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Masamitsu doesn't sleep.
What came with the many years of mastering the darker arts of illusion and a heightened sense of mind were ever-present feelings of hyper-awareness and the inability for the dwarf to shut off his own brain.
And so, he lay wide awake in the wee hours of the morning, simultaneously preoccupied and fixated on both his own thoughts and the surroundings before him. Every single stitch on the curtains, every single grain of wood on the pillars had etched themselves a place in his mind, which was in extreme need of clearing, he thought.
He rose from the tatami mat below him, being careful not to wake his new wife, who lay peacefully by his side. A nice change from the on-and-off, fear-filled sleeps Midori told him she'd had before he'd arrived. Remembering this, Masamitsu smiles, brushing away a stray hair from her face.
Starting on his nightly rounds, he quickly became aware of the snores growing in volume from the adjacent room. The illusionist still found it surprising that nobody else ever woke from the sheer loudness of Akaza sawing away every single night. Lifting the quilted curtain, Masamitsu likened the giant man to a bear in the midst of hibernation, his body unmoving except for the rise and fall of his beastly abdomen with each breath.
Muchisute was a restless sleeper. It seemed the lack of sensation from his missing arms manifested itself into the rapid twitches in his legs, making him toss and turn in his sleep. Masamitsu wouldn't have otherwise taken the younger man for one to be so fitful during the night, which he found was quite the contrary to his dark and brooding demeanor during the daytime. Then again, he also wouldn't have taken himself to be surprised at such a thing. He laughs at himself.
Upon reaching Koetsu, he finds that she is also awake, letting one of her snakes idly slither between her fingers. It doesn't take long until she acknowledges his presence, nodding her head.
"You're awake as well?"
He nods back. "Quite. I've not been able to drift off for a while now."
"Be prepared." She lets the serpent out of her grasp and back into it's enclosure. "The boss says we're moving out of here tomorrow morning."
"You shouldnt worry yourself over me."
Receiving another, more affirmative nod from the hardened woman, Masamitsu continues on his way to the far end of the circus tent.
Kanabun was a strange breed. Though soon to be turning fourteen, his mind worked similarly to that of a much younger child in many regards (and that of someone much older, in others). One specific regard was the apparent phenomenon that the boy-girl would not be able to sleep unless he had something to hold onto - whether it be a pillow, a bundle of blankets or even huddling close around a wooden post. This night in particular, the something - or rather, someone - which he was curled up against was none other than Mr. Arashi himself.
Not long after his arrival to the freak show had Masamitsu noticed the two were quite the, er, passionate pair of lovers. The two would be attached at the hips (or at the lips, or both) after every show, and disappear every night to the far end of the circus tent, only to keep everyone awake with their loud and lengthy debauchery - which had been no different tonight, much to the carnies' discontentment. Even now - Arashi, still only half-asleep, lazily ran his hands up and down Kanabun's body, eliciting unconscious noises from his young lover.
As Masamitsu passes the couple, he grins inwardly. The carnies, he thought, would absolutely be no threat. He'd said to Arashi the night previous to leave everything in his hands, and his plan to do so, he knows, will soon go off without a hitch.
He chuckles at the obliviousness of his cohorts as he passes back around the tent.
Arashi and Kanabun are now both awake, their moans and sighs becoming louder. They will be starting up again soon, no doubt.
Koetsu seems to finally be settling in for the night, as she lets her long hair down from beneath her wrap.
Muchisute's twitching has slowed. He is in a deeper sleep, finally.
Akaza is snoring irregularly. Must be dreaming, the dwarf thinks.
As Masamitsu kneels back down on his own tatami, he glances over. Midori, bless her dear soul, is as peaceful as ever.
He quickly finds that it's the perfect circumstance for attack.
A lightbulb cracks as he lifts a finger. Midori flinches in her sleep.
He hesitates.
He holds his hand at his chest and settles in once more. Now is not the time, he thinks to himself.
Not yet.