Now is the time for fighting!
Bounty Seven
Chapter Two: Bounty Hunter, Part 2
Among the things Siegfried kept in his bag were medical supplies. Tying a bandage around the crew member's head wound, he stepped back and motioned down the hallway he had come down. "Alright, you should be fine now. Now, go back to the hold and stay there."
The man looked hesitant. "But what are you going to do, ki-"
Siegfried held up a finger.
"...Sir?" the crewmember finished lamely.
"I'm going to go get rid of the pirates up on deck. Now go hide, unless you feel like getting in my way." Siegfried stated bluntly.
"...Right. Sure," the ticket man muttered, walking away. "Ass."
"I am not an ass."
"What the?" the man looked back, but Siegfried was gone. He shook his head. "Great, now I'm hearing things. This job sucks."
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Up on deck, high above on the mast, the woman felt the prescence enter her mind again.
"Anything new?"
"They've tied the captain to the mast. They must have thought they were supposed to."
"Hm."
"I assume you handled the ones that came down to you?"
"Of course. You'll soon find I can handle myself quite well, miss."
"...And what do you mean by that?"
"Oh, nothing..."
She pursed her lips, but thought nothing back in response. She looked over the deck once more.
"You don't intend to come right out onto the deck, do you? It's filled with them, and with the location of the stairs you would be in direct view of them all."
"Hm. That is a problem."
There was silence for a few moments, and then he returned. "I'm going to need you to be my eyes. If you wouldn't mind, that is?"
She nodded, even though he couldn't see it. "Of course. My eyes are like that of an eagle's, so such a thing is a simple task."
"They don't have to be like an eagle's. Just tell me what's on the deck. Besides the pirates of course, miss."
As she relayed the information to him, she couldn't see the smirk growing on his face.
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"Hey, where are those two guys that went down into the hold?"
One of the pirates who was loitering near the stairs down into the deck looked up and over at the one who had spoken up, and shrugged. "I dunno. Maybe they found something fun to entertain themselves, eh?" He grinned knowlingly.
"Wouldn't we hear it, though?" the first one replied, scratching his head.
"Who cares? You really think anything happened to 'em? Who'd have the balls to mess with the Frontier Pirates?"
"I dunno. I've heard some weird shit about the kind of stuff that goes on in this stretch of the ocean. You never know what kind of guys you're gonna run into, even on a normal ship like this."
"Bah!" the first pirate sneered. "Those are exactly that; stories! People always talk about how the Grand Line is so dangerous, but we've been out here for more than a month and it's been nothin' but easy pickings!"
"I guess..."
"'Guess', nothing! What do you expect to happen, some superstrong guy to just show up and kick our heads in?" He snorted, looking away. "Idi - AH!"
As a throbing pain shot through the pirate's side, he looked to the deck to see a wooden club lying there, just like the ones they used. He looked to the pirate he'd spoken with to see that his was missing. He glared darkly. "Oh, look at the tough guy, huh? You think that's funny!?"
The other pirate held up his hands placatingly. "It- it wasn't me! It just moved by itself, I swear!"
"I'll teach you to mess with me!"
Without waiting for any explanations, he rushed at the other pirate and tackled him to the ground, raining blows upon his hapless comrade. Across the ship, similar occurences began to occur, as the pirates were hit with their friend's weapons and began brawling with each other. This continued until all of the pirates were engaged in a melee across the deck.
In the middle of all this, Siegfried walked calmly out on to the deck. Stepping easily around the shifting groups of fighting pirates, he walked up to the mast, which the captain and his first mate, who were now staring in amazement.
Siegfried bowed slightly, and offered a charming smile. "Hello, captain. My name is Siegfried, and as luck would have it, I happen to be a bounty hunter. You seem to have an infestation of pirates aboard your vessel, and as such, I am willing to offer my services to you, free of charge. Not including whatever bounty heads this crew has, if any. I do have to make a living."
Captain Tenille blinked. "Free?" he grunted. The pirate's beating had bruised his throat slightly, so it was hard to talk. "You're sure you're a bounty hunter?"
Siegfried chuckled slightly. "Well, at least your sense of humor isn't part of your injuries. And yes, I am. I have some business in the next island over, and this boarding is putting me behind schedule. Besides, I likely would have ended up being drawn into the fight either way, the way things were going. So, can I take that your answer is a yes?"
Tenille let out a loud cough, and then looked Siegfried. "Alright, then, if you think you can take care of these pirates all by yourself, then go right ahead, son. But it won't be my problem if you suddenly discover that it's more than you can handle. I've seen bounty hunters who boasted like this before turn yellow at the first sign of trouble."
The bounty hunter smiled calmly. "I assure you, I do not make boasts that I cannot follow through on. Now, can I assume that you want to be untied? I don't think these pirates will be fighting each other forever. Eventually they'd have to sleep."
Quickly, he untied the ropes binding the captain and the first mate to the mast, which had not been tied very securely. Siegfried then pointed to the stairs. "The rest of your crew are looking after the passengers in the hold. I suggest you head down there as well. Careful, though," he added, motioning to the brawling pirates.
Thankfully, the two seamen managed to make it across the deck and down into the bowels of the ship. Siegfried nodded to himself, then sweeped his gaze around to look at all of the pirates, who were still all busy fighting eachother. Siegfried's expression changed from a friendly one to a cold frown. Bringing his fist forward, he slammed it into the mast, creating a loud bang that was heard across the deck.
Instantly, the pirates stopped fighting, all of them stopping mid-grapple to look toward the noise. Siegfried gave them all a smile. It was not a very warm smile. "Thank you for giving me your attention, gentlemen. My name is Siegfried. I have a last name, but I prefer not to give it out during work, for personal reasons. I happen to be a bounty hunter, and since all of you happen to be pirates, I will now be subduing, capturing, and turning you over to the nearest marine installation for sentencing and incarceration. May I be presumptous and assume you will not be going quietly?"
Throughout all this, the pirates stared, confused. A moment passed, and then they all burst out laughing. Pirates liked to laugh; usually at other people's expense.
Grabbing their weapons back up, the pirates rose, nasty grins on their faces. Apparently they had forgotten that they had just been fighting eachother just moments ago...or maybe they just didn't care. Either way, Siegfried was fresh meat, and their attention was now focused right on him.
"Heh heh, isn't this kid brave, huh?"
"Looks like he'd crap his pants if you looked at 'em the wrong way!"
"His glasses are kinda cool, though - OW! What the hell was that for!?"
Siegfried reached up and adjusted his shades. "I didn't think so, but the least you could have done was been polite about it. Now, if we're going to fight, then..."
Reaching up, he took off his jacket, and laid it, neatly folded, by the mast. The pirates stared. Underneath his jacket, Siegfried's body was more muscular than it appeared. Turning to them, he flexed his hands. "Now then, gentlemen, shall we begin?"
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Back on the Frontier Pirate's longship, Erik slid his helmet back from over his eyes. Looking over at the ferry their ship was still tethered to, he scratched his head. He and his first mate had retired back to the crew's vessel and left the rest of the crew to their own devices.
"Oi, Colombus?"
"Yes?"
"Shouldn't we be...hearing stuff from over there?"
"Like what, I think I should ask?"
"Oh, you know...screams of pain, general violence. The usual. Course, I can't really hear too well when this helmet slides down over my eyes."
"I don't think that I've heard anything in quite a while, perhaps, but I might not have been paying attention, possibly."
"Guess we oughta go look, huh?"
"Maybe."
Getting up, they walked to the railing on the ferry's side. Erik frowned. "Really hate this part." Jumping up onto the railing, he teetered slightly before getting his balance.
Sizing up the distance between the two ships, he leaped, and managed to grab hold of the ferry's railing, pulling himself aboard.
Colombus waited until his captain was safely aboard, and then he hopped onto the railing and leaped smoothly aboard the ship.
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"What...the...hell?"
Erikson and Colombus looked at the aftermath on the deck, almost as if they couldn't believe what they were seeing. Every single one of their crew was now lying unconscious on the deck, beaten, bruised, and groaning in pain.
"What...what happened here!?" Erik stammered. "Who's responsible for this?"
"That would be me."
Both pirates turned to see Siegfried standing by the mast, hands in his pockets. There wasn't a scratch on them, and he was looking at them with an amused little smile on his face. "Hello, gentlemen. I assume that you are the captain and first mate of this crew, correct? My name is Siegfried, and I am a bounty hunter. As you can see, I have just finished with subduing your underlings. Rather easily, I should add. I suspect that you'll be more of a challenge, of course, or you wouldn't have the positions you do. That's assuming that you don't simply give up right now...which you won't."
"Damn right, we won't!" roared Erik in agreement, drawing one of his axes.
This caused Siegfried's smile to widen slightly, and Colombus to sigh slightly. Being captain on a ship wasn't easy, and neither was being first mate to a captain who fell into jokes like that one.
Siegfried nodded. "But of course, I expected a reaction like that. Other captains might be hesitant to fight the man who defeated their entire crew, alone, but you are certainly different from them."
"Yeah! Yeah! I'm not some third-rate coward pirate, I'm the real deal!" yelled Erik again. This was doing wonders for his ego. You'd almost think that he didn't care that his crew had been thrashed. Colombus shifted awkwardly.
"Yes, quite. I'm sure there's no other pirate in all the seas that's quite like you." Siegfried continued.
"Exactly! I'm one of a kind! Totally unique!" Nodded the viking furiously.
Siegfried returned the nod. "Of course. And you must have very extraordinary luck, to attack a ship with me aboard."
"Heh heh," chuckled Erikson. "I guess you're weaker than me, huh?"
Siegfried sighed melodramatically and shook his head. "No, no, you got it wrong, I'm afraid. What you meant is that you have extraordinary bad luck to encounter me. I apologize if that wasn't clear enough for you."
Erik blinked. "Hey, wait...are you making fun of me!?"
"Yes." said Colombus.
"I was." Siegfried admitted. "You made it a bit easy."
Erik growled in anger. Bringing the axe up to his mouth, he slowly brought his tongue along the edge, narrowing his eyes and baring his teeth as he did so.
"That would be very intimidating...if that wasn't the blunt edge of the weapon." Siegfried noted.
"...w-well, shut up! No-one asked you!" shouted Erik, getting frustrated. "I don't know who you are, kid, but I'm gonna pound you into the ground! And you know why!?"
"No. Why?" asked Siegfried genially.
"Because..." Erik started. He cleared his throat. "I'm the man who will become the Pirate King!" he yelled in his most dramatic voice, striking a fancy pose with his axe.
A moment of silence passed, and then Siegfried spoke up. "So, you aim to become the Pirate King, is that it?" A more attute person would have noticed Siegfried's voice was several times lower than it had been a moment ago. Erik, sadly, was too busy grandstanding.
"Yeah, I'm going to be the Pirate King! 'Cause I'm strong, and handsome, and, and, a whole bunch of other stuff! That's what comes to people like me; fame, fortune, and women! And no two-bit bounty hunter is gonna stand in the way of me getting my just-"
"Why don't you just shut up, pirate?"
Erik freezed. The cold voice in his mind had chilled him to the core. It hated him: what he was, how he acted, and what he stood for. Siegfried stared at him calmly, eyes hidden behind his sunglasses. "Pirate King, is that right? You're not the first person I've met with that ambition. I take it that's your dream? It's always nice to have dreams, isn't it? I wonder just how many people you've hurt in your quest to make that dream a reality. Because of course, it doesn't matter who you have to step on, as long as you achieve your dream."
Erik took a step backwards. "Stop it...stop it..."
"Do you want to know what my dream is, pirate? My dream is to have a world where people like you get what you deserve. A world where innocent people don't have to hide in fear from what people like you might do to them. A world where you and everyone else like you are locked away in Impel Down, where you belong. A world where you aren't lifted up as heroes, and are seen as the monsters you really are. A world where the Age of Piracy has come to an end. And if I have to crush your dream, and the dream of any other pirate, I'll do it."
Siegfried slowly reached up and removed his sunglasses. Erik and Colombus shivered; around Siegfried's eyes were a layer of pulsing veins, and his blue eyes seemed to look right through them. He assumed a fighting stance. "But enough talk. I've wasted enough breath on someone like you. Fight me."
For a moment, the Viking wavered, and then pride won out over fear. Drawing another axe, he crossed them in front of him. "I'm gonna cut you in half, you little punk. I don't care what powers you have, you'll bleed just the same!"
"Then come at me if you think you can." said Siegfried coldly.. "Justice is with me, not you. So I'll be winning this fight."
He stood calmly as the first axe was swung towards his head...
To be continued...
Next time, on Bounty Seven...
Siegfried: Do you even know how to use those weapons, pirate?
???: I am afraid that you are no match for me.
Erik: Who...who the hell are you!?
Bounty Hunter, Part 3
???: Kaze no Ninjitsu...
Remember when I said this story would be different? Yeah, that's kinda what I meant. Read and review!