Promises are being broken in Mission: Yozakura Family chapter 248 as Alpha and Hifumi make the bold decision to rescue Momo from Asa’s ship. Despite being told to remain in the bunker for their own safety, Alpha’s premonition about Taiyo’s fate proves too strong not to push them into action. Can they save the day and turn their dad back to the good side?

The final battle between the Yozakura family and Asa has been going on for a while now, but the question of how the twins would fit into it has been looming large ever since they were placed with Mutsumi in the lowest level of the school. After dedicating pretty much all of the chapters post-time skip to introducing them and developing their powers, the assumption was that they would prove important somehow. Surely Hitsuji Gondaira wouldn’t introduce these characters for no reason? Mission: Yozakura Family chapter 248 starts to move the needle on this, but only a little bit.

Just as Alpha is reeling from the news that his father’s body has been taken over by Asa, he suddenly gets a vision of the future where Taiyo lays bloody and dead. Even though he promised his father that he wouldn’t leave the underground bunker, he can’t just sit around doing nothing, so he’s conflicted. This is where Hifumi comes in: sensing that something is wrong, she comes to comfort her brother and they hatch a plan to avert disaster together.

Aside from simply just unleashing the twins on the final battle, Mission: Yozakura Family chapter 248 does a good job at reaffirming their distinct yet complementary personalities. While Alpha is talented and intelligent, he’s also susceptible to emotion and feels like he has to be a “good boy” for his parents. Hifumi, on the other hand, is more freewheeling and willing to act outside of the boundaries if it suits her interests. As she puts it: “You’re a really good boy. In fact… you’re too good.” It’s therefore when they work together that the true magic can happen.

It’s hard to imagine that the twins escaping from the bunker and sneaking into Asa’s ship didn’t figure into Taiyo and Mutsumi’s master plan. So far, almost everything has gone how they and Momo thought it would, right down to Asa taking over Taiyo’s body by using his Blooming. The question is just how much the twins can affect the overall battle: will they end up dealing the final blow? Or will they simply shift the situation in a way that allows the other family members to take advantage?

My suspicion is that they will be the ones to defeat Asa in the end to further the theme of the “new generation,” but only time will tell.

You can read Mission: Yozakura Family chapter 248 for free via VIZ Media’s Shonen Jump.