Twinkle Twinkle, Little Stars (ch10)

And a quick conclusion for everyone on this strange day.

Disclaimer: I do not own Shoujo Kageki Revue Starlight.

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						Chapter 10. Goodnight

Karen rolls herself over as she wakes, moaning as the remnants of a strange dream start to fade away. She thought she was still on the stage, or in the grass at the park. But as it turns out, she ends up rolling right off her bed, landing on the floor - and roommate - below her with a thud.

"Uwaah-!"

"Ow-! Karen…" Hikari wheezes from beneath her, trying to pry her off.

"Ah! Sorry, Hikari-chan!" Karen quickly pushes herself off of her, then helps Hikari up. Hikari grumbles softly as she's forced to be awake now, blinking slowly.

It's dark, clearly the middle of the night, as if they'd gone to the giraffe's stage earlier that evening and then been brought back here. But then all at once, both girls seem to remember the strange experience they'd had.

"Ah-"

"Karen-"

They both share a look and understand without words, then turn to peer curiously up into Mahiru's bed. She's stirring now, likely from the commotion they'd caused. And as she pushes herself up, Karen and Hikari can tell she's her normal self, and no longer a child. Both girls sigh in relief.

"Mahiru-chan!"

"Thank goodness."

Mahiru shakes her head groggily as she opens her eyes to find them both staring back at her. She gasps.

"Ah! K-Karen-chan, Hikari-chan! Y-You're both-" Mahiru quickly gets out of bed and joins them both on the floor, putting a hand on either of their shoulders. Her mouth hangs open in shock, but she's puzzled that they're both looking back at her the same way. "S-Sorry. I just had… the strangest dream, I guess…"

"Me too!" Karen blurts out. "Hikari-chan and I were at the park and-"

"Mahiru was little."

"Eh?! Hikari-chan, you had that same dream?!"

"You had the same one, Karen?"

"W-Wait!" Mahiru squeaks. "You both dreamt that I was little?"

Both her roommates nod. Mahiru blinks.

"B-Because… I dreamt that the two of you were little…"

"Eh?"

"You did?"

Mahiru nods.

"Yes. It felt so real."

"Yeah!"

"Mine felt real, too."

"It was fun, though!" Mahiru smiles. "We went on the swings, and there was even a little aquarium!"

"Really?!" Karen blurts. "That sounds awesome!"

"Jellyfish…"

"What did we do in your dream, Karen-chan?"

"My dream?" Karen thinks for a moment to try and remember. "Oh! We went on the playground-"

"-and Mahiru conquered the big slide."

"Yeah! You were so brave!"

Mahiru blushes a little.

"You guys sound like you had the same dream somehow."

Karen and Hikari share a puzzled look.

"Huh."

"I guess we might have."

"That's so strange," Mahiru says. "Was it the giraffe's doing after all…?"

Karen puts her hands to her head and ruffles her hair.

"Mmmm I don't know! It felt so real but there's no way, right?"

"Yeah," Hikari agrees. "But either way, it was kinda fun."

"Yes! I think so too," Mahiru smiles.

"Yeah!" Karen leans forward and throws an arm around each of them. "It was a fun dream! But I'm tiiiired…"

"Yeah," Hikari yawns. "Me too…"

"All right," Mahiru says. "Then it's back to bed."

"Mmmm I don't know if I have the strength to get back up there," Karen says. "Hikari-chan, can I stay here with you?"

"Sure…" Hikari's eyes have already closed again as she sways to keep herself up. "Mahiru… what about you…?"

Mahiru sighs.

"All right. I'll stay, too."

"Yay!"

With a happy sigh, Karen wraps an arm around Hikari and flops down into the blankets with her. Mahiru lies down a bit more carefully and hugs Hikari from her other side.

"Goodnight, you two," she murmurs.

But both Karen and Hikari are already asleep, respectively snoring and breathing softly. Mahiru smiles and closes her eyes as well as she cuddles up.

A familiar Mr. White pin sits on the desk and watches over the three of them.

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Futaba wakes to a soft poking at her cheek. With a groan, she turns over, glaring at the source, already knowing full-well who it is.

"Kaoruko… it's like, the middle of the night…"

"Oh, thank goodness."

Futaba opens her eyes in the darkness to find her roommate crouched at the side of her bed, still poking at her cheek softly. Futaba raises an eyebrow.

"'Thank goodness,' what?"

Kaoruko sits back a little and retracts her hand.

"That you're back to normal."

"Hah? The heck does that mean? You're the one who was-" Futaba cuts off as the strange dream comes back to her; of Kaoruko being only a little kid, and yet majorly unchanged in terms of attitude. Now it's Kaoruko who gives her a puzzled look.

"What's that? Did you perhaps have an odd dream as well, Futaba-han?"

"Yeah, kinda…" Futaba sits up and makes room for her to sit. Kaoruko happily climbs into bed with her and presses up against her side.

"Do tell," she says.

"Well…" Futaba lifts an arm and puts it around her shoulders. "You were like, 5 years old or somethin', but you were pretty much exactly the same."

"Wha-?! Why, I never!" Kaoruko bumps her head against Futaba's cheek to convey her displeasure. Futaba laughs.

"Sorry, it was a joke. Mostly."

"Futaba-han!" Kaoruko pouts for a moment before huffing a sigh. "Was I cute?"

"Oh yeah, you were adorable, wearin' your little kimono and all."

"Oh? Was it the pink one?"

"Yeah."

"That one was my favorite."

"I know." Futaba rubs her hand up and down her friend's back softly. "So what about mini me?"

"Oh, you were precious. All you wanted to do was sword-fight."

"Sword-fight?" Futaba laughs. "And what, you taught me?"

"As a matter of fact, I did!"

"Wow, I'm impressed."

"You should've seen yourself flailing that stick around."

They both share a chuckle, and then a sigh.

"Man, what a weird night."

"I would have to agree…" Kaoruko stretches her arms out a little before lying herself down on Futaba's pillow. "Since I'm too tired to move, I'll just stay here~"

"O-Oy! Don't just invite yourself into someone else's bed!"

"Are you going to kick me out, Futaba-han~?"

Futaba groans.

"Fine, whatever." She flops down beside her with a grunt. Kaoruko giggles and inches close, wrapping both arms around her. Futaba sighs and hugs her shoulders to keep her close.

"Night, Kaoruko."

"Goodnight, Futaba-han."

A familiar little handheld fan sits on the nightstand beside them they fall asleep.

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Nana wakes with a start, sitting upright in bed as her eyes fly open. It's nighttime, and she can tell right away she's in her dorm room. But what year is it? Has she really gone back to the past again?

Nervously, she looks across the room to where Junna is stirring now, groggily pushing herself up, but not even bothering with her glasses. Nana tries to call out for her, but stops. She isn't sure if this is their first or second year together, if she should call her by her first name or her last-

"Nana?"

"Eh-?" She blinks, and Junna is looking back at her in the moonlight, her eyes wide with worry. She wastes no time in getting out of bed to come to Nana's, sitting on the edge and taking both of her hands in hers.

"Nana, are you okay? Did you have a bad dream?"

Nana blinks, looking down at their hands. She exhales, realizing this is exactly the same night she'd left off on.

"Yeah, I'm okay," she murmurs. "And I did have a bit of a strange dream."

"I did, too." Junna moves a little closer to her, offering a tiny smile. "I dreamt I was at the zoo with you, only you were a little kid."

"The zoo?" Nana blinks. "Haha, I went to the library with a little Junna-chan in my dream!"

"Aha, you know me so well. What did we do, read Shakespeare?"

"That's exactly what we did!"

"Of course."

"And let me guess… did you take me to see the frogs?"

"Yeah. You had so much fun you fell asleep by the end of it."

"So did you!"

They share a smile for a moment, but then Nana's fades. She curls her fingers into fists beneath Junna's hands and stiffens up a little.

"Junna-chan… what if…" She swallows, and her stomach starts to twist. "What if… like the giraffe said… my wish could've-"

But she doesn't even finish voicing the thought before Junna is already wrapping both arms around her and pulling her into a tight, warm hug.

"Don't worry about it," she murmurs. "It was all just a dream. It's all right, Nana. I promise."

Nana whimpers, feeling a single tear drip free as she clings to her roommate's back.

Junna holds her for a moment as she hiccups softly, then eventually settles in and lies down with her. She strokes her fingers through Nana's loose hair, and when she's gotten her bearings, Nana does the same for her.

Junna nuzzles her cheek gently.

"You okay?"

Nana finally smiles back at her.

"Yes. Thank you, Junna-chan."

"You don't need to thank me." Junna turns onto her side now, still holding Nana in a half-hug. "So, what Shakespeare did we read? Let me guess: Sonnet 116?"

"You got it! You really do still love that one, huh Junna-chan?"

"Almost as much as you still love frogs."

"Eheehee!"

The two girls talk quietly for a while about their dreams, until they both eventually nod off back asleep.

And all the while, a tiny green plastic frog keeps its vigil from its spot on their shared desk.

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Claudine wakes feeling a rush of heat through her veins. It's the same anger and frustration she'd felt in her dream, directed towards a young Maya's parents for denying her the childhood she'd deserved. With a groan, she pushes herself up in bed and huffs.

It's then she hears a shifting from beside her, and jolts to find she isn't alone in her bed. She doesn't remember lying down with Maya tonight, but they've done it plenty of times in the past, so she isn't all that surprised. And thankfully, Maya is her proper age again.

Claudine exhales, cooling down a little as the dream fades away. Maya sits herself up and shakes her head slowly before blinking up at her.

"Claudine…?"

Claudine dips her head.

"Tendo Maya."

Maya's mind is still a bit fuzzy, and she doesn't fully register the reality yet and that Claudine is no longer a child. She reaches out for her arm, gently turning it over to inspect where the wound had been.

"Claudine, is your injury all right?"

"My what?"

"You fell…" Maya blinks again, and only now seems to realize Claudine is the same age as her again. "Ah. I beg your pardon. It must have been a dream…" Maya withdraws, rubbing her eyes a bit.

Claudine remembers her own dream. Even if that's all it had been though, she knows it was a true reflection of Maya's childhood, that she'd always been reserved and had restrained herself from doing most things she truly wanted to do. And maybe Claudine can't fix that past, but she can at least do her part now.

Without a word, she opens her arms. Maya tilts her head, puzzled.

"Claudine?"

"I had a strange dream," she says. "I had to babysit you like I normally do, only this time you were actually a child. And since you were so small I couldn't exactly hug you properly."

Maya isn't sure if she's interpreting Claudine's meaning as intended, but she has a warm feeling in her chest. In truth, she's been wanting to hug her since the very second she'd woken just now. So Maya gladly falls into her arms, squeezing Claudine tightly against the mattress as she snuggles up against her chest.

"How peculiar… I, too, dreamt that you were just a child, dancing with me in the park."

"What a sight we must have been," Claudine chuckles, stroking through Maya's hair. "For me, if it'd been real, I'd say I'm the reason you have such a sweet tooth now."

"Oh? I'm certain my younger self would have loved nothing more than to enjoy sweets together with such a kind babysitter."

"And my younger self definitely would've liked to sing and dance with a skilled actress in front of people."

"What's this?" Maya purrs. "Did you just admit that I am skilled?"

"I mean, of course you are, or else you wouldn't be here…"

"My, you are being quite honest tonight, Ma Claudine."

"Shut up." Claudine hugs her a bit tighter. "Let's go back to sleep. I'm tired."

"Of course."

Maya rests her head on Claudine's chest and curls up in her embrace. She falls asleep almost instantly. Claudine sighs, pressing a quick kiss to the top of her head before closing her eyes as well.

"Bonne nuit."

And on the nightstand sit several familiar little candies for them to enjoy tomorrow.

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Somewhere in town, a young girl stirs in her bed. Elle blinks up at her ceiling, finding it's the middle of the night. She turns over to her stuffed mole plushie and hugs him close.

"Andrew…" she whispers. "I saw so many wonderful plays tonight…"

She tells him about them all, until she too, falls asleep at last.

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A/N: And there you have it, my Baby Starlights AU! Something cute and fun and innocent for once~! I hop you enjoyed reading!