ReLive: The Unreasonable Routes To Redeeming The Villainess (ch3)

EARLY RELEASE FOR ALL MY PATRONS!!

I'm so thrilled people are excited about this story! I hope you'll continue enjoying! For this chapter, we'll get to see Claudine's involvement in the play.

Disclaimer: I do not own Shoujo Kageki Revue Starlight.

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                                                        Chapter 3. The Ninth Role

"So that's what happened…"

Claudine's contemplative voice echoes softly around the theater now. The giraffe has just recounted the events of several days ago to her, though of course he has left out certain details. He does not inform her of the fact that her friends have lost their old selves for the sake of their current roles. For - should she choose to join them and become the ninth actress - he wants to see her experience the despair of discovering that all of her friends have forgotten her. It's only fair, since she hadn't forgotten them, as he'd anticipated.

Claudine is hung-up on the very same notion at the moment. She poses the question to him sternly.

"Why? Why haven't I forgotten them, then? If they've all quite literally been 'erased' from this world - so much so that not even a single photo or text remains of them - then how is it possible I still remember everything?"

/Is it just because I never stopped thinking of them for a second, even while I was gone...?/

He blinks his long eyelashes in mild interest.

"The most logical explanation - in terms of the stage - would be that you were simply outside of the domain of this stage in Japan. Being you were not within range, the erasure did not have any effect on you." He looks to her, and then back to the curtained stage below. "Your eight friends are very lucky indeed."

Claudine grimaces, gripping the leather of the audience seat once again as she tries to configure everything in her mind.

/So they're all trapped in a play that requires nine actors… And all of this happened three days ago in terms of Japan's time. They've all been stuck here for three days already…/

"I'm going in." She doesn't even wait to hear another word from the giraffe now. She'd already made up her mind even before he'd gone on his long-winded recap of what had occurred during her absence.

Claudine turns to the balcony of the audience level where she's been standing and gazes down at the stage. It is still quiet, still dark, save for a single light, and the thick red curtains are still closed to conceal whatever world is inside.

Evidently, it is a medieval and magical world, from what she recalls of reading through 'Ashes of the Phoenix.' It could very well be dangerous.

But that's all the more reason why she needs to be a part of it as quickly as possible. To fulfill her role, end the performance, and save her friends.

She's made up her mind already. She'd be perfectly fine doing this if she never heard another word from that giraffe. And yet, before she can make another move, his voice comes again.

"Are you certain?" he wonders, as if testing her. "Given the complexity of this situation, this is not a play you can simply jump headlong into without regard for consequence, as someone you once knew might have done."

Claudine rounds on him with a growl.

"Don't say it as if she's gone for good! I remember Karen perfectly well!"

He dips his head, but continues on casually.

"These circumstances are very unique. So much so that even I have never witnessed such a specific situation to occur in all my time here on these stages. You mustn't simply leap into that ReLive in the hopes of rescuing your friends; you must do so with the sole intention of fulfilling your role. Should your intentions be anything less than what the stage requires of you, you shall be expunged from it permanently. After all, the stage does not deserve an actor who is not wholly committed to their intended role upon it."

Claudine does give pause just for a moment now, and perhaps she has to admit she's a little grateful to him for once. Because he's right; as she is now, she might've jumped onto that stage with the main goal of saving her friends, when her sole focus should always be to act out her role to perfection. If she fails to do that, it won't only be her who gets punished.

/Not only will I be expelled and tossed from this stage for good… but everyone else will remain trapped there forever, because they won't have their ninth person to fulfill that role. Their ReLive will never end, or the Korosu will eventually break through to them-/

She shakes herself off. She won't even think about that.

She turns her gaze back to the dark, quiet stage below, her heart already resolved.

"I'll play my part," she announces. "I'll fulfill my role, satisfy the stage, and give you a performance the likes of which you've never seen before, all right? But I'm also going to save them."

The giraffe hums.

"Are you truly certain? This is a rather precarious - and even dangerous - performance, as things stand. Are you sure you want to throw yourself into something whose existence is so fragile? All for the sake of people who - in all rights - no longer even exist in this world…?"

Claudine huffs loudly and doesn't spare him another glance as she steps up onto the railing.

"Do you even need to ask?!" she cries. "Of course I'm going!"

And with this, her mind and heart are resolved. She doesn't care what it might cost her, so long as the price is anything short of losing them.

Claudine jumps, throwing herself forward toward that stage, fully intending to play her role to completion. As she falls, the air cuts up at her as the stage grows closer by the second. She grits her teeth, willing the stage to recognize her intent.

And just as she nears it now, the curtains slowly open.

The dark, quiet stage now reveals a bright, colorful world - the world of the ReLive, the world of 'Ashes of the Phoenix.'

Claudine closes her eyes as the stage accepts her. There is a rush of wind all around her, a whirring of sounds and movements she can't make sense of as she is pulled into that world.

She is accepted to play that ninth role.

And that's exactly what she's going to do.

She remembers her warning; that at no point may her desire to save her friends outweigh her desire to fulfill her character's role, lest she be expelled from the stage without the possibility of ever returning, and her friends be trapped here forever.

/I won't let that happen. I'll play my part and save them all…/

The rush of movement all around her eventually swallows her, bringing her fully into the other world…

. . .

When Claudine next opens her eyes, she finds herself surrounded by people. They are all seated inside a massive building, which she can only assume to be the school in which the entirety of the play's events take place.

Everyone's attire consists of suits and dresses, capes and cloaks, and in some cases even armor. As she glances down at herself, she finds her own dress is mostly black with highlights of silver and white, and a few embroidered patterns of orange around the bottom and across the chest. Her shoes are black heels, and even her knee-socks are black, and her hair is adorned by the usual black headband.

Before she can even begin to fathom the role of her character, there is a sudden announcement.

"The orientation ceremony will now begin."

Claudine looks up now to the stage before her where a podium is set, and a banner reading "Welcome, New Students" is draped in the backdrop. The people all around her begin to quiet down from their chatter, giving their full attention to the front of the room. Claudine straightens up as well, facing front, though she does her best to scan the crowd for any familiar faces.

As it would turn out, she doesn't have to look very far.

It seems only fitting that the first person she'd find here would be her own partner.

None other than Tendo Maya herself walks calmly and confidently onto the stage now, and Claudine has to admit she's probably never been happier to see this girl in her life.

Maya is dressed in-costume as well; a white suit with a black cape on her shoulders and silver tulle around her hip, giving off an air of professionalism and charm. Claudine hears several squeals and chitters from the girls around her and crosses her arms with a huff.

As Maya approaches the podium, she lifts her eyes to the crowd and gives a charismatic smile.

"Welcome, everyone. My name is Duchess Tendo Maya, and today I will be speaking on behalf of the new student body who are officially entering this prestigious magical academy as of today. Firstly…"

Claudine doesn't pay attention to the rest. She's found Maya now, so she wants to make sure everyone else is present as well.

Thankfully, as she scans the crowd with a careful eye, she eventually spots Nana and Junna seated together, as well as Kaoruko and Futaba not far behind. The other three are a bit tougher to pinpoint. Hikari is seated alone, furthest away from the rest, while Mahiru and Karen aren't together either, but they're only a row apart. Claudine breathes out a small sigh.

/That's all of us. Thank goodness…/

But she doesn't linger on the thoughts for long, as she knows she must focus on her role first and foremost. All else comes second in this world.

Maya finishes her speech and earns an applause before taking her leave of the stage to sit in the front row. Claudine tunes out the rest of the people who go up to speak. Instead, she goes through all she can remember of 'Ashes of the Phoenix' in her mind. And judging by everyone else's attire, versus her own...

Claudine now comes to realize exactly which character she is meant to play.

She remembers it clearly now, how she'd sat down with the others in one of their speech classes many months ago to read over this play, all as their own characters. It would appear they have all been cast in those very same roles now.

Claudine is so lost in thought she almost doesn't realize the orientation ceremony has come to an end. As everyone else begins standing up and talking to the people around them, Claudine swiftly pushes her way out without uttering so much as a word of apology - as it's what's expected of her character.

She hurries into the aisle, her chest feeling suddenly tight now as she glances back to where all eight of her friends are convening, even if not intentionally in some cases. They all stand around one another now, some smiling and clearly already acquainted with one another, while others still seem distant and uncertain.

Claudine feels her heart throb with pain at the realization of what she's going to have to do here in this world in order to satisfy the stage.

But just before she can turn away, Maya lifts her head and catches her eye. Claudine almost dares to break character and smile at her, just as a way of telling her partner, 'Don't worry. I'm here now. We can finish this play together.'

But as soon as her eyes meet Maya's, Claudine's heart stops altogether.

Because this is not her Tendo Maya.

For there is no recognition in her eyes, no subtle smirk on her lips or glint in her gaze that signifies an actress' true self catching the eye of a fellow actress. Even in the middle of their plays, the girls still often share private, silent moments together onstage as themselves, even while playing out other roles.

But that isn't the case this time. Not here.

This girl…

She isn't Tendo Maya. Not of Claudine's world, anyway.

Or rather, she is, but she doesn't know it.

None of them do.

None of them have any knowledge of who they were before - of who they are supposed to still be right now. They only know this world, and these roles.

Here, they truly believe they are their characters.

They know nothing of Seishou or their proper world, of their friendships with one another or with Claudine herself.

They've forgotten themselves.

Claudine feels sick to her stomach. Nauseous to the point where she has to put in great effort to keep the bile down. She turns and flees toward the exit doors, her feet seeming to know exactly where to take her. Her mind races even more quickly than her shoes or her pulse.

/They don't remember. They don't know who they are. They don't know this is just a ReLive-/

They've been trapped here for what Claudine had known as three days' time in their true world. But how long has it been in this one? How many times have they tried - and failed - to complete this ReLive without someone to play her necessary ninth role?

/How long… have they been here…?/

Long enough to forget themselves…?

She isn't sure. It could've been only three days, or it could've been three years for all she knows.

But now she's aware of just how delicate her situation truly is…

Her feet carry her to what must be the dorms of this world, and she knows exactly which room is hers. She bursts inside to find a rather lavish suite waiting for her, with a suitcase of luggage that belongs to her character.

No. To her. She isn't just playing this character right now. Claudine knows she must become her. At least to a certain degree. Enough so that she will satisfy the play, but not so much that she will forget who she truly is.

She is their final hope. If she loses herself - even if that means completing the play and the ReLive - she may not remember anything of who Saijou Claudine is, even if they are all returned to their normal world. She must maintain a balance of some sort, somehow…

Claudine hurries to the king-sized bed with a canopy of transparent silver curtains draped all around it from the ceiling and throws herself onto the mattress. As she finally crashes to a stop now, she can feel just how quickly everything inside of her body is moving; her blood, her mind, her heart…

/Focus,/ she snaps. /It doesn't matter how I feel about them. Right now, I have a part to play. I'm not here to save anyone. I'm here to act. To become someone else… Just not all the way…/

Her thoughts are conflicting to the point where she almost feels tears brimming up. But she doesn't allow them to spill over. Her character would never…

After all, she is the Villainess in this world.

The nasty and notorious Viscountess Saijou.

She would never shed a tear, especially not for the sake of others.

It pains her heart to think of what she's going to have to do, how she is going to have to act so terribly toward all of her friends in this world and make them hate her. It hurts, but she can't let it show.

She had been asked to read the lines of the Viscountess back in their speech class for vocal exercises, and Claudine had gladly accepted such a major role. She is going to have to accept it and become that role here, as well.

Karen's character, Village Girl Aijou, is just as she sounds; a commoner admitted into the prestigious academy due to the impressive amounts of magical energy she possesses. She is the main lead of the play, and Claudine is her rival and enemy, who comes to rue her for winning over the object of Claudine's affection.

The Viscountess greatly admires none other than the Duchess, who is played by Maya. But due to various circumstances, the Duchess falls for the Village Girl in the end, and the Viscountess meets a gruesome and humiliating fate.

The others are all less major roles. Along with Duchess Tendo, there is Marchioness Daiba, as well as Heiress Hanayagi. They are the three pureblood nobles - the royal trifecta, so to speak - and they each possess a great deal of magical power. Claudine's Viscountess probably comes only second to them.

After that, it is Baroness Hoshimi, Lady Kagura, Knight Isurugi, and Dame Tsuyuzaki, followed lastly by Village Girl Aijou.

The characters all have their own relationships with one another in this world, and the eight of theirs eventually come to be on amiable terms. And in the case of the Village Girl and the Duchess, they will eventually fall in love at the expense of the Viscountess.

Claudine's role here… is to play the villain.

To do terrible things to the girls who she knows in her heart are her friends.

But she can't even tell them. She can't even tell them who they are, or who she is. Not only will it be fruitless and they won't remember anyway, but it would be committing the ultimate taboo of breaking the fourth wall. Doing so would destroy the entire stage, the play, and every actress upon it.

No. She isn't here as Saijou Claudine. She is here as the Viscountess. She is here to play her role.

/Focus…/ she reminds herself. /This is 'Ashes of the Phoenix' now. If I want to finish the play and get everyone out of here, then there are criteria that must be met, no matter what./

She inhales slowly, then lets it out again, trying to ignore the throbbing of her heart. She closes her eyes and concentrates, willing herself to remember this play, and what she and her friends must do in order to see it through till the end…

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A/N: Yes, Claudine is not the lead protagonist here - she is the Villainess! And only she knows of herself and of her friends, and who they truly are. So the stage is set...

The next chapter will go through how 'Ashes of the Phoenix' is meant to play out, and what Claudine is going to have to do to make it a success.