The final battle against the Korosu, and for Claudine's life...

Disclaimer: I do not own Shoujo Kageki Revue Starlight.

Chapter 11. War

'Chaos' cannot begin to describe it.

Perhaps 'chaos' had been some of those first few nights the first time around, when Seishou's girls had been summoned against their will and made to fight without fully understanding what was going on.

Nine tired, frightened, desperate girls fighting through exhausting hours of a school night, with lessons in the morning and a major performance on the horizon, facing off against the faceless chorus that could destroy the plays at the very core of the theatre was 'chaos.'

But this-

This is war.

No one has time to be tired or frightened or exhausted here.

Here, it is only cold, calculated fury, untamed rage, and unstoppable conviction. This sheer, absolute, unbridled passion and hatred could only ever be produced by those fighting for the sake of a dear friend.

The second Maya makes contact with the first Korosu, all hell breaks loose. All around her, her friends are fighting in any way they can. The onslaught of Korosu is heavy, but the girls don't give an inch.

The sounds of battle erupt all across the stage and throughout the theatre - the clashing of metal, the hisses of the monsters, the shouts of the girls. Not only do they fight, but they also keep an eye out for each other, protecting their blind sides and calling out warnings.

And there are no school boundaries here, no playful rivalries or sisterly spats or childhood bitterness. They all work together, protecting each other with their lives.

Each of them fights with all her might, no matter which girl she finds beside herself. Had it been any one of them at stake, they would have fought equally as hard.

But as things are now, it is Claudine they are fighting for.

Which means Maya fights just a little bit harder than the rest could be capable of.

Once more, she allows herself to be possessed - not by the Korosu, but by her own deep-rooted rage toward them. But she still maintains her control to a necessary degree. She stays aware of herself and her surroundings, using brute force to slay the Korosu, and gentle, supportive touches to help a fallen comrade when she stumbles.

Her friends are all around her, constantly darting in and switching out to allow someone else a second to breathe. Nana, Tsukasa, Shiori. Tomoe, Mei Fan, Lalafin. Akira, Hikari, Shizuha… Everywhere Maya glances, she spots no fewer than three girls working together to watch each other's backs. At the moment, Maya finds herself flanked by Futaba and Fumi, and she repays them the same favor.

All across the stage, the girls fight. And had they brought any fewer than their current numbers, they surely would have been overwhelmed by now.

The slew of Korosu just keep coming, an outpouring of hissing, writhing demons. And judging by the fact that so many of them are being unleashed now has something clicking in the back of Maya's mind as she cuts down two more of them.

As her friends had mentioned before, they still should have had a few more days before the timelines would converge, and that should have been when the Korosu were at their strongest, most vehement numbers.

So for it to be happening now - tonight - tells Maya one thing.

That this is their last chance. That tonight will decide whether Claudine lives or dies.

They won't get a tomorrow. This is it.

With this sickening knowledge now lodged deep within her heart, Maya charges ahead into the fray, jumping, spinning, and slicing every which way she can.

Her friends continue to do battle all around her. Aruru and Rui have teamed up to defend Ichie who had stumbled, Michiru, Yuyuko, and Misora are switching out to take turns fighting for Shizuha, Shiori, and Junna, Karen dives in to shield a blow that would have otherwise struck Tamao, and Yachiyo grabs Mahiru's hand to prevent her from stumbling off the edge of the stage.

When Maya next whirls around, she finds herself faced with a Korosu that had leapt high at her. When she lifts her sword to block, she staggers.

But then, she feels the support of someone else, and finds herself back-to-back with Akira.

"Hmph. Don't get distracted, Tendo."

Maya readies her stance and glares hatred at the beasts in front of her.

"Of course not."

She remembers to breathe, remembers that she isn't in this alone, remembers that she can trust her friends with her back.

And so the fierce battle continues.

Weapons are thrust forward and slice through Korosu after Korosu, and yet the demons keep coming without any end in sight. With this many, it isn't much longer before the first of the Stage Girls falls.

"Shiori!"

It's Fumi's worried shout that catches Maya's attention, and she glances sideways to see the Edel's youngest member on her knees. Maya is too far away to help defend her, but Akira and Yachiyo appear in a flash, and Kaoruko who is nearby falls back to join them.

Maya grits her teeth. They can't keep going like this. They'll all start to fall eventually, one by one, and the Korosu will just keep coming.

"Where do they even come from anyway?"

Suddenly, Futaba's words from earlier that night ring in her ears, followed by Hikari's response.

"Perhaps if there is a source we can eliminate…"

With how immediately the fighting had begun, no one else had even gotten a second to think and recall this proposition. But as Maya recalls it now, she turns her eyes to the red curtains. Trusting that the others can handle themselves in her absence, she takes off running.

A few of the others notice and call out to her, but Maya doesn't stop. She raises her rapier high, and with a loud shout plunges it into the velvet curtains.

She runs with it, tearing it all the way across its length until she reaches the far side. All the heavy fabric flutters down into a red heap behind her, creating a long, layered stream of scarlet. The Korosu continue rushing out from what is beyond.

And now, Maya turns back to witness what she has revealed - the source.

A single, massive shadow towers in the darkness, rooted to the stage, no fewer than fifteen feet high. The other, smaller minions are being produced from the hazy black mist around it, teeming to life in seconds before surging into battle.

For a split second, the Stage Girls freeze as they glimpse it. But they're given no time to so much as gasp before they're thrown back into the endless battle.

No. It isn't endless anymore. Now there is an end in sight.

"The King of Korosu."

The giraffe's deep voice echoes out over the din.

"You have done well to reveal it, Tendo Maya-san. Should you be able to destroy it, the Korosu shall vanish. Perhaps not entirely and not forever, but they shall be reduced to the trivial numbers you all have faced in your ReLives in the past. Now, how will you approach this final boss? I am curious."

The ringing that has been throbbing at the base of Maya's skull all this time finally tapers off. This is it. This is their answer.

Without wasting another precious second, she rushes toward the giant black Korosu, killing any of the smaller ones that stand in her way. As she nears, she senses an overwhelming dark aura, like a thick mist clinging to her skin. One that makes her jump back and withdraw for a second as she recalls the sensation of being possessed, of how those invisible strings had pulled her body and forced her to move against her will.

Panting and wild, she glares death up at the King. It turns its head and gives a shrill shriek that shakes the entire stage. The girls fighting are knocked off balance or made to stagger and cover their ears. Maya covers hers too on instinct, but her fury takes charge shortly afterward and she yells right back at the beast.

"This was all your doing!"

With a vengeful shout, she raises her rapier and brings it down as hard as she can against the sturdy black armor.

But unlike the smaller minions, the King of course does not simply disintegrate. She barely puts a dent into it, and only a small puff of black smoke rises up from the wound. The King isn't mobile, but it's infinitely sturdier.

Teeth grit, Maya lifts her arms for another swing, but by then more of the smaller Korosu have appeared. She clicks her tongue and snarls in annoyance, forced to deal with them first. Behind her, her friends are gradually trying to make their way through the throngs of Korosu to reach her.

"Screw the small fry!" Futaba shouts. "We gotta go for the boss!"

"Everyone!" Nana calls out. "We've got to help Maya-chan!"

"If we beat the King, we beat them all, right?" Karen yells.

So step by step, Korosu by Korosu, they slay their enemies, still keeping each other in their line of sight and defending their friends' blind spots. Maya is nearly overwhelmed by the surge of Korosu that materialize from the King.

But just when she feels like she won't be able to swing her sword in time to protect herself, someone else leaps in to protect her instead. First it's Nana who reaches her to deflect a blow, then Kaoruko, then Tsukasa, Yachiyo, Rui…

And before she knows it, all twenty three stage girls have appeared before the King, slicing and slashing and firing whatever weapons they have at it. Arrows, spears, swords, bullets, blades. Whenever they get a second to spare from killing the smaller ones, they alternate and aim a blow at the King.

They shout.

They scream.

They cry.

Fighting as hard as they can - harder than they've ever fought before.

Every color of their individual spotlights merges together in an array of rainbows and light against the darkness.

They pour everything they've got into their attacks.

Every shred of hatred toward the Korosu.

Every ounce of desperation to save their dying friend.

Every fiber of love they harbor for Claudine.

They fight until their muscles ache and scream in protest, until their arms go numb. A handful of them drop to their knees, but even then they don't stop fighting.

The war rages on. And with every blow they land on the King, another gash opens up, and more shadowy mist bleeds out.

But eventually, the fighting takes its toll on the Stage Girls. It seems for every blow they land, they suffer one themselves.

Maya begins hearing their yelps and whimpers of pain, watches her friends stagger, clutching their sides or arms. Droplets of blood have smeared across the stage and most of the girls' clothes.

Maya herself is also aware of a great deal of pain throbbing through her body, but she keeps moving in an effort to ignore it. If she slows down for a second, the pain might register in her brain, so she keeps twisting and leaping and lunging to keep herself numb to it.

The King of Korosu roars again, and the girls shriek. The second of relapse allows the smaller monsters to land a few hits on some of them.

But even as they fall, the still keep pushing themselves back up. Again and again.

They strike the King as hard as they can, and as many times as they can.

And though it is a painful and arduous process, Maya can eventually see that it is weakening. The number of smaller Korosu being produced is also beginning to dwindle.

After cleaving through a few more of them and striking the King once again, Maya calls out encouragement to her friends.

"Don't stop! This is working!"

And her friends all respond in the affirmative.

"Right!"

"He's getting weaker!"

"W-We can do this!"

"For Kuro-chan!"

More and more.

Over and over.

Again and again.

They slaughter the Korosu, leaving sweat and tears and more blood in their wake. If they all bleed just a little, perhaps it would suffice and be equal to the amount of blood shed on the stage from Claudine's body.

The King shrieks again, but this time the girls don't flinch. The remaining smaller Korosu are the ones that shudder now.

And after a few more moments of intense battling, the smaller monsters vanish even before they are stuck by the girls' weapons.

The girls are granted their first moment of repose in what must have been hours. All of them lean on their weapons and each other, catching their breath and helping one another to their feet, wiping the tears and sweat from their faces.

In the unexpected seconds of calm, Maya breathes hard and shakes the dripping sweat from her forehead before casting her gaze around to the rest of them.

Hikari is bleeding from her upper arm, and Karen is supporting her while Mahiru ties the sleeves of Hikari's blue jacket around the wound to put pressure on it. Kaoruko has slumped to her knees, and Futaba is hunched beside her, keeping a wary eye on the King in case it makes a move while they're down. Junna is staggering as she tries to retrieve some of her arrows to be reused, and Nana has to pick her back up several times when she falls.

The girls from the other schools are in similar shape. Tamao and Ichie are tending to Rui and Yuyuko, Aruru and Tsukasa are trying to patch up a gash on Shizuha's side, Misora has to support almost all of Lalafin's weight to keep her standing, Michiru and Mei Fan are trying to stop Yachiyo from losing more blood from a wound on her shoulder, and though Akira herself is bleeding quite a bit, she is doing her best to keep Shiori on her feet as Fumi helps her younger sister recover as best she can.

The stage is splattered with droplets and small puddles of blood, smeared with sweat and tears. Now that Maya has stopped moving for a second, she can feel something warm pooling at her hip and dripping down her leg as well.

They've all made sacrifices. They've all fought their hardest.

And they've come this far. Now isn't the time to stop.

"Now…" Maya growls, lifting her face and her sword to the King of Korosu. "Now… we finish this."

For Claudine.

She knows the others can't move just yet. So Maya goes first, certain the rest will follow her when they can.

The King had withdrawn the last of its minions to conserve energy for itself, so now with nothing barring her way, Maya lands several clean, deep slashes into its form before jumping back. She aims her sword in front of herself and gives a hard running start, charging headlong with a shout before savagely plunging her blade into it. The Korosu screeches again, but Maya doesn't stop. She twists her rapier roughly before wrenching it out and continuing her attack.

And one by one as they catch their breath, her friends join in.

They cut away at the now-defenseless King. With every blow they come closer and closer to triumph.

But as their energy drains, time drags on, and the King remains. Tears begin to cloud their eyes all over again, and desperate screams echo out across the stage.

"Damn it!"

"You wretched thing! Just die already!"

"Everyone is hurt because of you!"

"We won't let you… take anything else from us!"

"Give Kuro-chan back!"

"If Saijou-san were here with us right now, you'd be dead already!"

The King screeches again, only this time it's more like a groan. Everyone strikes, Maya included. They tear into the black mass, and more and more of the giant Korosu evaporates into dark mist, until it has shrunk down to the size of a normal one.

Maya bares her teeth. This is it. It's over-

But before anyone can land the final blow, the Korosu shudders and screeches one more time.

And it is much louder and more shrill than before.

It is absolutely deafening.

Every last Stage Girl drops to her knees in agony, unable to move so much as an inch as they clutch their heads in their hands, dropping their weapons in front of them. The whole theatre shakes, and the air itself seems to tremble.

Past the earthquake in her skull, Maya manages to open one eye. And her heart plummets.

A long, deep crack snakes through the blade of her rapier.

And suddenly, all at once, every single weapon of every single Stage Girl shatters.

All of them.

Each blade and arrow and spear - even down to the hilts and handles. They all shatter into millions of tiny, useless pieces.

"NO-!"

Maya's scream bursts out as the screeching finally stops. She whips her head around, searching for anything that she might be able to wield, anything she might be able to use for the finishing blow. But there is nothing.

No, no-!

This can't be happening. Not now. Not when they've come so far. Not when they've come this far.

Just one more blow. One more blow will kill the final Korosu and put an end to all of this.

The girls cry out in dismay all around her, voicing their shared agony.

"No-!"

"B-But how?"

"We can't! We can't lose now!"

"There has to be something-"

"Hey! It's getting away-"

And surely enough, the final Korosu has begun to slink away, scrambling for the shadows.

"Bastard!" Futaba yells. "Get back here and fight!" She tries to get up and follow it, but she doesn't even make it halfway up before she collapses into Kaoruko's arms.

"Futaba-han!"

"N-No…" Mahiru buries her face in her hands, curling in over herself as sobs begin wracking her body. "W-We can't… we can't lose here…"

"What…" Karen swallows. "What will happen… to Kuro-chan…?"

Hikari shakes her head, and breaks down crying, too.

"Damn it…" Junna spits out a curse past her tears. She grasps Nana's sleeve with shaking fingers. "Nana… c-can't you-?"

Nana seems to comprehend her meaning. She looks up, back toward Elle and the giraffe. Elle has brought both hands to her mouth, her eyes wide in silent dismay. And for once, even the giraffe shows a hint of emotion. He has a sad droop in his eyelids, and his only response is the flick of an ear.

"No…" Nana chokes against the back of her hand. "I… I can't rewind time anymore… This really was… our only chance to save her… to save Kuro-chan…"

Maya wishes she could block out those words. She'd known that truth from the very beginning, and yet hearing someone else speak it makes it a reality. All around her, her friends start to cry.

"No…"

"Kuro-chan…"

"Saijou-san…"

"Oh, please… please don't…"

"We can't… we can't let her die…"

Maya hears every plea, every sob, every beseeching prayer that will go unanswered.

After all of this… They've truly failed after all.

Perhaps this is fate.

Perhaps this is how things are meant to be.

Perhaps Saijou Claudine is not meant to live past a certain point in any timeline, in any version of the universe.

Perhaps there simply is no saving her.

She blinks, and Maya watches the tears begin to drip down into her lap, where blood is still seeping through her skirt.

She's losing her. She's going to lose her.

Is that how things are meant to be? She will lose Claudine no matter what she may try to do?

Because she had committed the sin of killing Claudine with her own two hands…

Does she truly even deserve to wish for a world where Claudine can stand by her side…?

What if she had already lost that right? The right to want Claudine in her life? What if this is her punishment? To make Claudine pay the ultimate price for the crimes Maya herself hadn't been strong enough to prevent herself from committing?

"Claudine…"

Her name spills from Maya's lips, and memories flash through her head.

All those videos she'd watched as a child of the adorable blonde girl promoting medicinal ointment. All the pageants and recitals she'd watched her in from afar.

And then, their first proper meeting at Seishou, how Claudine had strode through the crowds of girls who were all too intimidated by Maya to even glance at her, and had unabashedly offered out her hand and asked Maya to stretch with her.

How she'd found Maya sitting alone at her lunch table, and joined her without a second thought.

How she'd danced with her, and stunned every last one of their classmates and instructors.

How she'd groan and huff and challenge Maya time and again, how she'd mutter things in French when she was pouting, or laugh like a child when she was delighted.

How she'd welcomed each of the girls in their friend group, and helped Maya awkwardly introduce herself and learn how to start opening up.

How they'd landed the roles of Claire and Flora together, and stolen the hearts of every member of the audience.

How they'd sang together, watched movies together, eaten together.

The revues they'd fought against each other, and alongside one another.

Her one and only partner.

Her most fitting rival.

Her closest, and dearest friend.

"Claudine…"

Maya doesn't want a world without her. She refuses to accept something so tragic, like some scripted play. Like Karen had done before her, Maya wants to change that ending. Some way. Somehow.

Please…

"Claudine…"

She blinks, and two more tears fall. But as they land, something small and bright glints on the edge of the droplets.

Slowly, Maya lifts her head.

Though it feels as though she's been lost within the confines of her own mind for an eternity, blinking now confirms only seconds have passed in reality. Her friends are still on their knees and weeping, and that cursed monster is still scrambling away back into the darkness.

But she follows her eyes to the glint she'd seen. It's beneath the heavy velvet curtains she'd cut down earlier, a black stone shining as it peeks out from the edge.

Maya can't feel her legs, but somehow she makes them work anyway. She pushes herself to her feet, heaving a desperate gasp as she feels talons of pain scrape across her chest and down her back, and the blood from her hip oozes faster down her leg.

But she rushes to that tiny sparkle beneath the shredded curtains - that diamond in the rough. She pulls the curtains aside-

And an orange spotlight suddenly bursts to life.

The only color that has been missing all this time.

It shines down on what Maya reveals now.

A sturdy, familiar sword.

Her sword.

"Of course…"

Slowly, Maya crouches down and closes her fingers around the hilt. Claudine's gem sparkles in her palm.

Perhaps she isn't here with them right now in a physical sense.

But she is still present on this stage. She always has been, and she always will be. Claudine has been fighting this battle with them all along, from within her own prison.

A prison Maya had put her in.

And so, it is only right that she be the one to break her free of it.

Claudine - her one and only partner, the only person who could stand by Maya's side.

Tonight, Maya will not fight in her place. Rather - just like always - she will fight beside her.

She stands, twirling Claudine's sword in her hand with ease, letting the blade catch in the orange light. She locks her eyes onto her target - onto the pathetic little monster that is still trying to save itself.

Maya follows it with a heavy stride - the stride of a girl who has nearly lost everything, but had been blessed with one final chance.

She isn't angry anymore. She isn't even tired. She's just thankful that this can all finally come to an end.

She reaches the withering King of Korosu, and her friends all watch, clasping their hands together and sobbing out pleas.

Maya lifts Claudine's sword without a word.

And in one clean cut, she turns the King to dust.

And then, the stage is swallowed by darkness.

Every light goes out as the stage begins to rumble, rattling with a low, churning, humming sound. Whatever sounds the girls may have made are lost to that whirring as the stage spirals into motion.

Maya loses her senses one by one. First her sight, then the smell and the taste of blood lingering in her throat, then her hearing, and finally the feeling of Claudine's sword in her hand.

The stage and the world shift as the flow of time is disrupted.

When the thundering gears finally creak to a stop, the new reality settles into the darkness, and waits quietly to be revealed.

. . .

. .

.

. .

. . .

When she comes to, the world is different from the one she'd last seen. And yet, it's also very familiar.

She can't open her eyes right away - she can't seem to remember how to - but she is aware of herself.

She still retains all of her memories, everything from that horrifying night when Claudine's blood had spilled out all around her, to the day she'd held her hand so tenderly in that hospital bed, to the evening she'd fought like hell with all of her friends.

She remembers the throbbing, aching pain throughout her body, the blood that had splattered the stage, the moans and sobs of her comrades. Those things had been the most recent in her memory, as if she'd only just experienced them a few moments earlier.

But now…

Now, there is no pain in her body - or perhaps there is just a bit, but it's nothing compared to what it had been. In fact, it's a familiar level of stiffness and ache, one she remembers well.

And suddenly, she realizes exactly which night it is.

And even though she knows she had traveled back weeks into the past with her friends, now that she is back in the present, it feels as though she'd never left.

This is the present. The night it had happened.

The last night she had advanced to before they'd been sent back.

The night she'd killed Claudine.

A fearful pulse batters her head until Maya forces her eyes open, gasping. She is lying on the dark stage, but as soon as her eyes fly open, her white spotlight rains down on her. With a strangled grunt of effort, she pushes herself up onto her hands and knees and looks around.

She glimpses her seven friends all lying unconscious around her. The girls of the other schools are not present - as they hadn't been originally on this night, either.

Maya inspects the others as best she can in the darkness, but she doesn't see any blood or notable injuries. It's as though the wounds she'd watched them suffer with her own eyes just what felt like minutes ago had never happened at all.

One by one, they begin to stir, and their spotlights come to life. Yellow and teal, pink and purple, red green and blue…

Their weapons are all intact beside them, as if they'd never been broken at all.

When Maya turns her face, she glimpses Elle standing on the far side of the stage, smiling warmly. The giraffe is behind her, and he steps his front legs apart before bowing his neck and head low.

And then, the sound of one, final spotlight clicking.

Maya turns to the source of the orange glow. Her breath catches in the throat, and a single whimper escapes her.

Lying there - in the same revue costume with a sword at her hip, with her eyes closed and her hair curling out around her - is Claudine.

Maya runs to her, moving so much more quickly than her body can handle, so she ends up falling halfway there. But she gets up again until she is close enough, and collapses to her knees beside her. Hands shaking, heart pounding, she gathers Claudine into her arms.

She doesn't see or smell any blood, nor does she feel anything seeping into her lap. Claudine's head rolls limply to one side, and Maya gently reaches out to cradle her cheek, tilting her face toward her.

"Claudine…?"

Her voice is so small and scared it barely makes any sound at all. A tiny droplet of noise in the vast ocean of the silent theater.

Claudine is very, very still in her arms. Just as still as she'd been back in that hospital. Her pallor is horribly pale, and her weight feels much lighter than Maya knows it should.

"Claudine…?"

Gingerly, Maya leans over her and rests her head against Claudine's chest. She closes her eyes and concentrates, praying, hoping.

She can hear the murmurs and sobs of their friends, who are also sending out imploring whispers.

But beneath it all, Maya detects the small, faint, but unmistakable flutter of a pulse. It's far too quiet to be her own, as Maya's heart is slamming against her ribs hard enough to make them ache.

But she can't tell if Claudine's heartbeat is returning, or fading.

Maya starts to hiccup, shifting her head a few inches lower on Claudine's chest, and then a few inches higher, trying to quiet herself as much as possible so she can listen.

For a long, agonizing moment, she listens to that pulse, fearing it might taper off into silence.

Please… I can't lose her again…

And then, another sound.

It's hitched and clumsy, but she feels a breath jolt in Claudine's collar. An inhale, and an exhale.

And they're followed by more, and more, until Claudine is breathing on her own, if not a little meekly.

But her heartbeat begins filling Maya's head more strongly, more loudly now. Maya sobs into the side of her neck as the weight of her relief piles up on her.

Relief isn't enough to describe it. Relief is just a fraction of what this feeling is. This powerful, profound, poignant emotion of finally getting back what you've been missing for so long, what you have been fighting so hard for, what you have been dying without. Her soul has finally healed.

Maya weeps long and hard, and no doubt her friends are as well.

When she finally musters up the strength to sit herself up again, she gazes fondly through the tears down at her partner's sleeping face.

"Claudine… Ma Claudine…"

Maya dips her head down and presses a soft kiss to her forehead, then hugs Claudine as close to herself as possible. Maya locks both arms around her with a gentle firmness that vows never to let go again.

She can feel Claudine's heart beating in time with hers now. She can feel her breathing, feel her warmth. And then another small gasp, accompanied by a tiny fragment of her voice.

"Mn…"

The sound of a princess finally awakening from a long and troubled slumber.

Maya eases back, tears streaming down her cheeks and chin and neck as she cradles Claudine in her arms. Her brow furrows with effort, and Maya gently strokes her fingers across Claudine's temple, then leans down to plant a light kiss on the back of each of her eyelids.

"S'il vous plaît," she murmurs. "Répondez moi plus tard…"

Please… come back to me…

One last plea. One last wish.

And her prayers are finally answered.

Claudine blinks beneath the blaze of the bright light, flinching slightly at the sting filling in behind her eyes. Tears are already falling before she can even make sense of anything.

And Maya feels her broken heart finally mending as she finds herself gazing lovingly down into two reflective, shimmering pools of rose quartz.

Maya caresses her cheek, tenderly thumbing the stray strands of hair from her eyes, and brushing her fingertips across her skin. Claudine breathes, and a tiny, tiny smile curves up at the corner of her lips.

"Tendo… Maya…"

Maya pulls Claudine up to her chest, and kisses her with all her heart.

The lights go out, and the curtain closes.

A/N: I wish I could've written more for the battle with the other schools' girls, but I wanted to focus on Maya and her emotions more than anything else. I wanted to show that Claudine was still fighting with them, as well as her own battle back at the hospital, that she wasn't entirely helpless.

And now... she's back? Is it real...?

Please review!