Modern Monster

“Thanks for coming, Hana,” Sen greeted her, sitting outside the café. Hana had just arrived at the destination and was quite surprised that Sen wasn’t alone. Beside him were Kaiyo and Hyo. It appeared she wasn’t the only one whom Sen invited. This is even more concerning. Now I'm really worried about what he wants to talk about.

“U-uh yeah, no problem,” she stuttered while taking a seat on an empty chair.

“Quite unusual for you to call all of us to meet,” Hyo remarked, suspicion gleaming behind his glasses. Hana shared Hyo’s thoughts. This was very unusual for him, knowing his reserved personality. Kaiyo nodded beside Hana, also showing her confusion. Everyone around Sen eyed him apprehensively, like he was about to reveal something horrifying.

“It’s really nothing important,” Sen shrugged, obviously noticing their doubts. “I just wanted to hang out with you guys, that’s all.”

They all froze when those words escaped his mouth. The silence that enveloped the friends was louder than the city's bustling streets.

“HUHHHH!?” Hana's jaw dropped. “S-Sen, are you okay? Do you have a fever or something? Don’t tell me you started drinking. I told you, you’re too young to dri-”

“I’m not drinking, Hana,” he reassured. “It’s really nothing special. I just wanted us to hang out and talk.”

This changed her entire perspective of Sen. Hana, too shocked even to reply, couldn’t believe this was the same Sen she had known all her life.

“What have you done with my sweet brother? WHERE IS HE!” Hana thrust Sen’s body back and forth violently. Sen started frothing at the mouth from her desperate attempt to return him to his sane self. She couldn’t believe he would say such things out of character.

“OH NO! Hana, stop it, he's gonna die!” Kaiyo restrained her from torturing him any further. Sen gagged and laid his head on the coffee table, nauseous.

“Hana, how many times do I have to tell you? Please stop doing that,” Sen groaned dizzily.

“Oh, okay, never mind, you are the same Sen,” she sighed in relief. “Still not fully convinced, though.” Sitting on the chair with her legs crossed, she eyed her brother suspiciously. Hana still wasn’t buying his act or whatever he was doing.

“I don’t know why you guys are acting as if I want to sign a contract or something.” Sen's expression showed no sign of lying. In fact, Hana was starting to believe his genuine reasoning. It appeared that Kaiyo and Hyo were also starting to consider it. Well, to be more accurate, Kaiyo looked flustered, like she normally was around him.

Huh, either Sen is blind to love or genuinely knows and decides to ignore it. Hana wasn't new to the dating scene. She had dated a fair share of guys in the past, so she had reasonable knowledge of how people acted when they hid their feelings. Kaiyo’s feelings for Sen were so obvious that anyone with a peanut-sized brain could quickly tell.

“W-Well, do you have anything in mind?” Kaiyo asked nervously.

Hana rolled her eyes. I bet she thinks he planned this for her. Sen’s giving her mixed signals, she thought to herself, sighing inwardly. Before Sen could answer, Hana caught a small grin across his face, but it was so sudden she wondered if her mind was playing tricks on her.

“Well, I don’t know. How about we share what happened over the week? You start first, Kaiyo.”

“Oh, y-yeah sure.” Kaiyo pondered a bit before replying, “Well, there was a monster attack in front of me recently–”

“WHAT!” Hana stood up from her chair, instantly worried. “When? How? Why didn’t you tell us?!” Monster attacks were a huge deal. Generally, it was safer in the cities, but they still happened as frequently as everyday crime. She had experienced many instances, but she always shared it with her family or friends.

“Well, I just…” Kaiyo had a hard time putting together a sentence. “I just didn’t want to ruin Sen’s birthday, that's all…” She lowered her gaze while replying.

“What?” Sen stood up, a worried expression plastered on his face.

Hana was taken aback yet again by his different attitude. He looked genuinely concerned while looking at Hana with soft, sympathetic eyes. I've never seen him react like this. Is something going on?

No matter the instance, Sen would always be calm and collected. He would never show emotions that would be deemed as weak and not suitable for the situation. What she was witnessing now was a very first.

“Don’t ever feel like you should hide such things, Kaiyo. I don’t know what I would do if anything happened to you.” He said worryingly. “Please, next time, no matter what is bothering you, don’t hide it from us.” The way Sen talked so comfortingly would put any girl's heart at ease. Each word came out perfectly ordered and performed flawlessly.

This is so weird. I’ve never seen Sen so worried. Hyo stared with confusion, along with Hana. Although Hyo didn’t know Sen as much as she did, he at least knew how Sen usually acted most of the time.

“A-Ah…” Kaiyo just looked at him, stunned. Her cheeks turned red almost instantly. “I’m sorry,” she assured, a slight smile emerging on her face. It was apparent Kaiyo took Sen’s worry as being flirtatious.

“Is there anything else you care to share?” Sen focused on Kaiyo, prioritizing her.

Hana was now certain something was up. Sen didn’t even glance at the two of them. He just eyed Kaiyo. While she wondered what else to say, Hana received an order from a robot waiter.

Maybe a cup of coffee will wake me up from this parallel fckin universe.* Hana took a small sip from her hot coffee while Kaiyo continued.

“Well, I did end up saving an infant from the monsters. My dad rushed him to the hospital so that he could get medical treatment, and said he’d make sure he was adopted by a nice family,” Kaiyo revealed.

“Pffff!” Hana spit her coffee out in shock. “You what?!” She wiped her lips from the mess.

“Kaiyo, is that true?” Hyo asked.

Kaiyo averted their stare. “It wasn’t anything special. I just happened to be there at the right time,” she dismissed their assumptions. Hana was shocked. Kaiyo wasn’t the type to sacrifice her own safety like that. She always appeared gentle and helpless as a flower. And even though Kaiyo treated it as if it were nothing special, Hana guaranteed it must have been a frightening experience.

“No need to be so modest, Kaiyo, you saved someone. Well done,” Sen complimented in an equable tone. Kaiyo’s face just grew redder as Sen continued complimenting her. It wasn’t much time before her head exploded like a tomato. “I could never. You should be proud of yourself.”

Kaiyo couldn’t respond to him. She couldn’t handle his attention.

Sen is complimenting and noticing her a lot more than usual. Does he have feelings for her? If that were true, Hana would doubt her own existence. But she couldn’t deny the fact he acted very flirtatiously.

“Uh, that’s great, Kaiyo, you're a hero!” Hana tried her best to show her support but couldn’t shake off how weird Sen was acting.

“I’m sure whoever this infant belongs to is greatly indebted to you,” Hyo assured. Although that was meant to be praise, it only made Kaiyo’s smile fade away.

“You alright?”

“Hm? Yeah… I'm alright, no need to worry.” She gave them a bright smile. Although Hana could easily tell it was forced.

“Speaking of saving people,” Sen started, moving on from the topic, “the Knight exam is coming up shortly, right?”

“Yes, it’s in five days, to be exact. I’m pretty sure Kaiyo, Hyo, and I are entering together,” Hana assumed while looking at her friends. Hyo nodded in agreement.

“I thought I would give it a shot. I’m not the best with Sight, but I think I have a decent chance of getting in.”

“Same for me. I haven’t mastered my Sense, but it's always been a dream of mine to be a Knight,” Kaiyo acknowledged.

“I’m just doing it 'cause I heard you get free food and get a dorm,” Hana shrugged. She never really thought of being a knight, except for when she was a child. At one point, everyone wanted to become one because they looked cool. But the more years passed, the less interested she became in it. Not to mention, it was a dangerous job. Dying didn’t seem too pleasant. However, after graduating high school, Hana realized she wanted to become more proficient with her Sense, so she thought trying out for the academy would be the best option for that. And plus, it paid quite well, so she had nothing to lose.

Except my life.

“I see…” Sen said gloomily, with a despondent expression. He looked troubled suddenly—another thing she didn’t see too often, if not ever. Okay, I've had enough of this. Why is he acting so strange today?

“Sen, is there something bothering you? You’ve been acting kinda strange today?” Hana decided not to dwell on the topic and flat-out asked him.

“If anything is bothering you, we can at least help a little if you say it,” Kaiyo pressed softly. He hesitantly averted their gaze.

“It’s nothing, don’t worry about it,” he shook his head. Hana wasn’t going to ignore this topic. She would make him say what was bothering him, even if it was the last thing she did.

“If you don’t tell me what’s bothering you, I will have to use my secret weapon,” Hana grinned. Sen narrowed his eyes in confusion, then gulped with dread.

“Don’t you dare–”

Before he could protest, Hana started thrusting him back and forth ferociously. She may have put some of her Super Sense in the mix to seal the deal. This time, her friends didn’t try to stop her either. They knew it was the only way to get some information out of him.

“…..A-alright, alright, I’ll tell you,” Sen gave up. Hana let out a triumphant puff.

“I'm sorry, it was the only way, Senju.”

“If you keep calling me that, I won’t tell you,” Sen gave them a bitter look.

“Hey, listen here, you little shit, you're in no position to negotiate.” Hana stood her ground.

Sen let out a defeated sigh. “Fine…”

They eyed him conceivably, waiting for him to reveal why he seemed so different lately.

“Truthfully, I've been thinking about something lately.” He turned serious. “I’m not asking you guys to help or anything, and neither do I want your sympathy. I just wanted to say it, at least. All my life, I pushed aside my feelings about my disability. Trying not to notice it and just focusing on being the best I can be, but,” he sighed, pausing for a moment, trying to think how to continue.

“I just can’t keep hiding my dreams. Everyone around me always talks about becoming a Knight, honing their Super Sense, and being this hero. While I'm always just,” Sen cringed as he said his next words, “Different…”

Hana and her friends didn’t dare interrupt what he was saying. For the first time in her life, she witnessed Sen opening up about how he actually felt. All these years, Hana just assumed he didn’t care about his disability and took no notice of it. He always appeared to be resilient in front of her. But was that all just for show? She tried her best to protect him from these feelings of being an outcast, but was her attempt ineffectual?

“And all of you aren’t to blame either. You’re the only ones who ever tried to help me. So, in actuality, I’m to blame. I'm the one who bottled up my feelings and never told you all. I somehow expected that you guys would understand me without speaking about it. But it’s selfish of me. It was just to cover my own embarrassment.”

The only reaction Hana could see in her friends was plain and simple shock. Hana caught herself giving a wide-eyed and open-mouth face.

“The truth is…” Sen mustered up the courage to finally say, “I want to become a Knight.”

“WHAT!” Hana wanted to let out a hysterical laugh, but the look on her brother's face told her he was dead serious. What, when, how, he can't be serious?

“But….. h-how exactly do you plan on doing that?” Hana tried her best not to sound rude. The words she preferred to say were—How are you going to become a knight WHEN YOU'RE FRICKEN SENSELESS!

“Yeah… I'm a bit confused about that, too,” Hyo cleared his throat. It was hard not to say flat-out that he couldn’t become a Knight because he simply didn’t have a Super Sense. Sen gave a pessimistic sigh.

“I’m not exactly too sure myself. But I at least want to try, no matter the outcome,” he said with determination. Hana didn’t know how to respond. Seeing this side of Sen for the first time, she felt sympathetic.

“No matter what happens? But what if they fine you or, even worse, throw you in jail?”

“I already did some research on their rules and regulations. They never stated that a Senseless person can’t join their academy. And usually, when you don’t have a written law, it falls into a grey area.”

“I’m just going to rip the Band-Aid off right now, Sen. You know I will support you no matter what, but we need to be realistic. You won’t be able to ascend in the academy without a sense,” Hyo responded truthfully. Hana sighed inwardly. She didn’t want to be the one who broke that critical piece of news to Sen. But to their surprise, Sen didn’t give up.

“It doesn’t matter to me. It doesn’t even matter if I fail. I just want to try…”

Hana looked at Hyo, anxious. She wanted to help him, but the harsh truth remained: he would most likely fail at the first challenge. However, this was the first time he ever showcased such determination to do something.

“But there’s one problem,” Kaiyo, who has been quiet this whole time, suddenly said. “It has to do with my father…”

Huh? How does this have anything to do with her father? she wondered. Hana only knew that Kaiyo’s father happened to be a Knight. But other than that, she knew nothing else that would be a problem in their situation.

Sen gave an instantaneous grin. This time, Hana was sure she had seen it. But that wouldn’t make sense. Why would he smile at her words? This was supposed to be bad for him.

“What do you mean?” Sen tilted his head, confused.

Maybe I'm imagining it. This must be a side effect of skipping coffee all the way to noon. She should be ashamed of herself for even thinking Sen would smile in this situation.

“Well, my father is one of the board of directors for the Academy,” she revealed.

“Huh? Since when?”

“He was promoted this year since he hasn’t been on active duty,” explained Kaiyo. Hyo corrected his glasses, confused.

“Isn’t that a good thing?”

Hana cringed, now knowing why Kaiyo was so worried. Kaiyo’s parents weren’t on the best terms with Hana’s family. She didn’t have the slightest idea of why; all she knew was that they looked at them differently ever since Sen was confirmed to be senseless. It also coincided with the passing of her father.

She clenched her fists at the thought of her father.

“Her father isn’t the biggest fan of me,” Sen revealed rather bitterly. “If I join, I don’t know what will happen. Maybe I should just quit-”

“No!” Kaiyo stood up from her chair, her tone firm and determined. “I-I'm sorry, it's just…” Kaiyo sat down, apologizing for her outburst.

“It’s okay, Kaiyo,” sighed Sen. “Let’s just forget this conversation happened. I think it's for the best.” His gaze darkened. Sitting up disappointingly, Sen attempted to leave, but before he could—

“I-I’ll make sure you’re allowed!” Kaiyo blurted out. Sen was confused about what she had in mind, and so were she and Hyo.

“What do you mean?”

“My father is very protective of me. He wants me to follow my passions and dreams, so he won't do anything that will make me give up on it.”

That was a cute statement, but frankly, even Hana could tell it wasn’t quite helpful.

“So, if he tries to throw you out, I-I'll threaten to forfeit the exam!”

Her promise left them speechless. She would give up on her dream? To let him have a chance? This is love to another level. Hana couldn’t possibly imagine sacrificing her dreams for a person who didn’t even like her back. There were a few seconds of silence before Sen broke it.

“I don’t want to drag you in, Kaiyo. It's my mistake to bring this up. It's selfish.”

“No! Really, I mean it. My father is a dummy, and if it ever comes to that, I know he’ll comply. He doesn’t have the guts to turn me down. It's not fair that you're missing out on the chance to become a Knight. You're the strongest person I know. If anyone can become one, you can!”

These weren’t empty words just to make Sen feel better. Every single one came straight from the heart. She was confident in risking her own ambitions for Sen. Because, in the end, she could trust him wholeheartedly.

“You would do that for me?” Sen gaped.

“Of course,” she smiled widely. Hana wasn’t sure if she should be happy for Sen or concerned. I think Kaiyo is putting too much trust in him. Not that Hana didn’t trust her own brother. However, she couldn’t help but think love was blinding…

“I don’t know what to say…” Sen was awe-struck. “Thank you.”

Maybe she was looking into it too much. Nothing horrible could happen if her brother attempted to join. They would most likely kick him out. The most important thing was that Sen at least tried. Hyo nodded at her, almost reading her thoughts. Softening her expression, she nudged her brother playfully.

“Worse comes to worse, I’ll protect my little brother!” She teased while Sen rolled his eyes lightheartedly.

Hyo nodded. “I can’t promise much, but you know I’ll help you out the best I can.”

“You guys… I can't thank you all enough.” Sen almost seemed emotional, and for the first time in a while, Hana saw Sen smile. “In that case, I think I have a plan…”