Love Live: Tales of the Lost Heir

Prologue: Altered Accounts

Moscow, Russia

1600 Hours

Inside the historic walls of the stone fortress known to many as the Kremlin, a lone figure sporting pale blonde hair and an equally pale complexion made his way through the boundary separating the areas where tourists are normally allowed towards the area designated only for authorized personnel. His unremarkable appearance doesn't give of any clues whatsoever that he has ties with the secret world behind the Russian Government since to the average joe, he looked nothing more than any ordinary boy in his late teens. That's why those who caught a glimpse of him entering a door with the sign "Authorized Personnel Only. Violators will be apprehended" written in bold red font were surprised by his brash actions. Some think he was stupid for dismissing such an apparent warning and nonchalantly infiltrating the heart of the Russian Government while others thought he simply had a death wish. But unbeknownst to the commoners who saw him enter that door, he was actually a part of that dark world that had a firm grasp over the motherland. He was a rather high ranking officer too though it might be more appropriate to refer to him as a cleaner. However, he doesn't do conventional janitorial services like the public eye is used to seeing. Once you enter that dark world, you find out immediately that cleaning is just the sugarcoated term they prefer to substitute for the word "assassination". Yes, this unremarkable pale blond teenage boy, known as Sacha Orlenko, is actually the KGB's second best assassin. He had just returned from a job involving the assassination of a terrorist organization's leader that made a crucial mistake of attempting to set foot on the motherland and he was hoping to get a brief reprieve but ever since entering this desolate place, he had a feeling that the tides of luck wouldn't be turning in his favor any time soon.

His hunch was only realized upon entering the office of his superior, Nikola Makovich, the head of the Russian Secret Service, the KGB. As one would expect, the office of the Director was a bit grandiose. Red imported carpets adorned the hardwood floor and silk curtains were covering the windows. Several dark oak shelves were lined up against the walls of the room containing various pieces of literature from across the world, mostly in the field of military tactics and politics. There was even a fireplace behind a mahogany desk with intricate carvings. It had numerous folders containing top secret files on top of it. If a commoner were even to catch a glimpse of those folders, they would be shot on sight.

Sitting on a leather chair behind the desk was the Director of the KGB himself. The gray haired man who was in his late forties didn't even wait for Sacha to start his report. He only beckoned him to place the documents on his desk with apparent urgency.

"Listen, boy. I know we've only been sending you to "cleaning" duties lately but that will soon change with your next assignment. I am confident that you know the story about Grand Duchess Anastasia, right?"

"Everyone in Russia knows about that. Or at least everyone working in its shadows." was Sacha's brief response.

"Fair enough. But the stories were false. The Grand Duchess survived the tragedy that had befallen her family. She had managed to escape her captors, fled the country and lived most of her life in Japan before returning to the motherland when the masses were convinced that she had perished along with her family. We were thoroughly convinced of her death... that is until we found out that our predecessors had assisted in her escape and had covered up the fact that she was aliv-"

" Yeah, yeah. Cut to the chase, old man. What's the Grand Duchess have to do with my next job?"

"Long story short, she returned to the country under an alias and lived the rest of her life in peace. But someone found out that her lineage is still alive. We don't know who the enemy is but we suspect them to be the ultranationalists. Heck, if the old system is brought back, that could cause civil unrest or in the worst case scenario, civil war. We want you to make sure that her descendants are safe and secure until we eliminate the threat to their lives. We've already dispatched agents to keep a look out on possible targets within the motherland but we want you to protect those descendants outside the country. Given that these two are her latest descendants, we suspect that they are the most likely targets. "

"So who are the targets and where are they now?"

Nikola quickly handed over a brown folder to Sacha. It had the words "Confidential" written in red bold Russian characters. Upon opening the folder, he saw a picture of a very beautiful blonde female in her teens and next to her was girl that resembled the former , only that this one had sandy blonde hair instead of a brighter shade of yellow. Both of their beauties were apparent but it was the blonde teenage girl named Ayase Eli that managed to make Sacha's heart skip a beat for a second. It was quite peculiar since he had seen a lot of women in his job and gone out with some of them but he had never experienced such a reaction before. However, as strange as it was, he only dismissed it. It might be coincidental or just some other reason but the mission takes priority over anything else.

It was then that he realized who the older blonde was... how could he had not recognized her at first sight when her group's music was playing on almost every major radio station in Moscow and the entirety of Russia was watching over her every step of the way as the idol group known as Muse won the Idol Competition, Love Live. Ever since they won that competition, Ayase Eli had gained fame not only in Japan but also in her home country.

"I see... so that's how they managed to track down her whereabouts... Fame can be fatal... But there lies one obvious problem with our current predicament, comrade."

"And what's that? Enlighten me, comrade." Nikola asked inquisitively.

"There are two targets. There is one of me. I can only protect one of them at a time. The people after them could pull off something like splitting their forces. One half would make it seem like they're after the one I'm protecting while the other goes for the unguarded target. Who would I have to prioritize to protect?" Sacha asked.

"Oh we have arranged for that. I have a friend that runs a local security agency in japan. After pulling some strings, I convinced him to send one of his best employees to watch over the younger one. " Nikola said confidently as he beamed at the boy.

"Why not just ask for Ichigaya's help?"

"And let them catch a glimpse of our vulnerability? I think not. Besides, the current head of Ichigaya has a few loose screws on his head. I don't want anything to do with that agency until a more... stable leader takes its reins." Nikola insisted.

"I see... I'm assuming you haven't disclosed the entire situation to this... friend of yours."

"No. Of course not. And the only one who has been notified about this job in my friend's agency is the guy he personally selected. "

It might seem a bit unprofessional for the head of the KGB to rely on a local security agency instead of the Japanese Secret Service but Sacha didn't doubt Nikola's decisions. Many consider him as one of the best leaders the KGB ever had, himself included. He has a ton of respect for the old man, almost as much as how he respects his sister.

"Alright... When do I depart?"

"Immediately. We've already arranged everything from your gear to your transportation. We also have your alias setup. You're using your real name but you're working as a bodyguard for a rival security agency. It's perfect too since we already received word that a certain producer has been making phone calls to various security agencies in japan to get some bodyguards for that idol group when they go on tour. It's not yet official but if he manages to convince those school idols to go on tour, you could get closer to the target this way without drawing too much suspicion. " Nikola explained in an excited manner as evidenced by the glint in his eyes and the grin plastered to his face"

"Understood. Then I shall take my leave" Sacha said as he bowed politely to the head of the KGB before leaving his office.

Shortly after Sacha had left, a tall woman with blonde hair tied neatly into a ponytail entered the old man's office.

"If you're looking for your little brother, he just left for another mission." Nikola muttered to the blonde flatly, not even allowing her to speak first.

"I'm well aware of that, Nikola. I came here to remind you of your promise..." the blonde said in a grudging tone.

"Of course, of course. If Sacha succeeds in this one, then this shall be his final mission. Well, the end result will always lead to this one being his final assignment. The only thing is, if he's really gonna but heads with the ultranationalists, then this may very well be his final mission." He mused.

"Tch... I only agreed to becoming a 5-Digit agent if you'd let him go after his 13th mission." The blonde interjected.

"13th successful mission is what I had said. If he fails and survives then he just has to complete some other mission. The result is always important. The means can be overlooked if the favorable result is achieved. And the favorable result we want in a situation like this is ensuring either one of the siblings survive. Then the lineage of the Grand Duchess could continue. Of course, it would be much better if both of them were to survive but ensuring at least one of them does is our top priority, Natasha Orlenko"

"I'd also remind you that you turned me into Russia's best assassin, Nikola. I can kill whoever I want, whenever I want, where ever I want and if you don't make good with your promise, I have a bullet with your name on it." Natasha warned.

"Are you threatening your commanding officer, 13666?!" Nikola exclaimed.

"That isn't a threat..." Natasha turned away from Nikola and started towards the door. Just before she left, she finished what she was saying. " ...that's a promise."

KGB Department of Advanced Research and Technology

Instead of immediately heading to the airport, Sacha took a detour towards the Department of Advanced Research and Technology to pick up a few tools that could aid him in ensuring that the mission is a success.

An old man with unkempt gray hair quickly approached Sacha upon seeing him in his field of vision. He was wearing a white lab coat stained with various splotches from chemicals.

"Ah.. Sacha. I've already prepared everything you'll need for this mission. Since you'll be acting as a bodyguard, I'll be giving you two kinds of guns: A standard PMS and our state of the art DART Stinger. It shoots a variety of darts ranging from tranquilizers to shock darts. I recommend that you use this on a regular basis instead of the PMS if you ever encounter a threat in a generally populated area or in front of any of the girls to prevent any unnecessary side effects like scarring them for life. Though that doesn't mean you aren't allowed to kill. Just make sure there are no witnesses. We're leaving it up to you to take any course of action that you deem necessary to ensure the target's safety."

Sacha nodded solemnly at the scientist's words. He didn't mind killing others anymore, no. By now, it was already second nature to him. It was as easy as drawing breath and what's terrifying is that he no longer feels any remorse when he takes a life. That was how he was trained... to be a well-oiled killing machine deployed protect and preserve the motherland's interests.

"Roger that. Is there anything else? Knowing you, Professor Makarov, this isn't the only toy you have for me, right?" Sacha asked inquisitively.

"Well of course! If that's the only thing we have to offer, they'd be cutting our budget in half." the eccentric old scientist protested before fumbling his hands inside his coat pocket. It took a while for him to sort what he wanted to give to Sacha from all the rubbish in his pocket but he finally retrieved several button cell devices and several metallic spheres that were no bigger than a marble. However, Sacha had already used those metallic spheres in the past and they shouldn't be taken lightly.

"This little thing here that resembles a button is actually a state of the art tracking device. Upon contact with any form of clothing, it replicates the appearance of the fabric and blends with it making the device virtually undetectable to anyone including the target.

It's also waterproof and is virtually indestructible. I call it the chameleocator. And I believe you've already gotten acquainted with the spider bombs. Of course, we already prepared a safe house for you stocked with all the previous equipment you've utilized before in case you needed to make use of them again." The scientist says quite pleased with himself. " Now is there anything else you need?"

"No. The items you gave me should suffice for now. I appreciate it, doc." Sacha says reassuringly and bows in gratitude.

"Alright then. You better get going. Go and busts some skulls for me, my boy."

"Will do." Sacha waves to the scientist before leaving for a special designated airport exclusive for the use of government agents. A luxurious black Lamborghini was waiting for him outside the Kremlin and posted on the driver's seat was a beautiful blonde girl wearing sunglasses and a black suit.

"Want a lift?" The blonde said casually as if talking to a friend.

"Normally, I'll downright refuse but since I am in a hurry, I'll take you up on that offer... sis." Sacha said after letting out an exasperated sigh.

"Don't worry. You're not being a bother. I'm on my way to the airport too. I'm visiting a friend overseas. "

"You have friends?"

"Hey, that's pretty rude! Even though I'm Russia's greatest agent, that doesn't mean I'm not allowed to make friends."

"I see. I do remember, that girl, Aiko being one of your friends but the last time I checked, she was your only friend." Sacha says nonchalantly, much to his sister's chagrin.

"FOR YOUR INFORMATION, THE FRIEND I'M TALKING ABOUT WILL BE YOUR FUTURE BROTHER-IN-LAW!" Natasha exclaimed in protest.

"Either that's the best excuse you can come up to stalk me in another one of my missions or the guy isn't even aware of it."

"Kuu... you really know how to get on a woman's nerves. You'll die a bachelor at this rate." Natasha protested.

"Like I have any time for things such as romance. I already know that I won't have any luck in that department. Anyways, I pressume this guy you're talking about is in the same line of work as the two of us. Don't be too much of a bother to him, okay?"

"Kuu... being lectured by my younger brother. Have I already failed at being the older sibling?"

"You just realized that? I knew you were dense but I didn't know it was this severe... God bless thy poor soul"

That seemed to land the finishing blow for Natasha's whining as she released a tired sigh of defeat.

"Muu... I get it. I get it! I'll behave myself. But you better take care of yourself too, okay?"

"Will do. "

Awkward moments of silence pass by between the two siblings as they drove to the airport. They weren't too close to each other as they were when they were young to begin with but after a series of circumstances that forced both of them to be indebted to the Motherland and become KGB operatives, the gap between them seems to have only gotten wider with each passing day.

"So I saw the target you're assigned to protect. She's a real beauty too. Will she finally be able to crack the iron walls that are covering your heart." Natasha said in a playful tone.

"So you were stalking me after all."

"Ugeh! Th-that's beside the point! If someone's gonna steal my cute little brother from Onee-chan, then she has to pass my qualifications!" Natasha exclaimed to hide her embarrassment.

"You know, guys generally don't like it when you call them cute. Besides, since when did you have those standards? Aren't you being a little overprotective. Do you think your little brother falls in love with every beautiful girl he's assigned to protect?" Throughout this, Sacha maintains his calm and composed tone. He had already gone accustomed to Natasha's teasing that he's practically immune to it by now.

"Ohoho. So you do find her beautiful. I see. I see! Interesting." Natasha grins excitedly as if she was a struggling journalist who just found the next big scoop.

"You know, if we weren't related, I would have already asked you to be my girlfriend already." Sacha says in his usual nonchalant demeanor but his sister's reaction to it was far from discreet.

"Waah... Sacha, that's not fair! You know I'm specially weak to your teasing~ If my maiden heart completely falls for you, you're taking responsibility~" Natasha says affectionately. She abandons control of the vehicle, sending it towards oncoming traffic just to glomp her younger brother.

"Natasha, the wheel!"

Had not for Sacha's quick reflexes, their lambo would have collided against a huge fuel tanker resulting in a multi-million dollar explosion.

"You can glomp me all you want on the plane. But for the love of God, focus on the damn road!" Sacha exclaimed.

"Hehe~ I'll be looking forward to that, Sa~chan." Natasha says teasingly which instantly made the blonde male regret his words Whatever happens, he was certain that he was in for a long flight.