After those words of confidence escape Yoichi’s mouth, both Natsume and I are promptly pushed straight to the further end of the park, where a simple tent resides. The place itself is nothing special… no, that would be too polite. It’s borderline unsalvageable.

Paint stains covering all around the tent, all of which I have no idea what color they are for their old stature and the darkness of the night have made them look like a mushy, pitch black. Patches sewn in all sorts of places, giving the feeling of the tent being checker-patterned while in reality, it’s just riddled with holes. And the smell is an absolute kicker - had it not been for Yoichi constantly reminding us that this was indeed his stage to perform tonight, I would have mistaken this tent for a pigsty.

“Well, here we are!” The main culprit, meanwhile, stands proud before the horrid excuse for a construction site and loudly declares.

Okay, that’s it. I can’t do this anymore.

“Like, I know you’re a trustworthy guy, Yoichi,” I rub my temples in pain, with both the nasty stench and the absurdity of the situation knocking on my head like rabbits pounding mochi on a moonlit night. “But I have to ask you again: are you sure this is the place?”

“Of course I’m sure!” The young man in question lets out a hearty laugh as he inexplicably appears behind my back and gives me a hard pat on the back. “Don’t worry, it’s not as bad as it looks!”

“Well… okay then…” I nervously answer, my eyes glancing towards Natsume. Unfortunately, I have no more allies to rely on, as all I receive is a shrug of defeat coming from her.

Well, this is unfortunate.

“Oh, wait,” Natsume suddenly sounds. Is she finally having a change of heart?

“Aren’t we supposed to be staff members for tonight?”

Never mind. We’re doomed.

Meanwhile, Yoichi laughs the question off and wags his finger to deny the claim. “No need. I told you guys to be staff, but in reality, there aren’t many big props that I have for tonight. Besides, I can’t really pay you with anything, so just sit back and enjoy the free show, sounds good?”

At this point, I feel a strong sense of us getting scammed. But to heck with it. We’ve made it this far, what’s the worst that can happen, right?

…

Clearly, I was wrong to underestimate how much Yoichi can subvert my expectations.

I don’t know how he achieved it, but he actually pulled it off. At least he stayed true to his words… somewhat. It’s definitely not as bad as the outside, oh no. The inside is worse than the already dreaded outside appearance.

There is… a stage. Yes, let’s call it a stage, and not a single platform made out of a wooden box that’s barely big enough for one adolescent teen to stand on. Which normally wouldn’t be an issue, but this is unfortunately Yoichi we’re talking about - the guy is absolutely huge. But hey, at least the crowd is good, right?

“Hey, Hakuen…” Natsume’s nervous voice whispers into my ears. “Are they… dead?”

Yup, that basically sums up everything.

Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.

It’s bad enough that there are about three people, not counting us, in this tent. But the fact that all of them are people in their nineties at least, all of their eyes are shut tight, their heads are all tilted up the ceiling, and they don’t even look like they’re breathing is very, very concerning, to say the least.

“Hey, what’s the matter?” Yoichi, on the other hand, still acts as if everything is normal (is he deliberately acting that way to ease our worries, or is he genuinely clueless at this point?) and wraps his arm around my shoulder. “Lighten up, Hakuen! The fun is about to begin!”

“Uh… are you sure about that? Like, really, really sure? Like, ‘we’re not getting into some weird mass murderer scheme’ sure?”

“Haha, what are you talking about?” Only a hearty laugh comes from Yoichi. “Everyone’s just asleep, it’s fine!”

“I… I guess,” I reluctantly answer. Of course, I don’t really believe that Yoichi is some kind of criminal mastermind, but it’s not a lie to say that this scene before me is creepy as hell.

“Well, anyway, onto the backstage, you two! Let the show begin!”

The “backstage” that Yoichi mentioned is quite literally just a single piece of cloth shoddily draped over a rusty old steel frame, around half a meter away from the box. But beggars can’t be choosers at this point, so Natsume and I settle ourselves standing in that corner to watch what kind of crazy stunts our self-proclaimed “best magician in the world” has been cooking up.

As I feared, as soon as Yoichi steps up the box, it immediately collapses under his weight, causing a giant cracking sound to echo throughout the tent. Not that it wakes up the dead… I mean sleeping people anyway.

“Welcome, one and all!” Yoichi’s voice soon follows, but in his “show mode”, as he likes to call it - loud, brash, and filled with confidence. “To Kuroba Yoichi’s magical wonder!”

As the words leave his mouth, the young magician snaps his fingers, and right on cue, his signature crows storm the tent. Although, with how dead the scene already looks, adding a pack of black birds isn’t really what I would call “helping the case”.

But his show has only begun.

As the crows circle Yoichi, a sudden flare glows from the center where he stands. Yoichi’s entire body bursts into flames at a moment’s notice, but before we can even start to panic and call for help, a sudden downpour from the ceiling rains down, dousing off any speck of fire left. Meanwhile, the crows all form a line behind him and flap their wings as hard as they can, creating a miniature gust indoors to dry off the leftover water on his clothes. And with only a flip of the cape, Yoichi has completely changed out of his wet clothes (to which I then wonder why he bothered to have the crows make the wind in the first place). Now, with his hands raised, sparks of pure, wild lightning flicker on his fingertips, lighting up the tent as if it was daytime.

Tricks after tricks are pulled in a rapid-fire succession. Though I have not watched a lot of magic shows, even I am able to realize one thing about Yoichi’s show. Individually, his tricks are amazing; truly deserving of his title, so much so that I can never figure out how they’re done. But on the other hand, the way he does them is just too fast to watch properly, as if he’s rushing through his techniques to prove a point rather than constructing a show for the people to enjoy. As a show, it sucks.

However, this is surely not something that Yoichi wouldn’t expect. And it doesn’t take long for me to understand why.

As I turn around, Natsume’s eyes have said them all. The way they sparkle so brilliantly as if she’s only now realizing what it was that she was missing…

This is not a show for me. Nor is it a show for any individual in particular.

This is a show for those with a dream. A passion. Those with generational talents that use them as guiding steps to their success in life.

“No, my friend,” as if having read my mind, Yoichi suddenly appears before me from a swirl of crows. “This show is meant for a single individual.”

Turning to Natsume, he continues. “And you’ve figured out the answer, right?”

Unsurprisingly, Natsume nods. Her answer, however, is anything but predictable. “Yeah. This show… is for you, Yoichi.”

“Correct,” as I’m still trying to wrap my head around the meaning behind it, Yoichi has already answered. “This show is for me and me alone to enjoy. Neither you two nor any audience play a part in this. I was going to do it whether there’s anyone else to see it or not… So, do you know what it is that you’re missing, Natsume?”

“Yeah, thanks, Yoichi,” a soft smile comes out as she nods her head to confirm. “What I lack… is joy. My own joy.”

“Exactly, my friend. Joy is the ultimate magic for us. To create something for others to remember, first, you need to enjoy yourself. Remember these words, and you’ll be ready for anything thrown your way.”