Chapter 2 - History; A Prolog 2!
A small boy of age 6 wandered away from a burning building. His left hand holding his upper right arm. He seemed half dead, and stumbled in his walk. A few minutes later, he collapsed to the ground as it began to rain, but he couldn't feel it anymore.
'Kira! Run!'
-
He woke up to an unfamiliar roof. It seemed like a tent of some sort.
"Where...where am I?" his voice sounded weak, even to his own ears. A kind looking man came into his line of view.
"You are in the medical room of the Letlights Circus. Where our motto is 'Letlights shine upon you!' Do you get the meaning boy?"
"Y-yes...how...did I get here?" he wondered turning his head and wincing as his right shoulder hurt. He saw it was bandaged and sat up, regretting it immediately. "Ow..."
"Rest dear boy..." the nice man, who incidently had no hair and wore dark purple robes, ordered him calmly as he laid Kira back down. "I brought you here when I found you out cold in the rain in the middle of the city."
"Wh-where's mommy? Daddy? What about-" he was cut off by a hand covering his mouth.
"Shh...calm down...you need your rest. Regain your strength for healing." he said nicely, his image already swimming in Kira's view as he fell into the black unknown once more.
'Kira!' it echoed in his head, and he cried in his sleep.
-
3 years later...
A brunette 9 yr old was sweeping the floor of the circus stage as part of his daily routine. He told himself once more not to cry as he reviewed his situation.
3 years prior, Marmen, the owner of Letlights Circus and Stage, had rescued him after he had managed to escape a roaring fire. The fire had been spontaneous and no one else was known to have escaped, they didn't even know he'd lived...thanks o Marmen.
Soon after his wounds were gone, Marmen, the nice bald man, had showed his true colors. He was actually very mean and had forced Kira to work for him like a slave. Kira constantly saw the other performers on the stage from the back and wished he could be on that stage too.
He was brought out of his reverie as two voices caught him.
"Mormen! We need more performers! Better ones. Our crowds are leaving us and our money is low. The team just doesn't have the spark we need!" a man Kira knew to be Scott said in a desperate tone to Marmen.
Scott was nicer than Marmen, but not by much. He cared for the performers and made sure they weren't punished by Marmen, so that they could still perform. Kira on the otherhand...whenever he made a mistake, it was usually either Marmen or Scott that hit him. Not once, but many times.
He wasn't as important to them as the actors...
"I know Scott, but we don't have the resources to search for more actors. Besides, who would join a dying circus?" he asked in a cool, nearly collected voice.
"I...I could...do it." Kira muttered softly, his voice nearly as weak as it had been when he first woke after the fire. He rarely spoke or ever made a noise for that matter.
"You?" Scott turned to him in disbelief. "Yea right pipsqueak." he scoffed. Marmen looked contemplating.
"Let's give him a shot." Scott and Kira gave him shocked looks. "If he fails, beat him per usual, just make sure he does the show right."
Kira felt his heart lifting, he could do this! And then they would treat him better! Yea! Things were looking up, even if only slightly.
-
At 12, Kira's body was constantly bruised. But the costumers were constantly coming in. Marmen had set up a permanent settlement for Letlights Circus and Stage. Kira was there main attraction.
He wore full-body outfits to hide the bruises, made by Charlotte, a beautiful yet snobbish performer, under Marmen's orders. He wasn't the best acrobat they had, no...that's not why everyone lined up for days just for a ticket to see him...
It was because...he was 12. It was solely because he was the youngest performer of the company and his cute boyishness drew in crowds and crowds of people...just to see what he was capable of.
His breathing was ragged as he tried to force air into his lungs, the bruises he's received mere hour ago still making him wince. He looked feverish, but no one was around him to see. Kira stood in the shadows just outside the light of the stage...
If he performed right...if he didn't mess up...He wouldn't have to endure as much pain later...He feared what would happen if he failed the master...
Yes, Kira had long since stopped calling Marmen by his name, or 'boss.' He had at first, but Marmen preferred 'Master' to the other names...so Kira learned to call him such...even though he never spoke.
Kira turned his clouded eyes to the stage and saw the others performing...Jumping, looping, acting. He envied them...they weren't beaten near daily...Their outfits didn't cover even half of their bodies, lots of skin exposed...
'I...I can't do this...I can't survive this one more night...If I go out there...' he closed his eyes as his chest panged in pain. 'I'll die...'
The music that signaled his arrival on stage started...or rather...the music ended. Either way, Kira forced himself to begin walking towards the stage as the others walked off, grinning cold-heartedly at him as they passed.
His foot entered the light and Kira's little act began. He twirled on the spot and everyone in the audience 'awwww'ed. He stopped spinning, his head down and body shaking as he took in a few deep breaths. The crowd was confused by this and Kira could hear Marmen and the others hissing at him from offstage.
His eyes hardened. The dead look everyone would come to know so well formed in them...
That was the night...
He lifted his head, eyes closed. The boy then took a deep breath...and began his act once more. This time...this time it went flawlessly. This time was not hindered by the wounds on his body. He couldn't feel them anymore...
Because that was the night...
And the applause he received from the crowd, it was deafening...
The night that...
Marmen could only wonder what had happened...What happened to the boy who nearly lost it each time he got on stage?
The answer was simple...The little Kira he'd saved and then beaten...he was gone...Just as Kira had predicted before going on stage.
That was the night that Kira Yamato died...
And a new Kira was born in him...one that couldn't feel the pain of the beatings he would recieve...One that didn't care anymore...This Kira was an acting machine...He flowed like water and spoke to no one...
He was the only one in the world...and he could feel nor see anything...His performances sold out, and everyone wanted to see the young boy who could perform so well at such a young age.
Soon, Marmen was able to up the prices of the tickets to unreasonable heights. But each time they opened, the seats were packed...Kira would look them over from the sidelines and pity them...envy them...wish they had more sense...wish they knew the truth behind Letlights.
'Letlights shine upon you'...but though the lights shone on the actors, the audience, the stage...Though they shone, no one could see. No one could see the pain behind ice walls formed inside of Kira's small eyes...So his consciousness slept, trapped behind the death he'd placed upon himself with Marmon's help.
Until, 4 years later, his consciousness would be reawakened...by a familiar face...One he saw in his dreams...so often it hurt him...And then, he would begin to fight a fight within himself and without himself.
End Chapter 2! Confusing ain't it? -smirk-