There were countless small troupes of performes who traveled around the countryside with their shows, but only two were worthy of mention—the Hyoutei High Top and the Seishun Circus. They always drew large audiences, but about twice a year, when their paths crossed, there wouldn't be an empty room for miles as people flooded in for the joint performances.
For those shows, Seishun's legendary animal trainers and Hyoutei's famous magician always took second-billing to their acrobats. Seishun's Kikumaru Eiji was known for charming audiences with his charming smile and daring feats on the tightrope while Hyoutei's Mukahi Gakuto wowed them with his powerful flips and seemingly endless stamina. When the two met in the middle of the circus ring though, sparks flew as each tried to outdo the other.
It wasn't until a period of political unrest, when safety in numbers caused the two troupes to combine, that Eiji and Gakuto spent more than those few days a year in one another's company. It wasn't until Eiji nearly fell off of the tightrope when Gakuto started stretching below him and Gakuto missed a trick completely when Eiji laughed while tumbling past that people began wondering if maybe it wasn't just rivalry causing the sparks between them.
Later, no one would remember who had first made the suggestion—some said it was the magician Fuji, others said it was the ringmaster Yuushi, and still others said it was lion-tamer Momo—but everyone remembered the first time Eiji and Gakuto performed the trapeze piece they had created together, one gravity-defying stunt after another in a sequence that never should have worked, and yet somehow it did.
Prince of Tennis, Eiji/Gakuto, G
For those shows, Seishun's legendary animal trainers and Hyoutei's famous magician always took second-billing to their acrobats. Seishun's Kikumaru Eiji was known for charming audiences with his charming smile and daring feats on the tightrope while Hyoutei's Mukahi Gakuto wowed them with his powerful flips and seemingly endless stamina. When the two met in the middle of the circus ring though, sparks flew as each tried to outdo the other.
It wasn't until a period of political unrest, when safety in numbers caused the two troupes to combine, that Eiji and Gakuto spent more than those few days a year in one another's company. It wasn't until Eiji nearly fell off of the tightrope when Gakuto started stretching below him and Gakuto missed a trick completely when Eiji laughed while tumbling past that people began wondering if maybe it wasn't just rivalry causing the sparks between them.
Later, no one would remember who had first made the suggestion—some said it was the magician Fuji, others said it was the ringmaster Yuushi, and still others said it was lion-tamer Momo—but everyone remembered the first time Eiji and Gakuto performed the trapeze piece they had created together, one gravity-defying stunt after another in a sequence that never should have worked, and yet somehow it did.