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shintorikhazumi · 4 years ago

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A Mom, A Grandchild, and A Wife For the New Year

A/N: So, have you seen HiBiKi StYle #448 with AiAi and Maho-nee doing the cooking relay? It’s one of the most chaotic things I’ve ever enjoyed xD. There’s a subbed version on YouTube haha. This gave me an idea for a fic, but I’ll probs be mostly basing it off the first half. Maho-nee is better at cooking than Aiai it seems, but character-wise, I feel like Claudine cooks better than Maya so…

I was supposed to release this on time for New Year’s, but ended up frustrated and reading other fics instead, so my sincerest apologies.

Fudge… this was not supposed to be this long. I told myself it would only be 1k-3k words, but hoho, no. 7-frikkin-thousand words. Stupid Khaz. Haaa…

Enjoy?

~Shintori Khazumi

“Umm…”

“So…”

“What exactly-“

“-Do we do with… that.”

“Junna-chan! Don’t call her “that”! She’s a child! A person!” Nana scolded her partner, also very perplexed with the situation right before their eyes.

“Well, she wasn’t a child five minutes ago?!” Junna replied with the same amount of exasperation in her voice.

“Then she’s a person! A human. Don’t call her… “that”.” Nana replied, gesturing towards the little girl seated on the living room carpet, looking to seven pairs of eyes staring back that held various emotions ranging from stressed, perplexed and confused, curious, excited, and just plain weirded out.

“Well, she’s certainly been a handful these past few minutes.” Junna sighed, looking around the living room area for some kind of toy to hand to the child to distract her, and keep her in place, behaved, while the rest of them searched for a way to fix this situation.

“Come on, Jun-Jun! She’s pretty cute, if you think about it.” Karen exclaimed, taking a step closer and reaching her hand out for the child to take. “See?”

“She’s quite pretty too. Though she always has been.” Mahiru murmured, taking her spot beside Karen and inwardly squealing as the little girl beamed at her after she petted her hair. “So adorable.”

“She seems kinda smart too.” Futaba pitched in after seeing how the person had acted- despite the various mishaps they indirectly caused- in this situation, trying to walk about and nearly smashing her face into the table, or trying to hand Nana a book she was reaching for when she held the girl in her lap, but almost dropping it on the larger girl’s foot.

“Well, sure. She’s all of those things.” Kaoruko rolled her eyes. “After all, she’s Also Tendou Maya.”

No one could refute the statement, seven heads bobbing in agreement.

“So?” Futaba looked to everyone in curiosity.

“So, what?” Junna replied.

“HAHHAHAHA, Mahiru-chan, she said so what, she just said ‘so what?’” Karen hollered, Junna’s statement making it seem like she didn’t care.

“Karen-chan… I don’t think you’re supposed to laugh at that in this situation…”

Ignoring the tiny deviance, Futaba continued. “How are we supposed to tell Kuroko about this?”

“…”

“Ah.”

Was the girls’ collective reaction. They hadn’t thought about that until now. Claudine was currently out of the dorm to do some shopping as she had volunteered to prepare dinner for tonight to celebrate the coming new year as no one from their little group had decided to go home for the holidays, now that they were in their third and final year. She claimed she had always cooked for her parents each time she went home so it was a habit she wanted to continue, even away from home.

Of course, everyone was more than willing to allow her to do so, curious as to the French’s cooking. Nana and Mahiru, along with Junna had offered helping hands to which Claudine accepted should she need them eventually. But for the shopping process, she’d rather do it on her own as she had yet to decide on what she’d like to make and did not want to inconvenience them with hopping from shop-to-shop undecided for hours on end.

They didn’t mind at all, but after some reassurance from the former child actress, they let her be, awaiting her patiently in the dorm with nothing better to do as school had been closed for the holidays.

Maya had begged- yes, begged- Claudine to allow her to come, but she was only met with a flick to the forehead and a firm, ‘No’. And even Maya knew never to push it when Claudine was that determined. Begrudgingly, she watched the love of her life walk away, taking the top star’s heart and soul with he-

“Don’t be so dramatic while I’m away, do you hear me?” Claudine had warned, familiar with how Maya’s thought process worked. She gave Maya a kiss on the forehead to temporarily satiate her clinginess. “I’ll be back before you know it.”

With that, Saijou Claudine had left for her little shopping trip. And now, three uneventful hours had gone by.

Or well, the girls hoped it had just been that.

As they were lounging in the dorm’s common room, Maya suddenly started feeling sick. She had crouched down, curling into a ball on the sofa. Worried, Nana approached her and put a hand on her forehead to check her temperature, wincing at the terrible heat that radiated off the poor girl as she pulled back immediately, feeling like she’d get burned.

Turning to the other inhabitants of the room, she gave separate instructions such as telling Hikari and Karen where to get the cooling pads and icepacks, respectively; she told Futaba and Kaoruko to grab Maya’s blanket and pillows, as well as some spare clothes should the girl feel cold later on due to the extreme and sudden fever. Junna had grabbed Mahiru to accompany her to the school clinic to find the nurse, and maybe get some medicine. If she wasn’t there- understandable as they had been told that the school would be closed for the holidays- then they would have to find the nearest pharmacy for some over-the-counter fever medicine.

“Tendou-san!” Karen was the first to accomplish her task, the icepack retrieved from the fridge just a few steps away. Her squeak made everyone returning to the room even more cautious now.

“What’s wrong?” Junna queried, now donning her coat and boots, coming from her room.

“She’s … shrinking…”

“You mean shaking, BaKaren?” Hikari muttered, brows furrowed in confusion.

“No…” Nana’s voice wavered, unsure at what she and Karen were seeing, and how to tell the rest just what it was that they were seeing. “She’s literally… shrinking.”

“…”

“Well damn, if I’ll be. So it’s possible for her to be cute, after all.”

“Kaoruko!”

//-//-//-//-//

“So ya think keeping her in our room is goin’ ta work? That’s some sloppy judgment coming from you, Junna-han.”

“You have the larger room between us, so if she doesn’t turn back soon, you have enough space for her to sleep.” The bespectacled girl pointed out. “Saijou-san possibly has the largest room, but that defeats the purpose of keeping this issue a secret from her, right?”

“Remind me why we’re keeping this a secret from her, though? Wouldn’t it be better to just tell her?” Futaba sighed.

“Who wants to do the honors and tell someone as fiery and protective as Saijou-san that her girlfriend is a small child, and possibly cause even more panic and distress?”

“…”

“But Karen and them have more space, don’t they?” Futaba brought their attention back to the first topic, backing Kaoruko up, really not wanting to babysit two children.

“The enormous amounts of trust I have in Mahiru is negated by equal amounts of doubt I have in her roommates when it comes to childcare and many other matters.” Junna stated, pushing her glasses up.

“Hey!”

“You got a point.” Futaba sighed, acquiescing.

“Futaba-han!”

“I can at least trust Hayanagi-san to behave when she wants to.”

“That’s bein’ a little mean, don’t ya think?”

“Now, now~” Nana, ever the peacemaker, calmed everyone down.

“Fine. But we’re takin’ turns watchin’ the little brat. I can’t have her ruining my routine.”

“Your routine is mostly just you fucking around, though.”

“Futaba-han!”

“Futaba-chan!!!” Mahiru cried, not having enough hands to cover both Hikari’s and Karen’s ears.

“Nana… were you trying to cover my ears too?”

“…”

“Na!”

The tiny voice stole everyone’s attention.

“What…”

“Na! Na!” The little brown bundle giggled, looking up at the blonde, opening up her arms, asking to be carried. The tallest of the bunch squealed in delight, scooping up the small child, spinning her about.

“I’m so happy, Maya-chan!”

“AWwwww, that’s so cute!! And dang it Banana, why are you her first word!! I wanted to be it!”

“I think ‘Karen’ is a little hard for a toddler to say as a first word, Karen-chan.” Mahiru responded, patting the dejected girl’s head.

However, Aijo Karen was not one to be discouraged. “I’ll be her second word then!”

“Karen-chan…”

“Come on, Tendou-san. Say it with me. Ka-ren. Ka-ren.”

“Kawuko!”

“Nooooon!!!” Karen cried in despair.

“Oho~” Futaba clapped, impressed. “You can’t tell me that that don’t make you happy, Kaoruko.” She teased the bluenette who simply turned away blushing.

“I thought my name was difficult… isn’t Kaoruko-chan’s name harder?”

“Just move on, Karen.” Hikari sighed, rubbing the said girl’s back in comfort. “After all, I’m gonna have her say my name before yours.”

“Hikari-chan!” Mahiru cried.

“How old is this kid anyway?” Futaba asked, shifting the conversation to a new topic.

“Beats me.” Junna shrugged. “Nana, can you ask her?”

“Sure~” Nana replied, still playing with Maya, tossing her up in the air slightly from time to time, the child very pleased, apparent with how she laughed unabashed. “Ne, Maya-chan.”

“Na?”

“Mhm, Nana-oneechan wants to ask you something. If you can understand me, I hope…” She chuckled nervously, wide eyes giving her their full attention. “How old are you?”

It seems the little brunette did, in fact, understand as she held up two fingers.

“Wow, that’s younger than I expected.” Junna muttered, stroking her chin in thought. “Maybe I should have Mahiru watch over her, after all. It’s a little too worrying if someone without enough experience handles a child as small as her.”

“Nn?! …b-but we already decided on the arrangements, didn’t we?” Kaoruko suddenly interjected, surprising everyone.

“Oh~? What do we have here~?, Kaoruko, did you actually get attached to the idea of taking care of the kid, just now?” Futaba’s teasing returned, poking at her roommate’s side.

“N-not at all? I just thought that for convenience sake, we shouldn’t complicate our original plans.”

“Whatever you say.”

While everyone else switched between watching the pair bicker, and Nana playing with a tiny Tendou Maya, they failed to remember just why they were planning on hiding the child- or better yet, from whom they were hiding her… until the person in question’s voice through them into another state of hushed panic.

“I’m back!” This voice belonged to none other than the 99th class’ second seat, Saijou Claudine. Tendou Maya’s better half, as she would put it. “Ara? Where is everyone? Nana? Junna?” She called.

“Ah crap. Saijou-san is back.” Junna face-palmed, feeling her stress build up.

“Eeehhh, wha-what do we do?!”

“HIDE THE KID.”

“Calm down, Karen-chan, Hikari-chan. You too Mahiru-chan. Your grip is gonna kill Hikari- chan’s hand.” Nana worried at that last bit, seeing the poor London girl’s hand color a deathly pale. “Really, Mahiru-chan, you should let go right now.”

Junna groaned. She had wanted to go over this plan better. Guess they had no choice.

“Here’s what’s going to happen.” She called for everyone’s attention. “Nana, Mahiru and I will distract Saijou-san by helping her with dinner preparations as we originally planned, earlier. We will try our best to not get her to look for Maya, or go to her room, and we’ll come up with an excuse.”

Heads nodded in understanding.

“The rest of you, watch the kid.” Junna gave the four a hard stare as the “mom friends” of the group filed out of the room one-by-one. “If you somehow meet with Saijou if you go out of this room, and she asks anything regarding Tendou-san, just say you don’t know or something.” And with that, the door was shut, the quartet to their own devices… oh and the baby, too.

…

“So… what now?”

//-//-//-//-//

True to her word, Junna and her companions were able to keep Claudine at bay, the girls in FutaKao’s room remaining undisturbed for the most part as they played with Maya for over an hour.

All had been going well, so far, but it seemed as though they had run out of games to play and the child and Karen alike were beginning to get bored.

This was dangerous.

Futaba preferred that no one venture out for the sake of ‘fun’.

“HUH?!” Her partner’s distressed cry grabbed her attention.

“Kaoruko?”

“These damn parents, at this particular time?” She muttered. “Futaba-han, I need you to come with me to the gate to pick up some stuff. My parents said I must retrieve it by myself since I chose to not go home, therefore no servant is going to be allowed to help me during my… independence, they claim.” Despite the clear reasons, Futaba remained seated.

“Why can’t you go by yourself? Someone needs to watch these kids.”

Kaoruko rolled her eyes. “Even I know how bad it could get to leave these two with a very small child, but if I could do this by myself, I wouldn’t even ask.” Futaba didn’t seem convinced. “It’ll take us five minutes. We grab the items, then we come back to find these three conked out and asleep, yeah? Now come on.”

There was clearly no room for the redhead to argue as she was dragged out the door by a rushing Kaoruko.

Hikari and Karen shared a look, shrugged, then returned to playing with Maya.

Or tried.

The child didn’t seem to like their current toys right now, throwing them about the room with a frown, and getting increasingly louder in her complaining cries.

“What do we do, Hikari-chan?” Karen turned to her best friend for help, but to no avail. “Ah!” She snapped. “I know! I think I have a toy in our room that would get her to quiet down! Let’s go get it!” Karen tugged at Hikari’s sleeve, pulling her onto her feet.

“Do we take her?” Hikari asked monotonously, pointing at the child- and… did she get… a little bigger? And had she been wearing that outfit earlier? Maybe Karen was just imagining things.

“No, we might get spotted walking with her.” She shook her head. “We’ll just run for our room then come back!”

Hikari didn’t question it, only suggesting that they lock the door as they left, Karen agreeing it was for the best.

With that, they left the child alone in the locked room with a wave as she just blinked back at them, staring at the closing door. The two bounded down the hallway, attempting to speedily retrieve the needed items before little Maya could get into any unsupervised trouble.

It barely took them three minutes to retrieve as many child-entertaining games and toys as they could find. As they walked up carefully to the door of Futaba and Kaoruko’s shared room, they met up with the said girls carrying semi-large boxes.

But that wasn’t important.

If she could do so without drawing attention to their little group, the young heiress would have screeched an ear-splitting scolding towards the two. Instead, she had to settle for a harsh series of whispers. “I thought we told you to watch her, not leave her alone!”

“B-but…” Karen whimpered. “She was starting to get really loud, and-and, we locked the door when we left, anyway.”

“you WHAT?! We don’t have keys on us!!!”

“…oh, dang.”

Futaba, equally frustrated, tried the doorknob anyway, brows raising high as it opened with little resistance. “Huh? I thought you said you locked it?”

“Eh?? But we did! Right, Hikari-chan?”

Hikari wordlessly nodded, brows now furrowed.

“No… no… please, don’t tell me…” Everyone burst into the room, eyes darting about so fast. Futaba and Karen had begun to look everywhere, beneath the bed, inside the locker. Kaoruko and Hikari decided to traverse the halls, hoping they’d catch sight of a little head of brown hair, to no luck.

What they did catch, however, was the confused gazes of Nana, Junna, and Mahiru as they were making their way back to the room, Claudine telling them that they had helped her enough and she could take it from there. They had reluctantly agreed to leave, but they supposed Claudine would now be too occupied to even think to look for Maya.

So what was going on, right now?

“Guys?”

“Oh no. It’s Junna.” Hikari drawled, panicking inside, but not letting it show.

“Hikari-chan? Weren’t you supposed to be watching…” Mahiru trailed off as a sniffling, teary Karen exited the room, running into her arms. “Karen-chan?!”

“…gonee!”

“Huh?”

“She’s gone! Tendou-san!”

“WHHAAATTTT-“

Before Junna could give everyone an earful, Nana dispatched all the girls around the dorm that wasn’t close to where Claudine was to avoid drawing her suspicion, seeing the girls move about in search of something. Rooms, other halls, bathrooms, spare practice rooms, the storage. They were to comb through every nook and cranny for Tendou Maya. There was no need to check the Kitchen as the trio who had assisted Claudine had just come from there and could confirm that the French was the only person present there and they had encountered no tiny top star on their way back to the room.

And so began the great ‘Tendou Maya’ hunt.

//-//-//-//-//

Claudine hummed a tune from their latest play, setting down the last of her prepared ingredients on the counter next to the stove. Mahiru, Junna and Nana had been of great help and they had finished preparing the desserts for later first to be able to set it aside in the fridge. All Claudine had left to do was to actually cook the meal.

“Where’s that large pan that I need…” Searching through the cupboards, she found exactly what she needed, placing the heavy pan on the stove and turning it on to start heating. Continuing her previous humming, Claudine suddenly jumped at the feel of something pulling on her pant leg.

What in the…

She was greeted by wide, curious violet eyes, blinking up at her innocently.

“Um…” There was something oddly familiar about this child currently standing beside Claudine. She just couldn’t put a finger to it. She didn’t look any older than the age of three or four, but she didn’t seem to have any guardian accompanying her either.

“Hi!” The lass greeted, beaming brightly at Claudine. The latter couldn’t help but smile back. She loved children, after all. And she secretly admitted to herself that this one, in particular, was absolutely adorable.

“Why, hello there.” Bending down to the little girl’s level, said girl staring up at her with large lilac eyes, while clinging to the hem of her apron, Claudine greeted back. “Bonjour~”.

The different language seemed to throw the child off, and Claudine could almost see the little cogs spinning in her head. “B-Bon… Bonzoo? Bonzhoo? Bonju?”

Claudine laughed airily, patting the brunette’s head tenderly. “Close enough. Bonjour.”

The child simply nodded this time, relenting on learning this strange word for now.

Claudine temporarily turned the stove off before turning back to her little companion, hands on her hips as she scrutinized the young girl’s features. “You really do look so terribly familiar.” With gorgeous violet eyes, lustrous chocolate hair pulled back in a ribbon-

Something clicked. “Ah! Are you, by chance, a relative of that insufferable Tendou Maya? You’re much cuter than she is, though.” Turning to the other girl, Claudine was surprised to see her pout despite the compliment.

“But I’m Maya! This. Is. Tendou Maya! I’m the cutest!”

Now, this confused Claudine. Was she a big fan of that infuriating woman? “Not only are you the spitting image of her, you even talk like her. I swear she is a bad influence.” Claudine sighed. “So, do I call you Maya?”

She was met with enthusiastic nodding, and she could only giggle at the sheer adorableness of it all.

“Alright, then. Maya.” Straightening up and looking about the room, hoping for some guardian to walk in, or perhaps her Maya, claiming the child as her secret relative, Claudine found no one, eyes trailing to the clock on the wall warning her that her time to prepare dinner was growing ever short.

She sighed again. Guessing that she should get a move on, she tried to point to the couch with a smile, nonverbally telling the kid to take a seat and wait there. About to return to her previous task of cooking, Claudine almost missed the way those large purple eyes stared at her in wait, as if asking a question. It made the blonde realize very quickly.

“Oh! Where are my manners.” She crouched down, eye-to-eye with the child, offering her hand out for a shake. “My name is Claudine”

She saw cute little brows furrow, wrinkles forming in the “Maya’s” forehead. Easing them away by massaging the area gently with her thumb, Claudine laughed as the child began to test her name out. “Ku-, Ko- Kro… hrnnghh” The child tried in vain.

Claudine laughed lightly.

“Kuu-chan!”

“Eh-“

“Kuu-chan!!!” It seemed as though the child had given up on trying to pronounce her name right, and the little moniker she had come up with made Claudine feel the tiniest bit shy.

“Now, now. Not that I don’t like that nickname you’ve come up with somehow… The real Tendou Maya would never give up, now would she?” She teased, feeling somewhat satisfied at the blush that flooded the little girl’s face. “But I guess, you could continue to call me that, if you so wish. Still, I do hope you will someday be able to pronounce my name properly.” Claudine hadn’t the slightest idea why she wanted such a thing, even if it was still later in the future, but she felt compelled to do so.

The child nodded, beaming at her brightly once more as she hugged Claudine’s leg.

“Okay, I really need to be getting back to my work. So, if you’d just allow me to…” Gently hoisting the girl up, causing a fit of the cutest giggles Claudine had ever heard in her life, she placed her on a stool in the kitchen where she could easily turn to check on the girl every once-in-a-while. “There we go.”

“Kuu-chan?”

“Please behave yourself now while waiting for your mommy, or daddy, or… someone. Onee-chan needs to get back to cooking so that everyone can have a nice, yummy dinner. Maybe you could even join us. So, would it be fine for you to sit and wait for me? If you want to play, we can do so once I’ve finished this.” Satisfied with the nod she was given as a reply, Claudine patted the girl’s head once more for good measure. She then turned on the stove and continued her work, pouring in her oil and mixing in her ingredients.

A moment later, she realized that she needed a spice from the cupboard. Quickly going to fetch it, she was surprised as little Maya clung to her waist, arms wrapped around her, nuzzling into her stomach.

“Kuu-chan! Play with me!”

“Maya, now didn’t we agree that you would behave while I finished my task?”

The girl pouted, but released Claudine nonetheless.

“Thank you.”

And she was back to cooking. Cooking with a heavy pan reminded the French woman of how proud she was of her strength, tossing the mixture of ingredients inside with ease. For just a moment, she looked back to check on Maya, screaming horrified in just a second as she spotted the girl reaching for a knife, tiptoeing by the edge of counter, head not even reaching the height of the countertop. If she left this to go on, the knife could fall wrongly and hit her if she reached it. Claudine rushed forward, moving the sharp knife away, far out of the child’s reach.

Panting as she settled the girl back in her stool, fixing her with a very stern look that commanded, ‘stay’, Claudine got back to her food, hoping it wasn’t burning or anything. “Is this what it feels like to be a mother? To have kids?” She groaned.

Hearing shuffling come from behind her, she whipped her head about, catching the guilty look flash across the child’s face as she attempted to climb off the stool again.

“Please stay, okay? I’ll play with you all you want after.” She sighed, once more, placing the girl on the stool. “I know you’re bored, but I really cannot leave you to wander about on your own without supervision. You might get lost or hurt, and being the one to have been with you last, I really will be responsible. I’d like to actually ‘be responsible’. Please?”

The little girl pouted but nodded her understanding. Claudine felt relieved. Until-

“Kiss?”

“Wha-“

“If Kuu-chan gives a kiss, Maya will stay!” Blushing, but considering her options, Claudine relented.

“Fine.”

“Wai~!”

Finally feeling as though her struggle with childcare was over, Claudine finally got back to work, not hearing any noises that indicated trouble, breathing in her relief.

“Thank God.”

Finally finishing her first dish, she set it aside, turning to grab the ingredients for the second… dish…

Where was the child?

And who was this elderly woman now seated in her place?!

“My, my, ma Claudine, you look wonderful, cooking for me, shining in all your youth.”

She would have asked who the hell this lady was, but by the way she was addressed, she could only assume that it was, “M-Maya?”.

“Ah~ Has time frozen your beauty in place? Even the universe can’t help but admire such a flower, unwilling to let you go.” The lady lamented. “And yet here, I shrivel away, though not without all my passion blooming still in my heart.”

“You’re… Maya… right?”

“Who else would I be?”

And yes, who else would she be, Claudine agreed. Those stunning purple eyes, the particular shade of brown in the colored streaks of hair still present amongst the white, Yes. This was Tendou Maya, indeed

Honestly, Claudine surprised herself with how well she was taking all this. She would have spent more time wracking her brains over this crazy phenomenon, but then the clock caught her attention and made her realize that she had been in crazier situations than this. This should not be all that unbelievable. She had been through worse with Maya. So long as the girl still existed…

Claudine could prioritize finishing her dinner preparations.

Maya would surely turn back to normal soon.

Right?

Therefore…

“Maya. I implore you.”

“Ask anything, my love, and I shall-“

“Please behave yourself so I can finish what I have to and find everyone so we can figure out how to turn you back.”

“Of course, deary~.”

“I mean it.”

“…o-of course… dear.”

“Maya?”

“Yes.”

“Good.”

Claudine got started on her next dish, somehow thankful that Maya actually seemed to be cooperating. Was it her current age that made her less energetic? Maya was quiet, behaved. At least from what Claudine was hearing, which was nothing but silence, she hoped the silence meant Maya was just sitting, resting and not… dead or anything like that. Right? …right?!

Whipping her head about, Claudine caught the elderly woman walking about in some random direction, looking a bit older than she did earlier and… a whole lot blinder it seemed, as she hit her face against the wall.

What did I just say about behaving…

“Oi, grandma. I told you to stay put.” Claudine groaned in exasperation, moving to retrieve Maya. “Now I feel like those children or grandchildren made to take care of their elderly family.”

“Who… are you?”

“HA?”

“I’m starting to feel starved…”

“Don’t just go jumping from one topic to another, Tendou Maya…”

“What did you say?” So this granny was deaf too.

“Snacks, snacks… something soft enough for her teeth… I don’t want them to break…” Considerate as ever, Claudine started searching about for something to hand to this annoying woman. Spotting something on the counter, she picked it up, examining it for a second. “I guess tofu will have to do.”

With a spoon, she scooped up a portion and brought it to the old woman’s mouth. Upon feeling the familiar metal, her mouth opened, taking in the food. “Ara, Tofu~”

“Wow… that was fast. You knew right away.”

“It’s delicious.”

“Well, I’m glad.”

“But it would be better with Soy Sauce.”

“You are insatiable…”

“Add soy sauce!”

“Grandma, you’re so noisy.”

And Claudine’s woes continued.

//-//-//-//-//

“So? Did you have any plans of revealing this to me? At any point in time?”

“Sorry… Kuro-chan. We thought you’d get angry…”

Seven people now sat in seiza in their living room, one of them being an adult Tendou Maya, it seemed, possibly in her late twenties. She had shifted through ages at least thrice since meeting up with Claudine. The rest of the girls had given up on searching after two hours or so, and upon hearing Maya’s familiar voice conversing with Claudine from the kitchen, they all bolted, panting as they stood before the pair, their demeanors giving everything away- that they had been aware of this from the start.

“I am angry.”

“Urgh…”

“And if I would’ve been angry anyway, then why didn’t you all just tell me from the start?” Claudine frowned even deeper, if that was possible. “I thought we were all comrades here, fighting together. Shouldn’t this be one of the things we try to figure out as a team?”

“We’re… sorry…” Guiltily, the rest of the stage girls hung their head in apology. It still wasn’t enough for Claudine, however. She wanted an explanation.

“Did no one think of telling me?” With everyone else avoiding her gaze, except Maya who looked strangely happy to be scolded, she turned to the only one standing, busy taking way too many photos of the girls. Why did Claudine feel stress build up y just looking at her? “Nana?”

“It seemed fun.”

“Nana/Nana-chan?!”

Of course, it was. Claudine sighed- before her stomach growled, leading her to blush a lovely shade of red. Eight heads turned to her, some amused, some sheepishly concerned.

“Ah, it’s already this late.” Junna exclaimed, the clock reading seven-pm-sharp.

“No wonder Kuro-chan got hungry~”

“W-W-Well, whatever. Let’s have dinner then sort this… thing out.” The French tried to cover up her embarrassment, walking over to the food she had prepared, getting ready to take it to the dorm’s veranda where tables had been set up earlier by Junna, Nana and Mahiru. They were planning to eat outside and see if they could enjoy some fireworks displays that were sure to come soon from neighboring areas, and could be seen from where they were. “We can’t solve Tendou Maya’s problem on empty stomachs.”

Laughing in relief, the girls soon got up one by one, helping out with the set-up, ready to at least enjoy the end of the year, regardless of how wacky it turned out to be.

//-//-//-//-//

After all the food had been consumed, and Maya had shifted through her age one more time, now taking the appearance of an eight-year-old child, with no leads, and darkness shrouding them, they decided to put off their investigation until tomorrow. It would be safer then too.

For now, they’d enjoy the end to their year as a group of comrades, friends, and family.

To everyone’s excitement, Kaoruko and Futaba had brought out two fairly large boxes, the ones they had fetched earlier from Kaoruko’s family. It seemed as though they were actually quite pleased to hear that their daughter had such wonderful friends who she actually wanted to spend a time as special as New Year’s with. In their happiness, they had bought her so many fireworks. Sparklers, little crackers, fountains, even the really beautiful ones that burst in the sky.

Nana, Junna, and Futaba took charge of setting those up safely in the yard, while Mahiru’s team fetched buckets of water for safety reasons.

As they played under the stars with their multi-colored lights flashing about, Claudine took the entire scene in before her. In spite of all the troubles, mishaps, fights, and trials they had gone through this past year, and even the years before in Seishou, Claudine would never trade the bonds of companionship she had built with her friends for anything in the world.

Running through their supply of fireworks, as well as energy, everyone proceeded to lay down on the blanketed lounge chairs that Nana had had the foresight of setting up, predicting that everyone would want to stay outside in each other’s presence for a little while longer while waiting for one grand fireworks show that had been advertised the past few days in the news.

They knew they’d be able to spot it from where they were in the yard, so they eagerly anticipated it, the television that had been turned on in the living room had some host of some show leading off a countdown.

“Kuu-chan?”

The little girl called for her attention, tugging at the hem of her sweater, those Violet eyes searching Claudine’s very soul. She hummed in response, petting the girl’s head lovingly.

“Still not going to give up on that nickname?”

“Will you stay with me forever?”

The sudden question and disregard of her playful comment had her surprised, but the contents of the question had her heart stop for just a second.

“W-will you leave me then?”

Her lack of response must have worried the girl. Had she been frozen for long?

“W-well, that is…” If she were talking to… her Maya- oh who was she kidding?! No matter the age or appearance or… whatever, this was for a fact her. Maya. Still. If this were the normal Maya, she would have responded differently. How should she tell this child the heartfelt truth while remaining in reality without crushing her hopes and dreams?

“Kuu-“

No, it was because it was her Maya regardless of the factors, that she could and would answer the way she believed was most fitting.

“Yes.”

“E-eh?” Maya looked like she would just cry right then and there. Claudine pinched her cheek lovingly before explaining.

“I cannot guarantee that I will always be by your side physically. There will be moments in life where we will have to be apart. And physical separation may be one way, but we aren’t perfect people, did you know that? Sometimes, our hearts may drift due to various circumstances.”

“I… I don’t like that…” Eight-year-old Maya sulked. Claudine laughed, before opening her hand palm up, asking the child to place hers in the larger hand.

“I know, I don’t either.” Claudine placed a chaste kiss on the back of Maya’s hand, successfully pulling a blush out of her. “And that’s exactly why I shall strive my hardest to stay. I will try my best to remain by your side for as long as I can.” She smiled that disarming, charming smile of hers. “After all, isn’t giving my all in everything I do my strongest point? And if there come times when I cannot be near you physically, then…”

“Claudine?” She’d be lying if hearing her name from Maya plain as that didn’t make her feel immense amounts of joy and satisfaction.

“I’ll just have to entrust you to keep my heart for me until I come to retrieve it. Oui?”

She watched the girl nod, no words coming out of her mouth. Could Claudine count this as a win against the insufferable woman? Maybe it wasn’t fair to battle it out against a child, though.

“How about we join the rest in the countdown?” Claudine asked, as she guided the girl to the many lawn chairs on the veranda, taking a seat on one and patting the space in front of her so that Maya could sit between her legs.

The little girl obliged, and they heard the TV slowly reaching the tens in the countdown.

[“Twelve, eleven… Ten…”]

“Nine.” Hikari murmured so soft with a smile, taking Mahiru and Karen’s hands as she stood between them.

“Eight~” Nana smiled, chancing a glance at a Junna sporting a rare child-like excitement.

“Seven.” Kaoruko whispered in a moment of seriousness, staring with great admiration at Futaba’s back that seemed so large, despite the girl in question being quite small.

“Six.” As if she felt that gaze, Futaba turned with back with a charming smile, something different, but so so warm in her eyes directed at Kaoruko.

“Five.” Mahiru murmured, looking to the two people she loved most in the world, surprised that they were already staring her way, telling her that they would always watch over her.

“Four!” Karen jumps excitedly, pulling Mahiru and Hikari into a tight hug, before kissing them both on the cheeks.

“Three…” Junna whispered, eyes sparkling, nothing else but the warmth of Nana’s hand keeping her rooted to the reality of the world as she felt herself hypnotized by the suddenly very silent and vast night sky, not a single firework present… yet.

“Two!” A small Maya in Claudine’s lap cheered, leaning back against the blonde woman’s front.

Claudine had hoped she could share this special moment with the one she cherished above all things. Well, she was, but… she didn’t think it would be… like this. Still. Maya was Maya, and Claudine would love her and stay with her for all time.

“One.”

The lights were splendid, brighter and more passionate than many of their stages. It ignited hope and starlight in the girls, and they watched on in awe, greetings of Happy New Year along with hugs and kisses being thrown around.

“Happy New Year, Ma Maya.” Claudine whispered, hugging the small bundle in front of her, wrapping her arms around the small Maya, heart just a little heavy. “I love you.”

In her silent pain, she had failed to take notice of the being in her arms taking on a glow, and slowly growing, transforming unnoticed by everyone entranced by the lights in the heavens.

“My, what a heartfelt confession. It certainly made my own heart flutter… Saijou-san.”

She could not lift her head up any faster, heart beating miles upon miles per hour, eyes wide as she drank in the familiar, but very missed sight of Maya. Tendou Maya. Her Maya… oh beautiful, lovely, sweet, incredibly infuriating Maya.

Standing up, turning around, and then getting down on one knee by Claudine’s side, Maya returned the gesture of placing her lips softly against Claudine’s fair hand, a confession slipping out so smoothly, so naturally from her lips.

“I love you with everything that I am, as well, Ma Claudine.”

…

Suddenly, Maya was looking very panicked, and Claudine would have asked why if the girl hadn’t reached forward, wiping every tear that slipped from her eyes.

“Did it move you that deeply, my darling Claudine?” She joked, though her anxiety was very clear in her voice. “I’m sorry, I did not mean to upset you. Please… please, if you feel hurt, tell me where and I’ll-“

Maya was very quickly squeezed into a breath-taking hug, Claudine staining Maya’s sweater in her relieved tears.

“You utter idiot! Do you know how worried I actually was if you wouldn’t turn back to normal?!”

“Well, you know how Cinderella’s little spell goes; as the clock strikes midnight, the magic wears off and-“

“Yeah, yeah, I get it, I understand.” Claudine rolled her eyes.

“Oh, but you don’t. Let me finish, my dear Claudine.” Maya grinned. “Once the magic wears off, all she is left with is a normal girl, in normal dress, with nothing but her bare and honest heart as the proof that she is the one the Prince fell in love with.”

Maya turned Claudine’s hand over, kissing her palm, then up to her wrist.

“Isn’t it the same for you, ma Claudine?”

“Y-you… I…”

“As Cinderella left her Prince for but a moment, they both strived to be together again, and to stay together forever. They made such a beautiful promise, as well. In the form of lifetime vows.” There was that familiar cheeky glint in Maya’s eyes, but Claudine couldn’t find it in her to be annoyed. “And you’ve given me your vow, so how about I give you mine?”

“What…”

“Saijou Claudine. I will forever devote my soul and my love to you. And I may not always be with you in body, and sometimes in mind… but my heart will always be yours.” She laughed, adding an afterthought. “And I might prefer it if you never returned it at all. I believe you are the safest person to keep it.”

“M-mechante va!”

“EEEHHHHHHHHHHHHHH?!!” Karen’s screams cut through the air, and through their little moment. “It’s Tendou-san!!! She’s… She’s NORMAL!” She screamed, waving her hand, pointing a finger at Maya, directing everyone’s attention to the girl at the end of it.

“Tendo-san!!!”

“Heya, Maya-chan~! We were actually beginning to worry.”

“T-Tendou-san is… she’s okay now, right? She’s normal again, right?” Karen shifted her gaze around the circle of friends, seeking confirmation that her eyes were not playing tricks on her.

“I’m afraid I never have been, Aijo-san.”

“EH? O-oh no, is something still wrong?”

“On the contrary, everything is perfect! I am simply back to my usual amazing self.”

“…”

“And annoying self, it seems.” Claudine quipped with a faux disheartened sigh, shaking her head. “You really are the most infuriating woman in the world.”

“You love it.” Maya quickly replied.

“I do.” Claudine responded just as quick, so calmly, so naturally that it threw everyone, especially Maya off.

“I… I see.”

“What happened though? Why did that happen?” Junna, ever the curious mind, asked the important question.

Maya hummed, thinking for a moment, before smiling a mysterious smile.

“Let’s just say that’s the magic of a new year.”

With everyone sure that Maya was now okay and back to her usual self, they all began the clean up before splitting off into their respective rooms, saying their good nights and welcoming the much-needed respite.

Claudine had dragged Maya to her room, very deprived of Maya’s usual annoyingness and affection that she would never admit she wanted.

As they lay on her large bed, in their night gowns, warm under the covers and entangled in each other’s arms, Maya planting kisses on the crown of Claudine’s head, she heard the smallest whisper, almost missing it.

“…I missed you.”

The brunette smiled, pulling away for a moment, and reaching into the pocket of her nightgown, pulling out a small box.

“Claudine.”

“M-Maya?”

“We are but young souls who’ve had the pleasure of crossing one another’s paths, and a lifetime vow involving marriage, though I’d certainly want it now, is jumping the gun, even for someone like me, I suppose… but for now…” Opening the case, she revealed a heart, one side black, and the other white. Separating the pieces, she had both of them sit up on the bed, before she moved to sit behind Claudine, both of them conveniently facing the direction of the room’s large mirror.

Claudine watched as Maya’s hands moved to take the ivory piece, gently guiding the thin, golden chain of the necklace around Claudine’s neck and clicking it in place, before moving her hair to one side and kissing the bare part of the blonde’s shoulder.

She remained there for a moment, before trailing upwards, leaving small nips and kisses along Claudine’s shoulder and neck, nuzzling from time to time, taking in her lovely, flowery scent, thoroughly embarrassing the girl.

“Okay, okay! That’s enough!” Claudine screeched, moving away, grabbing at the case Maya had left on the bed and retrieving the ebony-colored half of the heart, transferring her seat behind Maya. “Your turn.”

“Of course.” Maya chuckled, behaving herself for once. She stared at Claudine through the reflection on the mirror, smiling as she saw the blonde’s hands fumble momentarily with the jewelry, before shakily bringing it about her neck. “Nervous?”

“Shut up.”

“I love you.” Maya grinned at the sight of Claudine’s blush deepening as she snapped the ends of the chain together, before leaving a secret kiss in the top star’s hair. “I will gladly take that as an ‘I love you too’.

“Do you not know what it means to be quiet?”

“But of course, I do.”

“Then-“

“I just choose to annoy you instead.”

“You-you!!”

“I will marry you.”

Claudine choked.

Maya turned around to face the girl, taking two warm hands in hers, caressing them gently, each knuckle, both palms, each finger, lingering slightly on Claudine’s left ring finger.

“One day, I will. I swear.”

“…”

“So when that day comes, I won’t let you complain that you’re dealing with a difficult child, or a troublesome old lady.” Claudine rolled her eyes at that, smiling fondly. “But I welcome any and all complaints about me being an infuriating wife.”

“Oh my gosh…” Claudine laughed, but tears were already escaping those gorgeous rose-red eyes Maya fell in love with so deeply. “You are just… ugh… Mechante va!”

And despite her words, Claudine couldn’t help but draw Maya in, pressing her lips against that ridiculous grin; tenderness and intensity, a embracing warmth and scorching passion altogether found in one kiss. Love and irritation, relief and hope... a promise and a confirmation.

“Happy new year, ma Claudine. I love you.”

“I love you too. And a very happy one, indeed… ma Maya.”

[“And more happy years with you to come.”]

A/N: I’M DONE. I’M JUST. DONE. YES. THIS TOOK ME FOUR DAYS INSTEAD OF ONE BUT IDK IT SEEMS WORTH IT, MAYBE? PLEASE TELL ME. I’M DYING TO KNOW. COMMENT, KUDOS, REBLOG AO3 OR TUMBLR JUST- haha. Okay. I’m calm. Ahhh~ MayaKuro. I just read that doujin by Takano Saku yesterday. As well as reread the mangas of starira.

Anyway… Thank you again, and a happy new year to you all!

~Shintori Khazumi

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