The Trials Of Time (ch8)

EARLY RELEASE FOR ALL MY PATRONS!

It seems everyone enjoyed the angst. Ready for more?

Disclaimer: I do not own Shoujo Kageki Revue Starlight.

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							Chapter 8. Inevitability

She still sees it.

Even long after Maya knows the battle has ended, and she is thrust into the dark, cold depths of unconsciousness, the scene continues replaying itself in her mind.

Over and over, she feels Claudine's hands guiding her rapier to her chest.

Over and over, she feels the slight pull from her, and as much as Maya tries to deny it, she knows she herself had moved as well. She'd pushed forward to sink the blade into Claudine's heart.

Over and over again, Maya watches and feels herself kill her.

Over.

And over.

She feels the weight of Claudine's body slumped on her sword, the hot spill of her lifeblood pouring out, the way she shudders in agony as she impales herself, gasping for just one last breath. She'd trembled and cried all the while.

And yet, Maya will never forget the earnest look in her eyes, and that soft smile on her lips.

She'd done it so Maya wouldn't have to take her own life, or any of the others'.

She'd done it for all their sakes.

For all of Maya's boasting about always being one step ahead of her, this time, Claudine had taken the lead.

And it would have been the last time.

Maya still feels as though she's holding Claudine in her arms now, feeling her shaking and coughing, her eyes begging apologies and proclaiming unparalleled, indescribable love.

And then her eyes fall shut forever.

Maya can still feel the way her pulse had shuddered and faltered against her chest, tapering off until there was nothing left. She still hears the screams of her classmates, feels the burn of the spotlight blazing down on her…

And then the cold darkness that clutches her like talons.

She relives it all. Over and over.

Until, at last, a new sound interrupts the repeat memories.

It's a flurry of knocking, and past that she can hear the quick, nervous muffle of voices.

Heart pounding, Maya opens her eyes cautiously, not knowing what kind of reality she might find herself in now. The fact that it feels so surreal to actually be waking up properly in her own bed speaks volumes to just how real the fights against the Korosu had been.

As much as she might've wished for it all to have just been a terrible nightmare, the nauseating vacancy that's settled over her body speaks otherwise.

She feels completely empty. Numb.

And yet, somehow, everything still hurts.

She hears the knocking again, and the voices, but can't make sense of them right away. Her head is pounding as violently as her chest, as if a swarm of hornets is jostling through her skull, stinging all the while. Her vision lapses in and out of focus.

Until it comes to the calendar on her wall.

She gasps.

Maya sits up sharply, all at once, scrambling out of her bed and falling to her knees as she tries to get closer to confirm what she thinks she sees. She rubs her eyes, but it stays the same.

The last date she'd crossed off on her calendar… is different.

Their performance hasn't happened yet.

Which means their final fight against the Korosu hasn't happened yet either.

Time had been rewound to two weeks before their play.

Which means Claudine is-

"Maya-chan!"

The knocking on the door has become banging now, and Nana's voice is raised in a panic.

"Maya-chan, please! Answer if you're there! Are you okay?"

Staggering, Maya grabs hold of her dresser and heaves herself to her feet before limping to the door. She unlocks and opens it, leaning against the frame. On the other side are seven of her classmates, all huddled together, clearly in distress. The second they see Maya, they all seem to become a little more relieved, though.

"Oh, thank goodness!" Nana throws her arms around Maya, so hard she knocks her back against the wall.

Maya is stunned. This is a new reality. Time has rewound.

But even so, she knows something is wrong.

Nana is shaking with relief to see her, but the others are all still hugging one another, whimpering. And someone is still missing.

"Claudine…"

Her name falls from Maya's lips in a whisper, and all the others suddenly become very quiet. Junna steps forward, putting a hand to her roommate's back to coax Nana away for a moment. Nana wipes her eyes.

"Sorry, Maya-chan… I just thought that… maybe it'd happened to you, too…"

Maya's heart starts to pound again, so hard that it hurts.

"Wh… What do you mean…?"

As she looks around to each of them, no one can meet her eyes. Maya shakes her head slowly, but ultimately returns her gaze to Nana.

"Daiba-san-" Her voice is thin and hoarse, and doesn't seem to be working properly. "We succeeded… did we not? You received your wish again… Time has rewound…"

And judging by everyone's reactions, they'd all retained their memories of what had happened in the coming weeks. With a hiccup, Nana nods in affirmation.

"Yes… it worked… but it's like the giraffe warned us… 'I cannot guarantee your rewound reality will be one you desire'…"

She starts to sob, and Junna brings her into her arms and holds her.

Maya's jaw aches and drops open due to some intangible weight tugging at her throat. Her eyes scan the group, searching for answers.

"Where is she…?"

At this time, Karen steps up timidly.

"Tendo-san, come with us first. You should sit down..." She offers her hand, and the others all nod in agreement.

So Maya accepts Karen's hand, and the rest of her friends walk around her silently as they lead her to their lounge. They all sit in their respective places, but no one is happy or smiling like they normally are when they're here.

When Maya takes her spot on the couch, the space beside her where Claudine should be is like a chasm. Neither Futaba nor Kaoruko make a move to slide down closer to her, as if they understand that taking that spot would be like erasing Claudine's place altogether.

By the time everyone else has settled down, Maya feels like she's going to be sick. She hunches forward with her elbows on her knees and grips her chest, waiting for someone to give her an answer. In the end, it's Junna who starts off.

"Tendo-san… as you said, it appears we really have gone back in time. Our performance of Into the Woods hasn't happened yet for the rest of the world. But all of us still remember everything…" She bites her lip, not sure of where to go from here.

There's a soft intake of breath, the kind of someone bracing themselves, and Maya next turns her gaze to Hikari.

"The giraffe warned us… this might not be the reality we were hoping for… it isn't the same as before. The events that happened in those fights against the Korosu… still carried over somehow, just in a different way…" Her voice wavers, and she can't go on. She turns away into Karen's waiting arms. Mahiru, who has been sobbing quietly all the while, starts to cry harder now.

Again, no one speaks for a moment. Maya looks around desperately, and her eyes ultimately come to Futaba, who sighs and looks away.

"I'm not sure about the details," she mutters. "We only just found out a little while ago…"

"There was an awful commotion…" Kaoruko slumps against Futaba and burrows her face in her shoulder. "I'm surprised you weren't woken by it, Tendo-han…"

Maya just feels sicker and sicker, the knot in her stomach tightening and twisting until it feels like it's going to burst and bleed. Finally, Nana lifts her face from Junna's shoulder and reveals the truth.

"They found Kuro-chan in here all alone this morning… The rest of us were all in our rooms, and one of the teachers was doing her patrols and found her… lying there on the floor…" She chokes a little bit, but keeps going. "And when… she tried to wake Kuro-chan up… she wouldn't move… They called an ambulance and brought her to the hospital just a little while ago… The teachers say… it looked like she was in a coma…"

There's a deafening silence after that.

Maya feels as though she's being choked by some invisible pressure shoving against her throat.

But… Claudine is alive.

That knowledge alone is enough to finally break her, and she starts to weep into her knees.

It's relief. But it still hurts, in ways she can't even begin to explain.

Because she'd been the one to do this to Claudine, one way or another.

Because she hadn't been strong enough to resist. For all her merit of being at the top, she hadn't been able to fend off the Korosu when they'd taken hold of her.

Her weakness had forced Claudine to pay the ultimate price.

Maya had rid the world of her existence with her own two hands. And she'd damaged things so badly that even now, when it's all been rewound, Claudine's life is still teetering on a perilous tight-rope.

Had she anything in her stomach, Maya is sure she would have retched it up by now. She just envisions Claudine lying there on the floor, still and unmoving-

And then her mind flashes back to that night two weeks in the future, of Maya running her through, of Claudine's blood drenching her-

She still feels like she can taste the tang of it on the roof of her mouth.

The minutes drag on like days, and all eight of them whimper softly for a long time. When Maya finally finds the strength to sit herself up again, she only has one question for them now.

"So then… what must we do…?"

To save Claudine. To prevent it from happening again. To make sure no one ends up becoming a sacrifice for that corrupt stage.

They all look to one another solemnly, wiping their eyes so their vision of the future won't be blurred.

"I think…" Nana begins. "I think we have to do what Kuro-chan tried to do all on her own. Once the Korosu begin showing up en masse, we're going to have to cut their numbers back before they can get out of control. Before they become powerful enough to be able to possess anyone."

"But it's dangerous," Junna says. "Didn't we all agree we'd rather let the stage be destroyed than put ourselves as risk?"

"We did…" Futaba sighs. "But I think, as things are now, we kinda have no other option than to fight..."

"Unfortunately, I agree," Kaoruko says. "For some reason, I don't think our Kuro-han will be awakening because of some medical miracle."

"I feel the same way," Hikari murmurs. "Now that we've created a new reality, the only way to fix things is to prevent the previous reality from happening. If we kill the Korosu before they can become so overpowered, Saijou-san should wake up."

"You think so?" Karen blurts out. "You really think that will work?"

"B-But, how do we know?" Mahiru asks softly. "Don't you think it's possible Kuro-chan could wake up on her own if the doctors help her…?"

Maya slowly shakes her head.

"No… Somehow, I think I must agree with Hanayagi-san and Kagura-san. With the way things came to be now… I feel this is the only way. Should we eliminate the threat of the Korosu, Saijou-san will hopefully wake up. But should we fail…"

She stops, not even daring to say it. Everyone else understands the grim implications and doesn't need further explanation.

"So…" Karen says after a moment. "How much time do you think we have…?"

Nana answers her. "I think we have until the same day... About two weeks from now. If we can somehow prevent the Korosu from taking over the stage in the first place, then… by the time they would've possessed Maya-chan, that shouldn't happen. And as such, Kuro-chan should be all right."

"How are we going to do this?" Junna pushes her glasses further up onto her nose. "Last time, even with all nine of us, we sometimes were barely able to defeat the Korosu, and now we're down one person. Plus, we've still got our play to worry about. We'll still have to attend classes and go to practices, and then find time to fight the Korosu on top of all that. If we want to cut back their numbers before they get so dangerous, we'll have to fight every single night."

"But isn't that fine?" Karen says. "We all still have our memories, right? So it's sort of like we've already done the play and all that practicing already, so we shouldn't need to do it again to make the performance a success, right?"

"Maybe," Hikari says, putting a hand to her chin. "But you have to remember that no one else knows we've rewound time. We'll still have to show up to practices to satisfy our classmates and teachers."

"Th-Then what about the other schools?" Mahiru says. "I know Elle-san said she wasn't able to contact them for some reason… but now that we know what's going to happen, we should be able to go to them and ask for help ourselves, right?"

"I agree," Maya says firmly. "There is strength in numbers, and we need that strength now more than ever."

"I think so, too," Nana says. "I think everyone will be willing to help us fight a little once they understand the severity of the situation."

All around the room, nods and murmurs of agreement are given.

And for the first time since she'd woken up in this rewound reality, Maya feels a tiny beat of hope pass over her heart. They have more time now. They'll have more people fighting alongside them. This plan should work.

"We only have one chance…" Her voice comes out without her knowledge, and everyone else looks up to her.

Nana bows her head.

"Yes. I think you're right, Maya-chan. If we fail… I don't think I'll be able to keep using my wish again. The giraffe made a special exception this time. This isn't from a revue, after all. So we've got to succeed this time."

"We will," Maya declares. "There is no other option."

At least, not one she is willing to consider. Everyone else is in agreement.

Now, with a plan in the works, they discuss how they are going to begin putting it into action.

First and foremost today, they are going to visit Claudine at the hospital.

After that, they'll break into three groups and visit Siegfeld, Frontier, and Rinmeikan to explain the situation as best they can, and ask their fellows Stage Girls for assistance.

And then, hopefully with their reinforcements, as early as tonight, they will go to that stage and begin fighting. Even if it's before the point in time when Elle had begun summoning them, before the influx had begun, they'll go anyway just to make absolutely certain. They won't even give the Korosu a chance to start multiplying this time.

When they've finally decided everything, the eight girls help each other up and start heading out to shower, change, and get ready for the vital day ahead. Only Maya lingers, and after waving Junna on ahead of her, Nana stays back for a moment as well. She comes to Maya quietly and takes her hand.

"Maya-chan…?" Her tone is soft, but knowing. After all, no one understands the pain of hurting her friends, over and over again, better than Nana.

The only difference is, she's never killed one of them before.

Maya flinches as the memories come flooding back to her all over again. She shakes them off to the best of her abilities and exhales shakily.

"Forgive me…" she murmurs.

But somehow, Nana doesn't think Maya's talking to her. She wraps her arms around her, which is something Maya hadn't been anticipating. She gasps softly, but can't help burying her face into Nana's shoulder.

"Daiba-san… this must work… it has to…"

"Like you said, Maya-chan. It will. We'll save her this time, no matter what."

Maya chokes, her hands fumbling at Nana's shirt. She can't think of anything more to say, so she just sobs quietly for a long moment. Nana cries too, no doubt also relieving the bloody scene of Maya piercing Claudine through against her will. Maya feels her shake herself off in a similar manner.

"But you know, Maya-chan," she murmurs. "You don't have to blame yourself. It wasn't your fault in the first place. And now that we've rewound… none of that has even happened. It's just a timeline that hasn't occurred. Think of it as a bad dream and nothing more."

Maya listens to her words honestly, as she knows there isn't a soul alive who understands this concept better than Nana does.

But even so, when she closes her eyes, she can still feel the heat of Claudine's blood, and hear her dying breath.

Even if they have rewound to a time when - logically - none of that has even happened yet, Maya's body still knows. Her mind still remembers.

She'd done it.

Somewhere - at some point in time - she had killed Saijou Claudine with her own two hands.

She isn't sure if she'll ever be able to forget that bone-chilling fact.

Perhaps, in time, it would fade like a bad nightmare. But for now - until they save Claudine and destroy the reality where she does not survive, Maya will continue to be haunted by those images.

"We… We cannot fail…"

"We won't."

Nana gives her a firm little squeeze before slowly stepping back. Her gaze is surprisingly calm, if not a little bittersweet. It's been a while since she had used her time-looping wish. She'd probably thought she'd never have to use it again. And now, for it to have been because of something as awful as this…

They need to succeed here. Not just for Claudine's sake, but for everyone's.

They are all suffering in unimaginable ways right now, and the only way to save each and every one of them is to win this fight.

And they will. They have to. It isn't an option.

Finally, Maya and Nana share one last look, one that is unreadable, and yet somehow understandable. This is something they can feel in their souls.

They get ready with their friends, eat a quick, quiet breakfast, and then ask the teachers about Claudine. They are granted permission to leave campus to visit her, and to then visit the other schools afterward.

They board a bus together, and naturally everyone else breaks off into their respective pairs or trio. But Maya has no one.

Of course, they don't leave her by herself, as Nana and Kaoruko stand on either side of her. But she doesn't have her partner here, and the vacancy Claudine leaves behind only becomes a deeper and deeper chasm.

When they arrive at the hospital, the eight girls file off quietly before entering.

At the front desk, they are given Claudine's room number, and advised to be extremely mindful, to which they all agree. Their teacher had said Claudine's parents had already been contacted about her condition, but being they'd both been in France, it would take them until tomorrow to get here. The eight of them would be her first visitors.

As Maya follows behind the group, her footsteps begin pounding in time with her heart. Every time she blinks, she just keeps seeing Claudine bleeding out in her arms-

It's a nudge from Nana that snaps her out of it, and makes her realize they've arrived at the designated room.

The girls all hesitate for a moment before eventually turning back to her, their eyes making the silent offer to let her go first.

Maya suddenly feels nauseous all over again, worse than she had earlier this morning. She knows she deserves it. Nonetheless, after a few particularly deep breaths, she swallows and nods. She makes her way through the group until she stands in the doorway.

The room inside is white and silent. There is a sink and a bathroom, a few cabinets and a television on the wall, but it isn't turned on. There is a white curtain that's been pulled to conceal the bed beyond it, and when she concentrates past the thudding of her own pulse, she can make out the soft beeping of a machine monitoring someone else's.

Suddenly, Maya feels she can't do this. Her knees feel weak and heavy at the same time, and her stomach is gnarled over itself.

But one by one, she feels hands on her back, gently guiding her forward.

They all go together now, walking to the edge of the white curtain. Maya already feels the stinging tears in her eyes as she reaches up to slowly pull it aside.

The bed is neat and mostly undisturbed, proving that the patient within it hasn't moved so much as an inch since being placed there.

The blankets are pulled up to her chest, but both of her arms rest on top of the covers, and wires are hooked into her veins. She's dressed in pink robes, a color so light it only makes her skin appear even paler. An oxygen mask has been placed over her nose and mouth to allow her to breathe. Her silvery-blonde curls fan out on the pillow around her head. Her eyes are closed, and not even the collective sound of everyone's heartbroken gasps makes them open.

It's surreal. To Maya, this feels like the dream, and killing her had been the only reality.

Even though Claudine is right in front of her…

Even though there is no blood spilling from her chest…

Even though the machine confirms again and again that her heart is still beating…

Maya still feels responsible. She'd done this to her, either way.

Even if she hadn't done anything to hurt her in this new reality, her actions in the near future - which were somehow now the past - had been what put Claudine here in this bed now.

The rewound time has transformed the situation so it would still correlate with what had happened - Claudine may not be dead, but she is teetering precariously on the borderline between life and death. If the rest of them fail their mission this time around before the designated night, it will be all too simple for Claudine to fade away before anyone can do a single thing about it.

It's so quiet in here. For a room with nine people in it now, it's so dreadfully quiet.

The others huddle around Maya, and within seconds they're all whimpering or crying all over again. But at the very least, they can all finally begin to shake away the scene they had witnessed - the sight of their dear friend dying in a possessed Maya's arms.

They've all been scarred irrevocably, but being able to witness this new reality where Claudine is still breathing has provided them all with just an ounce of hope.

And eventually, determination.

They've been blessed with another chance.

They can do this.

They will. They have to.

It isn't an option.

They are all in silent agreement with that belief.

While the others keep their distance, Maya can't help herself from taking a staggering step forward toward the bed. Tears are already streaming down her cheeks as she approaches her partner, and every inch of her is shaking uncontrollably. She pauses right beside her, gazing down through the tears that won't stop falling.

She'd never once thought of Claudine as a fragile person. She was always so lively and passionate, stronger and more determined than anyone Maya had ever known. She'd fought in countless revues, saved multiple plays, as well as Maya herself.

She'd fought the Korosu in secrecy all on her own, pushed herself to the point of collapse time and again, and still somehow she'd managed to recover and perform in their play on the designated night. She'd always been the strongest of their group by far, in Maya's opinion.

But now…

Now she is almost like a stranger. How weak and still and frail she is now is entirely foreign to the existence of Saijou Claudine.

Maya has never seen her quite like this before. Even when she had been impaled on Maya's blade, Claudine had struggled and coughed for her very last breath.

But this…

Now…

Now she is so quiet.

So still. So terribly still.

If not for the mask occasionally fogging over her lips and the beeping of the heart monitor, Maya might've thought she wasn't alive at all.

She is wilting, withering. Little by little.

In two week's time, she will surely fade away if the rest of them don't succeed.

But they will. They have to.

They'll just keep telling themselves that until they make it true.

Maya feels as though her hands aren't her own. Almost similar to when the Korosu had possessed her, her mind doesn't seem to be in control of her body right now. She wants to reach out and touch her.

But she's scared. Terrified. When she envisions herself touching Claudine now, she sees her breaking apart. These hands that had killed her once before do not deserve to touch her again.

It agonizes her to stay away, but Maya can't bring herself to get too close.

So she steps back, swaying as she does so, and Nana has to catch her to keep her up.

The eight of them offer prayers before quietly pulling the curtain back over and exiting the room.

And as painful and upsetting as it had been to see Claudine like that, it has also ignited a spark within them.

She really is alive. They really can still save her. It makes them want to start moving as soon as possible.

After taking a few moments to recover and get their bearings, they head back to the main lobby and out of the building. Outside, they break into the three groups they'd decided on previously and discuss once again what they will say to explain things to the girls of the other schools.

Karen, Hikari, and Mahiru will go to Frontier, Nana and Junna will go to Rinmeikan, and Maya will accompany Futaba and Kaoruko to Siegfeld. They all are in agreement that the Edels will likely be the toughest to recruit in all of this, and that Maya is the best person to match Akira's intensity to be able to convince her.

And it does prove to be difficult.

While Futaba and Kaoruko explain things to the other four, Maya handles their leader, who has never been one to condone any kind of nonsense. Maya isn't sure she'll believe the time traveling, but at the very least she does seem to believe the idea of the Korosu going berserk and being able to affect, and even possess, the girls.

Maya tells her the entire truth, as well as about Claudine's situation.

Akira regards her with wary caution, but once she understands that a life is at stake, she agrees to offer the assistance of her fellow Edels whenever possible. Maya is so genuinely thankful to her she actually sheds a tear, which only solidifies her desperation, and allows Akira to believe her.

By the time all of them have returned to Seishou, everyone shares their news of similar success in getting the other schools on board with their plan.

They'd discussed things as planned; Seishou's girls will go alone to the stage tonight and see if Elle or the giraffe are present, and destroy any Korosu that might appear. From then on, they will stay in contact with the girls from the other schools and call upon them for assistance when necessary, to rotate taking turns fighting night by night in order to give the others ample time to rest.

With all able Stage Girls on-board and willing to participate, their plan has been set into motion.

Before Maya knows it, evening falls, and not her, nor any of her seven friends, are all that surprised to find themselves at that underground stage once again. Elle meets them solemnly, with a grim understanding in her eyes. She doesn't even bother with apologies. She just explains to them about how things have changed now that they've been reset two weeks.

"The Korosu are still present," she informs them. "If you all eradicate as many of them as possible before they become powerful enough to possess people, I believe you should be able to prevent such events from occurring."

"Yes," Maya proclaims. "That is our strategy. We have also enlisted the aid of the other schools."

At this, Elle blinks in surprise.

"You have? Both myself and the giraffe tried to get ahold of them to summon them here tonight, but just like last time it didn't work. You're saying they're all willing to come here on-foot themselves to join the fighting night by night?"

"Yes," Nana answers. "When we told them about the severity of the situation, they all readily agreed to do everything they can to help."

"Everyone…" Mahiru says softly. "Everyone loves Kuro-chan… they all want to help save her… No matter which of us might've had to suffer that fate, I know the others would all agree to help no matter what…"

Hikari nods her agreement. "We're all Stage Girls, after all."

"But most importantly-!" Karen says. "We're all friends! We'll do anything for each other!"

"Damn right," Futaba proclaims.

"Hopefully," Kaoruko says. "Things will be a little less perilous this time around with the other schools coming to assist now and again."

"They will be," Junna assures them all. "We'll be able to do equal parts fighting and resting to practice for our performance so it will still be a success."

"That's right." Now, Nana looks at Maya and smiles. "We will succeed."

And Maya somehow manages to smile back.

"It isn't an option. It is an inevitability."

A spotlight comes on, and the giraffe finally shows himself. He is as expressionless as ever, but does incline his head.

"A valiant proposal you've made. I understand."

They all stare up at him, Elle included. He blinks his long eyelashes slowly.

"As I have previously mentioned, a stage such as the one we were shown two weeks into the future is not a stage even I wish to see. I cannot grant this wish of rewound time again for these circumstances. Therefore, I truly do look forward to seeing you Stage Girls succeed. I implore you all to sing, dance, and fight to maintain and expand your brilliance, to the degree where it is so bright it will snuff out the shadows of these Korosu. I understand."

And just as he finishes speaking, the chittering of a low hiss sweeps across the stage.

The girls turn to face those red curtains, and the teeming shadows beyond.

Maya unleashes her fury onto them, as do all of the others.

She must admit she's almost disappointed the fighting is over so quickly. The Korosu's numbers are still few as of right now, so the fight is in the girls' favor without requiring much effort on their part.

With one last glance from the giraffe, and one last deep bow from Elle, the girls find themselves back at the dorms in their lounge room.

Maya almost expects to find Claudine sitting beside her, but the space is still empty.

Of course. It's only been one night, after all. They have two long, nerve-wracking weeks ahead of them still, but at least this time they will have their allies.

The girls wish each other well for the night, advising each other to get more rest than they usually might to prepare for their coming battles.

Maya passes by Claudine's vacant room and heads for her own, laying down in bed and pulling the blankets up over herself.

She imagines Claudine lying in that white hospital bed in the exact same position Maya had last seen her in. When she closes her eyes, she can still hear the faint beeping of the machine in the rhythm of her pulse.

Claudine is still alive. Maya can feel it within her soul.

And she is going to make sure it stays that way, no matter what may be asked of her.

She will save her.

Together with the help of her brave comrades, Maya will save Claudine.

There is no other option.

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A/N: So now we must consider: did Maya killing Claudine actually even happen somewhere, somehow? Or is it not real anymore since it 'never happened'...?

I really enjoyed getting to write Nana trying to help Maya through this, since (as mentioned) Nana is the one who understands the pain of hurting her friends the most. Even though she never killed anyone...