The Accountant, Part 1

Although it is now 11 o'clock at night in the Windy City, the three residents living in Asuna's apartment remain awake, mostly. Yui is currently sitting in the living area watching Jurassic Park while eating some popcorn from a large bowl she held in her hands. Kirito is almost finished cleaning the pots and pans in the kitchen, and Asuna is struggling to stay awake as she sat at the dining table writing down and recording her restaurant's finances from tonight's dinner service.

"Yui, don't forget to brush your teeth when the movie is over, alright?" Kirito called out to his foster daughter from the kitchen after placing another pan down at the side of the sink.

"Okay, Papa!" Yui responded with her eyes still fixated on the television screen.

When he heard a moan, Kirito turns his head to Asuna and sees the restaurant owner slowly closing her eyes and gently placing the side of her head down on her record book. It seems that Asuna has fallen into deep slumber…for only a few seconds when a loud roar suddenly emits from the television, causing the orange-brown chestnut-haired woman to squeal in terror as she snaps her eyes open and jolts up from the table.

"Oh my God…" Asuna uttered while taking a moment to catch her breath.

"Ohohohohohoho! The Tyrannosaurus Rex is incredible! It looks just as ferocious as the wyverns back in our world!" Yui said enthusiastically before stuffing some more popcorn into her mouth.

Asuna sighs heavily as she picks up her pen and looks down at her record book again. But before she could continue writing, she was interrupted by Kirito who walked over to her.

"Asuna, if you are feeling sleepy, you should go to bed." Kirito said as Asuna looked up at him. "You don't want to wake up as a zombie in the morning."

Asuna briefly chuckled before replying with weary eyes, "I will. Right after I'm done recording the finances from tonight's dinner service."

However, as soon as she tries to write again, the restaurant owner lets out a heavy yawn. Kirito gently takes the pen off her hand and places it aside on the table, causing the woman to look back at him again.

"Please Asuna. Yui and I have been seeing you working non-stop lately, from cooking and baking new items for our menu, to recording our finances in between services. You need to stop when you know you have reached your limit. Back in Mizuho, my people believe that even a strong leader needs to rest well so they may lead our army to victory." Kirito said calmly to her.

Asuna nodded her head and said wearily as she felt her eyelids feeling heavy again, "Yeah…I guess you're right. I mean…I never imagined we would be doing so much work lately." After letting out another yawn, Asuna struggles to keep her eyes open as her body slowly slumps to the side. "Don't get me wrong…I'm glad that our business has been booming so much over the last several weeks…especially after the carnival. But…How I wish…I could…"

Her voice trails off as Asuna closes her eyes and falls into a deep slumber once again. She was about to fall off from her chair, but Kirito quickly catches her by placing his left hand underneath the side of her head, and the other on her left shoulder.

Seeing this, Yui pauses the movie with the remote, gets up from the sofa and scampers over to Asuna and Kirito as the latter gently carries her off the chair and up in his arms. The saucier winks an eye to his foster daughter, who nods her head back to him. As the two quietly walk their way over to Asuna's room, Yui opens the door for her foster father, allowing him to step in and head over to the bed. The girl tiptoes to the bed as well to help remove the blanket. Kirito gently places Asuna down on the mattress and rests the back of her head on her pillow. After he and Yui slowly place the blanket over her body, Asuna suddenly moans as she turns herself to her right and quickly goes right back into her slumber. As the restaurant owner now sleeps soundly on her bed, Kirito and Yui turn to each other and hold their fingers in front of their lips before they silently make their way out of the room.

After gently closing the door behind him, Kirito turns to Yui and said calmly to her, "Yui, let's find someone to help us with the finances, shall we?"

Yui cheerfully nods her head and replied to her foster father with a wide smile, "Hai!"


Two days have passed since the staff of Asuna's Baking Company submitted their advertisement to the local newspapers, hoping to attract the attention of someone who is willing to help lift the manager's burden of handling and recording their finances.

And just as they ended today's breakfast service, a bespectacled woman dressed in a simple black suit and skirt, along with a red tie, white collar shirt underneath, black socks, and dark brown leather shoes, arrived at the center of the sidewalk with a newspaper under her left arm. As she now stands about a hundred meters away from the restaurant, the woman opens her newspaper and reads the advertisement again to make sure she has arrived at the right address and strip mall. She looks up at the entrance to the restaurant again before putting away her newspaper and taking a deep breath.

After making sure the strands of black hair that are hanging loosely at the sides of her head are tied firmly by white ribbons, she adjusts her glasses and makes her way over to what could possibly be her new workplace.


Yui hummed merrily to the theme song of Jurassic Park as she and Eugeo mopped the floors of the dining area. When her humming came to an end, Eugeo paused his work and turned his head to Yui with a smile.

"Judging by the tune, I assume you recently watched Jurassic Park?" Eugeo asked.

"Hai!" Yui replied cheerfully as she paused her work as well to look back at her friend. "I love the part where the Tyrannosaurus Rex breaks down the toilet and eats the lawyer!"

Eugeo chuckled nervously as he did not expect his friend to have such fascination with violence. "Wow…that's…good to know." He soon smiled at his friend again as he continued, "Well, my favorite part of the movie was where the Tyrannosaurus shows up to save the humans and fight the velociraptors, and it ends with the banner falling down in front of her."

"Yeah, that scene was cool too." Yui nods her head approvingly before widening her eyes in excitement. "And speaking of the raptors, remember the scene where the children had to hide in the kitchen from them?"

"Oh right, that scene was intense!" Eugeo said gleefully. "Where the children need to stealthily make their way out of the kitchen without being heard and spotted by the raptors?"

"Yeah, it's like one wrong move and-"

"Excuse me."

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"

Upon hearing the calm voice that they do not recognize, Yui and Eugeo drop their mops and scream in terror as they turn to see a bespectacled woman standing nearby and looking at them in bewilderment.

"What's going on?" Asuna asked concernedly as she, Kirito and Klein hastily stepped out through the kitchen door. When the two waiters come to realize who had entered the restaurant, both Yui and Eugeo place their hands on their chests and sigh heavily in relief.

"Thank goodness it's not a velociraptor." Yui murmured.

"Veloci-what?" The bespectacled woman asked with a slightly arched eyebrow.

"Excuse me, ma'am, but who are you?" Asuna asked the woman from behind the counter.

"If you are here for lunch, service doesn't start until 12 pm." Kirito added. The bespectacled woman frowned at them.

"I'm not here to eat. I'm here to apply for the job as your accountant." The woman explained solemnly to them, causing Asuna, Kirito, Klein, Eugeo and Yui to widen their eyes and smile.

"That's fantastic!" Asuna said happily.

"And we were beginning to think we screwed up with the advertising, didn't we?" Kirito chuckled. Everyone laughed at his joke, except the bespectacled woman who remained expressionless as she simply stood and stare at them with her arms folded. Their laughter dies down shortly after as they look back at her, and Asuna gave an awkward cough.

"Anyways, why don't we take a seat and begin our discussion, shall we?" Asuna asked the woman as she, Kirito and Klein walk along the counter, step through the doorway, and enter the dining area, while Eugeo and Yui escort their guest over to one of the nearby tables.

Yui pulls the chair out for the bespectacled woman, who calmly sits down on it. When Asuna, Kirito and Klein arrive at the table, they, Yui and Eugeo go over to the other side and the restaurant manager takes a seat as well. The bespectacled woman places her arms on her lap as she now finds herself staring face to face with the manager and all her employees standing behind her.

"Welcome to Asuna's Baking Company." Asuna greeted as she nods her head to the woman. "My name is Asuna Yuuki, the manager and head chef of this restaurant."

"I'm Kazuto Kirigaya, but you may refer me as Kirito." Kirito smiled at the woman with his hand placed on his chest.

"I'm Yui." Yui said cheerfully.

"I'm Eugeo Mattson." Eugeo nodded.

"And while my real name is Tsuboi Ryoutarou, you can call me Klein." Klein winks an eye to the woman while pointing his thumb at himself.

"And from all of us here, we thank you for taking our job offer to become a part of our humble crew." Asuna said as she and her employees bow to the woman with gratitude.

"It's a pleasure to meet you all." The bespectacled woman said flatly with a nod. "My name is Shino Asada. I first learnt about your restaurant from the radio where I heard the DJs talking about what an amazing job you and the rest of this strip mall pulled off during the Jackson Charity Carnival over that weekend. Since then, I've also heard murmurs from people all around the city talking about the excellent food and service you provide here. Which is why as soon as I saw your advertisement on the newspaper, I was piqued and decided to come down here."

"So that means you are already eager to work with us!" Kirito said enthusiastically.

"That's great!" Asuna said happily as she placed her hands together. "Then I'm sure-"

"But…" Shino suddenly interrupted while holding up her hand to the manager and her employees, much to their confusion. "Do you want to know what I think of your restaurant?"

"Umm, sure?" Asuna replied awkwardly as she lowered her hands. Shino narrows her eyes and folds her arms as she places them on the table.

"So far…" The bespectacled woman paused to push a strand of hair away from her eyes. "I'm not impressed." Asuna and her employees drop their jaws in response. "First off, as soon as I stepped in here, two of your employees already did a terrible job in welcoming your visitor by screaming in fear rather than giving a warm and proper greeting."

"We're sorry." Eugeo said apologetically as he and Yui rub the back of their heads.

"It's just-" Yui tried to speak, but was quickly cut off by Shino.

"Can you let me finish?" Shino asked flatly, holding up her hand again at Yui. The waitress nodded her head nervously before the bespectacled woman continued, "Second, as soon as the manager and her chefs step out of the kitchen to see me, you chose to make a joke that isn't even funny to begin with rather than starting our meeting right away. What is this? A comedy club?"

"Relax ma'am. Isn't that a way to show our friendliness and sense of humor?" Klein asked as he arches an eyebrow and shrugs his shoulders.

"And what's with the color palette of the dining room floor? Red and white floor tiles? What is this, the Queen of Hearts' castle from Alice in Wonderland?" Shino asked irritably.

"Actually, it was the previous owners' idea to make it look that way." Kirito explained.

"And you didn't bother to change it after taking over?" Shino asked, glaring at Kirito.

"Well, most of the customers think it looks alright just the way it is." Kirito replied as he scratched his head. Asuna narrows her eyes back at Shino as the bespectacled woman's criticism towards her employees and restaurant is starting to infuriate her.

"You know, if you're here to criticize us, why did you even bother applying for a job here in the first place?" Asuna asked Shino in annoyance. "You mind as well go somewhere else to work at this point!"

Shino quietly adjusts her glasses and asked, "Are you considering letting me go, Miss Yuuki?"

"What?" Asuna asked in bewilderment. Shino suddenly leans closer to her.

"You said earlier that you are the manager and head chef, and judging by the advertisement you put up in the papers, none of the other workers here are capable of recording your restaurant's finances except you. I'm sure it must be really tough and exhausting for you to do that while cooking your food, running the kitchen, and making sure your employees are doing their work all at the same time, isn't it? And here I thought you'd be happy to transfer your duty of recording the finances over to someone capable like me at last. But…" Shino hissed. "If you are to reject me now, how much longer do you have to wait for someone else in this city to drop by and take your offer in being your accountant? You are going to continue suffering from the stress of recording the finances until that day comes!" When she finished her explanation, the woman leans back on her chair, lets out a heavy sigh and glares back at Asuna. "So…what do you say, Miss Yuuki? Are you really going to reject me?"

Asuna growls irritably as she narrows her eyes at Shino again. The condescending tone of her voice. The hostility towards her and her employees. The high level of smugness she is displaying with her appearance and posture. She had just met this woman a few minutes ago and already she is hating her guts. It certainly reminds her of another person she is trying to forget, and if the law would allow it, she would have already got up, grabbed her face, and tore it into shreds. Apparently, she had been watching too many violent films with Kirito and Yui lately, but that is exactly how much Shino had driven her over the edge.

However, she does admit that Shino is right. Ever since she took over this restaurant, her job has become more stressful and exhausting for her than before, to the point that she now rarely had a good rest at home as well. She does miss the peaceful slumbers she used to have shortly after her dinner, and she cannot remember when was the last time she had that. And as much as she did not like Shino's attitude towards her, she really does look like someone who is capable of the task at hand. If she were to reject her now, how many more long and tiresome days does she have to endure until another capable worker shows up to her? This is something she does not want to find out on her own.

After letting out a heavy sigh of defeat, Asuna muttered to Shino, "Fine. Let's see how well you do here for the next three days."

Shino's lips formed into a smirk. She bows her head to the manager as she responds, "Good. I'm glad we come to an understanding."

"This woman is cold." Klein whispered nervously to Yui as she stood in front of him.

"Maybe she is actually a velociraptor in disguise." Yui replied as she shivered.


While Yui and Eugeo stay behind in the dining area to continue mopping the floors and cleaning the tables, Asuna, Kirito, and Klein escort Shino into the kitchen. The two women walk over to the door at the right side of the kitchen and Asuna opens it to reveal Shino the room where she would be working. The room itself is about the same length as the kitchen and storeroom, but a lot smaller in width, making it about the size of a small single hotel room.

But what really makes the bespectacled woman widens her eyes and drops her jaw is not the size, but how messy it is. There is a white work desk placed vertically at the left side of the small room, and the first glaring thing which Shino noticed are the multiple sheets of paper laid messily all over the right side of the table, with some of them even flooding over to the center where the black flat-screen computer is. To make the appearance of the workstation look even more cramped, there are several file folders placed on the left side of the desk filled with more unknown sheets and documents, as well as six flat-screen television screens placed on the wall behind and above the computer which shows security footage of the entrance, dining area, front counter, kitchen, storeroom, and the back of the building. If that is not intolerable enough for Shino, there are also two pinboards on the wall at the center of the room filled with many memos and papers that have notes and reminders date all the way back to four years ago. The black office chair placed at the center and in front of the two women has three more files placed on the seat cushion. And on the right side of the room are three metal drawers which Shino assume are probably filled with even more documents arranged in an unorganized manner, as well as an inkjet printer which has more sheets of papers placed untidily on top of it.

"This is the room where you will be working in. It is small, but it does have everything you need." Asuna said to Shino who continued staring at her new workstation dumbfounded.

"Everything I need?!" Shino cried as she turned to Asuna. "What I really need from a new workstation are safety and cleanliness!" She jabs her finger at the inkjet printer. "I mean just look at how you treat your printer! The poor thing has piles of paper placed on top of it! Do you really want to damage the only precious device in your restaurant that can help you scan and print your most important documents?!"

"Sorry about that." Asuna tried to explain. "I rarely had time to clean up since I became-"

"And where did you place the device on?!" Shino continued as she now gestures Asuna to the drawers. "On top and between the drawers?! What if the printer suddenly drops onto the floor one day when the drawers can no longer hold their own weight?!"

"I…" Asuna could only speak for less than a second before Shino cuts her off again as she points her finger at the papers on the right side of the work desk.

"And what is with all these papers being laid out like that on the desk?! How can I concentrate what is on the computer screen when this messy pile of paper is such a huge distraction?!" Shino scolded. She next points her finger at the pinboards. "And do you regularly remove any old notes and clean off the dust from your pinboards?!"

"Well, I-"

"You are the manager of this restaurant for crying out loud!" Shino cried hysterically at Asuna. "How can your employees look up to someone who can't even keep her own workplace tidy!"

"Look, I'm sorry about this, alright?!" Asuna yelled back at Shino in annoyance. "How do you expect me to clean this room up regularly when I'm busy cooking the food, serving the diners and watching over my employees?!"

Shino sighs heavily with her hands placed on the sides of her hip. "You know what? Let us spend the next hour or two cleaning up and reorganizing this workroom."

"Wait, us?" Asuna asked.

"Yes!" Shino cried. Asuna growls as she rolls her eyes. "Don't roll your eyes in front of me!"

As the saucier and sous chef have been standing idly and watching the two women argue from a distance, Kirito and Klein turn to each other as the latter shrugged. "Welp, I guess I'm temporarily in charge of this kitchen again."

Kirito sighs heavily as he cannot help but feel sorry for Asuna.


While Kirito and Klein are busy preparing the sauces and other ingredients for lunch service, Asuna and Shino spend the next hour and twenty minutes cleaning and reorganizing the office. As Asuna sits at the work desk, she struggles to arrange the files and papers that were originally from the side of the table and the top of the printer by their date and company name. Shino on the other hand has already removed all outdated memos and reminders from the pinboards and is now almost done rearranging the files and documents inside the metal drawers as well. After closing the drawers, Shino turns her head to Asuna and asked, "Ma'am, help me with the inkjet printer, will you?"

"Excuse me! I'm the boss here, and I'll only help you once I'm done arranging these papers!" Asuna yelled back at her in annoyance. Shino stands up, walks over to her, and snatches the papers from Asuna's hands.

"Hey!" The manager said. Shino ignores her as she stands beside her and swiftly arranges all the papers in her hands and on the desk by their dates and company names within minutes, much to Asuna's astonishment. When Shino is done, she temporarily leaves the newly stacked piles of paper onto the right side of the desk.

"Get up." Shino said flatly to Asuna. The manager gets up from the office chair and Shino places the newly stacked piles of paper onto the seat to form an even taller pile. The bespectacled woman later pushes the chair out of the office and turns back to Asuna.

"Come along." Shino said to the manager as she reenters the room and walks over to the printer. Asuna follows her and they held firmly onto both sides of the inkjet printer. The bespectacled woman tells the restaurant manager to place it on the right side of the desk and she obliged. After carefully doing so, Asuna was surprised to see not only there is still some space between the printer and computer but also how much cleaner the work desk looks than before.

"This looks…nicer…" Asuna commented.

"Exactly. Something I expected to see from a restaurant manager when I first entered this place." Shino said coldly as she adjusted her glasses again. Asuna glares at her in annoyance as Shino momentarily steps out and pushes the office chair back into the room. "Now then, I suggest you go out and buy at least two three-tier document trays for these papers and we are done reorganizing my workspace." She sighs for a moment. "I need to take a breather after all this work."

As Shino walks her way out of the kitchen, Asuna places the pile of paper onto the top of the metal drawers and mutters in annoyance as she steps out of the office, "Take a breather after all this work. Why not take a shower as well to wash off the smell of your pompous-"

"Hey Asuna." Klein said to his manager from the center of the kitchen after he and Kirito placed the pot of soup and jugs of sauces onto the metal tables. "If I didn't know any better, someone here is trying to take control over your restaurant from you."

"Why don't you shut up and continue working or I'll come over there and wash that mouth of yours!" Asuna snapped. Klein chuckled nervously as he hastily turns to his right and walks back to his workstation. As the restaurant manager groaned and rubbed her temples, Kirito walked over to her.

"Are you alright, Asuna?" Kirito asked his manager. Asuna looked back at him with an ugly scowl.

"Read my face. What do you think?" Asuna replied flatly.

"I guess not." Kirito flinched.

"Ugh! I can't stand her!" Asuna yelled as she threw her arms hysterically into the air. "I mean…the way she berates me for how I'm not doing a good job as the owner and manager…she just…reminds me so much of…of…"

"Addie?" Kirito asked.

"YES!" Asuna snapped back at Kirito with her eyes wide. But as soon as she sees the look of shock on Kirito's face, her anger quickly faded and she said apologetically to him, "I'm sorry."

"Asuna, don't you remember the last thing you said to Addie that day?" Kirito asked calmly.

Asuna sighed and replied, "Respect's got to be earned."

"That's right." Kirito nodded. "I know it's difficult to let go of the past. But you can't keep thinking anyone who doesn't treat you kindly is your enemy. It always takes time to gain loyalty and respect from others."

Asuna lowers her head and stares wordlessly at the floor as she contemplated what he said.


Outside the kitchen, Eugeo is almost done placing the napkins, plates, and cutlery on the tables at the upper right corner of the dining area. Shino on the other hand is sitting at a table at the lower right corner of the area, swiping her finger upwards on the screen of her smartphone as she read and looked through some information. Yui walks over to her while carrying a glass of iced water in her hand.

"Here you go, Miss Asada." Yui said to the bespectacled woman. Shino places her phone down on the table and gently takes the glass from Yui.

"Thank you." Shino said before taking a few gulps of her drink. As Yui stood beside the table, she looked down at the screen of her smartphone and saw a picture of a bowl of ramen noodles, along with the full name of the food written above it.

"Ramen noodles? What's that?" Yui inquired. Shino's eyes grew wide as she nearly choked and spit the water back into her glass. She hurriedly places her drink down, grabs her phone, and puts it back into her pocket.

"Excuse me! Didn't anyone tell you that it's rude to look at other people's stuff?" Shino chided the waitress.

"S-Sorry." Yui cringed.

"Everyone! The tables are all set!" Eugeo called out to everyone present in the kitchen. Klein lifts his head up and looks back at the waiter through the kitchen window.

"We're ready in the kitchen too!" Klein responded as Asuna opens the door and steps out of the kitchen.

"Good." Asuna said. "Asuna's Baking Company is open for dinner service."

"Um, you mean lunch, right?" Eugeo asked with an arched eyebrow.

"Huh? Oh right." Asuna said as she places her hand on her forehead. "Has all that stress as the manager finally caught up to my brain?"

"Hahahahaha, the manager can't wait to go home just like the rest of us." Klein laughed while giving a finger gun gesture to Asuna. The orange-brown chestnut-haired woman looked back at her sous chef and pouts in annoyance.

However, unbeknownst to Asuna, Klein and Eugeo, the bespectacled woman sitting in the corner of the dining area stared aghast at the simple hand gesture which the sous chef made with his right hand.

"Miss Asada?" Yui asked concernedly as she noticed the horrified look that appeared on Shino's face.

Shino did not respond to her, and for a few moments, she just sat there with her mouth agape, and her breathing growing heavier. Even after Klein had lowered his right hand, the image of his hand gesture would not leave her mind. As she suddenly lets out a loud moan, she clutches her chest in pain and latches onto the table for support as she now feels dizzy from the intense shock.

"Miss Asada!" Yui cried in alarm as she placed her hand gently on Shino's right shoulder. This got the attention of Klein, Asuna and Eugeo as they all turn to the two women, and they gasp upon seeing the unmistakable pain that Shino is displaying.

"What happened?!" Kirito asked as he too heard Yui's yell and rushes over to the kitchen window.

Shino now jolts up from her seat and asked Yui, "W-where's the…b-bathroom?!"

"At the back of the building." Yui responded. As soon as she gave her reply, Shino covers her mouth, rushes past Yui and over to the doorway. She pushes away the curtains and runs through the small passageway between the front counter and the kitchen window.

"Shino, what's going-" Asuna gets cut off however when Shino shoves her to the side and steps into the kitchen.

"Shino!" Kirito cried to her as he, Klein and Asuna incredulously watch the bespectacled woman sprinting madly to the backdoor. She pushes it open and runs out of the building.


After hurling out all her vomit into one of the toilets in the female staff restroom, Shino flushes it, steps out of the cubicle and walks slowly to one of the marble sinks. She turns on the tap and washes her hands underneath the running water. She also gathers some water in her hands to drink it and gurgles her throat. She later spits it out into the sink when she is done and turns off the tap. After taking a few deep breaths, Shino looks up at her reflection in the mirror and frowns.

"I look awful." She murmured before pushing away the strands of hair that were dangling in front of her eyes. She adjusts her glasses and suit before walking her way out of the restroom. When she opens the door, she yelps in surprise as she sees Kirito and Asuna standing outside.

"Asuna? Kirito?" Shino said with her eyes wide.

"You gave us quite a scare back there, Shino." Kirito said.

"Are you alright?" Asuna asked concernedly. Shino narrows her eyes at them.

"Of course I am. I just needed to use the restroom, that's all." Shino said flatly. "Now then, lunch service has begun, right? So, show me your restaurant's finances for today and you two can focus on your work in the kitchen. Let's go!"

As the bespectacled woman walks past them and makes her way back to the kitchen, Kirito and Asuna stare at each other for a brief moment. Knowing that they cannot question her further at this time, the two chefs quietly follow Shino from behind.


Everyone continued working in the restaurant until the last few diners left at 9 o'clock at night. Eugeo flips the sign at the entrance around before he and Yui mopped the floor and cleaned the tables and chairs for the last time of the day. Asuna, Kirito, and Klein also threw away any unused toppings and sauces into a garbage bag and washed all the cutlery, glasses, plates, saucers, pots, and pans. While they are cleaning, Shino steps out of the office and closes the door. She turns around to see Asuna entering the kitchen through the backdoor after throwing away the garbage bag into the dump.

"Miss Yuuki, I'm done recording and filing the finances for today." Shino said to Asuna as she walked over to her.

"Arigatou." Asuna bows her head to her. "And look, we went off to a rocky start today, but I really do appreciate your assistance around here."

"You're welcome." Shino nodded. "I'm glad you have an understanding. I'll see you here again tomorrow morning?"

"That's right. 7:30 am sharp." Asuna said.

"Thank you. I'll be on my way now." Shino said.

"Goodnight." Asuna said. Shino remains silent as she walks away from Asuna, steps out of the kitchen and walks alongside the front counter. The manager sighs and muttered, "We usually leave through the backdoor."

Shino kept walking away from the restaurant until she found herself standing on the sidewalk. After looking around to make sure none of the employees of Asuna's Baking Company is watching her, Shino looks back to her front and lets out a heavy sigh as the cold and solemn demeanor she had displayed throughout the day is instantly replaced with one of fear and anxiety. She folds her arms as she walks down the sidewalk and begins her quiet journey back home.


After entering one of the cars of Chicago's "L" trains, Shino quickly finds an empty seat at the left end corner and sits down on it. The doors soon closed, and she felt the train moving along the tracks.

As Shino quietly sat and waited for the train to arrive at her destination, the bespectacled woman observes the passengers around her, such as the father and his son playing together with their handheld gaming devices as they sat at the opposite side in front of her, the group of businesspeople smiling and chuckling as they converse with each other at the center of the car, and the two young women singing and beatboxing as they sat beside her.

Shino sighed inwardly as she envies them. While everyone is feeling cheerful and upbeat without a care in the world, Shino on the other hand cannot help but live her life in pain and misery. Unlike the people around her, she had no one to talk to and rely on whenever she felt down. No friends and relatives at all. She is truly all alone.

After fifteen minutes had passed, Shino arrived at her destination, and she quietly got up and left the train. She spent another twelve minutes leaving the station and walking down several blocks until she finally arrived at the tall white apartment building where she lives. She enters the building and takes the elevator up to the highest floor. When she arrives, she makes a right turn and goes over to the door to the apartment built just beside the elevators. After unlocking the door, she turns the doorknob and steps into her home.

"I'm home." Shino said to herself before turning on the lights. Her home is a small three-room apartment which only consists of a storeroom, a bathroom, and a wide-open area that houses a kitchen, as well as her bed and a small living area.

After locking the door behind her, Shino takes off her suit and walks over to her bed. She lays her suit down on the blanket before she turns around and opens her wardrobe to grab a hanger. After inserting it underneath her suit and hanging it at the side of the wardrobe, she grabs herself a new and clean set of clothes to wear. She later spends the next fifteen minutes having a warm shower in the bathroom, combing her hair, and dressing herself in a plain white T-shirt and light green shorts.

She later goes over to the small kitchen and places her smartphone down on the counter. She brings up the same page she was viewing on her phone in the restaurant earlier today and thoroughly follows the recipe. She grabs all the right ingredients from the cabinet above the sink and cooks her dinner at the stove.

When she finished cooking about thirty minutes later, Shino carefully held up her bowl of newly cooked ramen noodles. She walks past her bed and television and over to her work desk placed in front of the left window of her apartment. She places her food and cutlery down on the desk and claps her hands together.

"Itadakimasu." Shino murmured with her head lowered and eyes closed. She looks back at her noodles and eats her dinner.

However, when she finished eating about fifteen minutes later, Shino puts her cutlery aside and looks down at her bowl dejectedly.

"It's not the same as I remembered." Shino said sadly.

After cleaning her bowl and cutlery in the kitchen sink and putting them and the ingredients back in the cabinet, Shino walks over to her work desk again and gazes at its drawer for a few moments. She takes a deep breath and murmurs to herself, "I can do this."

The woman pulls out the drawer, revealing a small plastic toy gun that has an outlandish color scheme, but its design greatly resembles a Type 54 pistol. After gathering enough courage inside her, Shino slowly extends her arm and wraps her fingers around its grip. She holds it up in the air and tries to remain calm as she gazes at it for the next minute or so.

However, it only took ten seconds for Shino to begin breathing heavily. Her eyes slowly grew wide, and the beating of her heart moved faster than usual. And as her ragged gasps grew louder, so too are the voices inside her head.

You're disgusting…

You got bloods on your hands…

Cold-hearted killer…

Monster…

Psychopath…

Stay away from me…

MURDERER!

Shino started letting out several cries and screams as the painful memories of that tragic day came flooding back into her mind like a mighty tsunami. Her entire body shook uncontrollably in shock and horror as the images of her mother and the man she killed became clearer in her mind, and she soon felt her stomach doing a violent flip-flop.

Dropping the gun onto the floor, Shino quickly whirls about and makes a mad dash to the bathroom. She quickly kneels in front of the toilet, lifts the seat cover, and finds herself hurling her vomit for the second time of the day.

She takes a few moments to catch her breath before flushing away her vomit. After washing her face at the bathroom sink, she walks back to where she had dropped the gun and takes the handkerchief from her work desk. She wraps it around the gun, picks it up, gently places it back inside the drawer, and finally closes it. She glances at the clock above her television before she lets out a heavy sigh and collapses on her bed with her face planted on her pillow. But a few seconds later, the woman turns to the side and curls herself into a protective ball as hot tears form in her eyes. Unable to fight back, Shino closes her eyes and wept unashamedly as she is completely overwhelmed with inconsolable grief.

Why? Why did it have to be her? Of all the people in the world, why is she the one chosen to live in a never-ending nightmare? As far as she remembered, it all started ever since she was only ten years old. Her father worked as a jewelry store owner back in Los Angeles. But unfortunately, he was one day killed by a gunshot to his chest from a robber who demanded everyone in his shop to hand him all the money in the cash register. And although justice was served when the robber was eventually found and arrested by the police, it will never bring her father back to life. She and her mother suffered from severe depression over their loss, and being a young child at the time, Shino went through five years of psychotherapy and some medication to fully get over the death of her father. Things would improve for her and her mother afterwards, but just when she thought her life was getting back on track, another tragedy would befall them when she reached the age of sixteen.

She was peacefully sitting near the entrance of a bank that day while waiting for her mother who was standing at the counter making a withdrawal. But the moment of peace was broken when a man randomly walks into the building, stood beside her mother, and points his Type 54 pistol at the bank manager. As the employees and bystanders including herself panicked, the man demanded every worker in the bank to give him every dollar they had in their vault. And when the manager tried to reason with him, the man shot a bullet to his shoulder to put him in his place, causing everyone in the bank to scream. To Shino's horror, the man suddenly wrapped his arm around her mother's neck and held her hostage, demanding everyone in the bank once more to hand him all their money. Shino froze in horror at the sight of her mother now having her life hanging by a thread. However, not wanting to let her have the same fate as her father, Shino was able to muster up the courage to run straight towards the man and rescue her mother. She even remembered the man shooting a bullet at her when he saw her, but miraculously missed her by an inch. She tackles the man against the counter, causing the three of them to fall to the floor together and dropping his gun in the process. The bespectacled girl quickly picks the gun up from the floor, and when the man bellowed at her to give it back to him, Shino could only respond by letting out a horrified scream, followed by her finger accidentally pulling the trigger, and fire a direct shot into the area where his heart was. And when the sound of the shot dies down, Shino opens her eyes and lowers the weapon to see the man lying dead on the floor in a pool of his own blood. She later looks back at her mother who froze and stared at the sight of her daughter holding a gun in shock. And because she was unable to get a hold of herself and comprehend what she had done at the time, Shino could not utter a single word to her mother even if she wanted to, and the two of them just stayed where they were until the police arrived at the scene several minutes later.

Shino was quickly released from police custody on the same day as her shooting of the man was ruled out as an act of self-defense. But although she had saved her mother's life, neither of them had spoken to each other since the incident, and to this day, Shino is completely unsure how she felt about her killing that man. The trauma she experienced from the incident had taken an even greater toll on her mental health, to the point that the depression which she thought she had overcome after the death of her father came flooding back to her. She developed a strong phobia towards guns ever since, and for a while, she could not communicate well with others. The only way she can do that now was her cold and antagonistic behavior which she developed from the years of emotional stress and the constant taunting from her former schoolmates she had to endure.

But despite this newly developed cold demeanor towards others, it can neither make her forget the events of that tragic day, nor fix her relationship with her mother. In a vain attempt to escape from it all, Shino left Los Angeles upon graduation and moved to the Midwest to live on her own, hoping that it would be the first step in helping her get over the past and move on with her life. But it was no use. Despite her best efforts to remain calm and relaxed, she would still have emotional outbursts during work whenever she sees an image of a gun or even someone in the office casually making a finger gun gesture. These outbursts alienated the people around her, and she would either be let go or willingly quit her job because of it. And whenever she loses her job, she would move to another apartment, in another city, in another state.

But no matter which city she moved to. Minneapolis, Milwaukee, Des Moines, and St. Louis. She would lose her job within just a few months because of her irrational behavior. And after what happened at Asuna's Baking Company today, it is very likely that she will move out of Chicago as well.

Shino removes her glasses and places them aside on the small table beside her bed before she buries her face in her pillow and continues weeping uncontrollably.

"Someone please…" Shino murmured. "Help me…"


Sovereign: I would like to thank Allfather-Ford, AquaBluey and LayLay lives for reviewing, and mybelovedmahiru for favoriting and following. Thank you to everyone who is still reading and following this story. It is great to be back.