A wave of silence and stagnation washed over the two cafe coworkers and the interior leather of an electric luxury sports vehicle. The taller one was in the position to drive, both gloved hands gripped so tight on the wheel that the knuckles were definitely matching the gloves. He made no motion to actually begin moving, instead opting to stare blankly through the front windshield. The teenage girl in the passenger seat of the car was unknowingly matching him, her unwavering gaze through the windshield held true for the time being.
The two peers would continue to sit, letting the uncomfortable silence loom over their heads, unwilling or unable to change the current status quo. Even the computer inside the vehicle was getting fed up after a handful of minutes passed of the system and motors sitting in idle, letting out three consecutive dissonant beeps in annoyance. Responding by coughing into one of his opera gloves, Cipher finally tested the waters, unwilling to even attempt to meet the passenger's stare.
"So uhm, I'm sorry for all of that. Are you okay?"
"I'm fine, it's fine. Everyone's family has their issues."
Kanashima wasn't fully sure if that was true nor did she even have any experience with this sort of manner, but as it was a common enough saying, there had to be some merit to it. If it would help out her coworker and driver, that would be good enough. If only she knew what to say, that was more of Morgan's forte, and she didn't pick up a lot of that from her late brother. The only response she received immediately was a long, drawn out sigh, his narrow torso slumping forward.
I guess I wouldn't really know, but it wasn't all horrible, I think? Fontaine was… cute?
Thinking back on her interactions with her own brother, she saw a little bit of her brother's kind personality in Cipher's little act with his siblings. It was actually really sweet for her to watch, but the pains in her chest doubled down once she started comparing him to her own sibling from long ago. The only thing that really caught Kanashima off guard was the different name, both of his sisters were using it. There was nothing wrong with Cipher, but Lilith was just very cute.
Providing another awkward chuckle, the owner of the car let the motors purr in harmony, the supercar rolling forward once more, coming up to the low suburban speed limit. Taking one hand off of the black and periwinkle steering wheel, the shaken man rubbed the fresh scratch marks adorning his cheek. Neither of them were expecting his sisters to get so physical over something as mundane as sweets, especially when they weren't incredibly malnourished. Who knew sharp long nails were surprisingly dangerous.
"I'm not so sure. At least… we know the cake pops at work are good?"
Missing the opportunity to add a little bit of humor to the rather traumatizing experience, Kanashima brushed past the attempt and glanced up at the person driving. Despite the mishap that was introducing her to Sylvia and Fontaine, he and Serafin had been nothing but kind, helpful, and accommodating to her, even with all of her needs going unspoken. She had just been taking advantage of their altruism with nothing of her own to give back besides the one mission she agreed to, partly because of this guilt. Any other person would've walked away with a smile on their face.
Are the Wild Eyes good company? If so, then why does Cipher keep it hidden from his sisters? Too aggressive? Maybe they aren't, and this is all some sort of scheme to trap me.
Pulling back onto a major highway, the increasingly taller and taller buildings continued to scroll past the tinted windows as the cafe duo went deeper and deeper into New Bangkok. The sun was high up in the sky when the two left, and now it was beginning to kiss the horizon, twilight illuminating the rather pretty skyline. If there was ever going to be a good time to pick the brain of one of the Wild Eyes' members, it would have to be now while they were still wrapped up in the car together.
"Hey, Cipher, right?"
"Yes, yes, it's Cipher. My sisters are somewhat difficult, sorry!"
Well, that clears that up. Still then, why Lilith?
"Why do you conceal your rebel status to them? You seem to care for them quite a lot."
"That's exactly why I hide what I really do. I can't complicate them into this entire mess."
Taking a moment to pause, filling the time with a few lane changes, Cipher took a deep breath. He took a few seconds to look out of the driver side window and into the city, a wistful visage spreading over his face. He let the motor fill out the silence for a few minutes before coming to his own conclusion.
"Honestly, I'm not even sure if they'd support it, it'd just be one big mess."
Would her own family support her too? Placing her operable hand to her cheek, she rubbed it a few times before letting it settle down. Her mom would instantly disapprove, too risky and dangerous for anybody. Her mom would say something about how it wasn't smart, wasn't elegant, and it absolutely wasn't a long term option. Probably including something about how she would be endangering everybody around her, and receiving more reprimands for her troubles. Of course she cared about the both of them, she wouldn't intentionally place them
Her brother, on the other hand, was always ready to offer his full love and assistance to his baby sister. In Kanashima's mind, that's what family really meant to her. She hadn't felt that sort of familial connection in so long, she almost forgot what it felt like to be appreciated, cared for, and to care for others.
"It must be hard… to care for a family you can't rely on."
"Are we even family then?"
In the same way Morgan was her brother until his untimely demise, Cipher was to his sisters too. They definitely had familial bonds through blood, genes, and parents. Growing up together allowed them to truly form, any textbook would identify that as a family. Tossing aside the rules and utilizing their own personal definition of family, it became multitudes unclear. The interior of her chest ached as her brain continued to conjure up different facades of Morgan from her fondest memories.
"I wouldn't know. I just know that I would've liked for Morgan to have had my support. I wish I had his now."
Wiping her face with her bare forearm, she made a conscious effort to turn away from her driver. Droplets of tears fell soundlessly to the floorboards of the vehicle. At the same time, Cipher was trying his best to focus solely on the road in front of him, intent on ignoring the disaster in his passenger seat. What does one even say to a sentence like that? His baby blue eyes began to tear up as well, a few droplets falling down to the denim covering his lap.
When was the last time I actually just fully cried?
"I miss Morgan too."
Making contact with her right shoulder, a white gloved hand wrapped around the joint and provided a gentle squeeze of support. A quick glance at the driver's seat told her that even though her mission partner's eyes were fixated on the road, he too was feeling just like her. Refusing to make eye contact once again, she buried her teary face into her hand.
The rest of the drive through the depths of downtown New Bangkok continued with the conversation at a stalemate. At some point during her silent crying, Cipher turned on his stereo system. Instead of his usual funky upbeat pop, he switched to what would be more Morgan's speed of music, both of them still reminiscing about their fallen friend and brother.
Slowing to a stop, the low rider sat on the side of the street right at the entrance to a very large department store. The hulking building itself had to be over twenty stories, and the single company took up at least half of them. The doors were tall and propped wide open, welcoming any passerbys with warm light and an entrancing front layout. Gold lights adorned the signage on the building whilst fluttering in wind, dancing along the cursive lettering.
"Goldweaves?"
"The very one!"
Looking extraordinarily pleased with himself, her rebel affiliated buddy stepped out of the automobile and wrapped around the car, manually opening the passenger door for her once more. Helping Kanashima out of the seat, the car closed the door automatically before driving off. Once it was about fifty or so meters down the street, the body of the car became highlighted by strings of periwinkle. The blue frame collapsed into a tightly condensed sphere in the air before disappearing fully, garnering the attention of several onlookers.
"Ahh, I hate the attention…"
What? Was that an armament? Weren't armaments usually red? Well, it does match his eyes. Speaking of which…
"An armament?"
"Oh, right! The vehicles we get are synthetic armaments! Once they're tethered to your system, you can summon and dismiss them with your phone! Cool, isn't it?"
A small shimmer glazed over his periwinkle eyes as he showed off his exorbitantly expensive vehicle as if it was some sort of toy. The witnesses to the display of opulence continued on their way after a short delay, tapping away at their communicators. Having somebody with that type of supercar and armament must've been a rare sight.
"Am I being tempted to join again?"
"You're no fun."
Moving toward the giant building's entrance, a synthetic paper swept up in the zephyr smacked into the side of Kanashima's left leg, stinging the healing wound on her calf. Hissing in pain, she reached down and grabbed the aggressor, holding it up in her own hand. Soon, a few white gloved fingers joined her grip, tilting it toward her partner.
"A wanted poster? Sounds like you."
Seeing a sketch artist drawing of herself wasn't something she expected, but she was actually pleased at the simplistic drawing. Somehow, they managed to make her more attractive than she actually was with the limited details they received over the dispatch channel. Unless Kailao took care of that last female officer after she passed out from battery exhaustion, there was still a cop that knew her face from the initial chase. After all, she'd been careful to cover up her likeness after the first escapade, even if the solution was a cheap scarf.
"Looks kinda like you too."
"Do I keep it?"
"Why not? It's a decoration. Kailao has a ton of his hung up at his place. Honestly, I kinda want one too."
"Maybe we'll get one for this mission."
"Don't say things like that! You're gonna jinx us!"
"I'm already bad luck."
Raising an eyebrow at the seemingly innocuous statement, Cipher directed the two of them and the conversation elsewhere. Surely once they were inside the department store, everything would be fine. After spending some time folding up the flyer, one of the corners stuck out of his back jean pocket.
"Is this the famous department store? Looks… very expensive."
"Only the best! Got the company card, so we're going to turn you into a princess!"
What? Since when did I want to be dressed head to toe like this? Must've gotten the wrong idea from that random matching set.
Seeing the new expression spread across Kanashima's face, he mistook it and laughed. Waving the opera gloved hands in front of his face, his bright smile formed under it.
"Don't worry! You're in good hands! I must tell you, my fashion sense is unmatched! Kailao can suck it."
Stepping onto the golden colored tiles, the air was significantly warmer than the outside already, filled with a pleasant scent of butter and some other sweet note that she couldn't identify. Several other shoppers were spread out in between the front displays, none taking care to glance up at the two toned beep announcing their entrance. From around one of the display corners, one of the shop employees approached the chatting duo.
"Welcome in! Can I help you two find anything this evening?"