Starlight (ch2)

EARLY RELEASE FOR MY HIGHER-PLEDGING PATRONS!!

Welp, here we are. Was inspired a bit by episode 5 so this probably takes place right after.

Disclaimer: I do not own Shoujo Kageki Revue Starlight.

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														Chapter 2.

Ever since Karen had fallen to the bottom of the auditions list, Hikari has made it a point to wake her roommate at least an hour early every morning for extra practice before their regular classes began.

The first few times it was almost impossible because Karen slept like a log, but Hikari had her methods of making her childhood friend move.

Surprisingly, after three days of getting used to it, Karen had actually started to wake up on her own, just because she was that excited to get to practice alone together with Hikari and to continue to improve herself.

But this morning marks a very special occasion. This morning Karen rouses herself even before Hikari has opened her eyes.

At first she thinks it's just a fluke, or one of those weird half-conscious early-morning dreams. But after rubbing her eyes a few times and getting her bearings, Karen realizes it's reality. She feels refreshed and well-rested and ready for the day, and she wants to give Hikari a surprise this morning.

So she grabs her T-rex alarm clock and silences it before it can blare, then carefully crawls out of bed, tiptoeing around Hikari's futon on her way to the bathroom. Karen freshens up and gets dressed in her morning class' clothes, stretching out her arms a bit here and there.

Once she's finished she treads softly back to where her two friends are still sleeping.

She glances at Mahiru first. Ever since she and Karen had had their match, and ever since Hikari had opened up a little more, Mahiru's jealousy and bitterness had faded. Being the cheerful and understanding girl she is, she had accepted Karen and Hikari's decade-old promise and had sworn to help them achieve it in whatever way she could.

She gets to sleep in for another hour, and the Karen from two weeks ago might have envied her. But as she is now, Karen is up and rearing to go practice.

She turns to look down at Hikari now, curled up on her side with a plush bear in her arms, breathing softly. Karen crouches down in preparation to wake her, but before she does she pauses at an odd sound.

It's very faint, but Hikari's breath seems to be wheezing slightly. Hikari doesn't snore, and Karen knows that for a fact. A twinge of concern wiggles its way into her gut.

There's no way... She can't be sick. She's never been sick her whole life!

With a gulp, Karen reaches out slowly, brushing Hikari's bangs gingerly away from her face and resting the back of her hand against her forehead. She can't tell if there's a fever or not. Hikari feels warm, but isn't that natural?

Karen chews her bottom lip, but ultimately decides she's overreacting. She withdraws her hand, only to shake her friend's shoulder instead.

"Hikari-chan!" she whisper-shouts. "It's time to get up! Hikari-chan!"

There's a cute little moan from Hikari as she rolls over onto her back, eyes fluttering slowly open. The first thing she sees that morning is Karen beaming down at her, already fully-dressed and ready to go.

"Karen..."

"Yep! I'm already ready! Let's go, Hikari-chan!"

Hikari sits up sharply with a gasp.

"What time-"

"Don't worry! You're not late or anything. I was just early today! We're still right on time for our practices!"

Hikari looks to the dinosaur clock to see it's only 7AM now, and they still have their usual hour to practice before classes officially begin. She sighs to calm herself.

"You're the first one up. This is certainly rare."

"Yeah, I guess so. I'm just so excited!"

Hikari smiles softly.

"Then I won't keep you waiting."

Hikari begins folding up her blankets and futon before chiding Karen to clean her own bed. The usual morning routine commences, and before long the two of them are at the studio. They always keep the lights off, because at this hour of the morning the sunlight is just streaming in through the windows and any additional electricity would only heat the room up more quickly.

They start with their basic individual stretches, toe-touching, butterflies, and shoulder rotations and the like.

After a few minutes of that, they get to partner stretches. Karen sits on the floor and opens her legs in the best split she can manage this early, and Hikari pushes her feet in at Karen's ankles. She takes her hands and pulls her forward as much as she can, until Karen's forehead nearly touches the floor. The brunette counts a full thirty seconds in a clipped, whiny voice before Hikari finally lets her up again.

"You're getting much more flexible," she comments.

"Ha... really? You think so?"

Hikari nods. Karen breaks out into another grin.

"Lemme push you, Hikari-chan! Not that you really need it."

She brings her legs in and pushes herself up. Hikari gets herself into a split and reaches forward as much as she can. Karen presses down on the small of her back, holding her in place as Hikari stretches out across the floor, her torso lying down perfectly straight. Karen marvels at her every time.

"Geez, I don't know how you do it, Hikari-chan. You make it look so easy..."

"It's all practice. You'll get there. Now count."

"Oh, right."

Karen begins counting to thirty in her mind, keeping her palms in place firmly at Hikari's back and sides.

And as the seconds tick by, she can't help but feel something's off again.

She's done this stretch together with Hikari enough times by now to know her usual breathing pattern. But this morning Hikari's breath seems to be a bit shallower and a bit quicker. Karen can feel her sides moving beneath her hands, and it's just a bit too fast.

She waits a few more seconds to check her suspicion, and sure enough it isn't just a small fluke or hitch in Hikari's breath. Her breathing is definitely off.

Karen feels another little knot in her gut.

"Hikari-chan-"

"That's thirty." Hikari pushes herself up, consequently shaking off Karen's grip. "Don't lose focus."

And for some reason, Karen gets the feeling she isn't simply talking about the stretching count. But before she can say anything more, Hikari is already on her feet.

"Come on. We have a lot more to do."

Karen wants to say something, but she shakes it off.

Hikari-chan's fine. And she's right. I need to focus on my goals. That promise is for her sake too, after all.

She gets up and turns back to back with Hikari, interlocking their arms from behind. Karen eases back until she's supporting most of her friend's weight against her back, then slowly leans forward and pulls.

She can feel all the little cracks in Hikari's back, which is normal for this stretch this early in the morning. What surprises Karen is the sharp intake of breath.

"Ah-"

"Hikari-chan?"

Karen quickly straightens up and lets her friend back down, but she doesn't relinquish her grip on her arms.

Hikari staggers a bit as her feet touch the floor again, and she hunches forward awkwardly. Karen slips her arms free but still keeps them around her friend for support.

"Hikari-chan? What's wrong? Does something hurt? You're all out of breath..."

Hikari can't respond right away. She takes a few seconds to regain her breath and voice.

"It's fine... A bit of strain is normal every once in a while."

"Strain? What strain? What are you straining?"

"I said it's fine, Karen."

She says it in that way of hers that states there's no more to the conversation.

Karen whimpers a bit, begrudgingly continuing with their stretches.

There's a bit more pushing and pulling, and now that Karen is suspicious of Hikari's condition, she feels like she's noticing something just slightly off each time.

When Hikari insists to lift Karen up on her back, Karen is all but convinced Hikari will collapse beneath her. But thankfully that doesn't happen, though she does sway ever so slightly upon putting her down.

Worrying about Hikari is beginning to stress Karen out a bit, which makes her lose focus, which makes Hikari scold her.

They go through a few dance motions and pieces of choreography from Starlight to practice, mainly the parts Karen needs to work on. She notices Hikari is giving advice and talking a lot more than she's participating, as if engaging in the physical activity might give something away.

After a few of Karen's solo dances and poses, which Hikari deems are too stiff, they get to another stretching exercise.

She seems as stoic as ever as she motions for Karen to get into place. From a standing position, Karen reaches out to wrap her arms around the small of Hikari's back, pressing the side of her face into her chest. She raises one leg and Hikari grabs it immediately, helping her lift it up as high as she can above her head.

"Good. Now hold."

"I'm holding..."

Karen leans almost all of her weight on Hikari since her one balancing leg isn't doing her much good. She squeezes her friend tightly to keep herself up, hugging herself close.

And with her ear pushed in right at the center of Hikari's chest, she can hear everything.

The way her chest seems to be slightly congested, the way her inhales rasp and her exhales wheeze, the way her heart is beating at a much quicker pace than is normal for this basic level of activity.

All things no one would ever be able to tell from a normal distance. But Karen has the privilege of being this close to her, this intimate. As such, it's her job to take responsibility.

Something's definitely wrong!

"Hikari-chan-"

"Focus, Karen."

"It's hard to focus on anything other than how hard your heart is pounding, and how weird your breathing sounds."

"What are you talking about?"

Karen does her best to turn her face and glare up at Hikari from this angle.

"Why don't you tell me?"

Hikari is silent for a moment, as if debating telling the truth.

"You're imagining things."

"Hikari-chan-"

"Let's keep going. Switch legs." She lets go of Karen's ankle so she can switch like always. But this time the awkward shift in balance throws Hikari off and she stumbles back.

"W-Watch out!"

Karen instantly lunges forward to grab her, but ultimately there's no leg left for either of them to stand on. Both girls go crashing to the floor with Karen on top, pinning a sputtering Hikari beneath. There's a loud thud and a collective gasp, followed by softer moaning.

"Ahhh..." Karen is limp for a moment until she realizes she's crushing her friend. "S-Sorry! Hikari-chan, are you okay?!" She pushes herself off quickly and sits up.

Hikari has started to cough rather harshly. Her eyes are squeezed shut, but even then Karen can see little tears forming at the edges.

"H-Hikari-chan?" Karen braces her arm beneath Hikari's shaking back and helps her sit up, rubbing her back and shoulders firmly. "Just take deep breaths! Breathe nice and slow..." She slows down her own voice to lessen her panic and to help Hikari calm down as well.

The impact from hitting the floor while having Karen on top of her hand winded Hikari pretty badly. It takes a moment before her coughing fit has subsided, but even then it's a while longer for her to get her breath back. Karen just keeps dutifully rubbing her back and sides encouragingly.

She waits until Hikari's breathing has gone back to normal for the most part, then pulls her in close for a soft hug.

"I'm sorry, Hikari-chan."

Hikari draws in a few more breaths before slowly returning the embrace.

"Why... are you apologizing...?"

"Because! I knew something was up with you! I should've paid attention better..."

"Karen-"

"Are you hurt? Did you hit your head? Maybe we should go to the nurse-"

"Karen-"

"Good morning." A chorus of new voices suddenly enters the room along with several of their friends. Everyone is smiling and chatting normally until they notice the two girls already inside.

"Oh my," Claudine says. "Did something happen, you two?"

"Y-Yeah," Karen says. "We had a little fall..."

"Are you all right?" Maya struts over right away in an effort to assess the situation.

"We're both fine." Hikari cuts in quickly before Karen can respond. "It was nothing."

She's already pushing herself up and straightening her posture, the picture of her usual poised and serious self. Karen looks up at her from the floor, still clearly upset. But Hikari gives her a stern stare as she helps her up, not wanting the others to know about the blunder. Karen gives a small nod.

"Fine," she whispers. "But I'm keeping an eye on you. If something's wrong you need to speak up, Hikari-chan."

Before she can get a response, the door opens and their teacher steps in with a greeting, giving her first round of orders.

Karen divides her attention between the lessons and Hikari. But now that there are other people around and expectations to fulfill, Hikari shows no signs of weakness. Her stride and agility are as prominent and impeccable as ever.

And when she sings, it's like listening to an angel. Karen is convinced she's the only one to take note of Hikari's slight breathlessness in between verses. It's so minor no one would notice unless they were specifically listening for it like she was.

They go through various acts and stages of singing, dancing, and exercises. Karen ensures she's Hikari's partner for everything. When they're given their lunch break she makes sure Hikari eats and drinks properly.

Being that they're in the studio all day today, they do get dismissed a bit earlier than other days that alternate between studio and classroom lessons.

Thankfully Hikari doesn't let on that anything is amiss, to the point where Karen is starting to feel better about it all.

It's only at the very last lesson, when Karen is up to be assessed by their instructor when something happens.

As Karen goes through her dance and singing routine, she glimpses Hikari going through some motions with Claudine. Karen isn't quite sure what happens, but Hikari misses a step and ends up on her knees. The distraction is enough to mess up Karen's train of thought, and she forgets her line. Her teacher calls it off.

"All right, that's enough, Aijou. If you don't focus on what you're doing you're going to find yourself in trouble."

"S-Sorry..."

"Then that's it for today. Good job, everyone."

"Thank you!"

By the time the teacher has turned to the door, Hikari has already gotten back on her feet as if nothing had happened. She dips her head respectfully to the older woman as she exits.

"Kagura-san," Claudine murmurs. "It seems you got a bit dizzy just now. Make sure you drink some water."

"It's nothing, but thank you."

Claudine nods, but says nothing more.

"All right," Maya projects. "It's time to go, ladies. Good work today."

Claudine immediately rounds on her.

"We don't need you to tell us that."

"Oh? It seems someone still has a bit of spark left in her."

"Why you..."

"All right, quit it you two!" Futaba shouts.

As the others all converge in their usual group, Mahiru breaks off to go to her roommates.

"Karen-chan, Kagura-san! Let's all go to the showers!"

"In a minute," Karen replies. "You guys go on ahead, Mahiru-chan. We didn't get to practice much ourselves this morning, so we're gonna do one last dance."

"Okay! Hurry up then!" Mahiru follows the other girls out the door and closes it behind herself.

Karen and Hikari find themselves alone together again.

Hikari had been expecting Karen to jump on the idea of the showers and some rest, so for her to have spoken up on Hikari's behalf to stay behind a while longer... Hikari knows she's in for it now.

As she turns to her, Karen is already giving her a serious look. Hikari sighs.

"Karen, look-"

"Ahem!" Karen cuts her off with a grunt, then extends her right hand, leaning forward in a bow of invitation. "May I have this dance?"

Hikari blinks, but slowly accepts. She puts her free hand on Karen's shoulder and feels Karen's on her waist as they begin going through the motions of one of Starlight's dance sequences. They take turns leading, being led, twirling and being twirled, all at a very slow, easygoing pace.

Karen says nothing for the first few minutes, and the silence coupled with the look of contemplativeness in her eyes is killing Hikari. Eventually she caves.

"Karen... I'm sorry."

Just then the final twirl comes. Karen pulls her in close and catches her, holding Hikari tightly up against her chest. They both stop, clinging onto one another for balance as they catch their breath. Karen recovers first.

"Why are you apologizing?"

It's the reverse of their conversation from earlier. Hikari avoids eye contact, especially when they're so close like this.

"For not saying anything. I really was feeling a little sick today."

"I knew it-"

"But that doesn't matter," Hikari snaps. "You still need to focus on your techniques. You lost focus today right in front of the teacher. How do you think that made you look?"

"It doesn't matter." Karen loosens her hold on Hikari just a bit, but doesn't let go. Hikari scoffs.

"What do you mean 'it doesn't matter'? If you don't focus and try your hardest, how can you ever become Top Star?"

"I'm saying it doesn't matter! Not if you're not there with me!"

The passion of her words stuns Hikari into silence. Her grip on Karen's clothes tightens subconsciously. Karen's eyes burn into hers for a moment before she pulls Hikari into a fervent hug.

"Becoming Top Star doesn't matter unless you're there beside me, Hikari-chan. If you're sick or you're hurt, then I don't care about anything else!"

"Bakaren! You've said it all this time. It's your dream to become Top Star."

"But that wasn't our promise!" Karen pauses, softening her voice a little. "Our promise was to stand on that stage together. I know I say it all the time, that my dream is to become Top Star. But it's meaningless unless you're there with me. No matter what I might say about Starlight, you come first, Hikari-chan. You always come first."

Tears have started to dribble down her cheeks. Somehow it both breaks and heals Hikari's heart at the same time. She feels tears of her own brimming up, but her lips are in a smile.

"Bakaren."

She reaches out to wipe Karen's face dry. Karen does the same, but instead of using her fingertips, she kisses Hikari's cheeks in turn. Then she pulls her in for another hug.

"We're gonna become Top Stars together, Hikari-chan. It's our promise. It's both of us, or neither of us."

Hikari sniffles, drawing in a steadying breath.

"It's a promise."

They hold onto one another for a few more moments, until the lively beat of their hearts has synchronized and slowed. Finally they ease apart, but not all the way.

"Do you still feel sick?" Karen asks, pressing her forehead to hers. "It feels like you might have a bit of a fever."

"Nothing a good shower won't fix."

"Then let's go! Banana-chan's got something yummy planned for dinner, too!"

She takes Hikari's hand and leads her to the door.

Hikari doesn't mention the slight fever only came on after Karen had kissed her.

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A/N: I just had to write something after episode 5 since these two didn't have much interaction this time either. But they got to do that super gay stretching pose mmmm

Maybe more to come? :o