Brilliance of Sister Stars - End of Circle/Story

* Part 1
* Part 2
* Part 3
* Part 4
* Part 5
* Final Part

Brilliance of Sister Stars - End of Circle - Chapter 1

 **Fumi:**Okay, next up is this... Let me know if you understand me: "Les aiguilles de l'horloge ont disparu."

 **Claudine:**Hee hee, is that a line from your next performance? Your pronunciation could use some work, but you don't have to be that meticulous about it.

 **Claudine:**The person you're talking to is going to make an effort to understand you, after all... It's more important to focus on the tempo of the conversation.

 **Fumi:**Ohhh! Then maybe I should focus more on vocabulary than grammar right now.

 **Claudine:**Now you're getting it.

 **Fumi:**Only because I have such a great teacher, Saijo-sensei.

 **Claudine:**Oh, don't call me that! I don't like it, I'll have you know.

 **Claudine:**...I still can't believe you're going to study abroad in France.

 **Fumi:**All I've done is submit the application. We don't know if I'll actually get accepted.

 **Claudine:**But you got an invitation from a Rinmeikan alumn, right? You're a shoo-in.

 **Claudine:**Honestly, you come up to me and say, "I need your help," looking as serious as a heart attack. Here I was, bracing myself for the worst...

 **Claudine:**Only to hear, "What's France's climate like? Is it a safe place? Do they have ponzu?"

 **Fumi:**H-Hey, that's important!

 **Claudine:**Yeah, yeah. Anyway... Have you told Shiori about this?

 **Fumi:**...I will after practice today. Though I wish I could've told her earlier.

 **Claudine:**Well, I understand the feeling. It's hard to find the right time for a serious conversation.

 **Claudine:**On the other hand, nothing good comes from putting it off. But knowing you two, you'll be fine.

 **Claudine:**Just be a good big sister and act confident. If you're nervous when you tell her, you'll only put her on the spot.

 **Fumi:**...That advice sounds just like you.

 **Fumi:**You look like you'd think very impersonally, but you're actually very caring. I have a lot to learn from Saijo-sensei.

 **Claudine:**Non! I told you not to call me that!

***\*clatter\****

 **Karen:**Student Number 1 of the Seisho Music Academy's 99th class, Karen Aijo is here!

 **Karen:**Oops, force of habit... This isn't even school!

 **Hikari:**I could hear you all the way from outside.

 **Shiori:**Hee hee, well, I think it's very proper of her! Huh...?

 **Shiori:**Fumi and Saijo-san! I'm so sorry you had to wait for me...

 **Claudine:**Oh, it's okay. We got together and planned to get here early.

 **Karen:**Heh heh heh, you're sure raring to go♪

 **Claudine:**Of course we are. Anyone would want to get their head in the game for a national arts festival.

 **Hikari:**That's right. Our performance got picked for a large-scale annual event.

 **Shiori:**It's a lot of responsibility, but since we got the offer—

 **Fumi:**We have to live up to it. And we'll do it with our original play, Circle of the Norns!

Brilliance of Sister Stars - End of Circle - Chapter 2

 **Karen:****(????)**
"—This is Yggdrasil, a town too large to call a village, but too small to call a city."

 **Hikari:****(????)**
"Here the people laugh, and toil, and pursue their dreams."

***\*gong\*, \*gong\*...***

 **Hikari:****(????)**
"Ah, the bell that announces the beginning of a new day."

 **Karen:****(????)**
"This bell rests in the clock tower in the center of the city as a blessing from three goddesses..."

 **Hikari:****(????)**
"The eldest, Urd, is the goddess of the past, governing the hour hand."

 **Karen:****(????)**
"The second, Verdandi, is the goddess of the present, governing the bell."

 **Hikari:****(????)**
"The youngest, Skuld, is the goddess of the future, governing the minute hand."

 **Karen:****(????)**
"Now open your ears anew, and let your heart soar on the sound of the goddesses' bell—"

 **Shiori:****(Skuld)**
"Ooh, nh, hic, nhh..."

 **Claudine:****(Verdandi)**
"Argh, shut up already!"

 **Claudine:****(Verdandi)**
"Will you please stop crying, Skuld? ...I can't even hear my bell!"

 **Shiori:****(Skuld)**
"B-But another new life has been born..."

 **Claudine:****(Verdandi)**
"That's a GOOD thing! It's our duty as Norns to watch over the humans born in this city. We should be happy to see them prosper!"

 **Shiori:****(Skuld)**
"I know, but... Ohhh, Urrrd!"

 **Fumi:****(Urd)**
"Right over here, Skuld. I'll rub your back until the tears stop."

 **Claudine:****(Verdandi)**
"Ugh, there you go spoiling her again, Urd!"

 **Fumi:****(Urd)**
"Oh, don't be like that, Verdandi."

 **Fumi:****(Urd)**
"You may see the people's present, but she sees their future... Their end. It's only natural she'd be sad."

 **Claudine:****(Verdandi)**
"Whatever... Leave it to the one obsessed with the unchanging past to be so darn kind!"

 **Fumi:****(Urd)**
"Oh, but without the past, there wouldn't be a present, and without a present, there wouldn't be a future..."

 **Fumi:****(Urd)**
"When you think of it like that, the past is synonymous with you two. Of course I'd fawn over you."

 **Claudine:****(Verdandi)**
"I-I guess..."

 **Shiori:****(Skuld)**
"Verdy, are you blushing...?

 **Claudine:****(Verdandi)**
"S-Shut up!"

 **Fumi:****(Urd)**
"Hee hee, that's enough horsing around for now. It's almost time for you-know-who to arrive."

Brilliance of Sister Stars - End of Circle - Chapter 3

 **Fumi:****(Urd)**
"Hee hee, that's enough horsing around for now. It's almost time for you-know-who to arrive."

 **Claudine:****(Verdandi)**
"Oh, is it that late already?"

 **Shiori:****(Skuld)**
"You're right. I can hear his methodical brushing now."

 **Hikari:****(Lito)**
"—Is someone there?"

 **Hikari:****(Lito)**
"Guess I'm just imagining things. The only people here on the top floor of the clock tower are me and the goddesses."

 **Hikari:****(Lito)**
"Ugh, keep this up, and the townspeople are gonna look at me funny again. Just shut up and do the morning cleaning... Hey, goddesses, I'm gonna wind the clock now."

 **Claudine:****(Verdandi)**
"Skip the prayers and just do it already!"

 **Fumi:****(Urd)**
"Hee hee, silly Verdandi... Humans can't see us, remember?"

 **Claudine:****(Verdandi)**
"I know that! Lito's been coming here since he was thiiis little, so I just can't help it."

 **Shiori:****(Skuld)**
"...I-I'll go outside!"

 **Claudine:****(Verdandi)**
"Ah! Hey, Skuld!"

 **Claudine:****(Verdandi)**
"Good grief... There she goes again..."

 **Fumi:****(Urd)**
"Don't hold it against her. She foretold Lito's future herself."

 **Claudine:****(Verdandi)**
"'The flame of the janitor Lito's life will be extinguished on his eighteenth birthday,' was it?"

 **Claudine:****(Verdandi)**
"I just don't believe it. Heck, I'd stop it if I could..."

 **Fumi:****(Urd)**
"No, Verdandi. A life belongs to the human who lives it. Their destiny is in their own hands."

 **Fumi:****(Urd)**
"If we Norns do any more than watch—"

 **Claudine:****(Verdandi)**
"—We fall from grace and become evil Norns, right? I know."

 **Fumi:****(Urd)**
"Exactly. Good Norns can exist as guardian goddesses, but evil Norns visit tragedy upon the entire world."

 **Fumi:****(Urd)**
"We must not doubt the nature of the humans."

 **Claudine:****(Verdandi)**
"...It's okay. I'm not doubting anything. I believe in myself, and I believe in how strong humans can be."

 **Fumi:****(Urd)**
"Yes, you're right. Now if only Skuld had some of the same strength you do."

 **Claudine:****(Verdandi)**
"...Hey, Urd? Keep an eye on Skuld. You're the one she likes the most."

 **Fumi:****(Urd)**
"Of course. I don't know how much I'll be able to do, but I'll be there for her."

 **Fumi:****(Urd)**
"So Verdandi, I want you to watch over Lito."

 **Claudine:****(Verdandi)**
"You got it! If the prophecy is true, he'll be meeting his destiny soon!"

Brilliance of Sister Stars - End of Circle - Chapter 4

 **Karen:**—Okay, that's all for Act 1!

 **Karen:**Whew, I can't believe this was our first time rehearsing together... We were in perfect sync!

 **Hikari:**Yes, we did better than I was expecting. I'm just worried about the tempo, and the spacing, and...

 **Shiori:**Ah! Slow down so I can take notes!

 **Fumi:**Heh heh, you're right. We can still jack up the quality on this thing!

 **Karen:**You bet we can. Let's do Act 2 already! I just wanna jump right into the Norns' world!

 **Claudine:**Not yet. We need to take a break and reflect on Act 1!

 **Karen:**Argh, I get it, but I just can't sit still! All those people and their peaceful lives, then their guardian goddesses and their big old clock tower...

 **Karen:**Oh, that reminds me. I asked Hikari-chan about this before, but Britain has a clock tower too, right?

 **Karen:**You know, the, uh, Big... Big Bang?

 **Hikari:**The Big Ben... It's a famous landmark.

 **Karen:**Yeah, that! Do you think the setting in this script might be based on Britain?

 **Shiori:**The Big Ben IS the most famous clock tower in the world.

 **Fumi:**Oh, I thought it was based on the clock tower in France.

 **Karen:**Whoa, France has a clock tower, too!?

 **Claudine:**Yes, in Rouen. It's not as well-known as the Big Ben, but it's decorated absolutely beautifully.

 **Fumi:**And most importantly, it bears some similarities to the clock tower in this play.

 **Fumi:**Just like in the final act, the Rouen clock only has one hand.

 **Hikari:**You really know your stuff.

 **Karen:**Come to think of it, you and Clau-chan were talking about France the other day, weren't you? Like greetings and self-introductions and stuff.

 **Karen:**Oh! Lemme guess, is Rinmeikan going on an excursion to France!? You're so lucky!

**Fumi & Claudine:**...

 **Karen:**H-Huh? Did I say something weird!?

 **Fumi:**...Shiori, remember how I said I wanted to talk to you after practice today? I was going to tell you this then, but...

 **Fumi:**I'm thinking of studying abroad in France.

 **Shiori:**What...!?

Brilliance of Sister Stars - End of Circle - Chapter 5

 **Claudine:**Bonjour. It's not every day you want to see me, Fumi.

 **Fumi:**Yeah, there's something I absolutely need your help with.

 **Claudine:**Why so serious all of a sudden?

 **Fumi:**I'll just cut to the chase. A Rinmeikan alumn contacted me and said...there's a slot open on the French study abroad program.

 **Claudine:**...I see.

 **Fumi:**I've been worrying like crazy if all the stuff I've learned will be of any use, or if it's even okay to decide to leave Japan—

 **Claudine:**But you've already made up your mind, haven't you?

 **Fumi:**Yeah. I want to do it... I want to stand on a bigger stage!

 **Fumi:**Saijo-san—no, Saijo-sensei! Please, teach me about France!

 **Shiori:**...Wow. A graduate invited you to study abroad in France...

 **Fumi:**I'm sorry this is how I had to break the news. I just thought it'd be wrong to avoid the subject here.

 **Karen:**F-Fumi-chan? You're not leaving right away, are you...!?

 **Fumi:**Of course not. Don't worry, I plan on graduating Rinmeikan... But I'm definitely going to be busy preparing for the trip.

 **Karen:**Whew, that's a relief... You scared me for a second there.

 **Hikari:**...It's okay. Study abroad programs aren't that sudden.

 **Karen:**You're really gonna say that!?

 **Shiori:**...

 **Claudine:**...Shiori, Fumi really agonized over this as a Stage Girl before she made her decision.

 **Shiori:**...What...

 **Shiori:**What are you walking on eggshells for...!? If... If you'd just told me, I would've absolutely supported you!

Brilliance of Sister Stars - End of Circle - Chapter 6

 **Shiori:**What are you walking on eggshells for...!? If... If you'd just told me, I would've absolutely supported you!

 **Fumi:**Shiori...

 **Claudine:**Hee hee, good for you, Fumi.

 **Fumi:**Saijo-san... Yeah, you're right. After all we've been through, I knew you'd understand.

 **Karen:**Yeah! I was surprised too, but this is good news, right? We've gotta support the heck out of her!

 **Hikari:**I don't know how you quantify a "heck," but yes, I'll support her.

 **Shiori:**Ha... Haha, did you hear that, Fumi? And Saijo-san gave you a lot of advice, right? Did you thank her?

 **Claudine:**Don't worry about that. You can thank me in France.

 **Fumi:**What!?

 **Karen:**Ahaha! Yeah, Clau-chan and France are like peas and carrots. Ah, man, I'm falling in love with the stage all over again!

 **Karen:**Let's put on a performance so amazing, Fumi-chan remembers it every time she looks at the big old clock over there!

 **Shiori:**...Yes, you're right. Yeah!

 **Shiori:**Now, why don't we call our break here and get back to rehearsing?

 **Fumi:**Not every day you take charge of the situation. Yeah, that's fine by me!

 **Claudine:**Good to see you're motivated. Let's get started with Act 2!

**Shiori & Karen & Hikari:**Yes!

 **Hikari:****(Lito)**
"—Why are you trespassing in the clock tower!? Are you a traveler!?"

 **Karen:****(Tini)**
"Why, I never!"

 **Karen:****(Tini)**
"I'd thought only someone terribly high-strung could keep this place so clean, but looking at you, it all makes sense."

 **Hikari:****(Lito)**
"Wha...!?"

 **Karen:****(Tini)**
"Hee hee, I am Tini, a horologist dispatched from the city!"

 **Karen:****(Tini)**
"I've come here on reports of the clock tower being out of sorts... Pleased to meet you, mister janitor♪"

 **Hikari:****(Lito)**
"...!!"

 **Fumi:**—Tini frolics through the clock tower, each step blowing away the awkward atmosphere between her and Lito...

 **Claudine:**As he chases after her, stumbling over himself, his steps start to respond to hers in a gleeful dance.

 **Fumi:**Just as she steals Lito's heart the moment he sees her smile, so too does Tini's open to him... And the spacing and tension between you two couldn't be more perfect!

 **Claudine:**You said it. You really make my—Verdandi's prophecy about Lito meeting his destiny carry weight.

 **Shiori:**......

 **Fumi:**Shiori? Earth to Shiori...

 **Shiori:**Oh, um... You know... I was just thinking Aijo-san and Kagura-san really do look like they're destined for each other...

 **Fumi:**Come on, don't let them overwhelm you... We're gonna put on the best show ever, remember?

 **Shiori:**Y-Yeah! Right, that's right...

 **Shiori:**I have to do it right... Have to put on the best show ever... With Fumi...

 **Claudine:**Shiori...?