A young boy, not even over the age of ten, wandered around town with a happy smile. His name is Shuichi Saihara, and he was born into a lower class family. Recently though, his parents didn't seem to care about him much, but he didn't mind. That meant he could play with friends.
Speaking of friends, he had one. Or two? He wasn't sure what to call them. They were apart of some kind of circus, but the male, Rantaro, has repeatedly stated not to go. He never understood why, circuses were fun!
So, when he went over to his friends, he heard the female half shout cheerfully, "Come one, come all! To see the Dark Woods Circus!" Her purple eyes spotted the child. Her smile widen as she waved.
Shuichi returned the wave and went to walk over before some grown-up knocked him over.
"Get out of my way, kid," the gruff voice responded. The male stuttered out an apology before he was helped up by Rantaro and Kaede.
"You should be more careful, Shuichi," the green haired male said in a rather calming voice. Kaede nodded in agreement as the male started to scold the man.
Kaede handed Shuichi the flyer with a wink, "make sure Rantaro doesn't see, or else he'll be upset. Our little secret, right?"
"Y-Yeah! Our little secret. Bye, Kaede, Rantaro!" He waved his little hand before disappearing into the growing crowd. Looks like the combined duo attracted a few people.
As the night grew up, Shuichi walked through the dense forest. He was scared, yes, but he had to show up to support his friends. He simply followed the others who looked like they knew where they were heading.
And sure enough, there he was, looking at the bright red tent. He clutched onto the flyer and looked around before a looming shadow fell over him. His heart picked up as he saw- a giant. Two, to be precise.
"Hey there, little guy! Aren't you past your bedtime or somethin'? Hah! You're a rascal aren't ya? Well, this isn't a show for little kids to watch."
"I-I'm not little! I'm only six years old! And I have my friends performing. So... please let me in, sir."
"Hmm... ya know, I like ya! I'm Kaito Momota. And that scary lady is Maki Harukawa. What's your name, kid?"
"Shuichi! Shuichi Saihara." He stuck his hand out, only for the abnormally tall teen to shake; to which he certainly did, but he also picked the child up.
Maki narrowed her eyes slightly, crossing her arms. "Kaito, put him back down. Master will target him next."
"You think so? We'll have to protect the little guy!"
"And risk us getting caught? I rather not."
Kaito flinched slightly and slowly placed the confused child down. Maki looked down at him before pointing at the entrance. "Shows about to start."
Shuichi smiled softly and uttered a thank you, heading into the red tent. He didn't have money, so he couldn't just walk in there. Looking around, he found a hole in the side of the performance tent. Going over and looking inside, he watched eagerly.
A woman with pigtails came out, waving at the crowd. "Who's excited to see these freaks tonight?! We have your favorites coming up! Now introducing, the one with two heads!"
The spotlight focused on Rantaro and Kaede. Rantaro didn't look happy, in fact he looked scared. He scanned the crowd before sighing in relief when he couldn't see Shuichi. Kaede on the other hand, looked excited. She knew Shuichi was watching somewhere. The young boy would always ask where they worked. Now he could actually see. Rantaro glanced at the ringmaster before forcing on a smile as him and Kaede started their clown routine. The crowd were already laughing at the deformed duo. They knew the tortures they went through, but none of that mattered to them. All that did was the entertainment.
Shuichi furrowed his brows. He didn't understand what was so funny. Their jokes weren't even that good to him. So why was the crowd laughing at his friends?
"Next up, we have our very own deformed diva!"
Out came a girl with long blue hair and a teal dress. The crowd again were laughing at her. The child squinted his eyes only to gasp at the horrific sight. Her legs weren't human. They were goat legs. Shuichi had to pull away to calm his stomach before looking back in.
The so called diva tried to sing, but she wasn't the best he heard. The crowd were crackling at the noise, some were even throwing beer cans at her. "Why isn't anyone helping her?" He asked himself.
"Wow, she needs a few voice lessons, huh? Lastly we have the terrifying purple beast that loves to eat things cold!"
A male that was in a straight jacket was rolled out. He was forced into a chair as they placed down a plate. Shuichi's eyes widened at the sight- a human arm? There's no way he-
The male leaned forward and started to bite into the taut skin, tearing it apart. He seemed to be enjoying it, like this was the only food he could enjoy.
Shuichi felt his stomach curl as he quickly left to go find a place to throw up. He somehow made his way back into where the cages were and doubled over, throwing up whatever dinner he had.
That's when he heard her voice.
"Does anyone wish that I were alive, even though I am so undesirable in this body?" She asked quietly, tears running down get scarred face.
"U-Um, excuse me?" Shuichi gasped at the sight of her, stumbling back. His eyes glanced over to the nameplate. 'Tsumugi Shirogane'.
"Why do you look at me like that? This face that is rotting... It's painful, it's painful-"
"And it can't be helped," Rantaro finished up for her, frowning softly. "Shuichi, you shouldn't have came here. Please, leave now."
Before the child could say a word, Kaede butt in with a wide smile. "It's fun! So fun! This circus is so fun! Come now, Shuichi, don't you want to join?"
Shuichi stood up and shook his head quickly, running away from the three circus performers. As he was running, he heard an unnerving laugh.
"Nishishi... I haven't seen you before... you look so tasty... can you let me free? We can be friends. I won't bite hard. I'll end your life quickly if you do. Nishishi! Come on, please?"
The child teared up fearfully as he looked at the nameplate. 'Kokichi Ouma'. He hoped to never see that name again. "I-I'm sorry, b-but-"
"I lied. I am a liar, after all. I'll make sure to drag your life out as I tear you from limb to limb. Hey~ why are you running?"
He stumbled into another tent, this one looked much dirtier. Shuichi covered his mouth as he saw a table in the middle, dried up blood on every surface of the metal table. His stomach churned as he looked up to see a girl with blonde hair, her body was swinging slowly. He knew she was dead- "M-Mommy! Daddy! I-I wanna go home!" He cried out, curling into a ball.
A comforting hand touched his shoulder. Shuichi slowly looked up to see the familiar face of Rantaro. "Shuichi, come with me. Kaede and I are sorry."
He got up and nodded slowly as he took his hand. He didn't want to look at the smiling female.
As the passed Tsumugi's cage, she lunged forward and held her arm out. Her voice was so desperate.
"I want to die. I want to die! Get me out of here, please. It is impossible for anyone to say and feel-" She froze up as Rantaro and Kaede both jumped back in fear.
Shuichi looked around, confused before hands were placed over his eyes. He let out a scream as the ringmaster laughed.
The body is distorted in order to bend to that twisted figure.
To crawl on the illuminated street with paper lanterns.
Everyone knows the feeling of walking down the street.
This child has to cower alone, I guess the shadows reach long, but the friends that talk have their waists aligned.
You are later and before and by yourself.
Oh, you're here, you're here!
Drop by and see him.
Drop by and see him.
Drop by, to the Dark Woods.
A carriage rides by through the bustling crowd as a child is seen weaving through the people. He's carrying flyers and handing them out to people. He slowly stops as he looks up at you with a small smile. His pale yellow eyes seem to be screaming for help, but you paid them no attention. You did notice the scarring on the entirety of his left side of his face. Shuichi held up a flyer, to which you take it with a smile.
As he walks away, you could hear two words from his mouth.
"It's fun."