Just when things were starting to look up for poor Mahiru, tragedy strikes and takes Claudine down with it!
Disclaimer: I do not own Shoujo Kageki Revue Starlight.
Chapter 11. Promise
Mahiru is so beside herself with tears for the remainder of the evening, she's hardly aware of most of the other things happening around her. Her friends walk with her all the way back to Starlight Hall and coax her to shower, change, and eat a little, all while doing their best to console her.
It's late at night when Ms. Sakuragi arrives at the dorms from the hospital and finds the seven of them still awake and sitting quietly together. The moment she arrives, the girls look up hopefully.
"Sensei-"
"How is she?"
Ms. Sakuragi offers a pacifying smile.
"Saijou's going to be just fine. Her right arm is fractured, and a few of her ribs are bruised and fractured too, but nothing was broken or torn."
The whole room sighs with relief.
"Oh, thank goodness…"
"Ahh, that's good to hear."
Mahiru herself is too relieved to speak and still tearing up, so she just clings onto Karen's arm and hides her face in her roommate's shoulder.
Thank goodness she's okay…
As everyone takes a moment to soak in the good news, Ms. Sakuragi steps forward to address Mahiru.
"Tsuyuzaki. I never got to commend you for doing such a good job helping her. You thought quickly and got her out, you didn't leave her side or move her more than necessary, and you managed to call out loud enough to grab someone else's attention to get help. Well done."
Mahiru lifts her face from Karen's shoulder and peeks up at her teacher.
"B-But… i-it's my fault she got hurt… I got scared when the table snapped and I'm the one who pushed the shelf-"
"That's a reaction anyone would have," her teacher reasons. "It's the school's fault for not keeping track of the state and condition of the things in that room. It wasn't safe to send students in when so much equipment was outdated and broken. I'm sorry you had to go through all of this."
"I'm just glad Kuro-chan is okay…" Mahiru sighs. Karen smiles and turns to hug her, and Mahiru slumps against her.
"Sensei?" Nana asks. "Will Kuro-chan recover in time for the play?"
"They're only keeping her for the weekend," Ms. Sakuragi answers. "After that she'll need to take it easy for a while. I think she should be fine to perform in the play in two weeks, but ultimately that's her's and the nurse's decision."
Everyone nods their agreement.
"May we visit her?" Maya wonders.
"Starting tomorrow," Ms. Sakuragi replies. "But for tonight all of you girls need to get some rest."
They all answer in the affirmative and begin to stand to head back to their rooms.
As they wish each other goodnight, everyone comes to hug Mahiru or give her a pat on the shoulder, all while offering words of gratitude to her for helping Claudine. She breaks down crying all over again, overwhelmed with emotion.
By the time she and Karen return to their room, Mahiru's tears have finally stopped. Karen sits down on her bed, not exactly her usual chipper self, but she still offers Mahiru a genuine smile.
"Mahiru-chan, you did amazing today. I know you must've been so scared."
Mahiru sniffles and wipes her face as she sits on the edge of her own bed.
"Yeah… I was scared of not knowing what to do… but I was even more scared that Kuro-chan would get hurt even worse if I did nothing." Her mind flashes with the awful memories again, of Claudine pinned so tightly that she could barely breathe. It sends a twinge through her chest and she has to shake herself off.
Karen gets up and crosses the room to her, then folds her arms gently around Mahiru once again.
"You were awesome, Mahiru-chan! Like a hero!"
Mahiru sighs, but still leans into Karen's warmth.
"I just… I want to see her, Karen-chan."
"I bet she wants to see you too, Mahiru-chan. Don't worry! We'll all go straight to visit Kuro-chan tomorrow morning! But for now everyone needs to rest."
Mahiru reaches up to return the hug briefly.
"You're right. Thank you, Karen-chan."
Karen lets her go and returns to her own bed as Mahiru curls up in hers.
The moment she closes her eyes, her mind falls directly back into the horrible memories from earlier, of the whimpers of pain Claudine kept making. She tries to push them aside and instead remember all the better times they shared together.
All the times Claudine had helped her with her routine, her acting, her voice, and her confidence.
All the times Mahiru had watched her sing and act and perform and been astounded by her radiance.
The first time she'd shown Claudine her baton twirling, and Claudine had burst out into enthusiastic applause.
The first time she'd hugged her, how soft and sweet and warm she had been.
All the way back to the very first time Claudine had encountered her outside the dorms, spoken to her, and taken her hand to walk beside her.
Without her, Mahiru wouldn't be where she was right now. She may even have turned around and boarded the bus to go back home that day.
She certainly wouldn't be a person who smiled and laughed every day, or someone who would enter herself in a competition on her own, or someone who could trust herself enough to act efficiently in a crisis.
If not for Claudine, Mahiru wouldn't be half the person she was today, and she's convinced of this.
Everyone has helped me… but Kuro-chan… Kuro-chan is the most special in my heart.
She manages to fall asleep peacefully that night, thinking of only the good memories.
On Saturday morning, Mahiru and the others make a stop at the local flower shoppe to pick up a bouquet before continuing on their way to the hospital.
Once they arrive in the hospital lobby, the staff advise them to visit in smaller groups. Everyone agrees Mahiru should be the one to give Claudine the flowers, since it was her idea to get them, but Mahiru is too nervous to go first.
So Junna and Nana go to start, and the others sit and wait their turn in the lobby. When the pair return, Mahiru is the first one to blurt out.
"H-How is she?"
Nana and Junna both smile.
"She's all right!" Nana assures everyone. "Just very sore."
"So no hugging her, understood, Karen?" Junna says with a slight glare.
Karen whines softly.
"Waaah! Okay…"
Futaba and Kaoruko go next. Then Karen pops up from her seat to get ready for her turn, while Maya stands more slowly.
"Tsuyuzaki-san? Would you like to come with us?"
But Mahiru shakes her head.
"I want to talk to her a bit…"
Maya smiles and dips her head.
"Very well."
Maya and Karen go together, with Maya reminding her once more not to hug Claudine when they get inside.
Mahiru sits and waits, clutching the bouquet to her chest all the while. A few minutes later, Karen and Maya return.
"Okay, Mahiru-chan! You're up!"
"Please take your time," Maya says.
"That's right," Futaba agrees. "We don't mind waitin'."
"Okay…"
Mahiru blushes a little as she gets up and heads for Claudine's room. She pauses at the doorway to muster up some of her courage, then calls out softly.
"Hello…?"
As she peers around the door frame, she can see Claudine sitting up in the bed, leaning back against the elevated section and cushioned by pillows. She's wearing pink hospital robes with her right arm in a sling, and she understandably doesn't seem to be able to move that much. There's a machine set up beside her to monitor her heart rate. But she looks immensely better than the last time Mahiru had seen her crumpled on the floor.
Presently, Claudine turns to welcome her with bright eyes and an even brighter smile.
"Mahiru! Please, come in!"
Mahiru bows her head a little as she scurries into the room. She doesn't know what to say first.
"Kuro-chan- Ah! Th-These are from everyone!" She holds out the flowers as she nears Claudine's bedside. Claudine lights up.
"They're beautiful! Merci, Mahiru."
Mahiru holds out the bouquet to her. Claudine reaches out very slowly with her good arm, and Mahiru realizes it must still hurt her a lot to move her arms too much, so she quickly steps in closer to transfer the flowers to her. Claudine thanks her again and cradles them close, breathing in their scent. But perhaps she breathes a bit too deeply for her sore ribs to handle, because she flinches suddenly and lets out a gasp.
"Ahh-" Her heart rate speeds up just a little, and a bit of pain crosses her expression.
Mahiru tenses up.
"K-Kuro-chan-?" She makes certain the hand she rests on Claudine's shoulder is very light, just enough so Claudine can feel her support. "Sh-Should I call someone?"
Claudine swallows, but shakes her head.
"No… I'm fine."
"Are you sure? Just take it easy and breathe, okay?" Mahiru stays right beside her, rubbing her shoulder gently and placing her other hand over Claudine's on the bouquet. It only takes her a few seconds to regain her breath and for her pulse to calm down again, and Mahiru is filled with a wave of relief.
"Better?"
Claudine smiles at her.
"Oui. Sorry for startling you."
"N-No! I should've known flowers might not be the best s-since your ribs are hurt. Of course it'd hurt you to breathe in and smell the flowers…"
"Mahiru, are you listening to yourself?" Claudine's eyes soften. "Of course you'd bring flowers to your friend in the hospital. I should've been a bit more cautious. But I'm all right now." Claudine slips her hand out from underneath Mahiru's in her lap and places it on top instead. "Don't be so quick to blame yourself, Mahiru. You're fine."
"But…" Mahiru can't stop the sting of tears already rising up behind her eyes. "I… I was the one who knocked the shelf over… it's my fault you got hurt-"
"Ahh, hold on, hold on!" Claudine shakes her head, turning Mahiru's hand over to press their palms together and lace their fingers. "Please don't tell me you've been blaming yourself this whole time. Nothing was your fault, Mahiru."
Mahiru blinks, and a tear falls from each eye.
"B-But-"
"No - denied!" Claudine stops her. "I won't hear another word of it. The equipment was damaged and all you did was react to something breaking unexpectedly, like anyone would. You didn't mean for anything to happen." Claudine gives a light tug on Mahiru's hand, bringing her closer to the bed. Claudine brushes her head against Mahiru's arm. "Mahiru… you saved me. When I was in a panic you calmed me down because you had a plan and you knew exactly what you were going to do to get me out of there. And the whole time… even though it was painful, I knew I was going to be all right. Because you were there, Mahiru."
Claudine lifts her face, and her eyes shine with the purest and deepest truth. It makes Mahiru cry even harder.
"Kuro-chan…" She sobs, but as soon as she sees water brimming in Claudine's eyes too, Mahiru gets ahold of herself. She doesn't want Claudine to start crying right now, because it would definitely hinder her breathing and hurt her ribs. So Mahiru gives herself a little shake and wipes away her tears in favor of a smile.
"Okay!"
Claudine looks at her curiously.
"Okay?"
Mahiru nods. "You're right, Kuro-chan. You and everyone else. I don't want to feel guilty and keep blaming myself for something that wasn't really my fault."
Claudine smiles again.
"That's right. Please focus on the positives instead. You saved me from a lot worse pain than what I got, and that's for certain. The doctor said any longer and my ribs might have started breaking."
"N-No!" Mahiru wails. "Ahh, I can't even think about it!"
"And you don't have to," Claudine reassures her. "Because it didn't happen, and that's all thanks to you, Mahiru."
Mahiru whimpers happily, but doesn't cry. She's tired of crying for the wrong reasons. If anything, she wants to cry tears of joy. But not at the moment, because she doesn't want Claudine to start crying too. So for now Mahiru steels herself and lets out a long breath.
"I'm just so glad you're okay, Kuro-chan."
"Oui. And I should still be able to be in the play and have no problem coming to see your competition."
"I'm glad! B-But don't push yourself. If you really don't feel well by then, then you've got to promise me you won't perform, okay?"
"All right." Claudine makes a fist and extends her pinkie. "I promise."
Mahiru smiles and curls her pinkie around hers.
"Okay."
A moment passes, and the sweet scent of flowers paints the air between them.
"Say… Kuro-chan?"
"Hm?"
Mahiru looks down and fidgets a bit.
"I just… can I hug you? I-I'll be extremely careful, I promise! A-And I feel bad asking since we told Karen she couldn't do it, b-but I just-"
"Mahiru."
Mahiru looks back up at her to find Claudine smiling the same beautiful smile with her good arm already reaching out for her. Mahiru sniffles and moves as close to the bed as possible.
Gently, so gently that she barely touches her at all, Mahiru wraps her arms around Claudine's shoulders, making sure not to go anywhere near her ribs. She leans herself forward so Claudine won't have to move at all, curling her hands lightly through her wavy blonde hair.
In turn, she can feel Claudine placing her good arm around her waist, bringing her closer. Mahiru closes her eyes and sighs, and a single tear drips free and lands in Claudine's hair.
Kuro-chan… I'll tell you soon. I promise. I'll tell you these feelings of mine…
Just being so close to her like this is making Mahiru's heart flutter. But after a moment, she realizes she isn't the only one. The monitor on the other side of Claudine's bed begins beeping a bit more quickly. Mahiru slowly eases herself away, resting her hands gingerly on her classmate's shoulders.
"Kuro-chan? Are you okay-?" She isn't breathing harshly like before, which puts Mahiru at ease a little. Claudine slowly lets her arm fall away from Mahiru's waist.
"Yes, I'm just fine."
"Are you sure? If something hurts, please tell me and I can call for someone."
"It's nothing like that," Claudine assures her.
Mahiru glances back at the monitor to see that Claudine's heart rate is gradually returning to normal. She lets out another sigh of relief and withdraws her hands.
"All right. Would you like me to set these up here?" Mahiru asks, taking the flowers and indicating a vase with a single decorative daisy on the table across the room. Claudine dips her head.
"That would be perfect."
Mahiru goes to arrange the flowers, then returns to Claudine to admire them from her perspective.
"Mahiru, they're lovely. Thank you, and tell everyone else as well, please."
"I will." She smiles, but she can't help but feel the pace of the monitor is just a bit faster than when she'd first come in. Perhaps having so many visitors this early in the morning was a bit much for Claudine, considering her condition. "You should get some rest," Mahiru says. "If you need anything you can text or call us anytime."
"I will. Thank you, Mahiru."
Mahiru knows it's time to take her leave now.
"Take care, Kuro-chan. We'll help you with everything you need once you get back to school."
"Merci. Goodbye, Mahiru."
"Bye…"
Mahiru turns and makes her way to the door without looking back. She'd almost said it. She'd almost come right out and confessed to her then. She's glad she managed to hold it in.
I'll tell her soon. I have to. Because I can't keep these feelings quiet for much longer.
Mahiru makes her way back to the others, and together they make the walk back to Starlight Hall.
A/N: The whole reason behind the pain of having Kuro trapped under heavy objects is so her friends can hug her gently afterward, I promise~
The next chapter is our conclusion!
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