The panel opens at an elementary school.
It’s a very bright, sunny day.
Kids are scattered across the playground. Some are running around playing tag.
The panel shifts to a young Bosatsu, sitting in a sandbox, carefully building a sandcastle.
Three kids walk up to him and kick the castle down.
Sand flies everywhere. Some of it gets into Bosatsu’s eyes.
He wipes his face and stands up, blinking, only to see Kahan and his two friends Juck and Bames the twins, towering over him.
Kahan calls Bosatsu weird, mocking him for his Sol Partner not being fully developed yet.
The other two kids laugh and instigate the situation, egging Kahan on.
Kahan tells the other kids to grab Bosatsu.
As they hold him in place, Kahan scoops up sand into a pale and pours it down the back of Bosatsu’s pants.
The weight of the sand causes Bosatsu to collapse to the ground.
The three boys begin kicking him and stomping on him while he’s down.
Suddenly, the school bell rings.
A teacher spots them.
The 3 kids sprint toward the building, but one of them trips Kahan on purpose, causing him to fall behind.
Kahan is caught by the teacher.
The panel shifts.
We see Kahan’s pregnant mother, holding his younger baby sister.
Kahan sits outside the principal’s office with his head hanging low.
He overhears the principal talking to his mom.
The principal explains that Kahan is a very troubled child, always acting up, and constantly causing chaos throughout the school.
He recommends military school or some kind of therapy.
Kahan’s mother exits the office and looks down at her son sitting in the chair by the door.
Kahan looks up at her.
The look on her face can only be described as pure rage, a red, flaring-nostriled, piping-hot bull, packed into the body of a middle-aged, pregnant Black woman.
She tells him to get up and go to the vehicle.
They walk outside toward the parking lot.
She tells Kahan to stand by the driver’s side and wait for her while she straps the baby into the back seat.
Kahan stands there, staring at the ground.
He debates with himself.
Should I run right now?
Suddenly, his mom storms around the corner, one flip-flop sliding off her foot.
She yanks open the car door and corners Kahan against it.
She begins beating him right there in the elementary school parking lot.
With every smack of the flip-flop against his skin, Kahan screams bloody murder.
The baby in the back seat starts crying.
The mother continues beating him, shouting about how he’s always embarrassing her, how she’s sick of raising kids.
A teacher walking past notices what’s happening and says, “Excuse me—”
The mother snaps back, yelling at her to mind her own business.
She throws Kahan into the back seat and peels out of the parking lot, disappearing down the road.
The panel shows them pulling into their driveway.
The house is small and run down. Trash litters the yard. It looks like it’s barely holding itself together.
They open the crusty front door and step into an extremely cluttered home.
The place is trashed.
Rats scurry across the floor. Empty food wrappers and crumbs are everywhere.
It’s dark inside. The only light comes from the TV, glowing brightly on a very fat, older Black man asleep in a recliner.
The mom slams the door. The man jolts awake.
She snaps,“Guess what the heck your idiot son did to get in trouble at school today?”
She forces Kahan to explain himself.
His dad stares at him with a disgusted look, then mutters that Kahan is a dumbass before turning back to the TV.
The mom gets angry that he has nothing else to say.
They start yelling at each other.
Kahan walks down the hallway into the bedroom that he shares with his two older brothers.
One brother waits behind the door.
As soon as Kahan steps in, the brother wraps his arms around Kahan’s from behind, locking him in place.
Another brother bursts out of the closet and starts jabbing Kahan in the stomach over and over.
Kahan collapses to the floor as they laugh.
One of them comments on how bad Kahan smells, piling on more insults that make him feel ashamed of his odor.
They leave the room laughing.
Kahan slowly gets up and sits on his bed.
His parents’ arguing continues in the background.
Then his older sister enters the room.
She asks him if he knows what time it is.
Without waiting for an answer, she pulls him with her.
They climb up onto the roof of their house and lie back, staring at the stars.
The yelling continues faintly below them.
She points to a star in the sky.
She tells Kahan that’s the planet she’s going to take them to someday.
A special planet where they could never get hurt.
They imagine a future there—happy, safe, free.
She tells him that the world isn’t far away, and whenever he needs to escape, all he has to do is close his eyes and imagine it.
She promises she’ll always be there for him.
They hug.
The panel goes blank.
Back at the exam.
Bosatsu wakes up after Nakatomi saves him from drowning.
He realizes she had to give him mouth-to-mouth.
His face turns bright red.
Patto mocks him for the “kiss” while coughing in pain.
Bosatsu rushes to Patto’s side.
This is an emotional moment.
Royal Road is the home of this novel. Visit there to read the original and support the author.
Bosatsu holds Patto in his arms as Patto begins to lose consciousness.
Bosatsu thanks him for sacrificing his energy to save him.
Patto weakly says his dying wish is for Bosatsu to pass the exam for him.
He tells Bosatsu they’ll always be good friends, no matter what.
Patto dramatically exhales and goes limp in Bosatsu’s arms.
Bosatsu screams to the sky,“NO!”
Nakatomi say that she doesn’t have time for childish games and runs ahead to the next challenge.
Patto suddenly wakes up.
They both watch Nakatomi disappear.
Patto tells Bosatsu he should stick with her if he wants to pass the next stage.
Bosatsu thanks him again and runs after her.
Nakatomi and Bosatsu both walk toward the next stage.
Bosatsu wants to talk but feels shy.
Suddenly, he blurts out,“THANK YOU FOR SAVING ME!!”
Awkward silence.
He asks Nakatomi why she wants to join the Sol-Fighters.
She doesn’t respond.
Bosatsu explains he joined because he wants to find his dad and bring him home to his grandma.
He stops mid-sentence as they reach a massive rocky wall.
They stare up at it.
The panel climbs the wall, past birds and clouds.
At the top are Kahan. He is being followed by the two twins. They’re all climbing and joking around.
One twin pushes Kahan too hard.
Kahan slips.
He activates his skunk Sol Partner to slow his fall, but ends up hanging from a tiny ledge by his fingertips.
He screams for help.
The twins look at each other.
Think about it.
Laugh.
And continue climbing.
Kahan curses them as his grip weakens.
He looks down.
The fall is terrifying.
Sweat drips from his face.
“Is this really how my life ends?”
He thinks about his childhood.
About how all he ever wanted was for someone to care.
He realizes no one does.
That if he died, nobody would care.
His grip slips further.
He thinks the world would be better without a screw-up like him.
He smiles through a tear.
“Big sis… I’ll see you soon.”
He lets go.
The panel is blank.
The next panel opens with Kahan’s voice:
“Grief is like the ocean; it comes on waves, ebbing and flowing. Sometimes the water is calm, and sometimes it is overwhelming. All we can do is learn to swim.”— Vicki Harrison
The panel shows Kahan hitting a dirty joint rolled in receipt paper.
They’re deep in the woods at an old campsite.
Kahan, the twins, and two girls are hanging out, smoking weed.
They roast each other to make the girls laugh.
It turns into a game—who can roast the hardest.
Kahan does well at first.
The girls love it.
Then the two siblings turn on him.
They tear into everything. His hair, clothes, family.
But nothing hits harder than when they talk about how bad he smells.
Kahan snaps, telling them to shut up.
They keep going.
The girls laugh uncontrollably.
One girl walks up, sniffs him, and screams,“HOLY SHIT, YOU REALLY DO STINK!”
Then WHAM!!!
Kahan punches the girl square in the face.
Silence.
Shock.
One sibling checks on the girl.
Then they turn to Kahan.
“Why you gotta do that?” one says. “Now we gotta beat your ass.”
A fist slams into Kahan’s head.
He crashes into the log behind him.
They beat him until he’s bloody and broken.
They spit on him and leave.
Kahan lies there, bleeding.
Why does everyone hate him?
Then he realizes.
It’s his smell.
He hates it.
He hates himself.
Kahan begins his long walk home.
His clothes are stiff with dried blood. His face aches. Every step feels heavier than the last.
Kahan lowers his head.
He thinks to himself that he only ever wanted someone to care.
Someone to say his name without disgust in their voice.
As he passes a store window, he notices the reflection of the moon shining in the glass.
The pale glow catches his eye.
He stops walking.
Slowly, he tilts his head upward and looks at the sky.
His eyes lock onto that familiar star.
Their planet.
The one his sister named.
A small smile forms on his face for the first time all night.
Then it hits him.
His eyes widen.
“Oh shit…”
He was supposed to meet her tonight.
They were supposed to lie on the roof and look at the stars.
He breaks into a hurried walk, then a jog.
His breath grows heavy as he reaches his house.
He throws the front door open.
The house is silent.
No yelling.
No TV blaring.
No arguing.
No footsteps.
The silence feels wrong.
Unnatural.
The door slams shut behind him, echoing through the house.
Kahan freezes.
Something’s off.
He steps forward into the living room.
Sitting on the couch are his younger siblings.
They’re close together, knees pulled to their chests.
Their eyes are wide.
Too wide.
Kahan swallows.
“What’s going on?” he asks.
One of the kids opens their mouth to speak.
Before a word can come out, the sibling next to them grabs their arm and presses a finger to their lips.
“Shh,” they whisper.
Kahan’s stomach tightens.
“What?” he says, louder now. “Why are you being weird?”
They don’t answer.
The lights in the house feel dimmer than usual.
The shadows stretch longer across the walls.
The hallway at the back of the house is lit just enough to see into it.
Then—
A scream.
A raw, gut-wrenching scream tears through the house.
Kahan’s heart jumps into his throat.
Another cry follows.
Begging.
Sobbing.
“Please—please stop—please—!”
Kahan’s body stiffens.
He slowly turns toward the hallway.
The screaming is coming from his parents’ bedroom.
Each step he takes feels like he’s walking through wet cement.
The cries grow louder.
More frantic.
He reaches the bedroom doorway.
Inside, he sees his father gripping his mother as she cries uncontrollably in his arms.
Her face is red. Her body is shaking.
She’s gasping for air between sobs.
“No—no—no—no—” she keeps repeating.
Kahan doesn’t understand.
His eyes scan the room.
There’s nothing broken.
Nothing out of place.
Nothing that explains this.
He takes another step forward.
Past the bedroom.
Toward the door of the room he shares with his siblings.
The door is slightly open.
A sliver of darkness spills out.
Kahan reaches for the knob.
Before he can turn it, his father looks up.
Their eyes meet.
For a split second, time stops.
His father’s face changes.
Fear flashes across it.
“No—” his dad says, lunging forward. “Kahan—don’t—”
Too late.
Kahan slowly raises his hand.
His fingers curl around the knob.
He turns it.
The door creaks open.
And Kahan freezes.
Hanging from the ceiling fan—
By a belt—
Is his older sister.
Her body is still.
Her feet dangle just above the floor.
Her head tilts forward unnaturally.
Her hair hangs over her face.
The room is silent.
No wind.
No movement.
Just her.
The world goes quiet.
Kahan can’t breathe.
He can’t blink.
He can’t scream.
His knees threaten to give out.
His father rushes forward, grabbing Kahan from behind.
“No—no—don’t look—don’t look—” his dad says desperately, covering Kahan’s eyes with his hands.
But it’s too late.
He’s already seen her.
The image burns itself into his mind.
The panel turns black.
Kahan’s voice fills the darkness.
“Be patient with yourself.One day you’ll be able to celebrate lifeand not focus on the method of death.Please… please… just be patient.”— Judi Swenson
Nakatomi and Bosatsu are climbing the wall.
Their hands are raw.
Their breathing is heavy.
They’re more than halfway up when Bosatsu suddenly squints into the distance.
Something is falling.
Fast.
“Nakatomi—!” he shouts, pointing.
She looks up.
And then—
WHAM.
Kahan slams into her.
Her grip breaks instantly.
She screams as her body drops away from the wall.
Bosatsu’s heart stops.
Kahan, Nakatomi and their sol-partners are both unconscious, broken, and falling.
“No—no—no—no—no!” Bosatsu yells.
His hands tremble.
His mind races.
What does he do?
How does he save them?
His body moves before his thoughts can catch up.
His fingers release the wall.
“What—?!” he thinks. Why did I let go?!
The wind roars in his ears.
His speed increases.
His chest tightens—
Then—
Something changes.
Warmth spreads through his body.
Strength surges through his limbs.
His heart pounds, not with fear, but with power.
What is this?
Why do I feel like this?
Why does everything feel so clear.. so right?!
The air vibrates around him.
Solar energy erupts from his body.
He reaches out and grabs them.
Both of them.
The panel pulls wide.
Bosatsu floats in midair, holding Nakatomi and Kahan with ease.
Bright Solar light surrounds them.
The wind whips his clothes violently.
His hair shifts, glowing red.
His eyes turn pitch black.
Pure power.
Pure instinct.
Pure will.
They charge up the cliff with intense speed reaching the top with ease.
Kahan and Nakatomi land on the ground softly to look up and see Bosatsu following with energy.
Then he collapsed to the floor.
The panel fades to blank.
To be continued!
