OH MY GOSH I TOOK FOREVER I'M SO FREAKING SORRY AND *gasps for air* BREATHE.
Alright. Now that that's out of the way...I suppose this is more of a filler chapter, if anything. But I swear to you, it's important to the plot! Promise promise promise! *holds out pinky*
I don't own Tokyo Mew Mew. :)
Though she didn't want to, the guards forced them back, determined to keep control of the situation, leaving Ichigo no choice but to enter the circus with Aoyama.
She actually did want to, but she knew she had to rush back to the palace and tell Akasaka what had happened, but there was no possible route to the palace without having to circle the guards. Their watchful eyes for anyone suspicious made her nervous, which most certainly equaled suspicious in their eyes. She was a human with the ability to transform and fight; how is that not worthy of being thrown in prison, or worse, executed?
So instead, she went to the circus.
Ichigo stared in wonder at the many attractions the circus had; there was the flying Chimeras, where Cyniclons would do amazing tricks without their powers; the Feeding Pit, which had small Cyniclon children throw meat to the hungry Chimeras. As she watched, she shivered as she saw them attack the meat with a little too much vigor in her opinion. The children simply laughed and clapped as they watched, their parents guiding them away when it was over with.
"Momomiya, are you coming?" Aoyama called.
She simply nodded, quickly following him. She couldn't help but think that if this rebellion did happen, those Chimeras would be used for the war. The image of their teeth tearing at the meat haunted her.
"What would you like to see?" he asked when she caught up with him. She stared around in wonder; she hadn't been in a circus since she was a little girl, and there were many things she would like to see.
"How about...this one?" She pointed behind her, deciding to select at random at the last minute.
Aoyama peered at the sign for the attraction she had pointed to. "'The Oddest Human of All'," he read, a small smile lighting up his handsome face. "It sounds very interesting! Let's go see."
Ichigo didn't notice anything at first when they entered the large tent; she was too busy swooning at him, feeling like the luckiest girl in the world. The area wasn't too packed, so they were able to reach the front without too much of a hassle. She noticed a good portion of the area inside was like a pen for the Chimeras, but it was certainly much smaller. It contained a number of odd objects, such as large balls, odd things that resembled something used for a sport that Ichigo had read about in an old book years ago. What was odd about the pen that in the corner, there was a minature house. The windows were drawn, and Ichigo was almost positive that the door was locked. Why would they have a house in an animal pen?
Just then, the tent flap opened, and a large crowd entered, chattering excitedly. She overheard one Cyniclon girl talking to three others who resembled each other exactly. They seemed to be only a few years older than Ichigo.
"I've been to this exhibit many times," the girl was saying, floating two inches above the ground. "I just know you girls will love it!"
"I hope so!" one of them replied. "It took me hours to convince my father that my maid was not allowed to come, and that it would just be us. This would be a waste of time."
"It won't be," the first one promised. She pointed at the area above the pen, grinning excitedly. "Look, it's about to start!"
The air above it rippled, a well known sign for Ichigo; there was a Cyniclon teleporting. Sure enough, a heavyset Cyniclon appeared, floating several feet off the ground. He was wearing a black suit, with a matching black hat on his head. He took it off and gave the crowd a sweeping bow, who responded with applause. Ichigo stole a glance at Masaya, feeling a small smile creep its way onto her face. Why didn't she want to come here in the first place?
Because of that boy...
In an instant, her cheerful mood died.
"Welcome, ladies and gentlemen!" the Cyniclon man boomed, breaking into Ichigo's thoughts. "I see many familiar faces in this crowd..."
The Cyniclon girl from before giggled slightly.
"...and new ones, too! For those of you who do not know, welcome to my exhibit, 'The Oddest Human of All'!"
He was met with polite claps.
"What in Renegade, you might think, is so interesting about a human? After all, they're merely slaves, simply people who follow the orders they are given!"
Ichigo felt a pang of anger shoot through her. How could he state something like that so bluntly? Surely, he'd noticed that some of his auidence was human! She stole another look at Masaya, who remained perfectly straight-faced, staring at the man with interest.
Her heart sank. Of course. Humans had been slaves for the Cyniclons for a hundred years now; why should it bother him, or any other human, now? They'd lived their whole lives like this, never knew anything else.
Have I really changed that much?
"...please welcome, my star attraction, the Oddest Human of All!"
Right on cue, a girl seemed to materialize in the air, falling from the high tent. People gasped, watching the girl fall, past the ringmaster, surely to be injured when she fell on the ground...instead, the girl seemed to twist her body so she was falling feet-first, and landed on one foot, arms outstretched.
"Hello, na no da!" the 'star attraction' chirped cheerfully.
Ichigo let out a strangled noise; the girl looked to be about ten or eleven, no more than a child. Her hair was a light blonde, short, and kept in two small braids. She was dressed in some sort of one-piece orange suit, with soft flat shoes on her feet. The girl was smiling at the crowd pleasantly, practically radiating happiness.
The crowd burst into applause, oohing and aahing over the small stunt.
"This girl has mastered arts that were lost long to humans, or so it seemed! She is one of the rare people who have the ability to do the tricks she knows! Truly a marvelous thing indeed!"
A marvelous thing... Ichigo's stomach rolled as she replayed his words.
"Quickly, my dear!" the ringmaster called to her. "Show them one of our favorites!"
The girl nodded, before bracing herself and pushing off with her feet. She didn't sail very high into the air, but she managed to do a backflip, landing on her hands and pushing off again and landing on one of the large balls in the pen. She balanced on one foot, not even wobbling.
"She's so cute!" one of the girls in the group Ichigo had listened to earlier exclaimed. "She'd make a delightful pet!"
A delightful pet... Ichigo was beginning to feel sick.
Just then, the girl in the pen locked eyes with her.
Ichigo didn't look away, like she normally did; she didn't like to keep eye contact with people she didn't know. Instead, she stared right back at her, looking into her eyes. She saw sadness, a little bit of happiness, yes, some hope, but mostly sadness. She noticed that the girl's arms held fading scars; she glanced back at the ring master, taking note of the whip around his waist. Along with that, a small bag filled with scraps.
This little girl, this human child, was being treated like an animal.
Nausea rolled through Ichigo, causing her to put a hand to her mouth, forcing herself to swallow the bile rising in her throat. She glanced at Aoyama, hoping he'd look a little concerned; instead, he stared at the girl in fascinated wonder, as though one might look at a very interesting animal.
"I'm...needed back at the palace," she said, her voice coming out a little strangled. "I'll see you another time, then?"
Aoyama tore his gaze away from the girl, staring at Ichigo in what looked like disappointment. "So soon?"
"I...I'm sorry, but supper should be ready in a few hours. I really must go!"
With that, Ichigo turned on her heel and fled the tent. As much as she wished she could help that girl, it was too dangerous. She wasn't about to risk the rebellion because of her pity.
"I see..."
Ichigo sat on the floor, her chin resting on her knees, watching Akasaka as he took in the news of what she had told him.
"This is very bad," he said after a few seconds of silence. "Writing down such a bold message. The Royal Guards are bound to be much more harsh towards humans in order to quell any ideas rising. Ryou will not be too happy with this, either. It puts us back quite a bit."
"I would've returned sooner, but the Guards were crawling everywhere. I was concerned they'd ask me questions. I'm terrible at lying," Ichigo told him honestly, but not meeting his gaze.
"What did you do for the past few hours, then?" he asked quizzically.
"I wandered the markets," she lied, still refusing to meet his gaze. Her voice rose an octave higher. "I didn't buy anything, of course, just looked, and honestly, I was just very, very bored, and..."
She trailed off, realizing she was rambling. "Anyway," she said abruptly, standing up and smoothing her apron. "I really should go set up the table for supper; I don't need Mint nagging about it in the morning." She turned around and left, her eyes still on the ground.
She had not told him about the circus.
She had not told him about the little girl.
She had not told him anything.
She didn't want to.
She didn't want anyone to know about it.
Later that night, somewhere around eleven o'clock, the large tent Ichigo had visited earlier that day was dimmer. It was quiet, and most of the people who had visited the circus had already gone. She sat alone in the pen, waiting silently.
Finally, the air above her rippled, and the ringmaster appeared, arms crossed, head nodding.
"Very good today," he said gruffly. "You've earned these."
He threw the bag of scraps around his waist at her. She quickly snatched it and made a jump for the small house in the corner of the pen.
"WAIT!"
She obeyed and stopped, turning around to stare at him blankly, waiting for whatever he had to say.
The ringmaster's nostrils flared. "I have noticed that you have been neglecting your well-earned meals."
The girl said nothing.
He scowled. "I can't have your strength gone because you're so insistant on feeding those rats! We still have a show to run, and you're still a big attraction. I cannot let you give away your meals to others who do nothing!"
"They need to eat," she argued weakly.
"Be as that may, eat some for yourself. We have a show tomorrow in the evening, and I will not have your strength failing you! Understand?"
Instead of arguing, she nodded. "Yes, sir," she muttered blankly.
"Good," the ringmaster said smugly. "Be a good human and don't cause any trouble." With that, he disappeared.
She sat on the ground, legs folded underneath her, staring at the palms of her hands. "The palace," she muttered. "I need to get to the palace."
Her fingers were covered in dried red paint.
