Circus

Disclaimer: Don't own it.

When Lenalee was seven, her brother brought her out of the castle to what they called a "circus".

There were brightly colored tents everywhere with even more brightly colored people prancing around with a skip, waving various items around.

A circus performer stopped Lenalee and bowed lightly to her, carefully balancing on the balls of his feet to make his bow more exaggerated. An impish but friendly smile was on his brightly painted face. Then, with a flourish, he produced a bright red balloon from behind his back and offered it to her.

Timidly, she took the balloon in her small hands. The performer's smile widened into a grin before hopping away. She laughed and wound the string of the balloon around her hand, her other hand held safely in Komui's hand.

As they weaved through the crowds of people, she caught sight of a young boy, who looked slightly younger than her, taking a rest outside a tent. He was dressed in the costume of a circus performer with a floppy cloth hat on his head and thick gloves on his hands. Brown strands of hair escaped from beneath the cloth to frame a thin painted face.

The boy caught sight of Lenalee staring at him and smiled at her shyly.

Letting go of Komui's hands, she walked towards his direction, squeezing her small body through the mass of tightly packed bodies.

Lenalee looked curiously at the boy as he removed his gloves to let his hands feel the fresh air and saw that his left hand was disfigured and blood red. When he saw her approaching, he quickly hid them behind his back.

The two young children stared at each other for a moment before Lenalee stuck out her balloon, staring at the boy with large trusting eyes. It was a peace offering. The boy hesitantly took his balloon with his right hand, mouth turning up slightly at the corners. Lenalee was happy with this reaction.

"Lenalee?" Her brother called, finally having located his younger sister. He swept her up in his arms and hugged her tightly.

The boy watched this with big blue-gray eyes.

Komui walked away, leaving behind the boy, who watched as Lenalee was carried away. They shared a last smile before she disappeared into the crowd with her brother.

"Allen?" A man called him from behind, startling him into letting the balloon go. He could only watch as the balloon floated up into the sky, becoming a small red fleck in the bright blue sky amongst the fluffy white clouds.