VIP Tickets to Hell

Akio found himself standing at the entrance of Miracle Land Theme Park, squinting up at a rainbow archway of cartoon mascots and giant confetti balloons. He adjusted the strap of his shoulder bag, packed with sunscreen, a first-aid kit, and a yellow rain poncho (just in case).

The Saturday sun was too cheerful for his mood. Why am I here? he lamented internally, feeling out of his element amid shrieking children and the sugary scent of caramel corn. Crowds, chaos, sticky fingers everywhere… This was his personal vision of hell.

“Lighten up, Akio,” Kubo Shinji – Shinji, as Akio was sternly instructed to call him outside the office – clapped him on the back with a grin. Shinji had ditched his usual suit for a casual polo and shorts. Beside him, his little sister Hana was vibrating like a shaken soda can. The girl could not have been older than ten, her pigtails bouncing as she craned to spot something (or rather, someone) in the crowd.

Akio cleared his throat. “I still think you tricked me into this,” he muttered, tugging uncomfortably at the collar of his T-shirt.

Shinji just laughed, completely unrepentant. “I prefer the term strategically persuaded.” He gave Hana a knowing wink. “How could you say no to this face?”

Hana, sensing her cue, executed a tactical strike of adorableness: she clasped her hands under her chin and gazed up at Akio with big, pleading eyes. “Akio-oniisan,” she said sweetly, “pleeease come with us? Amaya-oneechan gave us free tickets and I really, really want to see her show!”

He had lived that moment already. Last night, over the phone. Shinji shamelessly putting Hana on the line to beg, and it had ended with Akio agreeing before he knew what hit him. He had crumbled like a wet rice cracker.

He sighed, hiding a small smile. “Alright, alright. I’m already here, aren’t I?”

Hana beamed and immediately grabbed Akio’s hand as if to prevent any chance of escape. “Come on! Amaya-oneechan said to meet Naomi-oneechan at the gate at ten sharp!”

At the mention of Amaya’s name, Akio’s heartbeat did a curious little flip.

He hadn’t seen much of her this week, between late nights at work and her training schedule, they mostly passed like ghosts. She’d leave glitter in the sink; he’d leave passive-aggressive sticky notes in return. A functional haunting.

But today she was performing. In her world, on her stage. Something about that made his stomach swirl with a strange mix of anxiety and anticipation. Not in a bad way, just in a very complicated way.

They reached the gate, where a slow-moving line of sunburned parents and sugared-up kids snaked around metal railings. Shinji fanned himself with the tickets. “Man, these are VIP passes. I forgot your roommate is basically a celebrity here for the day.”

Akio raised a brow. “She’s just a student at the circus school that’s performing, not exactly a celebrity…”

But Hana was already nodding like a bobblehead in an earthquake. “Amaya-oneechan and Naomi-oneechan are superstars! I saw them practice once. They can fly and flip and do all sorts of cool things!” She tugged on Akio’s arm, eyes shining. “Do you think I could do a backflip, Akio-oniisan?”

He nearly choked on air. “I—maybe when you’re older? And on solid ground, with a helmet, medical supervision and lots of padding…”

Shinji snorted.

Before Akio could defend his (very reasonable) safety concerns, a commotion near the bag-check line caught their attention. A woman’s raised voice rang out, half-pleading, half-scolding.

“—for the last time, he’s harmless! Look at this face!”

They turned to see a short, raven-haired woman in a gothic dress arguing with a very nervous security guard. Draped around her shoulders was not a scarf, but a snake, a huge yellow python. Akio recognized the duo immediately and felt an impending sense of doom. Juliya and Soba-chan.

The security guard did a double-take as the snake’s head swayed close to his nose. “Ma’am, I’m sorry, but y-you absolutely cannot bring… that… into the park. P-people will panic—”

Juliya huffed, stroking the python’s head as if it were a kitten. “Soba-chan is family. You can’t expect me to leave my baby outside!”

Several onlookers had backed up, whispering and pointing. One child was either about to cry or squeal in fascination, it was hard to tell. The guard looked desperately around for backup.

Shinji bit back a laugh.

Akio pinched the bridge of his nose. “Should we… intervene?”

Before he could decide, a familiar figure with a shaggy, bright-blue pixie cut emerged from the turnstiles, jogging towards Juliya. Naomi had arrived. Today, she wore cutoff jeans, combat boots, and a tank top with a cartoon shark on it.

“There’s Naomi-oneechan!” Hana cried excitedly. She waved, and Naomi spotted them, giving a big grin and a wave back, but first, she had a snake situation to diffuse.

“Oi, Juliya!” Naomi skidded to a halt, hands on her hips. “What part of ‘no pets allowed’ did you not understand from the memo?”

Juliya pouted dramatically. “They said pets. Soba-chan is not a pet, he’s an important crew member. We were just going to do a little surprise snake-charming on the side…”

The security guard’s eyes bulged. “Absolutely not!” he sputtered.

Naomi rolled her eyes and stepped forward. “Okay, okay. New plan: I will take Soba-chan back to the van, give him a nice cool nap, and you—” she pointed at Juliya, “go inside and enjoy the park sans scaly friend. Deal?”

Juliya looked about to argue, but Naomi leaned in and whispered something. Juliya’s shoulders slumped in defeat. “Fine. But if he’s cranky later, you will be to blame.” Gently, she unwrapped the thick python from her shoulders. Naomi handled the snake with practiced ease, cooing, “Sorry mate, no roller coasters for you.”

Watching this spectacle, Akio felt like he was truly through the looking-glass. Shinji and Hana seemed equally entranced. Hana’s mouth was a round O of delight rather than fear. “Sugoi… They have a snake!” she whispered.

Juliya shot them an apologetic smile as she finally passed through the gate, now reptile-free and only 10% less threatening.

Naomi, holding an armful of yellow python, strode back towards them. “Heyooo! Be right back, guys—just gotta tuck this little guy in for a nap.”

Akio raised a hand in a dazed sort of wave, still struggling to compute. 

A few minutes later, Naomi returned and properly greeted the group. “Alright, crisis averted. Hi hi! Hana-chan!” She bent down to give Hana a hug, which the girl accepted with utter adoration. “And Akio! Still grumpy and adorable, I see.” Naomi straightened and flashed Akio a cheeky grin. “Ready for round two of Circus Invasion?” 

He coughed. “Let’s… let’s keep the invasions to a minimum, please.” 

Naomi just laughed and then turned to Shinji, eyes twinkling. “Kubo-san, right? Or can I call you Shinji now? After all, we’ve nearly impaled a wall of innocent salarymen together. We’re basically war buddies.”

Shinji rubbed the back of his neck, his ears going slightly pink at the memory. “Shinji is fine. Nice to see you again, Naomi.” He hesitated, then with a playful smirk added, “Looking forward to any new terrible ideas today?”

“Always,” Naomi winked.

Good grief, Akio thought, noticing Shinji taking on an almost puppy-like quality around Naomi. Is everyone around me doomed to fall under circus-girl spells?

Hana clasped Naomi’s hand excitedly. “Can we go on rides now, Naomi-oneechan? Is Amaya-oneechan coming too?”

Naomi ruffled the girl’s hair affectionately. “Amaya’s already inside, she's helping the crew get ready for the performance. She’ll join us after the show, but she told me to make sure you all have tons of fun until then. I’m your tour guide!” She waved the VIP passes she took from Shinji in the air. “We’ve got front-of-line access to everything. Who’s ready for some rides?”

Hana’s “Me, me, me!” was instantaneous. Shinji gave a whoop and even Akio mustered a weak smile. In truth, the idea of rickety contraptions hurtling through space was not exactly his favourite thought. Still, he allowed Hana and Naomi to lead the way, while he and Shinji trailed behind.

They joined the crowd heading toward the bag-check and security gates. Naomi, tried to breeze past with a casual, “I just came from inside, it’s fine,” and was immediately denied.

Beep-beep-BWEEP.

The metal detector screeched as Naomi sauntered through. Every nearby security guard visibly tensed. One stepped forward, holding up a hand.

“Ma’am, do you have any metal objects in your pockets?”

Naomi blinked innocently. “Of course not.”

Akio and Shinji simultaneously held their breath.

“Please empty your pockets.”

Naomi sighed dramatically, then began pulling out one, two, three… six small throwing knives, each decorated with neon tape and glitter stickers. She placed them delicately into the guard’s open tray like she was showing off a fancy jewellery collection.

“They’re important tools of my trade,” she grumbled indignantly. “I throw these at people for a living.”

Akio, horrified, realized she’d only taken Soba-chan back to the van so she could return with the knives.

The guards exchanged a look, then confiscated the blades. “You can collect these after your visit.”

Naomi pouted. “But they’re my emotional support.”

“Into the venue,” Akio muttered, grabbing Hana’s hand and speed-walking before Naomi could charm her way into arrest.

The moment they stepped fully into the park, Akio was assaulted by a blast of sensory overload. Flashing lights, cartoonish music blaring from speakers, blood-curdling shrieks of people on roller coasters, and the overpowering smells of sugar, sweat and sunscreen.

A pair of costumed mascots (a grinning waffle and a dancing panda) shuffled by, waving at children. Hana waved back fervently, and even Akio’s stiff heart softened a little at her joy.

Naomi led them to the first attraction, a merry-go-round with ornate horses. “Warm-up ride,” she declared. Hana picked the biggest, pinkest horse and begged Naomi to ride beside her. Naomi happily obliged, hopping onto a zebra-striped steed. Shinji and Akio stood just outside the carousel fence, content to watch.

As the carousel began to spin with tinkling music, Hana’s laughter rang out. Akio found himself relaxing incrementally. Shinji nudged him. “See? This isn’t so bad. Nice day out, right?”

Akio crossed his arms, affecting a grumble. Akio grunted. “Let’s not jinx it.”

No sooner had he spoken than Hana, upon the carousel slowing to a stop, pointed towards a far more daunting sight: The Thunder Dragon. It’s crazy loop-de-loops and intimidating height looked like a death trap in Akio’s honest opinion.

It wasn’t even the scariest ride in the park, thankfully, Hana wasn’t tall enough for that one, but this one still looked like it came with complimentary trauma.

“Thunder Dragon! Can we, can we?” She hopped off the carousel, nearly stumbling in excitement.

“Maybe we should work our way up to that…” Akio began, but Shinji was already shrugging.

“Why not? Go big or go home!” Shinji flashed a competitive grin towards Naomi. “Unless you’re too scared?”

Naomi raised an eyebrow. “Of course not. Hope you can handle it.”

Hana turned her full-puppy-dog gaze on Akio and latched onto his hand. “You’ll come too, right, Akio-oniisan? Pleeeeease?”

Akio stared up at the roaring coaster as a fresh batch of riders hurtled overhead, upside-down, screaming like they’d just seen their bank balances.

His stomach did a flip just watching it. But Hana’s hopeful face left him no choice. He swallowed hard. “...Sure. Why not.”

In line (or rather breezing past the line with their passes), Akio felt his nerves mounting. Naomi and Shinji were excitedly discussing the last time they went on a coaster.

“I did one in London that went backwards in the dark,” Naomi bragged; “We’ll see if you keep your eyes open on this one,” Shinji shot back. Hana was bouncing in place, chanting “dragon, dragon, dragon…”.

Akio, on the other hand, was quiet while internally drafting his will. It’s just a machine following physics, he told himself. They wouldn’t operate it if it wasn’t safe… right?

He checked his seat restraint twice, then a third time. The ride attendant gave him a look that said, Are you serious? Akio gave a look back that said, Yes. I want to live.

Naomi and Shinji ended up in the row right behind Akio and Hana.

“You okay, oniisan?” Hana asked sweetly, noticing his pallor as the coaster train clanked upward on the steep lift hill.

Akio forced a tight smile. “Absolutely. Just… enjoying the view.” He dared a glance sideways, from this height, the park looked like a toy city: miniature people, candy-coloured rooftops, the looping rails of other rides cutting through the sky.

Somewhere down there, Amaya was probably hanging upside down by her ankles or something. The thought was oddly grounding.

There was no warning, no time to breathe or say a prayer. One moment, the world was still. The next, they plummeted.

Akio’s stomach shot into his throat. Air punched out of his lungs as a gale of wind tore past his face. Hana squealed with delight. Behind them, Naomi whooped, and Shinji yelled something that sounded like “WOOO—OH MY GOD—YES—NO—YES!”

Akio made no sound, too terrified to even scream. The world blurred: blue sky, then rushing ground, then sky again as they flipped in a loop. I’m going to die was the only coherent thought in his brain.

On a particularly sharp turn, Hana’s small hand slipped from the handlebar and grasped onto Akio’s forearm reflexively. He clutched her hand tightly, instinct to protect overriding everything. She was still laughing even as she squeezed his arm. He shut his eyes and held on through every twist and jolt.

Three minutes (and seventeen panic attacks) later, the Thunder Dragon eased to a stop back at the station. The safety bars lifted. Akio’s knuckles were white where he’d gripped the restraint.

Hana released his arm, face flushed with excitement. “That was amazing!” she giggled. “Akio-oniisan, did you see the whole city from the top? And the loop-de-loop?”

Akio attempted to reply, but his voice came out as a croak. He cleared his throat, shakily undoing his seat belt. “I…think I left my soul at the top of that first drop.”

Naomi and Shinji hopped out of their car, both looking a bit windswept. Shinji’s hair stuck up on one side. “I’m alive!” he announced, sweeping a hand through his hair to flatten the spikes. “Akio, you good?”

Akio stepped out of the coaster car on legs made of jelly. “Define ‘good’,” he mumbled. His heart was still racing, but he had to admit, a tiny part of him felt a thrill, mostly at having survived.

Hana tugged on Naomi’s sleeve. “Can we see the pictures? They take our picture on the ride, right?”

“Oh, good idea!” Naomi led them to the photo booth where the automatic snapshots from the ride were displayed on screens. A rotation of screaming and flailing faces cycled through. When their turn popped up, Naomi burst out laughing.

The photo showed Hana grinning with pure joy, and next to her Akio with eyes shut tight and his jaw clenched. Behind them, Shinji and Naomi were caught mid-cheer, hands up. Shinji was laughing, and Naomi’s tongue was sticking out.

“Oh, this is precious,” Naomi teased. “Akio, you look constipated.”

Akio groaned, face heating up. “Glad my suffering amuses you.”

Hana was already at the counter, begging Shinji for a print of the photo. Shinji caved immediately and bought two. Handed one to Hana, who cradled it like treasure, and one to Akio, who stared at it blankly.

He planned to shove it into the back of some drawer later. Burn it, maybe. But for now, he tucked it carefully into his bag. If only because Hana looked so obnoxiously happy in it, he told himself.

They spent the next hour meandering through various attractions. Under Naomi’s guidance, they attempted a ring-toss game. Akio nearly won a prize but the last ring bounced off the bottleneck; Naomi accused the game of being rigged, then proceeded to somehow land a ring around the booth attendant’s hat, to his and everyone’s astonishment.

Shinji tried a basketball shooting game to impress Naomi and sank exactly one out of five shots. Naomi gave him a consolatory pat on the back and then sank five out of five in quick succession, winning a giant plush panda. “Years of throwing juggling clubs, my friend,” she bragged, handing the panda to Hana, who was now doubly starry-eyed at Naomi’s prowess. Shinji laughed but looked a little awed (and smitten) by the display.

By late morning, the sun was high and unforgiving. The group took refuge under a shady pavilion where food vendors lined up. Shinji returned from a stall with a tray of cold drinks – iced lemonade for the kids (as he dubbed Akio and Hana), iced coffee for himself, and a soda for Naomi.

Naomi accepted hers with a grateful sigh. “Ugh, I needed this. The summer heat is no joke.” She fished around in Akio’s shoulder bag without asking, pulled out a bottle of sunscreen and began slathering some on her arms, which were starting to turn pink from the sun. As she struggled to reach the back of her shoulders, Shinji stepped behind her.

“Here, you’ll burn,” he said, taking the sunscreen bottle from her hand. Naomi froze for just a half-second in surprise, then leaned forward to give him access.

Akio sipped his lemonade, pointedly not staring (but definitely noticing) as Shinji applied sunscreen to Naomi’s exposed shoulders. Shinji’s face had gone a bit red, whether from heat or the intimacy of the act. Naomi, usually brash and cocky, was quiet.

Hana watched them with a mischievous little grin and glittering eyes, like she was witnessing a scene straight out of one of her shoujo manga.

“You missed a spot, onii-chan~” Hana singsonged, pointing to a place on the back of Naomi’s neck. Shinji fumbled, nearly dropping the bottle. Naomi laughed, saving him from further embarrassment by declaring herself sufficiently coated. “Thanks, Shinji,” she said, turning to him with a smile softer than any Akio had seen her wear.

A nearby ice cream vendor chuckled. “You two make a cute couple,” the older man said kindly.

Shinji and Naomi flinched apart in perfect sync, like two cats sprayed with water.

“Oh! We’re not—” Shinji began, face crimson.

Naomi recovered first with a wink at the vendor. “Thank you, ojii-san, but he’s actually my sunscreen butler. It’s a very exclusive position,” She patted Shinji’s cheek teasingly, which only made him turn redder. Hana giggled into her lemonade.

Akio had to hide a chuckle of his own behind his cup. Watching Shinji lose composure was delicious.

The vendor, realizing his error, apologized with an amused smile, and the group moved on, with Shinji and Naomi pointedly not looking at each other for a few minutes, though Akio noticed they kept sneaking glances and little smiles when they thought the other wasn’t looking.

As noon approached, an announcement crackled over the park’s loudspeakers: “Ladies and gentlemen, the Tsukiji Circus School Performance will begin in 30 minutes at the central open-air theatre.”

“That’s it! That’s the show!” Hana exclaimed, practically dancing in excitement. “We have to get good seats!”

Naomi checked her phone. “I should go backstage and check in before the performance. I’m actually in the second act.” She turned to the others, cramming the sunscreen back into Akio’s bag. “You guys head to the VIP seating area, front row seats for the chosen ones. I’ll deliver Amaya to you safe and sound after the show, ‘kay?”

Shinji gave a thumbs-up. “Break a leg. Or… do you not say that in circus?”

Naomi laughed. “We just say don’t die.” With that cheerful send-off, she waved and trotted off towards the performance arena, merging into a stream of performers heading backstage.