Milo sat in the corner of the restaurant, watching the room. A boy carrying a blue school bag walked in, eyes fixed on the beautiful receptionist behind the counter, her uniform barely containing her curves.
Milo's battle senses tingled—a potential clue about his father's death—but something was off: no bloodlust emanated from the boy. Milo had faced killers before and could usually sense them instantly.
This kid is a pervert, he concluded, disappointed.
Ross lingered on her chest for a few seconds, daydreaming about their future—marriage, children, all sorts of bizarre fantasies.
A shout from the waiter snapped him back.
"He wants rice and beans!"
"Okay," the receptionist replied, jotting it down.
"Hallo, Emily," Ross greeted.
"Hi, Ross."
"How's your day going?" she asked.
"Great! And yours?"
"Great too. What can I get you?"
Ross's gaze didn't waver. "Are my parents around?"
"Yeah, let me call them!" Emily replied, heading to the back room. Ross followed her quietly.
"Who's that kid?" Milo asked.
"He's the chef's son," the waiter replied.
"Well, they don't look alike," Milo muttered, glancing at the photos on the wall.
"Rumor says they adopted him," the waiter added.
The backroom door opened. Ross's mom appeared first, followed by Emily.
"You finished early at school? What's wrong?" she asked.
"The teacher gave us a project. I'm just here for fries!" Ross shrugged.
"Alright. Emily will get you—I'm busy in the back."
"Alright, madam!" Emily said, heading back to the receptionist desk.
"Ross!" the waiter near Milo called.
"Yeah, Bridget, how are you?"
"Fine! Ross, this is my friend Milo. He works at Brickville Telecommunications," she whispered.
"Hello, Mr. Engineer," Ross saluted.
"No need for formalities. I'm just the papers guy," Milo said.
"Surprising, considering your huge muscles!" Ross teased.
"Stop it, I'm blushing," Milo smiled briefly.
This kid's Kyo… it's at a high frequency but silent. Ah, that's why people miss it, Milo thought.
"Ross, your fries are ready."
"Coming! Nice meeting you, sir."
"You too, Ross!"
Ross grabbed his food and left the restaurant.
A few minutes after lunch, Milo decided to follow him.
Let's see who you really are! he thought.
He tuned the air particles to resonate with Ross's Kyo, creating an invisible trail only he could sense.
The trail led him to a large house near the market, surrounded by a white wooden fence, with a patch of land between the fence and the house. Milo settled in a distant apartment, observing for anything suspicious before he confronted Ross.
Nothing unusual happened. Ross's parents returned at 8 PM, argued briefly, then made up. Ross played loud video games throughout their spat.
An hour later, the lights went off, and silence settled over the house—but Milo never stopped his watch. Outside, a chill wind rustled the leaves, carrying the faint smell of rain. Clouds had swallowed the moon, leaving the street dim and gray.
The occasional flicker of lightning illuminated the yard, casting monstrous shadows across the fence. Milo's eyes never left the house, every sound amplified in the quiet night.
Around midnight, four mutant cockroaches emerged from the shadows, antennae twitching, drawn to food scraps in the house.
With ease they broke through the fence , with speed they rushed to the house .
The alpha cockroach struck first, contracting its stomach to release toxic substances, preparing to bleach the house walls.
"Wooooh! Pwah!"
A black katana appeared from nowhere, stabbing it through the head. Green ichor spurted like a fountain.
"Ehejej!" the insects shrieked in fear, attempting to flee—but a boot to one's head stopped them.
Ross had jumped from the window in red pajamas adorned with black mouse symbols, hair messy, a deformed smile perfected over time.
"You're not going anywhere!" he threatened.
"You can hear us?" the insects pleaded.
"Yes. You can't hide anything from me," Ross replied.
"We're sorry! Just let us go—we never meant harm!"
"If I let you go, you'll harm others!"
"No, we promise! We'll behave!"
"Alright. Go—but promise never to harm humans again."
"Really? Yes, we swear!"
"At the count of three, I want you out of here."
"Let's go, Bonar!"
"1…" the cockroaches ran, but lingered on the premises.
"2…" a few steps to freedom.
"3…" the insects were mere centimeters from safety, their relief palpable.
Before they could celebrate, two identical katanas struck them down, killing them and their leader in a spray of blood.
Milo murmured as he drew his own katanas from the corpses. "That's for breaking my fence."
Ross wiped his blades clean on the insect bodies.
"Disintegrate," he commanded. The katanas, including the one he used to slay the leader, slowly dissolved into pieces.
Beneath the ground, a massive hound, black as darkness itself, emerged, devouring the remains before vanishing.
Ross spent a few seconds gathering broken fence planks, then pointed directly at Milo's hiding spot.
"Yo, Milo! How long are you planning to stay up there? Come help with the fence!"