Sylvia Christel had recently retired as head of the UAA. It had been a good run, but it was time for her to stop.
She wasn't stupid, however. She knew some of the assassins had a grudge against her. And so, she had used some of her retirement money to pay for lessons in fighting.
She also got herself a beautiful new weapon: a beam katana that also doubled as a gun. Travis would have been so jealous over this...
The blonde young woman smirked to herself as she walked down the street, wearing a brown jacket and a pair of black micro shorts.
She took in deep breath of the English air and smirked flirtatiously at the eyes she was catching with her looks. She had always been a flirt.
She passed by and winked at a few passing guys and for a for amusement the looking woman and giggled when they followed her with their eyes.
As she was passing by a stretch of road she paused as a loud clang was heard from besides her. She rose an eyebrow and looked down the deserted roadway and decided it was not her problem. She turned and began to walk away only to jump back as someone small crashed into her legs making her stagger.
She glared down ready to kick what made her trip only for her eyes to widen as a tinny child was struggling to stand up. His large shirt was stained red and she noticed that his messy black hair was all frazzled.
"HEY BRAT!"
Sylvia stiffened, then looked over to see a man standing there. He was wearing sunglasses, a cowboy hat and a neckerchief that covered his mouth. His clothes consisted of a leather jacket, jeans and black boots.
"Step out of my way, darling." He said in a low tone. "It'd be a shame to crush a pretty little thing like you." Sylvia narrowed her eyes.
"Oh? And just who do you think you are?" She demanded in her heavy French accent, crossing her arms.
"Name's Dennis." The man replied before pointing at Harry. "I've been hired to exterminate him." Sylvia scowled.
"The child?!" She snapped. "What horrible person would hire you to kill a child?!"
"Man called Dursley told me to do it."
"U-Uncle Vernon...?" Harry squeaked.
"Yeah, that way no one will ever find out the way he's been beating you!" Dennis replied. There was a brief moment of silence. Sylvia's eyes widened in shock. "Uh...perhaps I've said too much..." Dennis said, scratching the back of his head.
Then, he pulled out a switchblade from his jacket pocket, and his boots suddenly began to grow larger. When they had finished growing, large spikes grew out from the bottoms. "Sorry, dear. I gotta put you down too. Can't have anyone knowing about the kid's life." Sylvia narrowed her eyes furiously. "Don't worry! This'll only hurt a LOT!" And then Dennis threw his head back and began to laugh maniacally. "I LOVE THIS JOB!" And then, he prepared for battle. "Come get some."
The girl's eyes narrowed darkly as she reached into her bag. "Cover your eyes child. This is no thing a little thing like you should see." She said to Harry.
He gave her a wide eyed look before sprinting down the road and behind a building and closed his eyes tight.
"Hehehe. What are you going to do to me little lady?" Dennis said cocky.
Sylvia smirked, "Oh, this!" she pulled out her weapon and opened fire at him.
"S****!" he dodged to the right hiding behind a building for cover as the bullets rain downed at him.
He growled and peeked out from behind the building. "All right, ya dirty little t***...Eat THIS!" The man whipped out a knife and tossed it at Sylvia as hard as he could. The blonde ducked to avoid it, causing it to get embedded in the ground.
"Hmph! Never bring a knife to a gun fight!" Sylvia said with a smirk, flipping her hair back.
"Ooh, there's plenty more where that came from, cupcake." Dennis said with a smirk. Reaching into his pocket, he pulled out a handgun. "Suck lead!"
Sylvia narrowed her eyes and held up her beam katana. She began to slice the bullets before they could even hit her.
Dennis narrowed his eyes and continued to fire at her as he ran up to her.
Sylvia saw him coming and leaped to the side to doge his fist and knee him in the gut. He let out a gasp as she then kicked him in the head sending the man sailing back to the ground.
She glared down at him with a smirk as she raised her blade up ready to stab him. He smirked up at her deranged a switch in his hand. "Suck it!" he clicked the switch.
'BOOM'
The knife had exploded causing the girl to stagger slightly as she held her head as the winging in her ears and the flashes in her eyes were blinding her. She tried to take a swipe and ended up getting struck across the face sending her to the ground.
She groaned as she tried to regain her bearings...and felt herself get lifted up by the hair. "Heheheheheh. Think you're gonna win? Sorry, sweetheart, but I'm not about to miss out on a paycheck, not even for someone as fine as yourself."
However, he made one fatal mistake.
He talked too long.
This gave Sylvia the opportunity she needed to perform her ultimate technique:
The world famous crotch kick.
The man's eyes grew impossibly wide as tears started to fall. He let go of her hair and she replied by swinging her sword up and slicing the man's head clean off.
She let out a relived sigh and stood up dusting off her clothes and with a tap of her blade watched the body fall to the ground. She smirked at her handy work and turned on a dime walking away till she heard a soft whimper.
She blinked confused before they widened in realization. 'That's right the child he was chasing…' she looked around till she noticed the whimpers were coming from behind the next building.
She walked over to it and turned the corner to see the little boy curled up in a ball his arms over his ears and his eyes shut tight. He was trembling in both fear and coldness and was in pain.
Sylvia's gaze softened. "Oh goodness...Poor dear." She cooed, sauntering her way over before crouching down and putting a gloved hand on his shoulder. "Are you all right?"
"U-Uncle...Vernon...wanted me...d-d-d-" He buried his face into his hands and whimpered.
'Yes, that's right...His uncle...wanted him dead...' The blonde was now SEETHING with rage. She would find this man...and she would RIP HIM TO SHREDS.
But for now...There was a terrified little one to tend to...
She gently cupped his cheek in her arms making the boy blink up at her with wide eyes.
She was caught off guard by the bright emerald eyes that seemed to shine in the darkened streets. She gave him a small smile as her hand started to rub his cheek soothingly making him lean into her touch.
She giggled lightly in amusement at him. He was an adorable little boy.
"Is…is the scary man gone?" he asked worried.
Sylvia gave him a gentle smile and nodded. "Yes. He's gone and will never bother you again." She said.
Harry closed his eyes softly and took a deep breath. "Thank you…for saving a freak like me…" he mumbled his head down.
Sylvia clicked her tongue. "A freak? You?" She asked. "No no no...That is wrong." She said in a lightly scolding tone that made him flinch.
"But why...? Why...is it wrong...?"
"Because I see nothing wrong with you." She explained. "Not a thing at all."
"But it's not what I look like! It's what I do..."
"Oh? And what is it that you do?" Sylvia asked, tilting her head.
"I...I do stuff I shouldn't...Things get fixed...and turn a different colour...And I end up places I shouldn't be..."
Sylvia blinked and tilted her head to the side. Granted she had seen some strange things in her line of work, and this child's claims seem to indicate he had abilities. Teleporting especially was a nice ability, and being able to fix things.
She shook her head softly. 'Stop thinking like that! He is not a new agent ready to enter the ranks he is a scared child!' she scolded herself. She gave him a small smile. "Is that all?" she asked him.
Harry looked up at her confused before nodding slowly. He had a feeling that it was also healing him every night but he was never sure. "N-No…" he mumbled.
She shook her head with a tick of her tongue. "Child, you are far from a freak. Your abilities sound useful and very helpful."
Harry stared up at her with wide eyed surprise. "Really? You mean that…?"
Sylvia nodded. "Oh yes. "
"BOOOY! OUT HERE NOW!" They both stiffened at the sound of a loud voice. Harry started breathing heavily, and Sylvia caught on.
"Oh great..." She said softly. "Now now...Don't worry...I will deal with this..." He whimpered and began to squirm uncomfortably. Sylvia patted his back in a reassuring fashion.
"BOY!"
Sylvia stepped out of the alley. "So you know your assassination attempt failed."
The man was ungodly fat and his face was a dark purple. His hands were clenched tight.
"Let go of my property b****." He growled low.
Sylvia gave the man a dark glare as she made soothing gestures and sounds to try and calm the frightened boy in her arms. "He is no one's property." She said darkly to him.
The man let out a scoff. "Of course he is, I own the freak so I get to do with him as I see fit. That means calling for someone to kill him. So be it."
"To not dirty your own hands." She said cold.
Vernon shook his head. "More as way to protect myself from 'them' when they came looking for why the freak was gone." He said confusing her.
"I don't know what you mean...But I don't think I care either." Shrugging, she pulled out her gunblade. He paled and stepped back. "You know what happened to the other man, correct?"
"N-No..."
"Well, I did...that." She gestured to the corpse. Vernon slowly turned to look at it.
He gulped at the headless man and froze when he heard the click of a gun. He turned slowly to see the woman pointing her weapon at him.
Vernon took a step back his legs shaking. "You don't understand. I was doing the world a favor!" he pleaded.
Syliva just scoffed at him. "You think killing an innocent child is right?" she asked coldly. "I will enjoy seeing your blood splatter." She was about to shoot when a hand tugged on her arm.
She blinked and looked down to see a scared Harry.
"Child?" she asked confused.
"Please don't kill him." He muttered quietly.
Sylvia blinked. "But why not? He deserves it."
"I don't want any more people dead...People should live...Not die...Ever." He said.
Sylvia stared at him, hesitating for a few moments, before relenting. She didn't entirely believe the boy. There were some people whi deserved to die. Such as many of the UAA participants.
Though she did somewhat regret the deaths of the likes of Alice, Margaret, Holly...Even Jeane, even if she wasn't officially ranked...
Still, there were people like Jasper Batt Jr, Destroyman and Chloe Walsh...
She closed her eyes and focused those thoughts away. When her eyes opened and glared heatedly at the large man who she noticed with a hint of disgust and pride that he wet his pants.
"I guess hell doesn't even want you. For this little angel has allowed your life. Treasure it while you can." She turned on her heel and started to walk away, missing the man fainting to the ground with a thud.
Harry stared up at the woman with wide eyes. "Thank you…"
She gave him a light grin. "You are welcome dear." She said running her fingers through his messy hair making him coo and lean more into her.
"Now then...I suppose you will be staying with me for a while." She said coolly.
"Oh...It's okay, you don't have to-"
"But I WANT to."
"Y-You do...?"
"Well of course. You need someone to take care of you, and anyone would jump at the opportunity. I just happen to be the one doing the jumping here."
"...Are you an angel...?"
Sylvia nearly tripped over her own two feet. She stared down at the child with wide shocked eyes. "Pardon?"
Harry looked hesitant but he did not want to make her angry with him, "Are…you an angle…?" he whispered out.
The girl shook her head a small blush on her cheeks and a warmth passing through her she had rarely felt. "W-why do you think that?" she asked hating that she stuttered.
"Well…you saved me from the bad man, took me away from…uncle Vernon and…you want me…" he mumbled his eyes getting glassy.
"P-Plus you're pretty like one..."
Sylvia smiled. Sure, she'd been called 'hot' and 'sexy' and even just 'attractive'.
But no one had ever just called her 'pretty' before. It was quite cute.
"Well thank you, dear." She said gently. She then pressed her lips against his forehead.
Harry had frozen up when her lips made contact to his forehead. He had seen his aunt do something like this to Dudley. He had never experienced it and when he had asked, the back of the frying pan to his head was the answer.
Sylvia pulled away after a moment and grinned down at the child, but her smile soon turned into a confused frown as he stared up at her with the most adorable look of confusion that she had ever seen.
"What's that matter?"
"W-What was that?" He asked timidly his voice soft.
She raised a brow at him. "Was what dear?"
"The thing you did with your lips."
She held back a smirk at that. 'Oh child, the things you say to a woman are amusing.' She shook her head and thought about his question before smiling down at him. "It was a kiss."
"A…kiss?" he asked as if just hearing about the term for the first time.
Sylvia nodded. "Yes."
"I...I like it..." Harry admitted shyly, making himself as small as possible in her arms and blushing beet-red. This caused Sylvia to giggle.
"Now, there's no need to be shy." She said, adjusting her hold so he was in plain view again. He let out a squeak and attempted to hide again, but she wouldn't let him. "No, no, darling. I want to get a good look at you." Harry looked down.
"Sorry..." He said softly. Sylvia tilted her head.
"Oh, you've done nothing wrong." She replied. "Just relax..." She then began to study him closely.
One thing she noticed: he was paper-thing. He needed to get some food in that little tummy of his.
She also noticed the bruises on his arms and the healed ones on his face. She frowned internally but smiled at him and kissed him again making him squeak. "Let's get you something to eat and maybe a nice place to rest for the night." She said to him.
Harry stared up at her with wide eyed confusion. "Do I have to cook?"
She stared down at him with confusion. "Of course not! You are way too young for that!" she stressed gently.
He frowned confused and looked down before looking back up. "What about my weekly fill?"
She knew she was going to regret asking this, "Weekly fill?"
"I had bread two days ago...I've had my food." Sylvia grimaced and shook her head.
"No. No no no no no." She replied in a disapproving fashion. "That is no good at all. You are a growing boy, you need more than one slice of bread."
"Why...?"
"It's not healthy, darling." She explained. "Now come. I will take you back home with me, and I'll make you something good to eat, does that sound good?"
"Y-Yes ma'am...I'd like that a lot, ma'am..."
She smiled down at him and ran her hand through his hair. "That's a good boy."
He gave her a small smile and leaned more into her making her chuckle lightly. They soon made it the house she was staying at. She unlocked the door and walked in heading right for the kitchen.
She placed the child down on the table and ruffled his hair making him pout up at her. It was adorable.
She walked over and opened the fridge, 'Hmmmm, let's see, Shrimp?, nah he's a bit too young for that. Steak? Takes too long. How about some simple mac and cheese?" she smiled as she closed the fridge and walked over to the pantry and pulled out a few boxes and a pot.
Harry watched curiously wondering why she was helping him like this, and why he was allowed to eat. He also felt bad just sitting here. It was the freaks job to cook not an angel
Sylvia began to cook the meal, when there was a knock at the door. Blinking, she turned back to Harry. "I will...be right back, dear." She said calmly before making her way to the door.
When she opened it, she was surprised to see one of her former colleagues in the UAA standing there. "Um...Hello. How may I help you?" She asked. The man cleared his throat.
"Miss Christel, you killed a man wearing a cowboy hat earlier, correct?" She nodded.
"I did."
"Well...I have to inform you...He was a part of the UAA... And in killing him...You entered the ranks of the assassins."
There was silence for a long while. Sylvia stared at the man with wide eyes. He stared back at her with concern and slight pity.
"There…there must be a mistake…"
"There is no mistake Miss Christel. Dennis was his name and he was ranked number fifty on our board." He explained.
Sylvia shook her head trying to come to grips with this. "How…we disbanded that…it was never real!"
The man let out a sigh. "It was very real ma'am. And I'm sorry to say that you will now have to fight to stay alive or…let death embrace you."
Sylvia nodded slowly as she leaned onto the door frame her eyes wide and shaking in shock. "Who…who is ahead of me now?" she asked in a whisperer.
The man pulled out a notebook and looked through it. "Ah, Billy the Chick…a feisty girl." He gave her a sad frown and extended his hand with a card. "We will be in contact." He said and walked away when she took the card in her hand.
She looked down at the card and could only laugh bitterly at the ironic twist of fate she was put in. She was now an assassin ranked among many others who all wanted to be number one. She walked back into the house and paused when she smelled the scent of the food being prepared.
"Oh yes...That's right, the meal..." She mumbled, making her way over to the pot.
Harry noticed her demeanour and approached her timidly. "M-Miss Sylvia...?" He said softly.
"Hmm? Oh...Hello, dear." Sylvia greeted softly.
"What's wrong? Why are you sad...?" She smiled.
"You're too young to understand..." She replied softly.
Harry was confused but he did understand she was upset he wanted to make her feel better! He spread his arms out and wrapped them around her legs and hugged her as tight as he could.
Sylvia blinked and looked down at the small child and felt her heart warm up at his act. She smiled down at him and hugged him to her. "Thank you." She spoke softly to him.
Harry smiled at her and nodded snuggling into her wanting to make her happy again! He did not like to see the angel sad
Sylvia smiled at the little boy, and made her decision. She had to fight.
She had to survive.
For the boy's sake...She had to win.