Chapter 7: The First Show Begins! The Power of the Circus!

"Ringmaster Carlos sure likes to make a spectacle, doesn't he?" Smith commented, leaning back in his chair with his feet propped up on the seat in front of him. He ignored the irritated curses of its owner as Runch responded.

"Well of course dingbat. This is a performance after all-WHOA~!"

Carlos' top hat had opened up from the top, and out crawled four monkeys dressed in red leotards. They began performing gymnastics in the form of a human, er, monkey ladder. With two mighty swings, the group of monkeys landed upon the high rise, to the applause of the crowd.

"Give it up for the Saru Saru Brothers (and sister) ladies and gentlemen! Now please, give them your full attention as Danny and Larry call out your performers tonight!" Carlos gave a wave of his rod, pointing upward with dramatic flair toward the four monkeys, the Saru Saru Brothers (and sister). The two monkeys standing in the middle pulled out notecards, which they held in their feet as they rested upon their hands. Then, amazingly, the sounds of two voices blasted from the den den mushi speakers, high in pitch and a bit slow, as if uncomfortable with speech, but with great emphasis.

"We give you Mister Ganjou Ude, the strongest man in the West Blue!" Danny threw the note card aside as Larry prepared the next one. The spotlight focused on a very large man with equally large muscles. His legs were not well defined, but his torso and arms were easily the size of barrels. His chin was highly pronounced with just the slightest hint of a cleft, while his nose resembled a boulder. His eyes were dull brown but sparkled with the light of showmanship as he came riding in on an exceptionally large lion with a mane as golden as his own. Mister Ude stepped off his mount and showcased his amazing strength… By lifting the lion itself with just his right hand!

"Just to let all the crowd know, Mister Ude is actually left handed!"

The crowd chuckled. Smith simply smirked beneath his mask as he stroked his fake beard, while Hachi raised an eyebrow at the muscleman. "He doesn't look too strong. I bet I could take him."

"Next up we have the amazing Torihito! The flying man!"

Larry tossed his note card aside just as Danny did before, all the while a tall man, about eight feet in height, rode into the spotlight atop a black bear. His hair was long and blue, resembling curtains parted around his face, which was full of life and energy. His smiled was warm and friendly whilst his green eyes gave off a light, all the while his cape shifted and ruffled about as the bear moved and he waved gleefully.

The bear came to a halt, sitting down, and it was time for the flying Torihito to demonstrate his stuff for the audience. The bear stood upward, rearing back. Torihito flipped backward off of the bear, diving headfirst straight down off of the platform! The crowd gasped as it looked to be the end of the performer's life. However, looks are deceiving in the big top, and soon the crowd found itself gasping once again as Torihito began to even out! His arms were outstretched now, and he began ascending through the air! Unbelievable!

"Amazing!" Runch cried out just as Torihito landed safely next to his bear mount. "How do you think he did that?"

"I'm not sure," Smith responded, genuinely interested. A little blue jay flew off from his shoulder. Hachi remained silent.

"Next up for your viewing pleasure," called out one of the monkeys. "Is beastmaster Kakuhan! Keep in mind that every one of our animals has been personally trained by Kakuhan!"

"Except us, right brother?"

"Right, the Saru Saru's were trained personally by ringmaster Carlos."

Riding into the spotlight was a rather annoyed looking man sitting cross-legged atop a giraffe's head. His hair was a dirty blonde and unkempt, with short patches like it'd been cut poorly or torn out from time to time. His head was cylindrical and to say he had a bottle neck would be an understatement. His clothing was flamboyant, as one would expect in the circus, but more regal than his fellow peers. One might even say he looked like a gaudy official with his spotted button-up shirt and striped dress pants. Indeed, he complimented his mount quite well.

The giraffe stopped and craned down its long neck, allowing beastmaster Kakuhan to stand upright and dismount. He placed his hands upon the two whips on either side of his belt. Silence descended upon the big top as the sounds of a light drumroll echoed through the seats and spires, building upward in an ever-growing crescendo until! CRACK! THWACK! Two boulders nearby split in half! A detailed gaze with the spyglass revealed that they were in fact genuine stone. The beastmaster split boulders in half with whips!

"Stunning display, as usual!" came the monkey's cries. "Now beastmaster Kakuhan will bring out the final act of our main performance! Introducing the one! The only! Miiiiiiiiss Schrodinger!"

Kakuhan snapped his left whip out of the spotlight and into the darkness. A moment later and a large gray foot appeared. Attached was a huge head with large ears, tusks, and a trunk. An elephant, big and brawny, but that wasn't the interesting part. Standing atop the elephant's saddle, on two hind legs, was something… Small. People in the crowd all over zoomed in on their spyglasses to see this miniature performer more clearly, and were greeted with a most unusual sight. It was small, yes, but furry with a snout and claws. It had a stripe down its brown back, with a small tail that followed. Everything about this thing said it was a honey badger, not a performer. Yet this honey badger stood on two legs. It wore a belt with twin handguns. Atop its head was a straw cowboy hat. This was definitely a honey badger, and yet it most definitely was… Not.

"Miss Schrodinger stands upright! She walks the walk and even talks the talk!"

"Kinda like us, right Danny?"

"Yeah, except she's also the best damn shot in the entire circus! Give the good people a taste of your act, Miss Schrodinger! Show them how well Kakuhan taught you!"

Runch's eyes were fixed on the badger, his lens focused in and his mouth agape with amazement. He could have sworn that the badger actually narrowed its eyes and grit its teeth at the words of the monkeys. But that wasn't possible, was it? The extraordinary feats continued. In the blink of an eye, Miss Schrodinger pulled out a handgun from the holster, aimed upward, and BANG! The screams and screeches of startled and frightened monkeys filled the tent, quickly followed by the laughter and clapping of the crowd.

"Lolololol, Miss Schrodinger, you continue to impress me!" laughed Carlos, the ringmaster, his voice projecting through the den den mushi. "But let's stick to what the audience can actually see, hmm? Let's stick with impressing them!"

Kakuhan had lined up all the animals the performers had ridden in on. Reaching into a nearby barrel, he pulled out an apple, shiny and red. Placing it on the giraffe's head, he pulled out another, which went to the lion, and so on. All the animals had an apple placed somewhere on their bodies, all lined up in a row. The gunslinging badger climbed atop the barrel and took aim with its other handgun. After a few seconds, the tension built, and BLAM! Four apples fell to the ground, each one with a hole where once there was a core. Miss Schrodinger lifted the barrel of the gun to her snout and blew out the smoke to a cheering crowd.

"Well then, that's all we have for your appetizer! Please wait two minutes and the show will go on with the first act!" The ringmaster enjoyed his loud decrees a lot, it seemed. He took a bow and the lights dimmed once more.

"That's brilliant! Amazing! How do you think that long neck guy trained that badger so well?" Runch leaned over to his mates, clapping his hands excitedly. It had been his favorite teaser act yet.

"I don't know, but that badger is better than that," Smith replied. The blue jay was back on his shoulder, and he held some sort of paper in his hand.

"Take a look." He handed it over to Runch, who looked it over very thoroughly. He coughed in surprise, his eyes simply huge. This was a note card, and judging by the contents, it was one that the Saru Saru brothers were reading from. Of course, the real surprise came from the bullet hole right in the center…

"Singin' strawberries! No wonder those monkeys freaked out so much!"

"It was an intentional shot, and according to the ringmaster, not part of the act. Makes me wonder why that badger would do that." Smith contemplated the facts he had and sent Randal, the blue jay, out once again.

"Maybe she's self-taught and didn't like being advertised as another trained beast?" Hachi threw out rather nonchalantly. His suggestion was promptly ignored, but he was fine with that.

Meanwhile, the crowd behind the crew began to shift as latecomers took their seats. A few shuffled down in front of the crew as well. One look at the uniforms was all that it took to recognize the marines that now completely surrounded them. Act natural, right?

"Hey, cap'n," Smith started, nudging Runch with his elbow. "Take my beard and things."

"What?" Runch gave him an incredulous look.

"It's a good disguise! Better chance they don't recognize you. Works for me, you know?"

"That 'disguise' is ludicrous. I'd be better dressing as a peanut in a cherry farm. Honestly, I don't know how you don't attract more attention with it!"

Smith ignored Runch's pleas and dressed him up in it all anyway, leaving himself in just his ninja garb. The older man now had a red bandana covering his balding head, an eyepatch, and a fake black beard that completely clashed with his white pointed mustache. He rolled his one eye and sighed, just in time as a marine sidled up next to him.

"Hey there, buddy. You haven't by any chance seen this man, have you?" The marine held up a wanted poster for the group to see, with an image of Runch on it. It was during his window escape back on Sunny Island, and Smith's head and hand were just barely visible in the picture. The caption read: Wanted. Dead or Alive. Cereal Killer Captain Krunch. 16,000 Belli.

Runch stared at the poster for a moment, a bead of sweat dripping down his brow. He glanced up to the marine who was patiently waiting for a response. Really? Seriously?

"Ne'er 'eard o' 'im," Runch replied in as deep a voice as he could muster.

"Thanks anyway." The marine placed the poster back in his jacket. "I didn't expect much, but he was last seen sailing in this direction. Let us know if you hear anything, alright?"

Runch nodded as the marine began to stroll awkwardly through the seats. He wiped his brow and sighed in relief.

"How did that even wor-"

"Ninja tricks," Smith shot off with confidence.

"One more thing!" Runch nearly jumped out of his skin! The marine came back and squeezed between Runch and Hachi, sitting down right on top of Smith!

"This is the only free seat I could find. Hope you don't mind if I take i-Huh. It's pretty lumpy. Ah well. At least we're not in the nosebleeders, am I right, guys? Hahahaha!" He leaned back, Smith growling unheard beneath him. Hachi smiled to himself, sitting back as well. Runch chuckled outwardly.

No sooner had they all settled comfortably (well, all except for Smith at any rate) did the lights shine back on. Standing in the spotlight, surrounded by animals of all shapes and sizes, was the strong man, Ganjou Ude, while Kakuhan stood nearby, whips at the ready.

"Now for you viewing pleasure, my dear, handsome audience, is our very own Mister Ude! Due to the dangerous nature of this act, beastmaster Kakuhan is on hand to ensure the safety of the animals, our strong man, and of course, all you in the stands!" The ringmaster was up on the high rise now, providing all the announcements needed for the show.

The show carried on, and the audience simply ate it up. Civilians and marines alike found themselves greatly entertained by the acts put on as Mister Ude wrestled the animals bare-handed. They oohed and awed as Torihito flew gracefully about, throwing roses and bird feathers to attractive women. They gasped in fear, then let out joyous applause as Kakuhan performed dangerous stunts with dangerous animals. The only ones missing out on all the entertainment were the Cereal Killers. Hachi simply wasn't interested. Runch was worried about the marines surrounding them. Smith… Well, he was otherwise occupied. Still, the act Runch had been most excited for was coming up, and he wasn't going to let anything get him down!

"Now, laaaaadiiiiies annnnd gentlemeeeeeen! The last act before our big finale! We present to you the one! The only! The tenacious… Miss Schrodinger!"

Drums rolled and music resonated across the spires like natural tuning forks as once again the honey badger walked into the spotlight, on two hind legs, and lifted its stubby little arms up to the great applause. Nobody was clapping more loudly than Runch.

Several round targets were carted out by animals on the beastmaster's command, and placed all around the stage. Six in total, the furthest was the badger's position was no more than thirty feet. These were moderate shots, but nothing spectacular. Miss Schrodinger drew her twin pistols, took careful aim, aaaaannnnnnnd…. BLAMBLAMBLAMBLAMBLAM! All six targets struck, dead center. Perfect bull's eyes all around. There was a light applause, but this wasn't anything spectacular. The teaser with the apples was more impressive. At least, it seemed so at first.

"Ladies and gentlemen, please! Are you not entertained? Miss Schrodinger deserves more praise than this! Who among you are astute? Perceptive? Listen well to the echoes of these spires in the tent and you will notice something astounding! Hark now, do you hear it?"

Runch raised his eyebrow and placed a hand to his ear. He listened, but heard nothing. Whatever it was had passed.

"Do you not hear it? The resounding signs of five gunshots! Yes, five shots, six targets! How does she do it?"

As if the ringmaster's voice were some sort of cue, the audience erupted in applause once more. Soon as the cheers died down, spotlights struck different areas of the spires and platforms. The subjects of these lights? Twelve more targets, spread all across the entire big top, as well as three cannons, all posed with another performer ready to aim them. The badger reloaded its pistols and removed its cowboy hat in favor of a black studded helmet.

"We have for you now a stunt suggested by Miss Schrodinger herself! This feat has never before been attempted, and is incredibly dangerous! We give you… The Flying Marksman! Miss Schrodinger will be fired from one cannon to the others, and shall let loose her shots while zooming above your heads! Twelve targets, twelve bullets! Can Miss Schrodinger hit them all before she lands from the third cannon? Will she plummet to the ocean hundreds of feet below and perish? Ladies and gentlemen, LET'S FIND OUT!"

The badger crawled into the first cannon, manned by one of the circus's helpers. The entire tent fell silent in anticipation as the man adjusted the cannon's angle. No creature was stirring through all the tension. Not even a mouse.

BOOM! BLAMBLAMBLAMBLAM!

Thoomp! Everyone gawked and stared as a badger flew through the air, letting off four bullets. A moment of inspection showed that all four hit their marks, though not a single one was a bull's eye.

"This is more amazing than my triple berry blast," Runch awed.

"You say somethin',?" asked the marine, glancing over.

"Naw," Runch replied, shaking his head. He almost blew his cover. That wouldn't have turned out well.

BOOM! BLAMBLAMBLAMBLAMBLAM!

Thoomp! The badger did it again, landing right into the barrel of the third and final cannon! This time it let off five shots at the remaining targets. One missed completely, but another was a perfect bull's eye! The crowd roared, only to be quieted by the ringmaster in order to allow the final cannoneer the concentration required to perfect the angle.

The marine stirred, swatting around his face. "What's up with this bird? Ack, go away."

"Cap'n," Smith grunted out from beneath the marine.

"Bloody Hell, is my chair talking?"

"Not now, Smith," Runch whispered as discreetly as he could to the pinned ninja.

"We got a problem, cap'n. Randal says that badger's going to die."

"Ok, what the Hell is going on here?" The marine stood up from his seat, relieving Smith of the pressure, who took immediate advantage by breathing in deeply.

BOOM! BLAMBLAM!

The cannon fired off, the badger flew, and so did two bullets. Both shots completely missed for the same reason the twelfth and final bullet was not let loose from its chamber; Miss Schrodinger was plummeting! The arc looked good for a fraction of a second, but it didn't take long for the small animal to begin a full descent. The crowd looked on, eyes wide and horrified. Hachi raised an eyebrow and sat upward in his seat. Smith kicked the marine out of his way. Everyone and everything moved at a crawling pace. Everyone save one man.

Runch wasted no time and leapt from his seat. The costume pieces he had hastily donned fell back, save for the eyepatch, and he now felt himself falling through the air as well, mere meters from the badger.

"Bori bori slide!" Pellets manifest themselves from his feet, giving his direction and slowing his fall. It wasn't perfect, far from it, but he reached his target in time, snatching the badger from the air before either of them fell too far. His slide continued, falling to pieces behind him, until he tumbled over onto a nearby platform. Rolling forward, he shielded the badger with his own body and grunted in pain as his back hit rock.

The entire tent stood speechless. They stared before the spectacle, but could not make anything of it. Was this part of the act? Did a real accident just happen? Was the life of a trained animal really worth that danger?

"Attention, circus-goers," called out a new voice from the den den mushi speakers. This one was strong, yet friendly and charming, if full of authority. The audience instinctively looked up to the ringmaster's platform only to find a new person standing next to Carlos, holding the speaker. He was short, barely over five feet tall, with dark skin and messy brown hair. His nose was crooked and long, and he had a greasy look about him in general. His clothing was distinctively marine, and the jacket he wore over his shoulders like a cape meant only one thing.

"I am captain Touchoumaru of the marines, and I am here to tell you this was not part of the performance. That man is the Cereal Killer, Captain Krunch. By my authority, this show is now canceled. Krunch. You are under arrest."