Starlight Stories (ch5)

EARLY RELEASE FOR MY $10+ PATRONS!!

Day 5: Guilty ship! For me it's Claudine and Hikari.

This is based off the 3rd OVA short.

Disclaimer: I do not own Shoujo Kageki Revue Starlight.

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												Chapter 5. Pre-Performance Jitters

Nothing is quite as hectic as the backstage room at Seishou Academy the night of a performance. Between all the girls who are performing from Class A rehearsing their lines or movements a few final times, and the girls from Class B making last-minute adjustments to costumes and makeup and hair, there's never a second of silence or tranquility.

The chaos is typically the greatest just before a play though, and luckily for them, tonight's performance is only a music recital, so the hectic air around the stage and back rooms is only about half as frazzled as it normally is.

Even so, it's still enough nervous excitement to make even the most seasoned performers a little bit anxious.

Claudine has pointedly chosen to sit at the furthest corner of the prep room in order to avoid the jumble of things going on near the doorway. There's a long lineup of people singing their numbers before her, so she allows herself a bit of reverie, sitting in front of the mirror in her pink dress, touching up her makeup and humming through her piece to ensure her voice is at its peak for hitting every note.

For a performance as brief and minor as this, where she'd only had to memorize a single song and not an entire character's movements and lines, Claudine doesn't feel many nerves at all. Tonight she'll simply do what she does every night in the shower, or when she's alone in her room, or when she's practicing in the studio. The only difference will be the audience and her attire, but she doesn't have to dance along with this number, so it won't be a problem.

Even so, there's something wriggling like a worm in the pit of her stomach. It's probably due to the fact that she'll be going last in the lineup - she will be the final singer the audience sees and hears tonight, the one they'll remember the most simply because she will be the last one they see. To her, that's the most nerve-wracking part.

And of course, she will be following up none other than Maya, so she'll be lucky if the audience stops fawning long enough to even listen to her at all.

She realizes her vision has begun to blur and her thoughts have started taking her to nasty places, so she quickly shakes her head. It isn't Tendo Maya's fault that she's at the top of their class. Claudine refuses to rue her like some of the other girls do. She'll just have to give an even better performance so the audience will be talking about her more than they talk about Maya when they leave here tonight.

Typically, Maya would be wherever Claudine was before any kind of performance, discussing their lines or moves together or offering critiques. But tonight, most of her other friends had volunteered to help Class B with minor preparations, like moving props or boxes around before it's their turn to go onstage.

Claudine had tried to volunteer too, but they'd only needed a few people. She tries not to let the fact that she hadn't been chosen get to her as she continues prepping herself in the mirror.

However, not a moment later, she catches someone out of the corner of her eye.

Hikari, dressed in blues and whites, slowly breaks away from the commotion of the crowd near the doorway. She looks like she's trying to move quickly, but not too quickly, probably not wanting to offend anyone. But Claudine can tell by the look on her face that she's a little overwhelmed.

She turns toward her and manages to catch Hikari's eye, then waves her over with an inviting smile. Hikari becomes visibly relieved and stiffly hurries over to join her in the quieter corner of the room. Claudine tilts her head as Hikari takes the stool beside her.

"Hikari? Are you all right? You look a bit frazzled."

Hikari glances at her somewhat nervously, folding her hands in her lap to fiddle with them.

"Sorry."

Claudine blinks.

"Why are you apologizing?"

Hikari curls her toes in her shoes and shrinks her shoulders in a little.

"Sorry for intruding on your quiet spot. But there was too much going on. It was starting to make me nervous."

She doesn't look at Claudine directly as she says it. Claudine knows they aren't the closest of their group of friends, but she does want Hikari to know she doesn't have to be afraid of her. With a gentle smile, Claudine moves her stool closer to hers and reaches out to rest her hand over the nervous fingers balled up in Hikari's lap.

"There's no need to apologize. You aren't disturbing me or anything."

Hikari flashes her another shy little look and sighs.

"Okay."

"But what's the matter?" Claudine prompts her again, curling her fingers a little bit tighter over hers. "You're shaking. Pre-performance jitters?" She remembers how the same thing had happened before their performance of Starlight, how Hikari had smeared her makeup and trembled and sat there frozen solid until all the rest of them had come offering bits of help.

But if it's the same case now, Claudine is the only one here, and she isn't sure if she can provide Hikari the same comforts as all the rest of them put together.

In response to her question, Hikari gives her a tiny nod and lowers her gaze. Claudine scooches closer again.

"There's nothing to be ashamed of. We all get like that from time to time."

"But… this is such a small recital…" Hikari slumps her shoulders. "I don't understand why I'm nervous about something so brief…"

"I think it's precisely because it's brief," Claudine says. "People act like these little recitals are no big deal. Not as big a deal as something like Starlight, anyway. But the fact that they don't talk about it as much and don't freak out over it as much sort of makes you want to freak out more, doesn't it?"

Hikari raises her head, her eyes wide in shock that someone had seemed to understand her predicament. She nods once.

"Yeah…"

Claudine maintains her smile in hopes to ease her mind.

"Would you like me to see if I can find the others? Perhaps they can offer some assistance like last time, massages and snacks and whatnot." She makes a move to start getting up, but is surprised to feel Hikari's hands reaching out to cling to hers again.

"W-Wait."

"Eh?" Half-standing, Claudine looks back down at her classmate to see her eyes are swimming with an ocean of emotions, and she can feel Hikari's hands shaking around her own. Slowly, Claudine sits back down. "Sorry to have assumed," she says. "Do you perhaps… not want to be left alone right now?"

Hikari actually blushes this time. She bows her head into another little nod.

"Being alone before a performance makes me even more nervous… My mind runs wild about how I might forget a word or mess something up…"

"Of course." Claudine lets her compassion show, gently removing one hand from Hikari's lap to rest it supportively on her shoulder instead. "I'm sure Junna knows some kind of quotation about our minds being our greatest weapons and also our own worst enemies, or something like that. Nothing can ruin a performance before it's even begun quite like overthinking can."

Hikari swallows, and Claudine realizes her choice of words may not have been the most uplifting, so she quickly continues. "But you'll be fine. Once you get up there and remember what it is you want to do, everything will come naturally."

Hikari looks up at her again and seems to calm down for half a second.

"That's true… No matter how nervous I may get beforehand, I always forget that I'm nervous once I get up onstage."

"Right?" Claudine pats her shoulder. She gets to her feet fully now and honestly thinks it's quite precious and cute how Hikari suddenly looks frightened that she might leave again. Claudine soothes her fears by picking up a clean hair brush from the counter and moving behind her classmate. "How about I do your hair for you again?"

Hikari watches her in the mirror, blinking a few times as she registers the question. Claudine doesn't make a move to touch her until she's granted permission. Hikari nods slowly.

"Okay…"

Claudine smiles.

"I see someone got to do your makeup for you this time, but they always seem to forget about this part." She needs to lean down a bit to start at the ends of Hikari's hip-length tresses, holding one hand against her back as she brushes with the other so as not to tug.

Hikari sits rather rigidly, almost expecting it to hurt for some reason. But Claudine's hands are very gentle, very cautious. When the bristles of the brush go through her hair and glide across her back, it sends little tingles up Hikari's spine. It almost tickles, but it feels a whole lot nicer than all of the other things she'd been feeling up until now.

As an added bonus, Claudine begins to hum the song Hikari will be singing tonight, which helps Hikari calm down a bit more, going over the words in her head to remind herself of how well she's committed them to memory.

It takes a few minutes, but as Claudine gradually works her way up Hikari's back, the poor girl finally begins to relax. Claudine is careful to always apply pressure in the right places on her hair so she doesn't snap any strands by accident. She's made it halfway up Hikari's back when her patient suddenly mumbles something.

"That's one side of it."

"Pardon?" Claudine peers at her in the mirror. "I'll get to the top half shortly."

"No…" Hikari shakes her head a little. "That's not what I meant."

"Then please do tell." As Claudine continues brushing, Hikari takes a moment to configure her words.

"You were right about me not wanting to be alone…" she begins. "But I… I don't want to sound ungrateful. I really appreciate everyone else's help when they calm me down. But sometimes…" She doesn't finish. She just tapers off and closes her eyes as if she regrets mentioning any of this at all.

But Claudine catches on and is able to interpret her meaning without much effort.

"Don't worry. I understand."

"Eh? You… do…?"

Claudine nods. She moves another inch up Hikari's hair, as high up as her shoulders now, and continues to smooth through it.

"It isn't that you don't appreciate everyone's efforts to help calm your nerves. Not at all. But sometimes having eight other people dote on you at the same time reminds your brain that you've got an important role to fulfill tonight, and it can be counterproductive in that sense."

"B-But they really do help me!" Hikari whimpers. "All of them! Mahiru's massages and Hoshimi-san's tea… Tendo-san's chocolates and Karen's plushie-"

"Calm down," Claudine says gently. She stops what she's doing for a moment to rest both of her hands on Hikari's shoulders. "I'm not accusing you of being ungrateful. I know that isn't the case. Everyone truly puts their hearts into doing whatever they can to help in the ways that are unique to them. But as I said, sometimes when so many people are doing their best to support you, it makes your brain think there's some kind of great burden being placed on you. Like you have to worry even more now because you don't want to let any of them down, right?"

Hikari looks at herself in the mirror and exhales.

"Yes… B-But I don't want any of them to think-"

"Idiote," Claudine murmurs sweetly. "None of them will think you're being unappreciative. If anything, they'd be happy you were being honest with them."

Hikari fidgets a little.

"You think so…?"

"I know so." Claudine gives a reassuring pat on her shoulder as she reaches the top of Hikari's head with the brush. She runs it down through the entire length of her tresses a few times to ensure there aren't any knots left. "There. Would you like me to do something with it? A braid, perhaps?"

Hikari ponders for a moment, then nods.

"Sure." She sits perfectly still now as Claudine begins gathering a bit of her hair, just the top layer of a middle section. She divides it into three thin bundles and begins carefully folding them together.

Hikari is immensely more relaxed now than she had been ten minutes earlier, and Claudine is glad for that. She hums another little tune as she twists the long strands of black hair into a neat little braid. When she finishes, she secures it with a small hair tie from the counter.

"There." She notices that in the process, Hikari's beloved star hair clip had become askew. Claudine reaches up for it, but stops before touching it. "May I?"

Hikari dips her head.

Claudine gently adjusts the clip so the little stars are straight now, then finally eases back, putting her hands on her hips with an accomplished sigh.

"What do you think?"

Hikari turns a bit to look at herself in the mirror, blinking a few times as she observes the little braided section.

"I like it. It's cute." She looks up at Claudine with a small smile. "Thank you, Saijou-san."

Claudine can't help the little flutter of warmth in her chest, and a grin appears on her face for a second before she covers it with a cough.

"It was nothing. And also…" She looks down at the floor a bit bashfully. "No need for the formalities…"

"Eh?"

"You can call me by name," she clarifies. "We've known each other long enough, don't you think?"

Hikari is silent for a moment. She starts to fidget again, wiggling her fingers together in her lap. Claudine relents.

"Then again, you don't really have to-"

"What… What should I call you…?" Hikari looks up at her with determination in her eyes, as though she's been presented with some grand task. Claudine keeps back a chuckle.

"Let's see... I suppose the nickname Karen and the others use is a bit much for you."

Hikari nods. Claudine smiles.

"All right. Then why not just my full first name?"

Hikari falls silent again, as if prepping and bracing herself to do it. After a full minute, though, Claudine rests a hand on the girl's shoulder.

"You know, if it's that difficult, you really don't-"

"C… Claudine."

Silence.

Then, both girls turn away, blushing and sputtering.

"Y-You know-" Claudine chokes. "M-Maybe that doesn't work just yet after all…"

"Y-Yeah. I think I've only ever heard Tendo-san call you by name like that. Sorry."

"It's all right. I'm the one who's sorry. I didn't mean to push you. You should go at your own pace."

Hikari nods again. "Okay. Thank you, Saijou-san."

"You're very welcome." With the little name fiasco behind them now, both girls are a bit more at-ease and lively with one another, both still blushing faintly. They share a little laugh as Hikari gets up from the stool.

"I'm feeling a lot better now. I don't think I'm nervous at all."

"I'm glad to hear it."

"Please, let me do your hair in return as thanks."

"Oh? Are you sure?"

"Yes. I insist."

So Claudine walks around to switch places with her on the stool. Hikari takes the brush and moves behind her, gingerly sweeping her free hand through Claudine's curls to gather them all at her back. Even though Hikari had said she wasn't nervous about performing anymore, Claudine can tell by her hesitancy that she's still a bit nervous about touching her. So Claudine visibly relaxes, slouching back a bit toward her to show she's perfectly fine with it.

"You know," she says to break the ice further. "I never really realized just how long your hair is, Hikari. It's quite lovely. I haven't the slightest clue as to how you and Tendo Maya can maintain it."

Hikari seems visibly thankful for the opportunity to keep speaking.

"It isn't too difficult. Though it does take a while to dry. Sometimes if it's still damp before bed, Mahiru will make me stay up until it's totally dry so I don't catch a cold."

"That's good."

Hikari begins at the ends of Claudine's hair, holding her right hand against Claudine's back to keep the strands from tugging.

"Yours is very long as well. And it's much thicker."

"It can get a bit hot, though. That's the only downside."

"Mm." Hikari eases through the ends of her hair, and realizes this is the first time she's ever brushed for someone who has such thick curls. "Is it okay for me to do it like this? Is there a special way I need to brush…?"

Claudine understands what she's referring to and shakes her head.

"No. You can just brush it normally. The curls are natural, so it's not like they'll come undone."

"Oh. Okay." Hikari slowly makes her way up to the center of Claudine's back. It's all been rather smooth until this point when the brush gets snagged a little. Claudine naturally flinches a bit, and Hikari panics. "I-I'm so sorry-"

"It's all right," Claudine reassures her. "These things happen. I'm fine." She smiles over her shoulder at her. "Besides, you're very gentle, Hikari. Anyone else probably would've yanked a bit on reflex, but you eased through it."

A small blush dusts across Hikari's cheeks.

"You're not hurt?"

"Not at all."

Hikari exhales, then diligently continues her work. She follows the waves of Claudine's hair with the brush, using her free hand to keep gathering the straying locks and keep them in place.

Claudine closes her eyes for a moment and simply enjoys the feeling. She can't remember the last time anyone other than Maya had brushed her hair for her, and while she is also very gentle with it, there's something a bit more innocent and cute about the way Hikari does it. If it's even possible to be innocent or cute while brushing someone else's hair, that is.

She enjoys the treatment for all it's worth, letting Hikari's ministrations ease the tiny feeling of nervousness she's feeling about being the final act tonight. After a few more minutes, Hikari is able to ease the brush all down the entire length of Claudine's hair without incident. She smiles and puts the brush back on the counter.

"Okay. I'm finished."

Claudine had admittedly gotten a bit drowsy from it all, and now quickly opens her eyes and straightens up.

"Right." She gets to her feet and runs a hand back through her tresses. "Thank you, Hikari. It feels wonderful. And I must say I believe it's got a bit of a shine to it now."

Hikari smiles in return.

"I know you'll be an amazing finale, Saijou-san."

"Merci. And I know you'll just blow the crowd away with that voice of yours."

Just then, a girl from Class B flags them down from across the room.

"Kagura-san! You're on-deck! Saijou-san, you're just four acts behind her!"

"Thank you," Claudine calls back. When she turns back to Hikari, she seems to have stiffened up a bit again at the notion of going out onstage alone. Claudine can't help but smile again.

"Still a bit nervous?"

Hikari nods.

So Claudine opens her arms invitingly.

"Come on, then. It'll help, I promise."

Hikari blinks, clearly unsure about something as intimate as a hug with her. But Claudine has no reservations about it whatsoever, and that much is plain as day in her eyes.

So Hikari hesitantly lifts up her arms and eases into her embrace. Claudine folds her arms across Hikari's back and shoulders, and in return Hikari hugs her around her sides, clinging just a little bit.

And to her surprise, Hikari can feel she isn't the only one who's shaking.

While Hikari herself often trembles in her arms and her legs, it's Claudine's breath that quivers ever so slightly. It's something so minor and faint that only someone who's this close to her would ever notice at all.

And it isn't only that. Hikari is even more surprised to feel just how hard Claudine's heart is pounding against her chest. She really has to admire her acting skills. Where she herself shows clear visible signs of her anxieties, more experienced people like Claudine - who have been doing this since childhood - are much better at concealing it. It's only at the most basic and organic levels that she can't hide it, but anyone who wasn't pressed flush-up against her in a hug would never suspect she was getting the jitters as well. Her show of confidence is impeccable.

Hikari stays close to her for a moment, and it seems Claudine is rather happy to keep holding onto her as well. When she speaks, Hikari's voice is small and careful.

"You're nervous, too…?"

Claudine sighs.

"I guess that gave me away, didn't it? Of course I am. Any performer who isn't even a little nervous before a performance isn't human. I wouldn't trust them."

Hikari cracks a tiny smile.

"You're right. It's natural."

"Exactement."

The two girls maintain their embrace for a moment longer, until both of their hearts begin to calm down. Then, there's a call for Hikari to get ready. Claudine eases back and presents her with an encouraging smile.

"Go steal the show, Hikari."

Hikari nods.

"And then please steal it from me in the finale, Saijou-san."

"Bien sûr."

Claudine goes with her to where their friends are waiting excitedly backstage, then parts ways with Hikari as the crowd applauds to welcome her.

Hikari does as phenomenally as ever, and even though Claudine has to follow up Maya as always, she gives the audience an unforgettable finale as well.

And so Hikari and Claudine have begun a new sort of pre-performance ritual of doing each other's hair and sharing supportive hugs, even when they weren't nervous at all.

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A/N: I was sad that the OVAs had Hikari interact with all the other girls exclusively except Claudine... She only got those few seconds of doing her hair, and they weren't even alone together, so I hardly got any canon content at all for my guilty ship...

So I did some of my favorite stuff here; hair-brushing and hugging and soft conversations~ Their relationship would probably be sweet, I'd imagine. I had a lot of fun writing their dynamic together for once!