12 / 03 / 2019 - Daito, Prefecture Osaka, Japan.
7 AM.
"Mmm…" He hummed slightly while munching his share of food.
Pausing for a bit, chopstick stuck in his mouth, the complete radiant bluish silver in his eyes is full of clarity, while being absentminded, 'Not bad at all,' habitually appreciating it.
Raising his head slightly, he opened his narrowed eyes as the striking morning light struck, inviting a cold haze of the end of March, and the transition into spring.
Feeling the coldness that tickled his skin, 'Heh, it's spring already, isn't it?' the thought passed in a second, before his gaze refocused on the world in front of him.
The seat is still empty, and there is only a little portion of food on the dining table: miso soup, grilled fish, and a sandwich, what a weird combination.
Then, Ayato is mostly still asleep or preparing, but… his eyes flicked slightly to the right over the kitchen, where there is a sound of utensils, though there is no figure to be seen.
'Irina?' He thought uncertainly while a sound of a news anchor drifted into his ears.
And turning his head slightly, to the living room on the left, his aunt was leaning against the backrest, holding a cup of coffee with her two hands.
Her silver-white hair seems to gleam in the falling yellow light, her pale, soft face blushing slightly against the chill of the morning, and those crystal clear sky-blue eyes are fully focused.
'Heh… I wonder why they are so similar, like they never age at all.' Something unthinkable before is fermenting; his thought wanders as instant as it appears, pondering this phenomenon.
Is it so strange to think about this? Well, for him it's strange. Just think about it, turning his head back to his food while his mind is processing things.
For someone who did not know her or her age, they would probably think that she is a teen who has just finished high school, full of youthful energy, like a girl next door.
But again! If only they could know her age…
His thought paused, and he seemed to shudder slightly, sensing the disturbance in the force around him.
Flashing a sheepish smile to the space like a tribute, he narrowed his eyes, deciding to forget the previous thought as if it had never happened.
It is a taboo to talk about the age of a girl or… a woman? Right?…
Fully forgetting this, the activity in his mind resumed over this meaningless thing, but this time wandered in another direction, reminded of the event of the previous night.
Despite this, his hand did not even stop as he put the remaining grilled fish into his mouth. 'Well, it's delicious, not too dry, and the saltiness is perfect. I wonder who made this?'
'Of course it must be little Irina.' Since his aunt is 'lazily' (in his perspective) sitting on the sofa this morning, the guest in the kitchen must be that little devil who is consciously preparing food.
"Hmm." A frown carved on his eyebrows, he is getting off track once again. Letting loose his frown after a moment, he closed his eyes to control his thoughts that were spiraling out of control.
'This [Manifestation: Analysis] is a bit overpowered.' Right now, he is testing the new ability that he got from the so-called Ascension, as to why he did this now, actually?
'It begins from yesterday night.' Thus, he began his long-pending summary of what happened after he fell asleep and drifted into the "Border of Ascension".
Oblivious to the world around him at this moment, he tried to remember what had happened. Having cleared the Trial and Ascension, he naturally became a being called Treader.
Of particular things, he still doesn't know what happens to him, why he became a Treader, or various things, but he knows that this stems from the White Door inside him.
And the things that plagued him are that the Maroon Door and White Door had been inside of him since he didn't know how long.
Every time he sleeps, every time he dreams, it is always there, both of them waiting for him.
'And in this new realm, the White Door had disappeared.' So it doesn't seem to be a stretch to connect the two things: the Door disappeared after he completed the trial, right?
Then, this leaves two out of the three, which are the Golden and Maroon Door.
'Well, forget about the Golden one, the Maroon is obviously so poisonous and out of reach…' The mention of that Maroon Door is full of malice towards him.
Though he reached here is obviously due to the interference of those things.
Anyway, there is one more thing…
To which his heart shivers for a bit, as it still is clear to him, 'Unknown knowledge suddenly surfaces in my mind without any warning.' This time, it evokes the long-forgotten dead emotion inside him.
That is 'fear', though he had learned to accept that things can get out of control, or he may not have had it in the first place, but still… to know that there is someone who can modify his cognition.
'It will stick in your mind and leave a distaste, after all.' Opening his eyes to a slit, but it can't be helped after all, what choice does he have, actually?
Then again, leaning on the backrest, while taking the miso soup to his mouth, among the knowledge or description of his Page, he was also able to unconsciously learn to effortlessly use his own Manifestation.
Which of these two is Observation and Analysis, and the reason he can only try it out now is, of course, because he had no time after everything that happened.
His eyes twitched slightly, 'Sleeping at 3 AM and still energized, just what kind of thing am I now?' his Ascension lasted for 5 hours, which started from 10 PM.
If he goes by the standard of healthy sleep, which is 8 hours, then his 4 hours of sleep are obviously not enough. 'Should I take a longer nap later then?' as his mind is processing things faster than normal.
Suddenly…
"Good morning, Akane, eating first without waiting for the others, aren't you? Are you that hungry, huh?" A combination of a warm and sarcastic voice is surely unheard of, though he never met such a person.
But this person, looking over a figure basking in the glow of the sun, is Ayato, who is ready, holding his own bag in one hand and pulling the chair with the other.
Messy, medium-length dark hair like the night, some strands falling over his forehead, and his sky-blue eyes, parted slightly in the middle, soft yet unkempt.
His face is pale, with thin, curved lips, smiling happily, not different from the backglow of the sun itself. 'Heh, how hypocritical you are.'
Akane's dead face is looking at the replica of himself; the difference is the mole beneath those right eyes. Then again, he commented snarkily, as if he didn't know his personality.
But—
It is not very him to ignore it.
"Morning too, you probably sleep well since there's nothing to worry about anymore, do you?" He replied with nonchalance, placing down the soup that was still stuck to his lips.
Hearing his words, Ayato's hands clenched slightly, while his smile faltered, and even he paused for a moment before he truly sat down. The two eyes are locking with each other.
"Oh yeah, of course, I feel assured, after all, our little genius is finally awake, no?" He says it lightly, still with the same smile, but through the detail of Observation and Analysis.
It couldn't be more obvious, 'Angry, aren't you? How cute, in the end, you are no more different than Irina in the matter of words.'
The muscles of his jaw tightened, the veins of his forehead were clearly bulging, his hands clenched, the pause, and many more, "Ohoh, this ability sure is interesting."
Akane muttered under his breath, but apparently it was caught by Ayato, who sat opposite him, and his eyes twitched, but he quickly hid it himself.
'Heh, I can stay like this for a long time.' Just as the two of them were in a stalemate with each other, a clear and melodious sound rang from the distance.
And it is angry.
"Ayato, it's been 15 minutes, and you still haven't eaten yet! You too, Irina, what are you dabbling in the kitchen? I thought you wanted to help me prepare the food, but no! Eat. Now. Fast!"
Through that slender figure is a frowning face in red; her attention had already moved from the news anchor, apparently noticing the staring contest between him and the absent Irina.
And for him, he watches the figure of his brother who flinched, and then to his side, who is Irina, who had already arrived unnoticed by the two of them, holding a tray.
Akane's mouth upturned slightly, while a hint of red appeared at the corner of his eyes, looking with interest at a trace of yellow and white cream at the corner of her mouth.
'Heh, you sneaky little devil, another leverage to hold up.' That trace of cheesecake can't hide itself, you poor little girl. How dare you disobey your aunt, huh? A conclusion synthesized itself in just a minute.
Though still out of control, he seems to enjoy it a bit, since Analysis can be done quickly, he is not rushing to be able to quickly control his own abilities at all.
While he is smiling to himself about what he will do to them later, "Get up fast and don't dilly dally if you have done with school, there have been many reports of missing persons lately."
A voice of his aunt continued after a while. Akane glanced up a bit towards the far television at the corner of his eyes, which he could see clearly as if it were day.
Even a bit of grain or static, the flicker of each color is visible to the naked eye, under the effects of Observation, just like he had activated this ability since he sat in his seat.
The micro-muscle movement in his aunt's hand as she held the cup of coffee, the facial muscle of his brother, their breathing rhythm, pupil movement, and even a grain pattern in the table.
'Quite different from the description, but I think the basics are still the same after all.' The fundamentals remain: observation, deduction, and pattern recognition. The same process, amplified.
Right as he got sidetracked once again, back to focus on the current view of the missing list of reports that is narrated on the television.
'Missing persons, huh. Well, Osaka is a large city after all… anomalous statistics often happen, thus people often vanish for various mundane and explainable reasons.'
He thought analytically, while the news ticker scrolled across his vision, information and data absorbed in real-time, meanwhile also processed to generate some useful info from it.
Lights flashed in the depths of his eyes, though earlier he seemed to be distracted a lot, time and time again; it is not because he is actually unfocused, there is more than a simple explanation for this.
'Too much to notice will only burden your mind.' Having data is good, but the noise that is carried is not; good data is data that can be processed into meaningful information, which is why he is holding back his senses.
Alleviating or sidetracking his thoughts allows him to wander and cool his mind by clearing up tasks that can be cleared quickly and synthesized immediately, which is what he does unconsciously and consciously.
'Well enough is enough, too much noise.' Even he is a bit irritated if random data clutters his mind, shaking his head for a bit.
And from the corner of his own eyes, he saw Irina, who is a bit unfocused in her seat, eating quietly while looking at the television screen.
'Hmmm, she is not usually this quiet…' A concern perhaps flashed in his mind, turning his head towards her, he asked plainly.
"You've been quiet this morning, something at school? Or your friends?" As he is asking this, the corner of his mouth twitched as he realizes something is wrong; she was busy eating, not so secretly, in the kitchen.
So it can't be called fully quiet, right? Well, what a strange thought that I have here.
Irina paused slightly; her pupils were slightly dilated, but they quickly returned to normal as she turned her head towards him.
Her mouth is agape, face uncertain as if she wants to tell him something.
And then, she stays silent for a moment, placing down her chopsticks, looking at her brother seriously.
'Hmmm, so there is something that is truly going on? Is the keyword school or friends?' The two were observing each other, each with their own thoughts.
As for Irina…
'Should I tell him this? It's not been long since he was out of the hospital, again, why bother him with this.' Her face is troubled and undecided.
Furthermore—
'His [Rhythm] is changing once again…' as she observes him, she could feel a certain kind of pattern that is quietly changing inside her own brother, well, the most obvious one is those silver eyes.
She is not mistaken about this; his 'pattern' is changing in one night, 'But… the fundamental one is the same, right?' as she pried further with her own little control ability.
The opposite side speaks once again, "You can tell me if there's something wrong, no matter how little or big it is, I'll always be there for you after all."
It is a sentence that is spoken plainly and casually, but for her, it is like the biggest reassurance towards everything.
So…
'Her eyes soften fractionally. The decision has been made, yes.' The fish is baited, though it is greedy to eat two baits. He joked in his mind to ease the headache that had built up.
Then again, he is a bit surprised, 'The focused one is really much better to handle.' Grasping control over Observation and Analysis is the result of now.
He knows that she is probably observing his "Rhythm," or as it is said, it is her talent. Crossing his hands across his chest, he observes the changes over her as she lets out a breath and looks around for a moment.
'Then again, you are so talented to be able to manifest some skills or abilities this early, Irina.' A certain thought, it is not jealousy but recognition, his pride over her, that his little sister is just that talented.
"Nii-chan." She whispers just enough that maybe only he and Ayato could hear it, or probably he wouldn't care about it, to which Akane leans forward for a bit.
"Something is off in this city recently… The people, and everything." She spoke cautiously while trying to gauge his reaction, but his expressionless face is foolproof after all.
"Then?" Akane urged her to continue, waving his hands while she rolled her eyes, "Some people appear normal, but their behavior obviously contradicts it… just like an instrument, they are certainly out of tune."
She narrated while moving her hands, just like a conductor, 'Cute.' Akane commented for a bit before he processed her words analytically, but there is still not enough data after all.
Unless—
"Where?" He goes to that place himself, since he has nothing to do, and he has to train to walk; why not inspect for himself? Furthermore, this is concerning her safety after all.
So, why not? Right as he decided on it, suddenly, there is some unspeakable feeling that gripped his chest, an alarm of intuition.
Straightening his body, he remains calm on the outside; he can't alarm his sister or others, gaze looking over the window.
There, he seems to see a dark cloud brewing, like a mirage.