[Multichapter] Space Wonderland; Chapters 8, 9
More NaNo chapters. All PG for now. Comments are appreciated ♥
CHAPTER 8
Fujigaya was walking among the streets of Kyranth, the capital city of Xylos. Kyranth was a gloomy city, where the rain constantly poured on the streets making the concrete shine and become a mirror that reflected the many artificial lights that were tearing apart the darkness in the streets. Fujigaya arrived in front of the cafe where he left Kitayama and Kawai about forty minutes before and walked in. A sudden gust of warm air embraced him, warming him up together with the jazz music playing in the background.
“Where is Kawai?” Fujigaya asked, taking off his coat - the sleeves were slightly long because it was actually Tamamori’s coat - and sitting right in front of Kitayama. Kitayama seemed to wake up from his torpor; he blinked a couple of times and tried to drink from his cup before realizing it was empty.
“Oh, he said he had something to do around town. Do you want something to drink?”
Kitayama called the waitress for a refill and to take Fujigaya’s order.
“Hot chocolate?!” Kitayama asked, raising an eyebrow at the other’s girlish tastes. “Anyway how did it go?”
“The doctor said that my brain doesn’t show any damage. Probably the cause of my amnesia is psychological.”
“Did he analyze the leaves?”
“He’s keeping them and he told me to come back tomorrow for the results.”
“Okay. Should we go back to the spaceship then?”
“But I’ve just ordered my hot chocolate.”
“Should we hang out then?”
“No, we shouldn’t. You can go.”
Kitayama got up and put his coat on with a sort of not convinced pout on his face.
“See you later then.”
Fujigaya waved his hand as he walked away. He stared outside the window, but he only saw his own reflection on the surface of the glass. His hot chocolate arrived and he started sipping it from the steamy mug. He thought that he should go and buy some clothes because he had just been borrowing other people’s stuff since he arrived. And even if he lost his memory, he was convinced that none of them didn’t have his same taste for fashion. He thought about what the doctor said, but he was mostly upset because he couldn’t find an answer to his problem. For some reason, his memory had become unimportant compared to other things. He wasn’t sure why he felt that way, he couldn’t help but to think this whole memory thing was an hindrance to his current life.
That evening he watched the show seated among the audience. There was still no roller skating act, but he knew that with a bit of effort, they’d have something ready before they hit the next planet.
The show was as amazing as it had already proven to be during the rehearsals. Takizawa led the show, introducing act after act, making the audience feel like they were in a new world. A world where everything was shiny and majestic.
His workmate looked different with their flashy costumes and makeup, and they all seemed to sparkle in the golden aura of the ring. Fujigaya blamed the sequins and glitter at first, but then he was sure there was something else that made them look so brilliant. He had never realized they were so beautiful, so brave, so entertaining and he wondered if he could look the same way during his act.
Their show was definitely not the average circus show. The music that echoed in the bubble, was not the usual circus music, instead catchy tunes resounded in the air with the occasional dance beat or rock guitar, depending on what was going on on stage. It was the most entertaining show he had ever seen and judging by the ecstatic faces around him in the audience, he wasn’t the only one feeling that way.
Nikaido, Senga and Kitayama were flying on the trapeze. At times, they looked like butterflies, and other times like wingless eagles. Yokoo led the beasts around with confidence. His serious expression sometimes broke for a smile addressed to the audience. Kawai and Hasshi jumped around, lots of improvisation in their skits, to entertain the audience during the time between an act and another. Tsukada’s impressive body movements kept the audience attention. He looked so happy and proud to be there. Goseki made everybody’s heart skip a bit when he pretended he missed a step on the rope and that he was about to fall, but instead he just rolled around it and regained the balance. Everyone looked anxious when Miyata was trying to hit with his knife the rose that Tamamori was holding close, a bit too close, to his beautiful face. Then there were Nikaido and Senga in the cage with their motorbikes, roaring and spiralling around a serene Tamamori. Everyone was also surprised by Totsuka’s tricks, as he kept on making things appear and disappear randomly, but at the same time, with a sort of logic that wasn’t clear at the beginning.
Fujigaya wanted to be part of it. He felt it was more important than having his memories back. He didn’t remember the person he was before, he didn’t know where he came from and what kind of life he led before. He just knew what he wanted now. Besides, every time he tried to force his mind to remember, an unpleasant sensation rushed over him. It was like his own blood didn’t want to remember. If Tamamori’s words were true, maybe it would have been better not to know about his previous life.
That night, as he was about to go to sleep, he heard someone clearing his throat in front of his tent. He went to open the curtain and saw Yokoo standing there with a mild smile curving his lips.
“I heard that the doctor didn’t help much.”
Fujigaya let him inside and indicated the chair with his hand, but Yokoo didn’t seat.
“I just wanted to know how it’s going,” Yokoo said. “And not because I want you to remember your past and go away,” he added hurriedly.
Fujigaya couldn’t help but feeling the urge of laughing at this clarification, but he tried his best to suppress it.
“I’m sorry, I might not be very good with human relationships,” Yokoo said, his look dropping to his feet, while he twisted his fingers awkwardly. “I really want our roller skating act to exist.”
Fujigaya stared at the other’s face, surprised by the sudden confession, because it felt like something coming from his own soul.
“Me too.”
Yokoo raised his head so suddenly that his hair flicked his cheeks.
“Ah, okay then. Good to know that you are taking this seriously. Not that I thought you weren’t but... maybe with your amnesia, you must have other things in mind.”
“I wouldn’t have said to Takizawa that I wanted to be part of the show if it weren’t true,” Fujigaya replied, shaking his head. “I really have nothing else in mind... literally.”
Yokoo looked a bit embarrassed. It was obvious that he was trying to sympathise with him, pretty much like all the others did. But none of them really knew what his real feelings were.
“I don’t think you have lost your memories before. It really feels unimportant now to find out who I was. Simply because I don’t remember. I don’t particularly want to remember because I know myself now, but the person I was before it’s a complete stranger to me.” Fujigaya explained to an appalled Yokoo.
“You don’t... care?”
“I know it sounds awful, but really; I don’t want to spend too much time thinking about the things I can’t remember. And even if I found out who I was, it would probably be awkward trying to be the old me.”
“I see.”
“I’d rather wait for the memories to come back by themselves. And if they don’t, I don’t have to worry about having two different people inside myself.”
Fujigaya felt like a weight had been lifted from his chest. He didn’t imagine that talking to someone about his feelings would have been so soothing. Yokoo’s smile turned out to be the most reassuring he had seen in a while.
“I guess you don’t want to go back to Skellar15 then,” Yokoo said. “Well, this place is comfortable enough. It’s not a proper home but...”
Fujigaya smiled. “It is starting to feel like home for me, really.”
“I also wanted to say that,” Yokoo paused to gather the words, he looked like he wanted to say the next thing without messing up as he often did when he talked, “I really appreciate your help.”
Fujigaya’s lips curled in a smile and his teeth glowed in the dim light of the room.
“Well, goodnight then!” Yokoo walked towards the curtain and raised the hem with the back of his hand.
“Yok- Wataru!”
Yokoo froze and Fujigaya wondered if using his first name wasn’t a bit too much. Not many people in the circus called him by his first name. That’s just how it was, he was Yokoo-san, because everyone respected him or feared him, even though they were close friends. But Fujigaya didn’t desist, and said his name with a sweet tone once again.
“Wataru, thank you.”
Yokoo turned back his head so that Fujigaya could see his smiling profile.
“Good night, Taisuke.”
--
The next day Fujigaya went with Kitayama to the doctor’s laboratory to get the results of the analysis on the leaves.
Kitayama didn’t stop talking about the show after Fujigaya complimented it. Of course Fujigaya meant to compliment all the show, but Kitayama took the nice words for himself starting to boast about how great was the part in which he managed to stop the daliesh he was riding even though Yokoo couldn’t, and how the act wasn’t spoiled even if, yes, he seriously was about to fall off it. Fujigaya rolled his eyes and wondered if Yokoo didn’t stop the daliesh on purpose. He actually saw a devilish smile on his lips when he pushed the butt knot of his whip on the daliesh’s side ‘by accident’. He could have easily let the funny part pass as intentional. Kitayama annoyed the hell out of him with all his gibberish most of the times, but this was actually quite fun, and Fujigaya didn’t want to spoil it by telling him what he knew. He thought that, even if Kitayama was annoying sometimes, he was actually a good person and he recognized his charisma as a performer and the ability to pull the others together and encourage his friends.
As they reached the doctor’s laboratory, they realized something wasn’t quite right. The door was open and when they entered the room, papers were scattered everywhere, equipments were on the floor, surrounded by broken vials and bottles. Kitayama and Fujigaya looked at each other shocked and started to look for the doctor.
They found him on the floor, unconscious, and they kneeled next to him; Kitayama held his shoulders and pulled him up on his lap, trying to wake him up. He came back to reality and clutched Kitayama’s shirt with his hand.
“You must stop them!” the doctor said, his eyes displaying shock and fear.
“Stop who? What happened?!” Kitayama urged him to talk.
“Those things... those leaves, are not leaves anymore!”
“What do you mean?” Fujigaya asked, looking puzzled.
“Some life form has changed their DNA entering the cells and it’s controlling them. Might be some sort of virus, I am not sure I’ve ever seen something like that before. But now they are dangerous. They have the power to send waves to the human mind.”
“Is that what happened to Fujigaya? He lost his memories because of that?”
“I’m not sure, maybe they can’t erase the memory, they just attack humans and weaken them when they feel threatened. It’s sort of an electrical shock, but it hits the part of your brain that reacts to pain. You must stop them.”
“Where are the leaves now?”
“They took them away.”
“Who?”
“Two thieves. They ran away with them, you must stop them!”
Fujigaya and Kitayama looked at each other and Fujigaya ran to the videophone to call the nurse at the reception for help.
“Relax, we’ll look for them okay?”
The doctor called the police, but Fujigaya didn’t want to talk with them, in case they found out he didn’t have the permission to land yet. Luckily, Takizawa was about to sort out the problem. They had checked the published list of missing people of many planets when they were on the ship, but there was no sign of Fujigaya’s name. They kept on checking, in case his name or face would show up, but it didn’t so far. That’s why Takizawa decided he would register him with a different name and get him a space passport with the help of some connections he had. Fujigaya didn’t want to know which kind of dubious connections those were, to find the way of giving someone a space passport illegally, and the others seemed to willingly ignore a lot about Takizawa’s obscure friends too.
Kitayama and Fujigaya ran back to the spaceship. Fujigaya couldn’t believe that those leaves had already caused so much trouble. Next time he saw those things again they’d better make sure to send tons of waves to his nervous system to protect themselves, because his intention wasn’t to threaten them only.
When they reached the spaceship, they found everyone in the canteen room. A stranger was tied to a chair in the middle of the crowd.
“Ah Kitayama, Fujigaya!” Kawai shouted as they entered shouting “They stole the leaves!”
For a second they looked at each other deciding who had to talk first, and Fujigaya noticed the boy tied to the chair.
“Who is he?”
“Senga found him as he was searching for something in your room,” Kawai explained.
“He wasn’t searching, he wanted to steal stuff,” Nikaido added, narrowing his eyes on the boy.
“He’s a thief!” Shori added, smiling excited. Not that there was anything funny about it.
“I didn’t want steal anything! He is the thief! All of you are!” the boy yelled.
“What are you talking about? We didn’t steal anything.”
“Yes you did! You came to our planet and stole the stuff we were working on!” the boy exclaimed as he tried to wriggle among the ropes.
“What are you talking about? What planet?” Yooko asked, coming forward.
“Wait a minute. Are you the one who stole the leaves from the laboratory?” Fujigaya asked.
“You stole the leaves from us! We want them back.”
“What’s the meaning of all of this? The leaves?!” Kawai asked.
“Someone knocked the doctor and stole the leaves samples we brought there to analyze,” Kitayama explained. “Probably this guy or some of his friends.”
“What are those leaves?” Fujigaya went closer to the boy and shook his shoulders. “Answer me.”
“No I won’t. It’s none of your business.”
“Answer me before I strangle you.”
“Fujigaya lost his memory,” Kitayama stepped between them and placed an arm in front of Fujigaya to stop him torturing the boy. “He’s a bit nervous about it. We think it might be the leaves’ fault.”
“I don’t think so? They don’t work like that.”
“What are they then?”
“I said I can’t answer, Fuuma will kill me if I do. This is super top secret information.”
“Fuuma?” Fujigaya repeated.
“Oops,” the boy grinned embarrassed. “Anyway, give back all the sample you have. That is our stuff, okay?”
“So he’s not alone. Where is this Fuuma?” Kitayama said.
“I’m right here.”
Someone was standing by the door, a gun pointed in the room.
“Don’t move,” he said as he grabbed So, the smallest person closer to him, and pointed the gun at his head. “Or I’ll shoot him.”
“Hey, put me down!” So wriggled, but Fuuma just tightened his grip.
Everyone stood still, but after a few seconds, the boy was knocked unconscious to the floor by Marius, who had just arrived behind him, and was holding a big wrench in his hands.
“Did I miss something?”
--
“What the hell were you two thinking?!” Fujigaya shouted at the two boys, now tied together back to back.
After the boy called Fuuma woke up, they questioned them and found out their names were Kikuchi Fuuma and Nakajima Kento and that they had followed them with their light spaceship to Xylos to retrieve the leaves samples. Marius recalled having seen a spaceship in the radar when leaving the unnamed planet. He also remembered how they tried to communicate with them, asking their status. Marius and the other pilots said they were sorry for not realizing that someone was following them.
Apparently Fuuma and Kento found those microorganisms on a planet they didn’t want to name, and thought of using them to their advantage.
They even named them Krivs and brought them to the unnamed planet to colonize the living things, which is how the Krivs generally acted. They couldn’t take possession of all the living things, but it generally worked with plants.
Apparently they were studying a way to use their power of controlling the human mind and make money selling them to criminal organizations.
“The hell, this is such a stupid plan,” Yokoo said, going to stop Fujigaya before he could punch them both.
“It’s not stupid. We are going to make a lot of money, then we’ll buy a tropical planet of our own and live there, happy ever after,” the boy called Kento said, his eyes sparkling and smiling at the thought. Fuuma sighed and shook his head.
“I’m not going to live with you on the same planet!”
Kento turned his head the other way, and pretended he didn’t hear.
“So are you really able to control the Krivs?” Yokoo asked, pretending he didn’t hear them both.
“We... are getting there,” Fuuma answered, suddenly looking less cocky.
“I just can’t believe how stupid you are. You infected a whole planet with those things and caused me such trouble...” Fujigaya was raging.
“What does it means you are getting there? I’m sure those Krivs are not so easily tamable. Especially since they can control human minds,” Yokoo pointed out. “In fact, I think they might be controlling you.”
“This is silly. Impossible. It can’t be.” Kento shook his head, smiling like he heard something funny.
“Then why did you follow us all the way here just to retrieve a small sample of leaves?” Senga asked.
“Because of course we want no one to know about this. They might steal our idea.” Fuuma said.
“Yeah, sure. Great idea creating a colony of dangerous things that don’t even do what you ask them to do,” Yokoo said, crossing his arms on his chest.
“They are not controlling us-” Kento’s face was suddenly grimacing in pain. He wriggled in the chair. “GET THEM OFF ME, GET THEM OFF ME!”
Kitayama stopped him, trying to calm him down as So searched for the cause of the pain. He found the jar with the sample in a pocket of Kento’s coat. The lid was open and the spongy leaves were sticking on Kento’s skin after they eroded his shirt like they were made of acid.
“What the hell is that?!”
Several people displayed shocked looks on their faces.
“They never acted like this!” Fuuma said.
Fujigaya took the wrench from Marius, and waved it in his hands. “This might hurt a bit, but I guess it’s nothing compared to them.”
He raised a hand to his head. A sudden pain invaded him. “I can feel your wave, thingy. Do you want to play? Well, you have to do more than this otherwise it’s no fun.”
Fujigaya raised the wrench and hit the blue sponge away from Kento’s chest, sending it on the floor. Suddenly everyone felt a throb of pain in their heads. It was like something heavy had been dropped on them, and was squashing their minds. Yokoo was the closest to the sponge, so he quickly stepped on it with his boot.
Instant relief soothed everyone’s expressions. Kento looked shocked and everyone in the room was breathing heavily.
“What was that?”
“This means you never mess with creatures you don’t know.” Yokoo said, while he and Kitayama kneeled on the floor to take a closer look at the squashed sponge.
“Is it dead?” Nikaido asked, he was clinging onto Senga’s shoulder, his face was a mix of pain and disgust.
“I think so,” Kitayama said.
“Quick! If you have other Krivs here take them out. We need to kill them!” Fuuma shouted.
“We don’t have others,” Fujigaya said, “apart from the fact that there is a planet full of them.”
“Fuuma, I think they were controlling us,” Kento said, looking gloomy. “I don’t feel the need to protect them anymore.”
“They were controlling us since the very first time we found them on their planet,” Kento continued. “I think they suggested us the idea of taking them somewhere else. Maybe because their planet was dying, or maybe they wanted to spread in the entire universe.”
“We need to report that that planet is dangerous to the authorities. No one should ever set foot there.” Kitayama said.
Fuuma and Kento agreed looking repented.
“We are really sorry to have caused you troubles.”
Right at that moment Takizawa entered the room and looked at everyone. He clearly had no idea of what was going on in there and a puzzled smile formed on his face.
“Since when we tie up guests to the chairs?”
--
CHAPTER 9
Fujigaya was looking at the cloudy early morning sky, sitting on a white horse on the carrousel. Blaming the Krivs for his memory loss was too easy, but that didn’t help him recovering his memories anyway. He didn’t know where to start looking for it. He didn’t even know if it was worth the effort. Going back to the unnamed planet was out of question. After all, the Krivs weren’t creatures you could easily ask for help. They didn’t even know if the Krivs were actually responsible for his amnesia. Fujigaya was still immersed in his thoughts as he heard someone climbing onto the carrousel. He turned only when he felt the presence very close to him. Yokoo was there, his lips bent in what it looked like a smile, but it wasn’t fully formed yet and hung bitterly to his sympathetic expression.
“Takizawa is looking for you. He said it’s all okay with your documents.”
“Ah...” Fujigaya slid down the horse and started to move in the direction of the spaceship.
“Taisuke!” Yokoo called him, and Fujigaya turned again to the carrousel.
“I just wanted to say... I’m sorry we couldn’t find a way to have your memories back even though we probably know the cause now.”
“It’s not your fault. It’s no one’s fault. It’s not even those two stupids’ fault.”
Yokoo smiled at the spiteful way Fujigaya said that last bit.
“I guess, I will just have to wait and see if I recover.”
“You could see other doctors. On the next planet we are going to, they have very advanced hospitals. They might help you.”
“It’s okay. I don’t even know if it’s worth to have my memories back.”
“Why do you say that?”
“I don’t know. Of course I don’t. It’s just a feeling and the fear that what I remember wouldn’t be good. But I’m alive, right? And I’m still me even if I don’t know who I am.”
“Right, you said that last time too.” Yokoo looked confused but he resorted to smile, “well, you can stay with us as long as you like.”
“Thanks Wataru.”
--
Takizawa’s room was the most luxurious room in the spaceship. It was located on the back of it, just above the Bubble. It was draped in heavy golden curtains and furnished with refined and elaborate pieces of furniture. The carpet was soft and of a darker golden colour that matched the curtains. There was a large window from which Fujigaya could look at the plain they had landed on. The plain was actually just a big green area in the middle of Kyranth. The skyscrapers of the city were still visible at its edges and the rumbling of hovering cars could still be heard.
Takizawa was sprawled on his baroque style chair with tiger patterned upholstery.
“There you are! Look. These are your papers.” Takizawa grabbed a bunch of papers from the table, revealing the baroque inlaid on its surface.
“I hope you like your new official name.”
“T.Fxxx?” Fujigaya raised an eyebrow, but his face relaxed the next second. “I love it,” he smiled.
“Should we start calling you like that then?” Takizawa teased.
“Mm, no it’s okay to just use it as a stage name,” Fujigaya answered, smiling and destroying any further attempt of teasing him by showing he actually liked that name.
“So, when will your skating act will be ready, do you think?”
“Pretty soon. The others can skate well now and we just need to think about a choreography.”
“Good, let me know if there’s anything I can help you with.”
Fujigaya nodded and was about to leave when Takizawa stopped him again.
“Ah Fujigaya. You know, you don’t have to stay if you don’t want to.”
“But I want too.”
“That’s good,” Takizawa smiled. “We’ll help you with your memory. In Jipkian there are very good doctors..”
“I know. Wataru was telling me about it.”
“Wataru? Mm that guy. I guess he opened up with you.”
“Pardon?”
“You already call him by his first name.”
“I suppose we are getting along.”
“I’m glad to hear that. I know you are getting along with the others too.”
“We had some problems at the beginning, but now it’s all fine. I actually really like it here, and I’m grateful you let me stay.”
“I’m quite happy you wanted to stay,” Takizawa smiled briefly, then he turned to face the window. “It seems like I’m not able to abandon someone who lost his memory, even if it hurts when they leave...” Takizawa’s expression became a mix of pain and seriousness.
“I-I won’t leave. I’m really serious about the show!” Fujigaya replied, even though it looked like Takizawa had just muttered to himself.
“What? Oh, sure. Don’t mind me. I didn’t intend to say... I wasn’t talking about you.”
“Takizawa-san...” Fujigaya wanted to ask more, but Takizawa was back to his usual smile and didn’t look like he wanted to discuss the argument further.
“I’m really glad you’re serious about the show. We really need something new from time to time. Otherwise the show gets boring. By the way, what do you think we should do with those two scoundrels?”
“Eh? You mean, Kento and Fuuma?” Fujigaya asked, surprised that Takizawa was actually asking him for an opinion.
“If we leave them here, they will end up thinking about some other brilliant plan to get in trouble. They are underage and unregistered. They’ll end up working for some criminal organization, I’m sure. Way to ruin their lives.”
“Are you putting this responsibility on me by any chance? It’s your circus, not mine.”
“But you are the one that might hate them for what they did with those Krivs.”
“I don’t hate them,” Fujigaya looked off to his side. “It’s not their fault. I just wanted someone to blame, I guess.”
Takizawa smiled and went to pat on Fujigaya’s shoulders. “Brilliant! Because I can arrange documents for them as well, and we could bring them with us. They can be of help, maybe. I’m sure we’ll find them something to do.”
Fujigaya sighed and then smiled. Maybe Takizawa had reacted that way when they decided to keep him too. Maybe the “to stay you have to work hard” was just an act and he only wanted to gather more people around him. Act or not, Fujigaya decided that he was the person he was working hard for. Him and his future audience.
“Ah Fujigaya, they might need to stay in your room as it’s the only one free. You can share another room with someone else. And Kawai is complaining that it’s not fair that the person who arrived last gets a private room.”
Fujigaya narrowed his eyes at the thought, but it was too late to disagree. Not too late to blame it on Kawai though.
--
After the circus left Xylos, they landed on Jipkian, but despite the very advanced medical techniques, the doctors couldn’t tell much more about Fujigaya’s memory. Fujigaya was told that it was a matter of time, and that it will most likely come back at some point.
Strangely, he didn’t care much about it, maybe he never cared. Maybe survival instinct was more important; maybe what he had found in the world where he had been born anew, was completely taking over all his thoughts.
The next planet on the circus route was Falikegh, and it was the place where they could finally bring the roller skate act on stage.
Fujigaya was thrilled. He spent a lot of time thinking about the performance and all the details even though Yokoo complained that he and Senga spent more time thinking about the outfits and makeup than anything else.
“We are in a circus, aesthetic is as important as the show itself, we are meant to amaze the audience,” Fujigaya would reply to Yokoo’s complaints, eyes glimmering and a broad smile.
“Yes, yes, I’ve been in a circus for ages, I know. Kitayama, can you check the brakes of my skates a minute?” Yokoo would dismiss the topic, and would run off not to be dragged by Fujigaya in another outfits testing session. Or worse, hairstyle testing session.
“I’m thinking that I should have coloured highlights in my hair, to match the costume. Why don’t you get the same, Wataru?” Fujigaya would ask, casually. Yokoo would roll his eyes, pretend to be annoyed and then let Fujigaya do what he wanted with his hair.
The day of the actual performance, Fujigaya was so nervous he was almost sweating away the glitters on his face. But he was certain he could do his best. Kitayama was trying to encourage everyone displaying a carefree attitude. They were all a bit nervous, since it was a first for all of them. Tamamori looked very nervous too, but when he got up to enter the ring after the acrobats act, he had a determined expression on his face.
From the ring, everything was shiny. The audience was there, surrounding them with their colours, their voices, their eyes already immersed in the wonders of the show, yet full of expectations for what was coming next. The Bubble was completely different from usual, and different from the times Fujigaya was watching the show from the audience’s perspective too. The ring during the show became some sort of magical place where all was possible. All the dreams could come true, all the wondrous things could happen. Fujigaya bathed himself in the light of the audience’s smiling faces. It was an overwhelming feeling, plunging so full and deep into his soul that it could touch the strings that triggered tears of delight and emotion. He looked around himself and saw six smiles. Six smiles of people who were feeling just like him. Six smiles he had started to trust and rely on. To his right Kitayama was waiting for him to give him a signal and start the act. Fujigaya nodded with determination and as Kitayama moved, they all started skating. Sparkles from the skates grinding on the ramp surrounded them and the roar of applause fell on them like the most beautiful storm ever.
--
Fujigaya was sitting outside the spaceship, on his favourite spot on the carrousel. The night sky flickered of thousands of stars and planets and the atmosphere of Falikegh was warm and smelled of sandalwood. A lonely cicada was humming its monotonous song, filling the air with notes of nostalgic seasons Fujigaya didn’t quite remember he lived, but they were still there and his senses remembered them.
Fujigaya’s eyes could still see the dreamy lights of the show. His skin was still shivering from the adrenaline rush under it, still in his blood, and it was still tingling because of the air that had touched it when he was twirling and jumping on the ramps, running around synchronizing with the others.
Their show had been quite simple compared to what they wanted it to become. But Takizawa had said to start slowly and get used to the skating. The audience loved the show. Fujigaya felt proud of himself and proud of the people he had worked hard with, but he left Kitayama do the speech.
Kitayama said the show was a success and they all did their best. He thanked Fujigaya and Yokoo for teaching them, he talked about everyone’s enthusiasm of putting the act together. He complimented Tamamori a lot, because, despite his initial hesitation, he managed to shine in the ring. Fujigaya nodded in silence, agreeing with every word. He felt proud of these people and how they had managed to all work together for the show.
“Why do you like this place so much?” Yokoo’s voice woke him up from his dream, and he saw the other in front of him, standing on the grass. He was holding a small hamper and a big bottle of what looked like a deep red liquid.
“I’ve got some nice food here with me, I already shared with the others, but I kept the wine for myself,” Yokoo said raising the bottle. “Picnic?”
“Isn’t the wine for you?” Fujigaya asked, trying not to show how happy he was that Yokoo had decided to share with him.
“Just come and sit here on the grass, come on.”
Fujigaya jumped down and sat on the grass where Yokoo had plopped on already. The grass of the planet was as soft as a blanket, even though it looked pretty much like the old Earth’s grass.
Fujigaya opened the hamper and looked at the food inside. He couldn’t name half of the things in it, but they were all arranged in a lovely way.
“Are you sure this stuff is edible?”
“What?! Of course it is! These are delicacies of this planet. I always eat them whenever we come here,” Yokoo said, passing a weird purple jelly to Fujigaya.
“You try first.” Fujigaya said, wrinkling his nose at the sight of the supposed delicacy.
Yokoo stuffed his mouth with it and smiled happy. “Thif if fo goof!”
“Wataru, you are already barely understandable normally. Please eat your food before talking,” Fujigaya giggled.
“Mean! You are mean,” Yokoo said, pouting.
“I’m joking, I’m joking,” Fujigaya said, using the tip of his tissue to clean the side of Yokoo’s mouth where some of the food was stuck.
“Look at them, Nika!” Senga and Nikaido had stealthily reached them on the lawn. “They look like an happily married couple.”
“Ew, you’re so gross,” was Nikaido’s comment.
Fujigaya and Yokoo didn’t move and just stared at them. That had become an usual tease on board, and every time Fujigaya or Yokoo denied, it just triggered new jokes.
“I like Wataru, okay?”
“I like Taisuke too.”
“Woooah don’t tell me things moved on between you two,” Senga shouted.
“Senga... shut up,” Fujigaya threw his dirty napkin in Senga’s direction only to hit Nikaido with it.
“Hey! What was that?” Nikaido said, obviously not happy about it.
“By the way, Yokoo-san! What is that bottle? You know it’s not nice not to share with everyone?” Senga pointed at the wine with a greedy expression on his face.
“Okay okay, you can have some,” Yokoo was about to pass him his glass after he filled it with wine, but Nikaido snatched the bottle from his hand.
“Okay, we are taking it inside. I want to see Kitayama drunk,” Nikaido said.
“Nika! What are you doing? Fill Fujigaya’s glass too,” Senga scolded him. “Sorry for interrupting your picnic guys, feel free to continue.”
Fujigaya and Yokoo looked at each other and sighed.
“It’s fine, we are coming inside too,” Yokoo said.
“Let’s all drink together,” Fujigaya said, “I also saw a lot of beer cans in a corner of the canteen. I think you’ll have no problem getting Kitayama drunk.” He said, going to throw his arm around Nikaido’s shoulders.
They walked back inside the spaceship, laughing and chatting, and went to join the others for an improvised party.
--
CHAPTER 8
Fujigaya was walking among the streets of Kyranth, the capital city of Xylos. Kyranth was a gloomy city, where the rain constantly poured on the streets making the concrete shine and become a mirror that reflected the many artificial lights that were tearing apart the darkness in the streets. Fujigaya arrived in front of the cafe where he left Kitayama and Kawai about forty minutes before and walked in. A sudden gust of warm air embraced him, warming him up together with the jazz music playing in the background.
“Where is Kawai?” Fujigaya asked, taking off his coat - the sleeves were slightly long because it was actually Tamamori’s coat - and sitting right in front of Kitayama. Kitayama seemed to wake up from his torpor; he blinked a couple of times and tried to drink from his cup before realizing it was empty.
“Oh, he said he had something to do around town. Do you want something to drink?”
Kitayama called the waitress for a refill and to take Fujigaya’s order.
“Hot chocolate?!” Kitayama asked, raising an eyebrow at the other’s girlish tastes. “Anyway how did it go?”
“The doctor said that my brain doesn’t show any damage. Probably the cause of my amnesia is psychological.”
“Did he analyze the leaves?”
“He’s keeping them and he told me to come back tomorrow for the results.”
“Okay. Should we go back to the spaceship then?”
“But I’ve just ordered my hot chocolate.”
“Should we hang out then?”
“No, we shouldn’t. You can go.”
Kitayama got up and put his coat on with a sort of not convinced pout on his face.
“See you later then.”
Fujigaya waved his hand as he walked away. He stared outside the window, but he only saw his own reflection on the surface of the glass. His hot chocolate arrived and he started sipping it from the steamy mug. He thought that he should go and buy some clothes because he had just been borrowing other people’s stuff since he arrived. And even if he lost his memory, he was convinced that none of them didn’t have his same taste for fashion. He thought about what the doctor said, but he was mostly upset because he couldn’t find an answer to his problem. For some reason, his memory had become unimportant compared to other things. He wasn’t sure why he felt that way, he couldn’t help but to think this whole memory thing was an hindrance to his current life.
That evening he watched the show seated among the audience. There was still no roller skating act, but he knew that with a bit of effort, they’d have something ready before they hit the next planet.
The show was as amazing as it had already proven to be during the rehearsals. Takizawa led the show, introducing act after act, making the audience feel like they were in a new world. A world where everything was shiny and majestic.
His workmate looked different with their flashy costumes and makeup, and they all seemed to sparkle in the golden aura of the ring. Fujigaya blamed the sequins and glitter at first, but then he was sure there was something else that made them look so brilliant. He had never realized they were so beautiful, so brave, so entertaining and he wondered if he could look the same way during his act.
Their show was definitely not the average circus show. The music that echoed in the bubble, was not the usual circus music, instead catchy tunes resounded in the air with the occasional dance beat or rock guitar, depending on what was going on on stage. It was the most entertaining show he had ever seen and judging by the ecstatic faces around him in the audience, he wasn’t the only one feeling that way.
Nikaido, Senga and Kitayama were flying on the trapeze. At times, they looked like butterflies, and other times like wingless eagles. Yokoo led the beasts around with confidence. His serious expression sometimes broke for a smile addressed to the audience. Kawai and Hasshi jumped around, lots of improvisation in their skits, to entertain the audience during the time between an act and another. Tsukada’s impressive body movements kept the audience attention. He looked so happy and proud to be there. Goseki made everybody’s heart skip a bit when he pretended he missed a step on the rope and that he was about to fall, but instead he just rolled around it and regained the balance. Everyone looked anxious when Miyata was trying to hit with his knife the rose that Tamamori was holding close, a bit too close, to his beautiful face. Then there were Nikaido and Senga in the cage with their motorbikes, roaring and spiralling around a serene Tamamori. Everyone was also surprised by Totsuka’s tricks, as he kept on making things appear and disappear randomly, but at the same time, with a sort of logic that wasn’t clear at the beginning.
Fujigaya wanted to be part of it. He felt it was more important than having his memories back. He didn’t remember the person he was before, he didn’t know where he came from and what kind of life he led before. He just knew what he wanted now. Besides, every time he tried to force his mind to remember, an unpleasant sensation rushed over him. It was like his own blood didn’t want to remember. If Tamamori’s words were true, maybe it would have been better not to know about his previous life.
That night, as he was about to go to sleep, he heard someone clearing his throat in front of his tent. He went to open the curtain and saw Yokoo standing there with a mild smile curving his lips.
“I heard that the doctor didn’t help much.”
Fujigaya let him inside and indicated the chair with his hand, but Yokoo didn’t seat.
“I just wanted to know how it’s going,” Yokoo said. “And not because I want you to remember your past and go away,” he added hurriedly.
Fujigaya couldn’t help but feeling the urge of laughing at this clarification, but he tried his best to suppress it.
“I’m sorry, I might not be very good with human relationships,” Yokoo said, his look dropping to his feet, while he twisted his fingers awkwardly. “I really want our roller skating act to exist.”
Fujigaya stared at the other’s face, surprised by the sudden confession, because it felt like something coming from his own soul.
“Me too.”
Yokoo raised his head so suddenly that his hair flicked his cheeks.
“Ah, okay then. Good to know that you are taking this seriously. Not that I thought you weren’t but... maybe with your amnesia, you must have other things in mind.”
“I wouldn’t have said to Takizawa that I wanted to be part of the show if it weren’t true,” Fujigaya replied, shaking his head. “I really have nothing else in mind... literally.”
Yokoo looked a bit embarrassed. It was obvious that he was trying to sympathise with him, pretty much like all the others did. But none of them really knew what his real feelings were.
“I don’t think you have lost your memories before. It really feels unimportant now to find out who I was. Simply because I don’t remember. I don’t particularly want to remember because I know myself now, but the person I was before it’s a complete stranger to me.” Fujigaya explained to an appalled Yokoo.
“You don’t... care?”
“I know it sounds awful, but really; I don’t want to spend too much time thinking about the things I can’t remember. And even if I found out who I was, it would probably be awkward trying to be the old me.”
“I see.”
“I’d rather wait for the memories to come back by themselves. And if they don’t, I don’t have to worry about having two different people inside myself.”
Fujigaya felt like a weight had been lifted from his chest. He didn’t imagine that talking to someone about his feelings would have been so soothing. Yokoo’s smile turned out to be the most reassuring he had seen in a while.
“I guess you don’t want to go back to Skellar15 then,” Yokoo said. “Well, this place is comfortable enough. It’s not a proper home but...”
Fujigaya smiled. “It is starting to feel like home for me, really.”
“I also wanted to say that,” Yokoo paused to gather the words, he looked like he wanted to say the next thing without messing up as he often did when he talked, “I really appreciate your help.”
Fujigaya’s lips curled in a smile and his teeth glowed in the dim light of the room.
“Well, goodnight then!” Yokoo walked towards the curtain and raised the hem with the back of his hand.
“Yok- Wataru!”
Yokoo froze and Fujigaya wondered if using his first name wasn’t a bit too much. Not many people in the circus called him by his first name. That’s just how it was, he was Yokoo-san, because everyone respected him or feared him, even though they were close friends. But Fujigaya didn’t desist, and said his name with a sweet tone once again.
“Wataru, thank you.”
Yokoo turned back his head so that Fujigaya could see his smiling profile.
“Good night, Taisuke.”
--
The next day Fujigaya went with Kitayama to the doctor’s laboratory to get the results of the analysis on the leaves.
Kitayama didn’t stop talking about the show after Fujigaya complimented it. Of course Fujigaya meant to compliment all the show, but Kitayama took the nice words for himself starting to boast about how great was the part in which he managed to stop the daliesh he was riding even though Yokoo couldn’t, and how the act wasn’t spoiled even if, yes, he seriously was about to fall off it. Fujigaya rolled his eyes and wondered if Yokoo didn’t stop the daliesh on purpose. He actually saw a devilish smile on his lips when he pushed the butt knot of his whip on the daliesh’s side ‘by accident’. He could have easily let the funny part pass as intentional. Kitayama annoyed the hell out of him with all his gibberish most of the times, but this was actually quite fun, and Fujigaya didn’t want to spoil it by telling him what he knew. He thought that, even if Kitayama was annoying sometimes, he was actually a good person and he recognized his charisma as a performer and the ability to pull the others together and encourage his friends.
As they reached the doctor’s laboratory, they realized something wasn’t quite right. The door was open and when they entered the room, papers were scattered everywhere, equipments were on the floor, surrounded by broken vials and bottles. Kitayama and Fujigaya looked at each other shocked and started to look for the doctor.
They found him on the floor, unconscious, and they kneeled next to him; Kitayama held his shoulders and pulled him up on his lap, trying to wake him up. He came back to reality and clutched Kitayama’s shirt with his hand.
“You must stop them!” the doctor said, his eyes displaying shock and fear.
“Stop who? What happened?!” Kitayama urged him to talk.
“Those things... those leaves, are not leaves anymore!”
“What do you mean?” Fujigaya asked, looking puzzled.
“Some life form has changed their DNA entering the cells and it’s controlling them. Might be some sort of virus, I am not sure I’ve ever seen something like that before. But now they are dangerous. They have the power to send waves to the human mind.”
“Is that what happened to Fujigaya? He lost his memories because of that?”
“I’m not sure, maybe they can’t erase the memory, they just attack humans and weaken them when they feel threatened. It’s sort of an electrical shock, but it hits the part of your brain that reacts to pain. You must stop them.”
“Where are the leaves now?”
“They took them away.”
“Who?”
“Two thieves. They ran away with them, you must stop them!”
Fujigaya and Kitayama looked at each other and Fujigaya ran to the videophone to call the nurse at the reception for help.
“Relax, we’ll look for them okay?”
The doctor called the police, but Fujigaya didn’t want to talk with them, in case they found out he didn’t have the permission to land yet. Luckily, Takizawa was about to sort out the problem. They had checked the published list of missing people of many planets when they were on the ship, but there was no sign of Fujigaya’s name. They kept on checking, in case his name or face would show up, but it didn’t so far. That’s why Takizawa decided he would register him with a different name and get him a space passport with the help of some connections he had. Fujigaya didn’t want to know which kind of dubious connections those were, to find the way of giving someone a space passport illegally, and the others seemed to willingly ignore a lot about Takizawa’s obscure friends too.
Kitayama and Fujigaya ran back to the spaceship. Fujigaya couldn’t believe that those leaves had already caused so much trouble. Next time he saw those things again they’d better make sure to send tons of waves to his nervous system to protect themselves, because his intention wasn’t to threaten them only.
When they reached the spaceship, they found everyone in the canteen room. A stranger was tied to a chair in the middle of the crowd.
“Ah Kitayama, Fujigaya!” Kawai shouted as they entered shouting “They stole the leaves!”
For a second they looked at each other deciding who had to talk first, and Fujigaya noticed the boy tied to the chair.
“Who is he?”
“Senga found him as he was searching for something in your room,” Kawai explained.
“He wasn’t searching, he wanted to steal stuff,” Nikaido added, narrowing his eyes on the boy.
“He’s a thief!” Shori added, smiling excited. Not that there was anything funny about it.
“I didn’t want steal anything! He is the thief! All of you are!” the boy yelled.
“What are you talking about? We didn’t steal anything.”
“Yes you did! You came to our planet and stole the stuff we were working on!” the boy exclaimed as he tried to wriggle among the ropes.
“What are you talking about? What planet?” Yooko asked, coming forward.
“Wait a minute. Are you the one who stole the leaves from the laboratory?” Fujigaya asked.
“You stole the leaves from us! We want them back.”
“What’s the meaning of all of this? The leaves?!” Kawai asked.
“Someone knocked the doctor and stole the leaves samples we brought there to analyze,” Kitayama explained. “Probably this guy or some of his friends.”
“What are those leaves?” Fujigaya went closer to the boy and shook his shoulders. “Answer me.”
“No I won’t. It’s none of your business.”
“Answer me before I strangle you.”
“Fujigaya lost his memory,” Kitayama stepped between them and placed an arm in front of Fujigaya to stop him torturing the boy. “He’s a bit nervous about it. We think it might be the leaves’ fault.”
“I don’t think so? They don’t work like that.”
“What are they then?”
“I said I can’t answer, Fuuma will kill me if I do. This is super top secret information.”
“Fuuma?” Fujigaya repeated.
“Oops,” the boy grinned embarrassed. “Anyway, give back all the sample you have. That is our stuff, okay?”
“So he’s not alone. Where is this Fuuma?” Kitayama said.
“I’m right here.”
Someone was standing by the door, a gun pointed in the room.
“Don’t move,” he said as he grabbed So, the smallest person closer to him, and pointed the gun at his head. “Or I’ll shoot him.”
“Hey, put me down!” So wriggled, but Fuuma just tightened his grip.
Everyone stood still, but after a few seconds, the boy was knocked unconscious to the floor by Marius, who had just arrived behind him, and was holding a big wrench in his hands.
“Did I miss something?”
--
“What the hell were you two thinking?!” Fujigaya shouted at the two boys, now tied together back to back.
After the boy called Fuuma woke up, they questioned them and found out their names were Kikuchi Fuuma and Nakajima Kento and that they had followed them with their light spaceship to Xylos to retrieve the leaves samples. Marius recalled having seen a spaceship in the radar when leaving the unnamed planet. He also remembered how they tried to communicate with them, asking their status. Marius and the other pilots said they were sorry for not realizing that someone was following them.
Apparently Fuuma and Kento found those microorganisms on a planet they didn’t want to name, and thought of using them to their advantage.
They even named them Krivs and brought them to the unnamed planet to colonize the living things, which is how the Krivs generally acted. They couldn’t take possession of all the living things, but it generally worked with plants.
Apparently they were studying a way to use their power of controlling the human mind and make money selling them to criminal organizations.
“The hell, this is such a stupid plan,” Yokoo said, going to stop Fujigaya before he could punch them both.
“It’s not stupid. We are going to make a lot of money, then we’ll buy a tropical planet of our own and live there, happy ever after,” the boy called Kento said, his eyes sparkling and smiling at the thought. Fuuma sighed and shook his head.
“I’m not going to live with you on the same planet!”
Kento turned his head the other way, and pretended he didn’t hear.
“So are you really able to control the Krivs?” Yokoo asked, pretending he didn’t hear them both.
“We... are getting there,” Fuuma answered, suddenly looking less cocky.
“I just can’t believe how stupid you are. You infected a whole planet with those things and caused me such trouble...” Fujigaya was raging.
“What does it means you are getting there? I’m sure those Krivs are not so easily tamable. Especially since they can control human minds,” Yokoo pointed out. “In fact, I think they might be controlling you.”
“This is silly. Impossible. It can’t be.” Kento shook his head, smiling like he heard something funny.
“Then why did you follow us all the way here just to retrieve a small sample of leaves?” Senga asked.
“Because of course we want no one to know about this. They might steal our idea.” Fuuma said.
“Yeah, sure. Great idea creating a colony of dangerous things that don’t even do what you ask them to do,” Yokoo said, crossing his arms on his chest.
“They are not controlling us-” Kento’s face was suddenly grimacing in pain. He wriggled in the chair. “GET THEM OFF ME, GET THEM OFF ME!”
Kitayama stopped him, trying to calm him down as So searched for the cause of the pain. He found the jar with the sample in a pocket of Kento’s coat. The lid was open and the spongy leaves were sticking on Kento’s skin after they eroded his shirt like they were made of acid.
“What the hell is that?!”
Several people displayed shocked looks on their faces.
“They never acted like this!” Fuuma said.
Fujigaya took the wrench from Marius, and waved it in his hands. “This might hurt a bit, but I guess it’s nothing compared to them.”
He raised a hand to his head. A sudden pain invaded him. “I can feel your wave, thingy. Do you want to play? Well, you have to do more than this otherwise it’s no fun.”
Fujigaya raised the wrench and hit the blue sponge away from Kento’s chest, sending it on the floor. Suddenly everyone felt a throb of pain in their heads. It was like something heavy had been dropped on them, and was squashing their minds. Yokoo was the closest to the sponge, so he quickly stepped on it with his boot.
Instant relief soothed everyone’s expressions. Kento looked shocked and everyone in the room was breathing heavily.
“What was that?”
“This means you never mess with creatures you don’t know.” Yokoo said, while he and Kitayama kneeled on the floor to take a closer look at the squashed sponge.
“Is it dead?” Nikaido asked, he was clinging onto Senga’s shoulder, his face was a mix of pain and disgust.
“I think so,” Kitayama said.
“Quick! If you have other Krivs here take them out. We need to kill them!” Fuuma shouted.
“We don’t have others,” Fujigaya said, “apart from the fact that there is a planet full of them.”
“Fuuma, I think they were controlling us,” Kento said, looking gloomy. “I don’t feel the need to protect them anymore.”
“They were controlling us since the very first time we found them on their planet,” Kento continued. “I think they suggested us the idea of taking them somewhere else. Maybe because their planet was dying, or maybe they wanted to spread in the entire universe.”
“We need to report that that planet is dangerous to the authorities. No one should ever set foot there.” Kitayama said.
Fuuma and Kento agreed looking repented.
“We are really sorry to have caused you troubles.”
Right at that moment Takizawa entered the room and looked at everyone. He clearly had no idea of what was going on in there and a puzzled smile formed on his face.
“Since when we tie up guests to the chairs?”
--
CHAPTER 9
Fujigaya was looking at the cloudy early morning sky, sitting on a white horse on the carrousel. Blaming the Krivs for his memory loss was too easy, but that didn’t help him recovering his memories anyway. He didn’t know where to start looking for it. He didn’t even know if it was worth the effort. Going back to the unnamed planet was out of question. After all, the Krivs weren’t creatures you could easily ask for help. They didn’t even know if the Krivs were actually responsible for his amnesia. Fujigaya was still immersed in his thoughts as he heard someone climbing onto the carrousel. He turned only when he felt the presence very close to him. Yokoo was there, his lips bent in what it looked like a smile, but it wasn’t fully formed yet and hung bitterly to his sympathetic expression.
“Takizawa is looking for you. He said it’s all okay with your documents.”
“Ah...” Fujigaya slid down the horse and started to move in the direction of the spaceship.
“Taisuke!” Yokoo called him, and Fujigaya turned again to the carrousel.
“I just wanted to say... I’m sorry we couldn’t find a way to have your memories back even though we probably know the cause now.”
“It’s not your fault. It’s no one’s fault. It’s not even those two stupids’ fault.”
Yokoo smiled at the spiteful way Fujigaya said that last bit.
“I guess, I will just have to wait and see if I recover.”
“You could see other doctors. On the next planet we are going to, they have very advanced hospitals. They might help you.”
“It’s okay. I don’t even know if it’s worth to have my memories back.”
“Why do you say that?”
“I don’t know. Of course I don’t. It’s just a feeling and the fear that what I remember wouldn’t be good. But I’m alive, right? And I’m still me even if I don’t know who I am.”
“Right, you said that last time too.” Yokoo looked confused but he resorted to smile, “well, you can stay with us as long as you like.”
“Thanks Wataru.”
--
Takizawa’s room was the most luxurious room in the spaceship. It was located on the back of it, just above the Bubble. It was draped in heavy golden curtains and furnished with refined and elaborate pieces of furniture. The carpet was soft and of a darker golden colour that matched the curtains. There was a large window from which Fujigaya could look at the plain they had landed on. The plain was actually just a big green area in the middle of Kyranth. The skyscrapers of the city were still visible at its edges and the rumbling of hovering cars could still be heard.
Takizawa was sprawled on his baroque style chair with tiger patterned upholstery.
“There you are! Look. These are your papers.” Takizawa grabbed a bunch of papers from the table, revealing the baroque inlaid on its surface.
“I hope you like your new official name.”
“T.Fxxx?” Fujigaya raised an eyebrow, but his face relaxed the next second. “I love it,” he smiled.
“Should we start calling you like that then?” Takizawa teased.
“Mm, no it’s okay to just use it as a stage name,” Fujigaya answered, smiling and destroying any further attempt of teasing him by showing he actually liked that name.
“So, when will your skating act will be ready, do you think?”
“Pretty soon. The others can skate well now and we just need to think about a choreography.”
“Good, let me know if there’s anything I can help you with.”
Fujigaya nodded and was about to leave when Takizawa stopped him again.
“Ah Fujigaya. You know, you don’t have to stay if you don’t want to.”
“But I want too.”
“That’s good,” Takizawa smiled. “We’ll help you with your memory. In Jipkian there are very good doctors..”
“I know. Wataru was telling me about it.”
“Wataru? Mm that guy. I guess he opened up with you.”
“Pardon?”
“You already call him by his first name.”
“I suppose we are getting along.”
“I’m glad to hear that. I know you are getting along with the others too.”
“We had some problems at the beginning, but now it’s all fine. I actually really like it here, and I’m grateful you let me stay.”
“I’m quite happy you wanted to stay,” Takizawa smiled briefly, then he turned to face the window. “It seems like I’m not able to abandon someone who lost his memory, even if it hurts when they leave...” Takizawa’s expression became a mix of pain and seriousness.
“I-I won’t leave. I’m really serious about the show!” Fujigaya replied, even though it looked like Takizawa had just muttered to himself.
“What? Oh, sure. Don’t mind me. I didn’t intend to say... I wasn’t talking about you.”
“Takizawa-san...” Fujigaya wanted to ask more, but Takizawa was back to his usual smile and didn’t look like he wanted to discuss the argument further.
“I’m really glad you’re serious about the show. We really need something new from time to time. Otherwise the show gets boring. By the way, what do you think we should do with those two scoundrels?”
“Eh? You mean, Kento and Fuuma?” Fujigaya asked, surprised that Takizawa was actually asking him for an opinion.
“If we leave them here, they will end up thinking about some other brilliant plan to get in trouble. They are underage and unregistered. They’ll end up working for some criminal organization, I’m sure. Way to ruin their lives.”
“Are you putting this responsibility on me by any chance? It’s your circus, not mine.”
“But you are the one that might hate them for what they did with those Krivs.”
“I don’t hate them,” Fujigaya looked off to his side. “It’s not their fault. I just wanted someone to blame, I guess.”
Takizawa smiled and went to pat on Fujigaya’s shoulders. “Brilliant! Because I can arrange documents for them as well, and we could bring them with us. They can be of help, maybe. I’m sure we’ll find them something to do.”
Fujigaya sighed and then smiled. Maybe Takizawa had reacted that way when they decided to keep him too. Maybe the “to stay you have to work hard” was just an act and he only wanted to gather more people around him. Act or not, Fujigaya decided that he was the person he was working hard for. Him and his future audience.
“Ah Fujigaya, they might need to stay in your room as it’s the only one free. You can share another room with someone else. And Kawai is complaining that it’s not fair that the person who arrived last gets a private room.”
Fujigaya narrowed his eyes at the thought, but it was too late to disagree. Not too late to blame it on Kawai though.
--
After the circus left Xylos, they landed on Jipkian, but despite the very advanced medical techniques, the doctors couldn’t tell much more about Fujigaya’s memory. Fujigaya was told that it was a matter of time, and that it will most likely come back at some point.
Strangely, he didn’t care much about it, maybe he never cared. Maybe survival instinct was more important; maybe what he had found in the world where he had been born anew, was completely taking over all his thoughts.
The next planet on the circus route was Falikegh, and it was the place where they could finally bring the roller skate act on stage.
Fujigaya was thrilled. He spent a lot of time thinking about the performance and all the details even though Yokoo complained that he and Senga spent more time thinking about the outfits and makeup than anything else.
“We are in a circus, aesthetic is as important as the show itself, we are meant to amaze the audience,” Fujigaya would reply to Yokoo’s complaints, eyes glimmering and a broad smile.
“Yes, yes, I’ve been in a circus for ages, I know. Kitayama, can you check the brakes of my skates a minute?” Yokoo would dismiss the topic, and would run off not to be dragged by Fujigaya in another outfits testing session. Or worse, hairstyle testing session.
“I’m thinking that I should have coloured highlights in my hair, to match the costume. Why don’t you get the same, Wataru?” Fujigaya would ask, casually. Yokoo would roll his eyes, pretend to be annoyed and then let Fujigaya do what he wanted with his hair.
The day of the actual performance, Fujigaya was so nervous he was almost sweating away the glitters on his face. But he was certain he could do his best. Kitayama was trying to encourage everyone displaying a carefree attitude. They were all a bit nervous, since it was a first for all of them. Tamamori looked very nervous too, but when he got up to enter the ring after the acrobats act, he had a determined expression on his face.
From the ring, everything was shiny. The audience was there, surrounding them with their colours, their voices, their eyes already immersed in the wonders of the show, yet full of expectations for what was coming next. The Bubble was completely different from usual, and different from the times Fujigaya was watching the show from the audience’s perspective too. The ring during the show became some sort of magical place where all was possible. All the dreams could come true, all the wondrous things could happen. Fujigaya bathed himself in the light of the audience’s smiling faces. It was an overwhelming feeling, plunging so full and deep into his soul that it could touch the strings that triggered tears of delight and emotion. He looked around himself and saw six smiles. Six smiles of people who were feeling just like him. Six smiles he had started to trust and rely on. To his right Kitayama was waiting for him to give him a signal and start the act. Fujigaya nodded with determination and as Kitayama moved, they all started skating. Sparkles from the skates grinding on the ramp surrounded them and the roar of applause fell on them like the most beautiful storm ever.
--
Fujigaya was sitting outside the spaceship, on his favourite spot on the carrousel. The night sky flickered of thousands of stars and planets and the atmosphere of Falikegh was warm and smelled of sandalwood. A lonely cicada was humming its monotonous song, filling the air with notes of nostalgic seasons Fujigaya didn’t quite remember he lived, but they were still there and his senses remembered them.
Fujigaya’s eyes could still see the dreamy lights of the show. His skin was still shivering from the adrenaline rush under it, still in his blood, and it was still tingling because of the air that had touched it when he was twirling and jumping on the ramps, running around synchronizing with the others.
Their show had been quite simple compared to what they wanted it to become. But Takizawa had said to start slowly and get used to the skating. The audience loved the show. Fujigaya felt proud of himself and proud of the people he had worked hard with, but he left Kitayama do the speech.
Kitayama said the show was a success and they all did their best. He thanked Fujigaya and Yokoo for teaching them, he talked about everyone’s enthusiasm of putting the act together. He complimented Tamamori a lot, because, despite his initial hesitation, he managed to shine in the ring. Fujigaya nodded in silence, agreeing with every word. He felt proud of these people and how they had managed to all work together for the show.
“Why do you like this place so much?” Yokoo’s voice woke him up from his dream, and he saw the other in front of him, standing on the grass. He was holding a small hamper and a big bottle of what looked like a deep red liquid.
“I’ve got some nice food here with me, I already shared with the others, but I kept the wine for myself,” Yokoo said raising the bottle. “Picnic?”
“Isn’t the wine for you?” Fujigaya asked, trying not to show how happy he was that Yokoo had decided to share with him.
“Just come and sit here on the grass, come on.”
Fujigaya jumped down and sat on the grass where Yokoo had plopped on already. The grass of the planet was as soft as a blanket, even though it looked pretty much like the old Earth’s grass.
Fujigaya opened the hamper and looked at the food inside. He couldn’t name half of the things in it, but they were all arranged in a lovely way.
“Are you sure this stuff is edible?”
“What?! Of course it is! These are delicacies of this planet. I always eat them whenever we come here,” Yokoo said, passing a weird purple jelly to Fujigaya.
“You try first.” Fujigaya said, wrinkling his nose at the sight of the supposed delicacy.
Yokoo stuffed his mouth with it and smiled happy. “Thif if fo goof!”
“Wataru, you are already barely understandable normally. Please eat your food before talking,” Fujigaya giggled.
“Mean! You are mean,” Yokoo said, pouting.
“I’m joking, I’m joking,” Fujigaya said, using the tip of his tissue to clean the side of Yokoo’s mouth where some of the food was stuck.
“Look at them, Nika!” Senga and Nikaido had stealthily reached them on the lawn. “They look like an happily married couple.”
“Ew, you’re so gross,” was Nikaido’s comment.
Fujigaya and Yokoo didn’t move and just stared at them. That had become an usual tease on board, and every time Fujigaya or Yokoo denied, it just triggered new jokes.
“I like Wataru, okay?”
“I like Taisuke too.”
“Woooah don’t tell me things moved on between you two,” Senga shouted.
“Senga... shut up,” Fujigaya threw his dirty napkin in Senga’s direction only to hit Nikaido with it.
“Hey! What was that?” Nikaido said, obviously not happy about it.
“By the way, Yokoo-san! What is that bottle? You know it’s not nice not to share with everyone?” Senga pointed at the wine with a greedy expression on his face.
“Okay okay, you can have some,” Yokoo was about to pass him his glass after he filled it with wine, but Nikaido snatched the bottle from his hand.
“Okay, we are taking it inside. I want to see Kitayama drunk,” Nikaido said.
“Nika! What are you doing? Fill Fujigaya’s glass too,” Senga scolded him. “Sorry for interrupting your picnic guys, feel free to continue.”
Fujigaya and Yokoo looked at each other and sighed.
“It’s fine, we are coming inside too,” Yokoo said.
“Let’s all drink together,” Fujigaya said, “I also saw a lot of beer cans in a corner of the canteen. I think you’ll have no problem getting Kitayama drunk.” He said, going to throw his arm around Nikaido’s shoulders.
They walked back inside the spaceship, laughing and chatting, and went to join the others for an improvised party.
--