Chapter 127: The Circus is About to Begin (Part 2)
"Did you see the Oma Daily? It says there's a circus performing at the park tonight!"
"I saw it, but it was just on the scrolling text at the bottom of the TV screen."
"So, you interested in going? They have a lion!"
"Of course! It's the first time a circus has ever come to our city. We have to support it!"
Mr. Fujiwara, watching two strangers in his shop strike up a conversation, chimed in, "Excuse me, what circus are you two talking about? I haven't heard anything about it."
The younger of the two customers took a sip of his sake and said with a smile, "Boss, have you not been outside these past two days? There are posters all over the streets! The Twilight Circus, with a seal, a lion, a wolf, and a bunch of other animals, is performing at Oma Park tonight at eight! You should definitely go if you're free!"
Very few people had come to his shop these past few days. Other than an early morning trip to the fish market for fresh ingredients, Fujiwara hadn't really been out. After the two customers left, he muttered to himself, "Twilight...? That name sounds familiar. I think that customer from Tokyo asked about it before..."
Just then, the Pro Hero Steel-Gate Rikishi walked in, shouting, "Fujiwara! Make me a bento! I'm not coming for dinner tonight!"
"A bento? Didn't you say that no matter how late it was, you'd always have your last meal of the day at my place?" Fujiwara teased.
"That was an exaggeration. There are always exceptions," Rikishi said. "I got a request from the police department today for patrol duty. Did you know there's a circus performance tonight? A lot of people might be there. Most of the guys at the station are older, and they're not confident in the rookies to handle the crowd, so they asked me to help out."
(In situations with large crowds, the police can request assistance from Pro Heroes to help maintain order. Of course, the heroes can also refuse.)
"And you agreed?"
"How could I not? They're old friends. Besides, I'm kind of interested in a circus performance myself." At this, Rikishi leaned forward over the counter. "Look, no one comes to your shop besides the local regulars anyway. Why don't you just close up for the night and come watch the show with me?"
"What do you mean, no one comes? I just had two strangers in here," Fujiwara retorted, annoyed, as he walked into the kitchen. He paused, then said, "But... yeah, I'll go with you."
At noon, the two Twilight Zoo trucks rolled majestically into the park. The Director, who was sitting on top of the cargo, was the subject of many stares along the way, but he paid them no mind. He saw that a large tent had already been set up at the location he had scouted two days prior. He excitedly leaped from the truck and ran toward it.
Kira and Aoi Hana, who had been sitting in the passenger seats of the two trucks, also got out.
During the negotiations, Kira had realized that if the animals didn't transform, the zoo only had two available workers: himself and the Director. Setting up a venue would take a long time. So he had simply commissioned the government to have a construction crew build it for them, based on the scale of a typical circus performance.
Although there had been no supervision, perhaps the construction workers had also wanted to see the show sooner. They had finished the job in less than two days, erecting two tents: one the size of a small opera house for the performance, and a taller one for backstage preparations.
The high quality of the work meant that the price was also not cheap. Aoi Hana, who was in charge of the zoo's finances, looked at the magnificent venue with a pained expression. "If we can't make back the costs this time, how am I going to explain this to Snake Sis...?"
The circus was scheduled for three consecutive nights: Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. Because it was an unknown circus, the ticket prices weren't high. According to the contract Aoi had signed, they would have to have two sold-out shows just to break even...
"Didn't you call your 'Snake Sis' and tell her about this? And didn't she agree?" Kira asked curiously. "If that's the case, what are you worried about?"
"Ugh, you don't understand! As long as it's something the Director wants to do, no matter how absurd it is, Snake Sis will support him!" Aoi Hana clutched the wallet in her hand, her shoulders slumping again. "But... I guess I've already accepted the Director's decision too. Even if we lose money, we have to accept it. No matter what, we can't let Okami and the others' hard work go to waste!"
Although Aoi also thought the acts the animals had rehearsed over the past few days were brilliant, that didn't necessarily mean they would be popular with the public. It seemed they would just have to wait for tonight's performance to find out...
On the bullet train, a group of people carrying large bags and cases were attracting attention. They were wearing strange clothes that looked a bit like hero costumes, but their behavior was anything but heroic, filled with the restless energy of youth.
"Makoto-san, is it really okay for us to just run off like this without telling our manager?" As soon as they were seated, Jodo Chenjie leaned over to Makoto Hibikiya, who was sitting next to him, and asked nervously.
"Ms. Utsushimi is in the middle of her work-study right now. If we told her about Kira's request, with her personality, she'd probably sneak away from her Pro Hero to come with us. That would affect her evaluation. Besides... this isn't a commercial activity. There's no need to tell her," Makoto said, his arms crossed, looking perfectly composed. "And weren't you the one who was most excited about helping Kira?"
A circus performance wasn't just about animals acting cute. The most important part was the musical accompaniment. The performance had to follow a certain rhythm, and the sound effects were the cues for the performers. They were an indispensable part of the show.
The 'soul' band was the only group of professionals that Kira knew. He wanted them to handle the performance's soundtrack. Both Makoto and Jodo had extremely high musical proficiency and were masters of many instruments.
After Kira had verbally described the general flow of all the acts to them, they had composed the entire score in just half a day, recorded it, and sent it to him via his phone. For the past two days, the animals had been rehearsing to this music.
Originally, Kira had just wanted a recording. But Makoto had told him, "If it's a 'soul' production, it must be a masterpiece." He didn't want to just phone it in with a casual recording. He had decided that the entire band would come to the venue to provide live accompaniment.
As for their manager, Camie Utsushimi, Kira actually hadn't specifically requested that they keep it from her. He knew that she, just like Inasa Yoarashi, was currently doing her work-study. Shiketsu High, perhaps to compare themselves with U.A., had also sent their hero course students for internships after the Sports Festival. However, their choices were limited; they could only pick from a list of schools designated by the school, all located near Tokyo, Kyoto, and Nagoya. It wasn't like U.A., which had received nominations from all over the country.
Although it sounded like Shiketsu was slightly inferior, in reality, there wasn't much of a difference. For example, Inasa was currently interning with the Number Three Hero, Hawks. Aside from Todoroki, who had gone to Endeavor's agency, no one from U.A. had gotten a higher-ranking nomination.
Of course, not just anyone could go to Hawks's agency. Shiketsu's system was more like a self-enrollment model. The school provided the path and the means to get to the agency, but only the students who passed the agency's own tests could actually intern there.
Let the motivated students strive for themselves—that was the motto of Shiketsu High. They would provide the resources, but whether or not you could obtain them was up to you.
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