The Clockwork Dolls Circus

“Do you know why fish prefer to stay underwater?”

    The sound of his voice made me stir. I clutched my arms a bit tighter, wrapped around my legs.

    Almost with a groan, I raised my head a tad from the pillow my knees formed, risking a glance at his silhouette. Standing near the riverbank, Mr. Izawa held a fishing rod.

“I don’t.”

    With a kind smile on his face, he turned his cyan eyes to me. His black hair was messy, as per usual. Maybe it was because of that he always kept them more or less trapped under a cap.

“They prefer the silence rather than the din on the surface. It’s easier to think and figure out things this way. Maybe they’re smarter than us, don’t you think?”

    I mid-closed my eyes, turning a jaded look at him.

“You’ve just invented that.”

But, despite my words, I hid a smile behind my knees.

“Ahh, you caught me?” He admitted with a beaming expression, rubbing his hand at the back of his head. “But you know, Megumi, what is true is that, unlike them, we can’t breathe underwater. Even if we sometimes want to, we’re not like fish. We need both silence and noise.”

    As I remain silent, just listening, he contemplates the grass beyond the shadows sheltering us, waved by the wind.

“Time spent under the bridge is fine, but…”

⋆༺♱༻⋆

    The sounds, the colours fade away, blown by other voices. Ones I’m pretty sure I’ve never heard before.

“These dots… Eww, look Tatsuma, she has chicken pox!” A childish voice echoes in my mind.

“You’re silly Tatsuya. These are freckles.”

    The voices become closer as I regain consciousness, reluctantly opening my eyes.

    Two shapes form right in front of me. Two identical orange-haired boys. Close,.. closer than I thought, close enough to make me jerk…

“Ackk-”

    …and tumble down.

“I told you not to approach her like this…” A third voice chimes in. “You frightened her.”

    A bunch of pillows follow me in my fall. I raise my head at some sort of makeshift bed, only for a red velvet pillow to hit my head. A quick glance around tells me all I need to be aware of. I don’t know this place.

“Young lady? Please, don’t mind the twins.” The third voice adds. “They’re curious, but they mean no harm.”

    Not bothering to answer, I sit up and fumble for anything that could serve to defend myself, keeping my eyes on these people. The third voice belongs to an adult. A man with lemon eyes and ice-blue hair, loosely tied back.

“Who are you? And why have you brought me here?” I ask with a snap.

    In the meanwhile, I manage to grab what feels like a large enough stick and brandish it as a weapon.

    The twins exchange a glance before bursting into laughter. Are they mad? ‘Not like I said something funny. Didn’t I sound threatening enough?

“Mmm…” The long-haired man shows an apologetic smile. “I’m not sure you’re going to hurt anyone with that.”

    Briefly, I take a look at my weapon.

“…”

    At the end of a long wooden stick, the supposedly harmful pink and blue candy is kept safe under its protective foil. Tied with a thick, glossy red ribbon.

    Ohh the amount of censored words flowing through my mind at the moment. These twins can be grateful to me for keeping quiet.

“Look at this impolite girl. You save her from a certain death, and the moment she awakes, she tries to stab you with a lollipop.”

    That mocking tone… As I raise my eyes to the silhouette joining us, I recognise the boy with the white rabbit, the one I saw on the burning school’s rooftop.

    Wait.

    The burning rooftop?

    …The crackling of the fire, flames licking lavishly the classroom’s door… …part of the ceiling comes off with a thud… …Sat carelessly on the edge of the small penthouse, a boy… …something wrapping around my waist… …Stars blend with flames…

    With a groan, I press my fingers against my forehead. The memories suddenly hammer against it, as if they were trying to escape my head. I become acutely aware of the dryness of my mouth.

    Among these memories, there’s one I can’t put aside. It replays in a loop…

“So you too are a criminal, huhh.” I mutter, observing him attentively.

“You’re not even going to thank me, are you?” The white rabbit replies, folding its arms in disapproval.

“What do you want from me? You’re not from the police, then…” I mid-close my eyes. “…Yakuzas? No… you don’t even give off that kind of vibe. A sect?”

    Oh god, that’s it. That’s a sect. All I need is to look at these people… There’s something off about each of them. As if they were lacking something. As if they were incomplete.

    Not to talk about that crazy ventriloquist. Does he have a split personality or something?? Maybe it comes along with the magic.

    A thought crosses my mind.

    Are the others, too, able to wield it? I can’t afford to stay here. This place is dangerous.

“Longwei, are we a sect?” One of the twins asks the long-haired man.

    While the latter answers with an embarrassed laugh, I rise to my feet, glancing at them. That’s when I notice a metallic reflection, rods protruding from their backs. Each of them has one, expect for the boy with the rabbit. They’re shaped like keys of some ancient mechanism.

“Where’s the exit… I need to leave. Now.”

    For the first time, I take a proper look at this odd place. Numerous metallic boxes, like the ones used for the makeshift bed I’ve been lying on, are scattered along the walls, filled with pretty much anything that could exist. The walls… now that I look closer at them, I notice they are made with fabric. Here and there, spotlights are installed on top of high metallic tripods.

“Hey! I’m here.” The white rabbit’s voice scolds, appearing right before my eyes.

    Widening my eyes, I take a step back.

“Don’t approach me like this!”

“Look. We won’t do you anything. If you behave.” The rabbit adds the latter remark in a quiet whisper. “Here, magic holders have no enemies. Outside? It’s not quite the same thing. So if you wanna stay out of danger, you’d better listen, Megumi Hoshimori.”

    I hesitate. Have I been too quick to judge them? The boy saved my life, after all. That much I can’t deny.

    A sigh.

“Fine. But you’d better not try to coax me.”

“First things first. Learn the name of your saviour. You can call me Poltergeist.”

“Wasn’t it something like Rubeus?” I arch an eyebrow.

“That’s the name of the twink.” Poltergeist makes a gesture to point at the blond boy. “As for the place you’re currently at, it’s the Clockwork Dolls Circus. Here, all the artists who give a stage appearance are able to use magic. In reality, the circus is a front, the home the director gave us.”

    The white rabbit pauses, holding my gaze.

“Since you’re a magic holder as well, there’s a choice you’ll need to make in turn. The same we’ve all been given before.”

    I don’t need to gaze at them to feel that all their eyes are turned towards me. It’s a feeling I’ve grown to hate. If only I could be invisible to their eyes…

“A choice? Which one?” I end up asking.

“To join the troop or to never use magic again.”

    For a while, I remain silent. Why would I have to make such a decision? And how possibly could someone sane decide to join them? I barely know them, hello??

    But… At least there might be an easy answer to conclude this and get back home. All I need is to promise I won’t use it again. It’s not like-

“And don’t try to outsmart us. Rubeus has a good nose for these things. If you use magic again, we’ll be aware of it. That’s how we found you, don’t forget it.”

“Tssk.”

    A mind reader? I don’t know if magic can do such a thing; to be fair there’s little people do know about it, since it became a taboo topic. In a few more decades, maybe people would begin to doubt it ever existed. But, if I can tell one thing for sure, it’s that it makes him quite the unnerving type.

“You don’t seem decided to answer, so let’s try with another question.” Poltergeist resumes. “Why did you set fire to your school?”

“I have no reason to answer your questions.”

“Come on, I answered yours. It’s a give and take.”

    I roll my eyes. Smartass.

“Hahh. Do I even need a reason? That’s all that place deserved. A place supposed to make people more intelligent, yet they learn nothing good.” I clench my fist. “Nothing but to mock what doesn’t fit their world. Nothing but pointing fingers at you. Would it kill them to show a bit of compassion when someone disappears? What would it cost them? All I’ve been trying to do was to find Mr. Izawa. Remarks, whispers, laughs… I’m done with it. I just wanted…”

    To punish them for all they’ve done to me until now.

“I wanted to show them what it costs.”

“Tatsuma, Tastsuma, she looks like a furyō.” Tatsuya whispers.

“A furyō yes, the bandages over her hands and forearms only confirms it.” Tatsuma replies with a nod.

    I shoot them a glare, enough to silence them.

“Ok, arsonist.” The white rabbit chimes in. “See, we might be about to find common ground.”

“What do you mean?”

“When someone disappears, they’re often the cause. The monsters which roam at night, the same ones we fight. The Jikininkis.”