A Boy's Journey Beyond the Panels

Departure, Wager and The Promise of Victory

Chiba-shi (The City of Chiba), Japan

The day was the 20th of May, 2006, the day of sports festival.

Cracks of the morning sun shone on the horizon, heralding a new day for the event. Diurnal animals awoke from their slumber and began their daily activities, the most notable being the melodious chirping of the birds in the sky.

The Kousaka family embarked on an early morning journey in their trusty Toyota Corolla, heading to the school for the sports festival.

As the three siblings settled into the car, excitement filled the air. Both parents shared in this excitement, eager to witness the sports festival of two of their children.

Mama Yoshino had prepared extravagant bento boxes, packed with each of Towa and Kirino's favorite foods, ready to fuel the young athletes throughout the day. While Papa Daisuke was ever ready with his Canon 30D camera, poised to capture every moment(cuteness).

To put it all together, they were contended since being the first event for Towa and Kirino's practicing hard to get into track club.

Animated chatter and giggles filled the car while the sun cast a warm glow through the windows, illuminating the joyous anticipation on their faces.

But it only lasted for a while, as with each passing mile, the siblings' excitement plummeted, intensifying Towa and Kirino's unease, each for different reasons, as they mentally prepared themselves for the day ahead.

Their apprehension was evident in Towa's fidgeting hands and Kirino's tapping feet.

Mama Yoshino, sitting in the front seat, noticed their discomfort. She gave a subtle signal to her eldest son, Kyousuke, who was looking at clouds out of the window in his casual wear, almost falling asleep.

'Troublesome...' Kyousuke's eyes met with his mother, got the signal, and looked towards his siblings.

Towa sat on Kirino's lap with a solemn expression. It was his first time participating in the sports festival, and he wore a short-sleeved shirt and gym shorts. Kirino, on the other hand, wore running shorts and a track and field uniform, looking annoyed and agitated.

To break the ice, Kyousuke started the conversation by targeting an obvious and easy target—his adorable brother.

"Hey Towa-chan, tell me—red or white, which side did you end up on?"

"What? Ah, I'm on red. Huh, could it be that Onee-chan is also on red?" Towa who seemed spacing out was surprised by the sudden question and directed the question to Kirino.

"Un~, Yes, I am." Kirino snapped out of her stupor and replied to Towa with a cheerful grin, hugging him closer and tighter than before.

Of course, Towa didn't mind, as he was more focused on scanning the surroundings the entire time with his Pure Eyes to search for any traces of volatile energy or hostile presence.

Activating them was not at all a problem with his D+ rank reserves.

But to maintain it constantly for all day is quite frazzling. He was even pushing his limits to increase the range, which is normally 30 meters (100 feet), to 800 meters (half a mile), which was only possible by using his life force to allay his pain.

Even so, keeping his family out of his clash with the supernatural was important. Such inconvenience was nothing.

Although being cautious is not harmful, he cannot remain spaced out all the time. Otherwise, it might worry his family unnecessarily.