A/N: Reminder- Even though this is a Rin-is-Skull fic, not every chapter will be in Rin/Skull's perspective.

Take Care.


Elliot Girardot, an acrobat that specializes in Chinese Pole Acts and a small amount of Russian Bar Acts, is on patrol for the Circus. The Circus is not officially named that, but everyone on the staff calls it that and rolls with it. Those that try to say the Circus' actual name outside of performances usually find themselves on animal poop cleaning duty the next day. Yet this Circus has a secret.


It was a quarter past 12 or so when Elliot caught a glimpse light in the nearby woods that the Circus set up for this month's show.

'That is strange, I was sure that there was no one there previously,' the acrobat thought moving towards the source of light while moving the flashlight in hand for a better look. "What the hell?"

Laying on the ground is a man, a kid that is probably his son, and a cat. It would have been fine if they were just camping out, however the man is bleeding from the chest judging by the blood on the ground and they are all on fire. Not a fire like one created by flint and wood, but set alight by Dying Will Flames.

The kid, mid-teens probably, is wearing a blue hoodie with a light red shirt peeking out from underneath, black pants, and white sneakers. His hair seems to be black, but that is harder to distinguish because of his Cloud Flames outlining him in a beautiful violet like the plastic wrapping on a Ken doll at the toy store.

The man nearby him, clearly around his 50s, spots a goatee on with short grey hair and a pair of tinted glasses with some charm of the cross hanging it. A black trenchcoat with a white belt covers most of his body with black pants and shoes to complete the entire. If Elliot couldn't tell that he is a priest, that man would have been mistaken to being a hitman from the bloodstains and Cloud Flames protecting his body.

Finally, the cat seems to be a tuxedo cat, if the Animal Tamer's rambling is anything to go by that one time the Circus saw a small family of them when they were in England, with a possible red collar and a blue and red charm on it. Damn, those Cloud Flames are even on the cat.

Elliot ran over towards them and proceeds to check on the boy. "Hey, are you alright? Please tell me you are alive," Any attempts are failing to rouse the boy. Another flashlight is shined down around them. "Thank god. Phile, please tell me that these people are alive. Cause I don't know jackshit about medical stuff and I don't want the Vindice to come here"

Phile Sanson, a 40-year-old man who is the oldest Animal Tamer in the Circus, sits down next to the acrobat and coats his hand in the bright Sun Flames after checking the boy's pulse. He slicks back his pepper hair while removing his green sweater to reveal a black t-shirt and a pair of gray sweats. Brown loafers crunching the ground while he crouches down to place his folded sweater underneath the boy's head.

"You are lucky Elliot, this boy is alright. Just Flame Exhausted combined with overall exhaustion and some minor scrapes and bruises. Though the man next to him seems to be in worse shape, I wouldn't be surprised if that man over there is dead considering the stab wound on his chest," Phile gets up to check on the man, "Ah before I forget. Elliot, don't forget to control yourself. We don't want anything shocking to happen if you get my drift."

'Huh? What does he mean by shocking- oh' "Fuck." Elliot hears the familiar crackle of Lightning Flames before barking another curse and turning off the Flames.

How embarrassing. Even though the Circus took Elliot in a few years ago and taught all that needs to be known about Dying Will Flames, especially Lightning Flames. It is still hard to not release the protective shield around the body in fits of panic like in the past on the streets trying to survive another night and protect one's self from the vicious cold. If it wasn't for the Circus, Elliot might have been captured by some random Italian mafia family like how some kids Elliot knew of have been.

A groan that escaped from the boy's mouth pulled Elliot out of reminiscing about the past, his own Flames finally turned off after being subconsciously active for who knows how long.

Elliot exhales, "Kid I don't know what messed up situation you wind yourself into, but thank god you are alright. Though I don't know about that man with you, or the cat come to think of it. Still, you have to have better control of your Flames. You and your companions could start a forest fire if I haven't found you all-"

The rambling was put to a halt when the kid spoke again. It was so soft that Elliot would have missed it otherwise.

"Please, save him."

Promptly passing out again afterward and lighting himself on fire again, though Elliot thought there was a flash of orange in the mass of violet.

"God fucking damn it. Phile, the kid passed out again. What do I do?" Elliot hollered to Phile hoping he had some answers when the suddenly catches on fire. Not the previous Cloud Flames that were surrounding it before, but some of the most messed up Sun Flames that is on any animal. "What the hell?"

Elliot should know from the multiple times regular circus animals suddenly produce Dying Will Flames from continuous exposure from all of the Flame Active people that it is possible. But having the cat not become coated in the Sun Flames, but make it produce a couple of horns on its head is just plain weird as the second tail of Sun Flames it has.

The cat then proceeds to pounce on the man Phile is attempting to treat with his own Sun Flames. The surprise attack from the cat makes Phile bark out profanities about healing with Flames being a delicate process and demon cats. Which isn't wrong as the cat seems to be healing whatever is wrong with the man faster than even the Circus' strongest Sun user, if the sudden light show the cat starts is anything to go by.

Elliot blocks the light as best as possible and tries to process what happened in the last few minutes, "Phile, do you know what is just happened?"

Phile moves towards where Elliot and the kid are as best as possible while staring at the obvious light show that most likely woke up the entire Circus. "No, but one thing for sure is that we are going to be in so much trouble with the Ringmaster. Or worse if the Vindice decides to come."

Well, that is one statement that Elliot does not have a comeback to. If there is a choice between getting a punishment from the Ringmaster or the Vindice, it would be the Vindice hands down. However, if it was both of them? Hell on earth that is a big fat N-O. There is no one sane enough who would want to deal with that.

Phile lets out a sigh at Elliot's lack of response to reach into his pocket for a cigarette and lights it with his Flame. He takes a long drag as the light show dies down and the man with the cat on top of him flickers indigo, a Mist fucking hell, for a few seconds. Once the light dies down, Phile goes back to the man and brings him closer to the boy with the cat on the man's chest.

Properly staring at the two people and the cat creates an illusion of a mundane father-son outing with them sleeping on the ground. If it wasn't for the kid still burning Cloud Flames onto his body.

"Phile?"

"Hm?"

"Do you have any idea what we should do with these guys? Because I don't know what to explain to the Ringmaster."

Phile stares at the group on the ground with an unreadable expression, promptly finish his cigarette and hoist up the man from the ground with the cat on his head.

Elliot stares at him in shock, "Phile!? What the fu-"

Phile readjusted his grip, "Come on and bring the boy with, we are going to explain things to the Ringmaster hopefully we can get more help for these people," Then heads back to the Circus leaving Elliot behind with the kid.

A moment passes, and another. Then Elliot tries to pick up the kid in a mad scramble to catch up with Phile, but gives a sharp intake of breath instead, "Ow!"

"Use your Flames! Honestly, what have we been teaching that person the past few years?" Phile hollers behind him and the telltale sound of Lightning Flames is enough of an indication for Phile to slow down his pace for his companion to catch up.

Elliot dashes up to the Animal Tamer as best as possible while piggybacking an unconscious kid, "Hey, what if these people have nowhere to go?"Are we going to leave them? Is the unspoken question between the two.

"Haha ha. If anything, I think the Ringmaster would like to take them in. Especially that boy since he can't go back to a normal life if he ever had one. Those Cloud Flames would make him an easy target to more unsavory people."

"Hehe, I think you are right. Cause if this Circus is good for one thing, it knows how to pick up those that are strays in our world."


The Circus is just your everyday traveling circus. The shows are not that spectacular and the overall condition of it isn't anything flashy. But they do leave a lasting impression on some people. Sure it has some secrets, don't all establishments have some skeletons in the closet that they don't want to touch.

Yet the main secret of here is that the Circus takes in those who want to leave their current life for something outside of the constant bloodshed of the Underworld. Sure there are some shady dealings here and there, but the Circus does have its own rules that people oblige to for everyone's safety.

The main reason for these rules is because the Circus crew is full of Dying Will Flame users that don't want to be chained to a Sky or famiglia that they don't want. It was because of these rules and string of coincidences that guided Elliot to becoming a member of this traveling circus for Flame users. It was the best decision that makes Elliot feels like the Circus is a big family