Chapter 2: Mission Impossible?
“Now Aria, I believe your mission was a success right? 30% of your fee was already deducted as per usual for the commission of the organization. You killed the US Minister of Defense as per your orders, so out of 5 million you were going to receive that percentage of our commission was already deducted and the rest were transferred to your bank account. But, do tell me, do you have even a vague idea of what the word subtle means?” the Boss asked.
“This word has many meanings: 1. not immediately obvious or comprehensible
2. difficult to detect or analyse, often through being delicate or highly refined, 3. showing or capable of showing or making fine distinctions of meaning,
4. marked by or requiring mental acuteness or ingenuity, 5. delicate or faint
6. cunning or wily, 7. operating or executed in secret” Aria casually responded, as if reciting a dictionary.
“ I seem so you knew what the word meant. I guess you are not a total moron. Now explain to me, how killing the Minister of Defence along with ten of his bodyguards and causing damages worth several millions to nearby properties is you being subtle.”, he asked in obvious disapproval.
“I don’t understand. Is the client displeased?” Aria asked perplexed.
The boss took a sip from his glass of brandy, he was holding it so tightly with his hand, that it was close to breaking. He needed to calm his nerves if he was to continue talking with her.
“No Aria, the client was not displeased at all. In fact he was pleased beyond his expectations with the outcome. You have managed to create doubts about national security. New weapons will be purchased, new surveillance systems will be ordered and installed and the fact that the attack was rumoured to be the work of terrorists can even be used as an excuse for the Americans to launch a war somewhere. ”
“ So , what’s the problem then? I believe you should be congratulating me and not scolding me for a job well done.” Aria said.
“You idiot, you just don’t get it do you? Receiving a contract to simply kill one guy, doesn’t mean you have to start WWIII to complete it!!!! You were lucky this time for the client was a displeased contractor for the government. But what are you going to do next time?” he started yelling, the glass on his hand thrown into the fireplace in rage.
“I am tired of cleaning up after your mess Aria. You are like a rabid dog, you have no subtlety, no finesse, no elegance. How many times have I told you that being an assassin for the Black Lotus means doing the job avoiding all unnecessary attention? But do you listen to me? No sir!!!You just keep doing things like you always do. You are a woman and yet you behave like a bull in a china shop! This has got to stop Aria! Yor hear me? IT’T GOT TO STOP! If things remain as they are, you can forget about receiving a job that will require a woman’s finesse to be completed! The YOU right now, is a threat, not only to yourself, but mostly for the organization. You need to change!”
“ I just don’t get it! Why are you yelling at me? Am I not already ranked No 3? Have I not fulfilled all of my contracts with success? I am not bringing huge amounts of cash to the organization? What more do you want from me? A job that will require “a woman’s finesse”? Ha, don’t make me laugh! Do you expect me to seduce some guy first so I can kill him later? You can hire a hooker for that! Why even bother, when I can just sink a bullet through his eyes with my sniper’s rifle or place a bomb under his car?” Aria stood up from the sofa and started yelling in return to her Boss.
“You see Crow? Do you see what your pupil has become? She even dares to raise her voice to me! ME! She has no common sense, if she did, she would understand by now that I am not someone you can yell at!” he said to Crow who just sat there silently.
“Your life is in my hands child! Remember it! I can end you with a snap of my fingers! Now get your ass and sit down!”
Aria just stood there in defiance, before a hand grabbed her arm and in a low voice Crow warned her,
“Sit down Aria and listen to what the Boss has to say to you. Just sit down and listen!”
Aria, though unwillingly, followed her Master’s orders and sat back down, although her displeasure was quite obvious by the scowl on her face.
“Good. I see that you still have a bit of control on her. As I was saying before, the way Aria is right now, she can never take up on jobs that will involve getting closer to a target or that will require a certain degree of elegance. Our agency deals not only with assassination but with gathering intel as well. How is she ever going to achieve a task like that? What she lacks the most, is common sense. Maybe it is because she never socialized with girls her age, maybe it’s because she was never taught how to behave like a lady, I don’t know. But, what I do know though, is that all that can be fixed easily.”
“How so?” Crow asked curiously, thus interrupting Aria who was ready to protest.
“The only way to deal with her dire situation, is to send her off to an all girls school, where she will be taught all the things she currently lacks. I have already made arrangements for her to be transferred tomorrow to one of Tokyo’s oldest most renowned school for ladies, Saint Mary’s catholic school. That is the place where the richest and most prominent families in all Japan send their daughters to and that is where Aria will also attend.”
“No, I will not go there! I am not even Catholic for fuck’s sake! Why do I need to attend some school when I can hire some tutor to teach me what is needed to be taught!There is no reason to send me there!” she screamed like a child.
“Indeed, we could always hire some tutor for you to teach you, but I do believe that attending a school , abiding to its rules and socializing with girls your age will be more beneficial to your case.”
“I am not going to go there, I have things to do here! You can’t send me there against my will!”
“Crow!!!!!” the Boss yelled and upon hearing his bark, Crow swiftly knocked Aria out with a single blow on the neck, thus ending any objections on her part.
“ I understand Boss, I do believe that sending her there would be for the best. Leave it to me, I will take care of it.”
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“I knew I can count on you Crow. Now take her and go to the Intel room for debriefing. Documents on her background story have already been prepared. Her tuitions will be paid by us. Housing and living expenses have already been arranged for her.”
Crow lifted Aria in his arms and was ready to head out the door when the Boss spoke one last time
“Oh and Crow, it’s needless to say that she must not cause any troubles while being there, nor get any attention, right? What I expect from her, is to at least graduate from that place. It will take her about two years to achieve that since she will be attending as a sophomore. We will cover all of her expenses during that time. After all, the cost is nothing when it comes to turning her from a huge liability, to the world’s 1st female No 1 assassin. ”
Aria’s room.
With a slap to the face, Aria was brought back to consciousness. Slightly disoriented on her surroundings, she came to realize that she was on her bed, in her room, in one of the hotel’s suites.
“What was that for Crow? Couldn’t you just wake me up regularly and why did you have to knock me out when I was talking with Boss?”
Crow was sitting on a chair near her bed. His face serious:
“The Boss was right Aria. You lack common sense, you don’t know how to behave like a girl at all and it’s all my fault. I was so eager to teach you the things that would keep you alive, that I neglected to teach you about things that all girls think are common sense. Not that I would been able to even if I tried, since I am a man, but I should have at least made sure that you received some female guidance somehow. Alas, your mother was gone when you were still young, if it wasn’t so, she would have taught you some things that all mothers teach their daughters.”
“Crow if you are going to start the birds and the bees talk, then I am going to kick your ass!”
“No, I am not going to talk to you about that Aria, what I do want you to understand, is that you going to school with girls your own age, is a one in a life opportunity for you. It’s the closest thing that you will get to leading a normal life. It’s going to be an experience that will change you forever, you will meet new people, maybe even open your heart and make friends. Besides, the things taught there like dancing, cooking, etiquette and other stuff like that are all things that will give you a certain allure as a female. Who knows, maybe you might even become a woman that can bewitch any man or woman.”
“First of all Crow, I am not gay. Second, the skills that I will acquire by attending that school are nothing to be proud over. I am fine the way I am right now, I don’t need to change and I don’t want to. Besides, I have still things to do outside, I am not done yet with my revenge.”
“Aria, let me rephrase it then for you ,so maybe it will become more clear to you. The boss ordered you to go there, it doesn’t matter what you want, THIS is his order. You must obey otherwise who knows what he’s going to do. If he issues an order for your head, then the whole organization will turn against you and I am afraid I will not be able to protect you from all of them, even if I try. Even if I think that this will be a good chance for you, if you don’t want to do it, then it’s up to you in the end. But, I highly advise you Aria… just go there and lay low for some time, lets say a couple of months. I will do my best to calm the boss by then and ask him to get you back. I am not asking you to graduate from that place for god’s sake! Just lay low for a little bit, don’t cause any troubles while there and you’ll see, pretty soon you’ll be back in action.”
“I really don’t want to go Crow but okay, I will go since it’s you asking me so nicely. But you better make sure it’s going to be only for a couple of months okay? You know I am not known for my patience…”
“Right, right, Aria-chan!” Crow said happily his rarely seen childish behavior back on.
“And don’t call me Aria-chan!”
“Ok, ok, now let’s get you debriefed, after that it’s bed time for you missy. You’ve got school tomorrow!”
“You’ve got to be fucking kidding me!.” Aria muttered, sluggishly following her Master.
Intel room
Reaching the intel room via the elevator, Crow and Aria were lead by one of the staff working there to a small office, where a pale looking man wearing eyeglasses could be seen glued to the monitor of his pc, madly typing commands in, god’s knows, what program.
The man although at the age of 20-30 had huge black circles below his eyes, due to sleep deprivation. Although young, the early signs of baldness where clear by the lack of hair on his head. He was skinny and pale, obviously from spending too many time indoors and due to lack of physical exercise All and all he was the nerdy type. Many cans of Red bull could be seen in the trashcan by his desk, surely to make him keep up with his load of work.
He was so engrossed in his work, that he didn’t even notice the duo that had just entered his office.
With a loud cough by Crow his gaze fell upon them.
“Oh Master Crow, Mistress Aria-sama, I didn’t see you there, I am so sorry! Please take a sit! My name’ s Daisuke by the way, (Japanese name meaning "great helper”)” he said while motioning to the chairs in front of his desk “and I will give you all the necessary information about this mission.”
Grabbing two large vanilla envelopes, he passed them to both Aria and Crow. Crow on his part was confused as to why he was also given a file, so he asked:
“ Why am I given a file as well? I thought this was supposed to be solely about Aria.”
“Oh, didn’t the Boss tell you that you are part of Aria-sama’s background story? Judging by the look on your face Master Crow, I can tell that he didn’t. So allow me to inform you that you will pose as Aria’s father.”
“What the hell???” both Aria and Crow exclaimed, before again simultaneously speaking, yet the words coming from the mouths were totally different.
“Who would want that old geezer for a father?”
“Aria-chan will be my daughter?”