C1: Little Raven

"Even at such a young age, she had such eyes that set her apart from any other person I had ever seen in my entire life."

“That was a good thing, right?”

The man didn’t respond, but the complete silence was enough to take for an answer.

—

Little Raven.

"I'm done with my mission." 

Inside a wide and luxurious office, decorated with the scheme of both the colors dark blue and silver, is a man in his 30's, wearing reading glasses and a gray suit. He has been smiling nonstop towards the young person sitting leisurely in front of him. The man's eyes are bent into a crescent shape, making it hard to distinguish the color of his orbs. His chin was resting on the palm of his right hand, as his head was slightly tilted to the side.

He's already a man in his thirties, yet he appears to be in his late twenties. No signs of aging can be seen on his face as he radiates that warm and outgoing aura that makes it easy for others to get comfortable around him. He very much seems like the type of guy who's extremely affable and fun to be with as a company. Not to mention that he has the type of beauty that is considered warm and gentle, which was pleasing to the eye. 

The man was diametrically opposed to the other person in the room.

The person in a casual outfit could be seen sitting directly in front of him, dressed in tattered jeans and a white hoodie with half of his face covered with a white mask. This made it hard to tell what the person's gender was. He has his eyes closed while sitting on a cushioned chair with one leg draped over the other. 

Even his sitting posture exudes laziness with a tinge of sexiness, as both his palms were resting at the back of his head, which was slightly tilted to the back. The outsole of his Converse shoe rhythmically tapped on the white tile as he attentively listened to the music the headphones wrapped around his head produced. 

"At this point, I'm already tired of complimenting you on a job well done. To be honest, I'm starting to get irritated. How about you take a break for a few weeks? Hmm? I'll let you take a leave." said the man jokingly in an eager voice as he clasped his hands together. You could clearly sense that he was pampering the other person when he spoke as warm and gently as possible. Even though he said that he was irritated, there wasn't even a hint of it in his tone. 

However, the young man didn't respond, which clearly shows his disinterest. 

The man pursed his lips as his shoulders dropped in dissatisfaction. However, he did not give up. He could only change his method of persuasion. "Have you heard of the newly opened beach resort island somewhere in the north? Why don't you take a break now that you've been working nonstop for the past few months? A beach vacation would be nice for you to ease some of your stress. Give the other members some cases to solve. You're selfishly hauling all of them."

"Who asked you to worry about me? Thanks, but I prefer to do nothing else aside from my missions."

The young man replied in a low voice. Not a hint of warmth can be sensed in his tone. It was distant, cold, and very unwelcoming. It is the type that could be considered either that of a man or a woman with a low pitch. A very neutral but held an icy-cold tone type of voice. 

The previous light atmosphere was easily replaced by a heavy one as the young man stood up, not right after giving Mr. Black a quick side glance, which the latter didn't notice. His headphones were now dangling around his neck as his eyes were once again shut. He began to walk towards the door in an unhurried manner, both his palms now inside his pockets.

"Raven." The young man subconsciously stops in his tracks when the man calls him out with an equally cold tone, replacing the warm voice from before. The young man’s eyelids fluttered open as his sharp pair of brown eyes blankly stared upfront.

The man in the gray suit was no longer smiling, yet his orbs were still hidden.

"You are forbidden to take any more missions starting from this day onwards without my permission. This includes stepping somewhere near the premise of my agency. That is an order." Helplessness then slowly spread on the man’s face as he added a sentence, "No matter how hard you try to hide it, I know that you're injured. Don't head to the Mission Board anymore, and quickly go home." 

The young man stayed silent, then he shrugged his shoulders. "Thanks, old man. I guess." He raised his right hand to wave right before he proceeded to walk towards the door. A loud yawn escaped his lips as he shut the door behind him. Leaving nothing but complete silence and a speechless figure of the gray suited man.

"Still stubborn and emotionless as ever," the man commented before sighing as he remove his glasses. Seemingly used to everything that just had happened. He reached for his handkerchief inside his chest pocket and started wiping its lenses clean. He slowly leaned back on his swivel chair as he thought about how to convince the young man to quit even if it's nearly impossible. 

"May this humble one speak, sir?" A guy in his 20's asked politely. He was there the whole time standing beside the man, witnessing in disguised displeasure at the interaction of his boss and the young fella. He was the new secretary that was appointed by the man himself just a few weeks ago, and it's his first time to witness how a person under his boss treats him in such utter disrespect. 

The man smiled, "I already told you multiple times, stop speaking so formally. It makes me feel old." 

"I apologize. My passion for working with you doesn't allow me to do so. Please, let this one go." the secretary bowed, his right hand pressed on his left chest with utmost respect.

"Sometimes I feel like you're more of a butler rather than a secretary of mine." the man sighed once again, yet he smiled slightly and spoke with absolute gentleness, "You might be wondering why I let that stubborn child speak to me like that. "

The secretary didn't respond, and merely raised his head as he stared solemnly at his boss.

The man's eyelids slightly fluttered open, revealing that dark pair of brown eyes that were filled with softness and warmth as he reminisced in his memories. 

"That child has been with me for a long time, and I'm all familiar with how she acts. She may appear rude and arrogant, but in reality she has simply lost the ability to feel certain emotions anymore, that results from her indifferent personality. Deep inside that child, is a person who was stripped off of the rights to grow up like any other normal kid. At her age, she should be enjoying her college life with friends and parties but here she is, busy dyeing her hands with human blood." His expression then turns slightly dark. His eyes are once again shut. "She may seem disrespectful, but that child has never disobeyed my orders and throws an unnecessary fit."

The secretary was shocked. He went still right after the man spoke and hurriedly asked, "Sir, please pardon me if this may appear to be a rude question to ask…" 

"Go on."

The secretary gulped. "T-that person, is a woman?" 

Noticing his secretary's bewilderment, the man was quick to understand. He chuckled softly, "Is it that hard to tell? Because of her identity as Raven, she decided to live concealing her gender. No one would expect that Raven would be a woman, and no one had confirmed her identity either." 

The man will never forget the day that he met her. She was just a child. Her body was so skinny and dirty that she looked like a beggar. But her eyes were extraordinary, an ocean blue ombre. Who wouldn't be shocked and fascinated with such peculiar colors? Despite the coldness that it emits, it already held the fire that no normal child should have. A passion, determination, and power that the man has a deep impression of. At that moment, the child spoke. 

Even though her voice was that of a child, the words that emitted out of that little mouth of hers weren't. 

"Old man, I know what you want."

He couldn't help but raise a brow with her sudden statement, but nonetheless crouched right in front of her after dismissing his guards. 

He replied, "Oh? Mind telling this mister what that may be?"

It was just to entertain her a bit, while also trying to observe the color of her eyes from a much closer distance. 

The little kid didn't respond immediately. Instead, she mirrored his actions. She observed him, and then to the guards standing behind them, their backs facing Little Raven. She then leaned forward and whispered. "You need someone more powerful that could protect you."

It was absurd. The man already inherited the rights to govern the organization at that moment, he has a large amount of people below him, why would he need some more protection? Furthermore, he's a professional himself. 

He didn't expect that the little kid was able to sense his thoughts and spot the hint of ludicrousness in his eyes. She added, slowly but firmly. "They are not as strong as me. I could be a big help to you. Much more bigger than those weaklings that's guarding you. Obviously, they are useless as they can't even sense the lurking threat at your 3 o'clock. Foolishly hiding at the rooftop of the Sky Building."

Once again, she had succeeded in shocking him, but it doesn't mean he believed what she had said. 

"Of course, you wouldn't believe me. As someone who should be much more capable, you really couldn't tell that a sniper is pointing a gun on your stupid head?"

At such a young age, Little Raven already has such a sharp tongue in contrast to her innocent appearance. 

"I beg to differ, sir. It doesn't change the fact that that person is, at the very end, working under you. The organization's protocol clearly states that all persons working under it shall devote their entire life to the organization. Which equally means that they belong to you too, our boss."

The man was forced to stop his line of thoughts when he heard his secretary. His eyes show vivid dissatisfaction. 

"That's an old protocol of the organization that I merely follow since it's been handed down from generation to generation. But it doesn't mean that I agree with it. I do not own any of the people working under me nor the children under the organization I am governing, Dale. Even though all of them are killers, I wouldn't use them for my personal gain." He responds in a stern voice.

"However, still--"

"You'll get to know her soon enough. She's actually a very sweet and sincere child. I'm pretty sure both of you will get along really well. " The man put his eyeglasses back and smiled warmly once again. His actions clearly show that he no longer would like to continue the argument. 

"And besides, her actions are not that obnoxious to the point of being reprimanded anyway. Just let the child be." He added as he fixed his suit, planning to get back to work with the pile of documents placed over his desk.

The man stiffened as he remembered how his little girl still hadn't gotten rid of her habit of calling him 'Old Man' after raising her for years. Not only that, he also wasn't able to fix her quiet and unsociable attitude. 

The young secretary sighed as he bobbed his head. "I understand, sir."

"Now now, would you please pass these files to Sir Roel in the IT department? Thank you."

Dale reached for the two documents as he bowed, before walking his way out of the door.

As soon as the secretary left, the man rested his chin on his intertwined palms. His expression turns serious and his glasses become misty, making it hard to identify what's brewing inside his head.

The brilliant rays of the sun made their way inside the luxurious office through the glass panel, shining directly at the metallic nameplate that is placed above the man's desk, in which a name was written in golden ink and cursive font.

JAMES BLACK III

XK AGENCY'S CEO