Guide
The music lingered long after Tsukasa had disappeared, the final note hanging in the air like a memory refusing to fade. Rui remained silent, standing so still he almost seemed carved from stone. The parchment still burned cold in my hands, its golden ink shifting as if waiting—expecting.
But Rui didn’t speak.
He only turned away.
Without a word, he swept back into the shadows of the main tent, his coattails vanishing like the last flicker of a dying flame. I thought I saw his shoulders drop, his poise unraveling just slightly—but then he was gone.
I blinked, unsure what to do next. The circus still loomed around me,
Then, from somewhere in the mist, Tsukasa’s voice echoed gently.
"He's not as heartless as he pretends, you know."
I spun around, and there they were again, leaning casually against the velvet-draped archway of a smaller tent,
"You keep appearing out of nowhere," I said, exhaling shakily. "Is that...a thing here?"
Tsukasa chuckled. "The Circus bends to those who know how to listen." He gestured toward the parchment. "And to those it wishes to keep."
I clenched the contract tighter. "He said I could leave."
Tsukasa's smile didn’t quite reach their eyes. "Did he?"
The paper seemed heavier again.
I opened my mouth to argue, but Tsukasa raised a hand gently.
"Come with me," they said, stepping away from the tent. "I’ll show you what he won’t."
I hesitated, but the forest outside was gone, replaced by endless mist curling at the edges of the circus. I wasn’t sure if leaving was even possible anymore.
"You have questions. And he... isn’t the one who will give you the answers you need right now."
I hesitated. "But—"
"You’re safer with me," Tsukasa interrupted, a wry smile curling at the corner of their lips. "For now."