Only one day left until Claudine and Hikari's scheduled date! But it's going to be a toasty one...
Disclaimer: I do not own Shoujo Kageki Revue Starlight.
Chapter 6. Heat Wave
Tuesday morning is overcast and a grey, but Claudine doesn't let that dampen her mood. After tomorrow she can have her first date with Hikari, and that fact has been dancing around her heart and in the back of her mind nonstop since they'd made the plans. It does start to drizzle by the time she reaches the aquarium, but she gets inside before she can get too wet.
Her co-workers agree they'll probably have a busy day today with people wanting to stay indoors out of the rain, and it might even cancel the dolphin and seal shows in the afternoon too, so the majority of customers will be staying inside.
Claudine gets dressed and makes her morning rounds through The Undertow until the first wave of customers is let in. There are a few more than usual this early, but Claudine only has eyes for one of them.
Hikari had dressed in leggings and worn a rain jacket over her t-shirt today, and she'd even brought an umbrella. She's a bit wet, but Claudine pulls her right into a hug nonetheless.
"Bonjour! Good morning, Hikari!"
"Good morning. You're gonna get all wet…"
"It's fine. I'll just tell people I went for a swim with the octopus."
Today Claudine brings Hikari to see the seals, who have a large enclosure with a tank visible from inside the building as well as an open space outside. They stay inside for now and watch the seals darting by playing with each other, flipping and twisting and barking. Hikari's face lights up, and Claudine finds something even cuter to look at than the seals.
When lunchtime comes around, they stay inside at the cafe today. Even from inside they can glimpse the outdoor enclosures and tell it's started to pour. Claudine hopes it might let up before closing.
But when the closing announcement is made, it's evident that the rain has only gotten worse. As customers start clearing out and opening up their umbrellas, Claudine and Hikari hang back for a moment in the jellyfish room.
"Well," Claudine says. "Just one more day and then it's time for our date! And don't worry, I checked the forecast. Tomorrow's going to be a heat wave, but Thursday should be perfect for us!"
Hikari offers a brief smile, but it soon drops back into a frown.
"But will you be okay going home today?" she asks. "It's raining a lot."
"I'll get a bit wet, but I'll be fine."
"Are you sure? Do you have a coat and an umbrella?"
"Not exactly. But I'll make due."
Hikari frowns even more and shakes her head.
"I'll wait for you then and we can share mine."
Claudine smiles, patting her shoulder gently.
"Hikari, you have to leave now. Only the staff can stay."
"Then I'll wait outside."
"You're so sweet." Claudine pulls her into another hug. "But security won't let you loiter. Plus, if you waited out in the rain that long until I left, you'd catch a cold for sure."
Hikari pouts when she realizes it's true. She hugs Claudine harder in defiance.
"Then… I'll give you my umbrella."
"Eh? That's not necessary, Hikari."
"Yes it is." Hikari pulls away and takes out her umbrella from her bag before holding it out to her with a determined look in her eye. Claudine had been blessed enough to see many of Hikari's expressions over the weeks they'd spent together. But she's never seen her quite like this before - stubborn.
Claudine hesitates.
"But-"
"I have my jacket," Hikari says, pulling up her hood. "You don't have anything. So take it."
Claudine can't ignore the logic of the offer. So with a smile she accepts.
"All right. I'll give it back to you tomorrow, then."
Hikari nods in satisfaction.
"Okay."
"And like I said, tomorrow will be hot, so make sure you dress much cooler than you did today."
"I will."
The two of them ease apart, though Hikari is clearly reluctant to go. Claudine gives her a reassuring smile.
"I'll text you when I get on the bus and when I get home. You do the same, all right?"
"Okay…"
"I'll see you tomorrow, Hikari."
"See you tomorrow."
With this Hikari takes her leave, while Claudine holds onto her umbrella and stays behind.
While Claudine makes her rounds to finish up the day and help clean up, she receives a text message of a rainy cloud emoji and a jellyfish, and knows that means Hikari had boarded the bus. And when Claudine herself is about to leave, she gets another message of a house and a jellyfish to let her know Hikari made it home.
Claudine replies with a dolphin, then heads to the exit.
It's pouring heavy sheets of rain, and even when she opens the umbrella it does little to shield her. Without a jacket she ends up getting pretty soaked on her jog to the bus stop. Once she boards, she texts Hikari a smiling face and a bus emoji.
By the time she gets dropped off and runs home, she's drenched, and her mother ushers her inside and gives her a towel. Claudine takes a hot shower, but even after she gets dressed into her nice wool pajamas she's still a bit shivery. She texts Hikari like usual though, hoping she'll be better by tomorrow…
But when Wednesday morning rolls around, Claudine wakes feeling horribly groggy and still shivering. She hopes she can work the cold off within the day and be better by Thursday.
I don't want to have to cancel on her!
She gets out of bed and makes sure to eat an even healthier breakfast than usual, replacing the usual muffin or piece of toast with more fruits. She puts on shorts and a light blouse for the walk to work, as she can already tell just by looking outside how hazy and hot it is.
With Hikari's umbrella tucked into her bag, Claudine heads out.
As soon as she steps outside, she's blasted by the gross, muggy heat of the morning. As she makes her walk to the bus stop, her vision blurs a few times, but she blames it on the haze of the heat and nothing more.
At the very least the bus is air-conditioned, but there are no empty seats, so she has to stand, and all the while she wobbles much more than the bus makes her. She sends Hikari a single sun emoji for the morning as the bus rolls to a stop.
She staggers off and sets a brisk pace for the aquarium, wrinkling her nose as she feels the sweat dripping down the back of her neck. Claudine gathers her hair and pulls it over one shoulder, which is the best she can do without a hair tie.
Once she gets inside, she slumps against the wall for a moment to soak in the air conditioning and catch her breath. But the second her boss calls out to her, Claudine straightens up and puts on a smile.
"Ah, Saijou-san! I'd wanted to talk to you about something for today."
Claudine perks up, trying to be as attentive as possible.
"Yes, ma'am."
"You see," her boss begins. "On hot days like today we like to set up an ice pop stand outside for the kids coming in as an extra treat. I wanted to ask if you could run it today. Don't worry, we've got a tarp set up so it's nice and shady, and we've got fans and ice water for you. I've got someone to cover your tours for today. What do you think?"
Claudine would've jumped at the opportunity honestly any other day, but today she has to force it a bit.
"Of course!"
"Wonderful! I'll give you a walkie too so you can radio in if you need anything."
"Yes, ma'am."
Claudine changes and accepts the walkie from her boss, who then directs her where to go outside.
Claudine draws in a deep breath as she walks back outside into the heat. She makes her way down the main pathway where visitors are permitted entry and finds the tarp and table already set up. It really is very nice and shady, and there's an ice water dispenser and several coolers full of ice pops.
If she hadn't been feeling a bit sick already today, Claudine probably would have been absolutely fine with this setup and new experience.
But as she is now, she sits heavily into the folding chair behind the counter, and her head is already aching from the heat.
No matter how many cups of cold water she pours herself, she just keeps sweating. She sits for a moment and just breathes, closing her eyes and leaning back into the blow of the fan.
It's just for today. And tomorrow I can be with Hikari all day long.
Using the thought as motivation, Claudine opens her eyes and straightens up as the first wave of visitors begins heading down the path. Claudine waves them over and calls out as clearly as she can.
"Free ice pops, courtesy of Blue Seas Aquarium!"
Most of the patrons make their way to her, and Claudine opens the first cooler to pull out the requested flavors for the beaming children. Claudine smiles back and thanks them for visiting, reminding them to throw away their trash properly.
The flow of people is almost nonstop right from the very start. Claudine tries to work quickly and efficiently so none of them are standing on line for too long. It's when there's a brief lull in the crowd when she hears a surprised call of her name.
"Saijou-san?"
Claudine's heart jumps, but it kind of hurts a little bit today; not like the happy little skip it will do when Hikari usually calls her.
She looks up into the hazy morning to spot Hikari in a light white sundress walking quickly up to her. Claudine smiles as best she can.
"Bonjour, Hikari."
Hikari comes into the shade and stops on the other side of the table.
"Saijou-san… what are you doing out here?"
"Giving out ice pops."
Hikari frowns.
"But it's so hot…"
"Not to worry. I've got plenty of ice and water back here." Claudine leans forward playfully. "Would you like an ice pop, young lady?"
Hikari still looks a bit uncertain, but eventually she nods.
"Is that okay?"
"Of course. We have tons. What flavor would you like?"
"Blueberry."
"Coming right up."
Claudine finds her a blue ice pop and passes it to her.
"Thanks," Hikari says. "When do you get to come back inside?"
"I think around noon."
"But that's so long… it's a heat wave today."
"I'll be fine, Hikari. And since I can use my phone more freely out here, I'll text you whenever I get a moment."
Hikari still looks worried, and Claudine is touched, but she really doesn't want her to be concerned.
"Okay," Hikari says at last. "At lunch time I'll come out to get you and we can eat inside where it's cool."
"It's a date."
Hikari blushes a little bit as she opens her ice pop and takes a bite.
She lingers for a moment, not really wanting to leave Claudine. But when more customers start coming down the path, Hikari has no choice but to wave goodbye and take her leave.
She doesn't like it, but Claudine seemed like she was all right.
Even so, Hikari can't help but think she looked a little tired today, maybe even a little pale.
She keeps glancing back over her shoulder at her as she makes her way to the aquarium, but Claudine is already handing out more ice pops with a bright smile on her face.
Hikari feels so guilty walking into the nice cool building when Claudine has to stay outside for 3 more hours. She tries walking around the exhibits and imagining Claudine is there beside her, but that only makes her feel even lonelier. She doesn't want to bother her, but she wants to hear from her and make sure she's okay. So Hikari takes a picture of the sea horses and sends it to her with a message.
I think they miss you.
Claudine must be swamped, because Hikari doesn't get a response for nearly half an hour.
I miss them, too.
Hikari whimpers.
Someone else is in charge of touring The Undertow today, the same girl who had covered for Claudine last time. Hikari spends most of her morning with the jellyfish, constantly checking her phone and asking Claudine how she's doing. Around 11, an hour before lunch, Hikari texts her again.
Are you okay?
Again, it takes some time, but eventually she receives a response.
Tres bien!
Hikari can almost hear it in her voice, but for some reason she isn't convinced. When she checks her weather app, it says the temperature outside is a little over 100 degrees.
She can't sit still any longer.
Feeling a sudden flare of determination in her chest, Hikari hurries to the main entrance and slips out the doors that way.
Immediately, the scorching heat makes her stagger, but she hurries onward down the path. She can still see the little ice pop stand with a long line in front of it. Claudine is on the other side doing all that she can. Hikari rushes to her side, feeling the uncomfortable wafting of heat all over her body as she skids to a halt behind her.
"Saijou-san!"
Claudine jumps and almost falls over. Hikari reaches out to grab hold of her hand.
"H-Hikari! You scared me!"
"Sorry." Hikari flinches just to touch her hand like this. Claudine's skin is very warm, and there's sweat coating her forehead and making her hair stick to her face, neck, and shoulders. Her eyes are bleary and tired, and her smile is clearly forced too, and she looks twice as pale as before, or worse.
Hikari shakes her head and pulls her away from the stand.
"Saijou-san, you need to go inside."
But to her dismay, Claudine denies her.
"Not yet. I'll just have to finish with this line."
Hikari purses her lips. She can feel Claudine shaking.
"Then I'll do it. You sit down." Hikari gives her a tug and pushes her gently into the chair, then fills up a cup from the ice water and hands it to her. "Drink some more."
Baffled, Claudine tries to protest.
"Hikari, this isn't your job."
"I'm doing it," she says firmly, already leaning down to reach into the cooler. She pulls out one of each flavor of ice pops and addresses the little girl who had been waiting. "Which flavor would you like?"
Claudine watches incredulously as Hikari takes over her job for her. But now that she finally has the chance to sit down, she realizes she probably would have collapsed if she'd stayed standing even a minute longer.
She drinks a bit of the cold water, shivering from the inside out as it hits her stomach. She puts the cup down and hugs herself, closing her eyes with a soft moan. It just feels like more and more heat is beating down on her, and her head and chest are pounding nonstop…
Meanwhile, Hikari hands out the ice pops, until she sees there are only a few people left waiting on line. She hurries through them while still trying to be polite, until the last family has walked off. Right away, Hikari whirls around to face Claudine.
"Saijou-san?"
She's hunched forward with her face in her hands, breathing harshly and sweating all over. Claudine lifts her head meekly.
"Hikari…"
Hikari's never heard or seen her like this before. It's scaring her.
"Let's go inside." She offers her hands, but when Claudine tries to stand up she stumbles. Hikari dives forward to support her, then pulls one of Claudine's arms across her shoulders. "We'll go slowly. You can lean on me."
Claudine swallows but has to close her eyes, as keeping them open makes her too dizzy.
Slowly, Hikari guides her from beneath the tent, out into the baking sun. She keeps a firm hold on Claudine's wrist, and uses her other arm to support her back and waist. An awful heat is pulsing off of her, and she's breathing hard. Hikari can feel her heart pounding, too.
"Saijou-san… Please hang on."
There's too long a line to get in the main entrance, so Hikari makes the snap decision to bring her to the side of the building, to the door that leads to the empty room.
It feels like it takes an hour just to get there, because Claudine keeps stumbling and whimpering. Hikari does her best to keep reassuring her.
"We're almost there. Just a bit further."
In truth, she's terrified. She'd only ever known Claudine to be happy and healthy and vibrant. Seeing her so sick and weak like this makes Hikari feel like crying.
They limp across the grass, but just as they reach the pathway Claudine's legs give out on her and she drops to her knees. Hikari crouches beside her, rubbing her back.
"Sorry-" Claudine gasps.
"It's okay. We're almost there." Hikari looks around frantically, but there's no one nearby who might help them. She doesn't want to let her stay out here any longer though.
So she nudges Claudine back to her feet, supporting her as much as she can until they finally reach the door. Hikari reaches into Claudine's pocket to pull out her ID badge. The door clicks unlocked, and Hikari whimpers with relief.
She heaves the door open and helps Claudine inside, then lets the door shut behind them. Right away, the oppressive heat and sunlight is exchanged for a cool, soothing darkness.
Hikari can feel that Claudine can't take another step, so she slowly lowers them both to the carpet and helps her sit back against the wall. Claudine is gasping, and her skin is wafting with heat and sweat. Hikari holds onto her hands worriedly.
"Saijou-san…?"
She doesn't reply.
Hikari feels panic squirming in her chest.
"Hold on. I'll be right back."
With this, she hurries to the door that leads inside and rushes straight into the nearby restroom. She grabs a handful of paper towels and runs them under cold water, then rushes back to Claudine.
Hikari presses one of the paper towels across her forehead, then lays another one across the nape of her neck. She uses another to press over Claudine's wrists, then clears the sweat from her face.
Now that she's finally out of the sun and has had a moment to rest, Claudine's breathing has evened out a little. She opens her eyes slowly, giving Hikari a hazy look.
"Hikari…"
"Just rest."
Hikari removes the paper towel on her forehead and puts a fresh one there instead, patting it through Claudine's hair a little. Claudine sighs and closes her eyes again, but she reaches out to touch Hikari's hand.
Hikari cools her off as best she can, until there's a pile of paper towels on the floor beside them. Claudine seems a little bit better, but she's still shaking.
Hikari doesn't know what else to do. She's so worried about her…
A sniffle comes, and then the tears.
Claudine opens her eyes right away and finds her crying quietly.
"Hikari-"
Claudine can't take it. The ache of the sickness is nothing compared to this.
She reaches out and pulls Hikari close to her. Hikari sniffles, not sure if she should hug her back or if it'd just make her too hot again.
"Saijou-san…"
But Claudine hugs her even tighter, until Hikari understands it's all right to do the same. She wraps her arms around Claudine's sides and slumps against the wall beside her.
She can still feel Claudine's heart pounding a bit hard, and it's obvious she's still very sick. But Hikari is just glad she's not shaking or panting so much like before.
Hikari hugs her for a long time, until her own tears have stopped. From what she can tell, Claudine has fallen asleep on her.
Hikari stays with her there for what should have been Claudine's break hour, hugging her softly. But eventually she becomes so worried she has to wake her up.
"Come on," she says. "I'll take you home."
This time, Claudine is too tired to protest.
Hikari helps her up, and together they venture into the employee room. The people there are startled to see the two of them.
"Saijou-san?!"
"Oh my goodness!"
Hikari faces them seriously.
"I'm taking her home. She's really sick."
"Of course, right away!"
Hikari helps Claudine into a chair and sits beside her, and Claudine explains to her co-workers and boss what had happened.
"It's only this bad because I caught a cold from the rain yesterday," she says. "Normally I would've been just fine. But even though Hikari here gave me her umbrella, I still got sick yesterday. I'm sorry for all the trouble."
The other staff reassure her and encourage Claudine to call her parents to come pick her up. Hikari is glad she won't have to make Claudine walk and take the bus.
She stays by her side until Claudine's mother arrives outside, and then Hikari picks up Claudine's bag and carries it for her as she walks with her outside to the main parking lot. Claudine's mother meets them and gets out of her car to help her sit down. She thanks Hikari profusely, but is clearly in a hurry to get her daughter home.
Hikari doesn't really get the chance to say goodbye to Claudine. She just stands back and watches the car drive off.
She takes the next bus home, feeling sad and worried all the while.
She texts Claudine hoping she'll feel better, but doesn't get any responses for the rest of the evening.
Needless to say, she didn't think they'd be having their date tomorrow.
A/N: Alas... Claudine's tendencies to push herself to her limits bites her this time around, leaving Hikari a nervous wreck. But she comes through for those she cares about when it really matters! It was fun to write Hikari taking charge and becoming serious about this! But what about their date...?
Please review!
