TITLE: God's Children
SUMMARY: Kidnapped at a young age, they grew up being brainwashed into thinking their kidnapper is God. A cop and X assassin must teach these murderous children, with skewed ideas of right and wrong, to be normal. Which is hard when you're shunned from your classmates, and your parents, who you've just met, can barely look you in the eyes. Not to mention God is keeping watch a close watch.
Rated M.
Intro
It was Circus House of Horrors… and it was run by GoD.
It would spring up off in a wooded clearing, stay for about a week, and disappear the next before it popped up in another place. For some people a Circus is a scary place, because they had irrational fears for clowns or some other such nonsense, but this place was very much like a Circus and Haunted House all in one.
They had two showings. One that went from 9pm to 11pm. Then a 12am to 2am. The first all ages were welcome. But at the second, things got even scarier, that one was the only show worth seeing. However, he would attend both, because he wanted to be as thorough in his investigation as possible. It was how to attend both that was the question… They sold tickets to anyone for the first time. But attending the second required a special pass. Which he didn't have. Hoping that he might find or steal a pass while investigating the circus he got dressed.
Karasuma was going undercover for this investigation. His badge hidden safely away on the inside of an expensive jacket. He was pretending to be a wealthy business man and he asked his co-worker Irina to pose as his trophy wife for the assignment. A man was much less suspicious going to a circus if he was bringing a wife or a child along after all. So she dawned her finest garb and was on his arm when they parked in town and walked to the clearing where the circus was being held.
Irina was being a good trophy wife, as she got excited over everything, and the show started right at the entrance where instead of an archway two people were throwing flaming torches to one another. It was a club juggling act only the clubs were on fire.
"Oh wow!" Irina gasped as they walked under it. There were stands and booths sitting on either side of the path that led up to the main tent.
"Sir? Madam? Would either of you like to test your bravery?" asked a blue haired kid holding out a box. He was wearing an almost gothic looking outfit and his costume makeup had been painted to make his face look like a skeleton's.
"Uh… sorry?" Karasuma stopped to inquire.
"Inside this box is a key," the teen explained, it unlocks something special at the end of the show. "No one has been brave enough to get it yet… But you look brave."
"Yes," Irina teased grabbing his arm. "My husband does look brave doesn't he?"
He glared at her a moment before turning back.
"What do I have to do?" he asked wearily.
"Just reach inside this box and grab the key, but I got to warn you," he said smiling. "There is more than just a key in here…"
"…" he frowned.
"Oh honey," Irina said pulling on his sleeve. "Don't let this kid think you're scared… Get the key, maybe we'll win a free dinner."
"Who knows," the boy offered eagerly.
"What's in the box besides the key?" Karasuma asked questionably. He wasn't sure what to expect but it could be any number of things. He was really hoping it wasn't maggots.
"Well I can't tell you that, what sort of test of bravery would that be?" he asked. People had started to gather now, all wondering what he would do, and a few little kids were looking up at him as if trying to determine by his looks if he was a chicken or not.
"Well go on Darling," Irina urged, dear lord he hated the woman. Frowning he rolled up his sleeve and slowly reached inside… His hand reached the bottom and he moved his finger just a few inches to begin his search for the key when they ran into—
He withdrew his hand immediately.
Snakes… Their were snakes in the box.
"Aw," the boy teased. "You're not as brave as you look Mister…"
Some of the children started laughing, so the skeleton child knelt down holding the box out to them, and their smirks fell from their faces, as they too were too scared.
"I just got startled may I try again?" Karasuma asked.
"If you wish," the kid held the box out again and he reached inside, and almost instantly felt the snake slitter near him again. He focused on the key. Where was it? He felt the snake's tongue flick against his finger as it hissed lightly, but he couldn't hear it. At last his finger came in contact with metal and he grabbed it withdrawing his hand quickly.
"You got it!"
The people around him cheered.
"Since he got the key can we see what's in the box?" asked one of the children eagerly.
"Of course, but are you sure you won't be too scared of what you might see?" he asked.
"We're not scared!" they cheered even though when he asked them they certainly had been.
"Alllllrrriiiight," he said kneeling down and making a big show of slowly opening the box until finally he ripped it off and threw the contents on the children. They screamed and clutched at their parents knees, but all that had come out were long coils of rope with googly eyes glued to them. They were complete with fake paper tongues to look like snakes.
They started laughing after when they realized they weren't real.
"…" Karasuma looked down at the key in his hand. No… he had felt a snake in that box… He was sure of it.
The boy closed the lid as the crowd started to disperse.
"The snakes in the box… Where did they go?" Karasuma asked, and the boy blinked up at him looking confused.
"What do you mean? You watched the children run off with them…"
The children had each grabbed one of the fake snakes as a souvenir, but Karasuma shook his head. "No, the real snakes. I know they were in there…"
"Well, the mind can play tricks on you if you over think a situation," he explained. "Next time have an open mind and maybe a pile of rope won't scare you so much. Anyway, keep that key until the end of the show or you won't get your prize."
With that he headed back behind the curtain of his booth.
He heard some children cooing over something that (by the sounds of it) was clearly adorable. They turned to find a red haired kid, also with skeleton face paint and gothic looking clothing. He was holding what appeared to be a puppy. There was a second one on the ground by his feet doing its best to hide behind the kid's shoe.
"Oh puppies!" Irina exclaimed grabbing his arm she nearly dragged him over.
But when they got close Karasuma realized immediately that they were not dogs. They were wolves. Baby wolves, but wolves none the less.
"Have you ever seen a wolf up close before?" he asked one of the shy girls holding tightly to her Father's hand. She shook her head no and the boy held one out for her. Shyly her tiny hand reached out and pat its head quickly before retracting. She looked up at her parent for approval and then started giggling.
"Are they really wolves?" Irina asked blinking at them.
"Of course they are," he explained. "Why would we lie?"
He held one out for Irina to hold and she took it looking as though she had instantly fallen in love with its cuteness.
"Mommy I want one," said one of the boys from earlier. He had one of the fake snakes that he had run off with half hanging out of his pocket.
"They're not dogs little boy, they're wolves, and that means they can grow to be VERY vicious, which is why you should pet them now. Because if you ever meet a fully grown one it'll probably be the last thing you ever see," he explained bluntly, and the kid looked a little pale at the idea.
"Let's move along Irina," Karasuma said taking her arm this time.
"But look how cuddly he his!" she said holding the puppy up to his face and his frown deepened.
"Yeah fine," she snapped handing the wolf pup back they continued on.
"That's right ladies and gentleman, a real live mermaid!"
On their left was a large tank, and upon hearing the announcement they looked and saw a girl swimming with a fin. It was (not obviously) fake looking, which was the best he could say for it. Everyone knew Mermaids weren't real, but the kids were happy and smiling so that was all that mattered he supposed.
The booth across from them was a seerer/palm reader. She was cloaked so you could barely see her face. The table she was seated at was ornately decorated with tiny skull designs and small splashes of red that he supposed was meant to look like blood. She was currently in the process of telling a little boy where exactly the monster in his room liked to live.
The next booth over one of the skeleton faced workers in gothic style clothes was painting scary images on the kids' faces, but they were cartoon scary, rather than actually being frightening. Though Irina got pretty scared at times. There was a haunted house type hallway with mediocre scares at best, then when you reached the end of that hallway you entered a typical old timey circus tend set up. The only real difference was instead of bright colors the colors were black, white and rather dark versions of all the other colors. Where the seats were all around the outside and it all faced the center.
Irina and Karasuma took seats in the front row as other people shuffled in. Two of the skeleton faced characters came running on stage jumping and leaping around. They picked up a few water balloons in crates that they hadn't noticed and proceeded to throw it at one another. A bunch of slapstick comedy ensued, and the children laughed. Then the lights dimmed slightly, and the fire throwers from earlier came out tossing the fiery clubs to each other. Going higher and higher, until they were getting dangerously close to setting the tent on fire. Then as each one was tossed toward them, they dropped it in the crate with water fizzling out the clubs until they were gone. The two bowed at the applause and then hurried off stage.
The lighting increased once again and two people came out. One of them looked like the red-haired guy from earlier, but he wasn't wearing his skull makeup. The other was a slightly better built guy. Taller too.
They both came out and turned to face the audience, and from a center door a cloaked figure stepped out. He was smiling softly and raised both his hands to silence the crowd.
"Ladies! Gentlemen! and Children…" he said the last word with a rather creepy softness in his tone. "Thank you all for coming. I am the God of Death and this is my Circus. Prepare to be thrilled, prepare to be terrified, prepare to be enchanted…"
Fire shot up from the ground around the stand he was on. "Death is but the last step of life, and as you will see my children have no fear of it. They dance with death just as you all dance with life, and I hope this experience teaches you not to take yours so seriously… So sit back and enjoy an epic match to the death between two expert fighters."
Smoke erupted and the man on the stage disappeared.
The two guys standing on either side of him turned to one another and their battle began.
It wasn't a real battle, that much was certain. It was more like a well-choreographed dance only with punches and kicks. At one point in the battle they took up swords that were hanging on pillars on either side of the tent and their well-practiced battle really began.
After a few minutes, it ended with the two of them in front of a drop cloth. The light behind it so bright you could only see their outlines. The taller boy tripped and the other sent the blade into his stomach. Some dramatic music played as well as an obviously pre-recorded scream.
Everything went dark…
Then the spotlight was on to girls who were up in the air. They began to do acrobatics while swinging on swings above them. The next act their was a large circular cage and skeleton worker on a motorcycle zoomed around the insides. Act after act of varying death defying stunts.
But their was one thing that Karasuma had noticed from the begining. All of the workers here aside from the Ringmaster, were children...
"And for our last act, what? Oh no?"
When the curtain at the center of the stage was pulled away, it revealed a large cage filed with a number of exotic snakes. They were all slithering over and around an unconscious blue haired girl in a frilly dress.
Dramatic lighting and music played, and the man spoke up again. "Our snake charmer has been injured!" He made a show of searching his pockets. "The key! The key! Where is it!?"
He then tool a step forward as though imploring the audience.
"Ladies and gentlemen, the cage was put up for your protection from the snakes. But our lovely snake charmer would have kept the key to the cage. Oh my... But now... Oh dear. I just don't know what to do..."
He fake a worried glance around and then loudly exclaimed. "Wait! I know. Earlier before the main events started, we gave a brave soul a key. A skeleton key to be precise. It will open anything. Who was that have soul?"
Murmurs erupted around them.
"Damn it..." he sighed thinking of the key in his pocket.
"Oh it was my darling husband!" Irina cheered.
"Shut up!" he snapped pulling her back down.
"Oh c'mon hubby. It's all part of the show!" she giggled.
"It was you Sir! I see!" The man rushed over. "Will you be brave enough to rescue our charmer from the cage?"
"Uh, I'd rather not..."
"Oh dear, he says he would rather not... Oh my... Is anyone else willing to take his key and save her?"
No one moved. Nearly dead silence except for a small boy of about 6 at the very back who raised his hand. His Mother grabbed it immediately lowering it.
"Ugh, fine..."
"What you will? Oh your a good man Sir! Best man here indeed! Truly a man among mice! Come now! Come!"
Karasuma went out front with the key. As he got closer, he realized, these snakes were very real! Not that he hadn't believed they were real before. But being this close to them...
He unlocked the cage and took a tentative step inside. The crowd gasped the right parts. They did so particularly loudly when one from the cage roof fell on his shoulder and he threw it to the ground. Regaining his composure he walked forward.
He noticed that most of the snakes slithered away from him as he got close. Though when he got close to the girl he had to uncoil a particularly lager and stubborn one from around her waist. As soon as she was free he lifted her up and made his way out of the cage as quickly as he dared. The snakes didn't seem to like her leaving.
Their were cheers and whistles from the crowd.
"Please take her in back," the Ring Master ordered before delivering his closing statements to the crowd. He walked toward a backstage opening.
Seriously, what was this place? Karasuma asked himself as he carried the girl's limp body over to a bed he saw in the corner. He laid her down and straightened up looking around the small room. It looked like a storage area that just happened to have a bed set up.
"Ugghh…" the weak groan from the girl called his attention to her and he knelt down beside her.
"Hey are you alright? Don't worry I'm going to get you some he—"
The girl suddenly yanked hard on his tie, swinging her leg around she used the motion to push him onto the bed and following the same flow of movement she was suddenly on top of him.
"What the h—"
"Shhhh," she whispered holding a finger to her lips and she pointed behind his head. He wasn't sure if he just hadn't noticed or if they had only just appeared, but there were a number of snakes near the headboard.
"They don't like strangers," she said smiling. "Move too fast and they will kill you."
"Then let's head quietly towards the exit," he suggested in the same whispered tone she was using.
She smiled shaking her head no, "No, GoD will decide what to do with you."
He raised an eyebrow at her. Seriously what was going on here…
There was some more cheering in the background and then he noticed a snake far bigger than any on the headboard. It was slowly slithering up from the other end of the bed. "Behind you—"
He whispered harshly, but she didn't even bother looking. Her eyes softened slightly, and without taking her eyes off him she said, "Hello Ahni…"
The snake slithered around her torso and came up behind peeking over her shoulder and she turned her head to him smiling when he nuzzled her forehead. That snake was almost acting like a dog...
She was friends with these snakes! She had played him, and here he thought she had been in trouble… He immediately made to sit up only the large snake hissed upon seeing his movement.
"I told you," she whispered. "No fast movement and certainly don't do anything that could be misconstrued as trying to harm me, Mr…"
She reached in his jacket pulling out his ID badge. "Karasuma… Interesting. So what does an FBI agent want with our little circus?"
"People have gone missing," he answered immediately. "Your circus is a key factor in the disappearances…"
The curtained entrance swung open and in stepped the Ringmaster, he removed his mask and stared down smiling, "It really is you… Well… Been awhile huh?"
"Reaper?" he asked questionably. That wasn't his real name, but it was the name that one of the greatest assassins who ever lived used. A few years back he had tried to capture him, but the case went cold, and he picked up other cases to pass the time. He never would have imagined to see him of all people while investigating a circus that brought death to many of its attendees. It wasn't his m.o."
"You're running this circus huh?"
"Uh-huh," he answered walking up next to the bed. "So, what got you on my tail anyway? Did I leave behind some evidence?"
"A number of mysterious murders, but with one thing in common. They all mentioned attending Death's Circus on or near the time of their deaths…"
"Hhmm… maybe we shouldn't always do the circus thing. Maybe at some locations we should do a play instead…" he reached out patting the girl's head softly and she flushed slightly looking almost as pleased as she had when the snake snuggled against her. "Would you like that?"
"Seriously what the hell is going on here?" he asked frowning. "How come you're the only adult here..."
"Children are the closest things to GoD, so why should it be so surprising? This is Death's Circus after all, and I am the God of Death. So let's decide how you should go…" he said eagerly. "What do you think Nagisa? How shall we send him on?"
"Ahni could use a good meal…" Nagisa suggested.
"Hhmm…" the Reaper contemplated. "Well, it'll take him too long to digest a meal this big. I'd like to move on quickly."
"How about Mambi," she asked holding her hand out to one of the sakes on the railing above his head and a Black Mamba slitered out to coil around it.
"Sure, why not?" GoD waved in approval before leaving.
She looked back at him smiling. "I'm going to watch you die now."
He immediately jumped up attempting to run and in the process he (somewhat harshly) had pushed the girl aside. The large snake lunged wrapping around him faster than he realized what was happening. He fell to the ground. The coils of the snake wrapped around his torso in a shockingly powerful grip. It was almost instantly hard to breathe.
"Bad idea," the girl said walking over to the place on the floor where he had fallen and she crouched by his head as he laid there desperately trying to pull himself free of the snake.
"Nagisa," the curtain opened as a red haired boy walked in. "He's not dead yet?"
"Sorry, he's scared," the girl explained reaching out she pat his hair as though she thought he was a dog. "They take longer when they're scared."
"Why don't you just stab him?"
Nagisa shrugged looking down at him "Knives are scarier than snakes..."
"Well, just hurry up then. I gotta go tell his wife he died soon…"
"I know," Nagisa said uncoiling the Mamba that was still on his arm. "This should only take fifteen minutes… Come back then…"
The kid shrugged turning away.
"I know you don't want to leave," Nagisa said letting the snake lunge and bite his neck. "But GoD choose you, and when the God of Death chooses you, you cannot deny him."
Nagisa could tell Karasuma was beginning to go limp, and Nagisa snapped his fingers telling the large snake to release him. It slithered over to a pillar and coiled around it watching the scene below with interest.
"Don't worry, I'll stay with you until you're gone," Nagisa explained softly. "No one deserves to die alone…"
There were two bunk tents. One for the girls, and one for the boys. Though one of the boys never slept there, despite the fact that he was supposed to. Karma climbed down that morning (well that mid-day). Since most of their shows took place at night mid-day was their mornings. Glancing at the empty bunk he sighed. Nagisa would typically lay down there, but he almost never woke up there. Which was alright, because Karma knew exactly where to find him.
He walked over to the tent where the snakes were stored and sure enough there he was asleep on some crates that he had thrown a cushion on top of to make it a tad softer. Above him was a heat lamp which he hung there for the sole purpose of keeping his pet snakes at comfortable temperatures.
"Nagisa, it's time to wake up," Karma said keeping his distance because Nagisa was covered in those snakes. The biggest one that he called Ahni was wrapped around his whole body, it's head wresting in his hair as though it thought his hair was a pillow. Two medium sized snakes were coiled around his arm, their heads resting in the palm of his hand. Another was enclosed around his leg, it's head hiding partially in Nagisa's sock. One of his smaller ones was curled up in the small of his back directly in the heat lamps path and it seemed very content. A few more were moving slowly about the bed. "NAGISA!"
His eyes opened he lifted his head just an inch or so he could look over at him, and this movement seemed to upset Ahni he moved a section of his body to coil on top of Nagisa's head providing enough weight to push it back down.
"Are you getting up soon?"
"Yeah," he mumbled back and Karma headed back out.
Waking up was rather difficult, as his snakes were usually kind of grumpy when first woken up, and they didn't really want to be disturbed. So he moved quietly unwinding the snakes on his arm one by one and letting them fall (softly) to the floor. He reached around to his back where the newest member of his little family liked to sleep. A small baby royal python.
After picking it up gently he let it curl up next to his pillow while he decided to try his best with Ahni.
"C'mon," he said attempting to lift him off his head, and Ahni immediately bumped his hand away with it's nose. In returned Nagisa tapped him firmly (but not hard) on the snout.
It answered with a hiss.
"Noooo," he said scolded determinedly. "No hissy fits!"
He finally got his fingers underneath him to pull him off his head. Which he actually had a hard time doing. Ahni was basically all muscle which meant he was heavier than he looked. When stretched out he exceeded his height three times over. Ahni really didn't have to move away if he didn't want to he had enough strength to stay put, but all the snakes had a deep respect for Nagisa and didn't really want to upset him too much. So he let Nagisa pull him off and set the upper part of his body to the side.
Nagisa was finally able to sit up, his hair messy. That's when he noticed the other one tucked down around his ankle. "Hey you," Nagisa said petting him softly on his back to wake him.
It stirred sliding out of his sock it gave him a look like, "Whaaaat?"
"I know, I'm sorry," he said. "But I gotta get up, you can go back to sleep if you want."
He pulled it off his leg and let it curl up on the covers below the lamp. Then with great effort he unwrapped Ahni from around his torso and leg. He knew Ahni was annoyed because he didn't help at all. When he was finally all untangled he scooped up the baby and let it wrap around the underside of the collar on the shirt he put on. At a quick glance he could be mistaken for a snake shaped bow tie.
It was another morning, but Nagisa had to wonder. The man from yesterday was the first the had killed so blatantly out in the open. And he was an FBI agent. The police would be sure to investigate the death of a fellow cop. GoD had told the ones they spoke to last night that it had been an accident, but Nagisa couldn't help but worry. The people they would send on. They usually did so away from the circus.
He hoped nothing bad would happen, but he knew one thing. GoD would protect them.
This one is inspired by both Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern, as well as the Book of Circus Ark from Kuroshitsuji.