※Fast forward - One day later※

"Cindy!" a young girl exclaimed loudly.

"Elie. How are you?" Cindy said quietly.

One day after the events that transpired with her special Ubear client, Cindy met up with her good friend Elie for coffee. They have been meeting frequently since becoming friends. "The Bone Shop" was their favorite spot to meet at. The atmosphere was calm and the coffee was always fresh. There were lounging chairs and board games that were free to play, along with smooth Lo-fi music that would regularly encompass the small shop. Every Monday evening, they would go there, have coffee, and play chess after work. However, they had to reschedule their meeting by one day.

Elie was a young human woman at the age of twenty-three. Featuring black hair, a dark complexion, tall stature, and an outgoing demeanor, Elie was somewhat of an antithesis to the more meek and mild mannered Cindy. Nonetheless, they became good friends a few months after Cindy moved to Baldimore. Elie was a mechanic that worked on Cindy's car. Ever since they first conversed about their favorite manga series, they've been friends ever since.

After ordering their coffees, the young women grabbed a chess board nearby and proceeded to sit down near a window for a view of the city.

"Wow, you look like shit!" Elie said, rather loudly.

"Shut up. I'm just...tired."

"You're working yourself too hard Cindy. you even bailed on me yesterday! Why can't you just stay at my place until you find an apartment? I offered a shit ton of times!"

Cindy smiled softly as she drank a sip of her black coffee, slightly embarrassed by her friend's obnoxious demeanor. It was something that was uncomfortable to her at first, but she had grown used to Elie's eccentric personality. She had even started to become somewhat fond of it, despite how annoying it was.

"I told you already, that I'm doing this on my own. I'll be out of my car soon, so don't worry about it. Your king is in check, by the way." Cindy said, as she moved her queen on the chess board.

"You said the same thing last week," Elie said, in a softer tone than usual.

"Sorry..." Cindy said, as she stared out the window, watching the bustling city move along.

Cindy was a somewhat stubborn woman. If she set her mind to something, there was no convincing her otherwise. Although quite shy and reserved, Cindy's pride was immense, often to her detriment.

"Well, I'll keep harassing you about it until you actually find a place. So, what happened yesterday? A date? Wait, what dude would want to date a homeless girl! Ahahaha!!!"

Elie's obnoxious laughs rang through the entire coffee shop, much to the frustration of Cindy.

"Oh shut up!!" Cindy exclaimed much louder than usual.

Should I just tell her?

"Jeez, calm down young lady. You don't want to cause a scene, do you?"

Cindy's expression became dull, as she quickly gave up on trying to argue with her oblivious friend; so she quietly focused on the chess board.

"Check" Cindy said, moving her queen once more.

"Sorry, I went a bit too far with the teasing. Seriously though, are you okay?" Elie said, as she moved her king out of danger.

"I-I'm fine. I just...I got a new job." Cindy said, with a worried look upon her face.

"That's great! Why didn't you tell me sooner?! What job? Where?"

"Checkmate," Cindy said, as she delivered the finishing blow.

"Fuc-"

※Rewind - The previous day※

 

"So, are you my ride? Cindy right?"

"Y-yes! Where would you like to go?" Cindy said in an overly nervous tone.

"Fifth street on the west side of town. I-I'm visiting an old buddy of mine...yeah."

"N-not a problem, sir. Just hop on in!"

Cindy noticed that the young man seemed nervous as well. He was an average sized male of human origin. Sporting an all-white suit that looked brand new, the man did not have the look that Cindy would expect from an assassin. His face was gruff-looking, as if he was a reformed criminal. His skin was slightly tanned and his hairstyle was quite unusual.

As Cindy and the man headed towards Fifth Street, the silence in the car started to make her feel uneasy.

"Y-your name," Cindy said nervously.

"Huh? you got a problem with my name?" The man said, as if he was annoyed.

"N-no sir! It just sounded cool, was all! I was just curious about your heritage."

"Oh, why didn't you say so? I'm Asian."

"Cool..."

Well, this is awkward.

The silence continued for a short while...

"Oh, that's it. Kuwahara!" The half elf exclaimed, trying her best to break the silence once more.

"Huh??" Said the young man.

"T-that pompadour hairstyle. It reminded me of a character in a manga that I read when I was a kid. That's where you got your hairstyle from, right? It looks just like him!"

"Nope. Never heard of it. Just shut up and drive!"

"Oh."

Screw you!

Cindy gave up on trying to converse with the young man named Kai, so the silence remained until they reached their destination.

 

※　※　※　※　※　※　※　※　※　※　※　※

 

"Here we are! Thank you very much sir! Have a wonderful day!"

Cindy and Kai had arrived on Fifth street. The neighborhood was older and rough-looking, but it was also quiet and had a peaceful charm to it. Cindy was quite relieved to be done with this assignment, almost to the point where she wanted to take the rest of the day off. However:

"Soooo, how big of a tip could I give you to wait here for a little while," Kai said, suspiciously.

"Huuuuuh?" Cindy asked, as she raised her eyebrow.

"L-listen, I'm just checking up on an old chum. I haven't seen him in months! I have to get back to work in an hour, but I just really wanted to see him! How about a twenty dollar bill? What do ya say?"

Cindy became weary again. The peaceful charm that she was feeling had instantly vanished. She began to think to herself:

"Thank you!"

"No prob! Don't spend it all at once!"

"...The money's all crumpled up," Cindy said quietly, as Kai approached a brick house from across the street.

 

※　※　※　※　※　※　※　※　※　※　※　※

 

Thirty minutes had passed by, but Kai had still yet to step out of the brown brick house. To the surprise of Cindy, the resident of that house welcomed Kai in with a smile on his face, from what she could see anyways.

Huh, maybe it was just a buddy after all. Guess I was worried for nothing! Still, hurry up please!

Not long after thirty minutes, Kai stepped out of the house. He ran towards Cindy's car in a frantic state and quickly got inside of the vehicle. The frantic running did not bother Cindy at first, as she assumed that he was just late to get back to work. What frightened Cindy, was when Kai entered her Beetle; and she noticed that his fresh white suit was now painted in blood.

"Drive now!" The young man exclaimed.

"Y-y-y-y-your suit!!! Blood!"

As Cindy was in a state of panic, Kai slowly reached inside of the inner left breast pocket of his suit, revealing a small revolver, no bigger than the size of Cindy's hand. As he sat in the back of Cindy's small car, the young man's hands were trembling, while struggling to catch his breath. Kai slowly pointed the gun to Cindy's head and repeated himself once more, in a chattered, yet stern tone.

"DRIVE. NOW."

"Fuc-"