"See you later…
…Reo."
[942, Hinmin District]
"Welcome, welcome, to our show of lives and dreams! I'm your ringmaster, The Director!" A man dressed in eccentric clothing spoke loudly from a large stage.
"Welcome to the Circus of Ego! Where all your dreams can come true, and maybe you'll get a chance to become an Ego!"
The spotlight on him turned red. "…Or perhaps, you might face the chance of death."
A boy with nape-length black hair featuring a ginger underlayer and hazel eyes watched the show in amazement.
Suddenly,
BONK!
"Reo! Stop sneaking into the circus shows again!" A girl with dark maroon hair tied into a high ponytail and matching colored eyes tapped him on the head with a wooden basketball bat.
"Yuika! How did you know I was here?" Reo asked, surprised by her presence as he rubbed his forehead from the hit.
"You are so predictable. You love these shows, but you know they're a scam, right? You can't actually awaken an Ego from a circus show, you have to awaken it yourself," she stated, taking a realistic approach.
"Right… I'm just getting caught up in these fantasies again," Reo sighed.
Yuika then held out her hand. "Don't worry about these silly performances. Let's go home, Reo."
"…Right." Reo took her hand and stood up as they began to leave the venue. However, when they reached the door, an older man stopped them.
"Where do you two kids think you're going?"
"Home, sir," Yuika replied.
"Home? Ha! You can't just leave! The show has barely started!" the older man chuckled.
"We're leaving," Yuika insisted.
"As I said, you can't—"
Yuika swiftly punched the man right in the groin, grabbed Reo's hand, and ran outside.
"Get those kids!" the man shouted to the security guards.
The guards nodded and rushed after them.
As they fled, Reo kicked down a wooden plank lying nearby, causing the guards to trip over it. They quickly recovered and continued their pursuit.
Reo opened the door to his house, let Yuika in, and locked it behind them.
Reo's parents looked worried as his mother spoke up, "Reo, Yuika, what's going on?"
Tsukina Maeda and Kazane Maeda were Reo's parents. Tsukina was a baker, while Kazane was an undercover assassin.
"Reo went to one of those circus performances again. When we tried to leave, the guy wouldn't let us go and sent people after us," Yuika explained.
Tsukina stomped over to Reo and held him by the shoulders. "Reo! You know those shows are for adults! You could've gotten badly hurt!"
"But I didn't, Mom…" Reo looked away, feeling guilty.
"But you could've! Tell me you won't go again!" Tsukina pleaded.
"Fine, I won't," Reo groaned.
"Not good enough, Kazane, scold him!" Tsukina requested.
"That boy is stubborn, Kina. He won't listen, but if we tell him what really happens in that circus, we can—"
Kazane began, but was cut off by Tsukina.
"No, he's too young, he's only ten!"
"Alright then, well, I have a job to do, Reo. If you behave yourself, I'll let you see what I've been working on in the basement." Kazane showed the key that unlocked the basement before putting it back in his pocket.
"Right!" Reo's excitement returned as he opened the door for his dad, with Tsukina and Yuika following.
"Well, see you all! Don't miss me too much!" Kazane said enthusiastically.
The three waved him off.
"Reo—" Tsukina began.
"I know, I know, I'll stop going to the circus shows. I'm going to find Kiyora," he said as he walked away.
"Yuika." Tsukina turned to her.
"Yes, Mrs. Maeda?" Yuika replied.
"Don't let my boy get into any more trouble; protect him. That's all I ask from you."
Tsukina looked concerned for Reo.
Yuika nodded and ran after Reo.
SLAP!
"Blasphemous bastard!"
A boy with platinum blonde hair styled in a slanted bob cut was punched by an older kid who looked about twelve years old.
Reo peered over and started to run over, with Yuika following closely.
"How dare you hurt my friend!"
The older boy turned to look at them. "Ha! Maeda bastard coming over for another beating?" Then he spotted Yuika, and in a panic, he exclaimed, "Oh shit! Yuika!" before running off.
"Hah! They ran off when they saw me!" Reo exclaimed proudly.
"I think they were more scared of Yuika," the platinum-haired boy spoke up.
"Kiyora, you alright?" Reo asked, worried about him.
"Yeah, I'm fine. Thanks to you two for showing up," Kiyora sighed in relief as he slowly got himself up, leaning against the wall.
"Was it because you don't believe in the Ego God again?" Yuika asked, clearly annoyed with the older boy who had just left.
"Yeah, they've been watching me like a hawk recently because of it. I guess they just acted on it now. You know how people are against non-religious people," Kiyora replied.
"You look pretty beat up. We should get you to the Relief Division," Reo said, worried for his friend.
"No, I'll be fine, I swear," Kiyora brushed off his injuries.
"I insist!" Reo exclaimed.
"I don't want to be a burden!" Kiyora yelled back.
"You won't be a burden! Stop being stubborn and come with me to the Relief Division!" Reo insisted.
"Fine!" Kiyora finally agreed.
Reo then put his arm around Kiyora's shoulder to help him walk.
After a while, Reo opened the door to the Relief Division Headquarters and guided Kiyora over to the desk. "Hello, ma'am. My friend got beaten up. Are there any doctors available?"
The receptionist's eyes widened at the sight of Kiyora. "Oh yes! We'll get a doctor for him right away! Please take him over to Room 43 immediately!"
Reo nodded and walked Kiyora to the room the receptionist had mentioned, with Yuika following close behind. Reo helped Kiyora sit on the bed. Not long after, a doctor walked in.
"From what I've been informed, your friend here has been beaten up, correct?" the doctor asked. Reo nodded as the doctor bent down to Kiyora's level. "Kiyora Itsuki, correct?"
Kiyora nodded. "That's correct." The doctor then grabbed the medical supplies and began to gently clean Kiyora's injuries before bandaging them up.
"You should be all set now, but I expect you to come in for weekly check-ins until you're fully healed. Be careful with that leg of yours," the doctor instructed.
Kiyora nodded and, with Reo's help, stood up. "Are you okay to walk now?" Reo asked.
Kiyora nodded again. "I should be fine. Thanks to both of you." Yuika smiled, and Reo let go of him.
Suddenly— BOOM!
The three children rushed outside and saw people running away from the chaos.
The smell of debris filled the air.
"Mom is that way!" Reo realized, running towards his house, with Yuika and Kiyora following closely behind him.
When they arrived, they discovered that the house was nearly destroyed, and Tsukina was trapped under the roof.
"Mom!" Reo screamed as he dashed over to her.
"Reo, Yuika, Kiyora! Get out of here! It's an attack!" Tsukina shouted urgently.
"An attack?! By who?!" Reo asked, fear gripping him.
"It wasn't by any of us. It was from the outside!" Tsukina replied. Reo froze.
"...The outside?"
The outside world was a forbidden topic for everyone. Most people believed there was nothing beyond Rangai.
"Yuika, Kiyora, help me!" Reo yelled as he struggled to pull his mother out.
The two kids exchanged determined glances and rushed to assist Tsukina.
"Children, it's no use! Even if you manage to pull me out, my legs are broken. I can't walk!" Tsukina exclaimed.
"I'll carry you!" Reo insisted, his voice filled with determination.
Just then, a soldier from the Sentinel Division ran over. It was Shoma Nishimura.
"Nishimura! Get these kids to safety!" Tsukina urged.
Shoma approached quickly, saying, "I'm sorry, kids," before scooping them up and racing away from the house.
As he fled with the children, another bomb detonated, completely obliterating the area.