When he was at least a meter away from the tent he just came out of, he sighed, then started to make comments in his head while letting his feet make the steps. He crossed his arms and shivered, what Masami saw was exceptionally frightening. However, it was no longer about the old woman, but Masami's fortune. He knew nothing about these types of things... did she say anything else about "The Tower" or was that everything? Tarot cards are new to him. In his hometown, the fortune teller would look at Masami's palm or analyze his facial structure, then Masami would be told things that were repeated by the other fortune tellers. Astrology was a thing Masami liked the most, because there were tales knotted in them.

He would be told mostly good fortunes because of his reputation. Though he didn't believe in these fortunes, believing that fortunes are made to be applied not to one specific person but to everyone, he sometimes couldn't help but be convinced. It was normal to be convinced over a fortune. After all, the fortune teller would be saying these as if they were made just for you... and only you – deception or persuasion. Whatever those two are, they are most powerful in the lips of a skillful person.

Masami had been staring at his feet for a while now. It's early in the morning, the sky is barely lit up. He rested his thoughts in the cold air. "But then I'm not really that lucky." he laughed at himself after the statement and sighed once more. Then Masami looked up, gazing at Marigold's scenery. At the moment, he had himself sitting on a park bench. He didn't have a greater view of Marigold City. But even if it was like that, he had lots of things to see. "Now... where do I start...?" the boy looked from left, the right, far and near. The perfect place for him, as he was told.

Marigold City is a beautiful place. Perhaps it is more beautiful than Masami's hometown because the city Masami has taken afoot on has more nature. The noise pollution is greatly reduced, and people would not cramp themselves in the streets. In where Masami lived, people worked habitually, even the children. Masami started being trained at such a young age, mainly for performing and such. There were good and bad memories – mostly good ones, but there was a reason why he had to leave.

He honestly did not expect Marigold to be his first place. There were tales of Marigold City, lots of them from where Masami read books in. Fiction and magic, order and justice – the place was not so far from what was said in the books. The people were certainly kind. Although there were some who were rude at Masami for being an outsider, the performer understood that these types of people are inescapable in every place. Hopefully, those types of people choose to change, as soon as people.

There was a castle to be seen from afar, as well, a piece of architecture that is often praised in the books. It was indeed a great piece of work, enchanting to the eyes. Marigold City had so much to see and look at, and Masami hasn't even finished his strolling.

The sun was starting to rise and people started to leave their houses. Some would even yawn after closing the door shut, preparing for their days to start. Masami had then decided to start his stroll when the sun has fully risen, and "morning" would begin existing. The morn had its own scent, for some reason. However, the air was very unfamiliar. It made Masami praise the fresh, unpolluted air. It was the type of air he'd breathe everyday.

He knew that it was his cue when the people, one-by-one, had started to leave their houses. Some would introduce themselves to the morning with a yawn, the others would get straight back to work. Some of the children would often wake up earlier than their parents, and they would go to the grass and play. It was entertaining for Masami to see such kids playing with paper airplanes, it reminded him of his childhood. Origami, or paper folding, was very famous especially in Masami's hometown. They would form paper until it created a certain form and shape, some would look like animals and some would act like a toy. He had also played dolls and puppets only to entertain his younger siblings, which then paved the path unto Masami's fame and glory. Surprisingly, he was one of the boys who used slings to hunt down birds for fun. He played with more boys before he started performing on stage, but these were the memories he had already forgotten about, and these children bought them back.

When a ball hit Masami's foot, he picked this up and looked at the child who came forward, asking to get their ball back. With a tease, Masami replies, "What's the magic word?" and thought that perhaps he would even pick on the child for fun. The youngster, before tearing up, slowly mutters "Please...?", which allowed Masami to give the ball back, regretting the malicious thought. Then two of the children ran away, but Masami called them before they were too far away. "Would you mind telling me all the good spots in this place?" he asked with sincerity, a little slower for the kids to understand.

They wouldn't respond at first, so Masami prepared himself to become calmer and appear more approachable. "Do you know any secret hideouts?" this, he said with a smile, his left pinky covering his mouth. The children then finally smiled and nodded, a bit too exaggeratedly, then picked the pinky finger and ran away. It was a good idea to mention "secret hideout," perfect for children vocabulary.

Marigold Station

The two kids brought Masami to the Marigold Station, which was not so far off of the bench Masami sat on from awhile ago. Until they reached the point where the kids needed to catch some breath from all that running, they never let go of Masami's pinky 'til then. The performer, however, was not tired. He had strict dancing practices ever since a child, and all that training allowed him to have a little more endurance in all aspects, especially in being flexible and portraying characters, which had a great need of endurance in order to portray such steps in a graceful way.

"Are we there yet? Are you guys okay?" Masami bowed a little, attempting to check unto the two kids, but both of them shook their heads and grabbed Masami's hand once more, then started to run. Masami knew that the hidden hideout would have a surprise. After all, you are not supposed to underestimate the imagination of a child. Believing this, Masami let the kids take him from wherever they lead, but he could not help but become concerned at least one bit. "Hold on for a moment." he said, forcing a halt.

The kids looked at him with a confused look on their faces. "You must be tired," then Masami lowered down until his knees touched the grass, "one of you ride my back."

The first kid, who was seemingly older, patted the back of the younger child and then they hopped up. Masami grabbed this child's arms, pulling them so that they would have their legs laying comfortably upon Masami's shoulders. "You're a kind lady." the older child said. "Kind! Kind lady." repeated the younger one, whom struggled a little and pulled on Masami's hair due to the excitement. The performer, who was mistaken for being a female, laughed at the two of them. "Would you mind telling me your names?" Masami asked, just in time. Initially, he didn't want to be acquainted with the kids at all.

"Giulia," said the younger one, riding Masami, "brother Alceste..." then they pointed at the older child, to what appeared to be an older brother.

Again with the unfamiliar names, Masami could not help but ask again. "Giulia! Gi-u-li-a!" the younger one said, knocking unto Masami's skull with their soft, unweighted fists. The older brother stomped his feet unto the ground and had this exaggerated look on his face, "Giulia! Don't hurt big sis!" he preached, "If you do that again, I'll get angry and leave you!"

Masami gave an awkward smile at the two. 'Woah, kids can be scary.' he chuckled with this thought, even closing his eyes a little so that the kids could clearly see his expressions. "I'm sorry, she can be aggressive at times."

It was the first time Masami heard the boy speak, another thing that surprised Masami was the fact that the child behind him was a 'sister,' and not a brother. 'Why isn't she wearing feminine clothing?' Before Masami could create an hypothesis out of it, Alceste, the older brother, pulled Masami's hand and did not speak any more of it. "It's fine." Masami replied to the boy's apology, thinking that he couldn't respond because perhaps he thought that Masami was angry. He followed, though, wherever the brother lead them too. There was a little bit of sacrifice involved: Alceste, the older brother, was trying to catch his breath each time while sweating. Giulia, the younger sister, was happily humming along while the wind blows unto her skin for being so high up in the air.

Masami did not speak anymore of this; he wanted to ask what song Giulia was humming, but that would create a relationship between the two. Masami didn't want to have any connection about anyone, even if they were children, even if he has been feeling lonely. It all seemed to be such a risky move for him ever since he left Joya, his hometown, because of a bad memory. The train's wind brashly brushed the three, but they continued to walk forward.

"Here, here." Giulu shook her legs, wanting to go down. The younger brother, Alceste, had stopped as well.

What appeared in front of the three were merely bushes, and what seemed to be a rabbit hole was in front of Alceste. Masami brought Giulia down, and she had a reaction towards the entry that made her very excited. Though, her reaction upon seeing the hole could already bring up the fact that these siblings have been here more than once or thrice because of the familiarity. Giulia was the first one to enter the entrance by ducking and crawling in, it seemed to be big enough for Masami to enter just by widening the entrance a little.

Masami followed Alceste after he crawled in, and what was inside was a little pathway, large enough for the siblings to get rid of the need to crawl. However, because of Masami's size, he'd have to crawl while the other two are walking. The children laughed at Masami because of this, seeing he'd have to suffer a little as a child's joke. Then finally, what was in the end is a little grotto. It appeared to be a dome, still a little too small for Masami, but at least he could sit up now. Below was a magenta-colored cloth that had similarities with a carpet in texture, but it wasn't exactly a carpet. Giulia immediately ran unto it and clasped her hands, causing lights of different colors to appear and light the hidden grotto up for them.

Suddenly, Masami remembered that he is living in a place where magic exists, and children using magic is no different. Compared to Masami, Alceste did not show a bit of amazement except a very slight smile on his face. He had green eyes and dark-brown hair, while Giulia had hair of the same color and dark-brown eyes as well. He seemed to be so used to seeing this.

"I polished everything, Giulia can work with the lighting." Alceste whispered to Masami's ear, "She's really good at this kind of stuff." From what Masami felt, there was a big hint in Alceste's words that made him appear less happy compared to the big smile he's showing. He raised a brow at this with a doubt, and while Giulia is afar, playing with the speckles of light that dance in the air, Masami whispered back. "Don't tell me... you can't use magic?"

Alceste appeared surprised. Children are easy to read, but those who are aware of this tend to become very hard to read and very concealing of emotions. Alceste, the older brother, seemed to be this type of child. It was only because of Masami's knowledge in acting that allow him to read beyond what Alceste could conceal, but he knew for sure that if he was a normal person, he wouldn't know at all.

The boy looked away and nodded, then looked straight at Giulia and smiled brightly again. "My sister can hear colors," he mentioned, "I'm not able to use magic ever since." From Masami's perspective, the boy appeared to be trying hard to conceal his... envy? No, he seemed to be fine not being able to do and hear things his little sister could, however... this feeling bothered Masami.

The performer casually sat down, relaxing himself. "I can't do magic too, until I was taught how at the age of twelve. How old are you even?"

"Eight." Alceste immediately replied. "Giulia is six, but she can do all these things at a young age like that, I can only do simple things like this." Masami immediately laughed out loud – this caught the attention of Giulia, who was playing around with magic, but Masami leaned closer to the boy's ear, holding his left pinky right in front of his mouth. "I could teach you some magic."

A loud scream could be heard from inside of the grotto. But since it was hidden inside, you wouldn't really know where exactly it came from. "WHAAAAAT?!" says the scream. On the inside, Alceste backed off a little in surprise. "Y-you will? Are you a mage?!" after shouting this, in an instant, all of the lights went off. "Big sis is a mage!" a more female voice, Giulia's, said this in surprise. It was perhaps her shock that caused the magic to cancel... did she perhaps ran out of mana? Alceste struggled, accidentally hitting Masami right in the face, "The lights, Giulia! The lights!" and his little sister responded with an "I can't!", now they were forced to leave the place.

Oh well, it was fun 'til it lasted.

Alceste went out first, followed by Masami, then Giulia a moment after. The children even had leaves stuck on their head. The sun was shining brightly already, a few more minutes 'til the sun's rays start to hurt. "I'm sorry, brother. I just couldn't..." the little sister would cry out, "I don't know what happened." She tried her best not making a sound as she wept, but couldn't help but make tiny noises as tears fall from her cheeks. Masami watched them, waiting for what would happen and did not have a strong intention to intervene, and was left in awe when Alceste, the older brother, suddenly shouted: "You did great!"

Masami's attention switched to the older brother because of this sudden outburst. "You were great! You're going to be a great mage one day because of this!" he grabbed his little sister and embraced her tightly, "You're going to be a great mage, just like what you wanted..."

The performer couldn't help but sigh a little, tearing up as if he was watching a performance right in front of him. Then, there he felt that he could finally speak, and touched both of the children's heads. "Let's go home for now, your parents must be looking for you."

The children would reply with a confused look on their faces as well, but then both of them nodded and smiled. "Big sis is a kind lady." said Giulia, whose expression seemed to suddenly light up.

Marigold Streets

"My sister Giulia isn't allowed to use magic."

After the visit to the children's secret hideout, they went back home with Alceste, the older brother's leading. They left Giulia there to rest while Alceste would care to stay with his 'big sis' to introduce him around Marigold City. Then, as they chomp on a piece of bread in the morning when the sun was still calming to the skin, they walk around the streets of Marigold City as they chat. There were crowds of people forming at different sides and corner, and a lot of them would look at the foreigner, the visitor, Masami Kita. It didn't take a while for Masami to respond, "Why is that?" before biting unto the bread once more.

The boy shrugged, "Well... she had an outburst before, and she wouldn't wake up for days. I'm the only one who lets her use magic, because Marigold City's guild members are mages, and I think magic is good."

Alceste's response made Masami smile in amazement, having such a wise kid like this one. "Also, you seem pretty famous here, big sis." the boy stated, and this made Masami look around. The people stared at them, mainly Masami who was following the boy in front of him, eating bread together. He chuckled a little without responding at all, but Alceste seemed to be the one doing the talking. "I think it's because you're really pretty, big sis." Alceste said without looking back, nor having a change of reactions as well. Masami thought that he might be the type of person... or a kid, rather, to become straightforward at things. Compared to Giulia who was a fondness of magic and some irrationality, Alceste seemed to have been the opposite.

"Thank you, I'll tell you a secret later." Masami said this one in an alluring tone, which caused Alceste to blush a little and start to walk faster than he has been, earlier. Masami knew the reason why, and laughed because he knew.

Shortly after this walk, Masami and Alceste would stop at the end because of the child's limits. But before this would happen, Alceste couldn't help himself but ask. "Why are you travelling this far, big sis?" he said this in a very innocent tone of voice, typical for a child. He was still in front of Masami, not looking behind him at all. The type of child to be straightforward and independent, that was the design of this boy.

Masami hesitated quite a bit before answering, "Well... I'm a visitor, I should visit as much as I can before coming back home! That way, I have many tales to tell." He clapped his hands to exaggerate his emotion a little, "I'm also looking for a place to belong." this one he said calmer, telling the main truth about his intentions. However, the boy did not understand at first, even raising a brow in confusion. "You really have to travel that far?" he asked, but he didn't stop walking even if he wanted to, but Masami only responded with a hum. Then it was time; Alceste was put to a halt, and Masami followed.

"This is all I can take you," says Alceste, "now tell me the secret!" The last statement made Masami laugh. "You really cared about that?" Masami replied, looking at the boy's frustrated face, obviously wanting to know more. Masami stood silent at first, not wanting to say anything except but to reveal a taunting grin, but that was enough to keep the young boy waiting and strifling. "Alright, I'll tell. But don't be upset about it."

Then Masami lowered down, having his lips near the boy's ear. Calmly and gently, he whispered: "I'm a boy," then retracted, "that's all, thank you so much for everything!" Right after, Masami started to skip away, towards the hillside.

"EHHHH?!" shouts the boy, "You can't be serious, big sis can't be serio–!" he paused, realizing Masami's reactions everytime he was called 'big sis'. Then Alceste blushed until his face was completely red. He'll be seeing his 'big sis' sooner, after he has completed his objective.

Kita, Masami found himself look up to a windmill. They said these were one of the greatest spots in Marigold City, and by "they," you don't mean just the people living there. Even from the tales that Masami has read back in his hometown, Marigold City, not only did fiction take most focus on the Castle Syllas, which actually exists, they also had written tales about the windmills. That tale has began to unfold when Masami, at the moment, is looking directly at that architecture. He wasn't much surprised at it – there were lots of photos of Marigold City taken and featured on books. Seeing them were simply the non-fiction inside the fiction, but what had put Masami in amazement was the fact that they exist as accurately as the photos had depicted them. Masami could live without adventure, in all honesty. He could live inside his own imagination for a long time without leaving; the only reasons why he'd ever leave is when he needed to perform on stage and to practice. Marigold City is the opposite of his hometown in Joya, and this fact was so overwhelming that somehow, Masami felt at home.

He loved his home, and his family, all of those are a fact. Being in Marigold City felt so right that it was slightly bothering him, as well. What did this city have that the others didn't? There were many people that were kind, and the whole city consisted of peace and justice. They worked hard but didn't work as much as Masami did back in his hometown, and not being filled with workload had taken quite the guilt inside Masami. He felt as if he needed to do something, as if he needed to perform. Right when the sun has fully risen, he opened both of his paper fans and positioned himself. A movestep, an entrance; if you have been in Masami's theaters, you would immediately know that this is a symbol that Masami would begin his performance. At this point, the audience would start to shout despite not being allowed to, but there was no audience at the moment but the wind.

It has been a while ever since Masami had danced in the wind like this, he could really feel and hear the breeze, as if he had become one with it. The dance was not brash, but rather calm; his movesteps made him look like the wind was dancing in him instead of Masami dancing in the wind. Right after his moment, he opened his eyes and there appeared an old lady, standing quite far, whom clapped their hands the moment Masami finished and tried catching his breath. He was tearing up a little, he didn't know why, but that's how he felt after releasing.

The old woman walked up to him, and she appeared very calm and composed. "Have tea with me." she invited, then walked off, leaving Masami.

Initially, Masami had no huge desire of following the old lady, but she had left in him something that made him want to know the reason why. Curiosity won't be killing the cat any moment now, because a place where curiosity is open will not be able to kill anything at all. When he sat at the table inside the old lady's hut, he poured tea over Masami's cup, then he'd immediately raise it up with both of his hands before drinking. When the old woman saw this, she showed her amazement and poured tea for herself, then taking a seat as well. Now, the two of them were facing each other.

"You know how these things work very well." she said, then raised her cup before she drank from it, just like what Masami did. The performer nodded then exhaled, releasing himself from the warm tea he just drank from. "I was trained, I don't know very much, but I know quite as much." Masami forced himself to laugh a little afterwards, only to simply ease the atmosphere around the two of them so that there wouldn't be much stress applied upon each other because of the fact that either of them are strangers to one another. The woman would continue to praise him, "You dance very well."

"Yes, I have been trained as well, ever since I was a child. I've been doing the same things ever since." When Masami said this, the woman couldn't help but raise her brows and nod. She appeared to be very amazed; it wasn't odd for new audiences to become amazed at Masami's performance, especially if it was their first time watching, but this woman has been odd. Masami felt that she must've wanted something from him, so he could not help but ask: "Is there an exact reason why you invited me to have tea with you?"

The woman snickered as if she did not fully understand what Masami meant when he asked. This did not cause him to fear her, but he felt quite relieved. Usually, questions stiffen people up. It gives them a sense that they were being interrogated and it would make them harder to give out information. This old lady, however, only replied with a small laugh before drinking her tea another time, drinking completely everything up, then finally deciding to speak.

"I am a woman who listens to what I feel." she admitted, pouring more tea unto her cup, "I also believe that you are, too, because you chose to dance on the spot. You didn't even look if there are people watching you, ohoh!" she finished speaking the moment she finished filling her cup, which spilled a little. Upon witnessing this, Masami stood up, supposedly going to pick up a cloth to wipe the stain, but the old lady signaled him to stop, telling him that he did not need to despite not mentioning a single word. Masami, however, immediately understood this and sat back down. "How odd." the old lady mutters with a smile, right before drinking from her cup.

Masami chuckled after hearing the old lady's words, but she was not exactly incorrect, "Of course! Only an odd or eccentric person would dance all alone without checking if there are any audiences around. Should I be called the performer with no audience?" Masami said this with a lot of sarcasm in them, but it did not mean he was trying to be offensive. He was trying to loosen things more in order to make himself appear more casual, therefore gaining more information in the end. The woman read this, but instead asked in a serious tone:

"Would you like an audience?"

Masami had become what he was avoiding. Very often, people would get intimidated around Masami because of his social position, and communicating with someone who would not talk is worse than speaking to a doll and acting like they knew how to talk. Masami has been avoiding this types of scenarios ever since the first two times it happened in the past. Though he may not completely avoid them, he would know to himself if he had done his best to avoid the worst case scenario: causing discomfort to the other party. However, at the moment, Masami was the one who had stiffened up.

Right after the old woman's words, it felt as if his body froze. Though he asked himself, 'What did she mean?', he would not dare to speak such words out. What does she know that Masami did not? Perhaps she knew more than Masami would like to know, and that scenario would be similar to falling into quicksand. Most likely, there would be nowhere else to go if this woman knew about Masami's "bad memories," or in other terms, his past. Which was why, he stiffened up, unable to move, powerless enough to keep his hands touching the tea cup despite his hands starting to be in pain due to the tea's heat. He looked at her in the eye, though, and did his best not to widen them. If she knew that he looked surprised, it might be over.

Instead, Masami waited for her response, but it seemed as if she would not talk unless Masami answers. "What do you mean?" were the words that came out of Masami's mouth, even though he did not allow this. Unlike him, the old woman kept calm and composed, drinking her tea until it was time to answer.

"I have connections with the theater," she said, "and I could give you an audience, if you'd like. I'm already your first, here in Marigold City." At last, it struct Masami back to his usual self. In surprise, he stood up and slammed the table; his tea spilling all over despite staying still. "A theater?!" he exclaimed in excitement, "There's one of them here!" Masami's smile already signified comfort, and taught him that there was no need to be in control all of the time. The old lady who had realized this, such as a woman of wisdom, smiled back and nodded at the young boy's reaction.

To the woman's eyes, the sight of Masami being in joy over a gain of information has brought her memories. Masami is a sixteen-year-old boy, after all. What was surprising is that usually, boys of his age would try their best acting like an adult – forcing themselves to "grow up," abandoning all signs of childlikedness even if they needed it. Masami did not even seem to try wanting to grow up, it's like he didn't need it at all. Upon realizing this, she snickered again. "Of course there is! Did you know not? The Marigold Theater is known in the city. My, such a child you are..."

Howbeit, her words did not completely enter Masami. "I want to perform..." he quietly said, almost as if it was a mutter rather than a statement, "I want to perform, just like before." And there Kita Masami was, tearing up in front of a person he has never met before, let alone a foreigner, too. He had found out also the reason why he was tearing up in his solo performance earlier; a sense of déjà vu, a hint of homesicknesses. He misses his loved ones, and for a boy to suddenly pull apart from his family despite staying with them for so long, it must've been hard. The old woman has thought of this, too, that this boy must have seen and experienced things others did not experience. There are so many things going in the world that anything, no matter how bad they are, can happen. The negativity would outlive the positivity because humans, themselves, mold the world that way. An ideal put up by people, a bond that was not told to anybody else.

Masami wiped the tears off of his eyes before they would even reach his chin. "Pardon me, I'm not usually like this..." he excused, but when he opened his eyes, he saw that the old woman has been smiling at him for having the courage to show his emotions. And with a last snicker, she stood up and said: "Come, I'll take you to the theater."

It was a classic: a witch's hat and a flying broom. The woman rode this and Masami followed right behind him, and they were soaring through the skies. Not too fast, but not too slow – just the right speed to get to their destination quickly, but not as to avoid enjoying the scene. Marigold City is indeed a beautiful place, a city contrast to Masami's hometown in Joya. If he could only bring this type of order back home, he would gladly do so. Not only would the theater benefit, but also, last but not least, his family. His mother would perhaps suffer less, if her disease truly is incurable, and his late father would be proud of him when he watches from the heavens. "Say, granny. Why did you approach me?" Masami asked out of wonder. This time, he will ask because he wants to, not because he needs to get information. This is certainly an information he would keep forever, a wisdom he will definitely take home.

The old woman laughed, "My boy Alceste called through the landline, telling me that a beautiful looking boy might come my way. He described completely, to me, how you looked. I did not want to believe him at first." Masami laughed at this reply as well, thinking that it was silly. But then he nodded and proved Alceste correct. "Yes, grandma, I am a male."

Having this revelation made the woman cackle, "My, my, my! You are prettier than most of the ladies here. Perhaps more beautiful I, when I was in my youth." she continued to make her old woman laughs even after her statements, but Masami had no comments on that, so he ended up laughing instead. "I needed to become beautiful for the audience." He was correct. The things that he learned, and the things that were done to him in the past, all shaped him to who he is now. Kita Masami's journey to Marigold City—no. His journey itself... has not even started yet.

Marigold Streets

Masami pointed at his east, stretching his whole arm. "What was that over there?" he asked right after, pointing at the near mountains. In front of them was the Castle Syllas, which Masami already knew, but the old lady hesitated that what Masami saw was the castle, and not anything else. He shook his head and pointed at the same location again, insisting that it was something else. "It looked very ancient," Masami said, pondering about other words to describe what he saw, "like in the books, it looked very magical."

The old woman raised a brow. Although she would persist in saying that there was nothing else there, she started to contemplate about whatever it was. Then she let out a short "Ah..." and snickered, "must be the guild." she continued. The guild, Penumbral Guard, is in Marigold City. Masami remembered a new friend mentioning this, but he has never really seen the inside of it nor has been there himself. Masami replied and looked straight ahead, ignoring the mirage that he saw. He'll see it sooner or later, especially after joining them. It was the only guild he thought that was suitable for him for now, then he thought that perhaps it was because of the guild that left Marigold City in such peace and order.

But since Masami is not yet in the guild, he looked forward, towards the theaters. But where they landed was not in front of the theaters, but back in the streets. Masami got off of the magical broom first, but the old lady did not. "The theater...?" he asked but then hesitated, but the old lady immediately answered. "Your journey ends after seeing the theater, so I suggest you start looking around before it does. The theater's straight ahead, then turn right at the second corner. she lifted her hat then flew off, back to the direction from where they came from.

Masami sighed, but he wasn't disheartened. He faced straight ahead, just like the woman's words. With a paper fan he opened, he lightly fluttered this as he started to walk.

It was past lunch time and the sun was already scorching hot. Instead of fluttering the paper fan near Masami's neck to cool his temperature down, he ended up using this as a small umbrella to cover the sun's rays away from his sun. He wouldn't want to damage is smooth skin with that UV ray; even though he has been far away from his hometown, taking care of his skin is something that he'll bring until the end. After all, there's nothing wrong with being a little bit more beautiful, ain't that correct?

Masami's clothes were quite heavy, so he was already sweating on the inside. When he took the outer layer, the one who which appeared more of a coat, voices from the surrounding radius suddenly let out voices of amazement. Some would even squeal; not only was Masami revealing his legs, but now, as well as some skin on his upper arms. He had forgotten how odd he appeared, not to mention his feminine-traits. Taking this to an advantage, he winked with a smile, then walked off, spreading noises all around him. This trick doesn't tire him at all. He continued to walk straight ahead, then upon the second corner, he turned to the right, just like the instructions given to him.

The noise didn't linger much. After a few more seconds, Marigold Street is back to their usual peaceful nature; not so busy, but not so empty. Even though there were more people than there was in the morning, this crowd was not hard to breathe in. It didn't take Masami long to spot the theater's signage, he even ran towards it to have a clearer view of what it offers. At the moment, he is in front of the place he has been longing for: a theater – although not so far off of the theater Masami worked in before (he thought, too, that Marigold's theater was way smaller), it was for him, "good" enough. Although he had smiled, he knew that he should save this excitement for later.

Marigold Theater

In Joya, in Masami's hometown, there was a theater he was trained in ever since he was a child. It started out as a small theater, only a stage and a small space for the audience; since the back part of the stage is taken up by the instruments, the stage for the actors to perform into is not so open. However, when Masami was still a child, he thought that this theater was already big enough for him. Each time he grew, he'd think that it was uncomfortably compact, more and more. The funds that they earned led to more expansions, and Masami was proud to say that he was one of the contributors to this expansion. Though the theater, now, is one of the biggest, having more than two stages, Masami would still think that his hometown in Joya is still a little to tight because of how busy people are. Nevertheless, he is staring at the theater in Marigold.

'I wonder if this would become just like in my hometown...' Masami thought to himself as he stares at the theater's entrance, but was caught off-guard when a woman grabbed his shoulders. He brushed the hand off and turned to her in reflex, but she did not respond in a negative way whatsoever. "Are you coming to see the show?" she asked, and Masami realized that he is not in Joya because of the woman's clothing style. She appeared more casual, more Fiorian, but of course there were more categories of clothing choices, yet this is a topic for some other time. In response to the woman's words, Masami leaned his head to the right with a question: "Show...?" he blinked twice right after and awkwardly laughed. Then the woman, whom at first seemed random, had started to look more like a person who'd work at a theater. She responded, "Of course! A demo is starting now. You should watch it, visitor." then walked upstairs, rushing a little.

Masami would immediately follow, but this time, a smaller hand grabbed his hand... two smaller hands, now. Masami turned to see the children he met since the morning, giving him a smile. It was the older brother that spoke first, saying: "Don't think you can turn away just like that, older brother!"

"Ah! I'm glad that you're more aware now." Masami teased. The younger sister seemed to be much more aware now, but she seemed completely fine by it. "We want to watch, too." then the older brother picked his sister's hand and ran towards the entrance, wanting to outspeed Masami. The performer did not even try, following by only walking. Suddenly, he was more calmer, now looking forward to the show.

There were chairs for seats; back in Joya, they used pillows on the floors. Some would even steal those pillows until they upgraded them for stools and replaced the pillows with carpets in the upper floors. Masami sat comfortably in the middle. He noticed that some of the workers had started to hurry, beginning to order others around with tension. To Masami, this was quite normal. Whenever the Prime Minister or someone with position comes to their theater, the director and the workers would start to panic. Guess Masami is a Very Important Person from now, with all those accessories he was wearing, how could he not steal other peoples' attention?

The lady from earlier mentioned that they are showing a demo, Masami did not completely understand what she meant by this at first, but the stage explained what it she meant in an instant. There were fewer people, and the stage is not extravagantly decorated. The costumes, as well, was obviously placeholders, but it did not bother the fewer audience at all. Masami was surprised when the show started; in Joya, they would start by sending sounds that signifies the start of the show. Because of this, Masami jumped a little on his seat, which made the two children make fun of him.

The story of the show was far from the stories Masami would play in their theater. There were lots of cultural differences, using knights instead of samurais, etcetera. At the end of the show, everyone clapped, including Masami. Although he knew that the demo show was not as good at the ones from his hometown, not even close, he appreciated everyone's efforts. Just like in his hometown, the show used children in training; everyone in the stage did well enough to bow on stage while everyone claps.

Visitors started to leave, but Masami stayed for a while, watching the workers clean the stage and sweep the floor. When he stood up to leave, Giulia, the younger sister, grabbed his hand and asked: "This means you will leave... right?" and sobbed a little. But Masami responded with a laugh and touched her head, shaking his' and replied: "No. I will be staying for a little while." and left the theater with the two children following his back.