Chapter Text
As one should expect, the New National Theater demanded much from its members; perhaps more than even Seishou could have prepared them for.
The days were long, the schedules were filled, and the workload was considered harsh at times.
But for someone like Maya, who was born for the stage, it was everything she'd ever dreamed of.
Every moment she breathed in the art, tasted the symbolism, and felt the imagery of the stage, so much so that every night she dreamt of more and more performances.
And quite luckily for her, she'd managed to make living arrangements with Mahiru and Futaba, whom she worked with frequently on a daily basis. And at night, sometimes she would dream of the others too, be it in Seishou's classes or an underground stage beneath the keen eye of a giraffe.
Every month or so they would send letters to the others, and this of course included Maya sending letters to France. Everything she received back, she could read perfectly in Claudine's voice, even though it's been nearly a year since she'd seen or heard her in-person.
From what Maya could tell based off of Claudine's writings, she was thriving in her new environment as well. This always served to motivate Maya further, to aim ever higher for the sake of ensuring her rival wouldn't outdo her.
Even without seeing her for so long, the inspiration Maya draws from her partner's distant presence on a daily basis is immeasurable. Even on the toughest days, when everything seems to pile up against her, Maya refuses to fall.
And it isn't that it's solely for Claudine's sake - but for the sake of she, herself, being worthy enough to continue calling Saijou Claudine her partner and rival.
By now she understands that nothing will ever change that - not the distance, not a failure, not even a choice to change paths in life. The two of them will always be bound, irrevocably.
What inspires Maya is not the hope of continuing to stay one step ahead of Claudine, or even to remain at her side, but to become someone she knows Claudine would be proud of. And the way to become someone Claudine would be proud of is to become someone that makes Maya herself happy.
And that is the difference between who Maya once was, and who she is today.
Today she is free, unbound by the iron fist of her family name, or at least those shackles have been loosened a significant amount.
Where she is now, Maya spends every day with a smile. For all the effort and sweat and energy she expends while working with her troupe, she has a bout of laughter stored up as well.
She lives her life as she'd always wanted to - freely, and doing what she loves most. It had taken much from her in order to get here, but she still had all she needed.
So she often told herself...
And yet, no matter how much time passes by, she can't deny the one thing that remains missing. But not missing in the sense that its absence makes Maya incomplete. Rather than "missing," perhaps the word is simply "misses."
She misses Claudine.
Being apart from her doesn't hinder or derail Maya in any sort of fashion. Where she is now, and how far she's come from her journey aren't things she regrets in the slightest. She is perfectly happy, perfectly whole, perfectly fulfilled. The loss of Claudine hasn't made her anything less than what she once was, or what she wanted to be. No. Maya no longer defines herself based on Claudine's progress, and she can only hope Claudine is living in the very same manner.
Maya is happy here. She is living her dream. Nothing is incomplete. Nothing is missing.
"But I do miss her…"
As evidenced by the murmur that escapes her lips tonight, after Mahiru and Futaba have already fallen asleep. Maya keeps her small bedside lamp on, sitting up against her pillow as she quietly paws through the drawer of precious letters. She doesn't even read them over, because she knows how badly it will sting. But simply seeing that handwriting, and the stationary decorated with cute designs around the border, and the envelopes stamped with images of the Eiffel Tower…
To see Claudine again… It isn't a necessity, but a want. A desire. It isn't essential to her existence… but it sure would make her heart warm.
But it isn't possible. Not anytime soon, at least.
Therefore, after one last passing glance over the most recent letter, Maya slides the drawer closed and turns off her lamp, then lies down against her pillow.
And most nights, she would refrain from calling on old memories, just for the sake of avoiding the pang of heartache that would always come along with them.
But tonight, she deliberately allows her mind to wander back there, two years ago, before graduation, before all the big decisions were made…
To a time where there was an elevator, a stage, and a tall, watchful figure…
The sound of her breath echoes out around her, which tells her the space she's in now is much, much greater than the apartment room she'd last been aware of.
No. Even before she opens her eyes, Maya knows exactly where she is.
She can smell the old wood of the stage and the dust of the curtains, taste the raw, open air that passes over leather audiences seats…
And she feels something, too. Something so, so familiar. A feeling she can't quite put a name to.
Confusion. Dread. Excitement.
All of these, and many more things put together.
She knows exactly where she is, and what she's been brought here to do. After all, she'd been summoned so many times before.
She's been called here to fight. Someone, or something.
And as soon as she opens her eyes, she can tell right away that it isn't just a dream this time.
Even in the past, back at Seishou when they'd been brought here to fight their battles, no one had ever been certain of whether it had been real or not. But regardless of if the fights themselves were figments of their collective imagination, the lessons and the pain and the pride that resulted from them were very real.
After graduation, Maya had had these dreams plenty of times, dreams of being back here on this stage, and she could always tell they were truly just dreams.
But not tonight. Tonight, she knows instantly that it's real.
She is here, on this familiar stage, with a familiar rapier, though in an unfamiliar costume.
They aren't her old revue clothes; perhaps those now belong to some other bright up-and-coming Stage Girl. But her costume is very clearly one for some sort of play; a green Victorian-era vest and pants, complete with a golden sash across her chest and a cape at her back, and boots made for adventure. A small golden crown sits around her head, giving her the overall image of princely royalty.
A prince?
She casts her gaze around fully to the empty room; no audience, no co-stars, no Korosu. Not even a giraffe.
All that exists on this stage with her is a single tree, twisted and leaf-less, pitch black against the blinding white light raining down over it.
A hollow sort of white noise fills her head as she stares, waiting.
But nothing happens, nothing comes.
And so Maya understands she must go to it.
Cautiously, she takes a step, and the thud of her boot resonates across the stage. She takes another step, and another, until she's come to the shadow of the tree. When she looks down, she can see the jutting black branches are misconstruing several words that had been projected or painted onto the stage.
A small trickle of uncertainty travels down her spine, but it isn't fear. Not for this place. Not anymore. This stage holds no power over her anymore. It can't possibly.
With tentative fingers, she reaches up to the branches of the tree to move them, hoping to shift their shadows to reveal the words printed on the stage below. When she moves the branch, there's a rustling sound of leaves.
But this tree is dead…
For a moment, she holds back the branches, squinting as the brightness of the white spotlight contrasts the deepness of the shadows, stinging her eyes as she attempts to make out the characters. And at last, she make sense of them.
"For heroes, there are trials…"
The words are a catalyst. The second she speaks, the stage around her comes to life.
The curtains draw themselves open to reveal a much more massive area, a set painted in whites and grays. There are structures, most of which appear to be random, blocks and platforms and chains of stairs, and surrounding it all are rows and rows of dead, black trees.
But the most prominent and striking feature of the stage is a massive golden castle at the center.
It glistens with power and presence, intricately carved with the most beautiful architecture, from the first step of the entrance to the highest arch of the rooftop.
And at the pinnacle, the highest point of the center tower, sits a cage.
Unlike the golden castle, the cage is made of dark silver steel, hard and cold and suffocating in spite of the perceived space between its bars. And inside is a swan, pure and white, with the beak and feet a deep orange.
The bird is in great distress, cooing and pacing pitifully, constantly shaking, its feathers littering the bottom of the cage. When it tries to spread its wings, the confined space of the cage never allows it to extend itself comfortably. It shies away from the bars before ever touching them, and paces restlessly. The metal seems to burn it, but with heat or cold, Maya can't be certain.
Either way, it is clearly trapped, in pain, scared.
And for good reason.
Not a second after Maya has taken note of the swan, the entire stage shudders beneath her boots, and the branches of the dead trees crackle and snap against each other. Maya holds her ground, her fingers already at the hilt of her rapier at her hip, prepared to draw against anything.
Although, the opponent that presents itself isn't like anything she's ever versed before.
The effects of its weight alone speak to just how massive it is, but to actually see it sends Maya into a frozen state of shock.
Wings.
Not at all like the soft, downy white of the caged swan's, but instead rough, scaly, and leathery, stretching out deliberately.
The wings are a deep swamp-like green at the scales, then bleeds into a dark murky gray at the membrane. Their expanse must cover the entire area of the stage. Already they block out half the spotlights.
And then the beast reveals the rest of itself.
The head is serpentine, though much more akin to a dinosaur. Sharp rows of teeth part, and a billowing breath of hot steam hisses from its mouth. The eyes are yellow and furious, the horns twisted and meant to gore.
Its body rises up from within the castle, as solid and colossal and imposing as a mountain. Behind it, the tail sweeps slowly, snapping several dark trees.
Evidently, Maya's simply being present here had both metaphorically and literally poked the sleeping dragon.
She's never seen anything like it before. Not onstage. Not even this one. Logic would dictate that it couldn't be real, that it shouldn't be able to exist.
But if there's one thing she knows, it's that this stage can breathe life into anything, any concept, any image.
Right now, the dragon is as real as she is.
The beast raises its head and lets out a roar that shakes the entire theater. The terrified swan cries out and huddles in on itself with a withering sound. The dragon rumbles again, and now it turns its penetrating gaze directly onto Maya. Its claws sink into the castle, causing pieces to crumble.
For a moment it remains still, breath steaming, wings half open, tail twitching.
And even though there is no overseer here to announce it, Maya knows what she must do.
It is just as the stage had told her. She is the hero, and this is her trial. Defeat the dragon and save the captive innocent.
And now, as she tightens her grip on the hilt of her rapier, she recognizes one final piece of her costume has been added.
A red jacket now rests on her left shoulder, with a single golden thread and button at her neck.
In that split second, it's almost as if she can hear the echos of his voice that still linger within the memories of this stage.
"Begin!"
Maya bolts forward, flinging herself toward her opponent with everything she's got.
It's been a year since she'd last fought here, since she'd last ran or moved quite like this. The New National Theatre had trained her hard and well, further enhancing the already-impeccable skills she'd learned at Seishou and taught herself during her revues. Though she hasn't moved on this stage in quite some time, now that she's back it's as though she'd never left.
As soon as she moves, the dragon erupts with a furious roar. With a mighty flap of its wings it sends a tornado down at her. Maya swiftly ducks low behind one of the pillars of the castle's entrance stairway as a forceful wind buffets her. She grabs the fistful of her jacket around her pin to keep it secure, fearing the sheer force of the wind might snap it clean off.
Broken branches and pieces of rubble hurl through the air with deadly speed, demonstrating the sheer power of the creature. It hasn't even moved an inch yet and it's already shown Maya just how formidable it is.
As the wind dies down, Maya slowly straightens herself back up. She smirks.
"Good," she says. "After all this time, it would be disappointing to come back here only to face a weakling."
After all, the very last opponent she had faced here had been the strongest she'd ever encountered. And the most beautiful.
But before the memories can begin to replay, another deafening roar blasts across the stage.
This time, a torrent of blazing red flame comes shooting toward her. Maya jumps and dives forward, clearing the flames by moving under them rather than risking the spread going to either side.
As the dragon takes a moment to recover its breath, Maya charges headlong up the steps of the castle. Clearly, there is no inside to the castle, which is evidenced by how the dragon had been keeping itself behind the front of it. It's more like a pen, where the dragon sleeps with the high golden walls all around it. Meaning Maya wouldn't need to evade it from inside a labyrinth of rooms and stairwells. She only needs to reach the cage at the pinnacle of the castle and free the bird.
But like in any heroic tale, that won't happen until she's defeated the dragon.
By now the beast has started to move to leave its perch. Maya counts this in her favor; since it hadn't managed to dissuade her by using its wings or its flames by remaining stationary, she's now forced it into motion, to leave its comfort zone.
"That's it," she utters, jumping several stairs at a time. "Come to me."
The dragon roars again, lumbering itself the rest of the way over the side of the castle. It moves sluggishly, as though it hasn't dealt with an opponent who'd made it move in eons.
Maya nears the top of the stairs, but just before she can try to make a leap onto the stone of the castle itself, a hot breath intercepts her. She skids to a halt and leaps backward just as the dragon's jaws come smashing down in front of her. She gasps, tumbling back down the stairs, her body bruising as she rolls against the hard stone. She scrambles to right herself and keep hold of her weapon while still ensuring the string and pin of her jacket are still intact.
Before she's found her balance completely, the dragon swings its massive head toward her, intending to knock her back the rest of the way or simply shatter all the bones in her body at once with its thick, spiked skull. Her only choice is to jump again, this time over the beast. But it lifts its neck, effectively smashing the back of its head into her stomach.
Maya feels the breath fly from her lungs as she tumbles down the back of its neck, her clothes getting shredded by the spikes along its spine. By the time she manages to stop herself at the top of its back, blood is dripping from several gashes in her skin. But though her jacket is torn, it remains.
Though it hadn't been her intention, she's now found herself in quite a convenient location, in the dragon's blind spot. She'd be a fool to waste this opportunity.
So with a loud battle cry, Maya lifts her rapier high and plunges it downward into the tiny space between two scales. She can feel the blade catch slightly on the tougher scales, but it quickly pierces into the softer flesh below.
The dragon bellows, giving a heave that has Maya skidding. It would've dislodged her and sent her crumpling to the stage below if not for her grip on her rapier buried sturdily in its skin. The beast turns its head to try and snap at her, but the teeth can't reach. Likewise, when it creates another stream of fire, the most it does is warm up her back.
Maya waits, timing her movements carefully, then pulls out her blade to pierce a new spot. The dragon growls, shaking its body to try and throw her off.
Maya continues with her tactic, stabbing in between as may scales as she possibly can, trying to create as many wounds as possible.
But even after a full minute of doing this, she comes to realize that not a single speck of blood has flown from the creature's body.
Above her, a frantic fluttering comes from the cage. Maya looks up to see the swan trying to beat its bent wings away from the fiery breath, but several embers drift in through the bars and singe its feathers, burning the ends of them a horrible black.
And in that second of distraction, Maya loses her footing as the dragon surges beneath her. She crashed down the side of its body, colliding with the rough scales she'd been trying to damage. There's a brief mid-air fall before she crashes onto the stage below, stunned shockwaves pulsing through her body.
The dragon rumbles in satisfaction, then immediately lets its weight drop, intending to crush her. Maya just barely manages to roll away right as the hard belly splinters the stage inches from her back.
Clearly thinking it had killed her, the dragon settles without looking back for her, which gives Maya a moment of repose.
She'd been foolish. She'd rushed in without considering a plan, and she'd nearly gotten the swan killed because of it. If she was to assume that she would win by defeating the dragon and setting the bird free, then she must also assume that if the bird dies, there would be no way she could claim victory.
Since when had she gotten so careless as to neglect those around her?
It's been so long since she'd fought and had someone else to consider.
It's been so long since she's had to fight alone, without anyone else to consider her, to cover her blind side and watch her back and snap some common sense into her…
She's been doing this all wrong, and she understands that now.
Slowly, she pushes herself to lie on her back, gazing up past the thinning smoke, over the side of the massive reptilian body to the small speck of white within its cage. The swan wails in distress and terror, seeming to melt beneath the weight and heat of the bars around it. Its cage swings and jostles mercilessly due to the wind that's created whenever the dragon moves its wings. Maya's heart aches for it.
"My apologies…" she murmurs to it. "I will come free you soon. Please hold on just a little longer…"
Now, the blaze of determination sparks brighter than before. Rather than rushing in blindly, now she has a plan - one that should have been quite obvious from the start.
Pushing herself up, Maya considers the dragon, which doesn't know she's still alive. She has an opportunity for a surprise attack, and it has to be a good one.
She now understands the flaw of her initial tactics. Creating multiple, separate wounds wouldn't bother such a massive creature. Her rapier must've been nothing but a pinprick.
No. She needed to create one devastating wound and keep at it.
If she only had herself to consider, she would use her ambush for that. However, with her hostage in such poor condition, Maya has to use her free hit in another way.
Therefore, she rushes around the side of the dragon, keeping clear of its legs until she's reached the tail. She kicks off and jumps, her boots landing on either side of the spiked trail down the middle. Using the tail as a staircase to the body, she runs up its back to where the mighty wings continue to beat lazily, creating a deliberate disturbance in the air to further distress the captive swan.
Maya turns to the wing closest to the bird's cage and takes aim. With a shout, she jumps off the beats's back, piercing through the membrane of its wing with her blade. As she falls, her weapon tears a long, deep cut through the entire wing, and the thin skin shreds to pieces.
The dragon screeches a higher pitch than before, and the wing collapses uselessly down its side.
Maya lands, and half the winds that had been jostling the swan's cage fade away.
The dragon lashes its neck around, jaws snapping with fire. Maya dodges to the side, but not without aiming a few jabs at its mouth. The first few miss and hit the scales of its chin, but one strike makes its mark and meets the vulnerable flesh of its gums. Blood oozes up and drips onto the stage. Maya smirks in satisfaction.
From there, she enacts her plan.
She races around the beast, using her smaller size and speed to her advantage, ducking in its blind spot beneath its neck. Scouring its plated chest, she selects the spot that must be where the heart is. Using her tactic from earlier, she pierces her rapier in between two scales, pushing in deep. The beast roars, and when she withdraws, her blade is coated in a thin veil of red.
But she doesn't have the time for a second blow - not yet. The claws of its front leg come slashing toward her and she's forced to jump back.
The neck cranes behind her, and the dragon's head comes down with jaws wide open. Maya positions herself at the perfect angle to aim a strike to the same spot she'd hit last time, slashing the gums. Blood sprays down on her just as she rolls sideways, and the jaws plow into the stage beside her.
In that moment before it can strike again, Maya rushes back to its chest and impales her rapier in the same wound, only this time she wrenches it from side to side, widening the space between the scales. She draws back, then penetrates again, and more blood spurts out.
By now the creature is enraged. It begins thrashing, throwing its weight every which way, smashing into the castle which shudders, but only cracks a little. The palace itself was intended to keep intruders out and to guard the beast and its prisoner, therefore it must be made of something equally as strong as the scales of what it was meant to defend.
Maya dashes away as another breath of fire comes howling toward her. The ends of her cloak are singed, her jacket is charred, and her body is aching all over. But she can't slow down now. As a proud graduate of Seishou Music Academy and a promising addition to the New National Theater, something as minor as a dragon can't beat her.
Maya runs, though now it would be more accurate to say she felt as though she were flying, moving so quickly and gracefully it was as though the swan had somehow leant her its wings for the moment.
She dodges another bite, another torrent of fire, then rushes back in to stab the wound on the dragon's chest. She opens it a little wider each time, but there is only so much the fine tip of her rapier can do.
Which is where her second weapon comes into play.
Rather, she hasn't acquired it just yet, but it shouldn't be long now.
Every time the beast brings its head close enough, Maya lashes out at its bleeding gums in the same spot. With her precise blows scoring the same area, she knows it must almost be ready.
As the dragon lumbers around in circles trying to slash or bite or crush her, Maya continues to dance with it, rushing in to pierce its chest, then dodging back out to cut its mouth.
With all of its attention focused on her, it provides the swan a moment of rest, and as much peace as it can get in its horrible cage.
At last, Maya decides it's time.
She pierces the wound in the dragon's chest one more time, then breaks her established pattern and races back for the stairs. The dragon swings its head to follow her, and as it crawls forward it leaves smears of blood behind.
Maya halts halfway up the staircase and turns to face it, waiting. She crouches, and just a split second later she leaps clear as the powerful jaws come smashing down on the spot where she'd just stood. And with all the cutting she'd done to its gums, she grins as she hears a satisfying crack.
As Maya lands on the stage, a massive bloody tooth lands beside her. She sheathes her rapier with a smirk and picks up her new weapon, which must be as long as her sword and half as heavy as herself.
She takes aim at the hole she'd created in the dragon's chest, now wide enough for this new blade to push through.
Maya charges and lets out a roar of her own. She pushes her full weight into the blow, plunging the beast's tooth past its armor and directly into its heart.
The dragon throws its head back and screams as blood sprays out and covers Maya from head to toe. The whole body convulses and shudders, and the stage rumbles all around them.
And then-
Maya blinks, and the dragon is gone.
Rather, its true form is revealed.
Plastic. Scrap metal. Beams. Wooden rods.
All the components that created nothing more than a very convincing prop.
The skin and scales flutter down as painted paper and plastic plates, the wings nothing but old curtains and tarps, the insides merely planks of wood held together by screws and bolts.
All of it clatters into a large pile all around her, and Maya stands there, dripping with stage prop blood. The tooth in her hands unravels as paper mâché and falls from her grasp to join the other remnants on the stage.
As she surveys the aftermath, Maya reaches up slowly to her left shoulder to discover the button is still in place. She takes up her rapier again, and in one swift motion pierces it into the stage.
"Position Zero."
She hasn't uttered those words in quite some time, and the tape to mark center-stage isn't present, but it just feels right.
Now, with the rumbling echoes of the dragon's last roar fading, a fainter sound reaches her ears.
Maya looks up to the top of the castle, where the swan remains trapped in her cage, beating her crumpled wings weakly. Maya crouches low and jumps up onto the golden arch of the castle's entrance way, then quickly leaps onto each nearest foothold until she can stand at the top.
The swan turns to her and lets out a scared cry. Maya approaches slowly, holding her free hand up in peace. She points her rapier at the lock of the cage door and gives a firm push. The lock shatters, and the cage door creaks open.
Maya steps back with a smile.
The swan is startled by the sudden change. The cage she had known for her entire life in captivity has always been the same shape, the same suffocating amount of space.
She's never known it to open up. She's never known it to expand. Of course, she'd known of and been aware of the world around her, but she'd never fathomed that she would ever be able to access it.
For a moment she remains still, wings half-folded on her back, feet skittering at the bottom of the cage where all the burnt grey feathers lie. Maya encourages her.
"Go. You are free now." She lifts her rapier to the ceiling invitingly.
The swan blinks her small black eyes, then cautiously shuffles forward. She extends her neck, poking her head out of the cage door as though she expects the bars to come slamming back in on her. But they don't.
Little by little, step by waddling step, the swan makes her way to the open door. She perches there as best she can.
Then, slowly, slowly, she stretches out her wings. Farther than they'd ever gone before. Farther than she ever knew they could go.
The greyed feathers covered with soot shed, and in their place are brand new feathers, glowing pure white. The spotlights shine on her as she flaps her wings fully, gives an excited coo, and then takes flight.
Maya's heart squeezes with joy.
The bird soars across the stage, and the air that slips between the feathers of her wings seems to giggle and trill with glee. The bird sings, making short, loud, happy honking sounds, projecting her freedom.
Maya is captivated by the beauty of the moment. She absorbs it all in, and the spotlights reach her, too.
Relief. Elation. Freedom. It had taken her some time as well, but she'd eventually understood the meaning of those words.
The swan arches around the theater, above the empty seats of the audience before returning to the stage. With her rapier pointed downward, Maya opens her arms as if they were wings as well. The bird mimics her pose mid-flight, calling out as she nears her savior.
The swan pauses, hovering in front of her. Maya locks eyes with her, and the bird chortles.
Then, she stretches out her long neck, until the tip of her orange beak makes contact with the gem at the base of Maya's rapier.
And then, the swan becomes a sparkling ray of light.
The twinkling fragments the bird leaves behind swirl around the gem, and eventually flutter and sink into it. A bright shine emits from the stone, charging it with light and power.
Maya accepts the swan's offer, her newfound strength, and takes it with her to face whatever inevitable stage awaits her next.
For she knows she isn't finished here yet. There is more in store for her. It is only a matter of what and how soon.
Wordlessly, Maya jumps down from the castle, which then silently collapses into the painted pile of wood and plastic it really is. She walks back across the stage, where all of the dead trees have revealed themselves to be garlands and tinsel.
She walks until she reaches the last one - the first one she'd encountered.
Beneath it, the words and letters of her initial message have begun fading away, until only a few remain.
hero
Maya bows humbly, and the crown atop her head falls, clattering softly before perfectly encircling the word. Without its weight to bear, she lifts her head with vigor.
And soon, the stage beneath her begins to move.
A/N: To this day, I absolutely adore the poetry of Maya and Claudine's movie revue. The title and summary lines are just so profound and beautiful. I wanted to create a story incorporating those lines, hence Maya's role in bringing to life the "for heroes, there are trials," line.
I wanted to put in all the action, suspense, and peculiarities as if it were the giraffe's stage, having the imagery of a massive opponent, a fairytale captive, and in the end, the ridiculousness of it all having just been stage props. But most importantly is that Maya realized along the lines that she was lacking consideration for the swan, since it has been so long since she has had a partner to think of onstage...
(P.S. I hope you paid attention to the nods to specific colors, such as the swan's white body and orange beak/feet, and the colors of the spotlights...)
Please leave comments or kudos!!