of them...

And yet, it would seem neither appears all that eager to stop.

Even being so blatantly exposed like this, Mahiru feels safe enough to close her eyes as she rests against Claudine's warmth. The ever-present scent of saltwater that's been surrounding Mahiru her entire life finally fades away long enough for her to catch a different scent. It smells like flowers and sunlight and air.

She breathes Claudine in as deeply as she can, trying to commit her scent to memory, so she may recall it even when she's dwelling in the deepest ocean caves…

"Mahiru?"

"Ah- y-yes?" She blinks her eyes back open and looks up to Claudine, whose eyes are puzzled.

"Are you all right? Being out in the open like this, I mean. If you've changed your mind and want to go back-"

"Ah, no! I don't mind it. We're hidden away enough that I don't think anyone would see us…" She looks down into her lap. "A-And besides… I feel safe when I'm with you, Kuro-chan…"

Hearing those words from Mahiru warms Claudine's heart to no end. She pulls her in a little closer, silently vowing to keep her safe no matter the cost.

"All right," she murmurs. "But if you start to feel uncomfortable-"

"I'll let you know," Mahiru agrees, resting her hand over hers. Claudine smiles, brushing her thumb over the backs of Mahiru's smooth, damp skin.

"What about your body, though? Is your skin all right to be out in the open sunlight like this? What about your scales?"

"Oh, don't worry about that!" Mahiru assures her. "It's not like I'll shrivel up or anything. My skin might get a little dry, but there's so much water soaked into it, I could sun-bathe for probably a whole day without needing to get back in!"

"Sun-bathe?" Claudine blinks. "You do that?"

"W-Well, usually only on deserted islands and places without humans… but yes, my people love to sun-bathe! Though it does make our hair all wrinkly and limp…"

"I know the feeling," Claudine chuckles. "No matter what worlds we may come from, it seems hair troubles still follow us all."

They share a small laugh. Claudine has kept an arm around her shoulders all the while, but now Mahiru slips an arm around her back in turn.

"I think your hair is lovely, Kuro-chan. It's so curly and wavy. I wonder if it would straighten out if you went swimming in the ocean."

"I'm sure it would be a mess either way."

They laugh again.

The sun begins to sink over the water, dyeing the ocean in a greenish-blue while they sky turns orange. Mahiru finds herself seeking Claudine's warmth more and more by the minute.

"Sorry," Claudine says. "I just have one more question for now."

"Sure, Kuro-chan."

"Being out here doesn't stifle you, does it?" Claudine turns to look at her with a hint of concern in her seashell-pink gaze. "The air, I mean. You can breathe fine, both in and out of water?"

"Ah, yes! I'm not exactly sure how it works myself, but oxygen is oxygen for us!"

"Thank goodness," Claudine sighs. "I was a little worried you might be pushing yourself."

"N-Not at all!" Mahiru says quickly. "I'm completely fine right now, Kuro-chan! I love doing this with you-"
She cuts off right as she finishes saying it, feeling heat rising up to her face again. But Claudine's face turns a similar shade of pink, and she smiles back.

"I'm glad. I love doing this with you too, Mahiru."

Mahiru feels her heart flip a little bit, like a shell turned over by a gentle wave.

For a moment, pink and silver mingle. Mahiru feels a twinge of something she can't really explain go through her chest.

"And…" she murmurs. "I suppose you can't breathe underwater, right? Even if you hadn't gotten hurt before falling in?"

Claudine shakes her head.

"Unfortunately, no."

Mahiru sighs. "Of course not… there are just so many things I'd love to show you…"

"It's the same for me," Claudine admits. "But you can't exactly walk back into town with me."

"Not really…"

The wind blows between them, lifting locks of their hair up to brush against their backs.

Both of them feel it. That slight, faint aching in the bottom of their hearts.

But both know better than to focus on it long enough to let it breed thoughts in their minds. They both know those are feelings they should never even begin to consider.

By now, Claudine can feel that Mahiru is starting to tremble in an effort to remain sitting upright beneath the weight of her upper half. So she keeps hold of her and slowly lies herself down on her back in the sand. Mahiru yelps as she's slowly pulled down next to her.

"K-Kuro-chan? A-Are you all right?"

"Yes. I just thought this might be a little more comfortable for the two of us."

Mahiru has to admit it feels better to have the weight off her hips now that her whole body is lying straight. But looking down at Claudine now makes her heart hurt. She can't help but remember the last time she'd seen her lying on her back in the sand, her eyes closed and her chest terrifyingly still, her pulse dwindling by the second-

"Mahiru?" Claudine softy calls her back into reality, back into the present moment. Mahiru is still braced up on her elbows, not fully able to relax beside her with such images flashing through her mind. Claudine must understand the troubles plaguing her though, because she reaches up slowly to cup Mahiru's cheek.

"Don't worry. I'm fine now, thanks to you."

Mahiru exhales, leaning her face into Claudine's touch. Slowly, she lowers herself down now, hesitantly resting an arm across Claudine's stomach. Claudine doesn't protest at all. She just drapes an arm over her back in return.

So Mahiru rests her head in the very same spot as last time, right at the center of her chest. And this time, she's so relieved to hear Claudine's heart beating strongly and steadily. It's surefire proof that she's alive right here and now, together with Mahiru. She nestles into her warmth, closing her eyes for a long moment to listen.

Claudine keeps her eyes on the darkening sky for a while, letting her thoughts and her heart run wild. She doesn't want to think about this - about what they're doing, about what they might be feeling. She just wants to enjoy her time with Mahiru as much as she can right now.

They lie in silence until the sun has set completely, and the chill of her damp clothes and the night air finally catches up to Claudine. In spite of Mahiru's warmth blanketing her, she starts to shiver.

Mahiru hears the change in her breathing, feels the tremble in her chest, and she slowly sits herself up. Claudine pushes herself up as well, and their eyes meet.

Something begs them to move, to act.

But they both push it down, knowing it would only result in disaster.

Though they've only properly met and started seeing each other a few days ago, they've known one another much longer than that.

Claudine had known Mahiru even before she'd seen her. She'd known the beautiful shimmer of her scales, the playfulness of her splashing, the brightness of her presence.

And Mahiru had known the charm of her silhouette from beneath the water, the sweetness of her songs, the tenderness of her heart.

Now, they're both treading into dangerous waters, depths that could easily swallow them whole until they drowned.

Both girls force themselves to draw back.

Claudine stands, removing herself from of Mahiru's immediate range for both their sakes. But she still crouches down to take her hands and guide her back to the water.

Once Mahiru is comfortably submerged, Claudine lingers there for a moment. Mahiru gazes up at her as the orange streetlights flicker on and bathe her in light.

They hesitate, both wanting more, but knowing they can't dare to ask for it.

So another wet, clumsy hug will have to suffice, even though neither lets go for a long moment.

But at last they part, their voices no louder than whispers.

"Goodbye, Mahiru."

"Goodbye, Kuro-chan."

They both know it should be a final farewell, that they should end all of this before it can truly begin.

But they've both already sunk too deeply, been swept away by the pull of that warm and dangerous undertow.

And even though they know they are only sealing their fate, they both also know they'll come back here again tomorrow to willingly drown a little deeper.

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A/N: I tried to bring out and express more of their canon personalities, like Claudine being bolder and Mahiru being bashful and giddy. It was honestly a bit tough for me not to write Claudine speaking random French phrases like usual, since she isn't really specifically French/from France in this AU. But I did wanna be sure to keep her feistiness a bit, though she'd always be gentle and sweet with Mahiru, I'm sure.

And now it's official; the title has appeared in-story, and feelings are blossoming between them now... But wouldn't such a romance be doomed from the start...?