If you still remember me, here I am with another character. I have a lot of gossip to do in my next update in this fic(the character is Garland by the way), So I won't say much now.
Hope you like it!
Mystel lay awake in his hammock as soft winds blew through the tent. His eyes rested on his brothers for a moment. It took him so long to find them again. He thought of his eldest sister. She looked really happy on her marriage day. He looked around and decided he would get a big photograph of himself with his brothers and sisters. For another moment he wished he could get his fourth sister too, but she was in med school.
Even today he dreamt of children with their parents. And he saw plenty of them daily. Usually, they were quite happy. They were getting sweets, clothes, balloons and other cheap childish fancies. More than half the circus audience was a mixture of children of different ages. Rich ones decorated their children like dolls, really adorable dolls.
But things were different for the poor. In his experience, the poor didn't love their children. They more or less hated them. He still remembered his parents face getting a bit uglier with each child's arrival. He was one among the many, not sure of his Birthday, or position. His parents only remembered their eldest son
and eldest daughter as she was born first, and sold first. Mystel had four sisters. He used to call all of them Nuan, as he didn't remember their names. All he remembered was that his second sister was named something like Nuan. When his eldest sister was 16, one day his father was up early. His tiny children stared at him in wonder as he gripped eldest Nuan's hand. She backed away at once, but he gripped it tighter, almost crushing her fingers. Oh! her name was Nezuko( he just recalled) They weren't back till dusk. And they never did. Only he did, with a pouch of coins.
He wasn't sure of his feeling at that. Nezuko was cute, and usually baked bread for him, but she got bad-tempered when father failed to get anything for a whole week. This meant she would have to steal, something she hated. But she got really good hauls. And not to mention, father got a really big pouch of money in exchange for her. Plus that meant one member less to feed. But Mystel and all the children in the house were sad for Nezuko. They were going to miss her terribly. Now, who would make the food? Who will steal toffees for them?
After Mystel's parents thought over the full potential of this method, four more children were sold in two years. Three of his brothers, surely older than him were sold. One of them put up quite a fight, but was beaten to a pulp and dragged to the market. He didn't mind much. He wondered if they even knew his name. But still, they were his brothers. Though they usually we're busy with their friends, sometimes they acknowledged his presence.
And Nuan( the second sister) had told him something terrible. One day she was crying for Nezuko. Mystel asked her why. She told him that many people beat their slaves with huge whips till they bled and don't let them have even a morsel of food for days together while they eat tables full of scrumptious meals. Mystel was horrified. Why would anyone do that to sister Nezuko? It was horrendous beyond his imagination. Soon he was also wailing loudly beside Nuan. And before they knew, half the house had joined them. No one wanted their brothers and sister to be hurt so badly. Nezuko was so good. Their brothers weren't that bad either.
Mystel cried a lot when his third sister was sold. She was sick or something like that. His father had exactly no money for treatment, so he sold her before the signs began showing.
Mystel loved her. She tagged along with Mystel for nothing at all. They didn't have much to do, but he loved talking with her. Once she was caught stealing medicine from the doctor's. When the doctor's wife caught her and pulled tightly at her hair, she told that it was for her sick brother. That brother was Mystel. But Mystel couldn't gather enough courage to return the favour.
He second sister warned them- Make yourself helpful or you'd be soon pocket change.
He knew why Nuan was still around. His father regretted selling Nezuko. She looked delightful with a properly washed face and got food when it was scarce. He was proud of her theft skills. But when she was gone, no good cook was left.
Mystel's mother was a drunkard. His father had a few doubts about some of the younger children. When she wouldn't return for a couple of days, he would thrash his cigarette pack down in frustration and stagger out from the only bed in the house and drag her back with a lot of abuses from some uncertain alleys of the town and give her a really tough beating. Soon she would stop struggling, and he would be tired. He would then drink any remaining wine in the bottle and smash it, grumbling that this woman brought upon his ruin.
He immediately needed a pack of cigarettes after that, or any child could suffer greatly. He always said he loathed the taste of cigars, but Mystel felt he loved it more than his offsprings. So, Mystel, with his remaining three siblings would watch from a hole in the wall. They he would wordlessly stare at the fumes filling the room and gradually the grumbling and moaning would cease.
When Nezuko was still around, she used to tell them of times when she was a little thing. The family was small- Only mother, father, she herself and two brothers, one still an infant. She showed them a photograph once. Majority of the siblings stared at her in awe as she told the story, occasionally pointing at the photograph. Most of them were gaping at the fact that they had a photograph in the house. I mean a photograph is really costly. Father's face was not so haggard, but mother was unrecognizable. Her blonde hair was well tamed and tied in the photograph, while they had never seen any hairstyle other than a shapeless nest on her head. Nezuko looked almost like the rich kids, and his brother looked uncharacteristically happy.
She used to tell, "Father was a nice person. He really loved me. He worked at the Carpenter's shop. The big one in the middle of town" She blinked back tears of joy. Mystel and Nuan would ask" Really?"
And Nezuko would answer," Yes. And dad would always get something for us. Sometimes it was balloons for me, sometimes a mask for brother, and sometimes juicy fruits. And do you know he even got a flower for Mom once a month."
Nezuko would stare hopefully at her eldest brother to help her in telling the story, but he would leave here. A little disappointed she would continue,
"Mom was wonderful back then. She cooked soft rolls for us and would feed us with her own hands." Mystel was more than shocked at that. He never saw mom even trying to feed someone the food his sisters cooked.
He really wanted to know what happened that things came to their present state but for some reason, Nuan never reached that part.
Mystel somehow knew it was his chance now. When his mother took any child to bath early in the morning, it was the biggest sign. This started with Nezuko. She looked really beautiful that day.
After ages, she combed his hair and gave him a toffee. Though he knew where this was going, he was really happy. Other siblings were a little jealous. The wanted some of that attention too. Mystel could swear that Every time someone was being prepared for the sale, Nuan got hyperemotional. She didn't do anything silly like crying or shouting in front of everyone. She simply went away somewhere to scream and sob in peace.
But Mystel had been eagerly waiting for this day. He yearned for his mother's attention. He wanted her to acknowledge the fact that he existed.
And really, what did a kid hardly ten years old want?
For the first time in his life, his father took him in his arms. He smelt of cigarette smoke all over, with some of Mom's scent( which was a mix of all cheap wines and liquors in the town). Slowly they went to the market. He imagined what it looked like to his brother still in the house. He guessed it didn't look much different than what it looked like when his father walked away carrying his third sister in his arms.
The market was huge and extremely crowded. First, there were jewellery shops, then clothes' shops, then food shops, then carpentry shops( Mystel smiled as they crossed the one he thought was the shop in which his father once worked, but he got no reaction other than swifter walking), then sweet shops, toy shops...
Finally, they were in the human market. It was even more crowded. He saw big old banners. In different corners of the market, here we different people in for sale. In one corner there were adolescent boys and young men, in another were girls of a similar age. In yet another corner we're men and women of his father's age. It was far less crowded. And the place where Mystel stood was the corner with tiny kids.
Mystel was tiny, but he saw even tinier children being sold off. They looked ugly without any clothes. Thick ropes looked odd on thin arms. He saw rough, tired parents selling them and rich Fat men buying them.
His father made some space, spread an old cloth at the ground and shouted at top voice-"Young boy for sale"
Mystel still remembers, at once many men gathered around to have a look. Mystel had never felt so nervous before. All the men gathered around him scanned him head to toe again and again. Comments came without any censorship. They talked openly about his body. They made fun of him. He was shocked beyond measure. Was this what they did to Nezuko?
Selling a tiny boy with almost no muscle wasn't easy. People haggled with his father and went away grumbling. It was almost dusk now. Most of the children had been sold. The crowded marketplace was getting emptier and emptier, though the place where they sold girls was getting even more crowded.
He felt bad when his sister was sold. He felt worse when he was put up for auction. But he was feeling the worst when no one was purchasing him. It was like the tightest slap he ever got. It was proof of his uselessness.
When Mystel was on the brink of screaming from the horror of 'what will happen if he wasn't sold', a thin, reedy man with a whip stopped to have a look at him. Mystel gulped at his intimidating eyes. He suddenly wished that this man wouldn't buy him. But unfortunately, this was the very person who bought Mystel. He first took his arm and twisted it really hard. Mystel screamed but the man seemed pretty satisfied.
The man didn't drag him or anything. He walked swiftly with a tight hold on the rope Mystel was tied to. They reached a huge tent with "Circus" labelled on it.
Whatever Mystel knows today, he learnt at the Circus. For months they made him do all kinds of crazy jumps and twisted his body till it almost broke. He broke a few bones, but that was a sorry excuse. However, every night, after the show was over, and all performers returned to backstage where Mystel eagerly waited for them, they had a chat around the fire, which always got Mystel roll with laughter. They readily praised him for his quick progress and even nursed him when hurt. But they also made rude jokes about him, to which Mystel got used to in due course.
The man who bought him was the circus supervisor. Once a week he came to see his progress. If satisfied, then it's okay, if not satisfied then it's the whip. But they gave him food to eat every day. He missed his brothers and sisters, but their memories were fading.
Finally, the day for his first performance arrived. His was smeared with a ton of paint, just as he often did to others. His trainer was extraordinarily soft natured today and was hysterical about giving him advice. Finally, she had to be pulled back from the stage and Mystel started his performance.
Things were definitely not as difficult as his trainer made it seem. Mystel smiled as he did the steps right, the very steps which once got him countless beatings from her.
His performance ended. He was standing in the ending pose, clearly out of breath. He had tried avoiding looking at the audience. Stepping on the stage gave the slave market vibe. Though he was too absorbed in his performance which he thoroughly enjoyed, he was certain of the audience's reaction. He didn't want to open his eyes. He knew what he would see.
But he had to. And he was bewildered. They were clapping. Clapping for him.
A smile lit up his face. It had been years since he had been so happy.
He worked in the circus for more than six years. They travelled far and wide. Mystel learned numerous languages ( though none of them properly).
Soon he was beyblading as the circus master noted it was an infectious trend among children. Beyblading was something new for all of them, so he didn't get as many beatings. When master felt they were good enough at Beyblading, they were encouraged to develop new tricks. And Mystel topped this. For the first time master was so pleased with him that he actually got big milk chocolates a reward. So the was the secret of him getting fatter.
Soon he and his 360 attacks ruled the place. His big break came with Posedian. He randomly turned up during a performance. It was a surprise for the performers as much as it was for the audience, but the show ended well.
And one day, just after a Blockbuster show, a man came to the circus master.
He offered to take Mystel to a company where they gave good opportunities and training to talented Bladers. He was sure of Mystel's bright future with his company ahead.
Even before the circus master asked for it, the man offered a huge sum of money for Mystel. The circus master hadn't even dreamed of such a high sum for a boy he bought for hardly anything. So, the deal was done and the man was to come to pick him up the next morning.
The man went away and the hell broke loose. All circus people were praising, lauding, mocking, laughing and crying. He hugged him tight, threw him up in the air, told him things they never did before. Jokes about the circus master rained down. Though Mystel felt he heard a few of them, but the circus master didn't react. Good for the fat man.
His trainer( her name is Carin by the way) burst out in tears as she spoke to him She tirelessly apologized for being so strict and even gave Mystel the coveted chance to get his long-awaited revenge, but Mystel declined the attractive offer. He loved Carin as much as she loved him. She was his true mother.
The next morning everyone stood at the tent's gate to bid him farewell. Mystel had been finely decked up in the most sensible clothes they could find. Cairn dressed him herself. And you guessed it right, it was his signature outfit with the four-eyed masks.
Mystel stood tall beside the Circus Master. He couldn't help feeling nervous again. He realized it just now, but he was being sold again.
The man arrived in a shiny black car. A few guards with guns stood behind him. He walked with the air of a King. He wished the circus Master " It's a fine day" and handed him a huge bundle of money. As the man turned around motioning Mystel to follow, the circus master whispered in his ear, " You'll do great, son."
Mystel turned around in astonishment to see the momentary smile from the Circus Master's face melt into the straight face he always held. Behind the Circus Master, the whole circus waved him Good Bye. He waved lightly to Carin. As he turned around and walked quickly to his new Master who had almost reached his car, he wondered what it looked like to Carin now. It looked nothing like it did when his father walked away with his third sister in his arms.
I did it! Before I start anything else, this is an extra piece of information-After BEGA, the team was disbanded. Mystel went back to the circus and tried his best to find his family. He found two brothers, one of which was in the very condition Nuan dreaded. The other was fine except he looked sick. He found Nezuko working as a maid in a rich man's house, a maid who had to bear a few floggings from her master and be obedient if asked to dance before a small crowd of drunk men. When he went to the man's house, he was mercilessly beating a sobbing Nezuko, over a broken china mantelpiece, but all his ferocity went away at once when he saw Mystel. Like much of the Justice 5, Mystel instilled fear in hearts of a few( all thanks to Brooklyn). Taking advantage he at once aimed his Bey at him and demanded Nezuko. Nezuko didn't recognise him but remained quiet.Mystel had to fight a few men, but he escaped with Nezuko in the cover of Posedian's water walls. Seeing Nezuko's tortured and bewildered expression he explained things from the very start.She gave him a warm hug and they walked back happily. She stayed with him at the circus for a couple of years and then married a man who used to visit the Circus often.Then Mystel went to his parents' house, where he found only his last sister. She told him that Nuan ran away three years after he was sold, and their only remaining brother stabbed mother and father and ran away too, just a year ago.As she was still only 11, she was spared of any punishment. Soon she started working at the tea seller's who gave her one meal a day. She managed another one with her meagre salary.Mystel decided to send her to a good school instead of admitting her in the Circus.
So, did you like it?