Healing Kisses (ch33)

Back with another fic for nadie95! Fitting that it's exactly 10 chapters after its sister chapter in ch23! It's a reverse of what happened there; this time it's Maya encountering different versions of Claudine! I mostly used the same roles I used in ch23 just to make it reflective.

Disclaimer: I do not own Shoujo Kageki Revue Starlight.

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				Chapter 33. Once Upon A Dream (ver. 2)


Maya can't recall exactly what she had been doing or whom she had been with prior to the current moment, but she doesn't have much time to consider.

Presently, she opens her eyes to find herself onstage. Instinctively she reaches for her sword, anticipating a fight, whether it be against Korosu or one of her fellow Stage Girls.

But there is no weapon at her hip, only the white tulle and pink velvet of a costumed skirt. And instead of a revue blade at her side, there is instead a small golden lamp attached at the handle.

She recognizes her Genie outfit right away, and finds herself on a ReLIVE set to match the play.

She looks around the room, where she is presently seated on a luxurious couch in a space with an open balcony, intricate paintings, and exotic plants.

And then, the sound of a familiar voice tells her she isn't alone here.

"I wonder," says the voice. "What should I wish for now that I've freed you?"

Maya's heart beats a little faster to hear Claudine beside her, and when she turns to look she finds her dressed in the lavish blues of her Aladdin costume. Claudine smirks when she meets Maya's eyes, and gets up from the far end of the couch to come join her, sitting so close to her that their thighs and shoulders brush.

Maya is a bit taken aback by her forwardness, but that isn't to say she doesn't enjoy it immensely.

"Saijou-san?"

Claudine tilts her head and narrows her eyes mischievously.

"Now, now, who is that? I am none other than the handsome and quick-witted Aladdin. I have freed you from your lamp, Genie, and thus I am owed a boon, am I not? Three wishes, I believe." She brings a finger to her chin and ponders with a hum. "Now, I wonder what I should ask you for… Perhaps I can think of one thing to start."

Maya feels a rather firm hand being placed on her knee as Claudine pulls her an inch closer, leaning in against her. Maya's mouth drops just a little as she gazes up into those eyes like fiery pink desert sands, dry and suffering a dire thirst. Maya smirks back and reaches out to grab her wrist.

"My, Aladdin. You needn't spend one of your wishes on such a thing when I am more than willing to give it to you free of charge."

"Oh? Then lucky me."

Claudine swings one leg over Maya's lap and settles there, cupping her face in her hands as Maya finds a ravenous grip on her waist and back. Claudine dips down to kiss her with passion, and Maya quickly returns the heated contact.

And in just about every kiss they have shared until now, Maya has always tied with or bested her in terms of holding out. But this time, Claudine kisses her with such relentlessness that Maya is the one who must draw away first. Claudine licks her lips and smirks.

"You're indebted to me now, Genie," she husks. "I can only begin to imagine some of the things I should have you do for me."

Maya catches her breath and locks her arms around Claudine's back, preventing her from leaving. Not that Claudine wants to.

"My dearest Aladdin," Maya purrs back. "You need only say the word and I shall fulfill your any desire, no wishes necessary." To prove her point, Maya removes the magic lamp from her hip and tosses it aside on the couch.

Claudine raises an eyebrow with interest. She leans forward, wrapping her arms around Maya's shoulders and pressing her chest against hers.

"To think I could have the beautiful Genie all to myself."

"I am yours alone for as long as you desire."

Maya doesn't know if this is some kind of dream, role-play, or ReLIVE, but the last thing she is about to do at this point is question it.

Claudine hovers over her with that hungry spark in her eyes, and Maya pulls her nearer in anticipation. She closes her eyes, feeling Claudine's sweet, heated breath on her lips-

Suddenly, there's a crash as a third person leaps over the balcony and shatters a vase, startling Aladdin and her Genie. Maya tightens her grip on Claudine defensively, ready to fight this uninvited opponent who has dared to intrude on their moment.

But when she looks to the balcony, she is stunned to see the very same girl who had just been kissing her seconds earlier.

It is none other than Saijou Claudine who glares back at her now from across the room, though she is dressed very differently in black and purple armor with a sword at the ready.

Maya shakes her head, blinking as she looks from the intruder to the girl beside her, and back again.

"Saijou… san…?"

Two of her. Perhaps Maya had accidentally used one of Aladdin's wishes for herself, because this is probably exactly what she would've asked for.

But before she can react, Aladdin jumps to her feet and points an accusatory finger at her other self.

"Stop right there! What is the meaning of this? Get out at once or I shall call the palace guards!"

The dark-clad Claudine smirks invitingly and points her sword at her other self.

"Then call them!" she barks. "For I am the Commander of the Black Lion Knights, and I will defeat your puny guards without batting an eyelash! But I didn't come here seeking a fight. Just surrender the Sun Nation Army General to me and I will leave peacefully." Here, she looks to Maya and offers out her free hand. "Come. We must return to our rightful land."

"Haaah?!" Aladdin cries out indignantly and puts herself between Maya and the Commander. "I don't think so! This Genie is indebted to me and I'm not about to set her free to some stranger! She belongs to me!"

Maya's eyes widen in surprise. She knows Claudine hadn't meant it as a claim of ownership over and object, but rather used the phrase to demonstrate that she refused to give Maya up to anyone. Even to herself.

It's all very delightfully confusing to see unfold, and Maya is at a loss for what she should do.

As the Commander advances into the palace, Aladdin draws a concealed blade from her garter. Only then does Maya stand up to intervene.

"Now, now," she says, holding a hand up to each of them. "As much as I fancy the concept of you both fighting for my sake, this needn't come to blows. I would never be able to forgive myself if my presence caused either of you to become injured."

"No!" Aladdin cries. "You can't leave! You owe me, remember?"

"But she owes me as well," the Commander reasons. "Only Tendo Maya can play my counterpart."

"Well it's the same for me! It can't be anyone else but her!"

Maya knows she really shouldn't be smiling right now in the midst of all this, but she can't help it. To hear Claudine declaring such things about her is rather romantic, after all.

Maya turns to her Aladdin and lowers herself into a half-bow.

"My charming Aladdin. Indeed I am indebted to you, and as such I shall return to you when I have fulfilled the needs of the Commander."

"What?! You don't have to fulfill her needs! Only mine!"

"Ah, but you do not understand," Maya sighs. "For, being who she is, I am as devoted to her as much as I am to you."

"You-! You're what-?" The comment has both Claudines blushing heavily, but while Aladdin is dumbfounded, the Commander snaps herself out of it a second sooner to grab Maya by the hand and pull her away.

"Then come, General. We have a destiny to fulfill."

"H-Hey! Wait-!"

But it's too late for Maya's beloved Aladdin. She watches her with sad yet adoring eyes as the Commander whisks her away into a whirlwind rush of air, and the next thing Maya knows, she is dressed in vibrant whites and reds with a sword in her hand. They are standing on the plains amidst a raging battle, the Sun Nation Army against the Black Lion Knights.

"Here!" Claudine projects, releasing Maya's hand. "This is where you belong! On this battlefield so I may finally defeat you and have my knights conquer your infernal army at last!"

Claudine raises her sword and charges full-speed at her, and the smile never leaves Maya's lips for a second. She raises her own sword to block the blow and then parry, pushing Claudine back.

"Indeed, I must admit you are right," she says. "Truly there is no one else who could ever be as worthy an opponent for me as you, Commander."

"Don't talk so high-and-mighty!" Claudine snaps. "Today is the day I defeat you once and for all!"

"Then I look forward to it."

Maya's scene alone with Claudine in the palace had fired her up in more ways than one, and now she channels all of that passion into her sword-fight. Be it a ReLIVE, a stage battle, or whatever form of fight this may be, Maya always knows exactly how Claudine will leap and move.

Maya blocks her every strike with seasoned precision, and whenever she attacks Claudine is able to dodge or counter just as flawlessly. All around them their armies rage, but everyone knows that it will only take one of the leaders to win to end this war.

As much as Maya had enjoyed the idea of kissing her senseless at a royal palace, she also finds great thrill in battling her with everything she's got.

And so they fight valiantly, until Claudine's balance begins to sway and Maya's arms begin to ache. The next clash of their blades brings them both to their knees. Maya admires the sight of her breathing hard, with her hair all in disarray, sweat coating the portions of skin her armor exposes.

"Well then…" Maya says. "May we call this a draw?"

"Never!" Claudine snaps. "I can still win this. I won't-"

But then the entire battlefield is suddenly swept over by a swift darkness. The day turns black, and the clouds part to shine down the light of a brilliant white moon. The fighting comes to an abrupt halt. Maya looks skyward and glimpses an angelic figure descending, dressed in ornate fluttering robes. The Black Lion Commander hisses.

"Tsukuyomi! Get away! You can't have her!"

Just as this Claudine had said, yet another version of Saijou Claudine floats calmly down from the now-night sky, her golden hair flowing and her arms open wide. She ignores the earth-bound version of herself and looks directly to Maya.

"My Amaterasu," she says needfully. "I have found you at long last. Come with me now."

"Back off!" the Commander snaps. "I'm not finished with her yet!"

Just as before, Maya looks between the two Claudines and is torn at first, but she feels she knows what she must do.

"Commander," she says, pushing herself to her feet. "I shall return to you at a later time. But for now, I must go. I spent my time with you, and now I must fulfill Tsukuyomi's needs."

"What? You can't!"

But in spite of the Commander's protest, Maya looks down to find herself already adorning the traditional red dress of Amaterasu now. As Tsukuyomi holds out her hand, Maya accepts, and together they ascend into the clouds.

Maya marvels the sight of the world from this angle, but more than anything she admires the sight of Claudine. The moonlight bathes her in silver, making her eyes sparkle like gems.

"My dearest Amaterasu," Claudine says, squeezing Maya's hand. "I am sorry for the crimes I have committed. We are night and day, you and I. Even when we are apart, we are bound together for eternity. From this point forward I promise I shall devote myself to you, and you alone." She turns to Maya with an earnest look of longing. "Amaterasu, can you promise me the same?"

Maya quite literally can't agree quickly enough. Of course she would love nothing more than to be bound to her beloved for all eternity, even in these forms. But before she can get even a single word out, there's another very familiar voice from behind her.

"Oh? Finally I've found my perfect meal."

Maya whirls around to find Claudine once again, only this time she is dressed in red-and-black Halloween-like attire. Two sharp pointed fangs protrude from her lips, and her eyes are red with bloodlust.

"Tendo Maya," Dracula says huskily. "I will drink from no one else but you. It can be only you. So please…" She reaches for Maya, gripping her arms with a hungry desperation and leaning close.

Though confused, Maya of course willingly offers her neck to those fangs and is content to let her do as she pleases.

But then the same voice comes again from another direction.

"Edward!" When Maya looks there, Claudine is adorning a beautiful white wedding dress, clutching a bouquet of flowers to her chest. "I will be your bride! It can only be me!"

"No!" Now it is the Phantom Fiend of Twenty Faces who pulls Maya away from the vampire in one swift motion. "I shall be whisking her away as my next stolen treasure! Tendo Maya is mine alone!"

Maya feels the world drop away from her. One second she is in the clouds, and the next she is onstage, though every way she turns it is a different stage with a different Claudine. There is the valiant Percival, the ambitious Blackbeard, the strong-willed Claudia, the nimble Nutcracker, the keen-eyed Watson…

And of course all of the versions of Claudine she had encountered today, from Aladdin to the Commander to Tsukuyomi, have all reappeared as well.

Some of them are from ReLIVES and some are from Seishou's performances, and some of which Maya herself was never cast to play an accompanying role for. As such, her clothes have reverted back to the neutral uniform of her revues, as she cannot decide which Claudine's cry to answer to now. All around her, they begin to argue for her.

"She is my one and only rival!"

"No! She can be no one else's opponent but mine!"

"She is my lover!"

"She is my destiny!"

The same voice cries out against itself as dozens upon dozens of Saijou Claudines surround Maya on all sides. Maya staggers back, unsure of what she should do in such a situation. While of course she is highly honored and very happy to know that every version of Claudine thinks so strongly for her, she does not want any altercations to come of this, and she does not want to see any of them hurt.

"Saijou-san-?" She tries calling out, not sure which of them are listening, if any. "Please. There is no need for this. I assure you I have ample ability to devote myself to each of you in turn. I will do battle with you, I will protect you, I will sign my life away to you - you need only to ask and I shall do whatever it is you need of me."

She just wants to make her happy, no matter what form Claudine takes. Maya is whole-heartedly committed to this goal, and she wants nothing more.

All of the many Claudines turn to her with the same beautiful eyes and the same longing in their voices as they stop their squabbling and call out for her all at once:

"Tendo Maya!"

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"Hey, Tendo Maya?"

Claudine had been woken a moment earlier by her girlfriend's sleep-mumbling. When she blearily blinks her eyes open, Claudine checks the clock on her nightstand to find it's almost 3 in the morning. Pushing herself up onto her elbows, she turns to where Maya is curled up on her side, deeply asleep.

Initially, Claudine is a little concerned she might be having a nightmare. But after checking her over quickly, she sighs in relief to find that nothing seems to be bothering her.

In fact, it seems like just the opposite.

Maya is cooing and humming in her sleep, her expression relaxed and her lips twitching into a smile. Claudine raises an eyebrow and pokes her cheek softly.

"What on earth are you muttering about…?" She leans in a bit closer and tries to listen. Perhaps the sound of her voice had reached Maya somehow, because when she next speaks, Claudine can hear exactly what she says.

"My… alluring Aladdin…"

Claudine chokes slightly.

"Quoi-?" The only person who has played Aladdin with Maya is Claudine herself. "But she isn't really dreaming about me… is she…?"

Claudine inches a bit closer and brushes her nails through Maya's hair. This time, Maya moans out something else.

"My ethereal Tsukuyomi…"

Claudine bites her lip to hold back a laugh of disbelief.

"Only you would ever be able to sleep-talk a word like 'ethereal.' Seriously, you're something else…"

But again, the only one to have played Tsukuyomi was Claudine. There's a theme here.

Claudine smiles just a little bit to herself as she listens to Maya continue. She mumbles about "my valiant Commander" and "my fierce Claudia" and "my clever Fiend of Twenty Faces." All rather elaborate words and titles to manage for someone who isn't even conscious, but Claudine finds she really isn't all that surprised, considering this is Tendo Maya, and the topic on her sleeping mind is definitely Claudine herself.

It doesn't take much for Claudine to figure out that Maya is dreaming about different roles Claudine had acted out, and it seems like she's dreaming about them all at once.

Which sort of makes her happy at first, to think Maya's mind would be so deeply occupied by thoughts of her that she would dream of Claudine.

But after five, ten, and then fifteen minutes of listening to her sleep-talk about her no-doubt enjoyable adventures in dreamland with all of these 'dream' Claudines, Claudine herself actually starts to get a little jealous.

Of herself. Of her dream selves.

She knows it's just about the most pathetic and ridiculous thing in the world to feel jealous about such things, but… She can't help it. She is the one lying in bed beside Maya tonight, and every other night.

Claudine wants Maya for herself. Her real self.

So she sees no other option than to rouse Maya from her fantasies with a shake of her shoulder.

"Hey, Tendo Maya!"

In her dream, Maya had just been about to make an effort at calming down all the other Claudines when the voice of her true partner rings out. Without wasting a second longer on the fabricated versions, Maya opens her eyes right away into reality. She finds herself gazing up in the darkness at a clearly-perturbed Claudine, slightly ruffled from sleep, but her eyes are sharp as ever. Maya is already smiling before she speaks.

"Ma Claudine."

But Claudine only frowns at her and gives a huff.

"You were being loud. Next time if you're going to dream about other girls, at least be quieter." And with this she flips over to face away from Maya and flops down to try and go back to sleep.

Maya's smile fades and she is left puzzled, until she slowly comprehends what must have happened. Claudine must have gotten a bit jealous, even though it was her Maya had been dreaming about.

What some might consider petty, Maya considers truly adorable. For Claudine to be reacting like this makes Maya smile all over again. But she is a bit concerned this might have hurt her feelings, so she has to make sure Claudine isn't truly upset.

Sliding close to her back, Maya slowly wraps both arms around her from behind, slipping one hand beneath her side and draping the other across her stomach. She feels her stiffen just a little bit, but Claudine doesn't try to break away. Maya presses close to her and pulls her in to her chest, running her hands in soft circles over her collar and her stomach.

"Saijou-san?" she murmurs, resting her chin against her shoulder. "Please, allow me to apologize for waking you, and for upsetting you at such an hour. I assure you, the only 'other girls' I was dreaming of were none other than yourself."

She feels Claudine huff, but otherwise she remains still.

"I figured out that much… You're unbelievable."

"So I've been told." Maya pulls her in even closer now, hugging her tighter. "But I assure you, no matter what kind of dreams may come to me, they could never hope to keep me from you. From my one and only Saijou Claudine. From my true Saijou-san. From Ma Claudine."

Hearing the pet name sends a trill through Claudine's chest, and her heart beats a little faster. She pouts, dipping her head a bit as Maya leans over her enough to brush their cheeks together.

"You do understand, don't you?" she murmurs. "All of those other roles you have played… they are nothing but titles. But only you - the real you, the one I am holding in my arms right now - could ever be Ma Claudine."

Claudine's breath hitches just a little bit.

Maya chuckles softly, balancing her palm over her chest. She feels Claudine's pulse flutter and beat even faster.

"See? Your heart knows it very well. That, to me, you are-"

"All right, I get it!" Claudine lifts up her hands to hug Maya's arms. "You're forgiven…"

"Are you certain?" Maya wonders. "Because if so, I could make it up to you-"

"Just go to sleep!"

"As you wish, Ma Claudine."

And of course Claudine won't admit that the pet name makes her heart skip yet again, but Maya feels it all the same.

She presses a warm kiss to Claudine's cheek in genuine apology for upsetting her. Claudine entwines her fingers with Maya's and holds her hand gently to let her know she's really all right now.

Maya pulls her in as much as possible, extremely content to spoon her for a change. She waits until Claudine has drifted off back to sleep before closing her eyes and following.

And no matter how much Maya continues to dream about her, she'll always treasure the Claudine in her arms the most dearly of them all.

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A/N: It was fun to do the reverse of this idea! I think it's so funny and telling how Claudine would definitely be an annoyed, flustered mess if she was surrounded by multiple Mayas, but if it were Maya surrounded by Claudines she'd probably be like a puppy at a kid's birthday party, going to each and every Claudine and trying to make her happy and then going to the next and the next.

But of course in the end she only has one true Kuro to come home to ~