Chapter Text
Before starting:
This book will contain content that can be considered triggering to some people like:
•Yandere themes • Violence • Obsessive thoughts/actions • drugs usage • kidnapping • Violent language • Possibly torture and dissociative episodes. •
I don't condone ANY of the actions described in the book. They exist merely for entertainment purposes and should NOT be replicated in real life. If you recognize any of the described toxic behavior happening to you or someone you know please contact help.
Please refrain to use Japanese to adress me. I'm fine with Author and nothing else– plus I kindly ask you to not ask me constantly for updates. I mainly write when I have motivation and I don't really like being forced.
The main characters (and love interests) are NOT of my creation, same goes with the game they are taken from which is 'The Freak Circus'
They are owned by Nekoboydreams.
Go show him some support!
Also, since the game isn't finished yet, I'm working with what I have and decided to place the events of this story before the events of the game/in an alternative universe so things will probably be different.
For any fanarts, you can send them here: [email protected]
That's all! Enjoy! And let me know your opinions through comments!
-Prologue: Chasing you feels like a fairytale-
{~♤♡◇♧~}
“Welcome to the circus, little monsters!” A young man wearing a pink and black jester outfit lifted his hands to the sky, a public made of motionless puppets stared back at him “We have come from far, far away to bring you 30 days of pure delight terror– we advise to leave the little one at home for we are not your typical circus” the white mask lowered, allowing the harsh light pointed above him to cast a shadow over his black eyes– the thin smile almost stretched wider.
"We are the freak circus of horror”
🎪Day 1🎪
‘The freak Circus of horror’
Your eyes stared at the piece of paper attacked on the wall, near several others, clumsily glued in an uneven line, and sighed “The Freak Circus. . .what kind of name is that?” These flyers seemed to have appeared in the middle of the night, together with a whole circus built in the middle of the town square. The logic behind something so huge appearing overnight is beyond your mental capacity. You haven’t seen any trucks driving down the streets, nor heard anything from the local gossiping grannies and even less ads warning people about its arrival.
The circus. . .just was there the morning you, and several other citizens, woke up. And it left all of you a little confused.
It wasn’t like it was the first time your town hosted a circus too. Your mayor was a huge fan of any activity that can bring the community together and, in the couple of years you have lived here, you’ve come to know that– whenever something like that was about to reach your town, the mayor would fill your entire social media feed of ads, partnerships and reminders to come and join the others on this new adventure!
You checked your phone again, mainly Facebook.
Empty.
You clicked the mayor’s account with your eyebrows furrowed.
The last post was about the kids from elementary school visiting the animal shelter and raising money selling puppets made with socks.
Nothing about a circus.
Shaking your head you stepped back and made your way toward the library– after all, you didn’t have any time to waste. Livia has texted you an emergency meeting, something you two agreed to use only in desperate occasions– which could range between discovering your partner having an affair to someone dying. So pretty serious stuff and most definitely something you don’t joke about.
And, in the decade you’ve known your best friend, this meeting has only been used three times. When you had to deal with an important lost, when her ex cheated on Livia with her cousin and when it was first created. After the accident.
You pushed the glass door open, letting your shoes step over the parquet that covered the library’s floor. The librarian, a young man, lifted his head at the new client and offered you a polite wave, which you returned with a small nod. Just over the desk, your eyes caught a stack of paper half torn off with the word ‘CIRCUS’ still visible– those flyers again. . .
The librarian noticed your gaze on them and hastily pushed them down in a bin. You didn’t comment.
As mentioned previously, the fact that this circus appeared out of nowhere. . .you wouldn’t say that it scared people, more like unsettled them. Especially when shop owners discovered their work places filled with those flyers all around, most of them weren’t happy at all. There are rules when it comes to advertisements and some of them felt quite offended or provoked by the overstepping.
The Mayor has yet to come out with an explanation.
“I’m here, ____!” A sudden voice made you peel your eyes away from the bin at the desk’s feet and shift your attention to your right until your eyes fell on a girl with dark toned skin. She was sitting on one of the tables available for studying, filled with school computers and some random books you are most likely sure were already there when she arrived “Livia! you waved back at her with a grin and hurried to reach her.
Just as you were almost there, she stood up and cleared the remaining distance before engulfing you in a hug which. . .which was normal, yea. By now you were used to her ritualistic greeting hugs. You could be dangling over the void and she would try to give you a hug instead of saying ‘Hi’ like a normal person. She is weird, but you wouldn’t have it any other way
No. No. The part that confused you was her giddy expression. The way she would twirl her finger around her braid while looking at you like she did something or better, like she was about to do something. And that was making you start to have a cold sweat. Last time you saw her with that gaze. . .she slashed all the tires of her cheating ex’s super car.
So you are in for a ride it seems.
“Sup girl. So, you called an emergency meeting so suddenly I thought monsters were trying to eat you. What’s going on?” you sat by her side, watching as the ebony haired girl laced her fingers and looked away with a bashful expression “Thank you for coming here ___, I know I must have scared you when I sent that ‘Emergency meeting’ text. . .but I swear it’s for an important reason!” you nodded your head, leaning your elbows over the table’s surface.
Seeing your interested gaze she took a deep breath, rummaging through her bag “I need your help–er. . .more like I need moral support since. . .since I won’t get another occasion like this ever again. Well I most likely will, but–you know. . .it will be in a long time and I will most likely back down if I don’t do it now and–” she was rambling off and you could see her fingers fidgeting inside her bag as she kept searching for something.
She was nervous. It was easy to catch on. Especially for you. Yet, before anything could slip past your lips, she cut you off– having finally found what she was searching for and slapping it in front of your face.
“What I’m trying to say!” she scratched her cheek nervously “Do you. . .wanna accompany me to the circus?” her voice was quiet, almost shaky and her eyes were anywhere but on you who, instead, was too busy to look at the flyer half torn off between her fingers, her carefully manicurated nails a contrast of light blue against the red piece of paper.
You looked at the flyer with the words ‘Freak Circus’ printed on them.
Then snapped your eyes on Livia, who was sweating nervously.
Then on the flyer again, which was starting to shake on your friend’s grip.
Then on Livia again, who now was a puddle of anxiety and sweat.
Then on the flye–
“A circus. . .” you mumbled out, baffled “You?” Livia took back the flyer, hugging it to her chest before nervously laughing while hunching her shoulders “I know. . .I know. . .I’m the last person you were expecting to want to go to a circus but! But. . .I’m not twelve anymore, you know? It’s time to go past this silly fear of mine” her blue nails bent the corner of the flyer, her eyes were pinned on the words while she was biting her lower lip “I. . .I just saw these flyers this morning and the idea just popped in my mind before I could stop it.”
She then tilted her head to the side, offering a smile she hoped could excuse her way of acting. “From what I heard, this city hasn’t had a circus in the last five years. I’m an adult now, ___. I have to do this in these 30 days or I will have to wait for five years, maybe even more, to not be afraid of circuses anymore” she felt her cheeks warm with embarrassment even if she knew you heard about this condition too many times.
That’s why you furrowed your eyebrows in concern. “Livia, are you sure?”
Circuses were. . .a delicate matter to her. When she was twelve, her parents decided to take her in one of those for her birthday, since they were performing nearby. She told you about it all the day before going, how she was excited to see the acrobats, the wild exotic animals, the ridiculous clowns! She was gushing, kicking her small legs while you teased her for the childish display, but she didn’t take offense at those words and instead took it as a challenge to be even more dramatic– jumping down your bed and skipping to the middle of the room before clearing her throat.
[²]“Misters! Misses! And dearest! Welcome to the circus!” she exclaimed, lifting her hands to the sky while a public made of stuffed animals carefully positioned on your bed stared back at her “We have come from far, far away to bring you spectacles of pure delight fun– we advise to pay attention for we are not your typical circus!” she barely held her giggles, lowering her tiny head down which allowed the light of your ceiling lamp to cast a soft shadow. Livia opened one eye, trying to signalize that it was your clue act.
Unable to hide your grin, you scurried toward the CD player standing over your desk and hit play. After a couple of seconds, the familiar circus themed music came out, filling your room which prompted Livia to do an exaggerated bow “We are the Circus!”
She has never been to a carnival, with tomorrow being her first time, yet despite that, she still insisted to have a sleepover with you the night before the performance. Was it to annoy you to death with her attempt to recreate classic numbers done by clowns and acrobats? Probably. Despite that you felt happy for her. Maybe, next year, the circus will also come to your town and you can spend your birthday there too! Seeing her genuinely excited was also making you excited.
If only the next day could've been like your play pretend.
“Listen Livia. You are not forced to do this, you know? We can–” you were cut off when a hand landed on your shoulder and your eyes met the dark blue ones of the girl in front of you “I know. . .But I feel like this time it’s gonna be different. I want to show my younger self that what happened had been an unfortunate one time incident” she was looking at you with those wide, determined eyes.
The ones that made it hard saying no. “I. . .just want you to be by my side while we walk around, maybe buy something to eat and then we go home. We don’t have to go inside the tents”
You pressed your lips together, looking at her with your eyes narrowed. . .before taking a deep sigh and groaning in exasperation “The things I do for you. . .” seeing you relenting, Livia grinned like a child on christmas and suddenly hugged you tightly “Thank you! Thank you! You are the bestest best friend of the world! What would I do without you?!” ever the dramatic one, wasn’t she?
“Yea. . .Yea. . .I’m the world’s most perfect person, you don’t have to remind me” you grinned teasingly, earning a scoff followed by a push on your shoulder “Has anyone told you are such a humble person? A monk would be jealous of you” Livia rolled her eyes and you leaned back on the chair, wiggling your eyebrows “A monk? Baby, the whole world can only wish to have a piece of this” and pointed at yourself, lips tugging wider.
“Aren’t you a cocky one? I bet you will find yourself at home with all those eccentric clowns at the carnival!” Livia once again nudged you with her knees and you caught a chance to try and ease her nervousness by doing a dramatic gesture with your hands “You caught me! I’m actually the boss of the circus and built it overnight myself!”
She laughed, holding her stomach a bit “There is it! I always knew you were a clown!” feigning offense you placed a hand over your chest "Excuse you?! I’m the boss! Not a clown with those sickly colorful plastic wigs and horrible make up a five years old could do better. As a matter of fact, in my circus there are no clowns!” you crossed your arms, before looking at the girl up and down “But I might make an exception for the one in front of me–ouch!”
Your laughs were muffled when she slapped the circus flayer over your face and covered her own mouth to not end up laughing obnoxiously. She would hate if the librarian came here to reprimand you two for making such a mess. You were tempted to add gasoline to the fire, but seeing your best friend laughing instead of being a nervous wreck was already a satisfying win. Therefore you zipped your lips and leaned your head on your hand while waving the flyer.
“So. . .fearless Livia. When do you plan to go fist fighting the circus to show dominance?”
The ebony haired girl lifted her head from the table, wiping her tears away before shooting you a smile “Well, the thing is. . .” she laced her fingers together and battled her eyelashes innocently “Could my awesome, amazing, best friend go and buy the tickets for me while I prepare myself mentally?
.
.
.
You have to do what now?
■__—ピエロ—__■
“Ok. . .ticket hunting it is”
Humming, you looked at the street in front of you with the tents of the circus just barely peeking out at the end. From what you have gathered with Livia, the circus will stay in the city for 30 days. A WHOLE THIRTY DAYS! None of the circuses that stopped in this town ever lasted an entire month– you checked the Mayor account to make sure that things didn’t work differently here.
But no, the previous ones all only lasted a few days up to two weeks maximum.
Yet another weird thing to add to the ever growing list of confusion surrounding this circus.
Your eyes shifted down at the flyer in your hands and you pressed your lips together “A horror themed circus. . .children are strictly prohibited from coming and written in the smallest font ever– no one is responsible if you puke your guts out but you. . .” you turned around the piece of paper and hummed “Hm, what a perfect choice to start with your rehabilitation. . .”
Sarcasm apart, if Livia said she was ready you can’t do anything more than be there for her in case something do go wrong. But she owed you big. . .like new graphics for your bike. . .or maybe you should ask her to pay for the carnival food? Those stands are always a scam anyway.
That's it if you manage to get inside the circus. . .because there were thousands of flyers but not the sight of one ticket. Are they assuming that you knew where to buy them? Baby, you have never been to a circus before, all your knowledge comes from its depiction on TV. Is there a stand somewhere? You have to buy them online? Do you have to do a ritual to obtain them?!
You hate confusing ads.
The best course of action right now is to find someone who works in the circus– or an info point– and question them on the tickets. Easy no?
“Get the hell out of my town, you damn creeps”
A sudden hateful shout made you stop in your tracks, the voice sounded male and old– probably in his forties– but mostly it sounded so full of unrestrained anger and a subtle sense of hidden grief. “How dare you show your face in the open? Don’t you feel ashamed at all?!” subconsciously, your legs brought you closer to the ever growing furious voice till you turned the corner and came face to face with the origin of the mess.
Two people. . .two men? They seemed to be engaged in some sort of fight. . .or more like, only one of them was screaming at the tallest performer you have ever seen in your life. He was wearing the typical jester outfit. . .but maybe this one leaned more on the gothic aspect? With a color palette made of mainly red–almost maroon– fabric complimented by a black undervest and trousers together with some small yellow accents on the three liripipes [³] that could be found on the stars and the bells.
Beside being freakishly tall, his hair were also unnaturally silver with two long strands falling down his shoulders and on the black and golden star neck ruff, which framed the white mask (?) he was wearing. Was he one of the employees of the circus? He looked more like one of those jesters you see performing for a king. . .not exactly a circus clown.
“You think you are so sleek, you freak?!” the other man, a black haired dude with a bear framing his snarl and blue eyes narrowed in a hateful glare. He was also tall, not as the performer but still way above average– so it was his build. That man didn’t look like his skipped a day of gym, especially with the way veins could be visible on that Columbine flower[⁴] tattoo—
Wait. . .a Columbine tattoo. . .
THAT’S YOUR NEIGHBOR!
Wait– wait– wait!
“Mister Blake! What’s going on here?”
You reached him, eyes widening when you saw his fist raise and coming in contact with the performer’s cheek which jerked to the side almost immediately. The people on the street looked at the scene unfolding yet simply turned their heads away and ignored it, going on with their days. None of them wanted to get involved and go against someone with that kind of build for someone that they don’t know or find creepy.
“Mister Blake! Have you lost your mind?! Don’t go and pick a fight with someone!” you grabbed his arms, trying to drag him away from the performer who, till now, had yet to say a word to the man. Blake curled his fingers in a fist, still glaring at the silver haired man with pure poison behind his blue eyes “Kiddo. . .stay out of this and especially stay away from them!” his finger was pointed forward, making your eyes shift back on him “They have something to do with Thalia”
.
.
.
You sighed.
“Listen, Mister Blake. . .there is no proof that—” your attempt to calm down the older man went into smoke when his glare shifted on you “I know what I have heard. I know what I saw and I know how to make the connections. And the arrival of these fuckers is not a casualty. Just look at them! Look at the way they are dressed–at how they promote themselves!” he was clearly in distress and, while you had an inkling on the cause, he still had no right to act that way with someone who did nothing if not his job.
You deadpanned, wildly gesturing toward the circus “They are literally called ‘The Freak Circus’, I’m pretty sure their whole deal is to be creepy and unsettling. That’s how they get their cash.” you tried to resonate with him, crossing your arms “Moreover, you shouldn’t harass them– on their first day too– or you will get the police on your ass again. Your son started college recently, no? He doesn’t need for his father to beef with some random performer”
Blake kept his eyes on you, before slowly looking away and glared at the silver haired man. . .who hadn’t said anything. Was he planning to just stay mute and take the bullying? Was he forced because of his job? That’s so sad, oh my god.
“Whatever, kiddo. . “ he took a step back, furrowing his thick black brows, before he placed a comforting hand over your shoulder and addressed you without looking away “But take my words. Don’t go into that damn circus. Don’t go anywhere near those freaks. . .and if I don’t see you at home by 9 p.m. I’m coming to get you back” and just like that, he turned on his heels and walked away, getting lost in the sea of people who hastily looked away, feigning innocence– like they weren’t deliberately looking at the show going down with sick interest.
“Sure. . .” you grumbled under your breath at the older man’s protective nature before you suddenly remembered the other male standing behind you “Holy shit! Are you alright by the way? That was a pretty hard punch– shit. I never would have expected for Mister Blake to get violent!” you turned around, only to be met with the performer’s face merely inches from yours which made you flinch and take a step back “Yo! Aha. . .you are really silent, uh. . .and in all senses”
You eyed the bells on his outfit. They didn’t even make a sound when he moved.
He looked at you with those golden eyes, tilting his head curiously “Ah. . .” your gaze snapped on his swollen cheek “I’m really sorry for what happened with Mister Blake, by the way. . .he is usually a pretty grumpy old man but he was never this violent. He is just a very grief struck person–” you winced when those words came out of your mouth, only now realizing how they might have been taken.
“Not that what he did was right, hell no” you quickly added waving a hand in front of your face “But for your own good, I would advise to stay away from him. Alright? He. . .” you hastily looked around with narrowed eyes before lowering your voice “It’s not my place to say this, but it’s for your own good so don’t let a word out of what I’m about to say”
The weird performer silently nodded his head and you leaned closer to him, covering the side of your mouth “You see. . .five years ago, his wife went missing unexplainably. He loved her dearly and I heard that he almost flew into a blind rage, spending entire nights and days searching for her everywhere”
When you arrived at this town two years ago, he didn’t even offer you a greeting, just looked at your figure up and down with those deeply hurt and tired eyes and walked inside his house, slamming the door close.
It had actually been his son the one to welcome you and apologized for his father.
It took a long, a loooooong time for you and Livia to make your way into his heart and, surprisingly, ended up becoming two more children he promised to look after, even if you were well into adulthood. You two were close to his son’s age, therefore– by his logic– you equivaled to kids.
“It happened during the week a circus was being held and somehow he convinced himself that those guys had something to do with her disappearance” you concluded with another sigh, furrowing your eyebrows in slight concern “Really, you guys just arrived in a really bad time– especially with the horror theme going on. Just stay away from him, alright? I will try to talk with him later on. . .making him apologise it’s impossible so don’t expect it”
Slowly, the performer nodded his head but made no movement to lean back– it had to be you, the one to straight up your back and cross your arm, sending another apologetic look at him “Apologise for the way he acted again. I can cover the medical expenses for him if you want– I don’t have a band-aid with me at the moment. . .” he cut you off by placing a hand (are those claws?) over your shoulder and gently shaking his head, letting the bells softly chiming. Was that his way to say that it wasn’t needed?
“Suit yourself–ah! I almost forgot. I was actually searching for your guys” you watched as his golden eyes widened in what you might understand as surprise, before he pointed at himself while keeping his iconic smile “Yea! Believe it or not, I’m not a jester hunter like mister Blake back there” you grinned, playfully bumping the back of your hand on his arm, earning the soft chiming of the bells with the performer's muffled chuckles.
“I was wondering, me and my friends would like to visit the circus one of these days. Where can I go and buy the tickets? There is nothing written on the flyers” you question was met with a curios head tilt and golden eyes narrowing slightly with what you could deduce being amusement. Only then you realized you have asked the mute jester about indication he won’t be even able to tell you.
And you felt pretty stupid for that.
Why can't Livia be here? She is the one good with the talking.
"Yea, right. You are mute and all, my bad" you fished for your phone inside the pocket of your coat before handling it ti him with your notes app open "You can write the instructions here, since you are not allowed to talk. How does that sound, pretty boy?"
The performer eyed the device, with his usual smile and picked it up carefully so that his fake (?) claws couldn’t damage it. You saw him tap something in it before shooting you a grin and dangling your phone over your head. Yet– before you could attempt to grab it– two red tickets appearedin front of your face, making you blink in confusion.
Where did these came from?
"Are these the circus' tickets? Sweet. So I just need to get them?" The jester smile widened and pushed the strips of paper closer to your face, which made you blink "Wait. . .are you gifting these to me?" He nodded and you tried to refuse "I can’t accept them freely, especially after what happened to you–let me buy them at least–"
Once again he shook his head and instead lifted your phone higher in the air, basically threatening that he won’t give your device back if you don’t accept his gift.
You frowned. This performer is a playful little fella, uh?
What did you expect?
"You won't give me ma phone back if I don't take your tickets?"
He shook his head gently.
*Ding* *Ding*
"You. . .alright. You win" an exasperated sigh left your lips. You are just so weak against big pleading eyes, aren’t you?
The performer's smile widened even more and for an instance you thought you saw a soft blush coat his cheeks but instead you just wrapped your fingers around the two tickets and hummed. The man in front of you bowed with elegant movements and handed your phone back in the palm of his hand.
You took it with a chuckle, amused by the dramatic display and looked down to check what he might have written.
Can't wait for you to assist my performance, my dearest.
–The Pierrot
You blinked in confusion and lifted your gaze, only to not see the jester (he called himself Pierrot despite his design being vastly different?) nowhere to be seen.
Quickly melted in the sea of passerby.
The chimes of his bells drowned by the melody of the circus.
{~♠︎♥︎◆♣︎~}
Again, hearing about your opinions is the highlight of my day!
[¹] ピエロ= It's the word Pierrot written in katakana while the word 道化師 it's the Japanese word used for clown/jester.
[²] The two paragraphs are a call back to the intro. It's used to first highlight the difference between the freak circus and the innocent view of a child on the circus and second to created an uncomfortable sensation for the read who is forced to wonder why the words seems familiar yet not.
It's also a prelude for somethingbad to happen.
[³] Liripipes= The floppy, hanging extensions that form the main structure, often numbering three to represent donkey ears and a tail.
[⁴] Columbine flower= While the flower has many meaning in different nations and eras for this story I have chosen particularly two of them:
-Three columbine flowers in one composition symbolizes faith, hope and love.
-The fool – the columbine flower is thought to resemble the hat of a court jester
Blake and Thiana are a direct parallel to Pierrot and Columbine.