Chapter 9– Kaiyo

"Your enemy will never be a friend, but a friend could always be your enemy…"

Today was an exciting day for Kaiyo. As much as it was, however, she couldn't help but want to sleep a tad bit longer. Sadly, her attempt stopped abruptly when her phone's alarm started ringing irritatingly. Uh… Make it stop! She didn't have the energy to lift her arm and manually turn it off herself. I'm just going to wait until Mom or Dad turns off the alarm, she groggily thought, feeling a new dream forming already. Smiling warmly under the bed sheets, she finally realized something.

"W… wait…" she sleepily thought out loud. "I feel like I'm forgetting something."

She couldn't quite figure it out while half-sleeping. But after a few moments of the alarm's loud and galling sound, she fully woke up.

"WAIT… Today is Sen's birthday!" She jolted upward from her bed to double-check the date on her phone and finally turned off that alarm. Her device showed her 'November 3rd'.

Her sleepy vision vanished once she saw the day. Kaiyo felt a wave of excitement wash over her. Just thinking about him made her cheeks turn slightly pink.

She had been Sen's best friend since kindergarten. However, their parents knew each other before they were born. So, it was safe to say she knew him far longer than any of his other friends... (which weren't many). But she was proud to be his closest, at the very least.

Excited for the upcoming day, she started her morning routine by first getting out of bed. Second, she thoroughly brushed her pearl-white teeth before standing in front of her closet, contemplating what she should wear. She tried on a few dresses and skirts, but they simply didn't suit the occasion. With a frown, she looked in her closet.

"I wonder what he likes," Kaiyo murmured to herself. Realizing what she said, Kaiyo stammered out loud, "N-not that I care what he wants, it just…"

What am I doing? No one's here anyway. I shouldn't be afraid to say what I want, right? That's what she told herself, but her actions were quite the opposite. Kaiyo was a shy and nervous girl. She was deathly afraid people would dislike her because of something she would say. And her worries didn't come without merit either.

Kaiyo's qualms were derived from kids who would often bully her in the early years of school. Even though Kaiyo was sixteen—a few months older than Sen—she couldn't help but carry those experiences with her throughout her adolescence.

Those worries were something she couldn't get rid of. But it could have been worse. During her years of bullying, a kid stood up for Kaiyo, or rather just 'stuck with her.' That person happened to be Sen.

Whenever Sen was around, the bullies would ignore her, almost as if they were afraid of him in a way. Kaiyo never understood why. He always seemed so gentle and composed—practically the prime target for bullying. But no one dared even bother her when he was present. Of course, this was before it was confirmed Sen didn't receive a Super Sense after hitting puberty.

Like Kaiyo, all kids received a Super Sense from ages 10-13. Her Super Sense was 'Hearing,' which correlated with her mother, Rin Yahish. On the other hand, her father, Asashi Yahish, had 'Touch'.

So, it was clear that the origin of her sense was mostly imitative of her mother's bloodline. Everything was the result of chance. Some got their Super Sense from one of their parents, and some even got two or more! While some received a completely unrelated one. Sen, on the other hand, was an anomaly. He didn't receive one at all, which was far rarer than someone receiving multiple senses. But regardless of that, Kaiyo always stuck by his side because that's what he did for her. It was only fair. There was no reason to view him differently…

The smartwatch on her wrist showed it was 9:23 am. Around this time, her mother should be cooking breakfast for Kaiyo and Asashi. In the meantime, she started brushing her dark red hair. It was quite frizzed up from sleeping. Looking in the mirror while pampering herself, she took notice of the dress she selected for the special occasion. It was a simple white dress with a few Sakura blossoms etched on it. Her brilliant green eyes sparkled with excitement. She couldn't wait to see what Sen thought of it.

After getting herself ready for the long day ahead, she slowly went downstairs. She immediately caught the aroma of breakfast.

Subtle sweet scents of eggs filled the air, with rancid fragrances of fermented soybeans soon following. Her mouth watered with anticipation.

"Oh, morning dear," Rin, Kaiyo's mother, brightly greeted her while continuing with breakfast. Her mother resembled Kaiyo quite a lot. She shared her dark red hair and her cute round face structure. However, Kaiyo didn't inherit her gorgeous emerald eye color from her mother.

"Morning, Kai," her father, Asashi, murmured her nickname in a low, affectionate tone. Although her father had simple, short, black hair, she had received his vibrant eye color. Looking at her father's slim yet broad face, his eyes almost seemed to glow against his face. His aura resembled a black panther with its wild and intimidating nature. Coupled with his usual gloom and threatening face, he was tall for a Japanese person, standing around 6'3, or 192 centimeters. And most important of all, besides his looks, was his overwhelming strength. He was a Gold Ranked Knight...

She had studied the ranking system for both Knights and monsters in her school's extracurricular activities in preparation for the academy's once-a-year entrance exam.

They were pretty simple. At the bottom were Bronze-ranked Knights, primarily people just initiating their careers as Knights. Second in the ranks were Silver-ranked Knights.

The third was Gold, which was her father's current status. And the most prestigious of them all was the Diamond rank. A Monster's danger level also happened to go by the same ranking system as Knights. But it was unfair to even put Diamond rank as part of the chain due to how infrequent they were. It truly was as rare as finding a diamond in the rough. Only a few people or monsters with that status even existed in Japan. There were some outside of the country, but the difficulty of achieving such a rank didn't change. It was clear how high her father's status was compared to everyone around him.

Most of his success was due to his involvement and performance in the last world war, over twenty years ago, not so long before she was born. She had tried asking her father for stories about his experiences, but he would always reject her request. Her mother secretly told her that he was deeply scarred and traumatized by those times, which Kaiyo didn't quite believe. Her father always seemed so strong and reliable. He didn't seem like the type to be scared of anything. But she didn't push the topic any further. Whatever her father experienced in the past, it didn't change the fact that she respected him more than anyone.

Sitting at the table, her mother brought her a simple but filling breakfast to start her day. It was an egg omelet with creamy cheese melted inside. The side dishes consisted of fresh radish, kimchi, natto, and a small bowl of rice. Asashi and Rin both sat beside her, enjoying the exact same meal. They all gave a quick prayer for the food before digging in delightfully.

The flavors weren't exactly special, but the fact her mother put her love into it made it far better than any restaurant food she had eaten. She was lucky to have such caring parents.

Smiling gratefully as flavors filled her mouth, her mother suddenly asked her–

"Oh, you're all dressed up today, aren't you?" she said, amused. Kaiyo's cheeks started turning pink from her mother's remark.

"Yeah, I guess so," she admitted, embarrassed.

Her mother raised an eyebrow, interested in her sudden change of demeanor. It was clear

Kaiyo was rather interested in Sen. She wondered if he ever picked up on that. Knowing how bad she was at lying, she truly doubted he was oblivious to her feelings.

"Well, what's the special occasion?" her father chimed in, also interested.

Kaiyo was hesitant to respond, but after a few moments, she finally admitted–

"I'm going to Sen's birthday party. He just turned sixteen."

…The table suddenly turned silent.

Kaiyo blinked in confusion from the sudden change of mood at the table. Her mother's expression was not of anger or disappointment; it was more of anxiety. She cast a sideward glance at her father, only for him to stop eating altogether.

Asashi put down his fork and remained dead silent. His wife eyed him nervously.

"U-uh, did I say something wrong?" Kaiyo stammered.

"No, dear, it's alright," her mother reassured her daughter, then added, "You're not going to school today?"

She didn't like how silent her father had become but felt compelled to confess her reason.

"I thought I would skip school today to celebrate his birthday. Is that not okay?"

"Okay?" her father snorted.

"Dear, please don't start this," her mother tried to interject, but it was futile; her father was set on speaking his mind.

"I've had enough of playing along…" Asashi clenched his fists. "Each time I see that boy, I'm forced to swallow down my discontent and worry. I don't want that anymore."

"Huh?" Kaiyo was stunned by her father's words. "What do you mean, Dad? I don't understand."

"It's better you don't understand," he replied darkly. "Just listen to me. Cut ties with him and that family. The sooner you do that, the better."

"WHAT?! Dad, have you gone mad? What's all this so suddenly? I've known him my whole life. I can't just forget about him like that!" She stood from her chair with resentment.

"You will. I demand it!" Asashi, mirroring her stance, stood up from the dining table. He towered over her menacingly. But she wasn't cowering and complying with his demands.

"Why? What did he ever do to you?"

"Kaiyo, it's not what he's done. I'm just trying to protect you–"

"Protect me?" she raged. "Where were you when I was getting bullied in school? Did you care? No, you didn't! You were too busy being a high-ranked Knight!"

Asashi watched her, taken aback by her response.

"But you know who was protecting me? Sen! So, on the contrary, he's the only one who's ever protected me, even without a sense!"

"Did you just imply I did nothing to protect you?" he growled.

"Wha?" she didn't mean it in that way. But her pride didn't let her admit that in the heat of the argument. She was too furious with her father.

"Do you know how much I do for you? Everything I ever did was just for your future." Her father genuinely looked hurt. For a moment, she felt a little guilty. But it wasn't her fault that her father made such an outrageous demand. He was playing the sympathy card!

"I'm not saying you didn't do anything for me, okay? I just–"

"Haha! HECK, I even tried to convince the board of directors to pass you in the exam just in case you failed!"

Kaiyo froze…

"BUT NO! I DO NOTHING FOR YOU, DO I? –"

"What did you just say?" Kaiyo murmured in shock. He then looked at her with a pause.

Asashi knew he had messed up the moment he opened his mouth.

"I-I… fine, it's true," he sighed at last. "Since I'm on the board of directors for the Academy of Knights, I tried convincing them…" his voice trailed off. The more he said, the worse it seemed to come out. "I tried to convince them to pass you in the event you failed. But, I-It obviously got rejected, so–"

"How could you…" Kaiyo mumbled, her tone becoming wavy. "You knew how much becoming a Knight meant to me," she whimpered.

Asashi started panicking. He had never meant to make her cry. Stumbling over his words, he paused, unsure of what to say.

"I-I did it because I knew how much it meant to you. I wouldn't have suggested that to the board of directors if I didn't care about your future."

The argument spiraled from Asashi's discontent with her friend to something she never would have thought her father would do. She wanted to enter the academy to hone her craft and prove herself, not be bribed in…

"Asashi…" her mother murmured. "Apologize."

Asashi's pride simply didn't allow that, but after seeing a few tears fall down Kaiyo's face, he finally gave in.

"I'm sorry, Kai. I know I shouldn't have done that," he sighed, then added a little more brashly, "BUT I will not apologize for what I said about Sen! I still demand you stay away from him. He's nothing but trouble. Trust me; your father knows much more about this than you do."

Kaiyo looked at her father with tears. She couldn't believe her father would say such things to her face, even after admitting he'd done something unforgivable.

"You don't know Sen's family like I do, Kaiyo. I've known his father before you were even born. This is the last time I will say this… STAY… AWAY."

Kaiyo had enough. With tears falling from her eyes, she turned her back on him. With sorrow and anger, she grabbed the front door and left the house without another whimper...