“I can’t believe this!” Krystal exclaimed. It was a Sunday morning and participating students were in the gymnasium of the academy to prepare for the upcoming circus show. Among those participating students were Krystal, Prince, Zayn, and Akira. And it was at this very moment that Aster was announcing everyone’s role in the show.
“Is there a problem, Krystal?” Aster asked.
“Yes, there is! I’ve been reduced to a backup dancer!” Krystal exclaimed. “And Prince gets an actual part in the show?!”
“Yeah, I would’ve been fine with just being an assistant or something,” Prince said.
“We need Prince’s roar for a dramatic opening. And Krystal, I had to give the spotlight to Akira and Zayn. It’s only a fair way to welcome our new classmates,” Aster said.
“How does a roar even fit into a fairy tale theme?” Prince asked.
“Don’t question my artistic vision, Prince,” Aster said. “I know what I’m doing. Anyways, now that roles have been assigned, we’ll work on staging today. Before we start, where’s Heer?”
“She had to skip today. She’ll fill in later,” Prince said.
“All right. We’ll just have to manage without her. Let’s assemble now,” Aster said.
Students gathered over to where Aster was in the center of the gymnasium. As Krystal was getting ready to join the others, she noticed Zayn was standing in the corner by himself with his arms crossed. It puzzled her. Everyone else was participating in the preparations for the show. And here was Headmaster Devil’s son, lounging about in a corner by himself.
Krystal decided she should talk to him. She walked over to the corner where he was at. Zayn was occupied with his cellphone, but it didn’t take long for him to look up at Krystal as the clinking sounds of her heels were enough to get his attention.
“How come you’re just standing over here?” Krystal asked.
“What is it to you?”
“Nothing. I just don’t get why you’re standing here by yourself when we have practice. Besides, Aster even gave you a decent part in his show.”
“I don’t care for these silly circus shows.”
“Silly?! You think our shows are silly?! I’ll have you know that we throw some of the biggest performances this city has ever seen. In fact, tons of people show up to our shows all the time because they know they’re going to be entertained in the grandest way possible.”
“But that’s not what this school is for.”
“Huh?”
“The purpose of this school and all academies alike is to train ringmasters and human-beasts in harnessing their powers and abilities. You guys do this circus stuff just to please the city folk and distract them from the bigger picture. Honestly, I don’t even see the point of that. Especially when there’s always threats coming left and right from one dark beast to another.”
Sheesh. It’s like this guy doesn’t know the concept of having fun, Krystal thought. While she could somewhat understand where Zayn was coming from, she still didn’t agree.
“You know, even if what you say is true, I think our circus shows are important. They help bring joy into people’s lives.
“And what good is that?”
“What good? What’s good is that we remind people that the world isn’t so dark and cruel all the time. Sure, we deal with dark beasts and other stuff. But that doesn’t mean we can’t do our part to uplift those who need it.”
Zayn found himself surprised at Krystal’s notion. What surprised him even more was that she was even capable of saying something profound about something as simple as a circus show. It intrigued him more than he could admit.
“Come on now! Aster gave you a big part in this show! So, you might as well participate.”
“I have no interest. I’m not a showman. Besides, Akira’s better suited for these things.”
“You know you say that. But from the way you were battling the other day, I’d find it hard to believe you weren’t capable of being a showman.”
Zayn was surprised again. He didn’t understand what Krystal was getting at. And before he could ask her what she meant, she left and went over to practice with the other students.
As the students got into their rehearsal, Zayn watched them at work from the sidelines. Aster didn’t even question why Zayn wasn’t participating and simply changed up Akira’s part a bit, so it didn’t cause any issue. Zayn did find himself slightly amused as he continued to watch the group. He even realized that he could just simply leave. But he didn’t want to for some reason. And he thought that maybe it had to do with what Krystal said.
Once rehearsals were over, students began to leave the gym. Akira got her belongings together and walked over with Krystal and Prince to the corner where Zayn was still standing.
“I can’t believe you bothered to stay here even though you weren’t interested,” Akira said. “Are you coming with us?”
“I’ll leave later. You all can go ahead,” Zayn said.
“Suit yourself,” Akira said. “Let’s go, guys.”
“I’m actually going to Devil’s Diner downtown. Sana wanted to hang out for dinner,” Prince said.
“Oh, cool. I was going to go do some shopping around there, so I’ll walk with you,” Akira said. “Are you coming, Krystal?”
“I’ll be heading over later,” Krystal said.
Krystal watched as Akira and Prince headed out of the gymnasium. Once they were gone, she turned to Zayn, who was looking back at her.
“So, you stuck around for our rehearsal,” Krystal said.
“Yeah. What of it?”
“I just think you might actually like what we’re doing around here.”
“Don’t get so excited. I was just curious to see what’s so worthwhile about these things.”
“Sheesh. You could learn to lighten up a little bit. Have some fun!”
“I’m not here to have fun. I’m here to train.”
“Everyone needs to have fun. Even a serious guy like you. I’d keep that in mind if I were you.”
With that, Krystal decided to leave. There was more that she could say. But she didn’t want to waste any more energy. So, she felt it was best to leave things to Zayn. And as she left, Zayn watched her leave in silence. On one hand, he thought there was some truth to her words. But he also knew that she didn’t know him enough to know why he was the way he was.
***
Later in the evening, Krystal, Prince, and Akira were walking around in downtown Daredevil City. Once they reached Ruby Street, Akira went off on her own to check out the shops that were there. Krystal and Prince kept walking till they reached Devil’s Diner. It was the most popular place for casual dining in Daredevil City. As soon as Krystal entered the place with Prince, the aroma of fresh pastries mixed with the heat from all the spicy dishes was enough to make her smile. And she was really in the mood for some food.
Krystal and Prince found Sana at her table and sat down with her. When they were all seated, they ordered their food and waited, chatting about school and all kinds of things. And even though she was having fun, Krystal couldn’t help but think about Zayn and what they talked about earlier. After some time had passed, the waiter came to the table with all their orders. Once the waiter passed everything out, Krystal said, “Excuse me? I think you made a mistake.”
“What is it, ma’am?”
“You didn’t give me my Marigold Surprise.”
“Oh, sorry, ma’am. We’re out of the Marigold Surprise.”
“What do you mean out of it?!”
“Many people ordered it today, so we’re out of the ingredients for it.”
“But I always get the Marigold Surprise here!”
“Just give it a rest, Krystal,” Sana said.
“I’m terribly sorry. If you want, I can bring a different dessert from our menu,” the waiter said.
“No, it’s fine,” Krystal said.
After the waiter left, Krystal sulked in her chair. Sana was surprised that Krystal didn’t pick up a whole verbal argument with the waiter or even her for interfering. The Marigold Surprise was one of her favorite things to get at the diner. It was a dome cake that was covered with orange marzipan and had orange caramel sauce drizzled all over the top. The inside consisted of an orange sponge cake, whipped cream, and little edible marigold petals mixed inside. And normally, Krystal would go all the way for something like that cake, even if others were annoyed by it.
“What’s up with you, Krystal?” Sana asked.
“You mean her being less annoying than usual?” Prince asked.
“Shut up, Prince! I just really wanted a Marigold Surprise!” Krystal exclaimed.
“You sure that’s it? You seem like you have something on your mind,” Sana said.
“It’s that new kid, Zayn,” Krystal said as she took a sip from her strawberry milkshake. “He had the nerve not to participate in our rehearsals even though Aster gave him a good part.”
“And that bothers you because…?” Sana said.
“Because I was reduced to just a backup dancer and I’m still participating! But him, he acts like he’s too cool for our circus shows,” Krystal said.
“Maybe he’s just not interested,” Sana said.
“It’s not just that. He said there’s no reason for us doing such things. He’s got some nerve,” Krystal said. “I mean, even a guy like Prince still takes part in them.”
Sana realized Krystal had a good point. Even though Prince was a rather serious guy himself, he still knew how to have fun. I mean he was the guy who almost always had a candy cane in his mouth. And even looking at his order, which consisted of a double cheeseburger, ganache drizzled brownie, side of fries, and chocolate caramel milkshake, it was obvious Prince knew how to have fun in his own way.
“Look, Krystal, the guy isn’t used to our ways. Maybe he might get interested later,” Prince said as he ate one of his fries. “And even if he doesn’t get interested, there’s really no reason you should care.”
“Oh, please. I don’t care that much. I care more about not having my Marigold Surprise,” Krystal said. “Anyways, Sana, I didn’t ask, but where’d you go off to when you left lunch that day.”
“I just went to see Aiden. I asked him if he could give me and Rey extra lessons,” Sana said.
“Extra lessons? Why would you two need that?” Prince asked.
“We both lost miserably to Madame Naga. And a lot of that blame falls on me since Rey got injured so badly. So, we must get stronger for that not to happen again,” Sana said.
Prince looked at Krystal and he could tell she was thinking the same thing he was. It was clear that Sana was taking everything that had happened on that night to heart. And while her desires to get stronger were genuine, he wondered if she was really doing this for herself.
Krystal understood why Sana was acting different. She knew just how much she took her skills as a ringmaster seriously. It made her think about her own abilities. She could feel a huge difference in her battling skills when she used the equilibrium with Prince. And seeing Zayn and Akira only made her more mesmerized by what possibilities she could unlock.
***
Late at night, in the boys’ dorm house, Rey was alone in his room. He finished taking a shower and stepped out of his bathroom. As he walked towards his closet, he paused for a moment. Rey looked at the palm of his right hand and noticed something peculiar. An eerie dark purple marking had been printed along his entire palm. Rey was even more creeped out when he saw the same marking on his left palm. What the hell is this? Rey thought.
Rey changed into his red pajamas. He looked again at his palms, the markings still there. The sight of them was beginning to freak him out. As he continued to go through his closet, there was a small knock on the door, which startled Rey.
“Rey. It’s Prince.”
“Um…I’m coming,” Rey replied as he continued to go through his closet. He pulled out a pair of black fingerless gloves and began to put them on his hands. Just cover it up, Rey. It’s probably nothing and will go away tomorrow, Rey assured himself. Yeah…that’s it.
After putting his gloves on, Rey went to the door and opened it, seeing Prince stand before him. “What took you so long?” Prince asked Rey.
“I just got out of the shower, okay! That’s it! Nothing else!”
“Okay then…well, I have news for you.”
“What’s up?”
“Neil left a note at my door. It seems he’s leaving campus for a few days.”
“What?!”
Prince showed the note to Rey. Rey snatched it from Prince’s hands and looked over it, completely shocked. He knew Neil was acting weird, but he didn’t think he would just leave so suddenly.
“Why the hell would that idiot just leave like that?!” Rey said.
“I don’t know. When he said he wanted to be alone, I guess that meant away from school as well.”
“That moron.”
“I know. Now he’s definitely going to fall behind in classes.”
“It’s not that. I know why he’s acting like this. He’s doubting Heer as his partner. And I have no idea why. She’s just as strong as you and me. I don’t understand why he always has to be so unfair with her.”
“Don’t get upset. He just needs some time. You know Neil. When he gets frustrated, he just needs to cool off.”
“Yeah, I guess you’re right.”
“Anyways, it’s pretty late. I’m gonna go to bed.”
“Yeah, same. Good night.”
Before Rey closed the door, Prince was puzzled upon seeing the gloves adorned by his hands. “What’s with the gloves?” Prince inquired.
“Oh these! I was just trying on some stuff in my closet. No biggie. Anyways, good night,” Rey said.
With that, Rey closed the door. Prince walked down the hall, going towards his room. Even though Rey answered him, he still felt something was off about him.
***
On the other hand, outside the gates where Daredevil City lied, Neil was walking with a backpack and a duffel bag held in his right hand. He had just made it into what was known as St. Alphonse Street.
Damn it! Now I know I missed the last train! Neil thought as he continued walking. Now I gotta walk all the way down this street to the bus stop in Dusk Point just to catch a bus!
Neil sighed. I wonder if Prince already told the others that I left, Neil pondered. I really hope Heer doesn’t feel too bad. I just need to take some time off and head back to Helada for a while to clear my head and figure out how I can get stronger.
Suddenly, Neil stopped walking. He heard a creeping noise from behind. Neil slowly turned around, only to be hit in the head with a bat of some sort. He was instantly knocked out. The bat dropped onto the concrete ground and fell right beside Neil’s unconscious body. The one who was holding the bat appeared to be a woman, who wore a black cloak that had shrouded her appearance. Once she removed her hood, she revealed who she really was: Madame Naga.
“You’re just what I need,” Madame Naga said as she looked over Neil.
***
The next day, early morning in the halls of Ringmasters Training Academy, Rey was walking by himself. After some time, he stopped and looked at his hand, which was still adorned by a glove. He slowly lifted the glove up to see the marking had spread. He pulled the sleeve of his black leather jacket to see the marking was spreading downward across his arm. Rey couldn’t believe it. What the hell?! It’s actually growing, Rey thought, unable to believe his eyes. Despite seeing the mark remaining on his palm in the morning, he didn’t recall seeing it stretch itself even further.
“Hey, Rey!” a voice called from behind. Startled, Rey immediately pulled his sleeve back down and put his glove back on. He turned around to see Sana coming towards him.
“Oh, Sana. Hey,” Rey said.
“I’m glad I ran into you.”
“Yeah? Why’s that?”
“I wanted to let you know that we have training with Aiden later this week.”
“Why?”
“I asked him if he could do some extra lessons with us.”
“But you didn’t ask me.”
“What? I was supposed to ask you?”
“Yeah! We’re a team. And I don’t want to do any extra training.”
“Hold on, you’re saying no to training? You of all people? Why?”
Damn. I just can’t do this right now. Especially not with what’s happening with me, Rey thought. If I tell her about it, she’s gonna get even more concerned than she already is.
“Rey, why don’t you want to train?” Sana asked.
“Well…you didn’t even ask me!”
“That’s what this is about?”
“And I don’t even like Aiden. Why would I wanna train with him?”
“What do you have against Aiden? Isn’t that Neil’s thing?”
“I just don’t like the guy. And you never even asked me about it before arranging all of this.”
“What’s with you? You’re so hung up on the fact that I didn’t ask you earlier. I just assumed you’d be fine with training.”
“Whoah, what’s going on here?” Krystal asked as she walked towards Sana and Rey along with Heer and Prince.
“Rey’s having a temper tantrum because I didn’t tell him about the lessons I asked for from Aiden,” Sana said.
“Sheesh, you sound like a child, Rey,” Krystal said.
“That’s rich coming from the rich brat herself,” Rey said.
“Boy, you have some nerve calling me a brat! At least I don’t whine like a toddler!” Krystal exclaimed.
“What’s happening here?” Zayn asked as he walked to where the gang was with Akira.
“Just the usual drama. It’s best not to get involved,” Prince said.
“Well, we have to ask something. Do any of you recognize that guy over there with the black and blond hair?” Akira asked as she pointed to a man standing down the hallway.
Sana turned around with the others to see a tall, muscular man with medium-length black hair with a set of blond strands parted in the middle, dressed in a black shirt with a brown vest, khaki pants, and ranger boots. She was surprised, knowing in an instant who this was.
“Dad?” Sana said.
“Dad?!” the others exclaimed in unison.
***
“So, you’re really Sana’s dad?” Krystal asked.
“Yes. My name’s Ryan J. Malik. It’s nice to meet all of you,” the man said.
The gang was sitting with Ryan in the lounge room that was on the first floor of the school. Ryan needed to hand in some paperwork to the staff there, so the rest of the gang followed him there to chat with him before classes would start for the day.
“Wow, you’re a lot younger than I imagined,” Krystal said.
“I was certain you’d be as old as the headmaster,” Rey said.
“You shouldn’t comment on old age, Rey. You’ll get there one day,” Ryan said.
“You know my name?” Rey asked.
“Of course. Sana has told me about all of you,” Ryan said. “And Devil was excited to tell me about Zayn and Akira coming to the academy.”
“So, you’re friends with my father?” Zayn asked.
“Yup. We go way back. I’ve been friends with him since our academy days,” Ryan said.
Sana watched as her friends chatted with Ryan. They seemed so fascinated with him. As happy as she was to see him, she wondered why he came unannounced.
“Sana dear, are you spacing out again?” Ryan asked. “You know I told you not to do that.”
“Dad, I’m fine! Why are you even here?” Sana asked Ryan. “Aren’t you supposed to be stationed in Aerosoul?”
“Stationed as what?” Akira asked Ryan.
“Oh, that’s right. I actually work in a hunter squad,” Ryan said.
“What’s a hunter squad?” Heer asked.
“Hunter squads are teams that are stationed in various cities across the country and around the world. They’re composed of highly trained ringmasters and human-beasts that take on dark beasts in those areas,” Sana explained.
“And yet, you weren’t stationed here in Daredevil City?” Akira asked.
“No and that’s mainly because Aerosoul happens to be my hometown. Now that the dark beast activity there has gone down, I was allowed time off from the squad,” Ryan said. “I actually came here because Devil appointed me as the new professor of Power Coordination at RTA.”
“What?!” Sana exclaimed.
“That’s right! Of course, it’s only temporary. Devil is still looking for someone to take the position permanently, but he asked me to take over since Aiden already has so many responsibilities to juggle,” Ryan said. “Bright side is that I’ll be getting paid for this and I’ll be able to see my little girl every day.”
“Oh, geez, Dad,” Sana said, rolling her eyes.
“Aww sweety! You know you love your father!” Ryan said. “Besides, that’s how Devil convinced me to take up the job. He’s such a good friend. The man knows me too well.”
“I’m shocked that someone can actually call my dad a good friend,” Zayn said.
“Well, your father may be a bit eccentric, but he is a good man deep down,” Ryan said. “In fact, while we’re still here, I should tell you all one of the many stories from our young days.”
As Ryan went on narrating a tale from his adventurous past, Sana sulked as the others listened to him with great attention. Well, this is quite the turn of events, Sana thought as she shook her head.
Copyright © 2021 Meryl T
All rights reserved. All illustrations created by Meryl T.
The Ringmasters Society 