A/N: IF YOU HAVE CLICKED WITHOUT READING THE SUMMARY OF THIS STORY THEN I WILL SAY IT AGAIN.
TRIGGER WARNINGS OF BLOOD, VIOLENCE, SUICIDE, LOSS OF APPENDAGES, AND OTHER HURTFUL THINGS! IF YOU DO NOT WISH TO READ A STORY WITH ANY OF THIS, THEN DO NOT SCROLL ANY FURTHER! THIS IS YOUR SECOND WARNING!
Sorry for screaming, but I don't want you reading this content if it will hurt you. I would never do something like that intentionally. My writing is never this gruesome, but it popped in my head after watching the movie.
So if you are still here with me and want to begin reading, you may. But I will need to remind you of the triggers listed above with a FINAL WARNING.
- BRP
Saijou Claudine's childhood had been one of the happiest times of her life. How fortunate she had been at such a vulnerable point in her existence. Most children could only dream of the life that she had had back then.
A prominent star on the stage. So young yet so full of potential. All at once it had been the beginning and the end of her acting career.
As Claudine grew older, her relevance as a child actor suffered. The more birthdays the blonde had, the more roles she had lost to someone younger than her. Her youth was becoming a thing of the past, and the blonde did not fully understand why it was happening at the time. That was the beauty of a child's innocent mind. Things that should have been heartbreaking and emotionally painful simply were not. Because the innocence had not yet been tainted by the world's way of life and the cruelty of people.
Yes, it had been the beginning and the end of the career of Saijou Claudine, the child actress, but for the teenage, nearly adult Saijou Claudine, Seisho Academy was where she had sought to start her career anew. To find a new beginning.
And little did she know, another new ending.
For life, regardless of whether you were a stage girl or not, was simply unfair. Everything that had a beginning also had an ending. Some endings much happier than others, indeed, and for others, the ending was much more melancholy.
And as Saijou Claudine stood there on the stage, the body that had once been much more smaller, much more innocent, much more youthful was broken, battered, and bloody.
She knew the others had suffered the same fate, but she had been one of the luckier ones, or perhaps maybe one of the stronger ones. Oh, what a twisted situation to use the words "lucky" and "strong". Claudine almost used what little breath she had left to chuckle at the irony.
She could have been the one fated to lose her life at the beginning of the massacre, but fate had that in store for Junna instead.
Nana, possessed by greed and consumed by a tainted and poisonous version of a stage girl's ambition, had slashed with her swords. Junna had succeeded in defending the first slash, but when the next slash came, the blade landed.
It had nearly severed the purple-haired stage girl's entire head off her shoulders. The blood from the wound ran down her entire front even as she dropped her bow to grab at the gaping cut with both hands.
And as she continued to lose a significant amount of blood, her knees had given in and she fell to them. And as she slowly craned her head upward to meet Nana's eyes, Junna fell over onto her side limply.
This had only further served to set the tone for the entirety of the Revue. Each of them had already known at the start that the idea of bloodshed was inevitable, but this had cemented the fact that a stage girl would do anything to obtain more brilliance. Even if they had to kill each other to steal that brilliance.
How bright and radiant that must be if it is able to blind the eyes and the heart. For every feeling flows from the heart, which is why we should guard the one that beats inside us all. But if it is blinded and cannot adhere to anything whatsoever, then that must mean that it will not be able to recognize love or friendship at the moment in which it is blinded?
But as Nana looked down at the lifeless body of her lover, the very person that had been slain by her own hand, her senses and feelings seemed to return to her if just for a moment. And once her brain registered the terrible sin she had just committed, Nana released an agonizing scream that had echoed throughout the whole auditorium, sending chills down the spines of the other stage girls.
Mahiru, who had just bashed in Futaba's skull with her baton, stopped in her tracks as she was overcome with a feeling that she knew she had felt before, a feeling that had been long dormant inside her heart.
Awakened by Nana's scream of agony.
Empathy was a blessed gift that most people did not have. A blessed gift yet a vulnerable curse at the same time. That is part of what had given Mahiru her brilliance. But to the other stage girls, it was a bright target painted on her back. For when it came to brilliance, it was an all out war.
That's when Mahiru felt her legs break into a sprint towards Nana, silently hoping and praying that she could get the taller stage girl to pull herself together before the vulnerability Nana was showing caused her to be the next person in line for slaughter.
When she reached the taller female, Nana, out of point blank hysteria, misinterpreted Mahiru's true intentions and once again slashed with both of her swords, severing off part of Mahiru's right index finger.
And as blood poured down Mahiru's hand, Nana had tearfully screamed out.
"I will be the one to save us all! I will kill every last stage girl in here and reset everything again! I will save us! I will save you, Junna-chan!"
Another slash that Mahiru was able to block with her baton this time around despite the liability of only being able to use one hand.
The cavalry arrived in the form of Karen as she bounded forward to aid Mahiru, slashing with her own sword, which Nana reflexively blocked with her other weapon.
"You!" Nana bellowed angrily at the brunette. "You are the reason why this is all happening in the first place!"
And once Nana broke away from the stalemate between her sword and Mahiru's baton in order to slash at Karen, Mahiru fell backwards onto her behind as she tried to, somewhat, nurse her bloody hand.
The fight between Karen and Nana drifted further down the stairs. Swipe after swipe. Slash after slash. They were both successfully blocking each other's attacks until Nana discovered an opening in the brunette's defenses that she ultimately capitalized on.
A searing pain shot through Karen's entire being, spreading like an out of control fire throughout her central nervous system. Fire might have actually been less painful compared to the scorching, white, hot pain she was having to endure at that moment.
She couldn't help but release a mix of a prolonged, pain-filled grunt and a torturous sounding scream, all while gritting her teeth to the point where they could have all simultaneously chipped down to the gums from the intense pressure she was exerting on them in an attempt to block out some of the pain.
Karen could not pay heed to neither the blood running down the left side of her face, nor the disjoined half of her ear laying on the stage floor because Nana was all fury, not bothering to relent in her all out aggression.
Hikari had noticed the troubling situation from the other side of the stage, and no matter how hard she tried to fend off the ravenous storm that was the duo of Tendou Maya and Saijou Claudine in order to go aid Karen, they would quickly recover from the onslaught and come back for more.
Like circling sharks that smelled blood in the water.
And even as Hikari stood there guarding herself with her dagger, ignoring the sharp twinge from the deep gash in her left forearm courtesy of a slash from Maya's rapier, the notion of possibly not even making it out alive crossed her mind. Her brilliance would be stolen by those that she once called "friend".
The lengths that a stage girl would go to just to obtain her own selfish desires. The desires that would either make or break her. Like rolling dice and hoping they land on the numbered sides that would win you the jackpot.
Fighting to the death just for a chance to gamble with fate. That's what the nine of them had resorted to. How desperate.
Sparks scattered as the blade of Claudine's longsword connected with the smaller one of Hikari's dagger, the vibration of the collision causing the wound in the dark-haired girl's arm to twinge painfully. She winced at the unpleasant sensation, yet she continued to carry on.
She had no choice.
Futaba, meanwhile, had held her own against Kaoruko so far. The blow she had suffered at the mercy of Mahiru's baton had left her with a raging headache and nausea that churned her insides like a boat trying to navigate waters in a turbulent storm.
Her performance in the Revue also suffered as a result. The sloppy coordination of her stance and attacks along with the dizziness in her head had taken a heavy toll on the red-haired stage girl.
The stars she had saw did not include the one star she longed to reach for.
Kaoruko had been fully aware of Futaba's condition. Whenever their weapons clashed and brought them almost nose to nose, the dilated pupils of her companion's amethyst eyes were clear as crystal.
A simple concussion. One that should have required immediate medical attention.
And deep down, there was a part of Kaoruko that knew she should have been highly concerned. They were lovers, after all. Lovers were supposed to care for one another, were they not? Yet Kaoruko felt no sympathy. Blinded by the stars in her own eyes. Brilliance was all that mattered to her here.
But that did not stop the tears from rolling down the blue-haired girl's cheeks. She felt absolutely nothing when it was plainly obvious that Futaba was injured. Her greed and desperation had taken over her entire being, and once she had that realization, Kaoruko's mind and body did not yield to it.
The stage was calling for her to continue on with her fight. In order for her dream to come true, she had to whatever it took.
But even still, Kaoruko wept. For Futaba, for the others, and for herself.
Mahiru, who had torn a piece of cloth from her Revue outfit and wrapped around her hand as a makeshift bandage, jumped back into the fray. This time in order to aid Hikari once she saw that Karen seemed to be holding her own against Nana.
Two against two. That had made it an even match.
But Maya and Claudine had outsmarted them. Once Maya had an idea and silently conveyed it to Claudine with just a simple glimpse of eye contact, the blonde immediately went to work, slashing away at Mahiru with her longsword in an unrelenting fashion as the two of them drifted further and further down the stairs away from Maya and Hikari.
That's when Hikari found a flaw in Maya's usually flawless defenses and took advantage of the rare opportunity, using her dagger to stab the top star just below the shoulder.
And, Maya, prideful and stubborn, bit her lip to stifle the scream of pain that bubbled up in her throat. The bite was so strong that it brought blood, which Maya immediately spit onto the floor before moving to engage in battle with Hikari once more.
The next thing that happened is something that Claudine would keep replaying in her mind for the rest of her life, which ironically would also be in jeopardy after the carnage subsided.
Mahiru gasped as the blade of the blonde's long sword penetrated the center of her abdomen, just above her naval.
It had not been a fatal enough stab to pierce through her back, but it was fatal just the same.
And once Claudine had forcefully yanked the weapon out, staining the shiny blade a bloody crimson, Mahiru slowly backed away, gasping for air.
Even near death, her eyes searched for Karen as she battled with Nana. And Mahiru, despite her lungs fighting hard to take in air and her brain struggling through the shock, moved slowly in the brunette's direction as she continued to bleed out.
Then she lost her balance and fell over onto her stomach. She tried to talk, to call for Karen and Hikari both, but no sound came.
Like living an actual nightmare.
Mahiru's last thoughts before she lost her life were of the two aforementioned stage girls.
The incident served as gasoline to the burning fire of Hikari's rage, evident by the animalistic growl as she glared in Claudine's direction.
But before she could even charge toward the blonde to unleash the inner turmoil she was feeling, Maya blocked the way with her rapier.
"All is fair in love and war is it not, Kagura-san?" The towering brunette sneered, which only infuriated the dark-haired stage girl even further.
Even Claudine knew it was just Maya laying bait. By making Hikari act on emotion instead of logic, it would leave a lot of vulnerable spots in her stance while she went all out on the offensive, leaving Maya with multiple opportunities to take advantage of.
And it managed to work.
Within seconds, Hikari had an array of cuts and gashes all over her body, and as commendable as her stamina was, the dark-haired girl was growing wearier and wearier by the second.
The same could be said for the other remaining stage girls, but no matter how much their bodies ached for the battle to cease, they continued to press on through the pain. It is what the stage expected.
Claudine remembered Futaba being the next to go.
Kaoruko, eyes red and cheeks stained from continuous tears, had whispered a quiet "I love you." before delivering the final blow, causing Futaba to fall to her knees in shock after her blue-haired lover had driven the naginata into the very organ Futaba herself had given to Kaoruko a long time ago.
The irony.
Claudine remembered trying to rush to Futaba's aid but was stopped in her tracks when a still very angry Hikari attempted to drive her dagger into the blonde's hip. Her longsword had been able to block it in time.
Then Maya, who had also witnessed everything that had just transpired, immediately took off in a running start toward the blue-haired devil who she had come to know and understand over the last few months when she realized exactly what Kaoruko was going to do next.
Once the top star saw Kaoruko break the pole of the naginata in half with her knee, that one scene from Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet flashed through her mind like an alarm bell, causing Maya to act quickly before it was too late.
But as Kaoruko raised the blade to her throat, Maya continued to run, her shouts of discouragement nothing but white noise to everyone involved.
"Open your eyes!" Kaoruko shouted tearfully to the stage girls that remained. "Can't you see what this has done to us? Look at what we are doing to each other! This is madness! We are so far gone that we have forgotten everything but the stage! We lost any shred of humanity that we had when we agreed to this! I can't do it anymore! I won't! I fucking refuse!"
The top star had skidded to a halt in her tracks at Kaoruko's hysterics, and for a moment, the humanity Tendou Maya once had seemed to return.
One by one, the other remaining stage girls seemed to forget their hostile intent toward each other.
Nana, blades crossed against the throat of a very bloody and disarmed Karen, realized the murderous intent she had initially felt and gasped softly. Slowly, she slid the blades away from the brunette's throat, and once she caught a glimpse of the wooden star prop with Karen's blood-stained jacket pinned to it with the brunette's own sword, Nana's shoulders tremored with a sob.
Hikari and Claudine mutually broke away in their own stalemate where dagger had met longsword. And as Hikari looked at the cut under Claudine's right eye and the rest of the gashes that had cut through the blonde's revue outfit and reached her skin, the dark-haired girl looked down at her dagger and dropped it as if the handle had been dipped in poison.
Maya, still continuing to appease her blue-haired friend, attempted to reach out for the blade of the naginata. And once Kaoruko realized this, she smiled bittersweetly.
"You really are a good person, Tendou-han. More than what people give you credit for."
And soon as the last word left Kaoruko's lips, the jagged blade slashed before anyone's reflexes moved in time to act.
It was like one of those dramatic scenes out of a movie where everything moved in slow motion.
As the crimson stained blade of the naginata fell to the ground with a clatter, Kaoruko's body would have thudded beside it if Maya had not moved quickly to catch her blue-haired friend in her arms, falling to her knees in order to do so.
If one had bothered to ask the students of Seisho Academy what their take on Tendou Maya was, the majority of them most likely would have said she had an aloof nature. Maya rarely ever spoke to anyone or showed any raw emotion except when she was acting.
But if those students had witnessed this side of the top star at this point in time, they would have gotten a glimpse at one of the rarest sights and might have rethought their opinions.
Maya, still on her knees, cradled Kaoruko's body in her arms as blood dripped down onto the floor and all over the top star's front. And as she moved a crimson coated hand to brush Kaoruko's bangs back, a stray little tear fell down her cheek.
The chaos on the stage had ceased, and the other remaining stage girls were all bearing witness to the elusive sight of a very vulnerable Tendou Maya.
Claudine, despite the wear and tear that fatigued her body and the amount of blood she, herself, was losing, longingly reached out toward the top star.
Oh, how the blonde wished she could have rushed to Maya's side to comfort her at that moment, but she knew this was something the tall brunette needed to come to terms with on her own. That and the fear of taking even one step that would most likely end up with Claudine collapsing from blood loss. She didn't want to warrant any concern from Maya, not when she was already battling emotions over the trauma they had all just witnessed.
Out of the corner of her eye, the blonde noticed Hikari had already made her way over to Karen's side and was trying to use a torn piece of the brunette's skirt to apply pressure to one of the more ungodly gashes on the left side of Karen's torso.
And Karen had placed her hand on Hikari's cheek and mouthed something that Claudine could not pick up on from the distance she was standing. Probably just telling Hikari that her efforts to stop the bleeding were in vain.
"It seems I was wrong, was I not, Hanayagi-san?" Maya began, speaking in such a small, quiet voice that it could barely be heard. "I was wrong. Nothing is fair in love and war."
She paused to sniffle, combing her fingers through Kaoruko's hair as she continued on.
"The allure of the stage fooled us all. We were all bewitched by the enamor of our hopes and dreams to the pinnacle of spilling the blood of our loved ones in order to obtain it..." Maya lamented on before pausing to search for the giraffe she knew was watching somewhere from the nosebleed seats.
She did not see him, but she knew he was there. The only being that had bore witness to the multiple Revues that had taken a toll on their bodies. Not that he had cared about their health in the slightest. There was no sympathy in his eyes nor his voice. Not a drop of it.
"You deceived us," The top star quietly spoke. "If any of us had known this would be the end result, we would not have participated in these horrible games. If this is your idea of entertainment, then you disgust me."
There was a brief silence before the giraffe's voice boomed from somewhere in the nosebleed section.
"Is that what you believe, Tendou Maya? If that, indeed, were the case, then why were you prepared to take the life of Kagura Hikari without a second thought? Why were you mentally gathering the willpower to betray Saijou Claudine after everyone else had been slain?"
Even at this revelation, Claudine's eyes had yet to stray from the sight of Maya cradling Kaoruko's body, and despite the stinging words of the giraffe, her gaze did not waver still.
It was inevitable that Maya would have attempted to betray her if it came down to just the two of them pitted against each other in the end. So, it did not surprise her that Maya, in her poisoned state of mind, had been planning to stab her in the back when Claudine, herself, in her own poisoned state of mind, had been planning to betray Maya as well.
"Yes, I will admit I was ready to do all of those things, but that is what you were expecting, was it not? Your barbed tongue led us astray! All of this chaos and destruction we created was bred by your deceit! This black magic spell you have cast upon us all is used up and gone! Are you satisfied with the devastation you have created? The insurmountable grief you have caused us all?"
Maya's voice had become loud as she went on, the anger and heartbreak she felt in her soul echoing through the rafters of the auditorium.
The giraffe was silent for just a moment, but then he spoke.
"And if I told you I did not have a hand in how this destruction came to be? A stage girl will do anything she can for the sake of the stage. Even if it all comes down to making some unfortunate sacrifices in the end. The selfish and the greedy concern themselves with their own desires and will ultimately deal with those who stand in the way. I understand."
Maya growled and stood to her feet at the giraffe's lifeless tone, unsheathing her rapier and pointing it at him. She had set Kaoruko's lifeless body softly onto the stage after brushing her blue hair back one last time beforehand.
"I should sever that poisonous appendage you call a tongue from your ungodly mouth!" She cried angrily, knowing full well that the giraffe did not use his mouth to talk at all. Maya was too overwhelmed in her rage to give a damn.
That was the straw that broke the camel's back for Claudine. Despite the amount of blood loss she was suffering, the blonde's instincts kicked in and caused her to break out into an immediate run toward the tall brunette.
Claudine staggered a bit once she made contact with Maya's body, which caused an awkward but rough collision between the two that almost knocked Maya off her feet. But the top star remained standing with her rapier at the ready.
At close proximity, Claudine could feel the boiling rage radiating off the top star's entire being. Never before had she seen Maya in such a state of anger. The situation as a whole was terrifying and overwhelming to everyone, but seeing Maya in her current state was enough for Claudine to break down.
The blonde buried her face in Maya's neck and embraced her, carefully steering clear of the taller female's nasty shoulder wound as to not cause her any pain.
"Arrête, ma Maya!" Claudine said, holding her lover tight. The cut under her eye stung from the salt of the single tear that ran down it, but she did not pay it any mind. "Arrête!"
"One who gives their all for the stage is one who risks everything. Had you and your cohorts perhaps thought through the possible consequences of reaching for such an esteemed pinnacle, Tendou Maya, then it is quite possible this carnage would have never came to be. As for myself, I am quite content with the outcome. It only proves that a stage girl will go to extreme measures to achieve every dream she has imagined. I understand."
"In the end, it is solely up to the stage girl to determine the type of performance she will put on. You blame me, Tendou Maya, but it is out of my control. I merely gave you and your cohorts a chance to prove your brilliance upon the stage. If you want to place any blame upon someone for the losses we have witnessed this evening, then blame yourselves."
In the background of the confrontation between Maya and the giraffe, Nana had gathered what sanity she had left in her being and helped Hikari tend to Karen's wounds. Crimson soaked tatters torn from their Revue uniforms they had used in an attempt to sponge away some of the brunette's blood littered the area around them.
Hikari's hands were completely stained red, but that did not stop her in the continuation of applying pressure to Karen's side.
But no matter how hard she had been trying to get the wound to properly clot, it had yet to do so. Karen was losing so much blood. The dark-haired stage girl knew exactly what would happen if her friend since childhood continued to bleed out, but she fought against the notion desperately in her mind.
She did not have to fight for much longer. For as Nana gently sponged away the little spatter of blood on Karen's forehead, the banana loving stage girl noticed the chest of the body she was helping tend to was no longer rising or falling. And in a small, melancholy tone, she announced.
"She's dead."
And despite how small Nana's voice had been, it echoed much louder in the minds of the remaining stage girls.
Maya's rage intensified at the news, and Claudine had to answer back by putting more strength into keeping the tall brunette from totally flying off the handle.
That same strength was beginning to fade, however, as Claudine felt herself growing more and more tired as time progressed. And the body of Maya, herself, was starting to give in to blood loss and fatigue. The way the top star was leaning into the blonde made it very evident.
Nana was already blaming herself for Karen's death, but nothing could compare to the extreme guilt she felt for being the one to slay her own lover. Junna did not even have any idea as to what was coming, and the same could be said for Nana, herself. She never meant for any of this to go this far, but it did.
Her own wounds and gashes twinged one after the other, and the pool of blood she had been kneeling in was getting bigger and bigger as the time passed on. Soon, her own body would give in to major blood loss and fatigue. It was just a matter of time before she joined the others in the afterlife.
Death was more appealing than the grief and extreme guilt she was feeling at that moment, but Nana was trying her damndest to stay alive for as long as she could. If she could be the last one to survive after this Revue was over, she could reset the timeline once more. Everyone would be alive and happy again, but there was always a possibility that they would end up trying to kill each other all over again.
But if death were to come for Nana before the other remaining stage girls, she would welcome it with open arms. Tired, weary, and conflicted. She just wanted it to end.
Meanwhile, Hikari had not even moved an inch from Karen's side. Had not even moved to look away from her face or let go of her hand, which was cold as stone. But once her brain processed what had just happened, the dark-haired girl said a silent prayer as she clasped Karen's hands together at her sternum.
And if one were to watch closely, one would have seen the sheen of tears fall from Hikari's face onto the floor of the stage.
"The Revue will continue!" The giraffe's voice boomed louder. "The four remaining stage girls will resume the battle to see who shall become the top star! Take up your weapons!"
That was when Hikari finally snapped. Moving away from the deceased Karen's side, she hurriedly picked up the dagger she had dropped earlier, flipped it in the air to catch it by the handle, and sprinted in the direction of where Maya and Claudine stood.
And by the time Claudine looked up from Maya's shoulder to see Hikari sprinting toward them, she knew it was too late to warn the tall brunette to turn around and defend herself. The blonde was also too worn out and exhausted to take up arms against the dark-haired girl as well. This was the end. It was over, wasn't it?
But instead of stabbing either of the two stage girls, Hikari had actually bolted past them. Taken by surprise, both Claudine and Maya looked on as Hikari all but launched her dagger in the direction of the giraffe.
The weapon flipped as it cut through the air, sailing toward its intended target. Like something straight out of one of those assassin movies.
The giraffe had seen it coming, but he could not react in time as it plunged into his side. It had not been lethal enough to kill, but it did force a heavy grunt out of him before he fell over in pain.
Hikari did not get to see any of it. For as soon as she had released the dagger, the dark-haired girl had fallen to her knees and then onto her front. Whether she had passed out from blood loss or had given in to death, no one really knew.
Claudine and Maya had been holding each other up during the whole ordeal, but when Claudine felt Maya lean her entire body weight against her, she gave in to it, and they fell back together onto the stage floor.
Taking labored breaths, the two of them struggled to turn over to face each other, especially Maya, who grunted in pain at the pressure her position was exerting on her shoulder wound.
"Ma Claudine, that eye of yours looks terrible." Maya grinned, despite the pain she was feeling and knowing what fate awaited them.
The cut under the blonde's eye had festered to the point where the bottom lid had partially swollen it shut, but Maya felt it did not take away any of the beauty from those eyes.
Claudine smiled. "I will have you know your shoulder is not exactly a looker, either, ma Maya," But then her smile slowly fell away from her face. "I'm sorry, you know."
There was a pause before Maya slowly shook her head. "There is nothing for you to be sorry for. We were tricked. Made fools of. Deceived by that odious animal. It cannot be undone. As much as it pains me to say it. There is nothing we can do."
And out of disgust for that said odious animal, Maya tore the button from her cloak and hurled it across the stage, The object clattered around before it finally rolled to a stop.
"Je sais," The blonde sniffled. "I'm just sorry that this is how everything has to end. How we have to end. There was so much potential in all of us, and it just breaks my heart to know that everything ends here. J'ai le cœur brisé, ma Maya."
At the sight of her lover's tears, Maya scooted herself closer, face contorted in pain as her shoulder twinged. Yet that pain did not stop her from comforting Claudine as she held her and stroked her hair while she cried.
"Everything in this life, in this flesh, has a beginning and an ending," Maya spoke quietly. "Everything. The trivial things we do not think about have a beginning and an ending. But there is one thing, in this life, that will never end. For it will go on and on in this world and even in death. Tu sais ce que c'est, ma Claudine?"
The blonde gave no answer as she continued to cling to the tall brunette.
"It is love," Maya continued stroking Claudine's blonde locks. "The flesh may wither away and pass on, but love goes even further and will never stop. And it is not just one kind. Platonic love, romantic love, family love. All of it will go on and on forever. Even in the afterlife. That is how powerful that one single emotion is. All of you have shown that to me, and to that I say thank you."
Claudine's grip on Maya tightened. "I will find you in the next life, ma Maya. Je te le promets. And once that happens, we will find the others."
The tall brunette smiled. "Until then, I will be waiting, ma Claudine. Patientiellement."
And as Claudine's breathing got slower and slower, she gently moved from Maya's embrace and reached to her own button pinning her cloak, tearing it away and slowly moving to place it in Maya's bloody hand, keeping her own hand there as well.
Akin to how the blonde had given her heart to the tall brunette ages ago. Such a bittersweet gesture to remind them of their beginning in their final minutes of life.
Closure to the story of Saijou Claudine and Tendou Maya in this life. It would be passed down as a legend to future girls at Seisho Academy who would take up arms on this godforsaken underground stage.
And no other story would ever dare to match up with it.
However, for the final remaining stage girl, everything went dark for a moment until she found herself standing in the spotlight opposite the giraffe in his own spotlight, who looked as if he had not taken a dagger to the side mere moments ago.
The same could be said for her as well. All of her cuts and gashes were practically non-existent and her clothes were free of blood stains.
"Daiba Nana, you are the last stage girl standing in this Revue! Tell me your most desired wish, and I shall grant it!"
A/N: I apologize for any emotional wounds I may have caused. This hurt me, too, I promise.
I am no longer Number54. I have rebranded this and all of my social accounts as BlueRangerPower, bluerangerpower, or bluerangerpwr. Just thought it was time for a change.
If you have any questions about this story or anything else, you are welcome to leave a comment on this story or hit me up on any of my social media if you follow me on any of them. I will answer them.
Love y'all! Until next time!
- BRP