Modern Monster

The sounds of the bustling streets and murmurs of people in the city made her head feel like it was exploding. She had a difficult time controlling her Hearing. Each individual sound from a mile radius appeared in her head instantaneously. It was brutally excruciating, feeling like a thousand tiny needles were simultaneously hitting her eardrums.

It was hard to control her Super Sense. However, she could usually block out unnecessary sounds at will. But since her argument with her father, her emotions refused to allow control of her Sense.

Kaiyo held back the tears that pleaded to be released. She battled the urge to break down on the street many times, but she couldn’t allow herself to do that. She at least needed to arrive at Sen’s house before she—

I hate being weak... she thought. I always rely on others and never fix my own problems. What am I even doing?

The fact that she even contemplated venting to Sen about her problems on his birthday brought unimaginable shame. She hated being so sensitive and useless.

My family is well off, I have an influential dad and a super sense, but I’m still pathetic. Why can’t I be like you, Sen?

He was so strong, intelligent, and persistent. Even without a Super Sense, he never ceased to amaze her with his cunning and resilient demeanor. She would never be half as remarkable as he was. Maybe, just maybe, if she passed the exams and became a Knight, he would start noticing her differently.

She wiped her half-dried tears with her arm and looked forward.

It didn’t matter what her father thought about Sen. He was just a worried father who didn’t want anyone to take his daughter away. She couldn’t stay mad at him forever. Just because he was being immature about his concerns didn’t mean she should retaliate with more immaturity. That would only prolong the argument. She let out a sigh and continued walking toward Sen’s house.

At that moment, she felt a slight buzz from her purse. Realizing it was a notification on her phone, she opened her purse and took out the thin, transparent rectangular device. It was a text from Hana:

"Sorry I’m disturbing you, Kaiyo, but Sen decided to be a party bummer and go to school on his birthday. It does work out for the best, though, because I need some help decorating the house. Would you mind helping out? Hyo is gonna be a little late, so he won’t be able to help."

Reading Hana's text gave Kaiyo a pang of disappointment, knowing Sen had decided to study rather than celebrate his birthday. But soon, she started getting enthusiastic again. Now, she had the chance to do something special for his birthday. She couldn’t let this opportunity slide!

So, she couldn’t let down Hana! Feeling the urgency, she gradually started walking at a faster pace.

She received wary looks from the approaching bystanders. It was clear she stood out with her beautiful, elegant white dress and her perfectly pampered hair. She was getting embarrassed by all the attention. It was apparent that Kaiyo was an attractive young lady. Her looks, in contrast to the filthy surroundings of the city, resembled a perfect, beautiful white and red flower amidst trash.

She soon stopped at a traffic light, waiting for the cars to halt. This moment gave her the realization to calm her Sense down. Now that she had composed herself from the argument, she gradually regained control. Kaiyo let out a troubled sigh. She still couldn’t control her Sense when bombarded with emotions. That’s why she wanted to be a knight in the first place. She desperately sought professional help controlling it. Nonetheless, it couldn’t be helped. Many were in the same predicament. It had only been four years since her Sense started activating. She just didn’t have enough experience yet. It was similar to a sport. To be good at a sport, one needs first to practice regularly.

Each moment was self-improvement in mastering a Sense. Kaiyo always needed to be in tune with her surroundings and be able to shut off that connection at will. If she heard everything all at once for more than a few minutes, she would mentally go insane. So, to build endurance, she constantly switched between hearing her surroundings and closing them off a few times. This practice resembled running; the more you run, the longer you can run. It was a simple but effective habit.

Her mother had taught Kaiyo this when she was younger. Rin had grown up with the same struggles, so it was comforting that Kaiyo wasn’t alone in her dilemma.

Asashi, on the other hand, had a completely different story. Since he had Touch, she wasn’t too sure how the training differed from her personal method. Each sense had different rules and ways to hone its power. It was hard to imagine how someone with Taste or Smell could strengthen their craft. But each one had its own benefits, she presumed. Obviously, some were stronger than others, like Hearing, Touch, and Sight. The other two, Taste and Smell, well, not so much.

While waiting for the traffic to stop, she decided to focus on her surroundings and practice. Activating one’s sense wasn’t complicated. It was as straightforward as inhaling and exhaling. There were no complex steps required. So, in an instant, sounds rushed to her hearing receptors, providing information about noises within nearly a mile radius. Thousands, if not millions, of sounds were accessible to her. Some were far too faint for her to hear. Kaiyo only heard certain things within her capacity.

For example, people walking, having conversations, construction drilling, homeless people snoring in the middle of the streets, and more. Hearing an ant’s crawling legs would be practically impossible unless she specifically focused on that individual thing or action.

Although it would be possible for someone with more experience and concentration to achieve that, she wasn’t at that skill level yet. It took her a while to get used to her Sense when she first activated it, but they soon became standard practices with which she had to live. And it did protect her to some extent, though she couldn’t use it all the time.

Closing her Super Sense off, she already felt a drop of sweat fall down her chin. It was physically and mentally taxing to perform her exercises.

She safely crossed the traffic stop and continued walking along the city's busy sidewalks. Along the way, she noticed homeless people looking at her with eyes of desperation. Some wore newer clothes, while others' garments were jagged and half-torn. It seemed like they hadn’t washed in years, which was an observation and unfortunate truth.

“Please, could you spare some change…” a desperate plea came from a homeless woman. The poor lady seemed utterly malnourished and weak. The only clothes she had were a cheap raincoat and what appeared to be a thin polyester towel in her hands—wait… that wasn’t clothing at all.

Kaiyo’s heart sank like a ship once she realized the homeless woman was holding a starving child in her arms. A passing man who appeared quite well-off, wearing a tailored suit and neatly combed hair, made eye contact with the homeless woman. And the more the stranger did, the more it gave the woman a reason to beg for his help.

“P-please,” she murmured meekly to the rich man, “I can’t get a job. No one will hire a single mother to work for them… And I can’t even hunt or scavenge for food, please…” Her eyes had dark circles, signs of being sleep-deprived, and her cheekbones were sticking out quite noticeably. It was apparent she wasn’t getting enough food to sustain milk production. If she didn’t receive urgent help, she or the child would soon die from malnourishment. She held her breath while she waited for the rich man's reply. Surely, he would offer some help–

“Tsk…” the man clicked his tongue condescendingly. “This is why I don’t go down this street, but of course, a monster attack shut off all the roads. Don’t ask me again.”

The quick reply made Kaiyo look in shock. A woman on her deathbed asked for little to nothing—just food or money to subside her hunger for one day and produce milk for her infant. Yet the rich man brushed it off, an ounce of sympathy absent from his cold eyes.

“But, please. You don’t understand. My child will die if I don’t eat,” she whimpered in distress, knowing her chance of survival was slipping away from her. The man snorted, then replied,

“Well, just get rid of the baby. Problem solved,” he heartlessly cackled.

Kaiyo couldn’t believe someone could be so callous. She bewilderingly looked at the laughing man with disgust.

“I-I can’t, he’s my son…” her voice quivered with a response. The man lifted his lip in antipathy.

“Do you honestly think I care what you do with your life? You peasants shouldn’t even deserve to live. The fact you’re in this position to begin with is laughable.”

“It’s… my fault…” she conceded.

“Of course, it’s your fault, you prostitute. I bet you got shit-faced every day at the bar while hooking up with an old man, only to call yourself unlucky? Please don’t make me laugh!!!"

Kaiyo didn’t know what to do or say. She paused in the middle of the sidewalk with pure distress at the situation. It wasn’t best to insert herself and bash the rich man for speaking so harshly. She was just a girl, and the man in front of her seemed tall and broad-shouldered. Kaiyo couldn’t risk being hurt, but seeing how the man talked pained her unbelievably. The man turned around and started leaving. Before he could–

“Huh?” Something was stopping the man from walking away.

The hungry and deathly woman was holding onto the man’s leg with one arm in desperation.

“PLEASE!” she cried. “HELP ME!”

He let out a sigh and shook his foot violently. But the lady was still firmly grasping his foot.

“…Gr, why you!” The man increased his strength and finally released his foot from the woman’s grasp. The mother was sent back, hitting the brick wall of a building from the man’s power. Kaiyo gasped in horror. She was sure the mother broke a rib then and there.

“You little worthless piece of SHIT!” the man growled in anger. “I don’t want your dirty hands touching my expensive shoes!”