I was having a hard time understanding why Naomi felt responsible for my success in Hunter Corp. Was this her way of feeling sorry for me? That’d only make sense if it were really her who’d been there with me that night. But every time I mention it and try to gauge her for answers, she’d blow me off or change the topic.

I guess it was easier for her to deny the truth, no matter how itchy my need for closure was. There’d always be the doubt that it was really her out there if I didn’t get a straight answer from her though, but tonight wasn’t the night for that. Tonight, we were going to finally eat as a team with the other beta squad.

Noodles were cold, but we had no complaints. Everyone was starving as we all sat in the kitchen exchanging light pleasantries with Felix and his squad. We shared info about our contracts, Felix giving out pointers to each of us. Except Reina, who was too perfect to receive criticism. Didn’t matter though, Gun kept her out of our discussion for the most part. He helped us discover something she was an absolute pro at, and that was talking about herself.

She went on and on, the pretty boy enticing her beyond the high hour of midnight. Seeing Reina in a light mood changed my mood as well, trying to not feel so guilty about what I did back there. That being said, I didn’t take Naomi’s advice. I’d never become so accustomed to the death of innocents to the point of not caring. I didn’t care how many years I was a hunter, that sort of indifference sounded crazy to me. Innocent bloodshed would never be a routine I’d get comfortable with. I get that she was experienced, running her own solo missions as a hunter before she stepped foot in the corp. Personally, I thought she was suffering from the symptom of survival.

The killer’s numb, not entirely a strange concept to fathom at all. It would explain her persona, actually. Not to say I felt different about her because of it—if anything, I felt closer to her. Being so closed-off like that only meant she didn’t have anyone to vent out to. But now she had me, and I had her, and we were going to work all of this out together.

“I can’t believe I have actual fame points!” Ash said as she sat on the armrest of the couch while Gun flipped through the channels. We’d moved our hangout time to the living room, Naomi having left right before Felix suggested it. She said she needed to take care of things, while Felix, Ash, Gun, Reina and I tried to find a quick movie to watch.

“Yeah, me either,” I said with a smile as I sat next to Felix on the two-seater. “Actually, with everything going on, I hadn’t stopped to check my stats.”

“It’s only 100 points,” Reina said as she sat to the right of Gun, being a party pooper.

“It’s more than you had yesterday,” I reminded her.

“What are you going to do with your points, Nero?” Felix asked me.

“I’m saving them for training.”

“What? Seriously?” Gun snickered. “What a waste! You don’t even know you’re sticking around yet.”

“I do.”

“That confident, huh?”

I smirked. “Very. There is no going back home without a hunter badge near my name.”

“Kudos for the optimism. I, on the other hand, am going to use it for something more useful.”

“Like what?” I chuckled. “Feel like I’m going to regret the answer.”

“Conversion.”

Software version, 7.0?

Reina raised an eyebrow at him. “You mean, converting FP for yen?”

“Yup! Makes all the sense in the world. I’m wrung dry out here! That starter money wasted in a fucking day.”

“How the hell did you use all of that in a day?”

“Check the fridge, and my wardrobe.” He snorted. “Food and style ain’t cheap.”

“Well, besides the fashion part, Gun is right,” Felix piggybacked. “If we run out of funds, it isn’t like our mentor is going to step in and help. The only thing that pays out during our evaluation are Fame Points, and even then, they consider that generous. Our evaluation contracts don’t pay out in live currency, not unless we pass. After that, they are bracketed into how many FP we earned that week from contracts. Think of it like a paycheck.”

If you spot this narrative on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.

“If we accumulate 1,000 FP in a week from contracts, we are paid $10,000 USD each,” I said. “The next bracket is $20,000 USD for 2,000 FP in a week.”

“Wow, imagine being eighteen and making 20 grand a week!” Ash said excitedly.

“We’ll be broke this week, though.” Felix smiled. “Learning how to manage a budget is part of the trial, and if we can’t survive, then we are out.”

“Truly, this is an excuse they give to cover the fact that they don’t want to pay talent who may not pass evaluations,” Reina chimed in, making a point.

“But the conversion rate from fame points to live cash is terrible,” Gun said.

“Better than nothing. Besides, we could always do more contracts,” Felix shrugged.

“Level one contracts are worth 100 FP, for the low grade monsters,” Ash said, reading off something from her cellphone. “Level two, 200 FP. Level three, usually grade A and sometimes B monsters, 300 FP.”

“Which is an insane concept, knowing that a level three contract is worth less than getting second place in a round of HG,” Gun complained.

“True, but the games aren’t as consistent as our contracts,” I replied.

“One is a game, the other is real life. I don’t care how inconsistent it is. We should be getting more points for risking our lives out there.”

I turned to Ash and asked, “Is there something beyond a level three contract?”

“Special contracts, which honestly, I don’t want to be part of,” Ash said, breaking off a piece of her chocolate wafer. “Says here on the hunter manual that special contracts are reserved for year three hunters.”

“Year three only?”

“Usually. Year three or top-ranked. Because of the, quote, high probability of fatality, unquote.”

“So, what category do they fall into if not A grade monsters?”

“Umm, says here Category S.”

“What? I forgot there was a category beyond A.” Honestly, I was to blame for that. These past few days have been unapologetically busy, that I haven't had the time to read the manual or carefully read my contract.

“Yeah, I rarely hear about that category too, to tell ya the truth.”

“Hmm, maybe they’ve only been rare sightings?” Felix asked.

“Hey, hey, hey, I thought we were supposed to be watching a movie, here?” Gun protested. “I spent my whole day being a hunter. I want to unwind and be ol’ fashion Gun, doing what he does best. Chill.”

Hmm… I wondered what a grade S monster looked like….

“We are not about to sit here and watch Makufumi’s Cherry Bosoms Festival!” Ash hissed. “That movie is pretty much hentai!”

“Hentai? What’s that?” Everyone jerked their heads at Reina’s question, the air drawing to a sudden, stunned silence. Gun’s mouth opened but no words came out. I was also at a loss, unable to answer her question. How was it possible that a popular girl like Reina, an idol damn near every guy on campus wanted to smash, didn’t know what porn was?

Well, anime porn….

“Well,” Ash started with a cheeky smile, obviously trying to find the most diplomatic way to explain. “It’s, um, a genre you’d find on the spicy web.”

“Spicy web?” Reina tilted her head, appearing genuinely confused. “Hen-tai….”

I face-palmed as she repeated the word over and over again, while Gun on the other hand couldn’t stop staring and smirking at her gullibility.

“To put it plainly,” Felix chimed in, grinning mischievously. “It’s a mini movie filled with lots of naked people doing… uh… naked people stuff.”

“Let’s just say, it’s certainly not something you’d want to watch with your friends,” I added, and was actually thrown that it was available to watch at the dojo.

Exactly what are you doing in your downtime, sensei?

“I must have misheard that obvious word in the title. That’s absolutely repulsive,” Reina commented with a twisted face.

“Doesn’t have to be.” Gun winked.

“Oh, how about Doctor Hatcher? It’s a pretty good horror film,” Ash asked.

I snorted. “I think I had my fair share of blood and guts today.”

“Well, it’s either that or a chick flick, unless you prefer Cherry Bosoms too, Nero,” Ash giggled.

“I don’t mind the gory horror,” Gun said and then turned to Reina. “If you get scared, you can always hold onto me, babe.”

Reina rolled her eyes. “In your dreams, Gunther.” Felix cackled while I tried to stifle my own laughter. Even in his cocky assurance, Gun looked a little hurt. “I’d have to agree with Nero here. I’m not in the mood for a blood show.”

“Oh, we could watch a mystery film! Have any of you guys seen The Labyrinth’s Secret? It looks pretty good.”

Reina’s face brightened at that. “Oh, I love mysteries!”

“Same here,” Felix agreed. “Let’s go with TLS.”

“I guess we have a winner then,” I said, before getting up to make popcorn. But as soon as I got up, I felt lightheaded. The feeling came and went, like a slow pulse. I grabbed my head and caught my footing, then looked up to see everyone in a different light. What I saw weren’t faces and figures, but instead, the pathways inside of them. I could see the intricate circulation of warm blood pumping through their veins…. It made my heart race.

I saw… everything….

“Nero, you alright there, K-pop?” Ash asked, and I lifted my head, shaking away the creepy feeling. It happened so fast that I swear I’d miss it if I’d blinked….

I answered her with a smile and said, “Yeah, guess I just got up too fast. I’ll be back. Heading to the kitchen to make some popcorn.”