The plot continues, and more mysteries will unfold...chilling, isn't it?

One Piece: Bounty Seven

Chapter Nine: Rainbow Chameleon, Part 2

With a groan, Siegfried awoke, his vision swimming before him. After a moment, it solidified, and he pushed himself up into a sitting position.

The bounty hunter looked around. He seemed to be in a storage room for the ferry, judging by the crates and barrels that lined the walls. It was quite small; there was just barely enough room to allow him to lie prone, and he could cross the width of it in one step.

Siegfried grimaced, holding his chest gingerly. The blow that had knocked him unconscious had been a hard one, and his body felt bruised all over. Evidently his captor hadn't felt like being gentle.

Speaking of which...

"Oh, you're up and about already, huh? Not bad."

Siegfried looked to the door, which the voice was coming behind. "I apologize if I don't seem that flattered, but being knocked out tends to put me in a bad mood, especially when they use the guise of someone I trust to do so."

"Awwww..." the voice said, mockingly. "'Mommy, mommy, he's not playing fair! Make him stop!' Gimme a break. You fell for it, so you have no right to complain."

One of Siegfried's hands balled into a fist instinctively. "I suppose you have a point." he said evenly. "Now, since you waited around until I was awake, I suppose you have some business with me? It must be quite serious, given your method of interrogation."

Siegfried was somewhat satisfied to hear his assailant growl. "Don't get a swelled head, moron. I don't even know who the hell you are, and I don't really give a damn either way. All I want to know is, why are you hanging around Asakura?"

The bounty hunter raised an eyebrow at this. "Why, we're simply travelling together for the time being, that's all. I understand that's usual procedure for you shinobi, isn't it?"

If his assailant was upset at his identity being uncovered, he didn't show it. "Really? Asakura? Ah, well. Like I said, I don't really care either way. But I do have some business with that little birdy, and I don't need any friends-" he chuckled at the word, "-of her's getting in my way, thanks."

"Business?" Siegfried echoed. "Of the same sort that you had with that man you murdered?"

"Which one?" The voice called back. "That ferry guy I stabbed and threw overboard, or the rich prick I choked and kicked into the sea? Either way, no, not quite. That's too bad, too..."

The voice turned ponderous. "Man, now you got me thinking about how good that would be...the feeling of my hands on her throat...the sight of her blood pooling down a knife blade...watching as her body slowly, slowly-"

Siegfried leapt to his feet and punched the door with all the force he could muster. He was rewarded with the sound of his assailant letting out a yelp and hopping backwards out of surprise. However, the door didn't budge an inch in it's frame.

"Heh heh heh..." chuckled the voice, getting over his surprise very quickly, and turning snide. "Idiot. You think I didn't see that coming? Before you woke up, I coated that door with a little Chameleon Oil of mine. It hardens quickly when exposed to fresh air, and becomes as hard as iron. Unless you have some explosives in that dumb jacket - and I know you don't - then there's no way you're getting out of there."

Siegfried frowned at this. "Sometimes it's unfortunate, being a normal human - well, physically, anyway."

"Now, then..." said the voice, snickering.

Hearing a noise from below, Siegfried looked down to see a small cannister roll into the room from underneath the door. After a moment, it opened with an ominous hiss, and a sickly green gas began to seep out of it. Immediately, Siegfried stepped back, closing his mouth and covering it with his jacket sleeve.

"That's another of my tools." the voice explained. "Nothing nearly so fancy: just a little slow-acting poison gas. You should be dead in about, oh, ten minutes. It's too bad I can't stay and watch, but business calls. Have fun."

"Wait a moment, please."

Something in Siegfried's voice apparently made him do just that. "Yeah? What?"

"I can infer that your animal is a chameleon, isn't it?" Siegfried said pleasantly. "If that's the case, then I'll give you a piece of advice."

"Which is?" said the voice, his arrogant tone cracking a bit, giving way to hesitance and apprehension.

"Run. Run to the deepest, darkest corner of this boat that you can find, and hide as well as you can. Because after I get out of here, I'm going to come looking for you. And if I catch you, I'm going to make you suffer."

The voice paused for a moment. "Wha-what, because of that stuff I said!? Dammit, I'll say whatever I like about that bi-"

Siegfried struck the door again, causing his assailant to cut himself off with another yelp. "Oh, partially that. Then there's the fact that you've killed at least two people without feeling any remorse, and don't seem to think that's anything of note. I don't know how many people you murdered to become like this, but I do know this: Asakura won't even need my help to defeat someone like you."

Another pause, and then the voice said, smugly, "you're awful chivalrous, you know? It's just too bad those feelings aren't returned at all."

Siegfried narrowed his eyes. "What do you mean?"

"Oh, you don't know? Heh, I guess you wouldn't, would you? And she'd rather keep it that way, too."

"Stop beating around the bush and spit it out." Siegfried growled.

"Oh, gettin' a little angry, are ya?" laughed the voice. "Well, alright, I'll spill. See, Asakura doesn't view people like, say, I do."

"Ah," Siegfried nodded, "so she doesn't view human life with callous indifference? You're right, that certainly is troubling."

The voice growled. "What I mean is, you, me, everyone on this boat...to Asakura, all of us are her enemies."

"...what?" Siegfried said.

"Surprised? But it's true; ever since she was a kid, she hasn't trusted even a single person. She pretends to be this badass, cool shinobi, but in the end, she's just hiding from everyone! Isn't that just pathetic!?"

Siegfried didn't reply.

"That's what I thought. Now, why don't you just think about that while I go deal with the little birdy? Heh...by the time I get done with her, she won't want to face anyone, let alone you! Ha ha ha ha!"

There came the sound of footsteps, and then he was gone.

Siegfried was left alone, with his thoughts. "Aren't you the one who's really hiding, behind someone else's pain? I'd like to say I don't believe him...but..."

"'...you are mistaken. The only 'good person' here is you.'"

"Asakura..." he muttered to himself.

"Don't worry. I'll be there soon."

Up on deck, the commotion that had been caused by the murder was showing no signs of quieting. A tarp had been thoughtfully thrown over the body, and a group of the ferry staff were standing around it, trying to placate the passengers. And failing.

"First a pirate attack, and now a murder!? This place is a walking death trap!" shouted one man.

"Isn't it your job to make us feel safe? Well, I don't!" cried a woman.

"Exactly what do you and your men intend to do about this, captain?" yelled a second man.

Captain Tenille was currently stooping to inspect his subordinate's corpse underneath the tarp. He said nothing in reply to the passenger's question, but unfortunately, the man didn't seem to get the message, and he stepped forward, grabbing the captain's shoulder.

"Didn't you hear me, captain? I asked if-"

He was cut off as Tenille punched the deck hard. "And just what do you expect us to do about this, exactly? We have no witnesses, no evidence, and no suspects! So if you-"

"...um, well, that last part isn't entirely true, sir."

Tenille looked up at the person who had spoken: one of his men, who was only now approaching.

Standing up, he faced the younger man with a glower. "Exactly where were you until now, son? And what do you mean, 'not exactly'?"

The young man chuckled nervously. "Um, well, I was in the bathroom, sir. And, um, I mean exactly what I said, sir. We do have at least one suspect."

"Really?" said Tenille, sounding skeptical. "And who might that be?"

"W-well," stammered the young man, "on this boat, there are two people who are, um, a bit suspicious, at least in my opinion."

"And they are?" Tenille prompted.

"Um, well," began the crew member, "first of all, there's the bounty hunter, who you may remember-"

"-protected this ship from the pirates, at the cost of his own life? Somehow I don't think he's responsible for this." Tenille said, brushing it aside. "And the second?"

"W-well," stammered the young man, "during the fighting, I took a peek out onto the deck, captain, and the bounty hunter was being assisted by a woman dressed all in green, who wore a mask shaped like a bird. After the battle, she returned to her room, so she's definitely a passenger here."

"And you're saying she's the murderer, then?" Tenille asked skeptically. "That sounds about as likely as him being the culprit."

"Maybe, captain..." admitted the young man, and then shrugged. "But, well...wearing a mask, and hiding your face...doesn't that make her at least a little suspicious? And there are only so many passengers on this boat that could be responsible for this. And even if she isn't, that eliminates one suspect, doesn't it? If that's the correct word to use, anyway, heh heh..."

Tenille thought for a moment, and then gestured to his men. "Split up and search the ship. If you see anything or anyone suspicious, report to me immediately. We're dealing with a killer here, so there's no telling what they're capable of."

As his men ran off, he turned to the passengers. "If you all want to risk your necks, then go help them. You probably won't be satisfied unless you see what's responsible for yourselves, anyway."

The assorted men and women all looked to themselves, and then they too moved belowdecks, albeit far more leisurely. Running like that was for the hired help, after all.

She may have been too late.

Asakura had checked everywhere on the ship that the bounty hunter might be, but to ultimately no avail. Siegfried was nowhere to be found.

Siegfried's room was the same as it had been last night; there were no signs of a struggle, but also no indication that the psychic had even entered it since this morning.

"Of course, that does not mean much. Not letting struggles happen is a specialty of his, after all."

The shinobi leaned back against the wall of the hallway she was in. A large portion of the rooms on the ferry were passenger accomodations, and thus often either locked or in use, making them very impractical for hiding anyone. This narrowed down Siegfried's location considerably, but she had still not been able to locate him.

Asakura suddenly frowned. A repeating noise had intruded upon her train of thought. Turning to look in the direction it was coming from, she noticed an ajar door. cautiously approaching the doorway, she carefully opened it and stepped through.

Immediately there was a splash, and her feet became wet. This was because this was the bathroom, and the drain on one of the sinks was plugged.

Asakura barely noticed this, however, far more focused on exactly what was blocking the drain. Or, rather, who.

Walking up to the corpse, the shinobi reached up and gingerly tilted it's head forward. A large amount of water spilled out from it's mouth, spilling down the uniform it wore. The body was of one of the staff aboard the ferry, a young man about the same age as all the others. He was still relatively warm; he had died quite recently.

Gently, Asakura reached a finger into the dead young man's open mouth, and pulled one side of it toward herself. The shinobi's keen eyes picked out some faint but noticeable wounds on his gums. Her eyes flicked to the faucet, and it's jagged edges.

"He forced his mouth onto the end of it, then turned it on full blast until the boy's lungs couldn't take anymore. A cruel method of murder, but one that serves his means very well."

All of a sudden, Asakura was alerted to a sudden clamor in the hallway outside. Moving to the doorway, she looked out, and-

"There she is! Wait a second, you!"

"I - I was seen?" Asakura thought, as several crew members and passengers ran toward her from down the hallway.

The shinobi could have simply stopped and waited for them, but...her eyes flicked to the room she had just come out of. Not red-handed, but good enough for them.

Turning, she swiftly ran down the hallway in the opposite direction. She glanced back the way she had come momentarily. "You're there, aren't you? You must be; no-one on this ship would be able to see me if I did not wish it. And you know I cannot fight you with innocent people around, don't you? Clever, for you."

"Hey, stop running! Get back here!" was shouted after her, but no normal person could hope to match a shinobi's agility. She easily escaped their feet.

But not their voices.

"Oh...oh my god! Look what she did to him!"

"I - I think I'm gonna be..."

Evidently they had found his little present in the bathroom. Asakura gritted her a corner, she slipped into the first room she could find. Thankfully, it was empty.

Placing her back against the wall, Asakura went perfectly silent, listening to the sounds of her pursuers as they ran past. Thankfully, they didn't think to check anywhere else.

Asakura thought to herself. "Did he plan all of this himself? ...no, he is nowhere near focused enough to devise such an intricate plan on his own. And if his aim was to kill me, why go to such trouble when he could simply attempt to cut my throat?

Someone must be pulling his strings. ...could it be...no, there will be time for questions after I defeat him. He is able to disguise himself, but against me, that is the only advantage he will have, and not for long."

The shinobi drew a kunai from one of her pouches, and nodded confidently. "I will not let you die because of me, Siegfried."

At about the same time, Siegfried had come up with a plan. A rather desperate, stupid plan, born only from the threat of impending death, but a plan nonetheless.

The bounty hunter had first moved aside two small shelves that had been placed at the back of the storage room. This exposed a porthole built into the back wall. While aesthetically useless unless you wanted a good view of more ocean, it would serve Siegfried's purposes just fine.

But only if it was open. Which was why Siegfried had spent the last few minutes punching it, in an attempt to loosen it from it's holdings. It had weakened considerably so far, but wasn't broken yet, and Siegfried was on a rather strict time limit.

He counted off to himself in his head. "...about seven and a half minutes so far."

Suddenly, Siegfried doubled over, coughing wildly. After a moment, he stood back up, panting slightly. "It feels like my insides are beginning to turn to jelly...which they probably are. His judge of how long it would take might have been off a bit, but even so, I doubt I have that much time left."

He smiled, and drew back his fist. "Time to take things up a bit."

"Geist Faust!"

The porthole had been built well, but not quite that well. It was smashed off it's hinges, leaving a hole in the boat as it flew off into the water, dropping into the water with a large splash.

Siegfried nodded to himself, looking at the hole he had made. It was a bit wider all around than the porthole had been, and would serve what he was about to do just fine.

In his mind, a memory concerning something just like it bubbled to the surface...

"AAAAAAAAHHHHH!"

Thud.

Anyone nearby who heard these two sounds - in no particular order, but one shortly after the other - would look, for a moment, in the direction they had come from. Then, with a dismissing shrug, they'd return to their business. This was, after all, Grieger Island, and to anyone living near the academy (or, in some extreme cases, anywhere on the island), those noises were so frequent and familiar, they barely noticed them anymore. They'd probably be more concerned if they stopped hearing them.

In this case, the source of the two noises was coming from the backyard of the academy's main building, where the training grounds were located. In the middle of it, a large wooden wall had been erected. Unlike most examples of such an obstacle designed for training, however, the wood comprising the wall was completely smooth, lacking hand-holds or any other way to climb it.

Not that this stopped the cadets from being ordered to do it.

Heinrich sighed heavily, looking down at the female cadet that had fallen. "Really...come on, you weren't even halfway up. You should be fine."

Groaning, the girl began to rise...and then fell back down, not moving.

Heinrich kneeled down and waved a hand in front of her eyes. Then he sighed again, massaging his temples. "Knocked out again..." He gestured to a male cadet. "Go lay her down in the infirmary, and hurry back."

The cadet complied, tossing the unconscious girl over his shoulder and walking off.

The marine captain turned to his pupils, a disappointed expression on his face. The still-present cadets bowed their heads, looking slightly ashamed. None of them had managed to climb the wall - not even Siegfried, to his chagrin. Most of them hadn't even managed to get halfway up...

"B-but, well, captain..." muttered one cadet, speaking up. "We've all only been here for a few weeks, haven't we? Doesn't climbing up a solid wall seem a bit...much?"

Just after he had finished this statement, the cadet became aware that his comrades next to him had sidled pointedly away. Before he had time to rethink his position, however, Heinrich was right in front of him.

"Really?" asked the captain calmly. "So you're saying it's impossible, then?"

Not giving the cadet a chance to reply, Heinrich turned to the wall, beginning to limber himself up. "I suppose a demonstration is in order. Honestly, you youngsters these days...you have to be sure that something is possible before you'll really try at it."

Then, from a standing position, Heinrich suddenly went into a swift run at the wall. Just before he would have slammed into it, he made a mighty jump, jumping straight toward the obstacle that had confounded his students. The cadets stared. Several of them had tried something similar to this, and they currently sported large bruises on their faces.

Heinrich collided with the wall, and the cadets all held their breath, half-expecting their captain to slide or fall off. But this didn't happen; Heinrich stayed attached to the perfectly smooth wood surface, with nothing more than his bare hands and feet.

He turned to look down at his students. "Well? Is that enough proof for you all? If there's nothing else for you to rely on, rely on your body. If you treat it right, it won't let you down."

Back in the present, Siegfried nodded to himself. "Just remember your training. Don't falter for a moment. I won't let your time go to waste, Heinrich."

As if mirroring that memory of his teacher, Siegfried stooped, adopting a pose similar to a sprinter at the starting line. Then, with a burst of his muscles, he crossed the length of the tiny room in an instant, hurling himself at the opening he'd made.

Curling up his body as tightly as possible, Siegfried felt the edges of the jagged wood scrap at him momentarily, before he was out into fresh air. Immediately, he thrust a hand backward, grasping the upper rim of the hole and swinging himself around.

"Alright," thought Siegfried, "that's the easy part done, at least."

He started the climb, placing his other hand fingertips outward on the ship wall above him, before boosting one leg up.

While something like this would certainly be impossible from a layman's perspective, Siegfried did have several advantages working for him. Firstly, there was really no such thing as a wall devoid of any cracks or imperfections. They were small, but you could find them if you searched.

And, of course, most people hadn't been trained quite as well as he had. Carefully, the bounty hunter made his way up the side of the ship, clinging to it's surface like a spider. It was slow going - a single mistake would cause him to plummet down into the waters below. But Siegfried couldn't dwell on the thought of that happening, or it probably would. So he concentrated on the task at hand.

Finally, after what seemed like an hour, rather than a few minutes, Siegfried's hand grasped the bottom of the ferry's railing. Relaxing slightly now that he had a far sturdier grip, Siegfried slowly pulled the rest of himself up as well, before flipping over the railing and finally coming to rest on the solid ground of the deck.

Siegfried exhaled, feeling his muscles all complain to him at once. After a moment, he raised his head to see two members of the ferry crew staring at him with confusion in their eyes.

He walked over. "Hello there, gentleman."

"Uh, hello there, Mr. Siegfried. Um...what are you doing?"

Siegfried shrugged. "Oh, nothing important."

His eyes strayed to the tarp the two were standing over, which he pointed at. "I take it that that's the body?"

"Uh, yes sir," one of them said, looking at the tarp queasily. "Captain Tenille told us to watch it...to make sure nothing happened to it, I guess? Nothing like this has ever happened on this ship, so we don't really know what do here..." he mumbled.

Siegfried nodded emphatically. "So, where are the rest of the crew? This seems an odd job to leave to just two people."

"Well..." said the sailor, scratching his head. "The captain is down in his quarters, and the others are off looking for your friend with the mask."

There was a moment of silence, and then Siegfried replied. "Why?"

Despite themselves, the two sailors shivered slightly. Being young, and frankly, slightly incompetent workers, they were used to breaking bad news to people that didn't want to hear it, and then getting chewed out for their efforts. Granted, this was usually because the bad news in question was their fault, but not at the moment! To make matters worse, Mr. Siegfried seemed to know that he wouldn't like the answer he was about to get.

The sailor gulped and spoke up, hoping his friend was grateful to him for this. "Um, well, Mr. Siegfried, one of the other guys pointed out that, well, there are only a few people on this ship that, uh, could have done something like, ah, that, and well, you certainly didn't do it...did you, heh heh...heh?"

He finally wilted under Siegfried's glare. The sunglasses somehow made it worse.

"Idiots." the bounty hunter growled.

That was apparently all he had to say on the matter, for he turned and left, heading toward the stairs below-decks.

The sailors were at least glad that he'd been succinct about it.

With a groan, another passenger fell to the floor and easily slipped into unconsciousness, the victim of a chop to the back of their neck.

Asakura shook her head sadly at the sight. The ferry's crew were at least somewhat fit, but these people didn't seem to have worked a day in their lives. It certainly made her work easier, but to someone who had spent a good portion of her life training, it was somewhat deplorable.

Since leaving cover, she'd been moving throughout the ship, taking out anyone she saw in a non-lethal manner. She didn't like doing it, even so, but he had forced them into such a frenzy that they were more a danger to themselves than to her. Not only that, but anyone one of them could really be him in disguise.

Carefully, she rounded a corner, and-

"Asakura."

Letting out a slight gasp, the shinobi turned to see the bounty hunter approaching him. "Siegfried! You are all right?"

Siegfried nodded. "Yes, if only just barely. Whoever this person is, they're dangerous, that's for sure."

He fixed his eyes on her. "So, as I understand it, he's an acquaintance of yours, isn't he?"

Asakura nodded slowly. "Yes. He is a fellow shinobi from my village, unfortunately."

"...Asakura, I won't mince words, here." Siegfried began. "If there's something about you that will cause me to be attacked while we travel together, then I'll have to ask you to tell me everything about yourself. Otherwise, I'm not so sure I'll be able to trust you."

The shinobi paused, appearing to think his words over. "...very well, Siegfried, I will tell you. But not here; come with me back to my room."

Siegfried nodded. "Alright."

He started down the corridor...but then blinked, realizing that Asakura wasn't next to him. "Hm?"

"HA!"

Asakura's knee and shoulder suddenly hit him in the back, driving the unsuspecting bounty hunter against the wall. With a flick of her wrist, the shinobi fit a kunai up against his throat.

"Exactly how much of a fool do you think I am, Gaikan Tokage?"

'Siegfried' gritted his teeth, and said in a voice that was certainly not that of the psychic, "d-dammit! How the hell did you know it was me!?"

"It was very simple." said Asakura coldly. "Siegfried...would not have asked me that. I am afraid your research was insufficient this time."

Almost instantly, Gaikan's voice regained it's normal smug tone. "Pfffft, like I wanted to see you spill your guts anyway. That's not the only advantage this body has..."

Before the shinobi could clap a hand over his mouth, Gaikan cried loudly in Siegfried's voice, "Hey! I have her cornered, come quickly!"

Asakura grit her teeth as footsteps began to approach. "You think that will help you? I don't intend to let you leave this ship, Gaikan, unless it is in the custody of a Retrieval Squadron."

"What, you think I'm heading back to that backwoods island? No way; I've got places to go, things to do!" Gaikan struggled, but even with Siegfried's body, he couldn't get free.

"People to kill?" Asakura deadpanned.

"EXACTLY!"

Gaikan abruptly kicked out with more strength this time, causing the other shinobi to drop her kunai and stumble backward.

Quickly, Gaikan whirled around. His left arm seemed to...shimmer, changing from a brown jacket and gloves to a purple bodysuit. Grinning with his stolen face, the shapeshifter flicked his wrist, and before Asakura could dodge, a small needle pierced through her clothing, hitting her in the shoulder.

Due to her training, the shinobi was very keen toward any changes in her body, and even now she could feel poison beginning to work it's way through her system.

Gaikan leaned back against the wall, his arm returning to it's disguised state. Turning his head, he watched as his 'help' arrived.

Asakura turned to flee once more...and fell to her hands and knees on the wood floor, her legs giving out from under here.

"A tranqualizer...of course. A cowardly weapon like this suits him well."

The female shinobi was seized by strong hands, and yanked to her feet. Gaikan smiled at the ferry crew and passengers. "Thank you for your timely arrival. Although, naturally, I did have the situation well in hand."

"What should we do with her, Mr. Siegfried?" said one sailor. Asakura could feel more than a dozen pairs of hateful eyes, all of them trained on her.

Gaikan smiled. "Naturally, we'll turn her over to the authorities for her crimes."

His smile widened maliciously. Siegfried's face couldn't disguise Gaikan completely, it seemed. Not that anyone cared enough to notice, though.

Something seemed to occur to the rogue shinobi, and he snapped his fingers. "Ah, but...we can't very well try her if we can't see her face, can we?"

Asakura's eyes widened to their fullest as Gaikan pointed to her mask. "What are you wearing a mask for? Take it off, and show us her face!"

As some of the hands gripping her arms and legs shifted toward her face, Asakura began to tremble inwardly despite herself. "Calm down. This is how he wants you to act. Calm down, and think of how to-"

And then one of them laid a hand on her mask.

"NO!" the shinobi cried, kicking out with more force than should have been possible for her and knocking the offending sailor away. Of course, there were more where he came from, but even together they found Asakura's desperate struggling difficult to deal with.

Gaikan looked on at this, his expression growing increasingly annoyed. Finally, letting out a irritated growl, he stepped forward and punched Asakura fiercely in the stomach. Her head reeled forward, and she let out a hacking cough, all the air escaping from her lungs. She lay still, stunned.

"There," Gaikan said to the ferry crew, failing to keep from sneering slightly, "that wasn't so hard, was it?"

He gestured to them. "Now, take it off. I want to see this criminal's face with my own eyes."

Behind her mask, Asakura silently shut her eyes.

One sailor moved to do as he'd been asked...and then suddenly clapped both hands to the sides of his head, letting out a howl of pure agony. He wasn't alone, however, as every person present other than Gaikan and Asakura quickly followed suit.

"W-what...what the hell's going on!?" Gaikan screeched.

Asakura said nothing, and with the hold on her released, propped herself up against the wall. She was still

"F-fine!" Gaikan spat. "I don't know what you just did, but I'll gladly do it myse-"

"Excuse me." said a voice very nearby the rogue shinobi.

Gaikan turned...and felt what seemed like an iron weight plow into his stomach.

"That was from her." Siegfried murmured to his doppleganger, who was bent double. Thrusting his knee forward, he sent the shapeshifter flying back, his nose broken.

"And that was from me, for using my body to do it."

He turned to the woman, holding out a hand. "Asakura, are you alright?"

Asakura looked at the outstretched hand for a moment, and then, smiling slightly behind her mask, took it. "Yes. I am fine."

"Good." Siegfried said simply. Then he turned to Gaikan, who was stumbling to his feet. "Ah, I see you imitated my stamina, too. That's fortunate: I plan on hitting you a lot more, and you won't learn anything if you aren't awake for it."

He snapped his fingers, and the pain that was being inflicted on the passengers stopped. They all swayed slightly, however, and no doubt they'd be having headaches for a while after this.

Siegfried pointed at them. "You all, pay attention. Apparently you've forgotten exactly who I am, so I guess I'll have to demonstrate once more."

With one hand, he pushed his sunglasses higher up on his face. "Watch closely, and I'll show you how the genuine article fights."

To be continued...

Next time, on Bounty Seven...

Gaikan: Ha! Can you defeat your own body!?

Siegfried: You don't seem to understand exactly why you can't beat me.

???: I am...unhappy with you.

Rainbow Chameleon, Part 3

Asakura: Siegfried...I am sorry.

Terms:

Chameleon Oil: A special type of oil used by certain shinobi. Normally kept in air-tight jars or bottles, once removed the fluid will quickly, becoming extremely resilient to most straight-forward methods of attack. Additionally, in order to fool passersby, the oil will adopt the color of any surface it is applied to, as befitting the name. A useful weapon for a shinobi who doesn't want to be interrupted during their work, or for trapping people you don't want to see again in a hurry.

The Dude of Doom - That's...kind of a worrying reaction to being called a mass murderer. I'd advise not saying things like that if you ever meet Siegfried, Mr. Endo. Or, well, anyone who likes being alive, really.

And yeah, I did base Frank off that character...by which I mean I used his name, and really nothing else. But hey, it's an awesome name, right?

Shinobi-dono - From what I've heard of the Raikage, he sounds like a pretty cool guy. And I'm glad to see that Siegfried's idea is at least somewhat plausible, given that it's the driving point of the story. Don't you worry, I've got some big plans in mind for Siegfried's reputation, heh heh heh...

OPFan - Well, keep in mind he wasn't expecting it, at all. And shinobis do know how to punch someone where it counts, after all. And I'll try to work on the naturally thing, but it won't be easy. Natura - see what I mean?

CaptainNaye - I'm very glad to hear that, Cap'n Nale. Let me know if there's ever any changes I could make.

Well, until next time, see ya.