Disclaimer: everything belongs to their rightful owners.

The streets were filled with the excited chatters of the people in the small town of Rione. A rare, once in three years event had occurred in the gloomy town. For the people in a town like Rione, which is also known for the town of despair— due to the number of suicides and felony which occur in that one small town —to be having conversations which such smiles on their faces, it had to be a very special event. And it was. Rumours turned into official announcements and small excited whispers turned into cheers of joy.

The circus was here.

Bright, colourful lights surrounded a tent striped with red and white and girls wearing costumes of bunnies and pumpkins cheerfully called out to the townsfolk to come and join the circus for the joyful events they have in store. The tent was set just at the outskirts of town but even so, the townsfolk still went over to buy the tickets with the little money they have and off they went into the tent and took their seats as they awaited for the circus to start. To the townsfolk, it was the one and only thing that gave them the strength to live in that dreary town of theirs.

"what's so great bout this stupid circus anyway..."

A navy haired teen with tanned skin muttered as he walked towards the tent with a light blue haired teen beside him. He was unpleased that he had to go out on such a chilly night but it was his decision to follow, to be honest. The blue haired teen sighed at her friend's comment and pushed a strand of her short hair behind her ear, deciding to say something about his words.

"It's an once in a lifetime event, Daiki-kun." She explained. "And it's one of the most famous circus in the whole country"

"tsk. That I know but..."

Daiki started grumbling to himself and the blue haired girl just chuckled at her friend. The tanned male really wasn't the type to enjoy such events but since she wanted company in the circus, he agreed to follow as they were best buddies since childhood and Daiki didn't want anything to happen to her anyway. The two paid for their tickets and entered the tent, which was already packed with people. The navy haired male groaned at the amount of people who were still trying to find seats and the smell of sweaty coats in the area while the bluenette gripped his sleeve in order to not become separated.

"oi Tetsu! Let's hurry up and grab a seat. I'm dying here"

"yes...Let's"

Using the low presence she was born with, 'Tetsu' maneuvered them towards a vacant seat and they hurriedly sat down before someone took it. A relieved sigh was released from the two and they tried to make themselves comfortable at their current seat. Daiki glanced around the place to see if the guy who sells popcorn was around so that he could get something to munch on, and when he saw him, he swore that the spectators wouldn't be able to get the popcorn at the rate he was eating the one in his hands. And damn was he tall.

"hey— uh, purple guy! C'mere"

The popcorn guy turned to face him and slowly made his way towards Daiki, putting the half-eaten packet of popcorn he was eating in his pocket as he went over.

"The name's Atsushi... and what do you want?"

"popcorn, duh"

"okay... that'll be 3 copper pieces..~"

Daiki fumbled around his pockets until he found the copper pieces and handed three of them to Atsushi, who took them and stuffed them in his pocket before handing the navy haired boy a packet of popcorn. Daiki casually uttered a thanks and the purple haired guy walked off, resuming on his activity of eating. Tetsu reached into the packet and took a handful of popcorn before Daiki even started on it. The faster she grabbed some, the more she could get was what she thought. Daiki could be a glutton at times, to be honest.

A five minute duration passed and a spotlight was turned on and aimed at the middle of the tent. A male with crimson hair— the left side of his hair was gelled up, making his left ruby eye clearly visible, the other slightly covered up by his bangs, as well as the three, small purple diamonds drawn right under it —stood in the middle, the spotlight illuminating his figure. The black suit he wore made him look dashing— in contrast with the place he was in —along with the maroon shirt he wore inside, accompanied with a black tie and gloves. He looked young, either in his teens or early 20's. The male smiled and spreads both of his arms in the air before he announced, with the aid of a microphone he wore on his ear, in a smooth voice,

"ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls! Welcome to our Miracle Circus" The male lowered his arms and balled his right hand into a fist before opening it to reveal a white dove which appeared in a puff of white smoke, the audience 'ooh'-ing at the act. "my name is Seijuro. Pleased to meet you"

Daiki scoffed at the fake tone of friendly-ness he sensed Seijuro used but Tetsu, on the other hand, was enchanted by the man. Her baby blue eyes widened a slight bit, both having a curious glint in them, as she kept her eyes on him, which didn't go unnoticed by Daiki.

Seijuro raised his hands in the air, the dove flying away with the action, "tonight, you shall be amazed by the performances we shall present to you" The redhead then lowered his hands and made a ring appear in them, his introduction continued with a light smirk.

"and now, let the show of the century, begin!"

The hoop was tossed in the air and a small, petite girl appeared from out of nowhere— dangling on a trapeze by her legs —caught the ring in her hands and immediately released her hold on the trapeze. The audience released a gasp of horror as they thought she was going to fall to the ground but right after that, a boy grabbed the ring— him too dangling on a trapeze by his legs —and swung with the girl holding onto the ring, which she let go off soon after to swing herself upwards onto the trapeze the boy was dangling from. The moment her feet came in contact with the trapeze, she held onto the rope with one hand while the other was raised as the spectators cheered at their act.

The show continued with the act of knife-throwing by a bespectacled green haired male, in his early 20's, whose left fingers were bandaged and a purple teardrop was drawn right under his right eye. His aim was perfect, the knives he threw always missed the woman on the rotating platform, though for the thrill he purposely let the knives land just inches away from her. He pushed up his glasses once his performance was done and let a smirk cross his face, an accomplished glint appeared in his eye.

Next up was a fire-breather, a young, pretty faced blond with a orange star drawn around his right eye whose looks definitely swooned all the girls— maybe not all —in the audience seat. The fact that he was shirtless served as a plus point for them. A torch was held in his hand and he swallowed the fire before breathing it out like a dragon, the flame so large that it almost hit the top section of the tent, the audience letting out gasps as a response. The flame died out and the blond just let out an innocent grin as a sign that his performance was over.

The one that took over the ring next was another bespectacled man with black hair who wore also a suit— only the blazer is replaced with a vest —accompanied with gloves worn on his hands which he held a whip in his right one. Behind him were rings of fire and as if on cue, a tiger appeared from a draped entrance they've had set and by using the whip in his hand paired with the loud voice he had, he ordered the tiger to jump through the rings of fire, which it successfully did. Along with the audience cheers, he bowed with a grin and gave a pat on the tiger's head, making it let out a short, rough purr.

Once the male left the ring, a tightrope walker made her entrance, her short brown hair styled with cute little flowers clipped on it. She walked on the tightrope with no difficulty and then slowly did a split before bending forward to stand on her hands on the rope. The audience were about to cheer in amazement when she lost balance and her hands slipped from the rope, causing herself to fall. Some screams could be heard but when she plummeted to the ground, she 'transformed' into a group of doves which flew off in an instant and the one that stood in her place was none other than Seijuro.

As the spectators were cheering at the short magic act that was shown, Seijuro bowed then raised a hand up into the air and with his smile still perfectly intact like it was part of his costume, he said, "ladies and gents, tonight's show has reached it's final stage" A chorus of 'eeh's filled the tent once the redhead announced it as they didn't want the night to end just yet.
Seijuro let a smirk cross his face and he continued, at the same time a girl brought in a rectangular box set on a platform with rollers.

"for the finale, I would like a volunteer from the audience to come down to the ring. Well, anyone?"

The crowd started whispering to each other, wanting to go but also having a small fear of the act that was going to be performed. Almost 5 minutes passed and no one volunteered, Seijuro started to become impatient at that, though he still maintained his smile. Daiki kept his eyes on the ring but his attention wasn't at neither Seijuro or the rectangular box but rather the girl who stood right beside the redhead.

Honestly, she was a beauty. Her long pink hair was tied into two low twintails and she wore a red-green jester-ish hat which had a small bell on each of the two ends. Under her left eye was a green teardrop and around her right eye was a blue star, both colours complimenting her rosey eyes. She wore a pleated skirt— that was a little too short in Daiki's opinion —matching her hat and her top was short, covering just her chest and a little bit of her stomach, leaving her collarbone and shoulders visible until the area of her short sleeves. Her looks were stunning and all but what caught Daiki's attention the most was her smile.

It was the most beautiful smile he had ever saw ever since he lived in the town of Rione. It was an innocent and sincere smile, as that of a child. The amusement in her face was clearly seen as she stood proudly beside Seijuro, who seemed to be standing protectively in front of her. Daiki could feel himself admiring the girl, a faint blush creeping up on his cheeks as his mouth formed a small 'o' and his eyes widening just a slight bit.

Daiki glanced around the place, considering to go and volunteer himself if no one was going as he'd want to get closer to the girl— he'd also rather go down there than stay on his seat with his sore butt —but just when he was going to stand up, Tetsu had gotten ahead of him and stood up herself, lips pursed together in a fine line, trying to hide her nervousness.

"ah, the brave maiden at the top row! Please, come down"

The audience, who just noticed the female standing due to the words of the redhead, started to clap while Daiki stared at his friend, worried about letting her go down there and also silently cursing her for ruining the chance of him go down to get closer to the girl— and also getting off his sore bottom. Tetsu's eyes widened for a split second before she hurriedly went down the steps, mildly surprise that he actually noticed her, who has low presence, from way down there. A light flutter was felt in her heart which she knew was the feeling of happiness that someone could actually notice her.

"Would you mind telling us your name, Miss?" he asked.

"T- Tetsuna...My name is Tetsuna"

She said in perfect formality. Seijuro smiled and nodded in acknowledgement before turning to the pinkette beside him, "Satsuki, if you would please..."

Satsuki..

Daiki repeated her name in his head. It was a beautiful name which he thought really suited her. Maybe he should consider complimenting her personally later on... Navy hues watched as the pinkette started to open the lid of the rectangular box, its hinges creaking at the movement of the lid opening. A click was heard once the lid reached its maximum opening limit, revealing a space in it just enough for an average person to fit in.

"Tetsuna-san," Seijuro started, "I would like you to take a look at the box and confirm that there aren't any hidden traps installed in it"

The bluenette nodded and checked every possible place for a hidden trap before turning back to the redhead and stating that there were no traps installed in it. Seijuro nodded then requested the girl to enter the box and lay down on her back with her arms kept close to herself, which she did. Satsuki then closed and secured the lid, returning to Seijuro's side after she was done.

"ladies and gentlemen." Seijuro started to say. "though I said tonight's show has come to an end, I wonder if it is, perhaps, the only thing that is ending"

A cunning smile played on his face, sending a chill down Daiki's spine. He's well aware that the redhead is a trained magician but somehow the way he said it made him feel that Tetsuna was in real danger. Something inside of him was screaming for him to go and get Tetsuna out of the box as quickly as possible before it was too late.

"now," his gloved hand was slowly raised in a certain gesture which made Daiki's heart beat dangerously in his chest. "may this finale end spectacularly"

Daiki then realized why he was having such a bad feeling. With a snap of his fingers, the box was engulfed by flames and turned into ashes in just a few seconds. At first the audience were still thinking that everything was part of the plan and waited patiently for the magician to execute his next move but horror on the faces of Seijuro and Satsuki indicated otherwise. The two shouted to the staff backstage to dial the emergency number and requested them to send an ambulance immediately. Worried whispers filled the tent as the alarmed expressions of the two performers didn't leave their faces.

"what's happening?"

"did something go wrong?"

"what happened to the girl in the box?"

Daiki gritted his teeth when the person next to him asked that question and without second thought, got up from his seat and stormed towards the panicked magician and his assistant, immediately grabbing hold of his collar roughly once he got into the ring, the staff failing to stop him from entering.

"you bastard!" He angrily shouted to the mildly surprised male. "the hell did you do to Tetsu!?"

"sir please calm—"

"how the hell do you expect me to calm down!?" the navy haired male snapped at the redhead's attempt to calm him down. "Tetsu was in that goddamn thing!"

"sir, please listen to me." Seijuro calmly said, raising three fingers up, Daiki's eyes glancing over to them. "if you may, countdown to three with me"

"the hell would I—"

"sir. If you may."

Daiki immediately held back his words at the cold glare the redhead briefly gave him before replacing it with the usual calm expression he had. Though glares would usually mean nothing to the navy haired boy— it'll only serve as a provocation —the one that he gave sent indescribable fear though his whole body. Reluctantly, he slowly let go of his collar and he listened as the male counted down.

"three"

"two"

"one!"

In a puff of white smoke— along with a few colourful streamers and confetti accompanying it —Tetsuna appeared, her face showing a little puzzlement to what had happened as she blinked glancing around, at the exact spot the box had burnt into ashes which was just beside them. There was a short silence before the crowd applauded loudly, the sound echoing throughout the tent. Daiki stared at his friend and rushed to her, grabbing both her shoulders and checking for any scratches or burns that she might have obtained. Fortunately, there were none.

Daiki sighed in relief that she was safe and sound. If anything had happen to her, he would not have forgiven himself. Then again, he should've known that this would've happened. Magicians do deceive their audience, don't they?

"everyone,"

Daiki looked over to Seijuro, who smiled at the audience but he could sense the irritation faintly present in his voice and features, a slight feeling of guilt suddenly born in him.

"we hope you enjoy the finale we planned out for you, though there was an unexpected interference..."

Seijuro muttered the last part but it was loud enough for Daiki, and also Tetsuna, to hear. The bluenette glanced over to her tall friend with a light frown on her face, mentally sending a message on how unpleased she was at him for causing trouble for others, which the tanned male instantly protested with a harsh whisper, "I was worried about you...!"

"the show officially ends tonight! We thank you for coming and we hope to see you again someday"

As soon as he uttered those words, the audience clapped before returning back to their homes, all talking about what a wonderful experience the circus was. Well, almost all of them. Feeling really guilty of his actions— though it was done out of worry for her, Tetsuna dragged Daiki by his hand to the tents where the people from the circus rest after a long day of preforming. She wanted him to at least apologize, even though she really appreciated his feelings. No matter how much he protested, she firmly kept her grip on his hand and dragged him with all the strength she had. Daiki honestly didn't want to go apologize— because in his opinion it wasn't his fault that they managed to perfectly trick him into believing the performance had gone wrong —but then he realized this was a chance for him to see Satsuki so not really complaining there.

The two kept on walking— feeling little puzzled that there were none of the circus staff around the tents —until they reached a large tent, though not as large as the tent for performance, where they heard voices coming from inside. Daiki, not wanting to let Tetsuna do it, slowly raised up the cloth at the main entrance and peeked into the tent. The smell of cigarette smoke entered his nostrils, making him wrinkle his nose, and the first thing that came to sight was the cold, ruby eyes of Seijuro which looked down on him, literally, even though Daiki was the taller one. Seated beside him was a plump man with a mustache wearing a suit, his hand rested on a small table— two wine glasses set perfectly on it —holding a cigarette with a full ash tray beside it. By how the man looked, Daiki could easily tell that he was someone with high authority.

"what are you doing here"

Seijuro questioned, obviously unpleased with the fact that someone had interrupted his time with the man.

"ah- well- uh..."

Daiki found it hard to get what he wanted to say into words under the pressure of the glare the redhead was giving him so he was thankful when Tetsuna came up from behind him and did the explaining instead. But he had to admit he felt just a little embarrassed that a girl had to help him in the situation.

"we wanted to apologize for what happened during the show. Daiki-kun really doesn't know how to control himself at times"

"that's because I thought you were—!"

"ah, that.." Seijuro uttered and got up from his seat, not before politely excusing himself from the man, then made his way towards the two teens. "There is no need to apologize. We are to blame for creating an act just to make the finale interesting."

"but because of that your show—"

Tetsuna's words were cut off by a small puff of smoke which revealed a red rose held up to her by Seijuro, accompanied by a gentle smile by him. The bluenette blinked confusingly, looking at the redhead then at the rose, then back to the redhead again, trying to figure out what he was doing.

"hush now. I have already said, there is no need to apologize."

She blinked again before taking the rose from him when he gestured for her to take it, a light blush forming on her face at the tender act of the redhead. Daiki let out a loud huff, as if he was disapproving the interaction between the two, then took Tetsuna by her hand, saying,

"okay we've finished apologizing and shit so let's go"

"eh, ah, okay..."

The bluenette gave a polite bow to both Seijuro and the plump man before leaving the tent with Daiki. Unknown to her, the greedy eyes of the man didn't leave her figure the whole time she was in his sight. He lightly stroked the left side of his mustache with his free hand, eyeing the entrance of the tent as Seijuro made his way back to his seat beside him. The man brought his cigarette to his lips and took a puff before asking Seijuro, his deep voice bounced across the tent.

"is that the young maiden you were talking about?"

Seijuro glanced at the plump man and took his time to take a sip from the wine glass before answering his question.

"yes."

"she certainly does have a rather low presence. I didn't notice her until you two were talking"

"it is a gift, might I say. Such low presence is very rare."

"indeed..." A malicious grin slowly spread on the features of the man as he took another puff of his cigarette. "she would make an interesting addition to my, 'collection'..."

Seijuro's hand on the wine glass twitched and he looked over to the man, who picked up his own wine glass and raised it up, making it illuminated by the candles placed around the tent.

"I want her, Seijuro. Obtain her for me"

His grip on the wine glass tightened though his expression was as empty as ever. After a silent pause, Seijuro closed his eyes and gave a light nod.

"understood..."

"...master."

aaaah finally had the time and motivation to do this-
this is just the introduction for the upcoming events and I really hope I don't get a block for this one-
hope you enjoy and I would appreciate if you could give some comments on it
Thanks for reading!