Chapter 132: Welcome to the Twilight Circus
Around 7:30 in the evening, at a time when the residents of Oma City would normally be home washing up, their nightlife uneventful as they watched TV or played on their phones before drifting off to sleep.
But today, even though the sky was completely dark, the streets were still filled with people, no different from the daytime. They were all gathered at the entrance to Oma Park, waiting for the great gate to open.
The entire gate was made of iron, and after years of use, it was covered in rust. No one had cleaned it. It was shielded by a dense grove of trees, and even by peeking through the cracks, the audience couldn't see the tent on the other side, only the reassuring glow of yellow lights.
A line of police cars, their red and blue lights flashing, formed a cordon, holding back the ever-growing crowd. Several young police officers were maintaining order while speaking into their walkie-talkies, seemingly confirming the situation with their superiors.
Suddenly, a little girl who was being held by the hand in a corner of the crowd spoke up, annoyed. "Mom, you're not a kid anymore. If you want to see it, just come by yourself. You don't need to use me as an excuse. I don't want to see some stupid circus."
A woman with her hair tied up crouched down beside the little girl, placed a hand on her forehead, and said with a helpless sigh, "Yu, it's a circus! Mommy's never seen one in this city in her whole life! And the ad said it's a rare animal performance! It's a real shame you don't want to see it."
Yu said reluctantly, "Mom, it's not that I don't want to come with you... it's just... I don't want to see the animal tamers use whips to force the animals to do tricks. That doesn't bring me any happiness at all."
The two women were none other than Mrs. Sakihara and her daughter. Because of her Quirk, Yu was often ostracized by the other girls at school, and her heart was very sensitive. While Mrs. Sakihara didn't fully understand the changes in her child's psyche, she knew that Yu needed something to distract her. Coincidentally, there was a circus performance today. It would surely cheer her up.
It was with this in mind that Mrs. Sakihara had dragged Yu here to wait in line.
"There won't be any cruel scenes. Mommy can guarantee it," Mrs. Sakihara said, taking a crumpled flyer from her handbag. She unfolded it and pointed. "Look, it says right here: 'This is a marvelous journey you have always dreamed of but never experienced. Suitable for all ages, best enjoyed with family.' Would you really have the heart to watch Mommy see the show all by herself?"
Seeing her mother blinking her eyes and looking at her so pitifully, even though Yu knew that only one word out of ten on a flyer was likely to be true, she couldn't bring herself to say no.
"Okay... I'll go with you."
The moment she said it, a brilliant smile bloomed on her mother's face. She pulled her into a hug, nuzzling her. "I knew Yu wouldn't leave her mommy all alone!"
Adults are so troublesome, Yu thought. But for some reason, her heart suddenly felt a little lighter.
Time passed, and the hour arrived. The iron gate of Oma Park let out a creak and, under the expectant gazes of the crowd, slowly swung open.
Suddenly, several searchlights from the police cars all focused on the gate. And then, a ghastly white face appeared in the crack of the door.
"Ah!" Some of the people who had been staring intently screamed in fright.
"Hey, hey! Look closer! It's just a clown," someone in the crowd said, holding back a laugh as they tugged on their friend's sleeve.
The person who had screamed opened their eyes and looked again. Bright red hair, a round red nose, and that iconic smile. It really was just a clown.
The clown had just poked his head out when he saw the line of police cars and the blinding lights. He quickly threw his hands over his head and, shuffling sideways, squeezed his whole body through the gap.
He was wearing an ill-fitting but magnificent costume and red, pointed boots. As he emerged, his left foot tripped over his right, and he stumbled, landing right between the police cars. The searchlights followed his movement. The clown, seeing this, put his hands on his cheeks in a look of horror, looked around, and then, with an expression of pure despair, hugged his head and squatted down.
By now, many people had realized: this clown had been performing from the moment he had appeared. In coordination with the moving searchlights, he had instantly cast himself as a thief caught in the act.
The crowd erupted in laughter, the sound echoing through the night. After they had finished laughing, they all began to applaud sincerely.
To make people laugh with just a few simple movements... the circus performance was really something to look forward to.
Hearing the applause, the clown peeked out at the crowd with a confused expression, then quickly looked away, his body trembling as if in fear.
The crowd, which had just stopped laughing, saw this and burst out laughing again.
Steel-Gate Rikishi walked up to the clown with heavy steps and patted him on the shoulder. The clown opened his eyes and saw Rikishi pointing at the still-applauding audience. As if he couldn't believe it, he jumped to his feet, rubbed his eyes, pulled a handkerchief from his pocket with one hand, and with the other, produced a small bottle of perfume from nowhere, spritzed it a few times, and began to vigorously wipe his face.
Looking completely helpless, Rikishi patted his shoulder again. But the clown, caught off guard, stumbled. He kicked one leg back, balancing on the other, and began to spin his arms in small circles.
But this still couldn't stop Newton from pulling his body forward. His face was a mask of panic. His arms began to spin like a propeller. Suddenly, as if they had a mind of their own, several colorful ribbons shot out from his sleeves with a series of loud cracks.
As if he had suddenly mastered the technique, the clown began to spin his body, gradually moving from a leaning position to an upright one. His rotation slowed, and he finally stopped. He clutched his head as if he were dizzy, his head bobbing. The hat on his head suddenly fell off. The clown panicked, grabbing at the air, but he couldn't stop the hat from falling. It spun a few times and landed, upside down, right in front of him.
As if he had lost something important, the clown suddenly sat down on the ground, his eyes vacant. He slowly recovered and reached a hand toward the hat—
The moment his hand touched it, the hat suddenly moved. A single paper crane flew out from it. Then another, and another, until a flood of paper cranes flew out, obscuring the clown's fallen, frightened form.
It seemed like a long time, but it also seemed like less than ten seconds. The seemingly endless stream of paper cranes all rose into the air, and the hat was still once more.
The crowd stared blankly as the paper cranes in the sky formed an arch, like a bridge of magpies. Some of the pure white cranes were suddenly dyed with a rainbow of colors, forming words. The searchlights, at the perfect moment, shone upwards, revealing the text—
"Welcome to the Twilight Circus"
A hand reached out and picked up the still hat. It was the clown. He gave the crowd a gentlemanly bow and retreated back through the gate.
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