Disclaimer: I don't own Kaleido Star. I just watch it obsessively.
Layla took a sip of tea. "I miss performing with you, Sora."
"Me too. Kaleido Stage hasn't been the same without you," said Sora.
"I watched your show by the way. Leon disappeared after the first scene. What happened? You were very good by the way, performing nonstop like that," said Layla quietly.
"Leon… He doesn't believe in making the audience happy and I guess I made him mad. I was taking the performance too lightly, but he says the audience is only there to see him. He thinks that he's not there to make them happy only to show off his skill," said Sora.
"He's too proud. Like Yuri, he's let stardom go to his head," said Layla quietly.
"I don't know what to do," said Sora near tears.
"We might have to do some things we might not like, but we need to keep him. He's helping Kaleido Stage stay in business," said Layla.
"How's your shoulder doing?" asked Sora.
"Much better. I don't know if it will ever be the same, but it was worth it, feeling like that," said Layla in wonder.
"But, I miss performing with you. Was it really worth it?" asked Sora.
"You're right, I do miss performing with you Sora. That's partially why I asked you to come here today," said Layla.
"What?"
"I want you to help me train my shoulder back to performing level," explained Layla.
"Layla-san, Kate said that—"
"It doesn't matter what Kate said. After all, I choose my own fate. I'll choose when I do my last performance, and hopefully… I hope that my last performance will be with you sometime far away from now. I miss the thrill, the feeling of it all."
"Layla-san…"
"Sora, please do this for me," said Layla setting her tea down.
"What if you hurt yourself more? What if you can never use your shoulder again?" asked Sora worriedly.
"I don't care. I just miss performing," said Layla. She wiped a tear from her eyes.
"Okay, of course I will, but what will Kate say?" asked Sora.
"I'm not going to Kate anymore. She said it was at a normal functioning level in a surprising amount of time, so I decided I'm well enough to start training it," explained Layla. "You'll help me then?"
Sora nodded.
"That's good, lets get started them. Help me unwrap it," said Layla smiling. She pulled off her shirt.
Sora blushed as she unwrapped. Layla had gained weight from not performing and her breasts were a lot larger. She tried to ignore it as she unwrapped, but still admired Layla's figure. She blushed even more at the thought.
Layla put her shirt back on. "When I get to the point I can't lift it I'll need your help." She picked up a weight, brought it behind her head, and touched it to her back. She lifted it a dozen times before she couldn't lift anymore.
"Shoot, it's harder than I thought it'd be," said Layla wincing as Sora took the weight.
"Here, left me stretch your muscles out," said Sora. Layla nodded and lay down. Sora tugged softly on the shoulder then massaged it gently.
"Thank you Sora. I promise we'll perform together again," said Layla smiling. "You'll always be my partner."
"Yeah, I like working with you better than Leon. He makes me angry," said Sora.
Layla sighed.
"What's wrong?"
"Nothing. How's Fool doing?" asked Layla.
"He's still trying to figure out how to sneak peeks at you. That's why I made you change out of your negligee that one day. Remember? Fool was practically drooling."
"That makes me happy. I thought you were uncomfortable with how I looked," said Layla laughing.
"No, that could never happen. You're so elegant," said Sora smiling sincerely.
"Thank you. You better go practice. I don't want my dream getting lazy on me," said Layla with a smile.
"Okay, I'll see you tomorrow."