Fight scene, go go go!

Bounty Seven

Chapter Five: The Hanged Man, Part 2

Bounty Hunter and Assassin faced off, each watching the other.

"So, you want to know who hired me, do you?" The Hanged Man asked. "Well, that would violate the confidentiality of the person that hired me, so I'm afraid I can't. That knowledge will go with me to my grave."

"Really, now?" Siegfried smiled back. "In that case, I'd be happy to hasten that journey, if it will loosen your lips."

The Hanged Man tilted his head. "Should you really be the one threatening me in this situation? You did hear me when I said I was an assassin, didn't you?"

"Oh, I did," said Siegfried. "But as I said, I still have things to do, so I have nothing to fear from someone like you."

"Hm." sniffed The Hanged Man. "You sound like you could use some humility. Anyone can die, boy, especially when I'm involved. Let me demonstrate. Prepare the Gallows!"

Snapping out his wrist, The Hanged Man sent a rope flying at Siegfried. It moved like a snake, and too fast to dodge. The rope circled around the bounty hunter's left arm before stopping taut, binding the arm tightly. He frowned. "An unorthodox weapon, certainly, but an effective one if used correctly. Depending on where the ropes are tied and how hard, they can easily cut off blood circulation among the limbs. And considering that I'm a hand to hand fighter, getting rid of them will be troublesome."

Testing, he tried pulling his arm back. It didn't budge; whatever these ropes were made of, it was strong. The Hanged Man chuckled low. "Most people underestimate exactly how strong ropes can be, boy. Granted, they can't be used as a building material, like wood or iron, but people are still willing to trust their lives on the fact that it won't break...and on the other end of the coin, trust that it won't break before ending someone's life."

"How grisly of you." said Siegfried simply.

"What?" The Hanged Man shrugged. "Don't tell me the thought has never occurred to you. I've heard from someone who was on the ferry that you're a bounty hunter. What do you think happens to the guys you catch?"

"Why, justice, of course." replied Siegfried without hesitation.

The Hanged Man appeared taken aback, and then chuckled. "Wow. That's cold. Sure you aren't a marine? But I digress."

The assassin crouched low to the ground. Despite being caught, Siegfried prepared to dodge whatever was coming. The Hanged Man's eyes were unreadable.

"Salem's..." Suddenly, the assassin reached up, grabbed the rope with his free hand, and pulled. Siegfried had been expecting trickery with the rope, but he had not expected The Hanged Man to be strong. As it was, the sudden pull caught him off guard, and he stumbled forward. At the same moment, The Hanged Man leaped forward, a knife suddenly in his hand. "Leap!"

With the blade of the knife aimed straight at his heart, Siegfried couldn't afford not to block this. "Geist Schilde!" Out came his palm into the path of the knife. It held fine for a moment, before the blade pierced through the hastily constructed shield, his leather glove, and then his hand.

Suppressing a cry of pain, Siegfried quickly punched out, knocking the assassin backward before jumping back himself. He checked the wound. It was bleeding, but the knife hadn't gone all the way through, thankfully, and it would be fine if he could get medical attention soon. That, and he'd have to get a new glove.

"Huh," breathed The Hanged Man, who wasn't looking worse for wear from the fall, "he did say you had a special power about you. But not a Devil's Fruit, he made that clear. And you don't fight like one of them. Maybe this will be the challenge I was looking for."

Siegfried smirked. "That's a rather emotional statement for an assassin, isn't it? Tell me, does the saying 'biting off more than you can chew' mean anything to you? It's not good to think that you're invincible, you know."

The Hanged Man nodded, looking satisfied. "Yes, yes...a very high opinion of himself...twists his words around like he has a snake for a tongue...loves to smirk. But if you ask me, you should practice what you preach, boy."

Siegfried shook his head. "No, no. I'm sure there's even someone out there who could defeat me. I just haven't met him yet."

"You're looking at him right now."

Siegfried adjusted his shades. "Now who's the one being conceited, hm? I think being humble would suit you far better."

The Hanged Man's eyes narrowed. "...I think I'm through talking with you, kid."

The assassin's legs bent, and he hopped sideways, keeping the rope connecting the two nice and taut. Siegfried followed him while remaining in place, watching the hitman calmly.

Sudden movements seemed to be the assassin's forte; his hands suddenly leapt up and snapped hold of the rope. "Salem's..." He then tugged, and then spun around, throwing it over his head, Siegfried and all. "Drop!"

Even as he suddenly found himself airborne, Siegfried had to admire the intelligence of such an attack. "With the rope connecting us, I have no easy way to dodge his attacks, and I've no doubt that all of his techniques are based around this idea. Seems like every person who can fight has to have a theme."

The exact purpose of this attack was quite obvious; hurling the victim into the ground at such a speed and height that their skull would shatter on impact, most likely killing them instantly. If not, they were in for a painful wait. Not something that Siegfried particularly wanted to experience. Why is which he wouldn't.

As the ground came up towards him, Siegfried readied himself. If his timing was off even slightly with this, he would certainly die. He waited until it seemed like he was far too late to even try anything, and he was doomed. That is, what it seemed like to most people. But like many, many other things, it seemed very different to Siegfried.

He had to admit, it was a bit of a close shave, or at least the closest one he'd had in a while.

"What the..." He heard the The Hanged Man breath in a most satisfying tone. Pushing off his hand, Siegfried flipped back onto his feet from the handstand he'd landed on the ground in. He flexed his arm, which was not broken, or even sprained, and turned back to The Hanged Man, who was staring at him as though he had a cabbage for a head.

"How did you..." He stopped and shook his head. "Doesn't really matter, I guess."

Siegfried shrugged. "I only countered a grandiose attack with a grandiose method of dodging. Grandiose is how most things are done in The Grand Line, after all. It's even in the name."

"Really?" asked The Hanged Man. "Then how about something more simple?"

Again he flicked his wrist, and now a second rope flew at Siegfried. On the end of this one was tied a sharp hook, not unlike the type you'd see on the end of a harpoon. It was aimed right at the bounty hunter's heart."Guillotine Noose!"

Siegfried had to smirk at the name. "You're clearly not going to be using that as a guillotine or a noose, so why name it that?" He hopped to the side as the hook came near, but The Hanged Man suddenly twisted the rope tied to Siegfried's arm hard, nearly knocking him back into the weapon's path. Siegfried pulled back on his side, and the point sailed past him; not quite however, as the side of the blade cut his side on the way by. Siegfried frowned - in addition to his flesh, the weapon had torn his jacket and shirt.

"And it's so hard to get a decent outfit these days, too." He sighed inwardly. The Hanged Man had reeled in his rope at this point, only to cast it forward again, the weapon snaking forward like a fishing line.

"I can see where this is going..." Siegfried sighed. "And I don't think I want to play."

As the rope came close again, he dodged again with some difficulty, and then reached out and grabbed ahold of the rope with his right hand...and then realized he couldn't let go. The rope appeared to be coated in some kind of glue.

The Hanged Man chuckled. "Would you believe you weren't the first person to try that? I'm well used to people who think they can use their strength to get the upper hand on me. You're stuck fast, aren't ya?"

It was true; with both of the ropes holding him, Siegfried couldn't move well in either direction. Inwardly, he was berating himself. "Tch. How could I fall for something like that? If he saw me now, he'd tan my hide...again."

The Hanged Man carefully backed up, making the ropes connected to Siegfried grow taut, and then spread his arms, forcing the bounty hunter to do the same.

"Are we playing Simon Says, now?" Siegfried asked. "Because I can't imagine how you'll attack me from all the way over there."

The Hanged Man chuckled. "That's called tempting fate, I believe."

The assassin kicked out with his leg, and from out of the wrappings there came a third rope, sailing upward into the air. That this one had been up The Hanged Man's leg was odd, considering what was tied to it; spikes. "Twine Maiden!"

When it was at the peak of it's height, The Hanged Man twisted his leg expertly, causing the rope to spiral out, trailing downwards towards the bounty hunter. The way it was moving, it would encircle his body, stabbing him everywhere. He'd then bleed to death, naturally.

"That...could be unpleasant." Siegfried pulled at the ropes binding him, but it was no going: the ropes were too strong to break with just his bare hands. The glue on the rope also showed no signs of wearing off.

The Hanged Man chuckled. "Tell me, how does it feel, knowing that your life is shortly about to end? That you're about to become a corpse? Let me guess; the idea has never occurred to you. It never does, to guys like you. Well, I'm sorry to say that's the case, now. You were good, but I'm better."

Siegfried shook his head. "I refuse."

"Too bad." The Hanged Man said. The rope slowly came closer, circling towards the bounty hunter, but even so, Siegfried still had his calm smile.

"Huh. Smiling even though he's about to die...reminds me of how they say that pirate Gold Roger died. Funny." The hitman paused as he felt something, his

"Hm. Might just be my imagination, but did it just get windy?" Behind his wrappings, he frowned. "Oh. Great."

He hopped to the side as a set of kunai pierced the ground where he had been standing. A shuriken then came down, severing the rope tied to Siegfried's arm. The bounty hunter quickly rolled to the side, before the spike-lined rope could pierce his body. Gritting his teeth, The Hanged Man pulled it back, then raised his head. "I believe I asked you to stay out of this."

Smile growing wider, Siegfried looked to the side as the shinobi dropped down next to him. "That's twice so far that you've come to my rescue, miss." He offered her a quick bow. "But then again, this sort of thing will be most unacceptable once I become more well known. I'm open-minded, of course, but to other people being rescued by a woman is hardly something to be proud of."

"You should be grateful that I decided to do so once, bounty hunter." She turned her gaze towards the assassin. "I am only doing so now because he attacked me."

"Oh? You're sure it's not because of my natural charm?" Siegfried asked innocently.

He didn't move as a knife flew in between the two. "If I may butt in..." said The Hanged Man, sounding less composed than he had been earlier. "Well, I don't know how you got out of that, but I did warn you not to interfere, so I suppose I won't have to be too remorseful when I gut you. And I will, because I don't appreciate being interrupted when I'm on the job.

He cracked his hand bones. "Well, I've handled more than one person before. Two of you shouldn't be a problem. Let's go."

The shinobi looked to the bounty hunter. "Psychic." She thought. "Tell me, do you trust me?"

"...Hm. Well, I'd have to say I trust you about as much as you do me. Why?"

"Because, while I have no reason to help you, and could easily leave you to your fate...I choose to believe that you are someone worth saving. Do anything to prove me wrong on this, and I will kill you."

"Oh ho. You certainly are a frightful person. I think we'll get along quite well."

To be continued...

Next time, on Bounty Seven

The Hanged Man: Damn it, you're not human!

Siegfried: Tell me what I want to know, and this won't get any uglier.

???: My name? Very well, it is...

Bounty Hunter, Part 3

Siegfried: ...in that case, why not make a contract with me?

OPFan - Siegfried: Well, you know how woman are. They can never seem to decide.

Shinobi: If you keep talking like that, then I will.

Until next time, see you.