My muse is a bully. She is a bully with an obsession with jesters and jokers so therefore, this was just begging to be written. After too many cups of coffee and rewatching the Book of Circus, this was found on my computer. I do want to go over a few things but we start.

~ There is no scheduled update time. Demon's Broken Doll is still my main priority and my precious baby so most of my attention will be focused on that story. That being said, I have yet to abandon a story and I don't ever plan too. This story will be continued and it will be finished.

~ There is no set pairing. I have yet to decide on a set pairing for this story since I am writing it as I go. Feel free to give your votes and opinion on who you would like Kagome to end up with. I will update this when I become set on a pairing.

I think that is it. Remember, your words and opinions as a reviewer do matter! So don't be afraid to be leave a review behind voicing thoughts, opinions, constructive criticism, whatever. It is all open and I will read every last one of them.

Disclaimer ~

Yana Toboso wrote the Kuroshitsuji manga and a wonderfully talented crew created the Black Butler anime. Rumiko Takahashi wrote the Inuyasha manga and a wonderfully talented crew created the Inuyasha anime. Sadly, I have no part in any of these and I do not own anything but the plot to this FanFiction.

He had repeated it over and over again. Never hesitate. A simple command, meant to be followed and to leave no room for questioning. In their line of work, a single doubt could end their lives. If they did not suffer, then their brothers and sisters may suffer in their place. It was a safety precaution. Never hesitate. No matter how much blood decorates your hands or how much guilt erodes your heart, you never hesitate.

Joker had never hesitated before. He performed as the pierrot. He lead his family when kidnapping the other children and he was always willing to make the first kill. He could not afford to hesitate as too many innocent lives rested on this shoulders. He wouldn't let his brothers or sisters suffer, even if that meant that other strange children had to be killed in their place.

He performed like Father wanted him too. He set up the children, letting them fall and be eaten. The blood built up on the stage, lapping at his shoes. The crimson liquid tried to reflect his guilt but he refused to make eye contract. He grimace, he winced and he flinched as child after child fell. Each life lost for the entertainment of Father and the Earl Ciel Phantomhive.

Joke wasn't sure where it went wrong. Maybe it was when he lunged to protect Father and lost his other arm to the demon. Maybe it when he put on the circus performance, letting the children die before their eyes as the old man clapped and laughed. Or, maybe it was even before that. Before Smiles and Black join the circus. Before the circus attracted the Queen's attention. Just maybe, it all went wrong when they followed a friendly old man who promised them a future out of the gutter and filth.

Never hesitate.

So simple but this time, Joker wanted to hesitate. What waited for him beyond life was a mystery and it scared him. He didn't want to die. He didn't want his family to die. He hesitated this once, flinching away from the haze of death that was falling steadily.

The heat of the fire licked at his exposed skin, boiling his blood from the inside. Liquid, from his own filth and blood, dried on his clothes and flesh. Tears continued to stream down his face, showing the agony that raged inside. He didn't want to die but he accepted his fate. Their fates. The fates that entwined when they were younger and would wither away together now that they were older.

Like Tom the Piper's son, they only knew how to play one tune. If only, they had been born in a different country or with different bodies. Maybe then, they could have had long, happy lives. If only another tune played for them when their threads of fates were woven together.

"Tell . . . me." Such a sweet voice tinkled his ear.

When had his eyes closed? Why was his body too weak to open them again? Was this how death felt? His body was shutting down, one sense at a time. He could taste nothing and he could see nothing. Soon, his other senses would give out too.

"Talk to me. Tell me." Long hair tinkled his face as the mysterious person leaned down to whisper in his ear.

It was a feminine tone. She sounded like light raindrops playing with a wind chime. Was this the voice of an angel? Or did Hell sent a seductress to torture him until his last moments? Soft, gentle hands caressed his back despite the blood that must have been licking at her palms.

"Let me help. Tell me your last thoughts."

Joker's lips moved without his permission, forming words he didn't want to voice. "We could only play one tune. Over the hills and far away . . ." His body seized as his lungs tried to expel the blood that was gathering in the fragile organs. Coughs forced his body to tremble and blood splayed from his lips like a horrifying fountain.

"And if I could change that tune? What would you give me?"

It didn't matter. He was dying. Nothing he said or promised now would matter in a few minutes. This must be a trick from a deity. This was a trick to continue his agony until his last moments by giving him a demonic promise.

"Anything I have." Joker replied with a smile. "Anything I can give you."

"And if you don't have it? Will your family make the same offer?"

"Only me." Joker frowned at the implied threat. Even in death, he wouldn't let his family suffer for him. "You can only take for me."

Silence rang over the room. He knew it was too good to be true. Maybe he was hallucinating in his death? His heart was beating weakly and air was now growing stiff in his lungs. Muscles clenched and unclenched as his body tried to keep his organs alive. It was a useless attempt.

"Too good to be true." For some reason, his dying brain found this funny. Joker cracked a wide smile, displaying blood coated teeth. "It was such a sweet lie but you don't really exist, do you?"

"No. I'm just a ghost from a past life."

He wasn't prepared for the pain. Five sharp daggers drove themselves into his chest. His eyes flew open as his chest lurched upwards in the attempt to free himself. Dazed purple eyes flew to his attacker.

It was a beautiful young woman. She was crouched by his side with her head bowed down so her long black hair hid her face. The five daggers he thought were piercing his heart were actually her dark violet claws that extended from his finger tips. Behind her, five black tails splashed in the crimson puddles that surrounded them. As Joker fell prey to the darkness around him he got one last glimpse of the stranger.

Jewel blue eyes with black slitted pupils watched him carefully as his heart finally gave out.

`·.¸¸.·´´¯`··. . .·

We met in the gutters, where the world's filth was casted out and the rats were free to feast. Death, starvation and cruelty were all we knew. We had done nothing yet, still too young to experience the world but already we knew a deity's wrath.

We were all incomplete in same shape or form. We were broken somewhere. We had all been abandoned in the gutter with the hopes that darkness would take us and cleanse the world of our presence. It was not our fault. Our deformities, our differences made those around us afraid and cruel.

Some of us, were born lacking something since birth. A problem that our parents could have been blamed for but instead, we were the ones judged. Others had bodies that stayed like a child's, forever. No one asked about their mental state, which were leaps and bounds ahead of anyone with their age appearance. There was one other who was raised too harshly, never to know a kind word or a gentle touch and even one whose parents deformed her one night in a drunken rage. She ran to the streets for protection, only to be shunned and thrown away like the rest of us.

Our appearances, kept us from getting jobs. Nobody wanted to hire the street rats, the rejects of the world. Our non-Japanese features made even the kindest people hesitate to speak to us. Where were our families? Where did we come from if we were not natives? We didn't know. None of us could remember and when we tried, we only got vague shadows of what once was.

We had to survive though. We tried to get jobs, honestly, but when there was no money, we still had to eat. We did whatever we could to get food but even stealing was hard with bodies like ours.

It's difficult to remember how we survive from day to day. We tried to not dwell on it. If we linger in the past or worry too much about the future, we would die. We had to live in the present. We had to learn to never hesitate and to keep our minds here, instead of elsewhere.

We had to stay alive. It was not easy hiding in the gutters but we managed. We survived any way we could. We stole, we cheated and we scavenged like stray dogs. It was never easy but we had each other and we considered that enough. No deity could separate us after all we had been through.

We were a close-knit group, not trusting anyone around us. We were hostile to even the other gutter rats, not letting them close to us. We knew hunger and desperation. We knew the darkness of the world that could easily infect others and we were not going to risk our family to such filth. We trusted each other but we did not trust outsiders.

When she appeared with only a lone boy in her company, we were naturally weary. The nameless duo decided to stay in our alleyway, watching us as we watched them. The first few days were tense as nobody slept and food was kept hidden from the opposing group. The young girl didn't show any sign of leaving and after time, we were forced to reveal our food source so we could eat. We continued to survive even with their strange presences.

The atmosphere only got darker as time went on. It was like watching two dog packs that wanted to rest together. Both sides were too weak, too scrawny to fight but glares and hidden threats were exchanged to keep the boundary between the two clear. Tension was building and if nothing happened soon, a simple snap would turn the dog packs against each other.

After a few days, the eldest male started to notice little things about her. It was his turn to stay up late and guard the family and the young lady was awake too, keeping watching over the boy who traveled with her. They couldn't be much older than each other.

Her skin was a light cream color and unlike most street rats, she had no scars marring her flesh. Her hair, beneath the mud and grime, was actually a midnight black with a blue sheen. Her long bangs was spikier on the left side, nearly covering her eye. The most enchanting feature was her bright blue eyes that shined like the jewels in the shop windows. As far as he could see, there was no obvious reason for her to be abandoned like the others.

Her companion was the oddest appearing person he had ever seen but no judgement was passed onto him. His skin was a pale, sickly color. Golden-white scales were patched all over skin. His hair was an unusual pure white and since no dark colored roots could be spotted, it must have been a natural color. The strangest features about him was his forked tongue and reptilian yellow eyes. It was clear to see why he was rejected.

The two of them were always together, even in slumber. Like now, the girl stood watch, peering around with tired blue eyes as the young boy was curled on the dirty floor with his head resting on her lap. It didn't look comfortable, the boy must have been heavy to her frail legs, but she didn't complain. She just hummed a song and stroked the white hair as he slept.

At an unknown time, the two groups managed to merge without anyone noticing. Maybe it when the youngest of his group was crying and it was the strange girl to gather her in her her arms and soothed the little one's fears. Or maybe it was when the strange girl offered them her left-over bread to his starving family.

Food was as valuable as gold to the gutter rats. It was unheard of to share food with anyone. Each bite was worshipped and cherished for the life it would extend. So it shocked everyone when the eldest male blinked his eyes clear of the haze of hunger to see her there, crouching before them and silently offering them her spare loaf of bread.

The group of seven merged and became a group of nine. No names were exchanged, mostly because nobody had any names to give. They knew each other by facial features and personalities. Names were unnecessary and unneeded. They were family and that was all that was needed from each other.

`·.¸¸.·´´¯`··. . .·

A few weeks after the families merged, they discovered something new about the two newest strangers they took in. The young girl had a natural talent for musical abilities and the young boy had a dangerous temper. It was an accidental discovery and it nearly destroyed the fragile bonds they had formed.

The young boy-man that was forever stuck in a child's body had moved to take the final mouthful of bread that rested between the large group. At the same time the beautiful young woman with black hair and blue jewel eyes reached for it. Instantly the snake-boy gave a sharp hiss and bared his thin, unnatural fangs at the boy-man to make him back off. The boy-man frowned deeply and he quickly snatched it before the other girl could. He cradled it to his chest and he watched the reptilian boy who was getting angrier and angrier the longer the bread was kept away from the young woman.

Lines were drawn in a blink of an eye. Seven familiar bodies huddled together with the eldest male and the gentle giant in front. The snake-boy thrust his arm out, throwing the young woman behind him. The scaled boy still bared his fangs but everyone could see the fear in his eyes as he eyed his competition. The gentle young lady appeared from behind her strange companion and draped her thin arms around the boy's neck so she could hug him from behind.

"~Tom, he was a Joker's son,

He learned to joke when he was young,

All the laughter he would bring,

He'd only ask for a penny a day~"

It was such a sweet tune and it came from such a beautiful voice. It was a strange song that filled them all with a nostalgia feeling. It was like a dream that should be remembered but still danced out of their reach.

"~The circus is coming, please don't scoff

It's just over the hills and a long way off.~"

The snake-boy was relaxing into her embrace as the song continued. A small smile danced on her lips as she continued to sing. It didn't escape the eldest male's attention that everyone in the alleyway was now leaning closer to her voice. They all wanted more, like a craving they couldn't sate.

"~Now Tom with his jokes made such a noise,

That he pleased all the girls and boys

They would cheer and he would say

The circus is close, not far away~"

Silence fell over the alleyway and continued for several seconds before the youngest of them started to clap. Her tiny hand beat quickly, her one good eye shining with joy. The other young girl in his family joined in, then the two adult-children, then the gentle giant and finally everyone else clapped.

Only the eldest male stayed quiet. His violet eyes locked on the woman who sung the song so beautifully. This was a song that made him want to cry and hold his make-shift family together. The same song that made his heart clench in pain and caused tears to fill his eyes.

`·.¸¸.·´´¯`··. . .·

"Why can't we open a circus?" The youngest girl asked a few days later.

"We're not skilled enough." The gentle-giant explained calmly. "It takes professionals to start and handle a circus."

"Well we could at least try," the girl insisted stubbornly.

"She is right." The black-haired, blue-eyes girl voiced her own opinion. "It's always good to have dreams."

"Dreams, yes." The golden haired man that was stuck in a boy's body replied darkly. "Delusions, though? That's not healthy. There's no way we could run a circus."

"We can do it!" The little one argued back. "We can even get names and have great jobs."

The oldest male with flame colored hair and violet eyes just watched in amusement. This wasn't the first time the young one had tried this conversation. Ever since the mysterious young lady had sung that song, it quickly became one of the group's favorites and the young sister's nighttime lullaby.

"But why not?" She whined out. "Big brother agrees that it is good idea!"

He had actually said no such thing but the youngest sister knew that he was weak against her single bright blue eye. He could never tell her no and she knew it. When she turned her eye towards him with an adorable pout on her lips, he found himself shrugging and not telling her the truth like he wanted too.

"If we're going to open a circus, then we need stage names," the eldest replied simply. With a large grin he hopped off his crate and made an exaggerated gesture towards the young girl with black hair that fell in waves. She was missing her left leg so she didn't often move around the alleyway. Sitting in her lap was one of the stray kittens that always kept her company. "You will be Beast, our famous animal tamer."

Next was the thin boy with pitch black hair and sea-green eyes. He sat close to the now named Beast and was snuggled into her side. He was a mirror copy of Beast since he was missing his right leg. "You can be Dagger, the knife-thrower!"

"Hey! Give me one too!" The young girl raced up to the eldest male and bounced on the tip of her toes to get his attention. Her eye was lit up with glee and a wide smile dominated her face. "It was my idea," she insisted.

"Hmm, okay! You can be Doll." He pointed straight at her face with a charming grin.

A light pink blush took over her face and her joyful bounce stopped immediately. "Eh? I don't want a girly name like that." Her hands started to fiddle with her dirty shirt, a classic sign that she was embarrassed. "It doesn't fit me."

"Of course it fits you." It was the unnamed female, the one who sung to them, that spoke this time. Her chin rested in the palm of one her hands and for once, her musical voice was stern. "Because you're the adorable little sister."

Afterwards, the other joined in on what they thought was a temporary game. Each one was given a name and an occupation that they would hold in the circus. Jumbo, Dagger, Beast, Wendy, Peter, Doll and finally, he was dubbed Joker.

At the end, there was only the strange duo left. They were leaning against the alley way across from others, watching them. Joker was unsure if they wanted in the game and after the snake-boy's display a few days ago, nobody was brave enough to simply go up to them and do it.

It was Doll who showed no fear and skipped up to the two. She leaned down so she could look the strange boy in the eyes before bravely reaching a finger up and poking his nose. His nose wrinkled and his golden eyes narrowed but he did nothing else to set the surrounding family members on alert. "You can be Snake, our very own snake charmer."

Doll then turned to the final girl. She was the only one left unnamed but at that moment, Doll was unsure of what job to give her. Every job she knew about the circus was taken. If she had no job, then how was she to get a name?

"I will simply be Kagome." At Doll's confused face, Kagome repeated her name slowly so everyone could understand her. "Ka-Go-Me."

"That's an odd name." Peter never missed a chance to make his opinion clear. "Why did you choose such a complicated name while all of ours are simple?"

Kagome smiled and ran her hand through Snake's white locks. "That's the name my family gave me before they all died."

Before anything is said, yes I totally butchered the 'Over The Hills & Far Away' nursery song and yes, it is still sung to the exact same beat. It is also difficult to describe characters without names but I think I did very decently. The first few chapters, I will be taking some scenes from the manga and anime and twisting them a bit to fit my story. Once we get to a certain point though, it will stop following their back stories and continue on a path uniquely their own.

Some questions to dwell on as you wait for the next chapter. Who was the strange creature that gave the circus their second chance? Without 'Father' how will the circus become as famous as they once were? What happened to Kagome's family? Can the circus family learn or is there no escaping fate? Would you make a deal with a demon without knowing the cost?