Three's A Comfortable Crowd (ch3)

EARLY RELEASE FOR ALL MY PATRONS!! THANK YOU!!

I'm so happy people are enjoying this story about these three! Personally, Mahiru/Hikari has a special place in my heart so I enjoyed writing this chapter a lot.

Disclaimer: I do not own Shoujo Kageki Revue Starlight.

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						Chapter 2.

Typically, on their days off, Karen, Hikari, and Mahiru would all go out shopping together for whatever food or necessities they needed to restock for the coming week. However, as they're all getting dressed into their cozy weekend clothes this morning, Karen is suddenly struck by a realization.

"Oh, no! I just remembered! I'm supposed to be helping Class B out with some stuff today!"

"You are?" Hikari asks.

"Yeah! They were asking for volunteers the other day and I said I'd do it! I almost forgot!"

"Ah, then you'd better go right away!" Mahiru says. "If you volunteered, they're really gonna be relying on you."

"Yeah! Uwaaah, sorry you guys! You'll have to go on without me!" Karen scrambles into her shoes and hobbles toward the door, then stops with an "ah!", turns back around, grabs her crown hair pin from her desk, clips it into her hair, and then scrambles back to the door, then stops again to run back to pull her two roommates into a big hug. "Have fun, you guys! I'll come next time! Promise!"

"Yeah," Hikari nods. "You have fun too, Karen."

"We'll be fine!" Mahiru smiles. "You do what you have to, Karen-chan. Hikari-chan and I will have our own date today!"

"Awww, I wanna come on the date, too!" Karen whines. But Mahiru shakes her finger at her.

"No can do, Karen-chan. You made a prior commitment."

"A prior… continent…?"

Mahiru sighs.

"Never mind. The point is you have something to do today, so you have to do it. You can join Hikari-chan and I when we come back and you're all finished."

"Okay, that sounds good!" Karen draws back with a grin and waves to them both. "I'll see you guys later, then! Bye-bye!"

Mahiru and Hikari both wave as Karen heads for the door, but she ends up walking into the wall because she's looking back at them. She chuckles sheepishly before actually exiting the room this time.

"I hope she'll be okay…" Hikari mumbles.

"I'm sure she will be. We can leave the Class B girls to look after her today. As for us-" Mahiru loops her arm through Hikari's and smiles. "We've got a date, Hikari-chan!"

"A date…?" Hikari repeats the word as if she's never heard or said it before in her life. Mahiru can't help but giggle. Hikari's always been really cute like this.

"Yup! A shopping date! We'll get all the stuff we have to, and if we have some money left over, we can get what we want!"

They usually do the same exact thing with Karen anyway, but the fact that their roommate won't be joining them today has evidently made Hikari think that things are going to be drastically different somehow. Mahiru knows Hikari is very cautious about change, and she doesn't want to make her overthink things.

"Don't worry," she says, giving a soft pat to Hikari's back. "Karen-chan will be here waiting for us when we get back. But until then, it's just you and me! Oh! What if we get her a surprise gift while we're out?"

Hikari blinks slowly up at her.

"A surprise…?"

"Yeah! Something to let her know we were thinking about her! Something to make her smile!"

Hikari is quiet for a moment as she processes the concept. Eventually, she looks back up at Mahiru and nods.

"Okay. That sounds good."

"Right? Okay, then let's head out!" Mahiru takes her Suzudaru Cat handbag and slings it over her shoulder, while Hikari takes her Mr. White one and does the same.

"What about your phone?" Mahiru asks. Hikari looks back to where her phone is sitting on the desk.

"It's almost dead. It has to charge."

"It isn't plugged in, though..."

"Oh."

So after Hikari plugs her charger into her phone, they exit the room together and begin making their way down the hall.

After receiving permission to leave campus, the two girls set out on-foot to the nearby shopping district. Normally, Mahiru would have to keep an eye on both of her roommates, who tended to wander or get distracted easily. But today it's only Hikari, so it shouldn't be as difficult.

Or so she'd thought.

As she reaches a crosswalk, Mahiru waits for the green light before stepping onto the road, only to notice Hikari isn't beside her anymore. She almost panics, but when she looks around, she finds her crouched beside the rock wall of a garden several yards back down the sidewalk. Mahiru breathes a sigh of relief before hurrying to her.

"Hikari-chan! What's the matter?"

Hikari looks up slowly at her, then points through the little fence into the garden.

"There's a butterfly."

Mahiru looks to where she's pointing and sees a yellow butterfly perched on some pink flowers. She sighs again.

"Hikari-chan-"

"Isn't it pretty?" Hikari smiles so wholesomely and innocently that Mahiru can't even begin to chide her anymore. She lets the soft lecture die on her tongue, and nods instead.

"Yeah! It is really pretty."

So she crouches down beside Hikari for a moment to watch the butterfly together until it flutters off. Hikari exhales a happy little sigh, and Mahiru smiles.

"Hikari-chan? In the future, make sure you tell me if you're going to stop or go somewhere else for a minute. I turned around and you suddenly weren't with me. I got scared."

Hikari's smile fades away.

"I'm sorry…"

Frantically, Mahiru tries to dissuade her from getting down on herself.

"D-Don't worry about it! I just want to make sure you're okay. I don't want you getting lost or anything like that. I'm not mad, Hikari-chan. Okay?" She rests her hand on Hikari's back, offering a pleading and reassuring smile. After a moment, Hikari's smile returns.

"Okay."

Mahiru lets out yet another sigh of relief.

"All right, that's settled. Come on, we have a shopping date, remember?" She takes Hikari's hand and helps her up. She decides to keep ahold of her as they cross the street, and all the while after that, too.

They make it to the marketplace, where Mahiru takes a basket and begins picking out all the things she needs, food-wise. Hikari follows along after her, holding onto the sleeve of Mahiru's cardigan. Without Karen here, she's become a lot less talkative - not that she's even that talkative to begin with - so Mahiru is certain to say something to her taciturn roommate every chance she gets. She asks her opinion on the selection of specials on sale, and her preference for meals this week.

Hikari does seem visibly more relaxed before long, and smiles every time Mahiru addresses her.

They make their way through the stores, and Mahiru keeps the shopping bags on one arm and Hikari on the other. When they've finished buying essentials, Mahiru begins leading her toward the mall.

"All right! Now we can look for something for Karen-chan's surprise gift! What do you think we should get her?"

Hikari puts a hand to her chin and thinks.

"Maybe some sweets? I'm sure she's working hard right now."

"That's a great idea, Hikari-chan! She deserves a reward for helping Class B on her day off. Let's go to the bakery shop!"

So Mahiru leads her into the mall, which is bustling with people on a Saturday like today. They pass by a lot of clothing and gaming stores, as well as toy stores and shoe stores.

And at one point, they pass a store that must be brand new. It has welcoming banners and lights strewn all over the windows. Inside, shelves and shelves of colorful, soft stuffed animals line the walls, and there are buckets full of them, too. She doesn't even realize that they've stopped walking until she feels Hikari tug on her wrist.

"Hikari-chan?"

"Oh. Sorry."

Hikari marvels at everything as they go; she only ever really comes into the mall when she's shopping for holidays or birthdays, and she hasn't been here in probably a month or two by now. She keeps hold of Mahiru's hand as they make their way to the bakery.

But before they get there, Mahiru has to stop them for a moment to readjust the bags on her wrist. Hikari frowns.

"Mahiru. I can carry one."

"Eh? Oh, that's okay, Hikari-chan! I'm fine!"

"But I want to help."

Mahiru feels as though a flower has blossomed in her heart. Hikari is such a good girl.

"All right. Thanks, Hikari-chan!" She makes sure to hand Hikari the lightest of her two bags. Hikari perks up, glad to be of help, and accepts the bag with both hands.

They walk the rest of the way to the bakery, but once there Mahiru comes to a halt.

"Ah! We can't bring these bags of other food in with us…"

She pauses to think for a moment, and can only come up with two possible solutions. She could stay outside with their groceries and send Hikari in to buy a treat for Karen. But somehow, she feels Hikari will end up buying half the store. Her only other option is the reverse, but that would entail leaving Hikari out here by herself while Mahiru goes in to make a purchase…

"Mahiru."

"Hm?" Mahiru snaps out of her thoughts as she feels another tug on her sleeve.

"I can wait out here," Hikari says. "I'll hold the groceries."

Another flower blossoms in Mahiru's chest.

"Hikari-chan… are you sure? Will you be okay out here by yourself for a few minutes?"

Hikari nods.

"Yeah. Leave it to me."

Mahiru's still admittedly a little nervous, but she doesn't want to deny Hikari when she's specifically volunteered to do this. So although she's hesitant, Mahiru agrees.

"All right. I'll be as quick as I can. If you need anything just call for me, okay?"

"Okay." Hikari gives a determined nod as Mahiru transfers her other grocery bag to her. They share a smile, and then Mahiru hurries off into the store.

Now holding a bag on each wrist, Hikari stiffens and takes up her post outside the store. Her duty is to wait here until Mahiru comes back. No problem. Mahiru is getting a gift for Karen from the both of them. Karen will be so thrilled.

…But then Hikari thinks of something.

/Mahiru said a surprise gift will make someone happy… So what if I got her a surprise gift, too?/

She gets excited just at the thought of being able to surprise Mahiru entirely on her own with something.

/I'm sure that new store I saw earlier with all those plushies must have Suzudaru Cat. Maybe I could go there…/

And without even thinking much more than that, Hikari leaves her post and begins to wander off.

/Where was that new store…? The mall looks different than it does during the holidays…/

She glances around, wondering if she should ask someone for directions, but Mahiru had told her before that talking to strangers isn't good, and also she doesn't even remember the name of the store to ask about.

So Hikari walks around the mall, peering through the crowds and looking into the windows of every store, frequently finding herself at a dead end and having to turn around.

But then, she spots a very colorful store with soft plushies in the window.

/That's it!/

She hurries over with her bags of groceries to marvel at the paradise inside. And right past the entrance, there's a bin full of Suzudaru Cat plushies.

/He's here! I have to get one for Mahiru…/

But just before Hikari enters the store, she remembers the entire reason Mahiru had given her the bags in the first place.

/Oh… You can't go into another store if you have food like this…/

Her shoulders slump, and the smile that had been forming on her lips slowly fades away.

/Sorry, Mahiru.../

But fortunately, the woman working behind the counter notices Hikari and calls over.

"Would you just like something at the entrance, miss?"

Hikari looks up and nods shyly.

"Yeah…"

"Then you can come and grab it. No one will complain if you have food if you're only coming in for a minute."

Hikari perks up, and the light returns to her eyes.

"Thank you."

She hurries in, shifting both grocery bags to one arm as she picks up a Suzudaru Cat plushie from the bin and hurries to the counter. She fishes some money out of her handbag and pays. The woman puts the plushie into a baggie and hands it to her.

"Here you go."

Hikari bows deeply.

"Thank you very much."

She takes the bag and turns to hurry off, but the clerk calls her back.

"Miss? Your change."

"Oh."

Once Hikari's gotten her change and all her bags, she exits the store.

/Mahiru will be so surprised. I hope she likes it./

But only now as she walks back out into the mall does Hikari realize she has no idea how to get back to the bakery.

. . .

Mahiru can't be in the bakery for longer than five minutes. She thanks the clerk and accepts the little goodie bag of sweets she'd picked out for Karen, and then skips to the exit.

"Hikari-chan! I'm finished! I think Karen-chan will love-"

But as she rounds the doorway, Mahiru can't see Hikari in the spot where she'd left her.

"Hikari-chan?" She looks to the other side of the doors, but she isn't there either. Mahiru's stomach sinks.

"Oh no…"

She hurries out and jogs a little ways in either direction, but can't find Hikari anywhere. Mahiru reaches for her handbag to get her phone to call her, but then remembers Hikari had left her phone at the dorms.

"Hikari-chan, where did you go…?"

At the very least, there aren't any fallen grocery bags littered across the floor, so she can assume Hikari had probably wandered off of her own volition. But even so, that's worrisome.

Mahiru fidgets in place for a moment as she thinks about what to do. Once when she was younger, Mahiru had gotten lost in a mall with one of her younger sisters. Mahiru had been scared, but she'd put on a brave face to reassure her sister, and had gone straight to mall security as their mother was pitched over the intercom.

/But I can't do that for Hikari-chan! She isn't a lost child! …Well, actually…/

She considers it for a moment, but decides that will be a last resort./

/Before that! Think! Where would Hikari-chan most likely go on her own other than the bakery…? Probably a kids' store…

Mahiru chooses a direction and hurries off, scouring the crowds of people as she goes. She peers into a few stores she could imagine Hikari wandering into and calls out for her a few times, but to no avail.

/Oh, I hope she's okay!/

She continues her search for a few more minutes without results. And it's then she remembers the store where Hikari had paused earlier.

/Ah! That new one! Where was it-?/

Mahiru hurries to locate a mall map, something she's sure Hikari probably wouldn't think to do, and finds the toy store in question. She hurries as quickly as she can, heart pounding as she finally spots the colorful store from a distance.

/Oh, please let her be here…/

She draws nearer, and just as a passing crowd clears, Mahiru spots a lone girl with long black hair and a star hair pin sitting on a bench with three bags on beside of her. Her heart lifts.

"Hikari-chan!"

Mahiru runs to her, and Hikari lifts her head at the sound of her voice.

"M...Mahiru-" She lifts her arms up, and they're all wobbly. Mahiru drops to her knees in front of her, quickly puts down the bag of sweets, and throws her arms around Hikari in a big hug.

"Thank goodness you're okay! I was so worried, Hikari-chan!"

"Mahiru…" Hikari's reply is small and muffled as she buries her face into Mahiru's shoulder. Mahiru lifts herself higher up onto her knees to hug her tighter, sighing happily.

"Did you get lost?" she guesses.

She feels a little nod against her shoulder.

"I thought so. I bet you were so nervous you didn't think to look for a map, huh?"

Another nod.

"And I'll bet it was too embarrassing to admit you were lost ask someone else for directions, right?"

Nod.

Mahiru just sighs.

"Well, it's all right now. I found you. You remembered it's best to stay where you are if you get lost! You knew I'd come find you as soon as I could!"

"Mm…" Hikari nods again, and Mahiru can feel her hands are still shaking. "Mahiru…"

"Yes?" Mahiru rubs her back soothingly. "What's the matter, Hikari-chan? Are you okay?"

There's a sniffle.

"I'm sorry…"

"Eh?! Hikari-chan?" Mahiru eases back, and sure enough there are tears dribbling down Hikari's face.

"I'm sorry… you told me before not to wander off… I just-"

"H-Hikari-chan! It's okay! Please don't cry!" Mahiru gets up to seat herself on the bench beside her and digs a handkerchief out of her handbag. She pads it gently across Hikari's cheeks to dry the tears. "Hikari-chan, don't worry! I'm not mad! I was just scared for you! But if you're all right, that's all that matters!"

Hikari does some more sniffling, and Mahiru continues wiping her face for a moment. Hikari gives a little hiccup.

"Sorry…"

"It's okay."

"I just… wanted to get you a surprise gift, too…"

"…Eh?"

Hikari picks up one of her bags - one that isn't from the grocery store. She places it in Mahiru's lap and sniffles again.

Mahiru blinks. She hadn't been expecting this. She'd just assumed Hikari had walked off to look around at cute things.

/But… she did it… to get something for me…?/

Mahiru looks down at the bag in her lap. The logo matches the store they're sitting in front of right now. Slowly, she opens the bag and pulls out something soft. It's a plushie of her favorite.

"Ah! Suzudaru Cat! It's so cute!" Mahiru feels like a whole field of wildflowers blooms in her chest as she looks to her roommate in delight.

Hikari wipes her eyes.

"I wanted to surprise you… like we were gonna surprise Karen… But I guess I only startled you by getting lost…"

Mahiru can't even think of the proper response right away. She's so, so happy, and so, so touched because Hikari is just too cute and sweet.

"Hikari-chan, that's not it at all!" Mahiru leaves her Suzudaru Cat in her lap and wraps her arms around Hikari once again, squeezing her into a good hug. "I'm not upset or anything! I'm just glad you're okay! And I'm so happy about the gift you got for me! I love it, Hikari-chan!"

She hears another little sniffle from her roommate as two timid hands cling onto Mahiru's back.

"Really…?"

"Yes! I love it so much! This is the best surprise gift ever!"

Hikari blushes a little bit at hearing so much praise. She burrows into Mahiru's shoulder, sighing softly.

"Really…?"

"Yes! Thank you, Hikari-chan!"

Hikari's just relieved that Mahiru isn't upset with her for wandering off. Now that she's realizing her plan to surprise Mahiru with a gift had worked, Hikari's heart beings to beat faster in her glee.

"I'm glad you like it."

"I love it! I love it a whole lot!" Mahiru means every word.

She doesn't let go of Hikari for a few moments, really wanting to make sure the other girl knows her feelings are genuine. When Mahiru does eventually ease back, she's relieved to find Hikari's tears have stopped, and instead a tiny smile has appeared on her lips. Mahiru uses her handkerchief to gently wipe away the remnants of the tears on her cheeks before leaving a soft kiss on Hikari's forehead.

"I'll cherish this Suzudaru Cat forever, Hikari-chan."

And Hikari is delighted beyond words, so she just nods.

"Mm."

At last, with the minor crisis now over, the girls arrange all of their bags and belongings and split them to carry. They get to their feet and share a smile, and Mahiru offers her arm. Hikari immediately latches onto it and presses close.

Together, they exit the mall and make the walk back to Starlight Hall. The two of them unload their groceries into the fridge or pantries of the common room's kitchen, only setting Karen's goodie bag aside on the counter.

When their roommate does eventually come back, Karen is sighing that she's tired, but happy to have helped out Class B. She welcomes her roommates back with a big hug before they present her with her gift. Karen starts tearing up dramatically and hugs them both all over again.

The three girls sit and enjoy the treats together as Mahiru tells the story of her newest Suzudaru Cat plushie, though she's certain not to say it in a way that might embarrass Hikari. Rather, she makes Hikari out to be a brave and valiant hero who traversed the confusing mall all on her own just to get Mahiru a present.

Karen eats it up, wide-eyed and open-mouthed, singing Hikari praises all the while and making her blush.

All in all, it turns out to be a very nice afternoon.

And when it's time for bed later that night, Mahiru curls up with a smile and hugs her new plushie close to her heart.

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A/N: I made a post a long time ago about Hikari, something like, "I love how on the stage she could heartlessly murder you without a second thought but off the stage if you put her in a mall she'd get lost in 3 seconds flat like a child." Her range of personality is so good, I love it!

I reeeeally enjoyed writing this one~! Their dynamic is so gosh darn cute! Mahiru feels she needs to take care of Hikari, and Hikari wants to say 'thank you' in the best way she can think of. I've been waiting so long to share this one!