Chapter 7: Rejection

[Marcius POV]

"Damn, that hurt."

I spoke as I rubbed my back. I don't know what was wrong with Ayumi all of a sudden, though I had a feeling that it was my fault.

"It might be that time of the month for her."

The one who spoke was Kazuya Kanda. He was my only friend aside from Ayumi.

"Nah, it's not."

"How do you know?"

As he fixed his black hair, he raised his eyebrows.

"I just do. Stop saying weird things."

I spoke nudging him by the shoulders. He shrugged and we continued our Kendo and fencing practice. He was a friend I made when I was 7? I don't recall how old I was, maybe 8.

"The usual?" He asked and I nodded. He was mentioning the practice we usually do. It involves basic fencing but with real swords. It took a whole year to convince my mother to buy it for me. She just spoke of how we would hurt ourselves and whatnot.

"I still don't believe that you two are friends." He said while drawing out his sword. It was a double-edged medium-length Katana, a classic sword in Kyoto.

"And I don't believe you don't cry anymore nowadays." I mocked him with a teasing smile.

"Come on Man, it has been years." He said, giving me a pitying look. He used to cry a lot when he was a kid. He was forced to learn martial arts because of some family tradition or something. I still remember him crying in the corner after getting beaten by Ayumi.

"Yeah, yeah, whatever. It is still an embarrassment to you to this day." I replied while deflecting his attack.

Click Fling

I soon pointed my sword at my neck and said, "And you lost again."

He sighed and raised his hands admitting defeat. I then removed my weapon from his neck and struck him, and he reciprocated the action.

"I still don't know why you did not apply for the National Kendo Championship." He replied.

"I have some reasons."

What could I say to him? 'Oh hey, your friend is a reincarnate and does not want to draw attention. Ehe.' It won't even work in a rom-com anime.

"Whatever dude, your choice but you know how angry sensei became at your decision."

"I know."

I still remember vividly how sensei literally came to me with a sword and tried to kill me. This was when I announced to him that I would not participate in the National Level Championship.

Haa...

But it was necessary.

"Status."

< status >

Name: Marcius Suzuki

Rank: I-

Strength: H

Agility: I+

Stamina: I+

Intelligence: H+

Mana Capacity: (locked)

Mana Quality: (locked)

Charm: H

==> Skills:

[All roads Lead To Rome] [Grade E]

The Host can see a variety of [endings]. Each [ending] will be more detailed as the Host gathers more information. Currently, the Host can only see 16 [endings].

[Swordsmanship] [Grade E]

The host has optimal sword knowledge. His skills currently place him on the same level as geniuses like Joseph Bologne.

[ARB] [Grade E-]

The Host is adept at the ARB style of self-defense. It includes knife throwing, unarmed combat, and disarming an opponent barehandedly. The host is currently at the same level as a 2-year-trained Soviet soldier.

This was my status at the age of 14. If anyone else ever sees this, they would try to yank me and ask if I have been training for my entire life, which, unfortunately, would be the case...

"So what are you gonna do now?" Kazuya asked lying down on the grass. I sighed and sat down near him. "Don't know. My progress has been stagnant for the past year."

"You really wanna train more?" He asked frowning and continued "Cannot you just do whatever a normal person does?"

"Normal person?" I asked raising my eyebrows.

"You know, get a girlfriend or something."

"Nah."

He got up from his lying position and sat cross-footed.

"Huh? Why not? Now that I think of it, it is not that you have a bad face, although it cannot match my flawless body-"

"What?"

"I mean you are handsome enough to get a girlfriend or two, you have the highest grades, you have a clean record, and your build is good too. But you never got a confession, why?"

I looked at his curious face and thought for a bit before answering "Who knows what happens in a woman's head?"

He nodded as we sat in silence for a while.

I kept thinking about the progress I had made so far. The first time I increased my status was near 6 and then as I trained, my status kept on rising. However, in the last year, I could not increase it even after vigorous training.

And trust me, when I say vigorous training. I mean vigorous. Getting up at 4, a 10 km run every day, the whole shebang. Yet my status was stubborn and did not increase.

I also failed to unlock mana. Anything I did yielded no fruit. I also discovered something after several observations.

You see, I have watched the World Martial Arts competition several times and after brainstorming for two months I discovered a crucial aspect.

Rank: [I+]

This was the limit of humanity.

Whenever I watched any professional on T.V. I would compare his and my present abilities. In the end, I concluded that [I+] was the highest a normal human could achieve.

Of course, Mana and some other factors were not accounted for but this was the roughest guess. In some exceptional cases, a person achieves [G-] or [G] rank too. Maybe this realm belongs to geniuses like Isaac Newton, Peter The Great, and others.

But this also gave me another piece of information. This is a piece of crucial information. A terrifying yet exciting possibility.

If [I+] is the limit of humanity then are their creatures far above us both physically and spiritually?

I am excited and terrified at the same time to think of people possessing [A] rank. Fear of how these...these beings could pulverize us in a second.

Could [A] have been on par with the Tsar Bomb- The largest Atomic Bomb, or would it have been so destructive that humans cannot comprehend it with their feeble minds?

"Hey." Kazuya nudged me drawing me out of my thoughts.

"What?" I wondered seeing him suddenly have a strange expression.

Does he have to go to the washroom? Don't worry, it is your garden where we were practicing, you can go. I won't stop you.

"Um... Can I ask you something?" He asked awkwardly smiling.

I nodded backing away a few steps. I don't like his weird smile.

"Uhm...Eto...Uhm..."

"Just speak."

"Y-yeah. Uhm...you know Ayumi. Right?"

"Yes, since childhood. Technically we are still children but get to the point." I became annoyed at his fumbling.

"Ooo...It's just...It's just..."

"Okay, if you finish the sentence before my death, I give you permission to officially write it on my grave."

I swear if this guy takes any longer...

"I want to ask her out! I wanted to ask if you were okay with it!" He shouted while in a pose that can in a weird world be interpreted as him asking me out.

Wait...

Does he want to ask Ayumi out?!

"Uhm...Are you okay with it dude? Please answer." He asked, no pleading.

"I..Uhm...Yeah, I mean it's your choice. It's your crush but why ask me?" I asked.

"Eh? Er...It's just that whenever someone sees the two of you together, they think of you as a couple, and if...I mean if...You were actually...you know interested...Then I would...Uhm... not chase after her."

He spoke rubbing the back of his neck. Ayumi and me huh? Never really thought about it seriously. Whenever someone said something about us together, it was their way of teasing us, right?

And Ayumi and I are actually not possible. It's just she's 14, and my mental age is 23, so getting interested in her is really wrong. And wrong on so many levels that I cannot even fathom its depth. I view her as a sister. A sister who is fun to be around.

"No. No. I eh...didn't see her romantically, so that's fine. It's cool to hang out with her, but in a relationship? No. In fact, go for it. I will have your back."

"Eh? Really! In that case, I won't hold back. Man, you don't know how much it bothers me. I mean, if you two were together, then I would make the most terrible mistake of my life in getting involved in this mess. Thanks, Bro, you really helped me." He said with an excited smile.

Wow man, you really are a good guy.

"Yeah, yeah, but do you actually want to follow through with it?" I asked

"What do you mean?"

"I mean she has rejected every guy who has confessed to her and we are friends. If...I mean if... she was not positive about this don't you think it could affect our friendship?"

He turned downcast and responded "I have thought about it, but it's just...I don't want to be a gutless guy who can't ever confess to the girl he loves." He spoke with a determined expression.

I smiled before giving him a slight friendly punch in the chest and asking "Good for you. Good for you Man. But tell me when did you fall for her?"

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He laughed for a bit before answering "You remember how I used to cry every time I used to be beaten by her?"

"Ah, yes, the happy days. Just cry once more before confessing will you?"

"Shut up. Whenever I used to go to the corner, it was she who asked me to come back and asked, "Why are you crying?" The Bastard Mark has beaten me more than I have beaten you. Although her words were harsh, seeing her work relentlessly day after day without giving up even after being bruised up and getting again and again inflamed my feelings for her. My reason is childish isn't it?"

He asked scratching his cheek.

I genuinely smiled and patted his back and said "No Dude, It's perhaps the most innocent pure love I have seen. The reason might seem childish but you actually like her don't you?"

He nodded and I continued "Then go for it. After all, a smart man once said that if you love someone with a pure heart then no force in the world can separate you two."

Kazuya chuckled and replied, "Must be a smart man."

"Of course, this brother of yours is Valentine's long-lost heir after all."

"Shut up."

We both laughed and walked back to our respective houses.

****

(After a day)

RINGGGG

'And that's the bell signaling the end of today's class. Kazuya must have confessed till now. Let's wait for him at the school gate.'

While packing my backpack, I thought. Soon I arrived at the gate and waited.

And waited...

And waited...

After 15 minutes of standing still, I started to worry a bit. All the students had already left. Ayumi had student council duties so she had to stay for 15-20 minutes, but Kazuya should have left by now, right?

After searching the entire campus for 10 minutes, I finally found him sitting in an empty classroom with his head hanging down.

"Hey, what are you-"

Sob Sob

Ha...

I see...

I approached close to him pulling a nearby chair and asked "Rejected?"

He nodded with his head hanging down.

I sighed and asked, "What happened?"

After a while, he finally got up. I could see snot and his eyes were red. I felt sorry for the guy but there was nothing I could do. All I could do was provide him with some company.

"You know how you always say 'The worst she could say is No.' "

I nodded and he continued "Well as it turns out, she could say three things." He spoke with an emphasis on 'three things

"When I first confessed the first thing she did was laugh. SHE LAUGHED! And said that I was funny." He clenched his jaw as he spoke.

Okay, the damage is controllable.

"The second thing she did was speak while laughing. What will you expect- A simple No? But Noooo, she spoke. People would spit on us and ask us how we got together. Do you know the funny part? She said this while laughing!"

Ouch, we need an ambulance, a person has got burned.

"And then, I had no choice but to say I too was joking and that it was a planned prank between me and you, so I tried to leave quickly. But here. She did the third thing- "Do you know what she said?"

"What?"

" 'Don't forget to bring your maths homework tomorrow.' "

Shit, the man is already dead.

I tried to remain calm and not laugh out loud. No, Mark, you cannot laugh, the guy just got rejected. No wonder you cannot laugh at these '3 R's of Rejection'. Maybe you cannot laugh.

"HAHAHAHA!" I could not stop laughing and cracked up.

"I think my wishlist for this life has been fulfilled. A person laughing at my rejection was just what my wounded heart needed now. May I have a happy second life?" he joked sarcastically.

"Sorr-Sorry. Bu-But's it's too funny. Hahaha. Imagine getting roasted while confessing. It's like a new record. Hahaha."

When he saw me laughing, he too cracked a smile.

"Don't worry man, this is the worst that could happen to you."

He raised his eyebrows and asked me to elaborate.

"I mean, she could give you a disgusting face and ask 'How dare you confess to me?' or something," I replied while putting my arms around his shoulders.

He sighed and mumbled, "I guess, but it still hurts you know."

"Yeah, yeah, now get up, we will get a Happy Meal on the way to cheer you up," I told him getting up.

"Oh yes, a Happy Meal, just what is needed right now?" He spoke sarcastically.

"Keep it up and you will find out what a sad meal is," I said walking out.

He gazed at the door for a while before getting up and speaking quickly. "You know what? A Happy Meal is okay as long as it's on you."

"Yeah, yeah, Bastard, it's on me," I joked while chuckling.

"Heh, just remember that someday God will punish you for this strange way of cheering me up." He said as he exited the classroom, to which I hit his back a couple times and ignored him.

***

In a two-story flat, a man around 30 was browsing his phone while eating udon until a call interrupted him.

The moment he saw the person calling him, his eyes grew wide and he swelled up his udon in his mouth as he picked up the phone.

"Hel-Hello, Sir Maximiano, I was not expecting your call."

"Greetings Servant Yu- You have a mission."

Yu the man fixed his black hair and spoke excitedly "Ye-Yes. Sir, I will fulfill any mission you give me."

The unmoving telephonist spoke as if he had already expected it.

"Good. Your target is a 14-year-old by the name of Marcius Suzuki. He has been detected to be cursed; he is projected to be at the level of a human, but has been trained in martial arts since he was a child. Your mission is to identify if he is afflicted with any faction or not. If he is not, you must immediately eliminate him. Prior to the assassination, you must perform the 'Cleansing Ceremony'. Understand?"

"Yes. Yes, Sir, I am really happy. B-But sir what will be the-"

"10,000,000 ¥ "

The man as if struck spoke frantically

"Really? Really? Yo-You will hire a defective servant for this- this much? Tha-Thank you-Thank you Sir."

For the next two minutes, Yu continuously thanked the man.

"Just execute the mission, Servant. The only reason we hired you was that his risk level is low and we have low manpower at the moment."

"Y-yes."

The phone then hung up.

Yu pushed open the door next to his room. Yu was a really poor man. If someone were to look at his small house and how he barely survived on his pension they would think of it as a mystery.

It was a small house, his possessions were scattered here and there. His freeze which barely worked contained only packed food. There was no Air conditioner, there was just a fan that had to not be in his room but in the nearby room. His living room, bedroom, and toilet were all one, he did not even have a bed, it was just a foldable couch.

The reason that he was so poor was that...

"Ei, I got a mission, everything will be fine now," Yu said excitedly to a small girl lying on a bed which looked like a hospital room. It was the only room in his house that was clean and did not look like a homeless camp.

It was a small house decorated with Disney Wonder Girl posters and painted pink.

Cough Cough

Holding Ei's young, small and tender hand, Yu said, "He-Hey, Ei, you will be better soon. With the money I get from this job, I can not only cure your disease but also help you to awaken your mana."

Eileen.

That was the name of Yu's daughter. She was currently 10 years old when she was diagnosed with a rare lung disease. This gave her occasional coughing fits and if left untreated could develop into lung cancer.

Eileen was a cute young girl. She had red hair and blue eyes, she had a small nose and a lean face, and her small feet definitely increased her cute appeal.

"Da-daddy?" A small quiet voice came.

"Ye-yes, Ei?" Yu asked.

"Will you be safe?"

Yu smiled and answered "Of course Ei, you know how strong your dadda is, right? This is a simple mission." Yu continued "And even if something were to happen to me, even attempting the mission will at least get enough money to get you out of here."

Ei did not seem to like this and spoke as if agitated "N-No Cough I want daddy, if Daddy is with me, I strongest in the world, right?"

"Now, Now, Ei, you can't do this to daddy, can you? Ever since your mother left us, this is the only way I would treat you. Please don't get sicker and get away from dadda. I can't save us both Ei, please be a good girl, just this once, please." Yu tried his best to convince his daughter.

Ei and Yu sat in silence before Ei asked " Will you come back?"

Yu kissed Ei's forehead and whispered "Always."

"Pinky Promise?"

Yu chuckled before crossing Ei's little finger and speaking "Pinky Promise."

Yu dimed the lights before leaving the room and speaking "Ei, one day if you want you can also be a Servant, we can serve the organization together, but if you want a normal life away from the supernaturals even then daddy will always support you, okay?"

Ei nodded and said in a small cute tone "Stay safe, Daddy, and good night."

Yu exited the room while speaking in a small voice to him only "Good Night to you sweetie."

"Always remember, daddy will keep watching over you.

Even when I am out on missions.

Always."

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