Starlight (ch4)

EARLY RELEASE FOR MY HIGH-PLEDGING PATRONS! THANK YOU!

Okay so does this go with the other chapters? Uh, sure?? Listen the finale was so gosh darn good okay. I had to do more Hikaren. I had to. Enjoy.

Disclaimer: I do not own Shoujo Kageki Revue Starlight.

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														Chapter 4.

The pink windswept sands of the desert still float all around them. Behind the platform where they lie is an endless landscape of hazy dreams, with the fallen silhouette of Tokyo Tower in the distance.

Save for the breeze, all is quiet. The lone palm tree casts the only shadows from up on the hill nearby. The giraffe is gone.

When Karen opens her eyes she finds herself still here, sword missing, somewhere unimportant. There's a warmth emitting from her right hand, and when she squeezes someone returns the favor.

Dare she turn her head? If this is all a dream then won't Hikari vanish if she looks?

Her heart begins to tremble with dread. But as though sensing her distress, the hand in hers gives another firm squeeze. Karen inhales deeply and finally turns her head.

Hikari is there, gazing back at her with diamond-blue eyes that glimmer like stars, and a smile to match.

There is so much in her eyes. Gratitude, light, love.

Karen wants all of it. All of her. And she wants to give all of herself back in turn.

The hollow feeling in her chest is gradually filled in by a familiar warmth, one only Hikari can provide, one she's been giving her for her entire life. It fills and fills until it's the only thing left.

Karen sighs. She wants this to last forever. She wants to continue her eternity here like this, with Hikari.

But she knows that isn't how things are meant to be. Hikari has been trapped here for long enough. It's time to go back to their friends who are waiting with dinner bowls for both of them. It's time to go home.

When Karen speaks, her voice nearly startles her with how loudly it echoes.

"Hikari-chan."

Hikari is calm as always, blinking slowly at her.

"Yes?"

Karen squeezes that hand again.

"Let's go."

And for a split second she sees fear in Hikari's eyes. For seven months the thought of leaving had never once crossed her mind. She couldn't leave then. It was impossible.

But maybe, just maybe, with Karen by her side now...

Hope flickers there behind the fear, a small but determined flame.

Karen sits herself up, pulling Hikari up with her, never letting go of her hand all the while. She takes her other hand as well, then slowly guides Hikari to her feet.

Karen takes it very slowly. In spite of her impressive, passionate fighting skills, Hikari is terribly weak. The imprisonment has taken most of her energy. Hikari's hands are trembling in hers, her palms and fingers still sore and red with blisters from building and rebuilding that tower of stars. Over and over. Over and over...

Hikari staggers to her feet, and Karen is there right away to help steady her. She keeps a firm grip on her hands, wishing she could erase the marks staining her skin. When she looks up at her face, tears have begun to fall. Karen gasps softly.

"Hikari-chan?" She reaches out with one hand to support her waist, fearing she might sway or collapse. Hikari merely shakes her head, slowly and heavily.

"I'm scared-" A sobs chokes her. "I'm scared, Karen..."

Karen can feel Hikari's heart beneath her palm. It's jolting so hard it must hurt, fast and terrified. Karen moves a step closer, squeezes her hand tighter.

"It's okay." She reels in her composure, emitting the calm demeanor Hikari usually displays. "It's okay, Hikari-chan. I promise. Just close your eyes."

Hikari bites her lip to contain the whimpers, holding onto Karen's arm with her free hand. More tears trail down her cheeks. She trusts her. With all her heart.

Hikari closes her eyes.

They'd wanted to give their play a different ending. Karen starts rewriting it here and now.

She leans in and kisses Hikari, and the looming red stars change to gold. A breeze envelops them like the tune of a silent song.

When they next open their eyes they find themselves on an empty stage in their school's auditorium. They are wearing their school uniforms and nothing more. There is no audience, no observer, nothing left to keep them here.

Hikari sobs out loud in her relief, and her legs quiver so severely she can't keep herself up. She falls, but Karen catches her with ease, with care. She expected this, expected the seven months' worth of exhaustion to finally catch up to Hikari, expected to see that flash of uncertainty in her eyes right before she loses consciousness. But just before she does, Karen is sure to quell her fears.

"It's okay, Hikari-chan. I've got you."

She holds her close, gazing lovingly down into those tearful eyes. And just before they close Karen can see just how much Hikari trusts her.

With a sigh Hikari falls silent in her arms.

Karen crouches low to gather her legs and pulls her close against her chest. She kisses her forehead, then begins the descent offstage.

She walks the aisles of the audience, no longer inclined to look back over her shoulder. The stars have turned golden. The giraffe is nowhere to be seen or heard.

The doors open for her. Karen steps out and takes Hikari with her.

Evening has fallen and the campus is quiet.

Karen makes it all the way back to her dorm without being noticed. She pushes through with her elbow.

Hikari's things are all here. Her blankets and plushies are still on the floor, her knickknacks and supplies are still lining the shelves and closets. As though she'd never left. When classes commence on Monday, they'll find all of her paperwork has been properly handed in to announce her official return to Seisho Academy.

Karen pushes her back against the door to close it. The room is lit only by the faint glow of silver moonlight slipping in past the curtains.

Everything feels surreal, dreamlike. But she isn't about to question any of it. She has Hikari back, and that's all she needs to know.

Karen passes over Hikari's sleeping area and goes straight to her own bed to lie her down. That's when she notices a note left on the bedside table from Mahiru:

Dear Karen-chan,
Please get some rest. We have yours and Hikari-chan's leftovers saved for tomorrow!
~Mahiru

Karen smiles. "Thanks, Mahiru-chan." Mahiru has been helping her all this time. Karen makes a mental note to thank her properly tomorrow.

For now, she sits down on her bed beside Hikari and removes her own shoes, then her roommate's as well. She places the pairs on the floor, grabs Hikari's blanket from the floor, and then pulls her legs up onto the bed. She drapes the blanket over both of them and prepares to lie herself down when Hikari makes a small sound.

All the shifting about has roused her from a sleep that was no doubt uneasy to begin with. Karen pauses, watching as Hikari's expression twists in discomfort. Her brow furrows and she gasps sharply. Karen sits up immediately and touches her shoulder.

"Hikari-chan?"

The tension in her voice must be enough to wake her fully. Hikari opens her eyes meekly, as though expecting the brightness of the desert once more. But she finds herself elsewhere, in a place she knows even better than that prison.

It's been so long...

A fresh bout of sobs bubbles up from her chest. Karen slips an arm beneath her shoulders and helps her sit up.

"It's okay," she soothes. "It's okay, Hikari-chan. You're safe now. You're home." She finds Hikari's left hand and covers it with her own.

Hikari glances down at the hand in her lap, vision blurred and wet. When she lifts her face again she finds Karen, her star.

"K-Karen..."

It's all she's ever wanted.

Karen dips her head. "Mm. I'm here, Hikari-chan." She eases forward to gather Hikari into her arms, pulling her close. Hikari clutches at her back and clings.

"You really found me..." she whispers. "Thank you... I'm home, Karen."

Karen feels a surge of emotion swell up in her chest. She sniffles.

"Welcome home, Hikari-chan."

Hikari cries a little harder, hiding herself in Karen's shoulder.

Karen – who had searched for her all this time, when everyone else had given up.

Karen – who had found her against all odds, when no one else was looking.

Karen – who had brought her back to a home she'd nearly forgotten she had.

Home. She's home.

A soft mattress with soft blankets and soft pillows cushion her body now, where for so long it had been layers and layers of messy, hard, grainy sand. She can move about and lean back and shift however she pleases without having to worry about millions of tiny shards pinching her.

The air here is clean and crisp with the perfect hint of moisture, where it had been so dry and void of comfort before. She can breathe again without it hurting, without it scratching her throat or the inside of her lungs. She can breathe fully and deeply, and savor every breath.

It's warm here in Karen's arms. Warm and safe. The desert had been cold, with its harsh destructive winds that would cut through her skin and embed chills in her bones and blood. There had been no sun there, only the cruel red glow of the stars that had overseen her captivity.

But here, even without the sun present, it's warmer than anything Hikari can remember.

The real stars glimmer outside in the sky above, countless wishes waiting to be granted. But Hikari doesn't need them anymore. Her wish has already come true. In fact, it came true many years ago. She just hadn't realized it until now. Her wish is right here in her arms.

And it's the same for Karen.

"It's you," she murmurs into Hikari's soft black hair. "It's always been you, Hikari-chan. You're my stage. You're my star. You're my light. My Hikari-chan."

"It's always been you..." Hikari replies. "My sweetly blooming flower of love... Bakaren. My Karen Aijou."

The embrace tightens with a gentle fervor, rekindled after so many months apart. Karen brushes her lips over each of Hikari's cheeks to dry the tears.

Hikari does her best to get ahold of herself. Then, when she's ready, she kisses Karen as she'd done for her earlier.

It's always been her. It still is. It always will be.

A mutual feeling. A chemical reaction that had altered the giraffe's stage forever. An act of love and light.

"I'll give you all of it," Karen murmurs against her lips. "I'll give you everything."

Hikari smiles and her eyes shimmer.

"You can take my everything as well. I'll give it all to you."

"I'll cherish it forever."

Karen hugs her as tightly as she dares, and Hikari returns it with everything she has.

They don't let go, even after the tears have stopped and dried.

Karen wants nothing more than to hold her until the sun rises. Pressed close, she can feel the thrumming of Hikari's heart, beating freely like the wings of a bird released from its cage. She can feel her breathing; every inhale deep, every exhale slow, almost like she can't get enough.

A trickle of worry creeps into Karen's chest as she eases back, just a little.

"Hikari-chan? Are you okay?" She must be starving. She must ache all over. She must be so unspeakably exhausted.

But when Hikari looks up at her, her eyes just continue to shine. With enough brilliance to sustain everyone's stage all on her own.
"Yes. I'm just so glad to be home. I can hardly believe it..." She draws in another deep breath and releases it like stardust. She's glowing. "I'm finally home."

Karen smiles and kisses her again.

"I won't let you go ever again, Hikari-chan. If you go, I'll come with you. Anywhere."

"I know you will. After all, I have your everything. And you have mine."

Karen finds Hikari's left hand once again and curls their pinkies together.

"It's a promise."

Hikari gently pulls her pinkie free and rests her hand over Karen's.

"No, Bakaren. It's fate."

Karen grins.

"You're right. How could I forget?"

They rest their foreheads together for a moment, reminiscing about the night they'd seen their first play together. How their dreams had been born then and there, how wishes of their Starlight had come to be. The wishes that had been born that night had unbeknownst to them also been fulfilled in that very same moment.

They already have their answers. They've had them all along.

Their wishes. Their Starlight.

The two girls are quiet for a while. Hikari can't stop smiling in spite of her enervation. Karen breathes with her, relishing the warmth that blossoms between their heartbeats. Somewhere along the lines she turns Hikari's hands over slowly. They're still a bit red, but most of the swelling has gone down.

It's only then she notices the scar that slices diagonally across Hikari's left palm.

Karen had forgotten about it until now. She'd seen it as she'd fallen, right after Hikari had beaten her at their final Audition. Even as she'd fallen off that tower and into the waters below, Karen had seen the blood dripping from Hikari's blade. The pain of her victory had been surmounted only by the pain of her alleged betrayal. The scar will remain, etched into her skin forever, a constant reminder of her sins.

Hikari notices where Karen's eyes have ended up. She curls her fingers in an effort to conceal the scar.

But Karen stops her, gently unraveling Hikari's fingers with her own. She lifts Hikari's hand to her lips and kisses her there. She'd said it before, and she'd meant it. If Hikari is sinful for what she's done, then so is Karen, and so are all the others. It's a burden she'll gladly carry with her for the rest of their lives.

By the time Karen straightens herself up again, Hikari is crying once more. She throws herself forward, locking both arms around Karen's shoulders.

Karen hugs her back, easily encircling Hikari's torso. She's become so thin. Karen will have to ask Nana to prepare extra snacks for the next few weeks.

At long last, Karen lays down with her, pulling the blanket up over them both.

They share one last kiss, a kiss that says everything.

A never-ending wish, a fated stage, an eternal love.

It's all theirs for the taking.

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A/N: I'm really glad the show kept the image of Tokyo Tower on repetition, because on the slide in front of it was where they had that "it's a promise!" "no, it's fate!" conversation as kids. I wanted to make sure I brought up that conversation again as well, since I also used it in previous chapters.

Maybe I'll do more for them in the future!