A/N: This was originally going to be part of a series of prompts, however I soon got bored and frustrated with them, so I'm just going to post them like individual stories :)
Original Prompt: Audience
Character(s): Black Star & Tsubaki
He had always wanted an audience. He wanted to be seen; to be appreciated; to be loved. He tried hard to improve and reach a new level. To 'transcend the gods': that was his dream. It wasn't true though. He had chosen something so unlikely- impossible, even- that would catch their attention. Maybe if he talked big and shrugged off the cynicism then he could pretend not to care.
His realisation came on that one day when no one clapped. They looked at him with disdain and pity. 'How could a child be so arrogant and self-involved?' they wondered. 'How could he stand there and proclaim such nonsense?' He slowly began to think the same things. He skipped class and acted up. Maybe if he did those things then someone would notice him walking in late, or appreciate his lack of presence during school or something. But no, still no one seemed to show him anything but frustration or annoyance. 'Am I really that insignificant?' He would wonder, 'Is it so hard to simply acknowledge my existence?' His dreams began to shatter.
Then the sound split his crumbling hopes. It tore them apart, and then glued them back together. It cut straight to his cracking heart and sent shockwaves through him. Someone was clapping for him. She stood on the ground, looking up at his precarious position, and she was smiling. She had a pretty smile, he noticed. Like a soft, warm glow in the snarling faces around her. He had stared in disbelief, before jumping down to greet her.
'…why were you clapping?" He asked, suspecting a trick or some kind of joke.
"Well, I just thought it was a really good performance. I'm Tsubaki, by the way," She replied. It took him by surprise. Was she for real? Maybe he should just laugh and walk away before he said or did something to scare her off…but there was something about Tsubaki. She didn't look like the type who would abandon someone. She looked too kind. 'I've been wrong before, though,' He thought grimly. Then after a few moments of indecision, he too smiled and stuck out his hand.
"Nice to meet you, Tsubaki. I'm Black * Star"
He had finally found his audience.