And thus, a new arc begins. One that will introduce a character I've been looking forward to introducing. Enjoy.
One Piece: Bounty Seven
Chapter Twelve: The Black Cat Approaches, Part 1
A few days after Gaikan was disposed of, (both figuratively and literally) the ferry docked at the next stop in it's path; Battlerock Island. A much more industrialized and wealthy city than the town that had docked at last, it boasted at least one shop for practically every need that could come up. It also contained a large marine base, which was Siegfried and Asakura's current destination.
"Are you sure the captain there will accept our offer of help, Siegfried?" Asakura asked. "Not everyone is receptive to mercenaries."
Siegfried nodded. "That is true...but depending on what problems this island has at the moment, they may have no choice. Even here in the Grand Line, a lot of marine outposts simply aren't equipped to deal with large scale threats. Even if the captain is strong, he's only one man, and he can't do everything."
He shrugged. "But this is just our first stop. If the marines don't have any bounties for us, then we'll turn elsewhere."
Suddenly, Siegfried put out his arm, stopping Asakura. The shinobi turned to him to see the bounty hunter lift a finger to his lips. She nodded, and he pointed forward at two marines patrolling the city. They were gossiping, and didn't seem to have noticed them yet.
Creeping forward, the pair were able to eavesdrop on the conversation. It was...interesting, to put it lightly.
"...today's the day that was said in the note." one of them whispered, a look of dread on his face.
"He's probably already here on the island...I get chills just thinking about it!" the other said with a shudder.
"Think about how the captain must feel," murmured the first again, "after all, he's-"
Abruptly they both turned and smiled at a civilian that walked right by them. When they had passed, the two nodded two each-other and got back to their patrol, apparently deciding these beans shouldn't be spilled.
But Siegfried had already got most of the picture. He turned to Asakura. "Come on. I have a feeling we will find a job at the base."
Getting themselves inside the base was a bit easier than Asakura had expected. All Siegfried had to do was mention 'Grieger Island' and 'I trained at' in the same sentence, and they were inside. Even if he wasn't a marine, it seemed he could acquire respect from them easily enough.
As they were led through the Battlerock Base's halls, Siegfried took the time to look around. It was a standard marine facility, constructed of strong stone to stand up to cannonfire, and a simple layout so the inhabitants wouldn't get lost. On their way to the captain's room, they passed by a barracks and a training room. One thing defined the marines that could be glimpsed inside these rooms and the halls; they all looked worried.
And finally, they were at the captain's room. In front of the door stood a tall, rough-looking officer, who eyed the two as they were led up. He didn't say a word, even as his fellow marine approached.
"Uh, it's alright, Dober. These are the ones the captain called for, remember?"
Dober shifted his gaze to the marine, who visibly gulped. Then he moved away from the door. It would be hard to imagine him walking stiffer, even if his legs were made of wood.
The other marine chuckled nervously, offering Siegfried a sympathetic shrug. The bounty hunter returned it; every marine base had one.
Their escorter opened the door for them, and the duo entered, Dober giving them a stern glare as they passed him.
Siegfried looked around. The room was wide and spacious, and seemed mostly devoid of furniture. Some tall windows were on the eastern wall, looking out onto the courtyard, but that seemed to be all.
"Over here, son." a quiet voice called.
Siegfried looked to the far end of the room. A simple desk and chair were there, the former laden down with forms, writing utensils, and other objects for work.
Seated at the desk was the captain of the base himself. Like a good portion of marine officers, he was middle-aged, but his hair hadn't begun to gray yet. Siegfried pegged him for early forties, perhaps late thirties. He was of average height, though a bit taller than Siegfried.
The bounty hunter approached, Asakura staying near the door and the older man smiled. "Ah, I can see it right away. You certainly were trained at Greiger Academy."
Siegfried smiled. "Why thank you, sir."
The captain chuckled. "And so polite, too!" He waved a hand at a chair in front of the desk. "But where are my manners? Take a seat, please, and we can get down to business."
Siegfried did so, and the captain cleared his throat. "My name is Johnathan Guerra, Captain of Battlerock Island's marine base."
"And I am Siegfried, cadet of Greiger academy." The bounty hunter hoped he wouldn't question exactly why Siegfried wasn't a graduate.
Johnathan didn't, fortunately. "Now that we have the introductions out of the way, let's get down to business. I'm sure you've seen the state most of my men are in, haven't you?"
The younger man nodded, and Johnathan continued. "Well, the reason for that..."
Opening one of his desk's drawers, the captain retrieved what seemed to be a small card, placing it on the table in front of Siegfried. "...is this."
Reaching out and taking it, Siegfried brought it to his eyes. There was writing on the card that read as follows.
'The appointment will be a week from when you receive this letter. Please be prepared on that day.'
And underneath that:
The Black Cat
Siegfried raised an eyebrow. "The Black Cat?" he echoed. "Who is that, captain?"
Johnathan furrowed his brow. "An assassin." he began gravely. "A fearsome one, of some renown. Roughly a week ago, I received this letter, adressed from him."
He shook his head. "I can't say I know why he means to kill me; in my line of work, it seems like enemies appear from every corner. I don't think I've done anything that would warrant an assassin, but that's probably just modesty talking, ha ha."
Johnathan looked up at Siegfried. "I won't lie to you, Siegfried. I don't have any special powers or unique training, like other marine captains. But from the stories I've heard about The Black Cat, he does, and if he comes here to kill me...well, he probably will. My subordinates seem to think so, anyway - they've been terrified for me since I got the note.
I'm man enough to admit when I need help, Siegfried...and if you're willing to offer it, then I'll readily accept. What do you ask for as payment?"
Siegfried shook his head. "The knowledge that I've helped a marine will be reward enough."
He smirked. "Just tell everyone that it was a man named Siegfried who helped you."
Johnathan smiled. "Very generous of you. I hope you won't suddenly change your mind."
Siegfried leaned back in his chair, a smile playing on his lips. "Now...if the deadline is today, I'm afraid I can't come up with anything terribly complicated...but I do think I have a plan."
Johnathan listened carefully as Siegfried began to explain...
A short while later, Johnathan was gone, and Siegfried was seated at the desk.
The plan was simple; when the assassin came, he'd likely come straight to this room. Of course, he would likely do some cursory recon before he did so, but that was why Siegfried had borrowed a spare uniform of Johnathan's - with the cap pulled down, his face was hidden unless you looked closely. The assassin would have to be in the room to tell, and by then it would be too late for him.
He'd ordered the marines to cover all of the base's entrances, or at least all the obvious ones. That way they'd be out of the way when things got rough, as well as reassure the assassin that nothing All in all, while a simple plan, it was a sound one. It should work.
Asakura suddenly appeared next to him. Siegfried looked to her. "So, what information did you get on this 'Black Cat' person, Asakura?"
The shinobi shook her head. "Not much, I am afraid. Most of it seems to be baseless rumors; other than his status as an assassin, I can find no concrete information about him."
Siegfried shrugged. 'Well, he is an assassin, I suppose - he wouldn't be doing his job very well if we could find out everything about him so easily."
He frowned. "Still..."
"You have doubts?" asked Asakura.
Siegfried nodded. "Soething about this just feels...off. For instance, the note; why would an assassin announce themselves, and so much in advance? It doesn't make any sense."
"Perhaps he has an ego?" put forth Asakura. "Many people do."
Siegfried raised an eyebrow at the slight lack of subtlety, but didn't comment. "And why did the captain let his entire base learn of this? A serious lack of security, if you ask me."
He put his elbows on the table, steepling his hands below his chin. "As I see it, there are three possibilities that could explain the note's discrepency. The first is that the captain forged it, which is unlikely; what could he gain by making me believe an assassin was after his life? The second is that a third party wrote it, as some sort of warning to Johnathan. But, again, we lack a motive."
"And the third?" Asakura asked.
Siegfried shrugged. "The Black Cat really did write it, and he's an idiot. I have no idea which of these is the truth, or whether it's something different I haven't thought of yet. But I intend to find out."
He smiled. "If he has such a fearsome reputation, then I almost look forward to meeting him...I wonder what he's doing right now?"
Back at the ferry, the crew members had already left on their shore leave. They were due to stay docked here for a few days, so there wasn't much to do but restock supplies and relax. The passengers had dispersed as well, getting out of their hair for the time being.
...well, all except one.
Inside one of the many rented rooms on the ferry, two golden eyes suddenly snapped open. Well, drifted lazily open, to be a touch more accurate.
Two hands came up and rubbed them, as a weary groan came out of the person's mouth. "Damn it...I got a full night's sleep, too, I'm sure I did...wait, what time is it?"
One hand groped for the bedside table - specifically, for the wrist watch that was on it. After a few tries, the person grabbed it and lifted it to their eyes. A momentary glance at the clock's face, and they were instantly awake.
The word the person said next cannot, regrettably, be properly illustrated, or else the author would receive a grievous punishment from his editors.
In a few minutes, the person was fully dressed and out the door - moving very quickly. Sprinting up the stairs to the deck, they turned and leapt, landing on the ship's railing. Swiftly kicking off it, they were airborne again, sailing through the air.
Landing on the roof one of the waterfront buildings, they checked the watch again. No good; time didn't care if it was inconvenient to one person, after all.
"Just under twenty minutes...I can make it, but dammit, I just know he's gonna make some stupid joke. ----in' hell."
A wide grin spread across their face. "Ah, what am I worried for? Old ironsides has probably scared himself stupid by now. He might even think I'll be a no-show...heh, and then I bust in, and he wets himself. Heh, yeah, that'll look real good."
And then the figure was off, hopping from rooftop to rooftop toward it's destination; the marine base.
Siegfried had been expecting the assassin to slip silently through the door, or climb in through one of the windows. Or maybe something a bit more interesting. With a moniker like The Black Cat, you expected something subtle. Discreet.
Not, for instance, a loud crash, followed by the sounds of several people crying out in pain. Which is what Siegfried heard.
More crashes followed, along with new sounds joining the cacophony; the sound of rifles being fired, and the roaring of battle cries from the marines.
But it was obvious that they couldn't hope to stop this intruder. The sounds of the melee gradually came closer, until they were right outside the door.
Siegfried was slightly shocked to discover he was sweating.
The doors of the room suddenly shuddered, as if hit hard by something. It repeated once more, and the hinges began to buckle.
A fierce roar came from outside the door, sounding like it had come from a raging beast. Then the doors burst completely off their hinges, bouncing to the floor as someone came sailing through; the door guard from before, Dober, laden down with a large bazooka and a double-headed axe. Spinning head over heels, he flew across the room until he hit the opposite wall, crumpling to the ground.
Siegfried leaned forward as the person who had propelled him stepped into the room.
The bounty hunter smiled. "The Black Cat, I presume?"
To be continued...
Next time, on One Piece: Bounty Seven...
The Black Cat: Are you trying to intimidate me? Heh, that's cute.
Asakura: What a battle...I've never seen him fight like this before.
The Black Cat Approaches, Part 2
Siegfried: Something about you...excites me.
Shinobi-dono: Well, that or turn good, which a lot of villains do end up doing. Depends on the tone of the series they're in, and the villain themselves. Akatsuki will be around for a while; major baddie, there.
Lord Gambit508: Yeah, you know, it was honestly a toss-up there. I was considering just having him die in the eleventh chapter ....kidding, kidding. Glad you enjoyed it.
Well, until next time, see ya. I hope all of you had a Happy New Year!