Freak show

I got inspiration for this story from the music box version of Vocaloid's Circus Monster. The music seems to fit so well with Alfred and Ivan's first meet, and I thought that this would be unique. I don't own Hetalia, nor do I own Vocaloid. Only the plotline of this story.

Prologue~

Ivan was walked through the dimly lit room, cold and lined with cages. Hay littered the floor, and in each cage rested a disfigured human, more or less, captured by an illegal, underground Freak show. Being curious, he decided to risk it and went to see what it contained, while there he had seen a number of 'freaks', large, small, of different races and ages, this was where he had landed a part-time job, just because it seemed like a good idea at a time.

"For now I'll put you in charge of feeding them, keeping them in order and such. I suppose even they need company. Soon, after you've worked here for a while, you can help set up shows if you like." the ringleader explained, his eyes cold as he looked at the silhouettes of all the inmates there. "If it's not too much, you can start tomorrow." he said, interrupting Ivan's thoughts of how miserable this place seemed, and wondering why he had wanted this job in the first place. "Da." he said, before the ringleader left him alone.

Ivan felt someone behind him tap him on the shoulder just then. "Excuse me? You're the new employee everyone's been talking about right? Word spreads fast." Ivan turned to see a short man, with long brown hair pulled into a ponytail. He had big, friendly amber eyes that showed no ill intent. "Da, I am. My name is Ivan, yours?" he asked, glad someone had spoken to him. Whether it was the matter of his height or not, everyone had been looking at him like he was a freak since he arrived. "Ni hao. My name is Yao." he replied, smiling. "Allow me to show you around, get you acquainted with the others. They aren't used to new people, so they may be a little shy, but don't get scared, they're really nice, I don't see why our boss sees it fit that they stay locked up." he grumbled, leading Ivan to a first cage. "This is Kiku, he's one of my favorites." he explained, pausing for a moment to look at the shadowed figure in the back.

"I don't want to come out.." a strangely accented voice replied, a pouting tone to his voice. "He can't hurt you Kiku.. just say hello.." Yao begged, a long silence following before a black-haired young man crawled into the light. He had large fox ears, and a big bushy tail that brushed the ground behind him. "K-konichiwa.." Kiku murmured softly, still a little hesitant but after a while grew curious about the man, so he reached out and softly touched Ivan's nose. "Why do you wear such heavy clothing inside?" the caged man asked, tilting his head. Ivan thought about this, since not many people had asked that.

"Force of habit.. I suppose." he replied gently, cautiously reaching through the bars of the cage to pet Kiku's fox ears. The Japanese flinched a little, but allowed the Russian to touch his ears. "We'll be back later, I suppose you'd want to rest, I still need to introduce Ivan to some of the others. Next you get to meet Arthur and Francis. Arthur has these big wings like an angel, he's one of the main performers, so odds are he's tired, but maybe we can meet him before he falls asleep. Francis is psychic, normally that wouldn't make him a freak, except for the big horns on his forehead. The two constantly argue, but you can't keep them apart for more than a day." Yao explained. They approached a cage across the room, two lumps on the floor of the cage.

"Arthur, Francis, are you awake?" Yao whispered, one of the lumps beginning to stir. "I am, what is it?" A British accent asked. The light hit the cage so as soon as the blonde sat up, you could see his face. Bright green eyes shone through the darkness, questioning, but with a blank tint to them. "This is Ivan, he's going to be working here, I just thought you would like to meet him." Yao replied, smiling softly. Arthur surveyed them both, mainly the Russian, eyes intense, behind him, fluffy white wings slowly fluttered, creating a gentle breeze. "Francis, what do you think? I know you're awake." Arthur said firmly, the other lump moving. "Eh? Oh, so this is one of the new caretakers.." the Frenchman murmured, looking at Ivan as well. Francis had long black horns protruding from his forehead, but that still didn't eliminate the mysterious aura he had, in fact, it enhanced it. "He'll get along well with Alfred, have you met him yet?" Francis asked, yawning slightly. "No, not yet, we're going over to his area to see him next, he's probably asleep though." Yao replied. "The poor thing usually is.. with how hard the ringleader works him.. that wanker.. farewell Ivan, see you tomorrow." Arthur replied, laying down to doze off again.

The two began walking again, over to a large, dark corner in the room. "Why did you say area instead of cage?" Ivan asked, confused. "He doesn't have a cage. The ringleader dislikes him quite a bit and keeps him chained to the wall. I don't see why though, Alfred can barely speak, he wouldn't hurt a fly, but the ringleader seems to think he'll kill us all and takes the whip to him nightly, he's been here since he was just a little boy, he's my favorite, despite how he looks. The boy is not even a performer in the show, he's just an icon of humiliation out in front of the crowd." Yao said. The two reached the edge of the corner, Ivan hearing a quiet shuffling from the darkness. "Alfred.. come out." Yao said as if speaking to a child, a long silence passed, and at first Ivan thought the other must be sleeping. "I-is papa gone?" a timid voice asked from the thick darkness. "Yes, he's gone. Come meet the new employee here. This is Ivan, he won't hurt you." Yao coaxed, holding a hand out.

Soon, the clinking of chains sounded, and a snow-pale young man emerged into the light on his hands and knees. He had dark grey horns that curved downward emerging from hair as dark as night, a cowlick protruding in the front. He squinted his electric blue eyes, as if he had trouble seeing Ivan. He had wings like Arthur, only these were as dark as his hair, and resembled those of a bat, a pointed tail swayed from under the tattered robes he wore, he could see why anyone would mistake him for evil at the first glance, with devilish appearance, his pointy fangs and black nails that were just as sharp. But when Alfred's face broke into a smile, it was as if the whole world lit up. Alfred attempted to stand on his knees to touch Ivan's face, like a puppy saying hello, but the chain around his neck choked him to the point where he found himself frustratedly trying to work against the chains. This failed and after a while, he lowered back to sitting on his knees. Ivan noticed the tears running down his face, his heart sinking.

Ivan lowered himself down onto his own knees and petted Alfred's hair, the young man looking up in excitement. Ivan wiped away stray tears, smiling back. Alfred leaned forward as best he could, wrapping his arms around Ivan's neck in a hug. "He does like you.. he even flinches away from me, and I'm the only one he even lets touch him." Yao explained, a bit impressed. When Ivan pulled away, Alfred looked disappointed, but Ivan simply held up a hand to calm him. "Don't worry. I'll be here tomorrow." he assured, Alfred nodding reluctantly, and taking to the shadows once more.

"Is that all?" Ivan asked, Yao nodding in return. "Yes, for now, you'll meet the others tomorrow afternoon when you prep them for the show. " Yao said. "By the way.." Ivan started, reluctant to ask his question. "What?" Yao asked, biting his bottom lip casually, as if it were a habit. "Why did Alfred ask if Papa was gone? Who's Papa?" Ivan replied worriedly. "The ringleader. Alfred was so young when he was brought here, the he's been the only thing relatively close to a papa he's ever known. There's a rumor going around that Alfred wasn't born like this, and actually is the ringleader's son.. It makes sense, given the ringleader's only wife died in childbirth, he told us." Yao explained. Ivan nodded slowly, disgusted. He now had a reason to be here, he wasn't simply going to tuck tail and run, he'd make sure that Alfred wasn't alone, the others as well, with how brutally they were treated. Something about Alfred, something vital struck a chord within Ivan, and he didn't want to lose that feeling, he would stay.

I'm uber proud of this, I hope you liked it.

I may not post very often. But I'll try.