Cindy had just awoken from a deep sleep the day after her first mission. The morning sun shone brightly on the half-elf's face as she rose out of bed. Her head was still pounding from being struck by her victim. However, she was still alive. The woman she had shot, on the other hand, was dead; never to return to this world again. Cindy sat upright on her queen-sized bed with bright red bags under her eyes, as she replayed the events in her head over and over again. She recalled the sounds of the woman's bones being broken, as her body was mangled and disfigured; and eventually stuffed inside a suitcase.

That crunching sound...that damn crunching sound. Calm down, just calm down. This is just...who I am now. A killer... The half-elf thought as she gripped her arm tightly.

Cindy looked to her right hand, recalling narrowing escaping death thanks to her mechanical arm.

And saved by the people I'm supposed to hate once again...

"Hey kid, it's time to wake up," Cindy said.

"Mmm, five more minutes," the boy said.

"Listen, kid, if you wanna keep staying here, you're gonna have to do as I say, got it?" Cindy said.

"Ok, ok. I'm up, sorry. But, why do we have to get up so early? We barely got any sleep."

"I can't sleep anymore....let's get some breakfast. I'm sure you're hungry, right?" Cindy said, giving a smile towards the boy.

Cindy had temporarily taken in the child, Jon, after saving him the previous night. Although he was still injured and bruised, the boy maintained a positive attitude, despite what all he'd been through. The Fam's medical staff was able to treat the boy's wounds at Cindy's request. The two headed down to the cafeteria inside of headquarters to get some breakfast. It was still early in the morning, so the lines were fairly empty.

"Hello, what can I do for you this morning!?"

"Wow, Director Amy truly is a monster, huh?" Cindy said.

"A witch! A pure witch I tell ya, Cindy! How could she do this to me after I just passed my assignment to become a full-fledged member!?" Kai cried out. "How come you didn't get a hazing like me, huh? Oh, why do they hate me so much? Who's the brat, by the way?"

"Haha, sorry Kai. I'm still...recovering from last night...this boy was...in a bad situation, so I helped him out," Cindy said with a sad tone.

"Oh, I'm sorry to hear that. Well, just get some rest for now.... Oh, hey! I heard the directors are throwing a little get-together for us tonight, for passing our assignments! I'll see you there, right?"

"Y-yeah, that sounds...fun," Cindy said, as she tried to keep a slight smile on her face. "I'll just have an omelet, please."

"Me too! And some bacon!" said Jon.

"Coming right up!"

Cindy and Jon sat down at a table to eat. The half-elf was hardly even touching her food, however. She just sat there, poking at her omelet with a fork, staring off into nothingness as the food began to cool.

"Hey, so you gonna eat that or what? Cause if not, I'll take it. This shit's fucking delicious! You assassins have it made, ahaha," Jon said.

"What'd I tell you about language, brat? Look, I know you've had a hard life and all, but you'll be using more proper language from now on. No more curse words...please," Cindy said.

"Aww, ok, Ms. Cindy. Gah! I didn't know you were so strict!"

"Yeah... I-I learned from my mother, haha," Cindy said, hanging her head down low.

"Are you sure you're alright, Ms. Cindy? Are you still bothered about...that?"

"Don't worry, I'm fine," Cindy said, mustering up a half-smile. "I promise I'm fine."

※　※　※　※　※　※　※　※　※　※　※　※

"Heyo! Glad you guys could make it!" Ben said.

"Are you kidding?! We wouldn't miss it even if the world was ending, Director Ben!"

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"Y-yeah, I think?" Cindy said.

"Awww, come here you guys! I'm so proud of my new little assassins!" Ben said, as he wrapped Kai and Cindy in a friendly chokehold.

"Ah, Director Ben! My head's still hurting, don't be so rough!" Cindy said.

"Oh my! Sorry, sorry. I totally forgot, ahaha! Anyways, come on in and let the festivities begin!" Ben exclaimed.

Cindy and Kai had arrived to Ben's office for their welcoming ceremony. The night was still young as sunset slowly came in. Ben, Amy, and Aria were all present; as well as Mason and Chris, the two assassins that helped Cindy the previous night. There were a few more faces present who Cindy wasn't familiar with. There were an array of different food and drinks scattered throughout the office.

"Come, come. Grab a drink, get some food, and mingle!" Ben said.

"Yes sir!" Kai and Cindy said in unison.

"Ooh, I think that tequila is calling my name, Cindy! Let's get hammered!" Kai said, while walking over to grab a drink.

"Y-yeah," Cindy said, following behind Kai.

"Ah, so you must be our newest assassins? I've been dying to meet you! My name is Aria, Director of weapons, galley, and charity of The Fam. I'm so very please to make your acquaintances!" Aria said, with her proper accent.

"N-nice to meet you, ma'am," Kai said, nervously.

"Very nice to meet you, Director Aria. We look forward to working with you!" Cindy said while shaking hands with Aria.

"Ah, how cute. You both will be splendid assassins!" Aria said.

"Shtop lying to them, sis...theez too got a looong way to go before they can be reeal azassins!!" Amy said, profusely slurring her words.

"D-director Amy, what are you doing!? You shouldn't be drinking at such an age!" Cindy shouted, with a frightened look.

"Wat the heil are ya talkin' about? I'm t-this miny years old!" Amy said, as she held two peace signs in the air.

"Director Amy, you're twenty-two?!" Kai said, with a shocked expression.

"I-I could've sworn she was like, fifteen!" Cindy said.

"How ruuuude! Fired! The both of ya are fired right now! I only look so young because...because... sniff-sniff'," Amy started to cry while struggling to finish her sentence.

Oh, great. She's an emotional drunk, huh?

"It's ok, dear sister. You don't have to say anymore," Aria said, wrapping her arms around the elf. "Come on, let's go have some cake. Would you like some cake?"

"Mhm," Amy said, while holding back her tears.

"Excellent, let's let these two mingle around a bit more. It was nice meeting you chaps. We shall speak more tomorrow!" Aria said, walking her little sister away.

"Well, I don't think this evening can get any stranger than that, haha," Kai said.

"You're telling me," Cindy said, lightly sipping on some tequila mixed with juice. "Let's go see what those guys are up to."

Cindy, developing a slight buzz from the alcohol throughout the night, was able to loosen up and socialize a bit more. Despite the heavy trauma the girl just endured, she decided to make the most of her evening. She continued to drink and socialize with her other new associates. She talked to Chris and Mason for a while, being careful not to bring up yesterday's events. She met Jenny and Leslie, two office goers that worked in finance. Her roommate, Zel was also present, lingering about and enjoying the food.

"Ah, this is nice. I'm getting kind of drunk, though, haha. I should probably pack it in for the night," Cindy said.

"Oh, hell no! You two aren't going anywhere right now. This party's just getting started, fuckers!" Amy yelled, recovering from her drunken state. "Recruits! Introduce yourselves! Tell us your names, hobbies, favorite foods, embarrassing stories....go go go!"

"Yeah, what she said!" yelled Ben, egging on the new assassins.

"U-um, do we really have to do this? I thought we weren't recruits anymore...," Cindy said.

"You're no longer recruits when I say you aren't! Now get to talking or hit the streets!" Amy said.

"Oh no, anything but the streets!" Cindy said, drunkenly. "O-ok! My name is C-c-cynthia Matthews, and I like anchovies....my favorite hobby is video games and, um, uhhh...embarassing stories? Uhhhh....oh! One time, I was about to get arrested for pickpocketing people. When the cops chased me down, and I was finally surrounded, I-I peed myself because I was so scared! It was so awkward, they let me off with just a warning, even though I was a lowly half-elf, ahahahaha!"

"T-that was kinda dark," Amy said.

"Oh my, um...maybe that's enough alcohol for tonight," Ben said.

"Yeah, I don't think I can follow that one up," Kai said.

"Um.... Kai! Dance! Do a funny dance or something for our entertainment...or you're fired!" Amy said.

"Oh, that would be quite lovely. I didn't know you were a dancer, Kai," Aria said.

"I-I'm not...,"

"Well, you are now! Dance, my fool, dance!" Amy screamed.

"I swear, you'll pay for this one day, Director!" Kai said, while doing a silly dance, clapping his hands about in the air and awkwardly moving his body around.

"Yeah, yeah. Whatever. Ahahaha! What the hell is that? You look so stupid!"

"Hehe," Cindy giggled.

"You're doing a marvelous job, Kai," Aria said.

The night went on for Cindy and Kai, continuing to be teased and hazed relentlessly. It was a rite of passage for the young assassins, embarrassing as it may be. However, the two still managed to enjoy themselves and open up to their new associates, thanks to a bit of liquid courage. Although still weary about the future, Cindy felt a slight relief thanks to the light-hearted events of the evening. She buried the prior night's events to the back of her mind, shutting the door tightly and wearing the mask on her face anew.

T-this is fun. The half-elf thought, as she continued to enjoy the rest of the night.