Mercenary: Everyone has finished their training and returned, Sir.
Vulpecula is hanging around the back of the circus with one of his minions.
Vulpecula: ...good work. Things are going well. Everyone in the circus troupe is doing the last touches for their preparations for show time. Tickets are selling well too with Burn Striker joining in. If things keep up, then things should go well two days from now when the show starts.
Mercenary: ...Sir? How long are we going to keep the charade up?
Vulpecula: Ruuude, I'll have you know I put in a lot of effort into this.
He says, sounding less surprised than he'd claim to be.
Vulpecula: I know what you're getting at. Relax, the search has been going well thanks to all your efforts in the background. The operation starts the day of the show.
Mercenary: Oh, then...!
Vulpecula: How very open of you. Keep discrete with your work. There won't be a video announcement for this since we posted one already. We move at 7 pm, while the show is on. Get everything else ready.
Mercenary: Yes sir. Honestly I was worried about how long we would be keeping this act up. You really are good at playing the long game.
Vulpecula: ...yes of course. Have I ever backed out on a heist? Where would the beauty in that be? It'd just be another attachment and regret for the past.
Mercenary: I apologize for the stupid question and will go inform the rest.
Vulpecula: Very well. Try to restrict it to verbal communications as much as possible in case there's wiretapping anywhere. And if that isn't possible, use the secret comm channel.
Mercenary: Yes sir. (leaves)
Vulpecula: ... (sighs) An act, you say...? (stares at hand)
Flashback
???: Wow Vulpecula, you're always good with your hands.
Vulpecula is juggling bottles to entertain that someone important to him in front of him.
Vulpecula: Oh, stop. I'm just playing around mimicking things I saw. I haven't really practiced or anything.
???: Oh don't be like that. I know you secretly practice juggling and card tricks every day.
Vulpecula: ...oh. Well damn.
???: C'mon, no need to be embarrassed. You did it for me knowing I love street performances. Thanks man.
Vulpecula: ...then I guess it was all worth it. I'll try something trickier next.
???: Wait what? This isn't even your job...
Vulpecula: Well...I started enjoying this while trying it out, so I wanna go further with it. I want to be good enough to perform for people since I've been doing it. It's fun doing a bunch of different things and you enjoy seeing it, so that's just perfect.
???: ...I see. Well cool! I'm cheering for you. Show me more tricks next time!
Vulpecula: Thanks, I'll do my best.
Vulpecula (narrating): That day never came to be. I said I changed myself by abandoning my past, but I'm just justifying other people's pasts while dragging along my own. I know how contradictory it is, but I still force myself to keep carrying on like this.
Present
Vulpecula: ...how unsightly. Seeing such a lonely circus has brought back some memories. I've been keeping up appearances, but I want to do so for real.
Vulpecula wryly smiles.
Vulpecula: Yatomi Yasuhiko. I will destroy your past for my sake as well. I will eliminate every trace of your father's craft. And once I destroy the crystal symbolizing your father-son connection, it will all be over. Leave everything to me and forget...so you won't be like me.
Title card: Hidden Message
Yasuhiko: You guys, our comeback will be tomorrow! Thanks to Burn Striker agreeing to help perform, we sold almost all our early tickets and online sales are almost up to 30k! Now let's do our practice without getting hurt and make tomorrow a success!
Trainees: YEEEEAAAAH
MC: Yeah!
Yasuhiko: It's not just us this time. We've got MC, Melide, Furlong, Johann, and all of Johann's assistants! Thank you guys!
Melide: Yeah, let's do our best. I'm a little nervous.
Furlong: R-right!
Vulpecula: Things will be fine. We will make tomorrow successful. Have some confidence, I'll be supporting you from the shadows until the end.
Mercenaries: ...
Vulpecula's mobs bow.
Purple: Ya know, we never actually talked to those guys. I never even seen them open their mouths.
Yellow: Well they've still been practicing. Not that I've seen it myself since they did it all offscreen somewhere else. Nothing weird about that!
Furlong: ...
MC: Furlong what's wrong?
Furlong: Oh! It's nothing... I never managed to find anything in the end. Is he really just a consultant? But...
Yasuhiko: Sparring time! Let's do it!
BATTLE START (more happens afterwards)
Battle over! Everyone moves onto decorating the stage area, checking the machinery, and cleaning the seating area. MC is helping Yasuhiko.
Yasuhiko: MC, bring that over here! Thanks!
MC: Tiiired
Yasuhiko: Sorry to make you help with all this, and thanks. Since we're a small group we don't have anyone dedicated to taking care of these things, which means we all have to do it.
Furlong: Hi, where do I take this?
Yasuhiko: Umm...oh, that goes on top of this pole. It's already set up, so you'd have to climb up there. Would you mind?
Furlong: Oh, umm... I don't want to go to high places without transforming, so...
Yasuhiko: Right, right. Sorry. Hey, somebody else come take this up there!
Yellow: I'll do it! Somebody hold the ladder still.
Yasuhiko: Ehh, how about Furlong and Purple? I'll be doing these other things over here.
Purple: Okay, Bro! Ready Furlong?
Furlong: O-okay!
MC: Wow things are going smoothly.
Yasuhiko: Well we've done this a lot, so we know who's good with what. Though it's only recently that we got good at it.
Purple: Bro's gotten good at being the boss now. He used to be one of our kouhai and wouldn't stop trying to order us around.
Yasuhiko: H-hey! That was a long time ago! And I'm the boss, so I needed to know how everything went to efficiently do things!
Purple: Haha, true dat. You're looking more and more like your dad.
Yasuhiko: ...what?
Purple: aww, don't look so put off about that. It's a compliment!
Yasuhiko: It kinda doesn't feel like it...
Purple: Bro, I know you hate all your memories of your dad, but to us he was a cool reliable boss. Just like you are now.
Yasuhiko: ...hmm. He didn't seem that way to me.
MC: What was the last boss like?
Purple: He inherited the circus from the generation before him. Before that, he was one of the troupe members and worked together with his wife. I was only here a little bit before Bro was, but he was team-oriented, passionate, and level headed. And he thought the world of his family.
Yasuhiko: What???
Purple: Well he always talked about you and your mother whenever you weren't around. When he sent you guys marshmallows for White Day he worried about whether it'd be okay to send a different flavor and asked all our opinions.
Yasuhiko: Him???
Purple: Well he couldn't come visit you guys and sucked at talking on the phone, so he wanted to give you guys something nice since he always made you feel lonely. And once you joined up, he always worried that you'd be able to handle the job.
Yasuhiko: B-b-but he never told me that. He never acted like that around me. I thought he HATED me.
Furlong: ...he was shy. M-maybe I'm just too self-conscious, but...I know how awkward it can be to compliment someone.
MC: Same / Really???
Purple: Haha, yeah he probably was shy. Bro, you're the type who gets on quick with people like you, so the Boss told us to never tell you.
Yasuhiko: B-but...why would you keep quiet about it until now!? Dad's been gone for years!
Purple: But you always hated talking about him. There was always time to bring him up, but it never felt like you'd be open to listening.
Yasuhiko: Oh...
Purple: Honestly, you two have similar personalities. You worry about whether you can let people know how you feel, and if you think of it that way, you can tell if I'm telling the truth, right?
Yasuhiko: ...
Yellow: You guys I'm done! Coming down now!
Purple: Okay! Furlong, hold onto that side!
Furlong: O-okay!
Furlong: Hey...maybe your dad left you a message, Yasuhiko.
Yasuhiko: A message?
Furlong: He might not have found time to say it before, but maybe he'd have something to tell you once you became the boss...
Purple: ...yeah. Sounds like him.
Furlong: So couldn't he have left you something like that and hidden it somewhere? If he's as responsible as you, then maybe.
MC: Yeah maybe. Wanna take a look?
Yasuhiko: Hrmm...
That night in the hidden underground room in the Yatomi Circus
Vulpecula: What is the point of a fingerprint lock if you get your grubby hands on everything, Yasuhiko? That makes it easy for someone like me to get in.
Vulpecula walks down the underground hallway with a special glove on as he searches the walls. He eventually finds the secret door and opens the fingerprint lock. Once the safe is open, he pulls out the old box and checks the contents.
Vulpecula: So it's against my style to steal things ahead of time, but I still need to see this is the real thing.
Vulpecula takes off his glove to touch the crystal directly. And then the clock suddenly hits midnight, March 14.
Vulpecula: What!?
The crystal shines with rainbow light all of a sudden and 3/14 floats up in the light.
Vulpecula: Why did it suddenly activate? I just touched it.
A hologram starts forming and speaking.
???: ...Yasu ...hiko...
Vulpecula: ...huh.
End of Episode
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