SA: Yay! Chapter 1! Finally! I hope everyone enjoys it! And I can’t wait for The Rise of Scourge to come out. I’m really curious what they’re going to do about a character that ruthless in an English manga…

Chapter 1

Daybreak

Sergei Varishikov, now a junior Agent of the famed Russian KGB, found himself taking a detour through the campus of his old school, Moscow University, on his way back to his house.

Ever since he had joined the Communist Party, Sergei had enjoyed a comfortable lifestyle—a home in one of the most desirable parts of Moscow, access to the best grocery stores, and practically first choice of any woman in the country that suited his fancy.

However, love, needless to say, wasn’t very high on Sergei’s priority list. The KGB and the Communist Party practically dominated his life by now, but he was happy.

With any luck, he could reach the highest levels of the KGB someday soon.

Sergei breathed in the cold spring air, enjoying the beautiful weather around him. The long Russian winter was finally ending. Knowing this refreshed and comforted him somehow.

Walking across that campus that day was how he met her for the first time. Sergei first noticed her because she was tall and seemed to stand out among the many students that were out and walking around Moscow University’s campus.

She was tall but slim, had short blonde hair and gentle, yet gutsy green eyes. She appeared to be a senior in college, only a few years younger than Sergei himself. She carried a textbook in one arm and a small white bag in the other. She was walking with her friend, a short, petite brown-haired young woman. The two girls were walking back to their apartment, it seemed.

Sergei tried to ignore them and just continue on with his own business, but he found himself unable to look away from the two college friends as they continued to tread the same path that Sergei needed to take to get back to his house.

Neither girl noticed him, however. And to Sergei’s surprise, they entered the small apartment complex that had been built about a year ago that just so happened to be built right next to Sergei’s small home.

Sergei just regarded the building with a slight ‘huh’ before entering his own house. He wondered why he had never seen her before.

Sergei was currently not on any missions for the KGB yet, so he decided to take this day to grocery shop. Although he had access to some of the finest grocery stores in downtown Moscow because of his position in the Communist Party, he had decided not to take his expensive, black imported Mercedes Benz into downtown Moscow traffic at this time of day. What he needed could easily be bought at the small neighborhood grocery store down the street from his house.

So Sergei set off, still wearing a thick jacket since the north winds were still quite chilly that morning.

He did notice, however, that the young blonde-haired woman that he had seen yesterday was walking behind him, but at a distance.

Sergei smiled slightly, but continued on his way. That was, until he rounded a corner and he heard a scream from behind the corner in the direction that he had just come from.

Alarmed, Sergei whirled around and hurried back towards her. If there was something wrong, as a member of the KGB, it was his responsibility to protect law-abiding citizens.

The man that had attacked her was in his thirties. He held a knife in his hand. “Communist bitch! Long live the Czar!”

Sergei snarled, analyzing the situation. If only he had his sniper rifle nearby. It would have been child’s play to shoot the knife out of his hand at this distance. At this moment, the thought passed through his mind, “You’ve always had such a weakness for beautiful women.” But Sergei ignored that little voice then.

As the mugger raised the knife high, Sergei decided that he had no other choice. Selflessly, he dove in front of the young woman, getting his right arm cut by the knife himself. He winced slightly, but using his strength that he had gained due to his military service, he was able to pull the knife away from the mugger.

He then glared at the culprit, holding his bleeding arm and wincing only slightly. He would have to work on his poker face. “Look, buddy. Politics right now have nothing to do with how you should treat a young woman. So you either beat it or I call the MVD.”

That was when the girl did something that Sergei did not expect. Almost viciously, she lashed out at the powerless man on the ground, kicking him in between the legs. “Son of a bitch!” she spat.

Sergei was, needless to say, shocked. “You’ve got some guts,” he regarded the young woman as the mugger painfully scampered away.

She looked him in the eye. “I must thank you for saving me. But I think that I can handle myself. I’ve been trained to defend myself, I was simply waiting for the right opportunity.”

Sergei was impressed. He had always liked strong, gutsy women. “My name is Sergei Varishikov,” he introduced himself.

Her gaze then softened as she realized that he wasn’t a threat. “Natasha. Natasha Karsavina.”

“It’s a strong, beautiful name,” Sergei commented.

“My parents thought so,” she shrugged. “But I don’t know.”

“Are you a student at Moscow University?” Sergei asked.

“Is this an interrogation?” Natasha asked sarcastically.

Sergei smiled and shook his head. “No, you see, I went there myself. I graduated two years ago.”

Natasha nodded in understanding, seeming somehow drawn to this strange, rather huge man that had rescued her. “Where were you going?” she questioned.

“Oh, just to the grocery store down the street,” he responded. He then looked at his injured arm. “But I think I’d better go home and treat this first. It might look a little odd to walk into a grocery store with blood gushing down my arm.”

That was when Natasha seemed to first notice the injury. “Why don’t I take you back to my apartment? It’s closer than your house.”

Sergei smiled. “Thank you for the invitation.”

With that, they walked back down the street to her apartment, entering and taking the newly installed elevator to her room on the top floor.

“Not bad,” was Sergei’s first impression of the room as he walked in. It was rather large for an apartment room.

“Well, I get by,” Natasha smiled, digging out a first aid kit. “Now hold still and I’ll bandage this up. It’s the least I can do to repay you.”

Sergei, even though he was quite capable of caring for the wound himself, allowed this younger woman to clean and bandage the knife wound. It hadn’t been very deep—it had simply bled a lot.

“Thank you,” he said when she had finished. He then came right out and said it. “I think you’re beautiful, Natasha.”

“You’re welcome,” Natasha blushed slightly, realizing that this man was hitting on her. But then again, she seemed drawn to him too, as if there was some force out there that had destined them to meet.

“Would you like to go out to dinner on Friday night?” Sergei offered. “I can take us downtown to some of the finer restaurants.”

Natasha looked at him. “You’re a member of the Communist Party, aren’t you?” There was slight hostility in her voice.

“You’re not?” Sergei questioned, not really allowing this to cloud his judgment on her.

“No. I was raised as a White Russian,” she said. “My father was executed because he remained loyal to the Czar. My mother has forever been shunned as well. I’ve lived my life in secret, trying to hide my true heritage and feelings. But for some reason, even if you are from Red Russia, I fell as though I can trust you. But the real question is, can you trust me?”

“That still doesn’t change my invitation,” Sergei reminded her. “I don’t care what your background is. What matters is you as a person, Natasha.”

Natasha seemed hesitant, but finally accepted. “All right. Friday?”

“Friday,” Sergei affirmed with a small smile as he left.