Reality Check

After rousing from a brief nap around 6:30 PM, Kia experienced the inevitable crash of exhaustion as the energy drink's effects waned. Eventually, she gets up with an arch in her back, stretching as she flings off the cover.

Kia's laptop sits idle on the table. Gazing at it with half-opened eyes, she pondered the prospect of streaming again, questioning its worth at that point.

"...Should I even bother with streaming?"

Her viewer count remained stagnant, and doubts crept in. How long would this lack of viewership persist? A day? A week? A month? The only reason she pursued this kind of venture was because she thought it'd be easy.

Would she give up at this point?

Matsuura would probably laugh at her if she admits that after one day she's already finished with streaming. Kia couldn't bear the anticipated ridicule, especially from Matsuura, who would likely relish teasing her for a very long time.

"Fuck it, let's give this a better shot."

Embracing Tanaka's advice, Kia paced her room, pondering strategies to garner attention.

"I've heard of this kind of attention-seeking behavior on social media — maybe some of those? No, people would hate me for being that kind of person… so something more subtle like being seen in a widely distributed photo?"

The more she pondered, the more she realized the effort required to find viewers.

"Starting with videos isn't a bad thing," she mused. "Then again… I could always ask Matsuura how he started out… but my pride denies me so because I'm never admitting I need more of his help!"

Kia glanced at her silently charging laptop. "If in doubt, go on the internet!"

Because you can always trust the internet.

Looking up the keywords 'how to get more viewers on my stream,' Kia browsed through videos and posts, seeking specific and manageable advice.

Compiling her findings in Notepad, Kia read aloud each point, adding her comments.

Titles, tags, and categories, tailored to specific audiences, would've been useful for Kia. However, the outdated games she played risked being drowned out by more modern and popular games with similar tags.

"I should probably focus on the labeling then… give it a bit more effort on the descriptions too."

Consistent streaming and planning ahead was the next item, although because of the unstable nature of her job, it was hard to make streaming a full-time choice for a career. However, Kia still had compromises in mind.

"6:00 PM – 10:00 PM should be decent, I can still grab sleep although I won't have any free time." Kia shrugged. "As if I have anything else better to do anyway. I'll keep playing Minecraft until I beat it and maybe spruce up the world a bit. There's online multiplayer but I don't think anyone supports a server in this age."

Now for the hardest part of what Kia had to endure — learning to use YouTube's integrated streaming software and download add-ons from external sources. Kia had to learn to edit in the end, she had to if she ever wanted to make videos to make people go to her while she's live. 

"I guess the tutorials on this kind of stuff make learning more bearable."

Engagement with viewers was crucial. Kia had been gaming casually the night before, not talking much and looking tired. If potential viewers didn't see her enjoy the game to its fullest, why would they watch? Kia needed a habit of talking endlessly. Perhaps it was time to start practicing.

"If only I had an active audience watching me… or be one of those characters inside a story that talks to themselves for no apparent reason other than to fill blank space and give information to the reader." Kia laughed. "Hah! As if that's ever going to happen."

The last of her notes was for branding — what makes people go inside her stream. Her knowledge of vintage games could be her unique draw. All the multiplayer ones were impractical, but single-player games would be ideal.

"I like to play the century-old games in this universe. If I get an emulator, I can play even older ones. I don't remember what consoles it was but it could be good to try."

With that in mind, Kia goes into her YouTube channel and frowns at the lack of any personalization. She realized that her low-effort start was detrimental, now that she was pursuing it with a reality check, Kia decided to design her page a bit more… bearable.

"There's a lot of free logo makers. I'm gonna have to make my own panels, and customize my entire Twitch— I mean YouTube page."

Technically, the company was now called YouTube Twitch.

Kia didn't have any windows in her apartment but even she knew how late it was going to be once she was going to start and end. "I'll get some coffee before I start."

<>

Eating while walking outside with chopsticks proved less intuitive, but Kia embraced the challenge. After some casual chatter with Tanaka and a dose of canned coffee, sufficiently fueling her for the next few hours, Kia departed with a contented stomach.

The moment her feet hit the pavement, a subtle unease crept over her. "Hmm... where's a trash can? I gotta throw these away and get home fast."

The day was quieter than usual. 

A bad sign.

"Why do I feel like G O D is going to throw something at me yet again—"

"Dammit woman, just hand over your purse!"

Kia froze at the abrupt demand, the sound reaching her ears just as she rounded a corner. The volume was heightened, intimidating. There, two men were in a struggle with a woman in a long coat, attempting to snatch her bag.

This wasn't her concern. Kia could slip away quietly and...

"Shit, we've been spotted! Why haven't you fucking taken the bitch's bag?!"

The other man joined in, ironically raising his voice. "Stop screaming, idiot! I have a limit on my noise reduction!"

'What are they even doing?' Kia resisted the urge to facepalm, knowing she had to get out of there.

"Take care of the witness," the first man, let's call him Dumb, commanded his comrade.

The second, whom Kia dubbed Dumber, nodded in response.

Neither of them resembled hardened criminals. Kia recognized the desperation in their eyes, a reflection of her own once before.

"Guys, please," Kia pleaded, attempting to defuse the situation. "Look, I don't have any qualms with what you're doing. Trust me, I understand having to do what you don't like."

Kia's movements seized, she tried to move away but something akin to a magnetic pull prevented her from moving too far. 'I can't even get away… damn quirk society.'

Dumber approached slowly, arms raised. Kia, well-versed in her acquired martial arts, recognized the unfavorable stance.

"All right, if words won't work, then violence will." Kia clutched the chopsticks used for her meal and narrowed her eyes.

"Pft! Lady, what the hell do you think chopsticks are going to do?" Dumber taunted.

Kia smiled. "Ever heard of John Wick?"

"Who's that—"

Kia rushed forward, her body springing with intense power. A chopstick pointed at Dumber's throat.

The impact caused Dumber to choke loudly, staggering back while clutching his throat. "—what... the... ack! ...fuck!?"

Kia examined the broken half of one of her chopsticks, tossing it aside and using the other chopstick as a replacement. "Please, don't keep trying to fight. I know you can't always stay satisfied with your life, and stealing is not always justifiable, but I understand that some circumstances require it. So just let me go and we won't have to continue."

Dumber recovered and charged forward, attempting a wild jab and uppercut. Kia effortlessly dodged the inexperienced swings, moving with minimal effort.

After a series of poorly executed attacks, Dumber jabbed, but Kia easily parried and countered with an elbow, pushing it aside. Holding a chopstick threateningly at eye level, she made her intentions clear.

Dumber panicked, desperately blocking the attack, unwittingly leaving his stomach vulnerable. Kia feinted with the chopstick, executing a perfect kick straight to his chest.

"Ough!" The air rushed out of Dumber's lungs as he scrambled on the ground, clutching his chest. "I-I think you broke my rib!"

"Don't be such a baby; ribs grow back," Kia whispered. "At least I think they do. Besides, I didn't hit you that hard."

Finally free from Dumb's grasp, the woman they were harassing ran towards Kia with a frightened expression.

Dumb in response to seeing his buddy on the ground, flicks open a knife he retrieves from his pockets. "Why couldn't you have just given up!" Dumb yells. "I don't want to do this."

"Seriously? I'm the one who said just leave me alone! You could've stolen this woman's bag and left, instead, you provoke a fight with someone who's comfortable with a confrontation."

Dumb waves the knife around. "J-just give me all that you have! O-or I'll cut you!"

"You think waving that around is gonna scare me? This isn't Britain; I've stared at the end of a gun barrel before," Kia retorted, growing irritated. 

"S-Shut up! Hyahh!" Dumb charged in, brandishing his knife.

Judging the distance, Kia threw the last of her chopsticks straight at Dumb's head, momentarily closing his eyes. Capitalizing on the distraction, Kia twirled gracefully on one foot before unleashing a powerful strike, her foot connecting with Dumber's chest, making the knife clatter onto the pavement. 

Ensuring both assailants were incapacitated, Kia picked up the discarded weapon and inspected it. Glancing towards the woman who was almost robbed, she spoke, "Look, don't think of this as me saving you." Kia's words were cut short as the woman suddenly hugged her. "Bwoh! You don't need to—"

A sniffle escaped the woman. "Thank you. I-I was so scared..."

During the embrace, Kia felt an odd sensation on her stomach. Stepping back, she widened her eyes. "Hold on a minute... You're pregnant?!"

The long coat had concealed the soon-to-be mother. Kia shot an angered look at the defeated perpetrators and back to the girl. "Just move; I'll stay and watch over them." Nodding fervently, the woman ran away.

Approaching the two men on the ground, Kia hauled them up against a wall and let them sit as she spoke. "You two, how old are you?"

Dumb and Dumber hesitated, not answering immediately.

Reprimanding them, Kia insisted, "Look, that girl is probably calling the police and reporting this incident. Due to some circumstances, I prefer not to be involved with the law. I'm trying to help you here, and the first thing you need to do is tell me how old you two are."

"I'm 17," Dumber admitted, earning a reaction from Dumb.

"Hey, why'd you tell her that for?!"

"He's 17 too."

"Ahem, correction. 17 and a half."

Shaking her head, Kia sighed. "For fuck's sake... you two are teenagers. Tell me, what reason do you have for trying to rob a fucking pregnant woman?"

"We just needed the money, alright? Why do you care so much anyway?" Dumb responded angrily.

"Because there's still honor amongst thieves. What you're doing is not stealing; it's being a fucking idiot and less of a man. A pregnant woman, of all the people you could rob, you two chose her?"

"It was going to be easy!" Dumber interjected, "So what are we supposed to do? No one is there out for us, helping when we need to!"

Ah, that was it, Kia realized. "Alright, so who was it? Father? Mother? I'm going to guess a father since that's what's common in what I know."

Exchanging glances, Dumber answered Kia meekly. "Father..."

"Did he leave you? Beat your mom up? Took out his drunken rage on you?" Kia sat down to their level, locking eyes with theirs. "And you assume no one cares, right? Then something monumental happened that led you to try to rob someone."

Dumb pointed at Dumber, answering Kia's question sadly. "His mom collapsed, he couldn't pay back the debt his father owed to some loan sharks. I'm helping because I don't have a family myself."

"Fucking hell, it's always debts, isn't it?" Kia commented, making the two boys glance at her with curiosity. "Guys, I'm not blaming you for turning into a criminal. If you're going to steal, do it from the rich or the government. Some regular old Joe can work too but it's better to keep that as a last resort."

"You seem to know a lot about this, lady."

Kia sighed, contemplating. "I was young once too. There isn't much to tell, but I'd done what you did too. Criminals are separated into two groups: those who don't have a choice and the minority who do it for fun. I found who I was and decided to change it."

Dumb asked, "Er… what made you change?"

Biting her lip, Kia spoke, "Ever heard of targeted violence? I've seen it before, groups of men beating a man to death just because he slept on a bench, or just straight-up shot someone for no reason. There are shitty people in the world, I realized that someone who stole from the vulnerable was just the same as those who killed people for fun. Do you get it?"

Dumb and Dumber nodded, making Kia smile. "Here's your knife back. Be glad since if it were anyone else but me, you'd have been in jail for months or worse, killed. Depending on who you point that thing at."

Dumb took the knife back with a stunned look. "You're letting us go?"

"Not exactly. The police are going to be on their way if you don't escape." Kia looked around and got close for a whisper. "Just remember that I wasn't here and that this never happened, kay? Now can the one with the quirk let me leave? I have a stream to make."

Slapping a palm over their ears, Dumb and Dumber turned away from Kia, dumbfounded as they stared at her figure jogging away from the scene.

"Dude, I think I'm in love."

Dumber responded slowly, "...Me too."

No one could resist the charm of a beautiful woman who can kick your ass. 

<>

Kia got back to her apartment with a small ache in her muscles. She touches her arms and legs, irking at the sharp pain from the soreness. "I have to exercise this body eventually. Turns out that Matsuura was right, this location has a lot of criminals lurking around. Now then... my stream isn't going to make itself."