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Her first day of classes at Seisho was the same as any other day.
Maya could feel the stares burning into her back; she could hear the whispers whenever she entered the room and what stung the most was the classmates who would move away from her, seemingly too unnerved to talk with her. It was draining.
'Tendo Maya, ready to begin.' Her voice silenced any idle chatter; only the shuffling of shoes filled the room as everyone paired up for stretches, everyone happily working with their partners except Maya, still standing alone atop position zero. Another day of solo practice.
'Care to stretch with me?' An all too familiar voice called; Claudine stood tall with her hand outstretched, 'if you keep staring at nothing like that, I'll surpass you in no time, Tendo Maya!' There it was, that fierce gaze, daring Maya to take her hand. But it was always the same, anyone who chased her would look away eventually, and nobody ever continued to challenge her.
'Maybe this is different?' She thought, hoping that for once somebody would stay. So she took the plunge, taking Claudine's hand with practiced grace as they stretched, falling surprisingly in sync as they moved, quickly taking this synergy into performing; Maya was shocked at how her partner kept up, matched her every step, turn and twist. Now, this felt different; it felt right.
Then her father's words slipped into her mind; 'they only want your position, Maya, don't let them take it from you.' He was right, wasn't he? Claudine had said it herself hadn't she? She only wants to 'surpass' her, to steal away her position, but was it so wrong to have someone like that? To challenge, chase and push her to further heights? Stage girls were selfish after all, desperate to devour the lead.
It was ironic; Maya had spent a great deal of her childhood chasing Claudine after seeing her perform as 'Arrie,' she had lost roles to the blonde and collected many of her works but had funnily never had a chance to meet her formally. However now it's quite the opposite, Claudine had thrown herself back onto the stage, now being the one to chase after Maya.
The music suddenly stopping pulled out of her pondering, she hadn't even noticed how out of breath she was, her partner mirroring her sorry state. They took a moment to compose themselves before locking eyes again.
'My, Saijou-san, your face is quite red,' she smiled, 'was our dance perhaps too much?' It was amusing to see Claudines' face turn an even deeper red as she floundered for a response.
'Que veux-tu dire! You should look at yourself!' She huffed, 'you look like you've never had a partner before!' If she had seen the hurt look on Maya's face she didn't comment on it, only holding out her hand once again, a wordless invitation.
Let's go again.
Maya smirked, clasping her hand again. 'Well then, I look forward to you surpassing me, Saijou Claudine.'
Several months later.
Every day since then had been the same, Claudine would approach her with that fiery gaze and an open hand, and Maya would push them to their limits with even the most complex dances. It was so refreshing that Claudine hadn't given up yet and showed no signs of doing it anytime soon.
To Maya's secret delight the harshness of their rivalry had dulled into something more friendly over time, although Claudine still freely showed her frustrations. Maya was content.
Claudine pushed Maya higher without any unneeded cruelty, only by filling every minute with as much passion as she could manage.
Though, some of her other classmates had more underhanded ways of trying to take her position. It started small; her water would vanish, and her uniform would turn up behind lockers but, it was never anything extreme. It wasn't until halfway through dance practice that a sharp pain sent her stumbling forward into her rival's arms.
'H-hey! What's wrong, Tendo Maya?' Claudine's voice was surprisingly soft, her grip was secure around her waist as she guided Maya towards the benches and gently sat her down.
Maya remained silent as she leaned down to her shoes, knowing what she'd find. She ignored Claudine's gasp as she saw red on the soles of her feet; in her shoes were a handful of thumbtacks. She tipped them onto her hand, shocked at the amount she found, but she was quick to dispose of them. Looking down, she quickly gathered her bag before addressing Claudine, facing the door to escape as quickly as possible.
'I'm sorry, Saijou-san, but I'm finished for today,' It took all of her focus just to keep her voice from wavering, 'feel free to continue without me.'
This was an all too familiar thing for Maya, her classmates would be jealous of her skill, and would take to such methods to hinder her. It wasn't the first time, and it surely wouldn't be the last, but now, she just wanted to be alone.
She had thought this school would be different, that she would finally find kinship with her classmates but some things would never change.
'I don't think so, Maya! You can't just leave like that, sit down!' Claudine gripped her arm firmly, pulling her back towards the seat and effectively pushing her down.
'I can't believe you would try and leave with your feet like that,' the blonde sighed into her hand, 'how are you going to lead this class if you can hardly walk?' The question hung heavy about Maya's head, but all replies died on her tongue.
Why does she even care? Surely this would be the perfect opportunity to take the lead from her, such a show of weakness would give Claudine an advantage, leverage, something that surely she would use against her in the long run.
But, instead, Claudine just looked at her, pity seeping into her gaze. 'This isn't the first time is it.' It didn't even sound like a question, especially not with how she was looking at her.
Whether she wanted to or not, she nodded. Some part of her was desperate for comfort, another fought to remember what her father once told her. 'They've done worse things,' a bitter chuckle left her, 'some days they would scatter my books across the school, other days they would cut holes in my costumes or simply hide them and-'
Maya was pulled from her tangent by Claudine throwing her arms around her, her grip firm but displaying a clear message, that she was here for her, her rival, the one who wanted nothing more to surpass her was providing nothing but support. No ill intent. No desire to hide or ruin her belongings. Just pure comfort.
And in the empty locker room, Maya allowed her facade to slip, just by a bit, clutching the back of Claudine's jacket like a lifeline and if Claudine felt a wet patch on her shoulder she wouldn't say a word of it to anybody.
This wasn't Tendo Maya, this was just Maya, just another girl crumbling under pressures that others couldn't imagine and Claudine had no intention of brushing this off, she would sit with Maya as long as she needed, she would let her vent all of her frustrations that she had never had a chance to mention before.
Gently running her hand across Maya's back, Claudine thought back to her first meeting with Maya, how nobody else approached her, and how shocked she seemed when she offered to be her stretching partner. It stung, knowing how she acted at the start of their partnership probably didn't help. So she pulled the brunette closer, mumbling into her ear.
'Take all the time you need, Tendo Maya.'