CHAPTER NINE

A contract, already? That was quicker than I thought. I’d just gotten to the dojo, where I didn’t have nearly as much time as I thought I would to unwind or unpack. But an assignment was an assignment, an urgent hunt that needed to be addressed right away. Our first contract mission was worth 100 fame points per squadron member, and we could do anything we wanted with it. From buying items we could use in the Hunter Games, converting it to real cash, or even feeding our attributes. If I wanted to up my stats, I’d cough up fame points, and in return, I’d be trained by my mentor. Those lessons weren’t cheap, but they were very well worth it. Which is why I was planning on using mine for training.

The location was at a farmer’s market in a quaint square called Mitsaku. During the briefing, Sensei Hayashi mentioned that a monster was spotted in an alleyway. The source wanted to remain anonymous, so we couldn’t ask him any questions. All we knew was that he’d seen her shapeshift into a teenage girl with long jet-black hair and a burgundy overall dress. It wasn’t much to go off of but it was literally all we had, so Reina, Naomi, Sensei and I went to Mitsaku, arriving there a few minutes past 11.

CONTRACT LEVEL: ONE

MISSION: Locate and slay the shadow-walker reported in downtown Utoro

MONSTER GRADE: C-D

REWARD: 100 Fame Points .ph (per hunter)

EARNINGS: $1,000 .ph (payment pending during evaluation phase)

I still couldn't believe we were being paid a grand each for slaying a lesser monster...

“Why are we even here, anyway?” Reina complained under her breath as the three of us walked along the cobblestone streets of Mitsaku while our mentor hid close by, keeping an eye on us. “By this time, the demon is most likely miles away from here with a kill under her belt. That intel is at least 40 minutes old.”

“More reason why Utoro needs hunters,” I said just as quietly, making sure to keep our voices low on the off-chance the flesh eater was still around. “Just keep looking.”

“That’s exactly what I’m doing, but forgive me if my lack of breakfast is distracting this mission!” She retorted. “Unless starvation is part of this trial, then I’m going to grab something to eat! This is a farmer’s market after all.”

“That can wait, Reina. We—hey!” I cut off as Reina dashed away, her auburn hair bobbing through the crowd toward a food stall. I hurried after her, weaving through the wave of people. By the time I reached her, Reina already had a skewer of yakitori in hand. “Really, Reina?” I chastised, glancing nervously around the marketplace. Reina rolled her eyes, prepared to take a bite out of the skewer.

“Relax, she probably left hours ago.”

“You better hope that she didn’t! You seem to forget that we are being tested right now. And trailing away from the target is going to knock off some points from our score.”

“What target? We don’t even know where she is. I stand behind the notion of her leaving. Why else wouldn’t the square be evacuated?”

When I looked over my shoulder at Naomi, my heart jumped. She’d disappeared on us, my eyes jumping left and right to search for her. Reaching for my com unit over my ear, I made a command to call her to no avail. After the third time, I gave up, thinking that either A, she didn’t charge her unit, or B, she was flat out ignoring me. I whispered her name through my teeth as if calling a cat, because I refused to move from my spot. All it took was a few steps to lose Naomi, I wasn’t about to lose Reina too.

“You look ridiculous right now,” Reina taunted. “Let’s head back to the rendezvous point and tell him—”

“Tell him what, Reina?” I retorted. “That we not only couldn’t find the shadow walker, but we also lost Naomi?”

Reina’s mouth clamped shut and then she shrugged it off like she didn’t care. She was about to take another bite before I jerked the skewer from her hand. “Hey! Give me that!” she shouted, looking at me stunned and outraged.

“For God’s sake, Reina. This isn’t a joke. Our lives and those of innocent people are at stake. Quit acting like you don’t care about this! Your ass is on the fire too if you can’t make it through this week!” I reminded her, while that sweet smell of skewered chicken wafted under my nose, making my stomach growl.

My face went from annoyed to hungry real quick, Reina noticing as she pulled a smirk and crossed her arms under her breasts. “There’s no denying it. You’re hungry, too.”

“Yeah… you’re right…” I whispered, and then took a big bite out of her yakitori.

She gasped.

“Thanks for sharing, Reina,” I managed to say through a mouthful of savory chicken, the skewer’s glaze sweet and sticky on my lips.

Reina blinked at me, her voice missing for a change. The audacity of my action had her cheeks turning a fiery red, a low growl rumbling from the pit of her stomach. I could almost see smoke blowing out from her ears, but I shrugged it off casually. “You looked like you weren’t enjoying it anyway with those bird bites. Playing with your food and all.”

“You have… some nerve...” She was stammering now, too furious for words. “That was the man’s last yakitori!”

“And it was finger licking good. Now that your focus is back on track, let’s look for Naomi.”

Reina followed me out of the crowd, blowing my ears off with her constant complaining. I thought I was doing myself a favor by eating that chicken, but the consequences weren’t worth it. Not by a long shot. I swear, that woman didn’t have an off button. Her rambling was giving me a headache, and for five minutes straight, she refused to shut up.

“I can’t believe you just did that, that’s my allowance, are you aware?” she hissed, her voice filled with undisguised contempt. “You didn’t even ask me if I was willing to share with you!”

“Would you have said yes if I had?” I retorted, trying to keep the annoyance out of my voice as we navigated our way through the square, aimlessly searching for Naomi.

“That’s not the point! You should’ve asked!” Reina fired back, her arms crossed tightly across her chest as she power-walked beside me. “It’s about manners.”

Rolling my eyes, I turned to face her, a smirk plastered on my face. “Ah yes, manners. Something you’re clearly an expert on.”

“Hey!” She shoved at my shoulder, causing me to stumble slightly. I turned to her annoyed, wondering why she was making such a big deal about a snack. “You owe me money!”

“What’s your problem, anyway? Sweating over one little sn—” I stopped myself short, finally realizing what was going on. The spoiled brat was spending her own money on herself….

If I had to take a wild guess, I’d say Reina never had an actual allowance. She’d always been fed with a silver spoon in her mouth, catered to from head to toe. Whatever she asked for, she got. Every object of interest, every whimpered desire, every passing fantasy—it was hers, wrapped and presented before she could even finish asking. She probably didn’t know the meaning of the word ‘denial’. I mean, who could blame her? The world was her oyster, and she lived like a goddamn queen off of her father’s wealth.

If you encounter this tale on Amazon, note that it's taken without the author's consent. Report it.

She wore finely tailored clothes that would make a supermodel pea-green with envy—all designed by high-end fashion brands from Armani to Lui Vuitton. From elegant watches and bracelets that were worth more than an average person’s annual salary to diamond studded necklaces and earrings that could practically blind you in the sunlight. Her hair was always styled perfectly, not a strand out of place, and her makeup looked like it was done by a professional artist every single day. In Japan, things were different. We all started from the same beginnings. She had been pampered, spoiled rotten, and now she was here, complaining about a measly piece of chicken.

I grinned at her almost impishly. “Reina, I’d be so embarrassed. Are you seriously that broke?”

“Don’t patronize me, nerd!”

I chuckled. “It’s not like how things were back home, now is it? I feel you, I really do. How about I make it up to you with a serving?”

“A serving? Of what?”

“A serving of reality check, with a side of humble pie.” I couldn't help but laugh at the confusion that spread over her face. It was like she was trying to understand a foreign language.

“I’m glad this is all very entertaining for you,” she said, squinting at me irritatingly, “But let’s not forget that you’re in the same boat as I am!”

“True, but I’m used to it.” I shrugged. “Pedaling for pennies, going to bed without dinner, and just scraping to get by. Nothing to be proud of, of course, but I’ve been through it all. Going through all of that shit builds backbone, and an awareness of how to survive when resources are limited. A talent you clearly never had the opportunity to build. Not to shame being rich but, daddy’s money isn’t here to help you this time. Here, you have to work for every yen you spend. Reina, you’ve been living in a fairy-tale world your whole life. Everything handed to you on a silver platter. But this is real. Nobody gets anything for free here.”

“Then give me back my money,” she said, stretching her hand out to me with a snarky grin. “No free passes, right?”

“Listen, if you’re so bent out of shape for one tiny chicken stick, then I’ll pay for your dinner. How about that?”

She drew her hand away in shock, those big eyes of hers growing bigger. “You’re offering me a meal?”

“Only so you'll shut up. Now, can we focus on finding Naom—” I stopped short, my body bumping into someone. When I turned around, I saw the ivory-haired purple eyed girl standing there staring back at me.

“I found something,” she said, and then proceeded to walk away again.

Reina and I followed her, Reina asking about a million questions about where she’d been. Soon, those questions would be answered when she stopped in the middle of an alleyway while Naomi and I climbed heaps of garbage. Princess didn’t want to get her high-end boots dirty, but more than that, she was petrified of the robust smell of garbage.

“Why couldn’t you have taken a picture?!” Reina cried. “This is filthy.” She huddled herself with her arms as she breathed through her mouth. “I am getting light-headed by just standing here.”

“What exactly are we looking for, Naomi?” I asked her as she mountain-climbed. “We aren’t exactly frolicking through roses and violets over here.”

“Just hold your nose and keep moving,” she muttered, not even turning around to look at me. I heard an audible gag from Reina as I started to sift through the garbage along with Naomi, until the smell down there multiplied by two. Rotten eggs—god, I swear I was going to puke! But it got worse from there when I realized a skinless hand sticking out of one torn black trash bag, meat nearly eaten down to the bone.

“Fuck—”

“Did you find it?” Reina called out.

My heart hammered in my chest. The world around me blurred as I slowly reached forward, pulling the trash bag apart to reveal the rest of the body. It wasn’t just a hand, but a whole human carcass, rotting and mutilated beyond recognition. It was one of the most gruesome sights I’ve ever seen in my life.

“I think we’ve found more than what we bargained for,” I said, trying to hold that yakitori down.

“What is it?” Reina persisted.

“Why don’t you come over here and see her for yourself?” Naomi said.

“Her?” Reina gasped. “Is there a dead body over there?”

“Not just any dead body,” I trailed off, squinting my eyes as I looked more closely. “Burgundy overall dress…”

“Whoever gave that anonymous tip to Hunter Corp is on our suspect list,” Naomi confirmed.

“The girl wasn’t the flesh eater, she was the victim…” I said to myself before Naomi and I climbed back down.

“We need to report this to the police!” Reina insisted, Naomi looking at her funny with that request.

“So they could what, exactly? Hunting monsters is above their pay grade. It’s our job to find the walker and get rid of him before he finds his next meal. Besides, we’re not even sure if this victim is a shadow walker.”

Naomi’s comment made me numb.

“Shadow walkers are territorial. Stepping into certain feeding grounds warrants attention and attacks like these. We won’t know for sure now, since the only thing that distinguishes us from them is their need to feed on blood. Even after a monster dies, they don’t necessarily have to revert to their true form, depending on how fast, or slow, they lost blood.”

“But, I thought the only way to kill a monster was to decapitate them?”

“Her head doesn’t look intact to me,” Naomi said, before she kicked the dead girl’s head with the tip of her shoe, and sure enough, it rolled down the trash pile.

“Are we through playing with that corpse yet?!” Reina cried. “My skin is crawling!” Reina shuddered and moved away from the body, looking very green around the gills. When she heard the head thud, she turned around and walked away. “This was not what I signed up for,” she whispered to herself, holding her hand to her stomach.

I paced down the pile and walked over to her, my hand on her shoulder before she swatted it away.

“Don’t touch me!” she hissed immediately, snapping her body around to show me actual tears streaming down her cheeks.

I looked at her sympathetically for the first time ever and said, “If you can’t handle this, I think you should request an exit interview. This job isn’t for everyone. Now, I don’t know why your old man wanted you here so badly, maybe to teach you some sick lesson, but it clearly isn’t worth it. So, to spare your sanity, I suggest you leave.”

There was a pause as I let my words sink into her. Reina blinked, caught between shock and disbelief. Her mouth opened and closed but no words came out. The silence that hung between us was thick enough to slice.

Naomi took to my side, waiting for her response. Reina was beyond herself, her body trembling, her eyes looking around as if expecting someone to jump from the shadows and contradict me. When no one stepped forward, she seemed to crumple in on herself, and said, “I can’t…”

“We all have our limits, Reina.”

“If she leaves, we fail this test,” Naomi said, turning to me. “Are you okay with that?”

“I get it, but we fail either way if she doesn’t have the stomach for this. This is the first day of evaluation. If she resigns this early, then maybe sensei would reassign someone else. I don’t see why we all have to drop out if we’re admitting to—”

“I’m not weak,” Reina whispered. “I will… carry on.”

“Reina, why are you—”

“Like I expect any of you to understand!” she blurted out passionately. “So quit your yapping and let’s move on with it!”

“There will be no more breakdowns,” Naomi said, glaring at Reina. “We gave you a chance to back out before the storm hits. If you decide later during evaluation that you’re not fit for hunting, then I personally will hunt you down.”

I choked!

“Do we have an understanding?”

Reina glared at her back. “I don’t need your empty threats as mock motivation!”

“The threat isn’t empty. Does this look like a face that’s pulling your pretty leg?”

Reina fell silent, her gaze locking onto Naomi’s unyielding stare. Naomi didn’t look like the type for empty threats or frivolous talk. If she said she would hunt Reina down, she meant it. The look on her was deadly serious, enough to give me goosebumps.

“Just... get on with it,” Reina capitulated, wiping the last of tears off her face with a swift swipe of her sleeve as she turned back around, heading out of the alleyway.

Naomi turned back to me, a look of disagreement on her face. I sighed inwardly. This was a mess. Our task was to work together as a team, not to tear ourselves apart.

“Reina is a wild card,” Naomi whispered to me. “If we do this now, we can vote her off the island.”

“Say what?”

“Many don’t know this, but during the first 24 hours of evaluation, you are able to vote a team member off the squad. Do it early enough, and we won’t be penalized for poor sportsmanship, or whatever.”

I furrowed my eyebrows at her. “I don’t think we have to do that.”

“I thought your family needed this, Nero…” she said, turning away from me and staring at Reina as she walked away. “Who matters more, a stuck-up teen model Barbie or your family? Sophie and Nataly?”

I smiled down at her. “Sophie and Nataly? I’m surprised you know their names.”

“I make it my job to know everything about you.”

“Since when?”

“Since we are partners. And as a partner, I advise we vote Reina out.”

“Look, I know she’s really rough around the edges, but we can’t give up on her yet. She’s willing to do better, isn’t she? Besides, she’s the one who got us here in the first place. We owe it to her to give her a chance.”

“That chance won’t be there tomorrow,” she said, walking back toward the market square. “Remember that, Nero.”