Revue Of Redemption

A reward for nadie95! This time, they asked for a sort of "what if" within the canon events where Nana once again gets her repeat performance and fights Maya for the Top Star. Only this time, the cycle is broken for different reasons...

It's going to leap between perspectives so just be warned.

Disclaimer: I do not own Shoujo Kageki Revue Starlight.

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														Revue Of Redemption

A blinding spotlight suddenly illuminates the underground stage. Two figures stand at opposite ends of the shadows, yet to be revealed.

When Claudine opens her eyes, those are the first things she sees, though she can't yet make sense of who is onstage. Rather, she is baffled by the fact that it isn't her.

When she'd received the notification on her phone earlier that evening, the message had been the usual text informing her of the 7th day of Auditions. It hadn't stated there was no participation necessary from her, so she had assumed she would be a part of it.

But she'd never expected she would be participating in way of the audience.

She is presently seated within the many many rows of empty red-velvet chairs, overlooking the stage rather than standing upon it.

She'd gotten the message of no required participation before and had simply stayed in her dorm. But she's never gotten invited only to be benched, wearing nothing but her school uniform rather than her battle clothes.

All around her, her friends are beginning to rouse themselves as well, and they must be harboring the same surprise and frustration.

"Eeeeeh?" Naturally, Karen's wail is the first one to blurt out into the silence. "We're not participating tonight?"

"But we are," Hikari mumbles beside her. "The stage is composed of actors and its audience. We still have a part to play."

"But in the audience?" Junna says. "What's going on?"

"This has never happened before..." Mahiru frets.

"Figures," Futaba rolls her shoulders with a sigh. "This is the final Audition. It isn't like we can all compete in it."

"Indeed," Kaoruko sighs, putting a hand to her cheek. "And it makes sense it would be those two…"

Claudine blinks slowly as she scans the girls around her, already feeling a tightness in her chest as she realizes who is missing. She whirls back around to face the stage where the two figures begin stepping out into the light.

Of course Tendo Maya is there. She's been at the top of the charts since the very first Audition. One of Claudine's mere two losses - her first - had been to Maya.

The other person approaching her now is the only other one to have defeated Claudine.

Dual blades, silver clothes, bright blonde hair.

"Nana…"

Her name falls weakly from Claudine's lips. She leans forward to grab the back of the chair in front of her, half-standing up as though she intends to throw herself in.

No. This isn't right. It can't be.

The only person who could stand at Tendo Maya's side is her. Claudine should be the one up there facing her now for the crown - for the Top Star Tiara.

The fact that it's Nana instead means Claudine had failed her partner.

She slumps back down into her seat, mouth open in a silent plea that hopes this isn't real, that she'll just wake up in bed like every other time and this will all be gone.

But it keeps happening, and she is forced to keep watching someone else take that final, fated stage with Maya.

Claudine had fallen short.

She'd failed Maya. She'd failed herself. To not be the one facing her at the final Audition tonight means she had made one too many blunders, one too many imperfections.

She is not the one who was chosen to stand against Tendo Maya. That is the ultimate failure, in her eyes.

Her heart slams like a gong against her ribs, painful enough to shake her entire body. A sharp, wet sting fills in behind her eyes, and she bites her lip to stop it from overflowing.

"It should be me…" Her hiss of a breath is heard only by the person nearest to her. Futaba must notice her plight, because she rests a hand on Claudine's shoulder, speaking softly.

"Oy, Kuroko."

Claudine hears her, but she can't take her eyes off of the two girls onstage; Maya and Nana finally stop a good ten yards away from one another. She shakes her head, and a single tear drips down.

"Futaba… it should be me…"

It's nothing against Nana personally. It's only bitterness at her own shortcomings.

Futaba might be the only one of their group who understands Claudine's plight the best. But all she can do is shake her head.

"I know. I'm sorry."

There's nothing they can do to change it now.

Claudine grits her teeth and furiously rubs her sleeve over her eyes, then all at once stands up out of her seat. The others, who had been talking softly, all gasp and look up at her. Claudine grips the back of the chair before her. She leans over, inhales a deep breath, and cries out:

"You had better win this, Tendo Maya!"

The words echo out clearly, and they reach her. Maya draws her gaze away from her opponent just for a second to look out across the darkness to where a single row of red seats is illuminated. She smiles, turns to her partner, and bows deeply.

"But of course, mademoiselle."

"Hmm." Nana tilts her head curiously. "That's never happened before. It must be nice to have someone cheering you on, right, Maya-chan?"

Maya turns back to look her fiercely in the eyes. She smiles, and holds up her sword.

"It fuels me like nothing else."

And then, a third portion of the room lights up. About a dozen chairs away from the seven girls, sits the overseer, who finally speaks now.

"Well, well," the giraffe says in his haughty voice. "Now that it appears our audience is awake and present, let us commence the final night of Auditions."

All eyes turn to him now as he towers above the stage, as always, his lips never moving an inch as his voice projects.

"As you all well know, this shall be our final revue. The winner of tonight's match shall claim the Top Star Tiara and make her wish. I look forward to whatever unpredictable stage you have in store for me. As for those of you who find yourselves in the audience-"

He turns his head toward the seven seated.

"I understand. You wish to be the ones standing upon that stage. Such frustrations are a necessary component for this final revue: The Revue of Redemption! Tonight, the winner shall redeem her wish and create a brand new stage, one of radiance and light! I understand." He turns back to the two beneath the spotlight and flicks an ear. "Now then… let it commence!"

Maya doesn't hesitate. She doesn't give Nana the chance to think through her first move. She simply charges, hoping for a quick and painless fight.

But she should've known better. Of course it could never be that simple. Not against the Stage Girl who had defeated all the rest, including Claudine.

Nana's swords catch Maya's in mid-strike, one beneath the tip of the blade and one atop the base, snaring her in a deadlock. Maya tries to slide sideways to escape the hold, but before she can budge, Nana wrenches the weapon nearly out of her grasp, tossing Maya to one side and leaping back out of range.

Even so, Maya doesn't give her a moment's rest. She charges once again, fights her with everything she has.

They sing. They dance. They fight.

Things she's done half a dozen times before in all her other revues.

And yet somehow… this one seems almost familiar…

And back in her seat on the sidelines, Claudine watches in white-knuckled anticipation, trembling with unease. She feels it, too. She's never once been made to sit in the audience and watch before…

So why does it feel so familiar?

An almost nauseating sense of deja vu swirls around in her mind for a few seconds before vanishing altogether. But then, as she watches the fight, some of their movements are exactly as she anticipates. She knows the words of this song. She knows where the blows are going to strike.

She's never been here before. This is the first time for this final revue.

And yet… She's seen it before. Somewhere. Somehow. Perhaps many times before.

She can't explain it, can't describe it. It doesn't make any sense.

As Maya charges, Claudine already knows how Nana is going to counter even before she does it. The stage shifts and alters around them. The image of a swan blazes into the backdrop behind Maya as countless staircases appear. Waves of water surge up from the unseen shadows, swallowing the bird that should be able to stay afloat.

Beside her, Claudine's classmates are rigid and uncomfortable as their eyes follow the two doing battle. Claudine bites her lip and looks back to Maya just as she leaps back and twirls out of range of Nana's dancing swords.

The second Maya finds her footing she lunges forward, but Nana side-steps and jumps back onto a small pillar. She stands tall with the eerie yellow spotlight at her back, and casts her long dark shadow. Maya glowers up at her and steps away; she refuses to be eclipsed.

She heaves for breath from what was undoubtedly one of her most intense battles yet, but she stands ready for Nana's next move. Nana catches her breath as well, but gathers herself more quickly than Maya does.

"I'm sorry," she says, and her voice is oddly soft. "You've come all this way, climbed your way to the top. But you can't win, Maya-chan."

Maya narrows her eyes and lifts her sword to point at her.

"What are you saying? This revue is not over yet. Don't act as though you've already won, Diana Nana-san. Such pride will be your downfall." Again she charges, leaping off a nearby platform and soaring as if she has wings, sword outstretched.

But Nana moves with ease, flipping back into a perfectly-executed landing without breaking a sweat. Maya jumps down onto the stage to pursue her.

Again, their swords clash.

And again Maya finds herself getting pushed back.

It's almost as if Nana is toying with her. Cat and mouse.

Maya charges once more, thrusting her sword toward that small button on Nana's shoulder. But as usual, it's parried, and Nana swings at her left arm. Maya only barely manages to duck out of the way, and the tip of the opposing sword cuts the ends of her jacket. She rounds on Nana who no longer appears to be putting forth much effort. The blonde girl walks slowly, calmly, with confidence.

Maya shudders internally as she pushes herself up again. Sweat drips down at her boots. Nana crosses her swords and scrapes them against each other, creating a jarring sound of scraping metal.

"Oh," she says, mildly surprised. "You dodged it that time."

Maya takes a step back, keeping Nana at the tip of her blade.

"What do you mean 'that time'?"

Nana advances another few steps, forcing Maya back.

"I mean that usually, that's the spot where I defeat you."

"...Eh?"

Suddenly, Nana dives forward and swings one sword from either side aimed at her shoulder. Maya grips her weapon with both hands and uses all her might to stop both blades at once, shoving them back from the precious button.

"Oh? That too?" Nana muses. "Interesting. This really is different from all the other times."

"What are you saying?" Maya demands. "This is the first time we have faced one another."

"To you, I guess it is," Nana sighs. "I'll admit, sometimes I forget that."

Maya casts her gaze sideways, back to where the others are sitting in the audience. Ultimately, her eyes come to rest on Claudine. It should have been her up here with Maya tonight. Claudine is her only equal. Maya is certain of it.

A few yards away, the giraffe swishes his tail.

"I understand."

The audienced girls share baffled looks with one another.

"Nana…" Junna mumbles. "What's going on?"

"What is Banana saying?" Karen frets. "What does she mean?"

"She makes it sound like she's… done this before…" Mahiru whimpers.

Hikari remains silent beside them. Claudine can see a silent understanding in her eyes, something none of the rest of them can comprehend.

"What?" Claudine shrieks, rounding on the giraffe. "What is the meaning of this? What is Banana saying?!"

She doesn't like this. Something is definitely wrong.

Claudine's voice carries back across the stage, back to Maya, telling her the others can hear what is being said and are equally as perplexed. Nana steps toward her again, but this time Maya stands her ground.

"What exactly is going on here, Daiba Nana-san?"

Nana says nothing for a moment. Her expression turns thoughtful - surely the calmest of all the girls here; the only person who is at ease.

"Well," she sighs. "I guess you all have a right to know, even if your memories will just rewind..." She takes another step forward. "Maya-chan? Haven't you been wondering why you can't touch me? Why I'm able to predict and avoid all of your movements before you even make them?" Slowly, she turns her head back to the others. "You girls feel it too, don't you? Isn't all of this a little familiar?"

Claudine and the others fall dead silent now.

Nana continues, her voice level and strong.

"It's because I've done this before. Quite a few times. We all have."

"Eh…?" Maya's voice wavers in a way she's never known it to before.

Nana just smiles.

"This must be close to the hundredth time now, in fact," she says. A shadow creeps across her features. "I'm sorry. But you can't stop me."

"Wh-"

But as Maya is engulfed in the shock and the confusion, Nana shows no mercy. She raises her blades and cuts them in an X formation, slicing the string of Maya's button indisputably.

"No-!" Claudine's shriek trembles through the air and all across the stage as the red jacket falls. Maya drops to her knees on top of it.

"How…?" Incredulous, she shakes her head, looking down at her hands. Powerless.

"Because…" Nana takes one final step toward her, letting the tips of her swords drag on the stag beside her. Maya looks up into her eyes, darkened by the shadows as that yellow light blazes down behind her. "This is my stage, Maya-chan."

The curtain falls. The spotlight goes out. The giraffe speaks.

"This concludes the final day of Auditions."

Claudine's heart pounds as Maya is blocked from her view, swept away behind the thick velvet screen. The others have warily gotten to their feet behind her.

"What's… going on?" Junna staggers into the chair in front of her, then calls out. "Nana!"

"A hundred times…?" Kaoruko clings onto Futaba's arm. "What did she mean by that…?"

"What the hell is goin' on?" Futaba demands.

Before anything else can be said, another spotlight turns on, now revealing half of the stage. The curtain only displays the victor. Across from Nana now stands the overseer.

"Daiba Nana-san," he says. "Congratulations. You are the winner of these Auditions."

Another spotlight flashes on at the back of the stage, revealing a tall white pillar. At the top sits a red-gemmed tiara. Nana gives it a passing glance before looking back up at the giraffe.

"It was a little tougher this time around."

"I understand." He dips his head only a little and blinks. "Now then, what is the stage you desire to see?"

Claudine and the rest remain frozen in silence as Nana replies:

"I want my stage to continue. My Repeat Performance for the 99th Seishou Festival."

The giraffe raises his head again.

"I understand."

And all at once it makes sense in the other girls' minds. They share a collective gasp, worried glances, desperate and scared and uncertain.

Claudine feels tears brimming behind her eyes. Nearly one hundred times? Maya has stood here and fought this fight - and lost - nearly one hundred times?

Claudine won't accept that.

Tendo Maya - her Tendo Maya - cannot lose.

She would never.

She can't.

Claudine won't accept it.

She refuses-

"I refuse!" Her cry echoes sharply around the auditorium, and all eyes turn to her. Claudine climbs up onto the edge of the aisle overlooking the stage. She captivates them all.

"I refuse!" she shouts again. "I refuse that kind of stage!"

And she leaps, feeling the rush of the wind snapping up at her as she descends.

When she lands, her school shoes have been replaced with boots, her gray skirt and blazer turned navy blue, a red sash slung across her chest and a matching jacket on her shoulder.

An orange spotlight shines down on her. She draws her sword and aims it at both Nana and the giraffe.

"Banana! I won't accept this stage of yours!"

Nana's eyes grow wide in disbelief.

"Kuro-chan… What are you doing…?"

Claudine doesn't falter. She maintains her stance and her posture, now aiming the tip of her sword right at Nana's jacket.

"You heard me," she growls. "I won't allow your Repeat Performance any longer. Perhaps you bested Tendo Maya the first time… but to be able to predict her movements all the times after? That doesn't seem fair to me. That doesn't seem like an earned victory."

Just then, she hears a small sound from behind her, a meek, timid shuffling.

"Claudine…"

She glances back to find Maya crumbled behind her, on her knees with the jacket on the floor. The trajectory of Claudine's leap had placed her directly in front of Maya, defending her.

Claudine meets her eyes, finding hopelessness there. Defeat. The Tendo Maya she knows would never accept defeat, even if it was her unmistakable reality. She must have faced this same failure so many times now that it has begun to become embedded in her.

Claudine won't have it. She gazes back at her defiantly.

"Get up. You haven't lost, Tendo Maya. This isn't over."

She reaches out her hand to her. Maya stares up at her in bewilderment.

"Claudine…" She starts to sound more like herself now.

Claudine, who had jumped in to prolong the performance, for her sake.

Claudine, who would never accept anyone else as the victor of this match but her.

Maya bows her head briefly and chuckles under her breath. Of course she could not lose. If she lost, it meant all of Claudine's efforts to reach and surpass her all these years had been all for naught. She simply can't do that to her.

She makes a move to reach out her hand to accept her partner's outstretched palm.

But before either of them can move, a deep voice sounds again.

"I understand." The giraffe steps back out of the spotlight, leaving the girls onstage. "This is a new development. A scene I did not predict. I shall allow it."

"What?!" Nana whirls around to face him, but he is already gone. She turns back to regard Claudine, eyes narrowed in suspicion. "Kuro-chan, what are you doing? You can't be here! This has never happened before!"

"There's a first time for everything!" Claudine barks, stepping once again in front of Maya to shield her. "I don't care how many times you've done this, how many times you've repeated this, but enough is enough!"

"She's right!"

Another voice joins in from above. There's another rush of air as the lights go out.

Then, a single red spotlight shines down on the second girl who has jumped into the fray.

Karen appears beside Claudine, having shown no hesitation in jumping in after her. She addresses Nana with conviction.

"Kuro-chan is right!" Karen says again. "This kind of performance is a big non-non, Banana! The whole point of being a Stage Girl is to stand upon new stages! To be reborn! That can't happen if we keep repeating the same stage over and over!"

And again, the lights go out. And this time a blue light shines down.

Hikari stands, bathed in its color, dagger raised.

"Change is scary," she declares. "But we can't keep reliving the same things without end. We'll never be able to progress like this."

Nana takes a tiny step back, looking between the two of them.

"You two… are you what caused all of this? Are you the anomalies…?"

"Who cares about that crap?!" This time, a purple light flashes, and Futaba appears with her halberd raised to Nana, her voice as challenging as ever. "Whoever or whatever it was, I'm glad they changed it! Who wants to be stuck in the same endless loop for a hundred plus years? That makes no sense, Nana!"

"Indeed, I agree." Next, a pink light showers down on Kaoruko and her naginata. "It's so boorish to repeat the same performance over and over without any alterations, Banana-han. Even in "Starlight" we tweak it and make changes. But something like this? This is a performance none of us would enjoy watching, I'm afraid3."

Nana turns as they appear one by one, on her side, and then behind her, surrounding her.

"Futaba-chan, Kaoruko-chan…"

A light green spotlight appears next, and Mahiru is revealed with her mace at the ready.

"Banana-chan… none of us want this! To be trapped in this never-ending fight forever! It isn't right!"

"But we'll be together!" Nana cries out. "Don't you all see that? If I don't have my Repeat Performance… we'll lose everything! That wonderful "Starlight" we all did together, those fun school days we all shared… We'll be forced to leave them all behind! I can't let you all suffer such pain!"

"'One's pain is lessened by another's anguish'," a final voice proclaims. The last light shines, soft light blue.

Nana turns now with tears in her eyes to face her roommate, her partner.

Junna holds an arrow taut on her bow, aiming it at Nana's shoulder.

"William Shakespeare said that. That's what you're trying to do, isn't it, Nana? You're shouldering all the pain we might experience if we'd be able to continue past this revue. You're trying to spare us from the suffering and torment of losing these precious school days. But in exchange, you have to keep fighting us, all alone - the only one who knows the truth. You must have known that one day we'd fight back."

"Junna-chan…" Nana's hands tremble around the hilts of her blades as they scrape the stage, leaving scratch marks behind. "All of you… you can't do this… please…"

"Banana." Claudine addresses her once more, sword still raised and ready to fight should she need to. Her eyes and tone soften, just a little. "It's all right. Let us choose the next stage alongside you."

"Exactement."

Claudine jolts in surprise as she feels a grip on her hand. Maya grasps her wrist from her spot on the floor and hoists herself up. Claudine quickly interlocks their fingers so she can support her weight, pulling her to her feet.

Nana turns at last to face her original opponent.

"Maya-chan…"

Maya keeps hold of Claudine's hand with one of hers, then raises her sword with the other.

"Please understand. We cannot live our lives without experiencing pain and loss. So too, we must lose this stage. We must lose Seishou. Time must keep moving forward." She looks around the circle to all the rest of them, seeing the same conviction reflected in their eyes. At last, she looks to Claudine beside her and squeezes her hand. "What matters most is that we keep going, and never lose hold of that shine we obtained here together."

Nana staggers as she turns all around to look at her friends, all of them with their weapons pointed at her. But it's clear to her that none of them want to fight her if they don't have to.

Nana shakes her head. This has never happened before. This shouldn't be happening-

"No… M-My Repeat Performance-"

"Nana." Junna's voice is soft and coaxing. Tears fall at Nana's boots as she looks up at her partner. Junna's eyes are anguished, as are all of theirs. "Nana," she murmurs. "It's all right. We can put an end to this. Thank you for trying to protect us all this time. You've preserved our past. But now it's our turn to give you the future. We can redeem it. Together."

There is merciful kindness in all her friends' eyes. Nana sobs, dropping one sword to the ground.

"You're right… all of you…"

She lifts the other sword up to her own jacket, right at the thread beneath the button-

"Thank you…"

-and cuts it free.

The yellow spotlight raining down on Nana shuts off.

And then the others black out as well, one by one, in the order of their intrusion.

The last person Claudine sees upon that stage is Maya, her eyes and smile bright.

Later that evening, all nine girls reconvene in the common room with snacks and movies, dressed comfortably in their pajamas and casual clothes.

For the first time ever, Nana hadn't cooked a single thing, but the rest of them had all put in their skills to bake some banana bread, muffins, and other treats. They want it to be known that no one harbors any hard feelings or ill will toward Nana for what she'd done. They all know she'd only done it in order to protect them and to preserve the best times of their lives.

When they serve all their sweets to her, Nana bursts into happy tears and throws her arms around the nearest person - Junna - and giggles and sobs for five whole minutes.

As everyone settles in to eat and enjoy themselves, Maya manages to take Claudine's wrist and pull her aside, out of earshot of the others. Her eyes are a bit nervous, and Claudine can already sense were this is going. When Maya finally decides on what she wants to say, Claudine is one step ahead of her.

"Claudine-"

"Save it," she says. "I didn't do it just for your sake, you know."

Maya tilts her head, then cracks a tiny smile.

"Is that so?"

"Yes. It is."

"Of course." Maya wraps an arm around her waist and pulls her a step closer. "Though I must say, I was quite shocked to see you jumping in like that. That is something I would expect from our eccentric Aijou-san."

"W-Well, can you blame me?" Claudine huffs. "I couldn't just sit back and do nothing when you were kneeling there on the floor like that, making me think you'd lost…"

"But I-"

"Did not lose." Claudine corrects her before she can even say it. "You would never. Not like that. I mean no disrespect to Banana, but it was an unfair fight. I couldn't let it go on like that…" She tapers off into a mumble. Maya steps closer to her side, tilting her head inquisitively. Claudine pouts a bit and continues. "And besides, to know she'd bested you nearly a hundred times… I couldn't let it happen again. It was unbecoming. I couldn't bear to observe."

"My, how merciful of you, Saijou-san." Maya takes hold of her hand again and gives her a light spin before pulling her back in to her side. "Though I do still wonder what Diana-san was referring to. An anomaly. Something that happened this time that had never occurred before. The catalyst to end the repetition."

Claudine slouches against her a bit.

"It's like she said. This is probably the first time Hikari had joined us."

"Perhaps," Maya hums. "Or perhaps... it was you."

"Me? How do you figure?"

"I'm not quite sure myself." Maya leans her head against hers for a moment. "I think I simply like to believe it's the truth. You jumped in to protect me, did you not? I must wonder, have you done that ninety-nine times before as well?"

"H-How should I know?" Claudine huffs. "We can't remember the other loops…"

"I suppose. Then I'll keep my fantasies to myself."

"You're insufferable."

"I do my best."

"Psst! Kuro-chan! Maya-chan!" Nana calls to them and waves from the couch. "What are you guys doing? You're going to miss all the yummy snacks!"

The two of them share one final glance before heading back to join the others.

At long last, the nine Stage Girls are able to experience their first night free of the Repeat Performance time loop. They aren't sure how the revues will continue from here. Perhaps the final Audition will be redone at a later date.

But they can worry about all that later.

From now on, their days will continue moving forward, even if it means they will someday have to bear the bittersweet pain of loss.

But moving forward is how they will grow stronger, culminating all the things they have learned in order to forge a new path ahead.

And through it all, they will never forget the fun times they shared together at Seishou, and they will use those experiences to fuel themselves ever forward onto newer stages.

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A/N: First of all, I'm not really sure if all the repeat fights Nana had against Maya to keep winning in canon were exactly the same and hence she could predict Maya's movements, but I felt she'd at least seen and fought her enough times to be able to anticipate anything Maya could be capable of and counter it accordingly. Thinking of it that way, I think it'd be justifiable for Claudine to call Nana's subsequent victories against Maya unfair.

Second of all, it was nice to give Nana some love and attention! I love how the show and game both handle and portray the fact that no one ever blames or rues Nana for what she did and that they're all really friends with no ill will anywhere. It's so refreshing and nice...

Hope you enjoyed this little oneshot!