Memories - Final

***

"Assistant Manager, we should get going as well."

"Hah...to think there would be so many people getting evaluated today. What a pain."

"There are a few coming for a re-evaluation as well. Most of these hunters come by after not being able to accept reality and becoming deluded. They are not satisfied by the reality of their situation and swim inside daydreams, before coming back here hoping against hope."

***

Arata entered the building as he headed towards the employee manning the reception kiosk.

The employee didn't even bother to look at him and spoke, as though he was already too used to this process.

"Please jot down your identification and contact details, and give them to me."

Arata soon parked his butt on the very last spot available of the room's bench as he waited for his turn.

He glanced around him...at all the other faces waiting.

'Well, the directions of our lives would be decided with the results of today's evaluation, after all.'

"There's no need to be so nervous. There are a few people who have had their lives get turned upside down but it's not common."

A man around his mid-twenties started speaking to him out of the blue.

The man caught Arata glancing at a group of men and women at an area of the building as he opened his mouth again.

"They are from the other various Guilds, apparently."

"Various Guilds, is it?"

"Yes. Well, Hunters don't usually seek out smaller Guilds, so they resort to sending people over here and set up camp, just so they can sweet-talk Awakened like us after we're done with the evaluation. As you should know, the Draw Sword Guild is the strongest and biggest Guild in Japan so unlike Korea, there isn't really any competition between the various Guilds. But, there is no way that Guild will be here of course."

Indeed, there was a certain chilly, unfriendly and competitive air circulating among those folks.

"You should be careful before signing up with Guilds like theirs."

"Why not?"

"From what I hear, these smaller Guilds often take on lots of dangerous raids, and their Hunter fatality rate is far higher than average too."

Arata nodded his head in agreement.

At the end of the day, the circumstances of smaller Guilds would always remain a bit ambiguous. However, for low rank Hunters, they didn't really have a choice as well. Even though there were several Guilds in Japan with other S rank Hunters, the majority wouldn't get a chance to enter such Guilds, much less entering the Draw Sword Guild.

Unlike privately-organised freelancer-led raid parties, clearing low ranked dungeons wouldn't satisfy them financially, but then again, the skills of the Hunters signed up with them wasn't quite good enough to clear higher ranked dungeons.

So, 'accidents' happened frequently during their raids. Which also meant recruiting new Hunters becomes doubly important for them.

And so, they arrived at a point where they had to follow the potential newbies right into the Association building and prey on them.

The man dabbed the sweat drops away from his forehead with a handkerchief and extended his hand towards Arata.

"Well, it's fate that we meet like this. I pray for your success."

Their introduction was kept to a minimum, and they quietly waited for their turns.

Since the location for the evaluation itself was wide open, one could easily read the expressions on those who finished the test, as well as hearing the employees performing the said test.

And, the expression of the guy who had just taken his test didn't look so good.

'I guess, it's either a D or an E....."

For regular citizens, even being a rank C would be a huge jackpot.

One could still earn a fair bit of money by entering freelancer raid parties, or if one's luck was good, then entering some of the larger Guilds was a viable option too.

"Next up, Kasuga Arata, please come this way."

At that moment, hushed voices could be heard.

"Eh, Kasuga? Do they mean the Kasuga family?" "I heard their family is one of the richest through the real estate business." "Not just that, many of their young members are rank B or A Hunters as well. I heard there was even some in the Draw Sword Guild." "Eh, then this kid is part of that family as well?" "No wonder he is taking the evaluation at such a young age. His family must want him to quickly become a Hunter." "That kid should probably be getting a rank B at least." "It seems they will have another rank A or B to their family again. Aw man, if only I could belong to such a family. I will have both wealth and status." "This kid is lucky to be born into such a prestigious family."

Arata finally stood up from his seat, the expectations laid upon by various people pierced through him as he stepped forward--

Ding! Dong!

Ding! Dong!

***

Huh...

Arata opened his eyes.

'It seems I fell asleep. To think I would recall that scene in my dream...no, I should call it the start of my nightmare... ..."

It was finally time for lunch and after a while, the classroom began to grow noisy again. His hazy consciousness was able to discern from the surrounding noise that it was lunchtime.

Arata rummaged through his bag and brought out his lunch, a simple meal that could be finished in ten seconds, but still sated him. It seemed that some of the lunch buying group had already left for the cafeteria, as there were a few people missing from the classroom.

A majority of people in his class usually brought their own lunch, which was why around two thirds of the class still remained.

Sluuurp! Gulp! Having finished recharging his energy in just ten seconds, Arata laid back down on his desk, planning to get some more shut-eye.

'Well, this is what happens when you are the kid looked down on by the entire school.'

However, the school goddess smiled as she scooted her seat towards his table.

"Kaguya?"

"You know that is not healthy for you right? A growing boy needs to eat more." The frigid atmosphere descended upon the classroom once more as Kaguya offered some of her lunch to him.

Arata could not help but smile back.

Just looking at her seemed to clear up the ill-feelings inside him as Arata accepted her kind gesture.

It was at that moment--

"Kyaa! Its Komura Takashi!" "Oh my God it's really him! What is he even doing at this side of school though?" "He looks so much better in real life then in magazines." "Why do you think he is walking along the class B corridor?" "I heard he got a rank A for his evaluation as well. It seems he will enter the Draw Sword Guild as a Hunter once he graduates!" "Ahh...he is simply perfect." "Kyaaa! Takashi sama!!!"

A loud commotion could be heard outside the classroom and Arata already knew who was causing all the commotion without looking.

Komura Takashi. The man who could be said to have everything. With his natural good looks, not only was he a well known model, he had appeared on various TV programs, starred in several hit movies and was practically an idol to all high school girls. Recently, he had also been evaluated as a rank A and was also assured a placement at the best Guild in Japan.

He was also a main reason why everyone mocked him. Everyone compared the two, with each of them being at the opposite end of the spectrum. One was a handsome guy who possessed everything, while the other was the lowest E rank, who the students felt was a disgrace to their school. Even if they had no powers to speak of, they still felt it was totally alright and natural to judge others, a perfect illustration of human nature.

When putting the two side by side, an obvious comparison could be made.

It was at that moment, Kaguya stood up but not before telling Arata--

"Arata, I will go say hi to Takashi kun. I think he wants to talk about our upcoming shoot."

As a matter of fact, Kaguya was a model working in the same company as Takashi as well. The two had posted for shoots together before and they were highly welcomed as well. Several comments and sites even said that they were a perfect match.

"Wait Kaguya..." However, Kaguya had already left the classroom.

***

Dusk soon fell as Arata prepared to head home. The events before had left his mood to be rather sour...

'Guess I will just take the shortcut back...'

In order to take the shortcut, Arata passed by the old school building when he heard some noises.

"Mmh..."

?

"Fuah..."

'Those sounds are...'

Arata approached closer and when he took a peep inside--

He instantly felt his heart constrict, as though a vine was trying to tighten it.

Their lips were overlapping but Arata could clearly make out the faces of the two people inside...

"Kaguya, you are so cute. Come on, make some more noises for me..."

"Takashi...harder...Mmh, Fuah... ...M-more..."

'Kaguya...'

Perhaps they were too engrossed in their act, but none of them noticed Arata's presence.

"M-more..." The look of pleasure on her face only served to tighten the grip on his heart.

"Why are you making such cute noises?"

"I'm like this...be-cause of you...Ahh...Fuahh...Ah! AH!"

Their act became more rough as the look of pleasure on Kaguya's face started to rise.

Thinking that he shouldn't be looking at this scene anymore--

Arata prepared to leave but her next words completely pierced through him like an arrow.

"Hey Kaguya, why do you keep sticking around that rank E trash?"

"Ah... ....Hey don't say that..."

"But it's true. I think that trash thinks you like him."

"Hah... ...Hah... ...The only reason I started talking to him was cause I found him quite pitiful. I mean, he was ostracized by so many people...I thought there should at least be someone to talk to him. But, I don't have the slightest interest in him."

"You are really too kind, Kaguya. That is why people misunderstand just like that trash. Anyways, I will make sure you completely forget about him."

"Ah! Ah! Harder...!" Out of the corner of her eye, Kaguya suddenly thought she spotted someone she was so familiar with.

Arata?!

However, that figure soon disappeared.

"Hey, what's wrong? Did you see something?"

"Uh...no... ...no, I didn't see anyone..."

***

A certain youth could be seen walking aimlessly down the street.

"The only reason I started talking to him was cause I found him quite pitiful. But, I don't have the slightest interest in him."

Those words stuck to Arata like a sore thumb. It was as though it was plastered on his heart.

A complex range of emotions whirled in his eyes, each vying for supremacy.

For a moment, an intense boiling feeling overcame all others...a silent rage that he had never felt before...but it only appeared for a few seconds before subsiding...

'This is the harsh truth of being the weakest...everyone...everything...will simply discard you like trash...'

Arata slumped to the floor as he looked up at the sky, before raising a fist as though declaring a challenge to what was above him.

'I will definitely get stronger.'

This wasn't for anyone's sake. It was for his own.

He made a silent vow.

***

"You want to become a Hunter? An E rank trash like you want's to be a Hunter? Don't bring disgrace to our family! If you really want to become a Hunter, you shall never step foot into this house again! Don't even bother using our name as well! You will only bring shame upon the Kasuga name."

That was the day Arata decided to leave school and become a Hunter. However, in order to fulfill his dream of becoming a Hunter and getting stronger, he was kicked out of his family.

Even though Kaguya had tried to contact him after he left school, he decided to cease all forms of contact with her. There was no point dwelling in the past...he could only look forward.

Arata's overall strength was almost the same as a regular human being. With the exception of being a bit stronger and his wounds healing slightly faster, he was about the same as regular people in every other aspect.

It was par for the course then, that he'd always end up getting injured.

The work was dangerous, others made fun of him, and to confound the matters even further, the pay was pretty pathetic as well.

A few years had passed since then and Arata had mostly been participating in the raid of rank E gates. The amount of return he got was substantial for his living expenses but they were certainly not enough. He didn't have any extra money to spend on weapons or equipment. He hadn't once received any call from his family members and they probably didn't bother about his whereabouts as well.

And then, that incident occurred.

***

The incident that would finally change his life...