AWKWARD LOVE
A Kaleido Star Fanfiction
By Christopher 'Chromus' Homer
Disclaimer: I don't own Kaleido Star or any of it's wonderful characters, no matter how much I bloody want to. They are owned by GONZO and licenced in the US by ADV Films.
Author's Notes: A rare one shot fic by me as I return back into anime fanfiction – this one shot may become a series if people wish for it to become one. I do have plans for a long KS fic in the process which would incorporate elements of this into it though…
Kaleido Star is my favourite anime as a few of you may know but this is my first time in writing a fic for it – and it revolves around something that is rarely touched upon in KS -–romance. One of the pluses of the series is that there isn't really a romantic situation with anybody, allowing the story to go more freely (no matter how hard Ken tries) however I've decided to go a slightly different route and one which fans would certainly agree with in terms that if Ken had a rival, he would probably have a couple of rivals…but UNLIKE other writers, the rival may not who you would be expecting…:)
"Ken, thank you very much for everything you've done for me…" Sora said just before her first performance of Phoenix, where she had just travelled around America to find (and help) her idol Layla Hamilton, who was performing the Las Vegas equivalent. The teal haired Japanese girl had a calm smile on her face as she faced the American stage manager.
"You know I'll always be there for you Sora." Ken said, his normal nervous look around Sora vanishing for this surprisingly serious talk between the two.
"By the way, I would still love to perform with you – is it really impossible for you to do that?" Sora asked, Ken's heart condition had made him unable to perform again after originally been seen as a prodigy like Sora a few years ago.
Ken shook his head, the smile never leaving his face. "Personally, my mind would love to do that, but my body cannot. However, my dream has changed since then. I will continue to look after the performers here that have taken my place, and in that, a part of me will be with every performer out there…especially you Sora." Ken said, without a hint of embarrassment.
"Ken…" Sora paused for a moment, as an awkward silence hit the two for a moment.
"SORA! GET INTO COSTUME – IT'S ONLY HALF AN HOUR TO SHOWTIME!" Mia Guillem, writer and romance enthusiast, decided to ruin the mood at the worst possible moment…or at least for Ken anyway.
Both Sora and Ken got an embarrassed look on their face as their heads bowed down slightly.
"I better go Ken!" Sora raced into Kaleido Stage with her trademark speed. Ken nodded as he watched her retreating figure glide past him.
"Take care Sora." Ken said, momentarily transfixed by the girl who had captured his heart, which he hoped she could heal…
…before realising he had work to do as well and then chased after the girl…
The performance of Kaleido Star of Phoenix was outstanding. The colour, the lights, the music, the performance…it seemed to match everything owner Kalos was wanting for.
Anna was bouncing around on the trampoline juggling balls, her dreams of being a comedienne on the Stage not just a dream.
Marion, the young 10 year old prodigy, with the Stage mascot, the seal Jonathan, were utterly adorable as twin penguins jumping around as flashing lights around them and on the floor lit up.
Rosetta Passel, the diablo master, and May Wong, one time rival of Sora's, pirouetted in mid air in a beautiful sequence as their hands clutched in a spin move off the trapeze that no-one would have ever though possible just a mere few months ago. It was a sight to behold.
However, the big spectacle was to Miss Naegino.
She, and her partner Leon Oswald, completed the climax, where Sora, as the Phoenix, would rise from the dead, exploding into an aura of flames. Her legs dangled from the base of the trapeze, she spiralled through a floor of pyrotechnics, before doing a lay out somersault, spiralling three times, catching Leon's hands before doing a variation of her impeccable Angel's Act manoeuvre…
…and as she was 'flying', her wings exploded into four corners of flame, as the audience went wild.
Backstage, Kalos and Yuri stood there with wry smiles.
And further back, Ken stood in awe and wonder.
Sora Naegino had won his heart.
The irony of not being on the stage made him appreciate this wonder even more.
However, what the stage can give…
…it also can take…
The group got their congratulations from Kalos and they patted each other on the back, but now two girls who made the trip to visit Layla were now getting 20 questions…
"How is Layla?"
"Is the show doing well?"
"Did anything happen to you?"
"Any problems on the road with Ken?"
"Arp Arp!"
As Anna, Mia, Rosetta, Marion and Jonathan were talking, May and Sora were backing off in a hurry…
"I still wonder how in the heck you can actually take this on board Sora…" May asked her former enemy and rival.
"Eh heh…practice…" Sora said lamely, as her Kaleido Stage face had been replaced with her normal face…one confused and sweating profusely.
The changing room seemed to have lost it's original purpose and now was deriving into a place of gossip for the lead girls, as Sora and May explained Layla's journey, her tears of the past, and her change of the future by Sora's hands, cutting her long hair herself…
…the twist that Sora had changed Layla inside as well as outside now was not unnoticed by her best friends.
"I see. Layla-san always had a cold aura before the injury to her shoulder – but that did change after you came here Sora…" Marion, despite being the youngest, had been in Kaleido Stage the longest due to her father being a stagehand, so she had seen all of Layla triumphs and performances in the last few years prior to the Legendary Great Manoeuvre.
"Still…I would love to see her now…" Mia said.
"I wonder if I could convince her now to perform a comedy role with me?" Anna said.
"No way." Came the answer in unison, even Jonathan seemed to match his barks with the girls response. This lead to Anna getting depressed…as Mia got a camera out and took a picture.
"Been a while since you've struck that pose…" Mia said giddily, ready to add another picture of Anna's cool poses to the Kaleido Star website, Anna's page always had the most hits due to her masculinity and aura about her…
However, the talk soon revolved back on the performance.
"Sora, did you see? We've been working so hard and came up with the 'Eternal Revolution!'" Rosetta, the second youngest after Marion, excitedly spoke to her older sister figure, jumping up and down like a yo-yo.
"I know Rosetta – and Kalos wanted you on the trapeze in 3 years…you've been amazing, amazing, amazing!" Sora said.
She then turned to May, who looked embarrassed.
"May, thank you very much!" Sora and Rosetta said in unison. May tried her best not to look thankful and embarrassed.
"W-Well, I couldn't have her look a disgrace out there, especially if she's going to be MY partner!" May said, doing the princess laugh, and no-one believing her at all. May had helped Rosetta out after Rosetta refused a diablo role in their production of Swan Lake, and once again when Rosetta took the lead in what many called an autobiographical portrayal of her in the original work, 'Princess Without A Smile.'
"Anyway, we're all sweaty now…shall we hit the showers?" Mia said.
"EEP."
That voice came from Sora, as the word 'shower', for some reason would always be heard by a certain perverted spirit…
"Ooh la la…"
She knew it.
Somehow, and she never knew how he did it, The Fool had escaped it's prison in Sora's dorm, and floated its merry way to the changing room. Not good…
The worst thing was only Sora and Rosetta could see The Fool, and Rosetta was completely unaware of what may transpire as she was talking with Marion.
And now they were starting to undress…
"Ah, what a vie…GLURK!"
With no-one being able to see anything, and Sora not wanting to look like she'd gone mad, she casually 'stretched' and grabbed the Fool with one hand.
"Ah-ha-ha-ha! I-I've just remembered, I've got something to do first…I'll catch up with you guys later!" Sora said, as she hurried out of there.
"Uh…sure…" Mia said as the girls wondered what the heck was going on…
Back at her dorm, The Fool was about to experience terror he never thought possible…
"Sora, I was only joking…please…not this…"
Sora had got a fish shaped balloon which was deflated, and proceeded to stuff The Fool inside it.
"I'm going to be feeding you to Jonathan now after this stunt…" Sora said, incredibly angry, as she was getting some string to make sure The Fool didn't escape.
"Please…Sora…no…" The Fool was terrified – his first meeting with Jonathan was something he didn't want to experience…not only could the seal see him, but it always seemed to imagine that he was a fish…not exactly a pleasant time.
"O.K fine…I've changed my mind…" Sora said after a brief pause.
"Really…oh thank you Sora, I knew your heart…" Fool started.
"…I don't want Jonathan to choke on this balloon – it wasn't smart really…" Sora said.
The Fool sweatdropped. Apparently the seal was more warrant of concern than the Spirit of the Stage.
"Sora…you successfully performed the Phoenix in your own style whilst still having the fire inside of you to help Layla Hamilton. Yet now, your future is still untold…" The Fool spoke as his fortune tellings, whether by tarot or by zodiac readings, were something of a pride and joy for him.
That is, if someone would LISTEN to him…
"I'll pass." Sora said.
"What!" Fool said.
"I know my future is here – in the next 2 years, I want to perform the Legendary Great Manoeuvre again – this time with Rosetta. And during that time, I want to continue to make Kaleido Stage a fun place to be, a successful team of performers without conflict, to show that you can be on the stage and forget about the outside world." Sora said, as she casually grabbed Fool, hung him upside down outside a drawer and tied the string around him.
"Now, I'm joining the girls and YOU'RE NOT FOLLOWING…OTHERWISE I'LL STUFF YOU INSIDE A REAL FISH…" Sora said as she headed out.
"She has issues…" The Fool said, as despite his predicament, he had forcast something that Sora may have been interested in.
"Two people are moving in towards your direction Sagitarrius…as Cupid's arrow is growing stronger each day in their hearts…but whose signs are these…"
Fool looked and his one eye (the other blocked by his mask) opened wider.
"No…I never expected that…of all people…"
Fool smiled.
"Well, this is getting interesting…"
"What was that about then Sora?" Mia asked as Sora joined the other girls in a washdown.
"Er…n-nothing…" Sora said. The girls were all semi-clad with towels, Mia and Anna sharing a table together, Marion already relaxing in the hot spring-esque small bath, whilst May was trying to get Rosetta to undress, who seemed to have suddenly got a bout of terminal shyness.
"We're all girls here Rosetta – I thought you were braver than that!" May said, with a grin which made her resemble the demon in her own technique, the Demon Spiral.
"But….but…" Rosetta's red face told it all. The fact that she was the youngest of the girls bar Marion, she was nervous about her smaller figure compared to Mia, May and Sora in paricular…
"No worries! Just get in there…" Anna said, trying to relieve the tension as she grabbed Rosetta's towel…
…just as Mia grinned evilly herself.
"Ah – you're embarrassed are you? Well…"
Without warning, Mia grabbed Sora who squealed as Mia jokingly hugged her from behind.
"…we are older aren't we, but when you have a body as thin as Sora's, and despite all her training…"
Rosetta's face turned even more red seeing Sora, as she desperately tried to hit her face, especially after Mia cheekily pinched Sora on the arm, as Sora was now entering red face territory.
"MIA!"
"…she has such smooth skin…are all Japanese people like this?" Mia said, her 'teasing mode' on full autopilot.
"Ha, it's no match for mine though!" May said, as her 'competitive mode' was equally on full autopilot.
"But young people's skin is baby touch…that is a different field altogether…" Mia said as she turned evilly to Marion.
"Eh?" The young girl had almost dosed off with Jonathan perched on her lap enjoying the warm water.
"Nah…I'm not that evil." Mia said, her eyes back firmly on Rosetta, who was cowering in fear.
"S-Sora, help me!" Rosetta said as May, Mia and Anna now descended on her, Rosetta's face resembling a crimson mask.
Sora just sighed. "Sorry Rosetta, you'll get used to this…this seems to be some sort of initiation they do every now and then…" Sora seemed to be praying that they wouldn't do too much psychological damage to Rosetta…
…and as she turned to join Marion in the bath, Rosetta's red face was hidden amongst the sea of bodies of what will now be known as the Kaleido Trio…and shall never speak of again…for Rosetta's sake…
"NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!"
"Sora, you have a phone call!"
Sarah DuPont, dorm manager, martial arts expert, singer of Kaleido Stage and Kalos' partner, informed Sora as after a genie-less bath and shower but three evil girls scarring poor Rosetta for life had come to pass.
"R-Right…"
Sora took the phone call and as soon as she spoke, she knew who it was.
"Layla-san!"
The American former lead of Kaleido Star's voice had a gentle edge to it – it was one of happiness and calmness.
"Sora? It was great…everything I imagined…"
"Y-you've already seen it?"
"Of course…I had a feed sent back to me by my father…I had to see it after my performance…"
"L-Layla-san…how was it?"
"It was better than I could have ever hope for. Our performances today, it was like our hearts were joined…and I couldn't be happier or prouder of you today…"
Layla couldn't hear anything from Sora for a few moments, apart from…
"Sora, are you crying?"
"Y-yes Layla-san…I-I-I'm just…so happy…"
You could almost hear Layla smiling over the phone, as she spoke again.
"Sora…I never thought your dream…of a peaceful stage without conflict…could also affect me. You've been…well…what can I say…you're a wonderful human being and you deserve everything positive that comes in your life.
The tears were still being heard but Sora's delight was unmistakable.
"Th-thank you…"
"No, thank you Sora."
An awkward silence seperated before Sora got the nerve to do the one thing she hated doing…
"I…I'd better go – there's a press conference soon…I'd…"
"That's fine Sora. I'll speak to you soon. Goodbye."
"Bye…"
As the call ended, Sora wiped her tears as her former idol was now thanking her from the bottom of her heart. It gave her a sense of relief, pride and happiness all in one.
It was the best thing ever for a performer, the biggest thrill to be not only accepted by your peers, but to be loved by them.
"S-Sora?"
Sora turned as Ken was waiting there. Had he been there all along? She tried to hide her tears as best as she could as she ran up to him…
"Ken, sorry…I'll be at the conference in a moment…just need to go to the toilet…"
If she had notice Ken's embarrassed face at that comment, she might have got a clue about Ken's more than friendship interest there, but as usual, Sora was clueless to Ken's affection, which only embarrassed Ken further…
Sora rushed by him, as Ken looked forward at Sora's passing figure.
The young man sighed.
"Why am I such a coward?"
It was hard to see which was scarier.
The legions of fans outside waiting for their favourite performers autographs, or the fact that the once anti-social Leon Oswald was actually signing them.
Sora and May for one couldn't decide.
"Kalos arranged this session…for us to interact with the fans…" Sora vaguely explained.
"…and why is this sight filling me with dread?" May said, as like Sora, she had experience working with Leon, and whilst the man known as the Lord of Darkness had changed considerably since performing the Angel's Act with Sora, that feeling of coldness always seemed to be there.
"I-I know…" Sora said, her nerves seemingly returned.
"Anyways…" May pointed to Sora in a dramatic version. "…let's see if you get more autographs than I do! If you don't, I will be challenging you for the top star once again Sora Naegino!" May said, in her usual enthusiastic way.
Sora resisted the urge to sweatdrop. "Right, right, right…"
As soon as Sora had set up her booth however, May's face descended to an hour of doom and gloom. Whilst May had a strong fanbase, she was no match for the current lead of Kaleido Star, as the Layla/Yuri era had finally been removed from the stigma of Kaleido Stage, and the Sora/Leon era had begun.
It was definitely something new though for a lot of the stars, especially to Marion who was extremely excited that people were queuing to get her signature. Her father, Juan, looked on with a sense of pride, knowing that Marion's mother must be watching her daughter from the heavens with pride.
As Marion, and indeed, Jonathan, began signing autographs, Sora looked over to a now, seemingly recovered Rosetta, who still seems a bit shy around her after the bath incident. Ironic that of all the people here, the relative newcomer to Kaleido Stage would have the most experience here being a world diablo champion.
"Are you O.K Rosetta?" Sora asked the one time prim girl who rejected her opinion, who now was pretty much her little sister, and whilst only 3 years younger, Rosetta had regarded both her and May as her teachers in the last few months in settling at Kaleido Stage.
"I'm…fine. More nervous than I expected…." Rosetta admitted to Sora who had quite a number of autographs already signed.
"I just hope that Mia and Anna didn't scar you too badly…" Sora said, making conversation.
Rosetta gave a little grin. "That's O.K…I got my revenge…"
Sora looked confused, until she had a look at Anna's booth with Hannah and Barbara.
A bandage across Anna's head with a mark of a diablo told the story…and Mia helping organising things…
"Don't tell me…" Sora said.
"I'm not the diablo master for nothing…" Rosetta chuckled. "May however, blackmailed me saying if I did that to her, she wouldn't work with me again…"
If anyone was asked that 3 months ago, that would have been a godsend…
"Hey, Sora…"
The quietness of her voice surprised Sora, as Rosetta spoke.
"Do you remember…the promise?"
Sora nodded. "Yes, in 3 years you'll become the top trapeze star at Kaleido Stage…and then we can complete the Legendary Great Manoeuvre together. As long as we can both see Fool, that dream is still there…"
Rosetta smiled shyly. "More than a dream…" Rosetta seemed very nervous to Sora, and it was confusing to the elder girl.
Before Sora could speak again, both girls were back to being busy as people wanted things to be signed and speak to the girls for a brief moment if necessary.
Off site, Ken and Mia (occasionally rubbing her diablo scarred head) watched as the cast mingled with their fans.
"It's incredible the reaction we've got for this isn't it?" Mia said excitedly. Her writing a script for a live version of Layla's infamous Golden Phoenix move was challenging to say the least, but the rewards were definitely worth enough the sacrifice.
"Yeah…the cast has been incredible with this production." Ken smiled, as Mia leaned over sneakily.
"You want to say Sora has been incredible right?"
Ken stepped back, but the Dutch girl was always good at this sort of thing and she continued.
"Ken, you're a great guy, but Sora…is kinda…dense when it comes to matters of the heart. You're only going to get through to her if you tell her…"
Mia words didn't exactly help. He was always a nervous wreck whenever he wanted to tell his feelings to Sora, and whenever he did or was about to, something happened like Sora would say 'Oh no, he's not my boyfriend!' or someone would interrupt them, and the one time he DID admit he loved her, that New Years night in Japan, Jerry made it seem like an interpretation that everyone loved her, in a platonic way.
In other words, he hadn't had much luck in that respect.
"I just don't know Mia…the way I feel around her, I just don't know how much my heart can take…" Ken said.
"Well, you'd best make up your mind, otherwise someone might take her off your hands…" Mia said, only partly teasing – she had strongly suspected that Leon may carry certain feelings for Sora, the only person who had ever matched his expectations in comparison to his late sister Sophie.
Ken gulped. He admitted to himself that Sora's charm had attracted others, Yuri Killian was another he was concerned about, and he always felt inferior to the two handsome stars of Kaleido Stage.
"Mia…" Ken said apprehensively.
Mia looked at the backstage manager, looking at Sora besotted with autograph hunters.
"I'll confess…tonight."
Mia's eyes widened in shock. For nervous wreck Ken Robbins, this was a big step. Mia admits that she was a bit annoyed with Ken's pussyfooting around Sora, no matter how hard she, Anna and Marion worked to try and get them together.
But now…
"Go for it…" Mia whispered as Ken wiped off a few drops of sweat.
Ken's heart pumped a little faster watching Sora panic around people asking questions…
…could tonight get any more frantic?
Not too surprisingly, Sora was the last person at her table. After convincingly beating May out (and the Chinese girl screaming 'IT'S NOT OVER YET NAEGINO!') and helping the other girls out during the course of the signings, she was exhausted, and barely had enough energy to clear up after her.
"Being a true Kaleido Star does have it's price…" Sora mumbled to herself but like a rabbit, she bounced right back up, knowing that it was all that she dreamed of.
Sora moved to finish off cleaning, when all of a sudden, she realised something was on Rosetta's seat next to her.
"Rosetta forget this?" Sora said. The Belgian girl had already left about half an hour earlier and Sora was still in a crowd of fans, so she didn't even notice.
Sora picked up the item, which turned out to be an envelope.
"What is this? Ah, I'll give it back to h…huh?" Sora was about to put it in her pocket when she saw the front say…
'To Sora.'
"It's for me!" Sora said to herself. She looked around, almost hesitant to open it. She had a few suspicions about it – Layla had told her horror stories about obsessive stalker fans, and with Sora as popular as she is, it wasn't exactly something that needed to be added to her mind.
Sora realised that only a few cleaners were around – Mia, Ken and Kalos weren't behind her either. She decided to take a quick look…
"Careful…"
Sora almost expected it to explode, as she removed the piece of paper from the envelope. She opened one eye…
…and was surprised at the contents to say the least.
Dear Sora,
As a fellow member of Kaleido Stage, I've always admired you, both from close and from afar. However, I cannot stop these feelings I have for you now…I'm not sure how to explain them, but it has been building up within me for a long time…