Modern Monster

It was impossible to answer Yuto's question. Because Hana herself didn’t know, all she knew was that sometimes she felt overbearing fear when talking with Sen. The last time it happened was the day before his birthday when tensions between her mother and Sen were escalating.

She couldn’t describe the feeling, and neither did she want to. She convinced herself it was all in her imagination. There was no reason to fear Sen, and he would never do anything to harm her or anyone in that matter. Not only that, but he physically couldn’t.

It’s all just in my head…

At least, that’s what she hoped. Hana didn’t know if her mother felt the same way because asking was too weird. But occasionally, she would catch her mother’s petrified expression from time to time.

It would be too quick to notice, but she was confident her mother felt the same way. Then again, she would have told her by now. To put it simply, she was too afraid of being wrong.

I’m his goddamn older sister. I need to protect him. It didn’t matter what she felt; nothing would change the fact that Sen was her little brother, and she needed to protect him.

Letting out a troubled sigh, she hiked her way home. Halfway there, though, her phone rang. Someone was calling her.

“Heylo!” She pulled the ringing phone out of her jeans and answered the incoming call.

“Hana, do you have a moment?”

Speak of the devil, it was Sen. It always felt like he knew she was thinking about him.

“Uh, yeah, sure, what’s up.”

“Could you meet me at the café? I want to talk about something.”

Oh geez, I’m having déjà vu. She had just experienced going to a café and completely wasted time with Yuto. But that reminded her she still didn’t get her morning coffee. This wasn’t such a bad turn of events.

“Sure, I’ll be there in a second…” After a short exchange, she agreed to meet Sen at a café. Luckily, he texted her the coordinates of a café different from the one she stormed out of a few minutes ago, which was a big relief on her end. Making sure she remembered the correct directions, she headed to the location.

Hmph, I wonder what he wants to talk about. He doesn’t talk much when we are at the house. And when he does, it’s usually a bland conversation. I’m the one who typically starts them, anyway. And from the way he sounded, it seemed serious.

Hana had never seen the serious side of Sen. He was always composed and well-mannered. He was quiet, not only with other people but with his family, too. And one thing was for sure; he didn’t have edge lord syndrome, as many would call it these days.

That was a made-up term to define teens who thought they were better than anyone else and kept interaction brief because they didn’t gain any enjoyment out of it. If a person actually felt like this, she could understand, but most people only portrayed this side of themselves as a coping mechanism.

They didn’t actually feel this way. It was all just a façade, a mask, a lie to cover how they actually felt about themselves.

Sen, on the other hand, even though he appeared this way, was far different. She was anxious about what he wanted to talk about because if it was important to him, it was a huge deal—

“AHHH! Thief!” a sudden voice exclaimed at the top of their lungs. Hana jolted up, startled. She didn’t have time to process who shrieked those words. A lanky person was running toward her, grasping what seemed to be a purse. The identity of the person was hidden by a black ski mask.

The thief panted heavily as he pushed people out of his way in hopes of losing the innocent civilian from whom he had just stolen. Hana was at a loss. Everything was happening so suddenly she didn’t really know what to do. She surveyed the city blocks, searching for Knights to help detain the thief. But with a quick assessment, she confirmed no one was there to help. Seeing the thief course closer and closer to her, she couldn’t really think much other than—

Man, I’m definitely going to be late.

She let out a deep breath and felt her fingertips start to tingle. Strength abruptly pulsated in her veins as a familiar sensation flowed through her like a cascading riverbed. Her Super Sense was unlocked.

Hana had felt this responsiveness many times before. Like all Senses, there was a limit to how much she could use it before it would give out. It applied equally to running or doing pushups. You need rest to regain your power.

Furthermore, the more you hone your Sense, the stronger and more you can use it. In her case, she was holding back from utilizing it all day, so her performance was at its peak.

Now I just need to visualize something I wanna punch. This wasn’t necessary, but doing so made her generate a far stronger punch. A face popped into her mind almost immediately. Yuto.

Just visualizing that four-eyes was enough to make her smash a concrete wall. This poor thief, I almost feel bad. Nah, just kidding, I don’t. The thief attempted to run past her, assuming she was a normal, frightened civilian. But it was too late…

Hana stuck her foot out brusquely, making the crook yelp in surprise and trip over her foot.

“Oops, didn’t see ya there,” Hana cackled with a satisfied grin. While the thief was falling, Hana didn’t hold back. She punched the robber directly in the face. Taking one of her punches was already brutal, but tripping onto it was on a whole other level of pain.

The impact of her attack was substantial. The thief was sent flying through the air and hit a brick building wall. Hana was sure she heard a few bones crack. At best, she was only using twenty percent of her strength.

I didn’t want to get charged with homicide. But seeing the man’s limp body, she was starting to have cold sweats. Oh shit, don’t tell me I killed him. Hana froze while cautiously approaching closer.

“Woah, did you see that? That girl just took down a thief!” a bystander exclaimed in awe.

Applause erupted as more and more people started noticing what had occurred.

“Wow, what strength!”

“Someone call the Knights or police!”

Hana let out a nervous laugh. Seeing so many people cheer for her was slightly nerve-wracking.

“No, no, it was seriously nothing,” Hana shook her head modestly, letting out another very tense laugh. No, really, that guy looks seriously dead.

“What? Don’t be humble. Very few young ladies like you have such control over their Sense!” a civilian remarked astonishingly. The stranger’s assumption wasn’t technically too far from the truth.

Hana had always been a cut above the rest in terms of her Super Sense. Hana’s academic levels though?… well, she wasn’t all that great. It was a miracle she even graduated high school, to begin with. Being eighteen, Hana was surprised she didn’t get held back a few years.

“Stop it, you’re flattering me!” she chuckled, then forebodingly twisted her head at the guy she punched in the face. Oh no, this guy is actually dead. Her expression turned to dread.

“UGHHH….” The limp body suddenly let out a groan of pain. Hana let out a sigh of relief. Oh, thank God, I actually thought I was gonna be charged with homicide.

“Oh dear!” someone in the crowd panted while slowly approaching her. It was an old lady who seemed to be in her late seventies. She had a bright smile of appreciation on her face. “Thank you so much for stopping him,” the lady croaked. Hana assumed this was the individual who was stolen from.

“Oh, so you must be the rightful owner of this then?” Hana took a bright pink purse that rested near the thief’s motionless body and handed it back to its rightful owner.

“Oh my! It is! I can’t show my appreciation more, dear.”

“Don’t worry about it. I’m happy to help out. I wasn’t doing anything special for the day,” Hana shrugged, which was a lie. She was in a bit of a rush.

“Well, you definitely did something special today, dear,” she beamed. “Not many would be so selfless and fearless as you. You truly are a gem.”

“O-oh, well gee, thanks. It wasn’t really anything special.” Hana wasn’t sure if she deserved such praise. All she did was stop a thief. But the old lady was persistent and wanted Hana to understand how heroic she was.

“Remember this, dear: Our world is full of sins. But sadly, they aren’t punished accordingly. Someone who can pull the weight of that burden is a hero, and you, my dear, are the embodiment of just that.”

Hana wasn’t sure how to reply to that ominous quote. I just met you. Chill out.

“Oh, haha, that is very true.” Hana tried playing it out as if it were a joke. But catching the old woman’s serious expression killed her fake laughter. Hana wasn’t sure who this person was, but something about her made a shiver run down her spine.

“What’s with that serious expression?” the lady laughed amusedly. My expression? Look at yours! This woman can’t be serious. Maybe she has a few screws loose.

“Anyway, I’ll need to head out here soon. Again, thank you very much for your help.” The serious appearance on her face was overshadowed by gratitude once again. “Also, give me a call if you need anything.” The lady handed Hana a business card from her purse.

Feeling a bit reluctant, she was obligated to take it. Miyo Frey, consultant, therapist, and former Knight, huh? Those were a few of the professions that were listed on Miyo’s business card.

Hana was quite confused about why she would need it, but the mysterious woman disappeared out of sight before she could ask. Hana looked around, baffled. Not even saying goodbye? What an interesting person.

It did say Miyo was a former Knight, so maybe that had to do with her odd presence. Scratching her head in deep thought, Hana heard the thief precipitously groan—

“EGHHHH, MY RIBS! THEY HURT!”

“Yeah, yeah, stop being a pussy. You’ll be alright,” Hana sighed.

“Cough! Cough! Splat!” He convulsed as drops of blood escaped his mouth. “Please call an ambulance!” he begged.

“The only thing I’m gonna call is the police. Suck it up, scumbag. Don’t make me go round two.” This turned out to do the trick because he just lay there groaning in pain, but at least he wasn’t complaining.

She just needed to wait until the police came, then she could finally be on her way to meet Sen.

I’m not too worried about getting in trouble. Using a Super Sense to hurt anyone is illegal, but if it’s self-defense or stopping someone from breaking the law, it’s justified. Not to mention, I had a lot of witnesses.

It didn’t take too long before the police arrived. There was no need for Knights since they carried out tasks that involved Monsters and more threatening crimes. In such situations, the police were the most appropriate resource to call upon.

Seeing the thief get handcuffed and taken into the car made her sigh in relief. In the meantime, she gave a quick rundown on everything that occurred to one of the police officers. They also hooked her up to a heartbeat detector to see if she was lying while doing so. This was a standard practice when low-end crimes happened to prevent defamation and false claims. The device had a success rate of 99%. Back then, they were considered faulty devices, but after years of extensive use and testing, they were perfected. Nowadays, it is a necessity to have for authorities.

“Alright then, miss, we have everything that’s needed. I appreciate your cooperation.” The officer dipped his head. From his words, Hana guessed they had concluded she was telling the truth. That lie detector was helpful in these cases because it removed the need to go to the station, fill out paperwork, and attempt to prove one's actions were in self-defense. With that situation coming to a close, she let out a tired mutter.

“I haven’t even had my coffee yet, man…”