Catching Phantom Thief Starlight (ch3)

FOR MY $20+ PATRONS!

I'm glad to see some interest in this little fic and AU! It's slow for now, but don't worry, the action will happen eventually.

Disclaimer: I do not own Shoujo Kageki Revue Starlight.

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													Chapter 3. High Tensions

As soon as Tendo Maya walks through the door, Claudine's jaw nearly drops, and it takes all of her subconscious schooling to catch herself before she can be rude.

She hasn't seen her since they'd graduated the Academy a few years back. She'd only glimpsed a photograph here or there on the Internet headlines, or heard her voice in grainy news reporter interviews.

She looks exactly like she had on their graduation day, only now she appears to be even stronger and wiser, dressed in formal attire even though she'd just traveled so far.

Her physique had definitely improved, and her eyes were even more stern than before. Her polite smile is clearly meant for Chief Daiba - for another department's head honcho.

But the second Maya lays eyes upon the other person in the room, her smile fades.

Claudine had been just about to smile herself, but when she sees Maya's reaction, the happy feeling in her chest is crushed.

Maya's eyes have no spark of excitement for a reunion in them. In fact, there's barely any hint of recognition at all.

As she enters the office, Claudine quickly stands up to greet her, as per standard procedure.

"Head Inspector Tendo," she says offering her hand. "It's been quite some time."

Maya accepts her hand seemingly only out of obligation, and doesn't hold on to shake it for longer than a few seconds before letting go.

"I suppose it has, Lieutenant Saijou." With this, Maya brushes past her to greet Nana. Claudine moves out of her way and slowly sits back down in her chair.

Somehow, this isn't the kind, reminiscent reunion she'd always dreamed of. Tendo Maya seems much colder than she last remembers.

Of course she'd been stoic and tough back at the Academy; Claudine had been, too. But once they'd started to confide in one another and help one another through the trials and abuse, they'd started opening up to one another. They'd smiled, worked hard, trained together, beaten down the hatred and surpassed their tormentors to graduate with the highest grades and honors possible.

They've only been apart for fewer than two years. Claudine can't help but wonder what Maya's gone through over in London that would turn her back into the shell of her former self.

She had thought Maya would at least be a little happy to see her again…

But Claudine hadn't earned her way to the top by being pulled down by personal feelings.

She shakes herself out of it as Nana finishes greeting their guest and offers her a chair. Maya takes a seat beside Claudine at a respectable distance, but never once takes her eyes off of Nana. Claudine inhales sharply and puts her conflicted emotions to the side for the moment.

Now that they've finished exchanging pleasantries, Nana gets back into her speech.

"Now then, Head Inspector Tendo, I trust Chief Hoshimi has briefed you on the situation?"

Maya dips her head.

"Yes, ma'am."

Claudine clenches her fists on her knees. Maya's voice sounds a little deeper than she remembers, as if she's been speaking excessively seriously for a long time. Something uncomfortable curls up in Claudine's stomach, but she does her best to ignore it.

"Very good," Nana says. "I was just briefing my Lieutenant Saijou as well. The London and Paris PD's have elected to put you two together for this job in catching the Phantom Thief Starlight. You will work this mission until that goal is met, or until you are recalled for other purposes. Is that understood?"

"Yes, Chief."

"Yes, ma'am."

"Good. Now then, I've prepared the profile and various documents for you both. The two of you will be living and traveling together from now on until this mission is completed or terminated. For tonight, you'll be staying at a local hotel, but after that you should inform me of your intended whereabouts during our daily calls, and I'll make arrangements accordingly. Any questions, officers?"

Both girls shake their heads.

"No, Chief."

"Negative, ma'am."

"All right then." Nana hands Claudine one packet of papers and Maya another. "This should be everything you'll need. We're counting on you two to catch this oddball before he starts causing real trouble. Keep in touch, and good luck to you both."

At their cue, Claudine and Maya stand to shake hands with Nana. They then exit the office and head out through the building. Claudine feels inclined to take the lead since she knows the place, but Maya struts on ahead as if she's the one who's been working here for the past year.

"There's a taxi outside," she says without even looking back. "Take your things and we'll head straight to our hotel."

Claudine feels a little irked at receiving orders from someone who isn't even in her department, but she understands that in all technicality, Tendo Maya outranks her, even if just from her graduating at top of their class years ago. Claudine is used to quietly taking orders from people who have no right giving them to her, but she hadn't expected Maya to become like those people...

She shakes her head again in an effort to dislodged the distasteful thoughts, then quickly hurries into her own office to collect her bag and a few other documents. Maya waits for her, but the second Claudine steps out, Maya has turned around and started walking away again. Claudine stifles a bit of a huff and follows her down to the main lobby, then outside.

It's evening by now, and Paris is painted in sunset colors. A taxi is waiting as promised. Maya rounds the car and gets in from the street-side door while Claudine places her important documents into her bag. She gets in from the opposite side and sits in the back with Maya, then gives the driver the directions to their hotel Nana provided. But Claudine first requests to be taken to her apartment, where she quickly packs a suitcase full of clothes and necessities, since she isn't sure how long this mission is going to take.

As they start to drive again, Claudine feels it's almost suffocating to be sitting there with Maya, where, in the past, hers was the only presence that would ever make it easier for Claudine to breathe. But the air feels so heavy and awkward now, and she can't understand why.

The car ride is quiet, save for the general sounds of a moving car and the driver's muffled music coming from the other side of the privacy screen. Claudine steals glances at Maya all the while, but Maya's eyes are trained strictly out the window. She's probably a bit tired, on account of she'd just arrived from London, but Claudine doesn't see why she can't hold a tame conversation.

For some reason, this is one of the scariest things she's ever had to do in her line of gruesome, murderous work.

So she musters up her courage and clears her throat.

"So… you seem well. How have things been since we left the Academy?"

Maya doesn't even turn her head to look at her.

"It would be best not to discuss our work when we can be overheard."

Claudine wrinkles her nose in slight offense.

"I'm not asking about your work. I'm asking about how you've been."

"I'm not at liberty to discuss my personal life."

Claudine scowls at the back of her old companion's head.

"Well I've been doing just swimmingly, thank you for asking." She crosses her arms and looks away out her own window, and Maya says nothing in response.

They reach their hotel, and Maya pays the driver as Claudine gathers her things. Claudine doesn't wait for Maya at the revolving doors, nor does she want to wait for her at the check-in desk.

But Maya comes up beside her before long with her own luggage in-hand, and her presence both simultaneously soothes Claudine and rubs her the wrong way.

Their room has already been arranged and paid for by the police department, and Claudine is handed a key. She simmers a bit when Maya requests a key of her own, too.

They take the elevator together, simply so there's a slimmer chance of people spotting them; even though they are in formal work attire rather than their uniforms, it would still be best for people not to suspect that they have guns and badges concealed under their belts.

For now they were simply a normal pair checking into a hotel.

Once they reach their floor, they make their way to the designated room. Maya uses her key card to let them in.

It's a rather sizable room, probably one of the best Chief Daiba could get them without raising too much suspicion.

Claudine quickly makes her way over to one of the two queen-sized beds and claims it with her belongings. Maya follows suit more slowly, not even acknowledging Claudine as she begins pulling out the police reports about the Phantom Thief's most-recent robberies.

Claudine glowers at her, not sure what to make of her, and pulls out her own documents to inspect. She reads them thoroughly for a while, until she glimpses Maya putting her things away. Claudine looks up at her back.

"Well? Aren't we even going to discuss this case?"

Maya stands up to close the curtains, then begins disrobing and changing into sleepwear.

"Do we even have to? I'm sure you have your own ideas about his next move."

Claudine looks away from her as she changes.

"I do. But that isn't the point. We're working this case together, so we should be talking to one another. We need to make a plan."

Maya finishes dressing and pulls her hair out of her sleep shirt. She sighs, still refusing to look at her.

"The plan is for me to pursue this criminal, and for you to stay out of my way."

That does it for Claudine. Any hopes that Maya might just be fatigued from her travels or uncomfortable in her new surroundings go out the window.

Claudine jumps up from her bed and reaches across Maya's to grab her arm and yank her to turn around.

"Excuse me?" She glares harshly into Maya's eyes, forcing her to finally look at her. "I'd expect that kind of talk from just about any other officer in Europe. But you…?"

Her voice wavers just a little, and her tight grip on Maya's arm loosens. Claudine's anger quickly melts into something much more vulnerable.

"You… You were always on my side, weren't you? We made it through the Academy together because we had each other's backs. We never would have survived without each other."

Maya glares back at her levelly.

"What happened in our past is of no concern."

"Isn't it, though?" Claudine snaps. "I thought our companionship was genuine. Or was I the only one who felt that way? Were you just using me to get the top spot?"

"Of course not-"

"Then why-?" Claudine barks. "Why are you treating me like a total stranger?"

"Because it's better this way," Maya replies, pulling her arm away. Claudine stares at her incredulously.

"'Better'?" she mocks. "What about this is better? Were you even the slightest bit happy to see me again after all this time?"

"How I feel doesn't matter."

"Then what about how I feel?!" Claudine hasn't let her emotions get the better of her in nearly half a decade. It all suddenly surges up now, rising like waves throughout her body and culminating behind her eyes. She bores her gaze into Maya's, waiting for her to say something.

But it's not what she wants to hear.

Maya looks away from her.

"I work alone. I never asked to be paired up with someone. Especially not you. I'm just following orders. Whatever relationship you might have thought we had is over, Lieutenant."

Claudine's hand falls limply back into her lap. The tears brim up behind her eyes, but she doesn't let them fall. Something horrible and cold and constricting slithers around her heart and squeezes hard.

After all this time - all the people who have used and abused and harassed her - Maya's words hurt more than all of them combined.

How foolish of her to have ever thought she had a comrade in this line of work.

A weighted silence fills the room. Slowly, Claudine removes herself from Maya's bed and wrestles her way out of her own clothes and sloppily into a sleep robe.

"Fine," she grunts. "I see exactly how things are, Tendo Maya. I see exactly who you are. How stupid of me to ever think you might have been different from the rest. Clearly, you meant more to me than I ever meant to you."

She glances back over her shoulder, but Maya doesn't even flinch. It's obvious she feels nothing for or towards Claudine. Not even regret.

Claudine throws off the covers and flops down onto her bed, immediately turning her back to Maya.

"But whether you like it or not, we're doing this job together. We will discuss details in the morning so we can apprehend the Phantom Thief, and then go back to being as far away from one another as possible."

She pulls the blankets up over her head and doesn't move another inch.

A few moments later, she hears Maya get up to turn off the lights, then lie back down in her bed.

Claudine waits a good amount of time before she finally lets herself cry.

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A/N: I think that concept of "You meant more to me than I meant more to you" is honestly one of the most painful feelings ever...