Alright guys! I'm back with a new chapter!

Jesus you guys are slow at voting xD If you would have been a little faster I could have done OPTION 1 xP

Now your jobs as story guiders has yet to be accomplished, in the following chapter (that will be published who knows when) you will again decide what Arthur should do xP

Until then, ENJOY!


Oh, PS: one of my lovely reviewers mentionned that I spelled magic 'magik' and here's a quick reason to why: 'magiC' = trickery, 'magiK' = spells and stuff


Honestly, Arthur Kirkland wasn't too sure whether Kiku was telling the truth when he spoke about the history of the World Circus but there was always the surprise factor which was definitely present in the given environment. Nevertheless, the Freaks now desired to know what was going to happen next and the British detective would soon need to take the initiative to tell them what he was going to do.

"Alright, listen up!" He shouted just to be sure they could all hear him. "I'm going to need all of you to gather all of your shoes and line up. I will need to measure all of them."

The performers exchanged looks of perplexity amongst themselves for the order seemed to be odd but they all assumed that it would eventually make sense. Thus, quietly chatting, they left the tent to gather all of their shoes. During the brief period in which Arthur found himself alone, Kiku returned with a ruler.

"Did you know what I was going to do?" Arthur asked suspiciously taking the measuring instrument from the other man.

"Arthur-kun, there are not many things about the future hidden from me." Kiku smiled, he retreated back to the stands and grabbed a seat waiting for the Freaks to return.

When the mentioned did return, they formed a line leading to Arthur and calmly awaited their turn for their shoes to be measured. Based off what Kiku Honda had said earlier about the stage shoes of the Circus performers and their original pair, he had expected for them to only have two pairs each but was gravely mistaken. After twenty people had passed with five shoes each, the British detective was beginning to feel exhaustion and annoyance. If he had had other members of London's police department, this job would have been reserved to the new recruits where as he could have continued questioning witnesses and leads. Needless to say, he was more than happy when the Japanese seer returned to him to engage in conversation.

"How are you doing?" He asked politely.

"Let's just say I don't miss my days as a newbie one bit." Arthur sighed gesturing a Freak to the exit of the tent. "I thought they only had two pairs each!"

"Some of us are qualified for more than one thing." Kiku informed looking at the long line of Freaks. "Do you remember Matthew-kun?"

"Yeah." Arthur answered, "He's a sword-thrower, right?"

"Precisely." The Japanese man confirmed, "However, he also helps his brother perform magic tricks from time to time for example: if Alfred-san wishes to make it seem as though he has teleported to the other end of the room, he will use Matthew-kun to do so since they are nearly identical twins. Also, if Alfred-san so happens to fall ill the day of one of his special performances, Matthew-kun is apt to perform in his stead due to his ability in memorisation and personification. The Ring Master used to make him perform as a mime from time to time."

Arthur chuckled a little. "He must have looked rather silly."

"Of course, it is the nature of mimes to make fools of themselves and entertain the public." Kiku agreed with a small smile. "Though the mime performance only ever took place if Matthew-kun misbehaved with his brother thus it was more of a punishment than anything."

"Hm." Arthur smirked waving yet another Freak to the tent's exit. "Twenty-one Freaks, one hundred and five shoes, and still no matches with the print."

"Hey Artie!" Alfred squealed throwing himself on the British detective. "I knew you'd miss me!"

"Bloody git!" Arthur cursed trying to push the clingy magician away. "Get off of me! I'm busy!"

"Oh you're so grumpy!" the American laughed loudly. "You know, I know what will make you feel better! A kiss! Pucker up—"

"Stop it, Alfred." Matthew ordered dropping a heavy punch on the former's head. He quickly pulled off the semi-stunned magician and apologized, "I'm sorry. He's always been very stupid…"

"It's fine…I guess." Arthur sighed scratching the back of his head. "I'll need to see your shoes individually so you can go back in line, Matthew."

"No can do." Alfred announced as he jumped back to his feet.

"Why is that?" The Brit asked, annoyance dripping with every word.

"Because Matthew-kun and Alfred-san share the same shoes." Kiku answered. "I think I should have mentioned this before; Matthew-kun and Alfred-san are both magicians, sword-throwers, acrobats, equilibrists and comedians. They are both spectacular in each of their roles but, for some, one excels more than the other."

"Francis rarely made us perform the same thing at the same time so Vash decided we could save money by sharing our shoes." Alfred explained with a grin. "It's sometimes painful though since some of them are too small for our feet."

"Right." Arthur concluded turning his attention back to the shoes. "I guess you can both stand there…"

There were only six pairs to measure, two of which were far too big to be that of the murderer's and three more that were too small, however, the sixth pair – the one they took turns wearing because it was their casual footwear – fit the measurement of the murderer's shoes. "Which one of you wore this pair yesterday?" Arthur asked grimly.

The twin exchanged looks, "The both of us." They answered. "We took turns."

"Then please stand to the right side of the stage and await further instructions." Arthur instructed as he gestured the designated area.

Without a word, the twins went to the area where they immediately started whispering amongst themselves, glancing at the detective from time to time.

"You seem upset." Kiku noted.

"I am." Arthur muttered as he was handed more shoes to measure. "I might not know any of you but I already had my first impressions. Alfred, even if he did act like an idiot up to this point, I thought he was just a nice guy with a go lucky attitude. Whenever he spoke to Francis Bonnefoy, he never seemed to hate him. Matthew on the other hand, seemed like someone generally shy but incredibly soft hearted who would never hurt a fly."

"Those descriptions are not too far from the truth." The seer commented, "However, all of the Freaks must have seemed as so beforehand, one of them now hides a deadly secret. Don't let your first impressions cloud your judgement."

"I know." The Brit whispered bitterly.

Thus, Arthur Kirkland wordlessly continued measuring shoes; after an hour, he finally encountered another Freak with the same shoe size as the murderer. "I don't understand how your feet can fit into these shoes." Arthur stated amazed at the small sizes he had been given.

"It is not as amazing as how I take them off." Ivan chuckled. "After hours of wearing them, my feet tend to swell and—"

"I think that is unnecessary information." Kiku interrupted quickly.

"Ah, you are probably right." Ivan agreed with a fox-like smile.

The British detective had rapidly measured the three pairs of shoes he had been given and, to his surprise, found a matching pair. "If you please mister…"

"Braginski." Ivan offered.

"Mister Braginski," Arthur continued gesturing to where the twins still stood, "wait with the two others on the right until I give further instructions."

The smile and friendly attitude that the Russian man had engaged suddenly vanished, he became rather sinister and only smiled an eerie smile as he walked to the designated area calmly.

"I don't think he's happy…" Arthur whispered.

"Of course not," the Japanese man seconded, "This is not the first time he was accused of murder."

Arthur sat up straight and looked at the smaller man curiously, "What do you mean?"

"It is not a story for I to tell." The seer stated, "It is he who must say it for it is but a rumour if it is I."

Understanding but still unpleased with the given fact, Arthur continued measuring the shoes keeping in mind that one of his suspects had already been accused of murder before. Following said event, another thirty minutes passed before he came upon yet another suspect, Elizaveta, and immediately after was another, Roderick. And so the list continued to climb gradually as the hours slipped away until, finally, three more hours had passed and all the shoes had been measured.

The list of suspects had climbed up to thirteen candidates, one of which was a murderer.

"Alfred F. Jones." Kiku listed in a whisper, "Matthew Williams, Ivan Braginski, Elizaveta Hédéváry, Roderick Edelstein, Gilbert Weillschmidt, Ludwig weillschmidt, Feliciano Vargas, Lovino Vargas, Antonio Fernandez Carriedo, Yao Wong, Heracles Karpusi and Vash Zwingli."

"Alright," Arthur sighed once the list had finished, "Time to get this show on the road."

The Brit walked over to the small crowd of Freaks that had been quiet ever since they had been left alone with the detective and the seer in the tent. They all stared at Arthur, their eyes were not filled with confusion but more with anticipation for they already knew why they had been casted aside.

Clearing his throat as to speak clearly, Arthur spoke, "You already know why you are still here, correct?" the question was rhetorical but he still paused. "With the first few clues I managed to gather, I discovered the murderer's shoe print and size. If you are all here, it's because one of the many pairs you had matched that of the culprit and are thus considered a suspect in the murder of Francis Bonnefoy, Ring Master of the World Circus."

The silence that followed weighed and the tense atmosphere was palpable. "What I ask of next is for all of you to give me an alibi." Arthur continued after another moment. "Alfred, you're first. Where were you at the time of the murder?"

"Whoa!" He stuttered, shocked to be picked first, "Aren't we supposed to have a minute or something to discuss this? Get our stories straight?"

"That's only something you do if you're the murderer and want to get away with it." Gilbert sneered. "If you're innocent, then all you have to do is answer the question and be done with it."

Alfred's cheeks flushed with embarrassment, "Fine." He pouted, "But I was alone so no one can vouch for me."

"That's fine, just answer the question." Arthur insisted, mildly irritated.

"I was in the back of the tent," the magician began gesturing the one in which they stood, "I was making sure that the last few preparations were done and dealt with as to avoid something going awry. All I remember was seeing someone pass by from the corner of my eye but I didn't pay more attention than that."

"Why is that?" Arthur questioned strictly. "Why would you not pay more attention? It could have been a curious spectator."

"Well it could have but I saw bright, vibrant colours so I knew it was a Freak." Alfred stated, "I know it looks bad for me because I was at the place and time of the murder but it wasn't me."

"It's fine," Arthur brushed off moving on, "I'll be having a questioning session with each of you individually afterwards, you'll be able to explain yourself further then." He stopped in front of Matthew. "You, where were you?"

"I was in the living area," Matthew answered, "In the eatery, the kitchen more specifically. Alfred had asked me to make him some food."

"Were you alone?" the detective continued.

"Yes."

"But he's not lying!" Alfred quickly jumped in, "I really did ask him to go make me some food! I bet that if you go in the kitchen right now you'll be able to smell whatever he decided to make!"

"Don't impose." Arthur barked sharply. "You've passed your turn to speak." Alfred closed his mouth and awkwardly looked away whereas Arthur moved on. "And what about you Ivan?"

"I was on my way to the tent from the living area after having put on my costume." The tall Russian answered calmly.

"And you?"

"I was cleaning the clown's tent after the twin's performances." Elizaveta answered.

"I was with her," Roderick added, "but left in the middle of our task for more water and soap."

"Right," Athur nodded, pacing. "And you, Heracles was it?"

"Yes." The brunette answered slowly. "I fell asleep in Raion's cage."

"And who is Raion?"

"One of our alpha lions." The man answered, "he was so fluffy…and adorable…he kind of reminded me of Nekokichi…"

Immediately, Kiku coughed and blushed, dragging Arthur's attention to him. "Ignore that." He whispered, flustered.

"And a little of you too…" Heracles added after some time, "If you and Nekokichi were to have a baby, it would be Raion…"

There was a brief silence in which Arthur blushed along with Kiku, both speechless and unable to think prior to that odd declaration. "R-right. Moving on."

"I was in the pantry getting more snacks for the guests." Gilbert stated.

"I took over the Foods of the World pavilion in order to have the snacks last until Gilbert would return with the supplies." Ludwig added.

"We were next to the clown's tent, playing with the guests." Feliciano stated speaking for his brother and he. "But Lovi left for the bathroom at some point, so I was alone with the pretty girls."

"Hey cretino!" Lovino snapped hitting his brother on the head. "You don't need to tell him that!"

"Veeh! But I thought I did!" The younger Italian defended rubbing the top of his sore head.

"No you did not!" He hissed back, "I was barely gone for a minute! It's almost like you're saying you think it was me!"

"Calm down." Arthur ordered sharply. "What he said was necessary unlike what you thought."

"See!?" Lovino barked, "Now you made him think it was me!"

"I'm sorry Lovi!" Feliciano cried hugging his brother tightly, "I didn't meant to! Forgive me! Perdonami! Ti amo, fratello! Ti amo!"

"Um…" Arthur hummed, confused. He shook his head and directed his attention to the Spanish fellow that stared at the twins with deep compassion. "You, Antony—"

"Antonio." The Spaniard corrected with an elegant smile. "I was simply flirting with pretty girls not far from the entrance of the tent. It was one of them who first found Francis and screamed upon seeing his desolating sight."

"Okay and Zwingli?" Arthur nodded.

"I was in the magician's tent, in the back doing inventory." The Swiss stated with an annoyed glare. "And I would still be doing so if it weren't for you."

Arthur rolled his eyes, "Of course." He sighed. "Now then, where can I speak to some of you privately?"

"You can use my tent." Kiku offered, "It is a rather silent place that is barely disturbed by the noise from outside."

"Alright and do you have any suggestion for where I can place the twelve others when I begin my questioning?" the detective asked.

"Not really." The seer admitted, "But you can always station them somewhere with a Freak as to make sure they don't go consulting the others."

"That's a good idea." Arthur nodded in approval, "Would you mind finding twelve performers ready to watch over the suspects?"

"Not at all—"

"Hey wait a minute!" Alfred yelled, "What about Yao!? You didn't ask him for his alibi!"

"That's because Yao will be the first one I interview." The British detective answered calmly. "Now follow me. And, Kiku?"

"Hai?"

"See if you can find a few more Circus folk to guide the perimeters of the tent." Arthur instructed, "I don't want anyone to come in or out without my approval less they mess up some evidence I have yet to find."


Raion – lion (in Japanese)

Cretino – stupid, idiot (in Italian)

Perdonami! Ti amo, fratello! Ti amo! – forgive me! I love you, brother! I love you! (in Italian)


So guys, I've just given you the list of suspects and where they were at the time of the murder. A few details about the murder will be clarrified soon enough (like the time) just give Arthur a minute xD There's so much going on, and he's alone! There's only so much he can do xP

Anyhow, I've still given you some information but, the murderer is cunning so he may be lying *HINT HINT* so, knowing that and being as awesome as I know you all to be, what are your guesses?

SEE YOU NEXT CHAPTER!