"You're gonna kill him while he's eating? That's cold-blooded," Jack remarked.

"I'm just observing right now," Cindy replied, her aura-enhanced eyes locked in on the target.

"Well, don't keep me in the dark. Where are the fuckers at?"

"Third floor, last window on the left."

"Gotcha," Jack replied, as his eyes shrouded with aura. "Well, I'll be damned. this might be fun after all."

Cindy and Jack observed an odd pair; a female ogre and a male elf. The elf looked timid and had visible red spots across his face. The ogre looked rather angry as she chomped down on her food quickly. The two were having dinner quietly as they were being watched from afar. They sat on opposite ends of the table, surely a sign of a strained relationship.

Who's abusing who again? The hit was for the elf, but he seems like a total pushover. Something doesn't feel right.

"Well, you gonna take the bastard out, or what?" Jack asked.

"Hold on, give me a minute. I want to watch for a while longer."

"For what? You already got your mark, right?"

"I do. But, it doesn't feel right," Cindy said, her eyes wincing in frustration.

"You kill who they pay you to kill, girly. Don't complicate things."

Fuck, I knew this would happen. Get off my back, asshole.

"I know. But, I do whatever the fuck I want, remember?" Cindy said brazenly, staring at Jack with no hesitation.

"Damn, your friend dying really made you that bold? Alright, we'll do it your way for now," he said, staring right back at Cindy. "Eventually, your little game will catch up with you, girl. How many people have you let live that you were actually supposed to kill?"

"None of your business," said Cindy, her eyes back on the prize. "Just shut up and let me cook."

"Cook? You gonna bake them a cake or something?"

"No. It's... slang. It means give me fucking time to think, alright?"

"You think I keep up with your weird ass generation's phrases? 'Let you cook,' so stupid."

"Hey, it's pretty damn catchy. You're distracting me again," Cindy said, trying her best to focus.

A few more minutes passed as Cindy observed the couple, Jack berating her the entire time. Finally, something happened; something Cindy had suspected. Not long after, the ogre arose from her dining seat, striking the elf with a closed fist. She proceeded to wail on the frail elf over and over.

Shit, I knew it.

"Damn, that girl can throw down. She'd probably make a better killer than you," Jack said with a chuckle.

"Just shut up, asshole," Cindy said, focusing aura on her legs.

She started to run, darting full speed toward the apartment. She crossed the bed of water with ease, her training with Aria coming through handily. Jack followed right behind, still persistent on seeing out Cindy's resolve.

"I don't know what the hell drives you girl, but I can tell this is gonna be fun," Jack said.

"Yeah? Well just shut up and watch. You're not getting any of my contract money, either."

Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings.

"Didn't plan on it. I'm just here for a good time!"

Cindy and Jack ran across the water, wasting almost no time. They arrived at the apartment building. Cindy jumped three stories with ease, reaching the designated apartment. She broke through the window and arrived dramatically at the scene. Jack, of course, was trailing right behind. The ogre stopped wailing punches at her husband when they arrived, his face already bloody and bruised.

"Who the fuck are you?" the ogre asked, as she stood over the elf.

"I'm the assassin. You paid us money to take out your husband... who was abusing you? It seems like you were doing a pretty good job with that yourself," Cindy said as she walked over to aid the man. "Are you alright?" Cindy asked, kneeling on the ground beside the elf.

The ogre groaned. "I wasn't gonna kill the bastard. I was just roughing him up a bit. He made another shitty meal, so I figured I'd rough him up a bit one last time."

"There's a little something called divorce, you know?" Cindy said, her expression dumbfounded.

"Fucker made me sign a prenup. I wouldn't get any money that way."

"I see, that makes sense. Getting someone else to kill him so you get all of his insurance money is a solid plan," Cindy said.

I-Is this real or am I dreaming?

"A-are you gonna kill me?" the elf asked while lying on the floor.

"Well, I should kill you for marrying this psycho, but no, I'm not," Cindy responded, patting the elf on the back.

"S-she wasn't like this before. She used to be so sweet and loving."

"I don't care," Cindy said, cutting the man off. She stood up to confront the ogre once more with a grizzly look on her face. "Since your husband's too much of a chump, I'll just say it for you: Leave and never speak to this man again, or I'll kill you. Simple as that," she continued, her gaze unwavering.

"Who are you supposed to be? Just do your job and kill the fucker. I already paid good money for this!"

"Fuck your money," Cindy said, pointing her pistol at the ogre. "Kick rocks or die, bitch."

"You think a damn pistol's gonna hurt me?" she said, charging full speed toward Cindy with a balled-up fist.

A silent shot was fired, and Cindy's bullet was shrouded with aura. It penetrated the ogre's stomach, leaving a gaping hole in her abdomen. She could not speak, she could not move. She could only lie down on the cold floor as she slowly bled out for a few more moments, with a look of shock on her face before death.

"God damn," Jack exclaimed, his mouth stuffed with food as he sat down at the kitchen table. "This is the best fucking chicken I've ever had," he continued, tears streaming down his face. "Bitch's taste buds musta been fried."

"You're insane," Cindy remarked. "Let me try a piece."

"Y-you killed her," the elf said sorrowfully. "How could you?"

"She hired me to kill you, dude. I'm sorry for your loss, but she was really out of control. Think hard before marrying someone next time," Cindy said, taking a bite of the chicken. Her eyes lit up immediately with a serene joyful expression. "This really is some damn good chicken."

"What am I supposed to do now?" the distraught elf asked.

"How should I know? You can start by changing your identity and leaving the state. I'm sorry to say, but you're officially a dead man starting today," Cindy said calmly, wiping her mouth with a napkin. She knelt down on her knee, next to the elf. "I'm also sorry to do this, but I'm gonna need an arm. An eyeball too, for good measure."

"W-what are you talking about?"

"Hey, I need some proof that you're probably dead. There are good mechanics out there, so don't worry too much. Just look at this masterpiece," Cindy said, pointing at her right arm. I promise this will only hurt for a bit," Cindy said, placing a piece of cloth around the elf's mouth.

She covered her hand in aura and ripped the elf's arm off in one clean pull. Next was his eyeball, removed quickly from his socket. She stopped the bleeding instantly with her aura. The man just lay there, right next to his dead wife, shaking in pain.

"That was... pretty cold-blooded," Jack said, patting Cindy on the back.

"Thanks," Cindy sighed in a monotone voice.

"What are you gonna do about the scene?" Jack asked.

"Hm? Oh yeah," Cindy said, approaching the corpse of the ogre. "Aura sewing," she whispered, placing her hand on the woman's stomach. The wound on the corpse's stomach started to slowly close. It took a few moments until it was fully closed. After that, Cindy tossed her body from the window where she broke in. "There, suicide. Let's go," she said, quickly exiting the complex, leaving the broken elven man to his sorrows. "Sorry buddy. Might wanna hurry up and leave though. You're a dead man, after all."

***

"Well, that was... interesting," Cindy said, sipping on coffee outside the Bone Shop.

"Yeah. Fun times, good killing, good food," I think I like your style, halfie," Jack replied, sipping coffee as well. "That's some damn good coffee."

"Yeah, it's great. Elie and I used to come here all the time," she said, a melancholic smile on her lips. "You're not too bad after all, Jack. You didn't rat me out."

"Like I said, I was just there to observe. And, I like what I saw. So, keep on doing whatever the fuck you want, Cindy. You're alright in my book," Jack said, stretching his fist out to Cindy.

"Thanks," Cindy replied, her right fist connecting with Jack's. "You too," she smiled.