f R e A k S | my hero academia circus au

I

"Come one, come all!" the ringmaster shouted. "To the Yuuei Circus, the greatest show on earth!"

Izuku picked up one of the flyers that had drifted onto the ground. 'YUUEI CIRCUS,' it read in bold red letters, 'TRAVELLING FREAKSHOW.'

"Excuse me," Izuku said. The ringmaster didn't seem to hear him. "Excuse me!" he said again, louder.

"Oh, my apologies, young boy! I didn't see you there!" the ringmaster said in his booming voice. "What can I do for you? Here to see the show?"

"Yes, I was wondering how much a ticket cost?" Izuku asked, putting his hand in his pocket.

"Just twenty coins!"

Izuku took out all the coins in his pocket. "...Seven, eight, nine, ten, eleven..." he murmured before faltering. "...I'm sorry sir, I really wanted to see the show but I only have eleven coins."

"Hm, I see. Well, do not worry! I know of a way you can make up for the rest. A smile!" the ringmaster grinned widely. "Give me a smile, young boy, and I'll consider that payment enough for the ticket."

"Are you-are you sure? As much as I want to see the show, I can't just watch it without payment! It wouldn't be good for you guys either, right, if you let every customer who didn't have enough money to see the show anyways. So I'd really feel bad if—ow!" Izuku yelped as the ringmaster tapped his head with more strength than his lanky body seemed to have.

"You really like to talk, don't you, young boy? Let me tell you, our circus exists to put a smile on your face. Money's all well and good, but the more people that come to see our show, the better. Seeing smiling faces puts a smile on our face and helps us perform better. So give me your biggest smile, young boy, and I'll give you a ticket."

Izuku scratched the back of his head sheepishly as a small smile crept to his lips. "Like...like this?"

The ringmaster beamed. "Just like that!" he handed Izuku a ticket. "Now head to the Omega Forest by six, and enjoy the show!" He handed Izuku the ticket, and Izuku was shaking as he took it from the ringmaster.

"Wow, an actual circus...! I've never been to one!" Izuku whispered to himself in awe, gazing at the ticket. "Thank you so much, Mister-" he looked up, but the ringmaster already was gone.

"It should be around here...but I don't remember a circus tent being here yesterday when I came by," Izuku muttered to himself as he walked through the dark woods. The Omega Forest was like a maze, thick with lines of trees among trees among trees. There were many horror stories about children who strayed too far into the forest and were lost forever, so the people in town only dared to walk as far as they could while still seeing the entrance.

But Izuku has already walked the entire perimeter of the forest and still could not find the circus tent. "It was Omega Forest, right...?"

"Hey! Are you here to see the Yuuei Circus?" a bright voice asked from the darkness.

Izuku let out a cry of surprise as he stumbled backwards, tripping over a tree branch. "Wa-!" he cried out as his feet gave way under him, but he never hit the ground.

"Woah!" the girl shouted, "That was close! I'm so sorry, did I scare you?"

"N-No, it's okay! Um, could you put me down now?" Izuku asked shakily. He could see her faint outline in the dark, and she was small, shorter than he was, yet she was holding him in her arms as if he weighed nothing.

"Oh! Sorry 'bout that." She gently set him down.

"You're really strong," Izuku commented.

"Ah, yeah, I am." She smiled. "I'm Ochako Uraraka, and I'm the strongwoman act for Yuuei Circus."

"I'm Izuku Midoriya. Um, isn't the show starting soon?"

"Yeah, but I always get nervous, so I take a walk before to calm the nerves. Are you going to come watch the show?"

"Yes, but I can't seem to find the tent."

"I can take you there!" Ochako grabbed his hand. "It's not too far from here, but I guess it can be a little hard to find."

Izuku felt his face start to burn red as he follow her into the forest. "O-Oh, thank you so much!" he squeaked.

"No problem!" Ochako grinned widely. "I hope you're ready to see the greatest show on earth!"