AN: I've decided to switch to posting individual oneshots, rather than lumping all of my oneshots together in a big collection. Those of you who have followed me through Cure Shots, I hope you'll be fine with this new method!
Twinkle Like the Stars
Canon: Go Princess
Characters: Kirara Amanogawa, Towa Akagi
Summary: She longed for what she could not have- but maybe what she did have could provide her with some solace.
"It's almost time for lights out, you know."
For a moment, it seemed as if she hadn't heard her. Then, slowly, the redheaded girl turned her head back towards her, pulling her gaze away from the stars. Though there was a small smile on her face, it didn't do much to offset the deep longing in her eyes, for something that it seemed she already knew that she wasn't going to be able to find.
While Amanogawa Kirara might not be good at expressing her worry, feeling it was another thing entirely. It didn't take a genius to figure out what the source of such an expression was, nor that there was barely anything she could do about it, at the very least, not in this moment. There was something that she could do, but it would take a great while longer yet before she could achieve it.
Nor was it something that she could do alone.
So instead, Kirara swallowed back any such false assurances, resolving to do what she could in this instant. Carefully taking a seat next to the girl who had taken to calling herself Akagi Towa in this world, she gave her the best smile that she could manage.
"Do you like stars, Towachii?" Kirara asked, turning her own gaze skyward, leaning back a little. It helped that Noble Academy was set away from the town, but even then, the small town that was a bus ride away from it wasn't exactly that big. On a clear night like this, it made for a perfect view of the stars.
"I like them." Towa said, slowly nodding her head, turning her own gaze back towards the night sky. "The stars and the moon alike. They've always been beautiful to me, since long ago."
"I can't argue with you there." Kirara said simply, her smile still not fading. "I mean, I'm supposed to be the princess of the stars, after all. There's no way that I wouldn't like them. Though, that said, I suppose I don't like them to quite the extent that Haruharu likes flowers, though."
A faint laugh escaped from Towa at that, one that made Kirara's expression soften. Though the longing expression remained, that was a bit more like it. "I suppose that's true. I wouldn't say that I'm particularly fond of fire myself, though."
"Well, that would be a bit weird." Kirara told her lightly, shrugging her shoulders. "I wouldn't recommend telling people that even if you did. If you told people something like that, they might try and call the police."
"You think so?" Towa blinked, finally turning to face her fully.
"Ah no, no." Realizing that the redhead had taken her joke seriously, Kirara quickly shook her head. "That was mostly a joke."
"Ah, I see." Blinking once more, Towa contemplated the joke for a moment longer, before it slipped from her mind. "Your mother was named for the stars, wasn't she? Haruka-san was telling me something about her the other day."
"That's right." Kirara said, nodding her head. "And the girl with a name taken from the stars grew up to be a woman who was a star. Well," turning back towards her new friend, her own smile shone like a bright star, "...I'm going to shine brighter than her one day myself. You can look forward to it, Towachii!"
"I very much will." With a nod of her head, Towa couldn't help but smile in response to that of Kirara's own. Perhaps it wasn't as much as so as Haruka's, but Kirara's smile nevertheless managed to be infectious on it's own merits.
Still, it wasn't quite enough, not tonight.
There was a long silence between the two of them that lingered after that- not an uncomfortable one, but a silence nevertheless. With the stars shining brightly overheard, it was hard to want to break it, a strange peace settling over those who had found themselves gazing up at them once more.
"You miss him, don't you?"
Her gaze flickering away from the stars, towards the one who held their power, Towa slowly nodded her head. "Yes, a great deal."
Not yet tearing her gaze away from the stars, Kirara let the silence sink in again for a moment longer, before she broke it once more. "They're different, aren't they? These stars, and the stars that shown over the Hope Kingdom."
With a slow nod of her head, Towa fixed her gaze on the starry sky once more. "Yes, they are." She told her, drawing her knees close to her chest, linking her arms over them. "But these stars aren't bad either, you know. After all, they're the stars that the three of you have been looking at all this time. When I think about it like that, it's a little less lonely."
"That's true." Closing her eyes, Kirara felt a smile once more trace her face. "I'd like to see them sometime. The stars of your kingdom. The real ones, that is. Not just the eternal night that Dyspear has cast over it."
"I'd like to show them to you someday." Towa said. "To you, and everyone else. Will you come with me once all of this is over?"
"Of course!" With a quick nod of her heard, Kirara blinked. "Ah, but I think I hear the dorm head calling for lights out inside. We might want to get back to our room already, Towachii."
Rising to her feet, Kirara carefully offered the young princess her hand. "The stars will still be here tomorrow night as well, after all."
"I suppose that's true. They won't run away." Gratefully accepting the offered hand, Towa uncurled her legs, slowly getting to her feet. Though she stumbled a little on the uncertain footing of the roof, the brunette gripped her hand all the tighter for it, ensuring that she didn't lose her footing.
"That's right." Kirara said, giving her a firm nod of her head. "Besides, even if the starry skies that the two of you are gazing at are different, the feeling you have in your chest when you gaze up on them is the same, isn't it?"
Strangely, there was something about those words that dashed away some of her longing. It was still there, deep in her heart, a force that would never be banished, for as long as she lived- but suddenly, it wasn't so powerful anymore. They carried with them the promise that her brother was indeed, staring up at the starry sky, just the same as she was now- that he was still alive, and still free.
And for now, that was more than enough.
"Yes." Slowly nodding her head, what felt like her first real smile of the evening spread across Towa's face. "That's true."