A year had passed since the killing game had ended for Akio. Immediately after leaving, he went off on his own, trying to find his own path. He’s independence was as noticeable as ever; he had vanished, seemingly lifted from the face of the Earth. No one -- not even those in the killing game, could locate him. The only trace of him, was a letter found in the mailbox of where he grew up as a child.
New Westward Circus. The sun was shining, beating down on the red and yellow tent. The air was calm and serene, the only noise being the swift breeze and the bustling wildlife that surrounded the workers. Near the front of a circus tent was a man; he was a soft fifty-six years, his facial hair grossly ungroomed, increasingly obese. He sat on a lawn chair, blissfully ignorant to the rips and tears that were a result of his substantial size.
“Good morning!” the boy exclaimed, saluting with an exaggerated pose. “What are you reading, Ringleader? Ah..! Let me take a look, please!”
The Ringleader swatted the boy away, annoyed, as he read the contents of the letter. It was comprised of several pages -- a seemingly long and irritating read. There was an obscene sketch of a donkey holding up a human hand, a middle finger drawn neatly outwards, pointed at the reader.
“...”
“What is it? Sir?”
“...It is a letter.”
“Well, I enjoy letters! Would you like me to read it for you?”
The ringleader shrugged. “...Be my guest.”
The boy, who was renowned from within the circus (although not anywhere else) for his utmost courtesy and respect, picked up the letter. “What a good morning it is!” he exclaimed as he neatly folded the paper. “The sun is shining...the birds are chirping...I’m sure it’ll just be a great day too--”
All of a sudden, the boy’s face grew darker. Visibly disgusted. It was impossible to describe how awful he felt as he laid his eyes on the letter.
***
I got out, motherfuckers! Fuck you very much!
***
“...”
“T-This is...this is from…”
“Akio Taira...indeed.”
“And what? He’s mad at us..?”
“I suppose.”
“W-Wha..!”
“Well...we did provide our consent.”
“What’s his problem...It wasn’t us who sent him there, sir! It was that lady! She simply came to us, to ask us if we were okay with it!”
“There’s more to that letter. You should read it.”
The boy sighed, and brought his attention back to the letter.
***
Anyways, let me tell you assholes what you put me through. I’m sure you would have loved being in my position...it was a lot of fun! I killed some guy -- that was sort of exciting. I guess I can say I have experience with that now, huh? So I guess you wouldn’t mind if I came to getcha, huh?
***
“S-Sir! This is--!”
***
...NAH! I’m just screwin’ with ya! That was really awful! I think if I ever have to see blood again, my insides would fuck themselves. I’d become a crip -- and I don’t want that!
***
The boy threw the paper down at the ground in frustration. His face grew redder with anger as he abandoned his efforts of toleration; just knowing where the letter came from was enough for anyone in the circus to implode.
“You read the rest, sir! I would like to go without my day without another stroke! That shitbag burned us way too many times for me to listen to him! He deserved everything, you know? Probably sat in that killing game and wondered how else he could screw someone’s life up!”
“...Oh please. You didn’t have a stroke.”
“...I-It was a heat stroke! Or...I thought it was. But I don’t even know how I got out from there! I could have died! He should have died!”
The ringleader sighed. “Well, if we didn’t all agree, would we have given our consent to sending that boy there? I was hoping he’d be gone forever...but imagine my surprise when I checked the mail, and this long letter fell from the mailbox. I thought, maybe it would be my tax rebate! Or all our insurance claims for the statue he accidentally burned down...but no. It was just confirmation that our efforts failed, once more, to remove him from our sights…”
“...But our efforts will not end here, will they lad?” The ringleader continued, rising from his seat.
“What do you mean..?”
“We can’t give up here! We tried so hard to kill that boy, just as he nearly killed our way of life…Nearly killed the two of us, yeah?”
“So...what are you implying?”
“Well...don’t you think he should still die?”
“...Ah! Are you thinking what I’m thinking sir?”
“I am.”
The boy excitedly raised his hands, running next to the ringleader. “You know what? You’re right! We can’t give up here! Let’s kill Akio Taira!”
The two jumped simultaneously in excitement. The Earth shook violently as the ringleader transcended back onto the ground. After settling down, the Ringleader realized that their goal was out of their reach.
“Actually...no, lad, we cannot kill him,” the ringleader sighed.
“W-Why not?!” the boy yelled in surprise. “How is that fair?!”
“Well, murder would be morally wrong.”
...
“...But, sir, didn’t we send him to a brutal and awful killing game? He could have easily died there. He probably almost did, a couple times or so.”
“Yes, but we weren’t the ones killing, were we?”
“Well, no…”
“So would we have killed him?”
“No..?”
“So how is it our fault?”
“...Ohhhhh. I get it! So what do we do?”
“We get someone else to kill him again.”
“...O-Okay! Yeah! We can do that!”
The two nodded, inspired by their new goal.
…
“So...sir?” the boy asked.
“Yes?”
“Where is he..?”
“...That’s a good question.”
“Yeah…”
The two simultaneously clutched their chins, deep in thought about where Akio’s whereabouts.
“...Sir! I have an idea! Let’s take another look at the letter!”
“Ah..! A fine idea..!”
Holding up the letter, the two proceeded to re-examine the letter, hopefully finding a clue as to where Akio may have headed.
***
But yeah. Had no fun at that death camp. Thanks for doing nothing to find me, or anything. Clearly, everyone at the circus wanted me gone...I thought I did so much for all of you. I’d bring in crowds after crowds, headlining the shows, bringing in all that cash...and for what? To be sent to die? If I had any way to prove it…
I just love fire, anyways! All those vacant buildings I burnt...every time I set something on fire, it was for you guys! How rude to know that you guys didn’t like that stuff at all! All you had to do was say something! In fact, I’ve tried to change! Better myself as a person, you know! The first thing I did, was try and find that lady who I ended up burning up...well, turns out, I couldn’t find her anyways. Made me feel pretty bad...I wonder if I accidentally burnt up someone else like that? It’s hard to imagine that I did…
***
The ringleader angrily clutched the paper, before calming down and going back to the letter.
***
...But yeah. I decided the first thing I’d do, after seeing that lady, is, well, refining my talent. I tried to find a new talent during the killing game, and that didn’t go down well...I nearly died! Like, three times! Just for trying to get away from fire...killing someone with fire pretty much shat on any sort of confidence I had with it.
But then I thought, if I can’t find a new talent, what could I do with my life..? I guess I didn’t know. I didn’t have anywhere to go...except here, but I sure as hell wasn’t coming back.
So I applied for a job..! And uh...well…
***
“What the hell do you mean I’m not qualified?! I can be a life coach! I’ve experienced more life than half of you!”
“...Sir, you set yourself on fire while giving us your application papers. You set the sprinklers off and ruined hundreds of documents.”
“That was an accident!!”
***
I guess office work is..not for me. So for a change of pace, I tried my hand at BMX biking!
***
“...And #16 flies through the air. Man...he’s biking like a complete and total dumbass.”
“It says here, that Akio Taira...the, er...Super Highschool Level Pyromaniac...is expanding his horizons by exploring different athletic opportunities.”
“Well, as long as he has a day job. Oh, and will you look at that! Akio Taira’s bike seems to have undergone some sort of explosion. He is unconscious in a ball of fire! Will he survive?”
“I don't know. I think he died, John.”
***
I felt bad, but I didn’t have any money, so I couldn’t pay for the bike…
That night was pretty bad...I think I had to hide in a trash can, cuz like, I couldn’t go to prison... It was really smelly, and my body was like, broken or whatever...but something kept me from giving up…
I met someone in the killing game...she gave me this jar...it looked like liquid fire on the inside. She believed in me, you know? And I just spent the night trying to remember her. Cause I couldn’t forget... Unlike you assholes. So I held the jar real tight. And I couldn’t forget...everyone that died, everyone that hated me, or liked me, or whatever, and decided the next morning would be better. I thought, yeah! Everything will go great from now.
...The next morning, I woke up in a garbage truck. But that’s not the point. The driver was really surprised…he dropped me off in the middle of nowhere, and I just sat on the side of the road. It was crazy, really! I had to walk really far...I got a lot of blisters, too. Plus, my bones were still sort of broken from the night before. It was not a good time.
***
“...Why aren’t there any hints?! Where is he?!”
The ringleader held up his hand. “Quiet child...there is still more. Retribution will arrive in due time.”
“...A-Alright...I’m sorry, sir. I just really wanna kill him...I never wanna see him again.” The boy held up his right arm, painted with burn marks -- skin peeling off, horribly disfigured. “If he ever comes back…”
The ringleader nodded. “That boy has caused us many a problems...we are well aware of that. Is that not why we gave that poor woman our blessing?”
“You were like a father to him, sir.”
“That I was.”
“And how does he repay us?”
“...By burning down everything we know and love.”
“And how will we repay him?!”
“With the loss of his life.”
The two jumped up in the air, excited about the prospects of their future. Once again, the ringleader shook the Earth with his seismic slam. After celebrating a bit more, they returned to the letter, hoping they’d find another clue.
***
When I saw that video...my first reaction was, it couldn’t be me. It had to have been something else! But you know, I killed someone in the killing game. I guess I didn’t do it alone, but still...I burned him alive. I think...it was probably really painful. So yeah, blame me for getting a little scared.
But everytime I look at that jar...that jar of liquid fire, I think I get inspired. I think I can find a way to use my talent for peace and joy. I don’t really know how...I know how to make homemade flares. Maybe I could make some of those? Give them out for free? Or...I don’t know. I always liked performing! I tried to perform in the killing game once. I thought it would help with group unity, or whatever, but someone died before I could even start. So that was a bomb.
But if I were able to perform for them...I think we would have been fine. And I think she’d be alive too…
***
The paragraph was followed by a damp stain -- perhaps from a droplet of water. The ringleader and the boy weren’t really sure. The letter continued on.
***
And I decided to test it out! I was in this park once, practicing my routine in front of a bunch of different people, and there was this crying baby, and this sweet looking lady sitting near a water fountain. I walked up, and I lit a fire. A small little blue fire on the palm of my hand. It was so tiny and dainty, but it was really warm. I think I helped, cause the baby started laughing, and I was having a good time too!
So...that’s what I’m gonna do. I’m like, 50% fire, and 50% burn marks. If I run away from that, then I’m nothing, right? So I have to work on that. I’m trying to be more conscious, now. I saw this really nice wooden statue that no one would miss if I burnt it up a bit...but I managed to control myself! Cool, right?
...W-Well, maybe I chipped a small piece of it off and burnt it off in the privacy of my own home. But uh, baby steps!
***
“...His own home? He has a house?!” The boy yelled angrily. “He doesn’t deserve a roof over that daft head of his!”
***
...Oh. You’re probably wondering where I am, right now? You’re probably really angry. Well, sorry, but I don’t know what the hell I did to get you guys so mad. I mean...I have an idea, judging on why everyone else is mad and stuff...But, I mean, I don’t really wanna die either…
You probably won’t find me. I found another circus...these people are really nice. They thought I was a lot younger than I actually was...they gave me like, a lot of ointment for my burn marks too, that was pretty nice. And they feed me, and they let me light the fireplace, and when it’s cold, we all huddle around and warm our hands around the fire. They’re helping me figure things out...they tell me when I do something wrong, but I know they’re just trying to help, so I don’t mind. I think they think I’m like, twelve, or something...but still, it’s sort of nice! It makes me feel warm. Er...figuratively. I’m always warm.
We do parades and stuff, but we’re pretty far from where you guys are, so I don’t think you’ll be able to find me. I’m not sure what to say right now...sorry... If I made you mad enough to kill me. I don’t know why, but then again, I’m not really good at thinking.
***
The two dropped the letter on the ground, disappointed at what they had just learned. But they wouldn’t give up. Eventually, they promised themselves, they would find him. They were a motley crew, after all. They weren’t the thinking type -- they were bitter, hostile, and unaware. And they had no filter. They’d just say what they wanted to say, but it came from a fair place. They never had a role model, or parents, and they never grew up in a warm, caring environment. But at the end, it seemed to be over for them. The circus losing all their revenue, after all.
“Where should we start looking..?” The boy asked. “It doesn’t seem like there’s any traces of him.”
“That there isn’t...let’s start walking, then! We will find him eventually!”
“But what about the circus..?”
“We’ll come back, eventually. It’ll still be here when we come back, right?”
“...Umm, I guess you’re right.”
“And we have workers here, don’t we?”
“We do!”
“And they’ll take care of things around here.”
The two got up, and began walking. They began to leave the circus behind, in a mission fueled with hatred and vitriol. They didn’t realize, however. It was too late for them. Their souls were tainted; blackened with spite.
Somewhere in the distance, however-- where they wouldn’t ever reach-- was a young man on top of the world. The natural light of the sunset cast a peaceful glow onto the streets, in which children and their parents would line up together on the sidewalks, watching as elaborate floats of all different shapes and sizes trek downwards. On top of one was a clean looking young man. His goggles were strapped on tight as a blue flame ejected fiercely from his mouth. He was the boy on fire, and while he lit up the skies with warmth and brightness, it was his future that would shine brightest.