Masque

Prologue

"Life is a war. Bring on the insanity!"

~Anonymous

Prologue~

"Okay, Hotaru-chan, you're on in five minutes along with your mother, Rosie. As soon as Akise-kun is done, jump in there and do your legendary act!" My dad tells me. He pats my head and smiles.

"I'll do it perfect, so don't worry, Daddy!" I say and smile brightly. I was in a freak show with my parents, traveling around the world with their friends who are performers just like us.

"You always do it perfectly, honey! I couldn't be any prouder. Just remember that if your hands get slippery on the ring, tap your feet three times so we can go get you." My father, Jun, has been saying that to me before every performance, since I was five, but now I'm eight and I've never called out for help and I've always gave satisfaction to the crowd.

My mother walks behind me and puts me on her shoulders. She smiled and says, "Don't forget, Hotaru-chan, to put your mask on! Also, the ears!"

"Oh right!" I ask my dad to bring me them from the break room and he does. When he comes back, it's about time for me to wow the crowed. I put on the mask first and then my ears. My mom wears her gas mask and her bunny ears to. My mask was just a plenty of flowers on my face, besides my eyes.

Akise-kun bows to the crowd and backs away into the backstage area. And then, with me on my mother's back we went into the big stage. As soon as the crowd starts to cheer for us, I hear the rest of the cast cheering us both good luck. After all, we are the closing act.

My mom keeps me on her shoulders as she climbs up the ladder to get to the rope. Once we're up there, everyone is dead silent, suspense in the air. She drops me off on the board that hold one end of the rope, the other end twenty yards away from me, tied on to the other board.

"Good luck, Hotaru-chan!" My mother says as she stays on the side of the ladder. I smile brightly at her and I giver a big thumbs up to show my enthusiasm. Before suddenly as apart of the act, the lights go out.

The crowed gasps and mummers arise. In the dark I find the ring that I'm supposed to jump and swing on. Then the spot light is on me, the bright light, nearly blinding me. I grab it and begin to run then jump off of the platform.

I swing back and forth, gripping the bottom of the ring. I can do this! I lift my upper body with all my arm strength and make a 360 degree twist around the ring, successfully. The crowed claps with delight.

But then the lights go out. I hear myself make a noise of shock. This isn't a part of the act...

A gunshot resounds in the room.

I hear my mom scream from my left. The screams and cries from the crowed tell me that something went wrong. My heart speeds up and this unexplainable feeling swells within me. I tap my foot three times against my other leg, but there was no help.

My hands were slipping away and cold tears toggle down my face. Everything was so scary. It was dark, I didn't' know what was happening. I try to keep my hands on the ring just to hold me up and not end up falling to my death from twenty feet in the air.

Before I can even realize anything, my body strikes a sudden numbness and I couldn't feel anymore, especially my right leg. I heard myself gasp for air, but I couldn't breath.

The lights flash back on. I hear scattering feet and screams as I see the terrified crowed. I'm on the ground, looking to my left, only to see my mother on the ground, bleeding from her forehead.

I couldn't even cry, as much as I wanted to call her name and see that she was alright, nothing came out. I felt like and an empty, soulless being. I stared at her, no feeling at all from my body. It hurt so much to see her like that. Her eyes were open and blood streamed down her face. And her eyes were wide, staring back at me.

I see my father rush up to her in panic, tears streaming down his face as he held her face. I could read my dad's lips saying her name over and over again, but no response coming out of her. She was dead.

His back covered my view of my mother's corpse. And then so did Akise-kun's body. He held my face, in obvious panic. "Hotaru! Hotaru..." He repeatedly said my name like my father who was hovering my mom's corpse.

Tears streamed down his face, his lips moving. Once he sees me blink and realizes I'm alive and breathing, he hugs me tightly. But I'm ripped away from him into my fathers arm.

The last thing I heard before I passed out was, "I can't lose you. I promise you, I'll make him pay for this."

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A/N: Here is the prologue from the original story, with minor grammar changes. Thank you for your patience.