Chapter 128: The Circus is About to Begin (Part 3)
The Director led all the animals into the smaller tent and, on the grounds that the performance content needed to be kept secret, shooed away the staff who had been left there to guard the venue. He then took out a carrot, blew on it forcefully, and a puff of smoke emerged, instantly enveloping the entire tent.
"Cough, cough! I was suffocating! It's finally good to be able to talk..." The wolf, Okami, now in his upright form, said excitedly, "Are we really going to perform on such a big stage? This is a first!"
To be honest, Kira had a feeling that Okami wasn't really a wolf, but a husky that had infiltrated the wolf pack. His actions were far too reckless.
"Snake Sis is coming back to watch tonight. I have to do my best..." The rhinoceros, Kanishi, muttered in a corner.
"Shishido, you haven't been through the rehearsal. Are you sure you won't mess up?" The cheetah, Mr. Cheetah, asked with some concern.
"I'm not like you with your big belly! You should just worry about yourself!" Shishido the lion-man said, stretching lazily. "There's still some time before the show starts. Zookeeper-brat, I'll train you for a bit."
"No. There's no time," Kira said, looking at his watch. "It's already past two o'clock. We still need to inspect the grounds and run through the whole process one more time... Besides, the band for the accompaniment will be here soon, and we need to sync up."
The performance was at 8:00 PM. Time was extremely tight. Although Kira also wanted to train with Shishido for a bit, there was no time. He was, for all intents and purposes, the circus's general planner, and there were many things he needed to oversee.
"Are you sure you don't want to try out the props yourself?" Kira asked Shishido. "The act has a certain degree of danger. You could get hurt."
"Hehe! If there was no danger, I wouldn't be performing!" Shishido waved a hand, a wild grin on his face. "If I try it once now, there's no point in doing it again later. I don't do things that aren't a challenge!"
Time flew by. Aside from Shishido's grand finale, all the other animals' acts had been rehearsed once, and all the stage props were ready.
Around 5:30 PM, Makoto Hibikiya and the others finally arrived. Jodo Chenjie pulled back the flap of the large tent and saw Kira standing on the stage, writing in a notebook. "Kira! We're here!" he shouted excitedly.
"Remember this position during the performance. Don't run all over the stage with the ball," Kira said, glancing up from his notes to instruct Okami. He then walked down from the stage with a smile. "Thank you for your hard work, coming all this way from Tokyo to this little place. I'm really counting on you this time."
"Aren't we friends? You don't need to thank us for something like this!" Jodo said with a bright smile. "It's only been a few days, and you're already busy with a circus! You really are full of surprises!"
"There were some... unavoidable circumstances," Kira said with a wry smile. "But really, a recording would have been fine. You didn't need to come in person..."
Makoto Hibikiya walked into the tent, his eyes momentarily widening at the sight of the stage setup. He quickly recovered and said calmly, "Kira, you know our time is very valuable. Since we've spent the time composing the music, we will not allow for a defective product."
"Makoto-san, aren't you just saying all that because you're also interested in this performance?" Kansou Eruto said, walking in with Dave and mercilessly exposing his leader's true feelings. Seeing Makoto turn a cold stare on him, he held up his hands innocently and grinned. "Of course, the rest of us are also very interested. Combining a fairy tale with a circus performance... this is the first time I've ever heard of such a thing!"
Dave's face flushed red. Although he didn't speak, the vigorous nodding of his head showed his excitement.
"I say, you big men just leave your things at the entrance and run inside, leaving us ladies to stand guard. Have you no shame?" a mature female voice came from outside the tent. Although her words were a complaint, the gentle and generous tone of her voice showed she wasn't really angry.
"Ah, I almost forgot," Kansou said with a smile. "A few lovely ladies came with us. I think you and the circus people should know them."
Hearing this woman's voice, Aoi Hana, who had been secretly watching the situation unfold, ran down from the stage, shouting excitedly, "Snake Sis! You're back!"
"Is that you, little Hana? It's been a while," a stylishly dressed woman said as she walked in. Small, motionless snakes were coiled in her pinned-up golden hair, like a Medusa. She smiled gently and greeted Kira. "You must be Kira. I heard your name at the Sports Festival. I never expected someone so high-profile to accept the Director's invitation..."
This was the Pro Hero the others had mentioned, the "Snake Sis" who supported them from the outside: Uwabami.
Kira wasn't at all surprised that she knew him. After all, she was a very active hero in Tokyo and had even nominated both Momo and Itsuka Kendo as her interns.
"Ah, well, there were many reasons for that..."
"Snake Sis! Me and everyone at the zoo missed you so much!" Aoi Hana threw her arms around Uwabami, burying her head in her chest as she complained, "The Director did so many crazy things while you were away! Without you here, there's no one who can stop that mad rabbit!"
"Well, you're still here, aren't you, my little Alice?" Uwabami said, patting her head with a motherly smile. "Let him do what he wants. He's only so reckless because he knows he has us, his partners, to support him. Besides, letting him follow his whims isn't always a bad thing. Just look at this circus he's about to put on..."
"Come on! We outsiders shouldn't be listening to this!" Kansou said, hooking his arms around Dave and Jodo. He followed behind Makoto, who was silently walking toward the stage. "Kira! Give us the general idea! We've only heard bits and pieces from you so far. We need to sort out the order."
"No problem. The whole flow of the performance is like this..." Did I forget something? Well, if I can't remember it, it must not be important. Yoshikage Kira flipped to the first page of his notebook. Just as he was about to speak, a resentful voice sounded from behind him.
"I say... aren't you all forgetting something?"
Kira turned around and saw a fashionable woman standing behind him. "Um, I'm sorry," he asked, confused, "but are you...?"
"Kira-kun! Have you forgotten me already!? We just spoke on the phone...!"
The tent was a little dim, and Kira had only given her a passing glance. But when he looked closely, he suddenly realized: "Are you... Yaoyorozu-san!?"
Momo Yaoyorozu was wearing a long, white dress. She had let her usual ponytail down, and her hair was now in curls. A large pair of sunglasses covered her face. She looked completely different from her usual self.
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