Hi everyone!
Ok…where to begin?... I havent done a story in... years?
I've had this story on my computer for so long. I figured, why waste it, so I'll put it here.
So here goes my attempt at a multi chapter fic. Obviously this is a slight AU taking place in a circus-like environment. And since my two favorite characters are reincarnated multiple times, what a perfect opportunity to do it!
Although, if this idea doesn't work out, I'll take it down.
1
Cheers erupt through the tent as the crowd rises, delighted at what they had just witnessed. Animals are sent in to frenzy from the sudden noise, but calmed by their masters.
The lights are glaring down towards the brightly colored stage. All different types of people gather to the large, round center platform, gathering around a young brunet.
It always ends the same way, loud clapping and people standing and cheering. There, in the middle of the ring alongside his fellow actors and actresses, Shusei stands, waving at the crowd, a fake smile on his face.
How did it come to this?
He asked himself this many times.
And he always comes to the same conclusion.
He never had a choice.
It took a few minutes for the clapping and cheering to die down. Shusei can hear the excited chatter from the kids who were talking about how amazing the performances were. The audience slowly disappears from the tent, leaving behind empty seats and garbage. Once the paying patrons were all gone, the workers begin to fill up the tent and start cleaning up the ring while all the performers went their separate ways, the smiles fading from their faces.
Shusei is left alone again. He turns to exit the tent but stops when he sees a figure approach. A tall man, well dressed in a suit, comes forward. He places a hand on Shusei's shoulder to stop the boy from leaving before he could say anything.
"You did well again." He says, not necessarily in a complementing way. The man's cold touch sent shivers down Shusei's back.
"Thank you." He didn't mean it. Shusei never spoke unnecessarily to the man. If he asks a question, he answers it simply.
"You don't look well."
Did he really care? Shusei doesn't think so.
"Just need to rest."
The man taps his shoulder twice, a way of telling Shusei he is free to go.
The man saunters away slowly, pulling a cigar out of his pocket and not sparing Shusei another glance. Shusei watches him carefully out of the corner of his eye until he is out of sight.
When the darkness of the tent overtakes him, Shusei walks over to the exit and pulls the cover of the tent aside and walks out on to the grounds. People are scarce now, just a few performers and tourists left. A few patrons stood in front of booths, entertained by circus folk, throwing money at them to continue playing games. Others are gathered around in groups looking on as performers show off tricks they didn't perform at the show.
Shusei hates it. This lifestyle. The fraud.
He needs to be alone.
He walks through the grounds ignoring the people around him. After doing this so many times, he is very good at tuning out the obnoxious noises of games and gossip. It was dark with the only light guiding his path being cast by lanterns, strung lights, and the moon and stars. There are brown tents covering the area that is now off limits to customers, the temporary homes of the performers and workers. Performers are privileged with the bigger tents, while the workers share smaller ones. Shusei has a large tent to himself, though he doesn't understand the need for such a big tent. He has nothing anyway. All the tents are made to be easily collapsible, and everything is portable. The cirque travels lightly; they never stay for very long in one place.
The circus grounds are laid out like a maze, which he navigates with ease. He passes by numerous, brightly colored banners and more tents, many displaying the cirques logo and some displaying acts and performer names. They are outlined by stringed lights casting strange, colorful shadows across the cirque grounds. He passes by one banner, dedicated to him. On the banner he was wearing the ringmaster uniform, the one he happens to be wearing now, showing his trademark false smile, and with one arm outstretched, invitingly. Shusei hates seeing it, he doesn't like feeling so exposed, and looks away immediately.
Shusei walks towards the back of the grounds. Here is where the trucks are parked. The trucks are dirty, large and unmarked. But they serve their purpose of moving the supplies well.
He passes the last of the trucks past a weak barricade and is now off cirque grounds. He's just far enough to where the lights aren't as bright and the remaining voices are muted. Shusei is surrounded by trees and, feeling secure, he finds a log to sit on and lets his head rest in his hands.
He looks through narrowed eyes, through his fingers and sees the brightly colored clothing. A green, tuxedo-like, swallow tail jacket with gold trim. Underneath it is a black vest over a white button down shirt. He wore black and dark gray horizontally striped pants. Black boots, with a rim that mimics the gold trim of the jacket. His choice of clothing, as a ringmaster, is modest. The cirque owner tried convincing him to go with a more extravagant outfit. Shusei wasn't interested and since then, stuck with a more reserved garb.
He despises the uniform.
But…it's better than nothing, right?
Shusei came from nothing. He doesn't remember much about his family or if he had any friends. According to him, he was abandoned.
But then he came, the owner of the cirque. He made a deal with the owner. Shusei works and he is given a place to stay. A place to sleep at night, food, and most importantly…
A purpose.
Shusei never felt like he had a place to belong. Shusei never had a place to call home.
Home became the Cirque Mystērium. A traveling show, not quite a normal circus and not quite a freak show. It was somewhere in between the two, a show unique unto its own. There are no clowns with disgustingly bright faces or cute little animals. This circus has an interesting macabre twist. Most presentations are dangerous and can potentially kill a performer. Even Shusei has had a close encounter with death once or twice.
Shusei's relationship with the other performers is unusual. They're like friends and also like family, yet everyone does their best to keep to themselves. They're there when they are needed by another. Most of the performers and workers, are like Shusei, they had nothing and wanted a purpose. But of course, there were the few who had come here of their own free will, though Shusei can't see why.
Having grown up in the circus, the owner had trained Shusei in all of the arts typically seen at a one, plus many others. Knife throwing, illusions, even fire breathing.
Shusei laughs, probably to cover up his own embarrassment and shame. But as ringmaster, it is essential he know all this.
But these stunts aren't what make him sought out.
His specialty, above all else, is fortune telling.
His customers would enter a small secluded room, dimly lit, with just enough light to illuminate their faces. The faint light of the room gently shines off the crystal ball in the center of the table. Shusei asks a few, key questions that hint at a person's personality, and he goes from there.
It's a game to him, albeit not an enjoyable one, but he's very good at it and the cirque owner is always pleased at the amount of money fortune-telling brings in.
People always ask him questions about their future. Naturally, he had no way of knowing what would happen to the person, whether they'd find love or become rich, but at times he could see pieces of their past, their memories.
When he first realized this, it had shocked him. He could see images of what people had gone through, almost like a movie playing out in his mind. Shusei had no idea how it happened or what triggered it, or even if he had any control over it. They were a frightening experience, so he tries his best to hide it. He knows this is something that could be exploited, especially in his line of work. Shusei has to hide it at all costs, especially from the cirque owner.
But after experiencing the visions so often, he got used to them, and he realized how it can help him. Seeing tiny fragments of their past aided in his talent. Saying things the customers weren't expecting to hear and it being true gave him credibility. Then all he has to say is what they want to hear and they're happy.
Because if this power, Shusei had become quite popular. But Shusei thinks he's a freak or a monster. Even so, he gets lines of people wanting to know every little detail of their life. He probably should be happy about it, but he's not. He can't believe how gullible the people are. Can't they tell it's all a lie?
Or maybe, he just became a good liar.
He hates to take advantage of people like this, but he doesn't have a choice. The minute his usefulness runs out, he won't be needed and he'll be all alone again.
Shusei took in a deep breath and let it out slowly in a poor attempt to rid himself of all his anxiety.
He looks up and a small sad smile appears. The stars are bright tonight and thousands of them cover the sky for as far as he can see. Shusei likes looking at the stars. They made him feel at peace with how softly they filled the night sky with their pure light. A gentle breeze whistles through the trees only adding to the tranquility.
Shusei's smile fades, returning to a look of indifference. If he allows himself to get caught up in these moments, it will only make it harder to return to his real life. His life of loneliness and grief. He doesn't expect good things to happen nor does he want them. If he had a good life…
He would only be afraid he'd lose it.
And that was something he couldn't go through.
Being all alone…With nothing…No one…
Shusei's head is still turned up towards the sky, but he slowly and reluctantly tares his gaze away from the stars and looks over in the direction of the cirque.
The lights begin to go out, one by one, from the grounds and the area has gotten quiet. With one final sigh, he lifts himself up and staggers a bit. Shusei puts the back of his hand to his forehead. He feels a little feverish but passes it off as being tired from the show.
He slowly makes his way back, prolonging every minute he wasn't back at the cirque. Shusei is exhausted, whether it is from the long days of traveling and the shows, or his depressing thoughts about his life. He could barely lift his feet up high enough off the ground to avoid tripping over branches and rocks.
Shusei barely remembers the walk back. The next time he looks up, he sees the rows of dark tents. All but one has their lights off. Shusei walks towards the only lit tent.
He pulls aside the tent's entrance and enters. Only a small lamp next to his bed illuminates the whole tent. For what it's worth, his place is large enough to be comfortable in. All he has is a bed, a few shelves with books, a dresser for some normal, casual clothes, his performing outfits are held in another tent, and in the corner is a small upright piano. The piano is covered in a thin layer of dust. Shusei hasn't played it in a while and even when he wants to, the motivation isn't there. He wonders why he has it all.
Shusei took off the jacket of his costume and threw it in the corner. He doesn't care if it gets wrinkled or dirty, especially now that their last string of shows in this area has ended.
He walks over to his bed and doesn't bother to pull the covers aside. He just falls on top and loosens the ribbon around his neck and turns off the light.
Shusei's eyes feel heavy and his body feels numb. Tomorrow was going to be a busy day and he is already dreading it. The troupe will be packing everything up and move to a new location for their next line of performances. It is a new location for the cirque, a place where they haven't done shows in years because it is dangerous for them. The police never approve of the cirque and on a few occasions, shut down their show, claiming it to be illegal and hazardous for performers and audience alike. In the end, the police's authority was not enough and the cirque would perform again. But their next destination will be sure to bring in lots on money, and most likely, catch the attention of police.
He lets out one last sigh.
Shusei doesn't care where they go to next. To him it was all the same.
"…Tokyo…"
It's so fun to imagine characters we have seen in anime and manga in a whole new environment. And how to keep them in character while they go through such different experiences. Shusei in particular is so much fun to write about, probably because he's a bit of an introvert.
I've got about nine or ten chapters written out. I myself have to reread them considering I haven't seen this story in forever. If this story does good and gets reviews, I'll keep updating. So let me know!