Now that the exciting fight is over, time for talking!

Yay...

One Piece: Bounty Seven

The Black Cat Approaches, Part 3

Slowly, Siegfried opened his eyes. Instantly, every part of his body began to yell at him all at once for putting them into this situation. It was tempting to just lie back down until they were finished, but he had work to do. Slowly, he shifted his gaze gaze around. He seemed to be in a small, private room, pristine and clean. He was lying in a bed, and-

"I see you're up, my boy."

Captain Johnathan was sitting next to it, beaming down at him. "I have to say I'm surprised; our doctors thought you'd be out for much longer - very impressive."

"Well, I heal fast." Siegfried replied briskly. He paused. "How long have I been out exactly?"

Johnathan thought to himself. "About one day. Heh, you were a bit of a mess when we found you, but don't worry. Our doctors are quite skilled, and they managed to patch you up right as rain!"

The bounty hunter smiled. "Oh, I don't doubt that, Captain." A moment passed, and his face grew serious. He pushed himself up into a sitting position. "So, exactly what happened while I was unconscious? What happened to The Black Cat?"

The Captain just smiled. "Not to worry, my boy; we have that assassin safely behind bars. But that wouldn't have been possible without you, Siegfried - I thank you, and this island thanks you."

Siegfried shrugged. "It was nothing, sir. I was happy to help."

Johnathan gave a short laugh. "Humble, too! You really are something else, aren't you?"

"I suppose." Siegfried said casually. He cleared his throat. "Exactly what will happen to The Black Cat now that we've captured him, if you don't mind me asking?"

For a moment, just a moment, the captain's expression changed from friendliness to...something else. It was only there for an instant however, before Johnathan's smile returned.

"Well, naturally he'll be executed. Trying to kill a marine captain is no small offense, you know, and being a famous criminal doesn't make him immune to the punishments of the common kind."

Siegfried nodded. "I see. At what time will the execution be held."

He watched carefully, but whatever he'd seen didn't make a return appearance. Johnathan thought for a moment. "Well, we usually execute criminals at about six in the morning, the day after we've prepared the necessary tools. For some people a noose or a line of rifles isn't quite enough, you know."

"Of course."

"We've already done all that while you were asleep..." Johnathan continued. "So it'll be at six sharp tomorrow, barring any unforeseen accidents of course."

Siegfried couldn't not notice that last statement. He spoke up anyway. "If you don't mind, would it be alright if I was there? I wouldn't mind seeing the fruits of my labor, ha ha."

The captain just smiled. "Why, I'd be honored. But that won't be for a while yet - it's only just noon now. In the meantime, you should get some rest."

He stood up and walked to the door, turning back to the bounty hunter. "I'll tell my men you aren't to be disturbed. Just relax, and have a nice sleep."

With that, he shut the door. Siegfried listened to his footsteps retreating back down the corridor outside.

"My apologies, captain, but if the choice is either me getting rest or preventing a lady from getting her eternal one...well, the answer is obvious every time."

Aloud he said to thin air, "Asakura."

Silently, the shinobi appeared from out of nowhere. "Siegfried. It is good to see you are alright."

Siegfried smiled wrly. "Your definition of 'alright' is very similar to the academy's." He looked her over. "Are you alright, Asakura? I trust she didn't hit you too hard."

The masked woman shook her head. "No, she only knocked me unconscious because..." She trailed off and blinked, realizing what pronoun Siegfried had used. "She?"

"Yes, she." the bounty hunter nodded. "It turns out the lion is actually a lioness. I guess there were no rumors about that, were there?"

Asakura shook her head. "I see. How interesting."

That seemed all she had to say on the matter - but then, Siegfried mused, a equal-opportunity organization like the shinobi probably didn't put much stock into things like gender.

"Anyway," Siegfried said, switching to a new topic, "I wanted to talk to you about our next move."

The female shinobi looked attentive. "Which is?"

Siegfried thought to himself a moment (which, for a psychic, can be a very long time). What he was about to ask could go over badly if put the wrong way. He mulled over a few ways to do it, but they all hit a brick wall when he factored in Asakura's personality. He decided to be direct.

"I need you to find out where this base's jail is located, and do some reconnaissance of it if possible."

Asakura paused. "Why?" Her tone was cold.

Siegfried cleared his throat, and pressed on. "...well, I was considering asking her to-"

"You cannot be serious!" Asakura uncharacteristically exploded. "She is a dangerous killer, and you wish her to join us? Are you mad, Siegfried?"

"Last time I checked, no." Siegfried replied smoothly. "I'll admit that yes, she is a criminal...but not one I want to see executed. So I've decided to help her."

Asakura folded her arms. "Breaking an assassin out of jail...an odd intent, for a former marine. And one I cannot assist you with, no matter your motivations."

Siegfried nodded. "The key word being 'former', Asakura. Now I'm a bounty hunter, and the only code of law I have to follow is what I decide for myself. Don't worry; if this goes against your own, I won't force you to help me."

He stood up, even as his joints screamed at him in pain. He looked back at her. "I don't mind that kind of black and white view, either - reminds me of a friend back at the academy. And it would be quite boring if everyone on this team thought the same way. In my case, I want to find out the truth of this entire situation: I know there's something Johnathan isn't telling me."

The bounty hunter bowed at her. "I'll be off now. If I don't come back...try not to weep."

With that comment, he opened the door and slipped out. Asakura stood by herself, thinking about what Siegfried had said.

Luckily, no-one saw him leave the base. Siegfried quickly left the grounds so that wouldn't change.

Then he reached into his coat, and smiled. Johnathan either hadn't searched him, or had and figured these items weren't anything important. Either way, he still had them; three objects small enough to easily fit into someone's pocket. The Black Cat's pocket, for example.

He looked at the first one. It was a coin of gold, about the same size as a Beri. It didn't have the markings of one however - engraved on one side was the number eleven, and on the other, the letters GLAA. The coin wasn't money, or at least not any kind the bounty hunter had seen before, so Siegfried had no sure idea what either of them meant. He put it back, and turned to the next item.

This one was a photograph. On it was a slightly younger Black Cat, standing next to a much older man. Siegfried guessed immediately that they were related somehow; they were both dressed similarly, all in black with identical hair colour, and had the same unfriendly look in their eyes. Of course, neither of them looked like they enjoyed the other's company at all, and were in fact visibly irritated by their presence. But even though Siegfried had just met the assassin, he could tell that was just how she treated everyone. It wasn't unreasonable to think she had picked that up from this gentlemen.

That too, was a dead end, albeit an interesting one. He put the photo back, and turned to the final item. It was a jet-black Den Den Mushi, small and elegantly made. There was no rotary dial on it - only a button on the front. Siegfried stared at it for a moment before thrusting his finger forward and pressing it, holding the receiver up to his ear.

Instantly, the snail's eyes snapped open, giving him an icy glare as the phone ring. It did so for only a moment, before someone on the other end picked up.

"Hello?" said a heavily accented male voice. Siegfried couldn't quite place exactly what accent, though. "You are rather late, Fraulein. Didn't you say you'd finish the battle in 'two minutes, tops'?"

The bounty hunter cleared his throat. "I'm afraid she's a bit...preoccupied at the moment."

A moment of silence passed, and then the voice spoke up again, with far less warmth than the first time. "Then...just who are you? How did you acquire this Den Den Mushi?"

Siegfried thought about it. "Well, that depends."

"Oh, yes," the voice immediately replied, "depending on the tone you take with me, I will either continue this conversation or track you down and beat you to death with my own bare hands. Now please, try to be civil, and answer my question."

The statement wasn't a threat, but a confident statement of fact. Siegfried decided to stow his usual attitude, at least for now. He cleared his throat and spoke up. "My name is Siegfried. I'm a bounty hunter - I was hired by her target to protect him."

"I see." said the voice slowly, distaste evident in his voice. "I assume then, Mr. Siegfried, that you obtained this Den Den Mushi by...?"

"I took it from her," Siegfried answered smoothly, "after the little...encounter we had."

The voice took a moment to process this. "You entered into combat with the Fraulein, and were victorious? That is very impressive...assuming of course that you are telling the truth."

Siegfried frowned. "I'm up walking now, aren't I? Would I even be able to talk to you if that hadn't been the case?"

"Now, now." the voice said, slightly condescendingly. "There is no need to get defensive, Mr. Siegfried. I am not trying to insult you...merely unused to people being quite so vocal after meeting Fraulein. You must understand why, ha ha."

Siegfried's lips quirked. For whatever reason, he found himself growing increasingly irritated by this man. "I certainly can, yes. Speaking of her," he continued briskly, "she's currently locked up in the marine base's jail. I intend to break her out, and I wonder how you might feel about that."

There came a momentary pause, and then the voice spoke up again. "...a very interesting question, Mr. Siegfried. I freely admit, it would be a shame if Fraulein were to meet an untimely end. But I also cannot become personally invested in this situation, for reasons I will not disclose. However...you are an outside force, a late appearance in all of this. Thus, I cannot ask you to bend to my will; you may act as you see fit, Mr. Siegfried."

"Thank you. I just thought you should know." Siegfried replied. "Hm. Maybe I misjudged him."

"Of course, I make no guarantees that Fraulein herself will be as accomodating...but, who knows? Hm hm hm...goodbye."

With a click, he disconnected. Siegfried put the receiver back down slowly. "Or, maybe not."

After he had a bite to eat - well, he did have a lot of time - Siegfried set about locating the jail. It wasn't hard to find, the facility merely being a branching wing off of the main base. The entrance to it was a small, discreet iron door, that looked like it could withstand direct cannon fire. It was guarded by a lone marine with a rifle, standing in the usual manner of sentries everywhere. As Siegfried strode up, he turned smartly and pointed the gun into his face. "Hold it. Who are you?"

Siegfried smiled at the marine, in a disarming, friendly way. The guard blinked and hesitated for a moment, lowering his rifle. Then, suddenly, a thought bubbled up to the surface of his mind. It said, "Wait, he's that bounty hunter the captain hired - he's harmless."

He holstered the rifle and shrugged. "Sorry about that. I didn't really get a good glimpse of you earlier, so I guess you slipped my mind."

"Oh, that's alright." Siegfried replied casually. "I'm not that noteworthy, really."

The marine shook his head. "Hah, I doubt that'll be the case on this island. You saved the captain's life, after all; there isn't a single person who won't be grateful for that. Without him this place would fall apart, you know."

Siegfried nodded. "He does seem very capable." He looked around. "I thought I'd take a look around your base; see what new developments the marines have made." He pointed at the door behind the guard. "This is the jail, right? Can you tell me anything about it?"

After he finished speaking, another thought popped into the marine's head. "Well, if he wants to know, guess I'll tell him. No reason not to."

Aloud he said, "I don't know too much about it, but I can tell you what I do." He gestured to the door. "This leads into the main part of the jail - we keep most of our ordinary prisoners in there, but right now it's pretty empty. There are also other wings for...different kinds of criminals, if you catch my drift. Procedure is a bit different in them; the bars are made of sea stone, and the inmates have to wear handcuffs made of the same. Standard stuff for people like them, really."

Siegfried nodded again. Grieger Island's base had similar accomodations. "I see. But..." He looked behind the marine, at the door he was guarding. "Doesn't just one of you guarding this door seem a bit dangerous? If you have the keys, someone could just knock you out and release anyone they wanted."

The guard's face clouded for a moment, and then he shrugged. "Well, that is true for the people in the main wing, but I doubt anyone would go to that much trouble; like I said, we don't keep anyone dangerous in there, and none of them are up for execution. As for the prisoners in the other wings, the only person who can open their cells is Captain Guerra himself: he's got the keys."

"Ah, that makes sense." Siegfried smiled. "It's good to know that assassin I put in there won't be getting out again."

"Hah, don't worry," said the marine, smiling, "he'll stay there until tomorrow at dawn. Then nobody will have to worry about him ever again."

An uncomfortable moment passed where neither of the two said anything. The sentry cleared his throat. "Um, was that all you needed to know?"

Siegfried nodded, his grin growing. "Yeah, you've been very informative. Thanks...and sorry."

Before the guard could ask the obvious question, the bounty hunter gave him a very direct answer, in the form of a quick chop to the throat. He fell down as he lost consciousness, but Siegfried caught him before he faceplanted on the flagstones.

Laying him down, the psychic put both of his hands on the guard's temple. Then he thought to himself. "I must've fallen asleep in the heat...huh, I should bring a bottle of water or something next time I have guard duty here."

He concentrated hard on that thought, slowly manifesting it inside the guard's mind, until it was as concrete and believable as Siegfried could make it. He deposited it at the forefront of the marine's mind - it would be the first thing to occur to him when he woke up.

Siegfried stood up...and immediately bent double, panting hard. Putting suggestions into someone's mind was one thing - you only had to poke at things that were already there - but planting something entirely new into one was very taxing, and not a skill he cared to practice very often. Getting used to doing something like that was the beginning of a deep quagmire, and one Siegfried would rather stay clear of.

"But, using it to save a lady from certain death...you'd approve of that, wouldn't you, Captain?"

Stooping again, he unhooked the marine's key ring from around his belt and then moved toward the door. After a few tries, he found the key that fit and unlocked it. Then, just in case, Siegfried put his ear to the door. When he heard nothing for a few moments, he pushed it open slowly. As he did this, the psychic grunted as his knees shuddered slightly. Learning that breaking kitten out of the jail itself would be impossible was something of a relief; in this state, she'd probably end up carrying him.

"Not that that would be a bad thing." Siegfried mused to himself, and then stepped through the door.

Immediately, he hopped to the left and hugged the wall. The jail's entrance opened onto a short corridor, which split into two hallways going left and right shortly after the door. The building was dank and gloomy, right only by small lanterns bolted on the walls; evidently Captain Guerra disallowed his prisoners proper lighting. Of course, this was also the case for his own men inside the jail, but that was hardly a mistake exclusive to him.

"Maybe Captain Heinrich was unique in that regard?" thought Siegfried. His approach was quite different - he reasoned that, while making the jail brightly lit would allow the criminals inside to see the marines, it would also allow them to see the rifles they were holding...and vice versa. This was far from the only reason while Grieger Island's jail had yet to have a single breakout.

Listening carefully, Siegfried picked up the sound of footsteps heading this way. He scrunched himself against the wall, going as still as possible. The marine soon showed his face, striding confidently past the entrance way. Siegfried held his breath, but the guard didn't make a motion toward him, or more importantly, the exit. He disappeared from sight as quickly as he appeared, going down the right hall.

Siegfried stepped away from the wall and fell into step behind him, trying to move as quietly as possible. Soon they reached the cells; they were fairly standard, with a single bed, sink, toilet, and mirror. That was all, but you could hardly complain about people in jail not getting extravagant furnishings, could you? True to what the marine outside had said, none of the cells on this floor seemed to be occupied. Siegfried was grateful for that - being in jail could make you surprisingly vindictive toward complete stranger.

After a few more moments of this, the marine turned to the left and began walking up another hallway. But rather than follow him, Siegfried was far more interested in what lay straight ahead: another short hall led to an iron door, much like the one that led into the jail.

Creeping up to it, Siegfried's gaze was drawn to a plaque installed over the door. It read, Maximum Security Wing.

"I should hurry up and let her out," the bounty hunter thought, "or those other criminals are done for."

As he pushed open the door, he realized he'd only been half joking.

Immediately his nose was assailed by a foul odor. Evidently this area hadn't received a cleaning in a while, either by accident or on purpose. Trying not to inhale, Siegfried made his way forward - the Maximum Security Wing was even darker than the jail's entrance. Adding onto that was the corridor quickly narrowing after just a few feet from the wing's entrance. To prevent prisoners from making a break for it by dodging around their guards, Siegfried supposed.

There then came an abrupt bend in the hallway, and past it he found the first of the maximum security cells. They were altogether more dirty and smaller than the ones outside, and had also been installed with some...unique features. Shackles on the walls, straps that went over the beds twice, neck cuffs bolted to the floor...fun things like that. Siegfried averted his eyes.

Soon he began to hear voices coming from deeper in the wing.

"Well, would ya look at the big bad assassin," said a male voice, likely a marine, "not so scary when he's behind bars, is he?"

"I'll say." another man's voice agreed.

"Open up this cell, then." said The Black Cat's familiar voice. "That might help."

There came a momentary pause as the marines' bravado faltered for a second or two. Then the first voice spoke up again. "Hah, you don't really realize how much trouble you're in, do you?"

Spurred on by his companion the second added, "Wonder if he'll still make threats on the execution grounds?"

"...I guess it'll be by firing squad, then." was the assassin's comment. "Unless one of you suddenly grows enough balls to come near me without pissing your pants; huh, not ----in' likely."

Another pause. "W-we're not scared of you!"

There then came the sound of a snort. "Yeah, that's such a brave stutter you've got. Listen up: there's only one guy on this island I'd buy that from, and neither of you pantywaists are him. So piss off."

"Why you...!" yelled the second marine.

"Ah, forget him," cut in the first, "he won't be so tough come tomorrow. Let's get out of here."

Siegfried listened to their footsteps as they walked away from the cell - and not toward him, thankfully. The narrow hallway would have made stealth impossible.

He waited a few seconds more to make sure they were well out of earshot, and walked forward. After another bend in the corridor, he found himself in front of The Black Cat's cell. She was laying on the cell's cot, staring up at the ceiling. Her hands and legs were chained with cuffs that were no doubt made of Seastone

"Hey Shades." she spoke, just before Siegfried was about to.

The bounty hunter looked bemused. "...well, I thought I was doing a good job."

The Black Cat nodded. "Yeah, that's why; no-one in this place has any training worth a damn, so someone who does sticks out like a sore thumb."

Siegfried shrugged. "Certainly not to them, and they're all I was hiding from anyway. I'm not exactly supposed to be here at the moment, if you couldn't tell."

"Nah, just thought you were sneaking around for fun." With some difficulty, she pulled herself into a sitting position. "So what are you doing here, anyway? Don't tell me you want a rematch already. Heh, might even be fair with these on, right?"

Siegfried shook his head, smiling. "Not at all; although I wouldn't mind that later, if the offer is still available."

He looked around the wing. "A place like this isn't suitable for a lady. I've come to escort you out of here, kitten."

As the assassin bristled with rage (which he didn't think would ever get unamusing), Siegfried gave a heavy shrug and sighed. "Unfortunately, I didn't think my chivalry would have to contend with Sea Stone. But don't worry, I'll find some way to-"

"Don't."

Siegfried blinked. "Hm?" He looked back at the young woman. "What was that, Kitten?"

This time it didn't get a rise out of her. She turned her eyes away. "Don't bother wasting your time, I said. Just leave."

With a brief echo the words vanished, but only in the physical realm. In Siegfried's mind they reverbrated many times over, and he felt his hands tighten, his smile hardening to a thin line.

"You'll die if I do." he said, with none of his usual brevity. "You know that, don't you?"

The Black Cat nodded. "Of course. I knew I might bite it going into this; that's just part of being an assassin."

Her expression had changed to a glare. "And that's why I don't want you interfering in this, okay? I failed, and now I'm gonna die. It's none of your business."

"So you'll go to your death, just like that?" Siegfried persisted, returning the ugly look. "Is that really what you want to do?"

"Like I said, I'm an assassin," The Black Cat repeated, "not some little girl. I screwed up, and now I have to face the consequences. That's just what happens sometimes."

Siegfried frowned. "You can make hundreds of mistakes in a lifetime...but you only get one to make them in. Please reconsider, Kit-"

Snarling, the assassin leapt up in front of the bars. "I already decided! If you really respect me, then you'll accept that, dammit!"

The bounty hunter offered up a growl of his own. "Then, would..." He pulled out the photo from his pocket, flashing it in her face. "He want you to die?"

The Black Cat fell quiet, her expression of anger fading away. For a moment there was silence in the jail as she stared at the photograph.

Then she said, very quietly, "That's not your's. Give it back to me, right now."

Siegfried blinked, put off by the assassin's subdued reaction. He stepped forward and extended his hand...

Only for The Black Cat to swing her leg behind him and push, sending him crashing against the bars. Instantly her face was in front of his, teeth bared.

"Listen up, Shades," she said in an ice cold tone, "'Cause I'm only gonna say this once. You don't know a thing about me, or him. So don't act like you do. And if you ever talk to me like I'm someone to be pitied again...I'll ----ing kill you, understand?"

With that, the assassin pushed him backward, snatching the photo out of his hands as she did so. Siegfried watched as she looked down at it, her expression unreadable.

Then she turned away. "Whatever...do whatever you want. You will no matter what I say, right? So just get out of my face."

Siegfried watched her for a moment, and then quietly left. "I shouldn't have said that. But it did let me know more about her...hmph, I seem to attract women like that, don't I?"

When he had gone The Black Cat sat down on her cot, looking at the photo.

"Hey, old man. Bet you'd be pretty ashamed of me right now, wouldn't you? Getting knocked out like that, being locked up in here...and willing to die just because of pride. Not to mention treating him like that after he came to help me - hah, maybe you were right about me and men."

She laid back. "But I don't really care what you think, do I? I'm doing this for me, not you, and I'll do it my way!"

A moment or two passed, and then she shoved the photo into her pocket and flung an arm over her eyes. "...goddamnit. I ----ing hate you, old man."

Siegfried left the jail, and the grounds altogether quite quickly. He was thinking hard. "Alright. I can't get her out of there before the execution, and she'll definitely still be wearing those cuffs during it. So the question is, how do you break Seastone? And for that matter, how do you go about executing someone like that?"

After a moment, the answer to both questions came to him. Assuming the captain thought along the same lines as him, and Siegfried would bet on that. He seemed like a very...thorough man.

A quick jog took him back to the base's main building. Sneaking inside while making sure to remain undetected, he soon located the room he was looking for.

Weapon Storage read the plaque above the door. Nodding to himself Siegfried slipped inside - it was dark in the room, and lined nearly wall to wall with weapons, ammo crates, and other equipment for combat. After a bit of stumbling around the bounty hunter found what he was looking for, tucked way at the back.

He picked one up, and immediately drooped from it's weight. "I don't envy whoever has to load these..." A couple staggering steps brought him to the object's proper container.

Siegfried nodded. "I hope these are as effective as they're rumored; I'd hate to have borrowed one for nothing. The World Government spent good money on them, after all."

Then he left, hoping the marines would be grateful enough not to wonder why one of them was already loaded.

After all that, Siegfried returned to the room he was borrowing. He looked at the bed with a certain degree of relief; sleeping until the execution didn't seem like a bad idea.

Before that though, he made a brief glance around the room.

"Hm...she's either not here, or not speaking to me. Either way, it's not something I can deal with right now. My impending exhaustion, on the other hand..."

And with that, the bounty hunter slept.

Soon morning came, the sun just beginning to peek over the horizon at six sharp.

Behind the main base were the execution grounds. It held a variety of implements for that purpose, depending on what type of person they were dealing with. For some the noose, for others the guillotine, and provided they weren't immune to bullets (it truly said something when that was a variable), a firing squad was never a bad idea. To the best of their knowledge, The Black Cat wasn't, so one had been assembled.

Although granted, the ordinance was a bit different than usual...

"Are those cannons primed and ready yet, son?" Johnathan asked the marine in charge of overseeing them.

He looked up at his superior. "Almost, Captain...um, are you absolutely sure about this, sir?"

Johnathan tilted his head. "That's the third time you've asked me that, son - is anything wrong?"

"Well, uh..." the marine scratched his head hesitantly. "Doesn't this seem a little excessive? We've got six cannons set up here, and I don't think most people could take more than one shot from one of these, heh heh."

Johnathan smiled and nodded. "I can see why you might think that - it is a bit unorthodox." He motioned to The Black Cat, who was standing in-between six cannons pointed right at her.

"But we're dealing with a dangerous assassin here, and we have no idea what he's capable of. So we can't really afford to pull our punches here, can we?"

He chuckled. "Heck, we might even be doing that anyway. Who knows?"

Without giving the marine time to respond, Johnathan abruptly walked away, heading toward the assassin.

The Captain stopped right in The Black Cat and gave her a once over. He smiled again. "It's customary for prisoners to be allowed a few last words before the execution. Do you have anything to say, assassin?"

Her answer was to spit down on his shoes.

Johnathan's smile didn't waver. "I see. Well, have it your way." He walked back behind the cannons.

"Some people just can't help but be difficult." sighed a voice behind him. The Captain turned to see Siegfried standing there.

He smiled. "Ah, Siegfried, there you are. Just in time, too; we're almost ready to begin here." He glanced sideways at the cannon operator. "Aren't we?"

The marine hesitated. "Uh, yes sir. Just a second..."

He stood up and waved to the other cannoneers. They signaled back, and as one lit their matches.

Siegfried, Johnathan and The Black Cat all watched as the wicks all slowly burned down their length. It felt longer than it actually took; after roughly a minute they were near the end. As an afterthought the former two shoved their fingers in their ears.

That didn't help much when the six simultaneous bangs went off: it felt like a giant had clapped it's hands together right in front of your face...albeit without you flying back about ten feet. A cloud of smoke was kicked up as all six cannonballs hit The Black Cat dead-on, obscuring their effect for a few moments.

...and then, almost like a whisper to the cannon's shout, there came another noise that went unheard by most of the marines nearby. Siegfried and Johnathan heard it, however. Their reactions to it were very different.

And so were their expressions when the smoke finally cleared. The Black Cat was standing there, the remains of the Seastone cuffs on the ground at her feet. For a moment there was silence.

"HE'S LOOSE!" came the terrified shout that broke it. The marines wavered in indecision - they couldn't just run away with their captain here, but the last time they'd tried to fight this guy it hadn't exactly gone well.

Johnathan looked from his men to the freed assassin and bit his lip.

"Oh my, Captain." came Siegfried's voice from behind him. "It seems like one of your men accidentally loaded a Seastone cannonball. I wonder how that happend?"

Slowly, the Marine Captain regained his smile. "Siegfried my boy, a question. How much did that assassin pay you to do this, exactly? Just for the record, you understand."

"Oh, she didn't pay me a single beri, sir. You just didn't pay me not to, that's all."

"I see." said Johnathan pleasantly.

He made a sudden quick turn, drawing his pistol and firing straight at Siegfried's chest. The bounty hunter dodged quickly, the bullet scraping his side as it flew past.

"Men," Captain Guerra spoke up, "Siegfried has just decided to be very, very stupid, and betray us. Kill him and the assassin, please."

Direct orders overrode hesitation. The marines unholstered rifles, drew sabers, and assembled into formation.

Johnathan smiled. Stepping backward, he kept his gun trained on Siegfried. "Now if you will excuse me, I do have other business to attend to; can't get behind schedule just because of a little set-back, you know."

He walked off, the bounty hunter calmly watching. The Captain wasn't his job, after all.

Siegfried sidled calmly past the cannons and up to The Black Cat, the marines trailing him with their rifles as he did so.

"It's a good thing you used that defensive skill for those cannonballs." Siegfried said coyly. "Otherwise you might have been killed."

The Black Cat just glared at him, stretching her arms and legs as she did so. "Don't be an ass. I changed my mind, that's all. So what?"

Siegfried shrugged. "I'm just pleased, that's all." He jabbed a thumb back toward where Johnathan had retreated. "You'd better hurry, if you want to catch him."

The assassin frowned. "You sure, Shades? For all you know, he might be totally innocent."

"Come now, Kitten - I'm not dense. And I've already burned that bridge anyway." Siegfried said calmly. "If I have to take a side, I'd rather be with someone true to herself."

The Black Cat snorted. "You say, to the girl who acts like a guy." She popped her shoulders. "Well, guess I'll get going. Try not to die."

Just before she vanished from view something occured to Siegfried. "Kitten, hang on a second!"

She reappeared several feet away, skidding violently on the ground. The assassin whirled back around, her expression furious. "WHAT!? I could have popped a leg there, dammit, so this better be important!"

"You almost forgot this."

Easily snatching the object Siegfried threw at her out of the air, The Black Cat took a look at it. It was the coin that had been in her pocket.

She nodded, calming down almost instantly. "Oh yeah. Was wondering where this went." She tucked it into her pocket. "Don't expect a thank you, since you took it in the first place."

The Black Cat turned around, but then looked over her shoulder. "Hey, Shades - if you survive, I might tell you my name."

Then she was gone.

Siegfried smiled and turned to the marines, nodding politely at them. "Thank you for waiting, I appreciate it." He gestured toward himself. "You can begin now."

They did.

To be continued...

Next time, on Bounty Seven...

Johnathan: You're nothing but a bloodthristy brute, that needs to be put down.

Siegfried: Failing at two professions. Very impressive of you.

Asakura: These actions are truly impardonable.

The Black Cat Approaches, Part 4

The Black Cat: Nowhere to run now, Blitzkrieg.

Lord Gambit508 - I'll be moving on up to College next year, myself. And yeah, she is a girl; I take it that twist caught you by surprise?

The Dude of Doom - She certainly is, isn't she? I was looking forward to writing her in this arc. As for Romance, well, maybe...

Shinobi-dono - Glad you liked it - I was a bit worried that I couldn't make it as good on paper as it was in my head. Also that you didn't cry foul on her knowing Rokushiki; that can easily be taken as a sueish trait, but I promise to explain it well.

Teh Drunk - Not at all, not at all. I sometimes do that with stories myself. Hope you enjoyed this chapter.

Until next time, see you guys.