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Note: Thanks to those who reviewed and lol I re-read the last two chapters and you're right www it does remind me of Kuroshitsuji www didn't realize that www maybe coz of the circus theme www

Daiki woke up with the weirdest bump on his head— what was weird was that he didn't even remember bumping his head anywhere —and an extreme chill on his body. His feet were like ice and he could hardly move them. The blanket he was covered by comfortably last night wasn't on him anymore and for some reason the 'roof' of the tent was transparent.

"what the hell..."

Daiki sat up and realized that he was sleeping smack in the middle of where the circus site was suppose to be and that there were only the dead trees in the area, which was actually common. The circus tents were nowhere to be seen and it was as if they had disappeared during the night. The only thing left was only the tiny amount of trash from popcorn and plastic cups, serving as a proof that the circus was really there and not just some imagination of his.

The boy furrowed his brows— confused to why the hell was he staring at an empty space —and turned to wake Tetsuna up so that he could ask her about what the hell was happening but the moment he looked over to his right, he realized that she wasn't there anymore. There was only an empty space of short grass at the place she was suppose to be sleeping. It only took a moment for Daiki to process what was going on and he sprung up then started to frantically look for his friend was. He called out her name multiple times, begging deep inside his heart for her to suddenly show up beside him and answer his calls.

She might have just went back to town

No, she wouldn't have went alone

Toilet?

Yeah, maybe she did

But... Tetsu wouldn't go without telling me

A- Ah it must be that

This is just the normal thing

I just didn't notice her

She's gonna appear out of nowhere like always

She's gonna say "I'm here, Daiki-kun. From the start"

She's just beside me— She has to be!

No matter how much Daiki pleaded and wished in his heart, Tetsuna didn't show up. Silence was the only thing he could hear. Though there weren't any evidence to what had actually happened, the navy haired boy reached to a conclusion in his head that someone— top on the list was a certain expressionless redhead —had taken her away, given the fact that the area was practically abandoned as if someone was running away. They had taken her away... even though he was with her. Daiki gritted his teeth and clenched his fists so hard that they were turning white. How could have he let this happen? She was with him— right beside him! —and he had let something happen to her.

"Tetsu..."

Not wanting to waste another minute standing there and blaming himself, Daiki ran off back to town, hoping to gather information on Tetsuna's whereabouts. He didn't care whether if he had to travel to other towns or places. Whatever he must do he will if it is to find his precious [shadow].

I'll find you... Definitely... Just wait for me, Tetsu!

The creaking of a ceiling fan echoed throughout the tiny room where only a bed and a small closet was the furniture in the place. The bricked walls had cracks in certain parts and seemed to be years old. The entrance, however, seemed a little newer than the interior, with its door having a brighter colour compared to the walls. It was a little dusty and had minor scratches here and there but nonetheless still looked new. There was only a small window that served as ventilation and a small light bulb as a light source.

Along with the sound of soft rustling, a colour of blue slowly made its way out of the covers, a soft groan was let out along with the movements. It took a moment for her eyes to adjust to the dim surrounding and when they did, they widened to a certain extent in shock. There were a lot of things she couldn't comprehend like, where on Earth is she? Who brought her here? Why was she even here? A million questions ran through her head and when the door creaked open, she knew that she would find the answers to them.

"ah, you have awakened..."

Seijuro, who had entered, uttered in a soft voice as he made his way towards her, prompting her to sit up straight. There was a folded piece of clothing in his hands which he gently placed on the edge of the bed, avoiding eye contact with the bluenette for some reason.

"change into this and hurry to the dining hall. Tsujirou-sama requests for your presence."

Unwilling to just follow his orders without knowing more of the situation she was in, Tetsuna reached out and gripped the sleeve of his suit before he could leave. The redhead's eyes widened slightly at her sudden action but he didn't try to make her let go as he knew what she was going to ask.

"everything will be answered by Tsujirou-sama during dinner. Just change into the clothing I brought you."

The two stared at each other, Seijuro waiting for her to let go and Tetsuna still deciding whether to just let that be his answer for now. Eventually, she released his sleeve and in a voice which hid her fear she uttered, "fine.."

Seijuro gave a nod and walked over to the door to let her have her privacy to change. Once again the creaking of the door as it opened was heard and before Seijuro closed it, he glanced over to Tetsuna and gently said, "I will escort you to the dining hall once you are done."

Tetsuna softly said a "thank you" and the door was closed. With a sigh, the girl swung her legs to the side of the bed and glanced over to the clothing that the redhead had brought her. Carefully, she picked then raised it up to get a better look at the clothing under the dim lighting. The moment she raised it up, the clothing became unfolded, revealing a dress with the colour of snow with a light blue ribbon wrapped around the waist area. It was the most beautiful thing Tetsuna had ever seen in her entire life. The dresses sold in Rione were all rather dull compared to the one she was holding, making her hesitate on putting it on, though she was asked to. She just felt that it would be a pity if she ruined it in any way somehow during the dinner.

"Tetsuna-san?"

A light knock was heard on the door and she turned to face it. It was Seijuro. She had nearly forgot that he was waiting outside to escort— the word somehow felt weird in her head —her over to the dinning hall. Hurriedly, she changed into the dress with utter care— somehow feeling a little awkward at the absence of a mirror for her to see how she looked in it —and let Seijuro open the door when he once again called out to her. A nod was given by the redhead when he saw her in the dress and with a small smile, he offered his hand— which she took —and lead her out of the room.

Seijuro's hold on her hand was secure as they walked through a small and dark passageway— a claustrophobic person would've lost it here —before climbing up some stairs to a door which revealed a corridor once it was opened, its size two— no, perhaps more than that —times bigger than the tiny passageway they passed through seconds ago. The redhead let go of her hand once they arrived at the corridor and proceeded to lock the door they came out from. For what reason he locked it? That remained a mystery for Tetsuna.

"Let's proceed"

Seijuro said, gesturing for Tetsuna to follow him. She gave him a careful nod and walked just a few steps behind him, observing the corridor they were walking through. They seemed to be in a mansion, Tetsuna concluded as they walked through the large corridor. She took note of the amount of paintings and other seemingly expensive decorations hung up on the walls. There were some of the famous ones too like Picasso, she recognized. Things that someone who manages a circus would unlikely have. Seeing how fancy the place was, Tetsuna figured that the room she was in must've been a storage room of some sort or a place to hold—

The sound of a door knob being turned snapped her out of her thoughts and she realized that they had already arrived at the dining hall, where Tsujirou was sitting at a long table with multiple varieties of high class food was set, accompanied by a bottle of wine. Tsujirou didn't seem to notice her beside Seijuro so the redhead politely informed the man that he had brought her along with him, just like he was ordered.

"aah good work, Seijuro." Tsujirou turned to the girl and said with a smile, "come, sit down, Tetsuna"

Cautiously, she sat down beside him, Seijuro courteously pulling her chair back for her to sit. She uttered a thanks and turned her attention back to Tsujirou. Hearing her name being called by him made her feel a little uncomfortable but she didn't show it, keeping her poker face on. She doesn't trust the man at all as there was no reason to and he is the one who kidnapped her here after all. Why would one trust his kidnapper? For now, all she has to do is to not show any hostility towards the man and somehow get information on where she was then plan a way to escape. Since he is the big man of the place, he must know a lot. If he won't answer, however...

"The dress suits you."

Tsujirou complimented, looking pleased with himself. He must be the one who chose it— Tetsuna mused.

"Thank you.." she said. "ano.. may I know—"

"before you ask any questions dear," he interrupted, "help yourself to the food that I have prepared. You must be hungry"

Certainly, yes she was. She hadn't eaten anything since last night except for the popcorn she and Daiki shared so her stomach was grumbling but, she declined the offer. Tsujirou seemed like he was avoiding her questions and she couldn't have that. Besides, what if he had put something in the food? She couldn't take any risks. No matter what, she can't let him gain the upper hand.

"well, what about some wine? I have some that I've just received from a friend" he offered.

Tetsuna shook her head, "I'm sorry, but I don't drink..."

Tsujirou muttered an "is that so..." and turned to his food, obviously unpleased that the bluenette had declined every single one of his offers. But he wasn't the type to give up easily. So, with his greedy smile, he glanced over to Tetsuna and said,

"the reason I 'brought' you here, you see, is because I really want you to be one of us. One of the members of the circus."

"I'm sure I have given my answer." Tetsuna firmly said but still not forgetting to keep her words polite. "I don't want to be a member of your circus."

"now, don't say that. You won't regret it at all, young lady. Am I right, Seijuro?"

The redhead was silent for a moment before he emotionlessly uttered an agreement. Tsujirou was pleased with his answer and said "see?" to Tetsuna, as if his words were a great proof that she should consider the circus life. The girl wasn't really paying attention to Tsujirou, as the actions of Seijuro were more of an interest to her compared to the offer. To her, Seijuro seemed like he was hiding something. What it was, she could not say, but what was certain was that what he's hiding is definitely a topic that needs to be brought to light. He seemed rather burdened after all...

"so Tetsuna," he said, requesting her attention to return to him. "might you reconsider?"

"..no."

There wasn't even a moment of hesitation for her answer. With this, Tsujirou knew that he couldn't persuade the girl to join his circus. That he couldn't obtain her no matter what he did. Unless...

"..is that so...too bad.."

Tetsuna felt a chill down her spine when the tone of Tsujirou's voice changed. It sounded cold, unlike the naturally-friendly voice he had used before. His eyes were now rid of the 'kindness' and only showed a malicious gleam. By reflex, Tetsuna slowly got up from her chair and planned to just make a run for it— as she had a really bad feeling that something would happen to her if she didn't take the chance to escape immediately —but then unfortunately, with a snap of the man's fingers serving as a signal, Seijuro held her in a strong grip at her upper arms, preventing her from moving from her spot. Fear showed on the girl's face at the moment the redhead grabbed her— though she tried hard to hide it —and Tsujirou smiled cunningly at this, raising his wine glass up as he uttered,

"it's too bad that you won't be joining us voluntarily. It would've been more easier for you, and for us, that way"

"—! What are you planning to do with me" Tetsuna questioned, her forehead slightly creased.

"well..." Tsujirou smirked. "for one, I'm going to make you the most successful circus girl in town. 'Tetsuna, the invisible girl!', like that"

"I told you I decline—"

"you have no choice" Tsujirou said cutting her off. "bring her back to her room and help her prepare for tonight, Seijuro"

"understood. Let's go, Tetsuna-san"

After a short bow, Seijuro easily brought Tetsuna out of the dining hall as ordered to, even though the girl was struggling quite a lot with all her strength. She even tried elbowing his stomach but the grip on her upper arm pretty much prevented any possible movement from that limb. The girl would've let out a curse out of frustration but she knew better than to do so. It would be.. improper. And she didn't like to use such words anyways. Instead, she let out a sigh and decided to just obediently let Seijuro drag her back to her room. She would have to think of another way to get way. Seijuro opened the door to her room and let her enter first— releasing his iron grip on her —before closing the door behind him. He looked over to Tetsuna— who was staring at him, slight anger shown in her eyes as she rubbed her sore arm —and closed his eyes, an expression of remorse was faintly formed on his face.

"I apologize for having to be rough with you." he said. "I was just following orders."

It was rather a surprise— a pleasant one, to be honest —to hear an apology coming from him, the person who probably kidnapped her and forcefully brought her back into this old room, but that didn't really change a thing. Apology or no apology, he is someone who is working with Tsujirou so he shouldn't be trusted, Tetsuna told herself over and over again, though a part of her wanted to trust him. Something about the way he acted told her that he wasn't like Tsujirou, evil and scheming but there was nothing that could prove any of that. It could just be something she wanted to believe.

Tetsuna tightened her grip on her arm and took a deep breath before firmly stating,

"Please let me go."

Her blue eyes were still fixed on the redhead who stood by the door. Probably to not give her any chance to escape. Seijuro slowly opened his eyes and glanced over to her, an unexplainable look was in his eyes as they peeked through his long bangs. The room was then filled with silence as they stared at each other. As she was making direct eye contact with him, Tetsuna noticed how cold and beautiful his eyes were. They were a stunning colour of ruby, showing such little emotion to the world. His eyelashes were rather long, complimenting the elegant feline-like shape of his eyes. Her gaze then unconsciously trailed to his hair from his bangs that were slightly covering his eyes. His crimson hair seemed so soft even though they were rather spiky. She wondered how it would feel like.

...don't lose focus, Tetsuna.

She scolded herself. Thinking of how good looking Seijuro is won't get her anywhere. All she should think of now is..

"unfortunately," Seijuro finally responded. "I can't do that. I would be disobeying direct orders."

"but, I have to return home" Tetsuna argued but her voice was kept in a normal volume. "Please, let me go"

Seijuro shook his head, "I've already told you. I can't. Now, let's get prepared for—"

"why can't you?" Tetsuna interrupted. She wasn't going to back down just yet. "why can't you let me go?"

How persistent... "I just can't."

"if you don't have a reason to keep me here then you should just let me—"

"Why can't you understand?!"

Tetsuna visibly flinched and her eyes widened at the sudden raise of voice, puzzled to why the seemingly calm and collected person would suddenly lose his composure. Seijuro himself didn't know what came over him that made him raise his voice. All he knew was that his body started trembling all of a sudden during their conversation and when he envisioned the enraged face of Tsujirou, he just snapped.

"I told you I can't do that! If I did that and Tsujirou-sama were to find out—"

Seijuro stopped himself from saying anything any further and looked away from the girl. The painful expression on his face wasn't missed by her and it made her question, what was it about Tsujirou that got him so riled up? A sigh was breathed out from the redhead and he returned his gaze to the bluenette, his usual expression now replacing the look from before.

"I apologize for shouting at you. The clothes you need to wear for tonight is already prepared in the closet over there. Satsuki will come over later to see if you will be needing any other assistance."

Seijuro was about to leave when Tetsuna decided that she should at least say a word of apology to him as well. She did kind of forced him into a corner with her persistent request to let her go.

"ano, Seijuro-san—"

"please," he said, voice almost in a whisper. "don't talk to me"

With that, he exited the room, leaving the girl alone. Guilt filled her heart, thinking that she must've triggered something unpleasant inside of him that made him raise his voice like that. He looked.. so scared. The more she pushed him to release her the more fear showed in his eyes. Were the consequences just so horrible?... Tetsuna softly sighed and glanced over to the small window in her room.

Later... I have to apologize to him...

Seijuro walked down the large corridor they had passed before, his head kept low, causing his bangs to cover his eyes. It was a mistake. It was a total mistake for him to lose his calm composure in front of a stranger. It would only make her get curious and if she investigates into the matter...

The redhead slowly ceased his footsteps and came to a stop in front of a painting, his ruby eyes glancing over to the large object. A painting of two blue birds. One was flying high up in the air, enjoying the view of nature down below. The other, however, was looking up to the first bird, a look of longing drawn in its eyes as it continued to gaze upon the one up in the air from its small cage. The redhead narrowed his eyes slightly, as if in the form of sorrow, as he continued to gaze at the painting.

"a caged bird who yearns to be free...huh..."

Thanks for Reading!