Cyberpunk: Ultimate Cyborg System-Chapter 595: Black Skull. (Part Twenty Eight)

"Rose… Rose!"

Snapping back to her senses, Rose turned a confused look to her left.

"What is it?"

"You have been acting a little weird lately." The other girl asked. "Did something happen?"

"... nothing, really."

Wanting to avoid the topic, Rose pretended to go back to what she had been doing. For a moment there, she forgot all about them, checking the clothes in a certain store.

"That pause just no…" another girl said. "Something definitely happened."

Rose didn't like the looks she was getting, but things were about to get worse.

"She got herself a regular." A third girl spoke in a disinterested tone, holding up a shirt to look at.

"Really!!?" The first one's eyes turned all sparkly.

"He's quite the looker, too." The third one said.

"Hey, hey, Rose! Why didn't you tell us!"

"I don't want to talk about it." Heaving a long sigh, Rose put the cardigan she was checking and turned away. "I'm getting out of here."

Though she was truly annoyed, to the others, she was just following the plan. Many stores had been upgrading their security systems, so getting something out unnoticed was becoming more and more difficult. In their attempts to adapt, the girls had to work together.

Rose generally liked to do things on her own, but she didn't have much of a choice. That meant talking about their main job was inevitable, and she hated that more than anything.

Once the night fell, Rose went to stand in her usual corner, trying to ensure she stood out less than usual. Thankfully, she didn't have to wait long. A familiar shadow fell at her feet, and she looked up to see an easy-going smile.

"Hey."

"... hey."

His name was Sirius Lincoln, and contrary to what his name might suggest, he was a very unserious person. He looked to be an average office worker, with light brown hair and pale white skin. His eyes were emerald green, and the light shining in their depth made it seem as if the city wasn't yet done chewing him.

"The price is still the same?" He asked.

"Why? Did your pockets lose weight?" Rose smiled.

"You don't have to worry about that."

He held his right arm out, and Rose wrapped hers around it, a rare smile on her face. They went and had dinner at one of the nearby diner then got a room in one of the hotels soon after. Rose felt her heart beat faster as they settled down on the coach inside, but it wasn't the anxiousness that usually torments her when the time finally arrives.

"We stopped at seventeen, right?" He asked.

"Ah! Sorry!" She quickly clasped her hands together. "I couldn't wait, so I watched a few episodes ahead."

"C'mon! That's not fair!"

"I said sorry!"

"Well, just try not to spoil anything."

Snacks were spread on the table in front of them, and a small projector sat a little to the front, casting a screen on the empty wall. The two shared a set of earbuds, and Sirius hit the play button, only to pause right after.

"Almost forgot." He grabbed his jacket and took something out of its left breast pocket. "Here, before I forget."

Rose stared at the stack of bills he held out to her, remaining static for a long moment. Catching herself, she tried to smile and quickly took them.

"... and here I thought you did."

She only realized that something was off about her reaction when she heard her tone. Thankfully, Sirius didn't seem to notice.

As the show began, Rose found herself unable to focus on it, glancing at the man sitting beside her. She was wondering if today was the day, even though it didn't seem like that would be the case. He had visited her every day for the last three weeks, and each time, he rented her out for seven hours straight. The amount he burned through was no small matter, but that didn't seem to bother him in the least.

Stranger still, he never laid his hands on her. All they did was watch some movies or TV shows while eating snacks. It felt weird, to say the least. When he asked for the reason, he said that they would eventually get to it, but she was starting to feel that might not happen.

[What? You're staying!?]

[My dad got the job! We won't have to leave anymore!]

The truth was, she hadn't watched those episodes. It was just a little difficult not to predict the ending of a show about a girl trying to avoid making friends since her family is constantly on the move.

"That was… disappointing…" Sirius said.

"Why?" Rose gave him a dubious look. "You don't like happy endings?"

"No, I just think it would have been better." He said. "She didn't wish to get his contact info because she feared they might grow apart, right?"

"Yeah?"

"Well, a better ending would be them running into each other in the future. Maybe collage or something."

"... I don't think so…" She hugged her knees, continuing to watch as the heroine jumped into the arms of her lover. "You can't expect them to be the same person the next time you meet."

"Huh… I guess you have a point…"

The last episode soon ended, and the credits rolled. Sirius reached for his phone and started scrolling through the streaming app.

"Next on the list is…"

"Say…"

"Hm? Did you perhaps want to watch something else?"

Rose pursed her lips, still staring at the projection. Her gaze eventually veered to the other side, avoiding the man sitting beside her.

"You… you don't plan on doing anything, do you?"

"... whatever do you mean?"

The light-hearted tone vanished from his voice, and for a moment there, he felt like an entirely different person. Rose felt her chest tighten, and so did her throat, making it difficult to talk.

"I… don't need your pity…" She finally said.

Good things always come to an end—Rose knew that all too well. Because of that, she was acutely aware of how painful it was going to be when the inevitable happened. Whether he turns out to be another pervert looking to use her body or a naive idiot just trying to be nice, the day they part would eventually come, and she would rather it come sooner than later. Rose knew that all too well, and because of that, she would rather it end sooner rather than later.

Hearing something shift behind her, she suddenly tensed up. A large hand reached out, slowly, carefully. It brushed a few strands of her hair, then it retreated and never returned.

"Your hair…" he spoke, his tone gentle. "It's natural, isn't it?"