Twinkle Twinkle, Little Stars (ch7)

EARLY RELEASE FOR ALL MY PATRONS!!

And now we swap to older Nana and baby Junna! And it just so happened to be a perfect coincidence that chapter 7 was Nana's haha~

Disclaimer: I do not own Shoujo Kageki Revue Starlight.

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							Chapter 7. Library Literature

Nana wakes to find herself sitting on a bench, wearing shorts, a blouse, and a cardigan. It's certainly not where she'd been or what she'd been wearing the last she remembers.

She blinks, shaking her head slowly as she starts to look around. She realizes she's seated on a public bench, not far from the local zoo, which is the most puzzling thing to her so far.

/That's strange... Usually after a revue or gathering on the giraffe's stage, we'll be sent back to the school or Starlight Hall. It's very rare we're ever transported somewhere off-campus…/

She tries to remember what he had last said before she'd blacked out.

/Something about… my wish…?/

As soon as she recalls, Nana's heart jolts as a little pang shoots through her.

/Oh no… Have I… have we gone back in time again…? Are we somehow going to do my repeat performance again…? Even though Hikari-chan was with us? Does this mean she's gone now? Are we all going to be tossed back into that never-ending cycle…?/

In the past, she would've welcomed more repetition of her favorite school years. But ever since Hikari had joined their group and Nana had lost to her, everything had been put into perspective for her. Particularly that night when she'd cried her heart out, and her dear friend Junna had held her and listened to her feelings. Above all others, Junna had made her understand the error of her ways. Nana doesn't want to repeat things anymore - not if it means stealing their futures from them.

So thinking that she somehow might've caused another rewind now makes her chest feel gnarled and tight.

The giraffe had said the stage had retained residual energy from all the times it had granted and re-granted Nana's wish, so this time it had simply acted on its own accord.

/Along with… Elle-san's wish…?/

That's the part she doesn't understand. In truth, Elle is only a young child, and her wish is to watch the older Stage Girls perform various plays she's seen or heard of.

/This doesn't make any sense…/

Nana holds her head in her hands for a moment as she thinks everything over to the best of her abilities. The people all keep passing by around her, and all of the noises are muffled.

But even after several moments of deep thought, Nana can't fathom how she'd found herself in this reality. Her hope is that it's the same day or the day after when she'd gone to fight the Korosu with the others, and that the stage had simply brought her back a little off-course of the usual spots.

In any case, her concerns have caused her stomach to feel a little off, and being there's really only one person she can confide in, Nana is determined to get back to her as quickly as possible.

So with a deep breath, Nana stands up, dusting off her lap as she glances around. She recognizes exactly where she is in town, and has to wonder why she's been brought to this specific spot.

/But judging by my clothes… Maybe Junna-chan and I came out together? It was our day off, after all. And if Junna-chan isn't right beside me on our day off, there's only one other place she'd be…/

Nana turns toward the street and the large grey building beyond; the public library. There's no doubt in her mind.

So she follows the sidewalk to the crosswalk, and then reaches the building within minutes. As she enters, the hustle and bustle and heat of the town fade behind her, and a calmer, cooler air encompasses the space.

There are two stories to the building, with the bottom floor's books being directed at younger audiences, and the upper floor's for older. Nana quickly and quietly makes her way to the carpeted stairs and hurries to the top, her legs already naturally pulling her toward Junna's usual spot. She tends to always sit at one of the tables located in between the History and Theater sections, one that has quite a nice view from the second-story window. Nana just hopes to actually find her here today.

As she rounds one of the book shelves, one end of the designated table is in sight. Nana calls out softly.

"Junna-chan? Are you here…?"

And then, she hears a familiar voice respond.

"Huh? Who is it?"

Nana sighs in relief, though she's a bit puzzled as to why Junna doesn't instantly recognize her voice. Either way, she's just glad Junna is here - even if her voice does sound a little strange.

"Thank goodness," Nana sighs. "I was just-"

But as she rounds the final corner of the aisle, and the table comes completely into view, Nana's words die on her lips.

Sitting before her now is none other than Hoshimi Junna, for certain. But she's not the same Junna at all.

Her shoes don't even reach the floor as she sits in her chair, and the book that she's holding in front of her is as big as her shoulders are wide. When she sits up at her full height, she's barely as tall as the chair she's sitting in.

Nana blinks and reaches up to rub her eyes, but when she looks again, nothing has changed.

Junna is… She's a little kid. But there's no doubt in her mind that this girl is indeed her Junna. She has the same ponytail over her right shoulder, the same stern and serious eyes behind a pair of glasses, the same tone and manner of speaking.

There's a rush of thoughts like a beehive buzzing in Nana's head, but in only seconds everything clicks.

/My wish of going back in time… and Elle's reality of being a young child… They must have combined somehow and turned Junna-chan back into a little kid, too. Did this happen to the others as well?/

"Excuse me?"

Nana is snapped from her thoughts when little Junna prompts her and tilts her head.

"Did you say my name before? How do you know who I am?" Even at this age, Junna gives her a smart, suspicious look, as if she won't hesitate to start yelling and call for the police if she has to. Nana thinks quickly and tries her best to ease the girl's mind.

"Ah! You see, I frequent the library a lot, too! And I always see you around and the clerk says your name when you go to check out books. That's all." She folds her hands behind her back and smiles pleasantly.

Junna stares at her for another moment, but eventually relaxes a bit.

"That makes sense. But if you're at the library all the time, how come I've never seen you before?"

"Ah, I'm usually pretty shy! I tend to keep to myself."

Junna is quiet for another moment, but seems to accept the answer.

"All right. So why did you call out for me just now?"

"Because I was worried about you!" /Although now I'm even more worried! How do I get you back to normal?/ "I saw you all alone here and just wanted to ask where your parents are."

Junna shrugs.

"Oh, they're downstairs looking for books for my baby cousins. But I don't like those, so I came up here to read big kids' books."

"I'll say!" Nana chuckles. "They really are big kids' books! I even have trouble with some of them! How old are you, Junna-chan?"

"Six. But I can still read these books," she says proudly, showing off the cover of the tome in her hands. Nana reads it aloud.

"Shakespeare's Sonnets, hm?" She giggles. "Junna-chan, you've always liked Shakespeare, even from such a young age?"

"Yeah," the girl nods. "Even though some of the words are strange or I don't understand the old-fashioned style he uses. But the more I read the more I start to understand it!"

"That's great!" Nana isn't entirely sure about what's going on, but at the very least she'd found her roommate - even if she isn't exactly how Nana had expected her to be.

/In any case, I should probably stay with her, right?/

"Say, Junna-chan? Do you mind if I join you to read a little bit?"

Junna makes a pensive expression.

"Do you like Shakespeare, too?"

"Yes! I love his works!"

"Okay, uh…?"

"Oh! Where are my manners? My name is Nana! Or you can just call me Banana if you'd like!"

"Banana…?" Junna chuckles. "That's funny. But I think I'll call you Nana-san."

"Okay!"

Nana pulls out the chair beside her little future roommate and peers over her shoulder. The book Junna is reading has very small font and is written in the traditional language, not at all modernized.

"Wow. Junna-chan, I'm impressed you can read this book at your age! What's your favorite sonnet?"

Junna grins.

"Sonnet 116!"

"Ah!" Nana clears her throat and puffs up her chest. " 'Let me not to the marriage of true minds admit impediments-'"

"Whoa!" Junna gapes. "Nana-san, you know Sonnet 116?"

"Mmhm! I can recite that one by heart! A very close friend of mine loves that sonnet."

"Really? Who's your friend."

"My roommate," she replies simply. "You and she are very alike!"

Junna adjusts her glasses.

"Well, do you and your roommate know that in Romeo and Juliet, the famous line "wherefore art thou, Romeo" actually doesn't mean 'Where are you?' but instead it means 'Why are you Romeo'?"

And of course, as a seasoned theater student, Nana knows this. But she wants to let little Junna have her moment. So she acts totally surprised.

"Really?" she gasps. "I had no idea!"

Junna's grin gets even wider.

"Yup! Juliet isn't asking where he is in that scene, but actually she's asking why he's Romeo. Why does he have to be from the family that is at war with hers? Why couldn't he have been born as someone else so they could be together?"

"Junna-chan, you're so smart!"

"I've read a lot of stuff about Shakespeare," she says. "Oh, Nana-san, do you know about iambic pentameter?"

"Nope!" she fibs. "Tell me all about it!"

"Well, you see…"

So Nana scooches close and rests her chin in her palm as she listens with great interest while Junna goes off telling her everything she knows about Shakespeare. They flip through the sonnet book and read over a few of them out loud. Nana uses her best voice, annunciating clearly and stressing the inflections when appropriate. Junna is in awe.

"Wow! Nana-san, you read so beautifully! Are you a professional actress?"

"Oh, I'm not a professional! But I do go to Seishou Academy!"

"Seishou?!" Junna blurts out the word, then remembers she's in the library and quickly covers her mouth before lowering her voice. "You go to the Seishou Academy? That's where I wanna go!"

"You can do it!" Nana smiles. "You can definitely do it, Junna-chan! I'm sure of it!"

"What sort of things do you learn there?" Junna has now put down the book and turned all of her wide-eyed attention to Nana. Nana hums.

"Well, we do dance, acting, singing, and even script-writing, too!"

"Whoa… I'm gonna make sure I study super hard so I can go there, too!"

"I'm sure you will! Hopefully I'll see you there!"

"What? By the time I get there, you'll have graduated, Nana-san!"

The innocent comment sends a pang through Nana's chest.

"Oh… I guess you're right," she says with a tight smile.

Junna goes back to her book for the moment, and Nana is left with her thoughts. Now that she's here and she's already rewound her friends' time many times before… the words her Junna had spoken to her resonate all the more clearly.

/We will have to graduate someday… And if that's inevitable, I want to do it together with everyone… I don't want to graduate all by myself… I want Junna-chan and everyone by my side…/

She has to get back to her proper time, with Junna being the same age as her.

But just for a while longer, Nana decides to keep the younger girl company. She gives herself a shake straightens up again, leaning in to tap the girl's shoulder.

"Hey, Junna-chan? Do you want to try reading some lines with me?"

"Lines?" she asks. "Like doing a play?"

"Yeah! What about Romeo and Juliet? Something tells me you like that one."

"Yeah! I do! Who should I be?"

"Why don't you be the princess Juliet? And I'll be your handsome prince!"

"Huh?" Junna gives her a pensive look. "But I wouldn't say you're handsome, Nana-san. I'd say you're pretty, too!"

"Ah! Why, thank you very much!" Junna - in any form - calling her pretty makes Nana's heart happy.

Nana offers to go and find a book with the script for Romeo and Juliet, but Junna assures her she knows it all by heart.

And she certainly does. Nana is blown away by how perfectly she recites everything, and Nana uses her very best speaking skills on her parts as well. Junna expresses her amazement for Nana's speech, so Nana helps her practice changing her tone and pitch.

They recite some more of Romeo and Juliet quietly, then take turns reading sonnets, chatting merrily all the while.

/It's sort of funny,/ Nana muses to herself. /She's ten years younger, but it almost feels like I'm just talking to my regular Junna-chan! Guess she's been this way from the start!/

Whenever they finish reading one thing, Junna excitedly flips through to find another certain poem or sonnet she wants to read next. She uses her brand new speech techniques that Nana had taught her, which makes her even more excited.

Nana keeps up with her, happy to spend some time here and keep the girl company. But after a little while longer, Junna begins to rub her eyes beneath her glasses.

"That was fun…!" she yawns. "Next… let's do Sonnet 140: 'Be wise as thou art cruel…'" But as she turns the pages, her head nods forward a little bit. Nana reaches out swiftly to catch her so she won't bump her head on the table.

"Junna-chan?" she says gently. "We've done a lot of reading and voice-acting today! Why don't you nap for a little while until your parents come get you?"

Junna blinks up at her tiredly, still rubbing her eyes.

"Yeah… Maybe…" She closes the book, removes her glasses, folds them, and lies them on top of the cover. "Nana-san? Will you stay with me…?"

"Of course!" Nana moves her chair over right next to hers. Junna smiles, her eyelids already falling shut as she slouches against her side.

"Nana-san… thank you. I learned a lot and I had a lot of fun with you…"

"You have no idea how happy I am to hear that, Junna-chan!" Nana puts an arm around the girl's shoulders, holding her up securely.

Within only moments, little Junna has fallen fast asleep. Nana can't stop smiling.

"Even after you grow up, you're still just as cute when you sleep," she giggles. "Maybe I'll join you for a second…"

She decides she'll deal with her thoughts of the giraffe and the possible time travel in a bit.

But for now, Nana closes her eyes and snuggles up to her little future roommate, hoping she'll still be beside her when she wakes up.

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A/N: This was pretty much the only thing I could see these two doing; reading complicated literature! When I was in high school I had to recite Sonnet 116 in front of an audience, so that's why I chose that one for them to recite haha. I still remember the whole thing.