Chapter 1 – A Mother's Love
"Zell, I have two assignments for you. However, you can choose only one." A low toned feminine voice spoke up.
"Only one? Why is that?" Zell asked with a raised brow. He is a slim, lean young man with brown skin, red hair and scarlet eyes. He stood one inch shy of six feet tall. His red hair was styled intricately in the shape of a flame on its side, with bangs in the front that separated at the center of his face, being shorter near the center and becoming as long as his chin at the outer ends, slightly framing his face. He was dressed in a loose two layer T-shirt, the second layer being purple and the main layer was red and complete with a crescent moon with a red wolf on it. He also wore gray cargo pants and dark purple steel toe boots with a large strap covering the tongue of the footwear.
The woman that was talking to him was his Superior. She was a tall woman, standing at 5'10", with an ample bust, well sculpted arms, and toned abs and thighs. Her skin was creamy white, her hair was jet black, reaching just past her shoulders and her eyes were almond brown, sometimes considered hazel. She dressed in a blazer, a white button up shirt, a skirt that stopped at her knees and had a slit on the side that stopped at her upper thigh, and heels. She also wore thin rimmed oval glasses, with fake lenses not to damage her vision.
The two were sitting in a large room, it had walls decorated with all kinds of treasures from all over the world, a large mahogany desk, two chairs, a medium sized table on the right side of the room with a very elegant tea set on it, with two arm chairs accompanying the table. On the left side, there was a collection of book shelves that lined the walls and extended up to the ceiling, all possessing the latest geographic maps and other information regarding the world, as well as a few minor decorations on certain shelves, being photographs and the like.
"Both missions are regarding the same target. We received both clients' requests at the same time as well, so the priority rule doesn't take effect either." The Superior explained and snapped her fingers.
A large screen surged to life behind the woman and it displayed the picture of a woman of average height, with rosy-colored skin. Her face was heart-shaped, with sharp facial features, and blue eyes. Her hair is blonde, reaching down past her waist, styled with segmented bangs that frame her face, and is tied into a low ponytail with a decorative bow.
"That's the target for both missions? That's… Helena Douglas… isn't it?" Zell asked with a somewhat stunned expression. "What did she do to deserve that treatment?"
The Superior chuckled and looked at her subordinate, "Relax, Zell. One mission is to protect this woman, while the other is to kill her."
Zell gave the woman before him a look of confused frustration, prompting her to continue.
"Whispers on the street suggest that there will be an attempt on Helena's life during her next performance in France..."
"And why is that?" He interrupted.
"She's the illegitimate daughter of Fame Douglas. Based on more digging we had done, Fame left his company to her in his will… and as you know, Fame was assassinated not too long ago."
"So the mission to kill her is to put the company in jeopardy, while protecting her will help DOATEC regain its bearings and stay stable?"
The Superior nodded, "It would seem that way. And based off of those two bits of data… we can surmise who one of our clients are."
Zell cupped his chin, "So, Helena's mother wants us to play bodyguard to the celebrity stereotype."
"You can't blame Maria. She's the woman's mother. Possibly the only family that cares about her. You can't blame an heir for something that the founder may have done, or approved."
Zell stood up. He knew what she was referring to. "...That's why you called me in for this?"
The Superior nodded. "I want to see what's really in your heart. I know you're a good man, but every man has tests. This will be one of yours." She shrugged, "And who knows? I hear French cherries are very good."
Zell was confused about the cherry comment, for a moment, then he covered his face in embarrassment, "...Oh, come on…"
"I'm mostly joking." The older woman commented. She looked at the projected image of Helena behind her before sighing, "Still… it would be nice to meet the woman who I decided to name myself after."
"So, you took your name based on a famous singer?" Zell asked. He knew her name was also Maria, but the reason behind it was never explained.
The Superior, Maria, nodded. "When I escaped the Mugen Tenshin's Tenjin-Mon, I faked my death, and I needed a new alias. It just so happened, at the time, that I was listening to a lot of Maria's music to help me deal with the situation, the sadness and the stress. Someone had asked me what my name was for a job, and it just stuck."
"...I see." Zell replied slowly and lowered his head. He'd need to ponder what would be a better way to discuss things with her that he felt might be touchy.
"It's fine, Zell." The Superior said, as if to read his thoughts. She leaned on her elbows on the desk and tilted her head slightly. "So, will you grant the mother's wishes or chase your revenge? I'll need you to choose quickly though, since I have a mission I need to work on as as well."
"You took on a mission? I wonder where this is coming from all of a sudden."
"...I'm taking this mission because someone from the Village requested me specifically. I'll be going to meet them later tonight about the request."
"You're going to go back to the village?"
"Not necessarily, it's more of a meeting with someone. Besides, it's a personal favor, as well as a little bit of revenge." The Superior gave a small smile that was innocent, yet evil.
"So what is your mission?" Zell asked and folded his arms. He was a bit miffed that her mission was basically two birds with one stone, while his meant he wouldn't be able to chase two rabbits.
"I got a request to track down Hayate and Kasumi. They both disappeared after the first Dead or Alive World Combat Championship. Kasumi after killing Raidou, and Hayate was crippled by the same man a few weeks before the tournament was held, and now he's gone. Kasumi has the death mark on her head, like I did. Someone in the village, or close to it, wants me to find them and keep them out of harm's way. I'm taking the assignment for Hayate, since he's an old friend… and Kasumi's in a similar spot to what mine was at one time, accused of treason. For no damn reason. So, taking this mission means that I'm getting back at those councilmen for what they tried to do to me. I've got a plan to carry out." She looked at him again, this time with softer eyes and a questioning stare, awaiting his choice.
"I'll… protect Helena..." Zell said with slouched shoulders. "It's the right thing to do, after all. Besides, this might be able to benefit me more than the dead end leads I've been getting so far."
She nodded, "Good man. I know you'll find Donovan one of these days. You and everyone else will make him pay. And like I said before, French cherries are supposed to be some of the best ones to pop. I hear some of them are exceptional."
The Superior stood up and clicked off the screen behind her, and Zell registered what she meant by the earlier remark. He jumped up in outrage and exclaimed, "Oh – Argh! What the hell boss!?"
The Superior burst into a small fit of laughter at the teen's expense. "Relax, Zell. Also, I've got a pilot on standby, so hurry and get ready. She's my best pilot so you'll be there in about a day or so. Bring a suit, weapons, and lots of cash."
Zell shook his head, rolling his eyes in amazement. "Yeah, sure. I'll be heading out soon. You know I don't like to overstock."
The Superior nodded and watched Zell as he left her room. Once the doors cleared and closed again, she slid open a phone and pressed a few buttons before placing the headset to her ear. The phone rang several times before an older woman answered on the other end.
"'Ello?" The older woman's voice had a thick French accent that completed her older, somewhat tired sounding vocals.
"Hello, Maria. I'd like to inform you that your daughter will be under excellent protection in your absence."
The established French Soprano, Maria, chuckled, "Thank you for accepting my request."
"It's honestly a pleasure working for the woman who I'm named after… but are you sure about doing that? I mean, I'm no parent, so maybe you see things differently than I do."
Maria replied, a smile was in her voice, "A mother's love knows no bounds. I'm very proud of Helena, and I'd be willing to give anything to see to her prosperity. I've taken every necessary measure to protect my daughter at this point. And if the need arises, I will be her final line of defense. And in that instant, I want to be sure that she will have someone watching over her so that she might not tread the path of self-destruction. Hearing about her father tore her up inside. I knew, but I had no idea how to rectify her pain."
"This won't make her pain go away, Maria. If anything, it'll make it a lot worse." The Superior tried to gently argue with the woman, there was a hint of concern for the woman as well as the assignment that she'd asked to have completed.
Maria was strong in her resolve. "I don't have a lot of time left anyway. I'm growing more and more ill by the day and the doctors have no idea what the problem is. I'd rather die protecting my child than in some hospital bed somewhere."
The Superior sighed, wiped her face down and let Maria win. "...Alright. Keep your eyes open for a red haired boy. He's a gorgeous shade of chocolate too. Just like a Hershey bar."
"Oh my. He sounds very appealing. Thank you very much for taking my request."
"Again, it's a pleasure. We won't let you down."
The two women said their farewells, and The Superior checked her watch. It was getting late, and it was about time for her to head out to meet with her contact in the Mugen Tenshin village. She walked to a closet near her book shelves and pulled out her ninja attire and began to change.
Her ninja attire consisted of a cream breast wrap, a long sleeved fishnet shirt that reached her palms, puffy black ninja pants with white samurai waist armor, shin guards, tabi socks and sandals. She had twin wazikashi katanas holstered on the back of her waist. She swept her hair back over her shoulders before pulling it into a messy bun with a flared out finish.
"...The plan will be to relieve the head family of some of their heat by putting it on the councilmen themselves… I just need to see which of them will be the easiest, yet most likely, to frame."
Once she was fully dressed and armed, she headed out of her office and onto the roof. After a brief instance of concentration, The Superior leaped into the sky before vanishing and leaving small sapphire snowflakes to descend to the ground.