Time for the Final Fight of this arc, and oh boy, is it a doozy.
Let's step into the Garden of Madness together, shall we readers?
One Piece: Bounty Seven
The Black Cat Approaches, Part 4
From high atop the main building of the marine base, Asakura watched as the preceedings got underway. Shinobi often watched as justice was invoked upon the people they'd captured - much like the marines, they acquired a deep sense of satisfaction from seeing criminals get what was coming to them. Even if she hadn't been responsible for this one's capture (and had, indeed, spent much of it lying on the floor unconscious, not that she was bitter), she still felt it was her duty.
Asakura nodded. "Yes; this is right. A criminal is executed, and this world becomes safer. Who could see it any differently...?"
"The only law I have to follow is what I believe to be right."
Her grip tightened on the kunai she was holding.
"I want to find out the truth of this entire situation."
Gritting her teeth, Asakura threw the missile to one side, where it stood quivering in one of the parapet stones, which now had a large crack running through it.
"Damn it, Siegfried. Not everyone can be like you..."
She watched further, was the bounty hunter and captain made their appearance. The shinobi knew right away he had a plan - she drew another kunai. When he commenced it...she would act.
At first, though, that didn't appear to be the case. As the cannons were lit and prepared to fire, he made no move - or at least, she reminded herself, no physical move - just watching carefully. Did he know she was...Asakura shook her head. No, thinking like that was just paranoia.
Asakura wasn't stupid, and she managed to piece it together quickly enough. If he wasn't going to make a move, that meant he had already done so...and with the method of execution...
Too late, sadly. The cannons fired, and The Black Cat was released from her cuffs. Asakura was about to leap down, when Siegfried and the captain appeared to converse. When the latter's shot rang out, she frowned. The frown deepened when he fled, assassin following, and his men all pointed guns at the bounty hunter.
Most marines believed shinobi to be vigilantes, and this was somewhat true. If they saw fit to transport a criminal to their island, there was little chance that person would leave alive. This was because they found that if it was left up to the marines, funny things sometimes happened. Like an important witness to the defendant's innocence being found dead before they could testify, or a criminal with a particularly virulent mind going free despite being caught red-handed (in some cases very literally). The shinobi were black and white, certainly, but they didn't stab people they were supposed to protect in the back. Not figuratively, at least.
Asakura nodded to herself, making a decision. Then, she leaped.
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Siegfried looked around at the marines, as well as the rifles they had pointed at him, and spread his hands wide. "Well, gentlemen? The fight can't start until one of us moves...is it not going to be any of you?"
He tapped his chin with one hand. "I can't imagine why not. After all, I'm just a lone bounty hunter, and I certainly don't have near the training any of you do."
One marine - a seaman first class, Siegfried saw - nodded, looking around angrily at his friends. "Exactly! Why the hell are you guys letting him psych you out? We have him outnumbered, and we have guns! Just shoot him!"
Siegfried watched as the rifles were cocked, fingers on their triggers. "Yes, exactly!" He smiled. "Only..." He held up one hand, ticking off three fingers.
"Too late."
Suddenly a gust of wind swept up, wresting the guns away from the marines and scattering them across the ground. Siegfried nodded as Asakura dropped down next to him.
"Ah, Asakura. Come to arrest me, have you?"
The shinobi stared at him, and looked away. "I cannot bring someone to justice if they are dead. This captain has abused his authority, and must be punished. But rest assured, I will have words with you afterward, Siegfried."
He nodded. "Of course."
A pause came. "I should also thank you," she added, "for bringing this to my attention. As you pointed out, my ideals and duty restrict me somewhat."
"Oh, you're quite welcome."
"Johnathan's office was also vexingly bare - suspicious, certainly, but even shinobi cannot pursue a crime if there is no evidence to do so with."
"Nobody's perfect." Siegfried said, smiling.
The marines were steadying themselves, drawing sabers and other weapons. They looked ready to charge.
"I do feel bad about this, you know." Siegfried thought. "They are just doing their jobs, after all."
"You should save your sympathy for their captain...I hope you were right about there being more to this, for your own sake."
"Oh? Then shouldn't you go help him?"
"...concentrate on the battle."
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"Yoo-hooooo! Come out, come out wherever you are, ironsides!"
The Black Cat looked around the marine captain's office, tapping her foot on the floor. She sighed. "Come on, there's nowhere to run now. Quit hiding; it sets a bad example for your men."
From nearby came a rumbling voice. "Ha, as if you know anything about leadership, Black Cat!"
With a sudden crash, a large portion of the left wall exploded outward, covering the assassin in dust. She didn't react visibly to this, her gaze just shifting to the newly created hole as she folded her arms.
Stepping over the scattered bricks came a massive figure, nearly twice as tall as The Black Cat. It was made of stainless steel, and painted to resemble the blue-white of a marine's uniform. Attached to it's forearms were large cannons, the kind used on battleships. A visor was in the head, and Johnathan's face was visible within.
The Black Cat nodded. "Well, I guess there were only a few reasons you could be called Captain Blitzkrieg."
Johnathan's suit nodded. "Yes...the tenth most reknown assassin in the world, Captain Blitzkrieg. I attained this position over many years, through hard work. If you think I'll let some filthy upstart take it away, you're sadly mistaken!"
His fellow assassin sneered, beginning to hop back and forth. "Well, if you think I came all this way just to wimp out, then you're the one talkin' out your ass, ironsides!"
Reaching into her pocket, she pulled out the coin. "Now, let's GO!"
With a swift flick of one finger, the currency was sent flying to the floor in front of Johnathan. The eleven on the front glowed, and with a hiss the front snapped open, revealing a speaker.
"Rank Battle, confirmed. Challenge: The Black Cat..." it hissed ominously in a mechanical tone.
Raising one of his guns, Johnathan shot out a similar coin out onto the floor. It had a ten etched on it.
"Defender: Captain Blitzkrieg..."
Both fighters readied themselves, tightening like rubber bands about to snap. Slowly, The Black Cat smiled - Siegfried would have recognized it.
"FIGHT!" both coins shouted at once. The two assassins proceeded to do just that.
Using Soru, The Black Cat raced forward in a burst of speed, heading for the legs of Johnathan's suit. The captain was unperturbed however, as two panels of the armor slid back, revealing twin gatling guns which quickly spun into life and began hailing everything in front of him with bullets. This, unfortunately, included The Black Cat, who was forced to stop her charge short and dodge backward, calling upon the best Tekkai she could while still using another Rokushiki Art.
Despite this pain blistered across her skin as the bullets hit: armor piercing rounds. The bastard had done his homework, at least.
A quick leap took her out of the gatling's radius, and she swung around in a roundhouse using the momentum. "Rankyaku!'
The air blade impacted against one of the suit's legs...and almost instantly dispersed. The Black Cat nodded slowly, smile not diminished in the slightest.
Johnathan didn't seem to notice, however. "Ha ha ha ha!" he laughed, the suit's voice amplifier echoing it across the room. "Did you really think that little breeze could even dent my armor? It has three layers, all made of the strongest steel I could find; as invincible as the protection my title grants this island!"
The Black Cat's smile grew less pleasant, if such a thing were possible. "Oh wow, taking you apart is gonna be real fun if you're gonna be doing that this whole fight. At least Hanged Man kept his mouth shut."
"Hmph, that's all you care about, is it?" sneered Johnathan. "The fighting, the killing...you're just like a mindless beast, and one who needs to be put down! If I couldn't do it as a marine, I'll do it as an assassin!'
"Yeah," said The Black Cat, nodding, "after all, it's not like you're a killer too...oh wait, you are. A hypocrite, too: wonder if your men would appreciate knowing they wasted their time defending an assassin?"
Johnathan paused. "Hmph. My men only need to know what I tell them; many of them wouldn't understand. As a marine captain, I'm a shield - as an assassin, I'm a sword. I punish criminals with both my duties, and help keep the world safe! It's perfect justice!"
"...aw, man." The Black Cat's smile faded away. "'Justice?' 'Safe?' They let a guy like you become the rank ten assassin? Unbelievable."
She moved down into a feline crouch. "Oh well...at least I won't have to feel bad when I rip you out of that tin can and give you a taste of my fists." Her smile returned. "Not that I ever feel bad about doing that."
"Don't waste your breath, Black Cat - you can't beat me. I'm going to put an end to your little uprising right here, for the sake of justice!" Johnathan bellowed. The cannons on the suit's arms swung out, moving to aim at the other assassin.
"Quit trying to make me waste time talking!" The Black Cat snarled. "You're not worth it."
With that she charged, arms held out behind, the rise and fall of her powerful legs making cracks in the floor. Quickly Johnathan fired his suit's cannons, tearing large holes in the stone behind The Black Cat, but never hitting directly. Moving beneath its torso, she turned to one of the suit's legs. "Tekkai; Tsuin Tora Kujiku!"
The Black Cat smiled as she felt the suit shudder and move slightly to the left, a pair of cracks appearing from the double-fisted blow. The grin suddenly faded, however, and she threw herself in a cartwheel to the left, just as a flurry of bullets struck the spot where she'd been standing. Turning her head mid-leap, she looked at the gun which had lowered from the suit's...
"Oh, deadly and freudian, real nice."
Flipping to her feet, the assasin swung her left leg around. "That was one, here's two! Rankyaku; Tora Kiba!"
"HA, not a chance!" Johnathan roared, swinging the targeted leg immediately backward. It impacted against the air blade, and after a brief struggle disapated the attack, albeit by gaining another crack to its frame in the process.
This movement left the foot's underside pointing in The Black Cat's direction, exposing the cannon built into the foot's sole, which was now pointed right at her.
It fired instantly, but The Black Cat was already in the middle of dodging, having expected something like this. When you had a gun installed there, putting one in the feet was just par for the course.
Her eyes widened, however, when the shell hit the wall - she knew that sound. Quickly she stopped, using Kami-e to sway rapidly, abnd evade the fragmented bullets which split off from the cannonball...but too late to keep one from clipping her in the leg.
Grunting, The Black Cat tapped the injured limb against the floor, ignoring the pain that flared up within it. "Aw shaddup. If you can still move, then you're fine."
"Won't be long now, with one of your legs injured." Johnathan crowed. "A feline that can't move is dead meat in the jungle!"
"YOU CAN SHUT THE - UP TOO, ASSHOLE!" The Black Cat roared, dashing forward with Soru. Johnathan fired his gatling guns, but again only hit the floor behind her. That hit had just been from luck, and she intended for the captain's to have a sudden downturn. It was in her title, after all.
Johnathan growled as The Black Cat ran past, striking out at the damaged leg and cracking it further. Whirling the suit around as swiftly as he could, the captain decided a chance of tactics was in order. Aiming the cannons again, he fired, this time at the ground in front of The Black Cat. She grit her teeth and hopped over the resulting hole, but this change of movement slowed her down just long enough for Johnathan to fire his gatling guns, forcing her backward rapidly.
The Black Cat growled. For someone who didn't want to fight, the captain certainly knew how. No matter who the opponent, bone and muscle would always tire before steel. So, it was just a matter of waiting for them to slip up once, maybe twice, and then...
"Yeah, like I'm gonna get killed by a cheap tactic like that."
But brute force obviously wasn't going to do the job here. It was time for strategy, and one a bit more elegant than 'hit them until they fall down'. This was, you might well be surprised to hear, not one of her strong suits.
"Alright, let's see what we got here." The Black Cat thought as she dodged back and forth from the bullets. "He has incredible defense, a damn good defense, and the only weakness he has is in speed, which doesn't do me much good if I can't get close to him long enough to break through that armor."
She cartwheeled out of the path of another cannon shell and continued to think. "He's gotta have some weakness, though...huh, how would he figure this out?"
That's when it came to her. She slowly grinned. "Well, not exactly my taste, but I think that'll work just fine. I'll probably have to play around with him a bit to pull it off, though...heh, and that's fine by me!"
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"Not exactly the noise of a helpless man being slain horribly, is it?" Siegfried remarked as he ducked away from a saber slash before decking the marine responsible. The men themselves seemed surprised by the cannonfire - making some of them sloppy.
"This situation is becoming murkier by the moment." Asakura said grimly next to him, convincing a marine to drop his gun with the aid of a kunai to the hand. "Just like everything else involving the World Government."
Siegfried cleared his throat, dodging a pike thrust. "To be fair, I'm the one who stuck my finger into this. I doubt they're involved with it, either; too small scale."
"Then what do you think is going on? Given your actions and the current situation, it must be more than a mere 'hunch'." the shinobi asked, hitting one soldier in the side with a kunai. At this point the two had their backs to one another.
The bounty hunter thought of the best way to put it. "Well, I don't think that Captain Johnathan is a target, or at least not an ordinary one. He didn't seem to care at all about why he had been targeted, or who had sent The Black Cat. A marine officer would obviously be more thorough...unless he had something to hide, which she could uncover just by existing. Hence the haste to have her executed; after all, who would give two Beri about the life of an assassin? Besides me, of course."
"Hm. That would explain the slight discrepancies I found. Apparently this is the first prisoner to be brought out here with such haste. However, there is no proof of any such 'secret' - the captain is no fool, after all."
Siegfried smiled. "If my hunch is correct about our kitten, she should be taking care of that right now." Casually he backhanded a marine sneaking up behind him.
"So then, you have planned this out perfectly. How nice for you."
"No, no," Siegfried said with a shake of his head, "I didn't plan at all, Asakura. I just sort of...gave things a nudge. That's all it takes, sometimes."
"Right off a cliff, you mean?" Asakura thought back coldly as she sent two of them flying away with a blast of wind.
Her enigmatic companion chuckled. "Well, if you want to be critical about it. But some wagons have to go over eventually; lies tend to be heavy cargo, after all."
"That, at least, I can agree with."
Siegfried suddenly paused, and then snapped up his hand, grabbing the handle of an axe swinging downward at his skull. He turned around to look into the face of...
"Dober, wasn't it?" Siegfried asked innocently. The marine's response was to growl into his face. The bounty hunter wrinkled his nose at the breath. "Yes, it definitely was. I guess you're not happy with me, huh? Moreso than before, anyway."
Dober pushed down harder with his axe, and Siegfried nodded. "Well, I can certainly respect having loyalty to your commander..." He began to push back. "...but I'm afraid that doesn't excuse ignoring simple math."
The hulking marine grunted as he was forced backward one step, and then another. "It's really quite simple, you see." said Siegfried calmly. "The Black Cat beat you, and I beat The Black Cat." This obviously wasn't true, but thankfully kitten wasn't in earshot. "When you add it all up, it means..."
With a sudden burst of strength he pushed outward, knocking Dober off balance before punching him right in the chest. Siegfried smiled as his opponent reeled. "I can beat you." He flexed his gloved hands. "Quite easily."
Dober's response was to roar, and charge again.
"I'll take care of him, Asakura. It looks like he'll be a handful." Siegfried said to the shinobi as he dodged aside Dober's axe.
"You would know. Take care not to open your wounds."
"Don't worry - after The Black Cat, this will be a nice breather. Be careful with the rest, now."
"I am always careful." Asakura replied, drawing another few missiles. "I have made sure to only injure their limbs and non-vital organs, you will notice."
Siegfried paused. "…well, that can't be worse than what Kitten did to them." Again Dober's weapon missed it's mark.
"It is amazing they are still alive, frankly. The work of someone truly skilled, I will admit."
The bounty hunter nodded. "Well, you know how I prefer capable women."
Asakura frowned. "I am quite happy knowing nothing about your preferences."
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"What's wrong, Ironsides?" The Black Cat taunted, dodging past another hail of bullets. "Can't you even hit one target?"
Behind the suit's visor, Johnathan frowned. "Trying to make me angry, Black Cat? How about we just skip to 'getting even'? I'm sure there are plenty of innocents who'd love to do that."
Two cylindrical gun emplacements rose out of the suit's shoulders – they were covered in tiny holes and slowly began to spin, expelling bullets as they picked up speed. The resulting effect was like a sprinkler…of bullets.
The Black Cat grinned. "Tekkai, you smug bastard."
Even as her body hardened, the bullets began to rain down. Most of them panged off – it seemed to be anti-personnel ammo, which was like spitting at a Rokushiki user – but some dug in, drawing blood. They seemed razor-tipped, and compounding matters was the fact she couldn't move now.
"I think I'll count how long you last." Johnathan said calmly. "Some wild animals can withstand hours of punishment, after all."
She just sneered at him. "Laugh while you can, Ironsides; if you want to get into an endurance match with me, you won't be for long."
Gradually the wounds grew as blood ran down her chest, arms, legs, and even her head. But despite her growing injuries, the assassin smiled defiantly.
"I think it's time I wiped that smirk off your face for good, Black Cat." Johnathan's cannons swung over to point at her. Slowly, twin cannonballs appeared at the end, rushing through the tubes. Smiling, The Black Cat clenched one fist and pulled it back...
"NEKO TSUME!"
It was truly impressive that a mere fist could stand up to a cannonball at full speed, and indeed that would have been the case, had the cannonball not fulfilled its function of exploding.
Stumbling backward out of the explosion, The Black Cat smiled. Her arm, shoulder and front now sported burn marks, and the left sleeve of her jacket had been blown clean off. Johnathan was quickly readying another cannon ball, while the bullets continued to fly. She licked her lips; it was so exhilarating. How many of those cannonballs could her Tekkai withstand? Would her plan succeed? If it did, would it win her the fight? To other people, these questions would be unwelcome and chaotic...but The Black Cat didn't really mind a little chaos. That was the whole point of this, when you got down to it.
In any case, her Tekkai was still holding, which was a good thing unless she suddenly wanted to become swiss cheese – interesting occurrences in battle were only that if you survived them. But, whoop, here came another cannonball. She punched outward again, with her right hand…
Johnathan stared blankly at the sight before him. "Wha - what? That's…not possible!"
"Well, I just did it." said The Black Cat dryly. "So I guess not, huh?" The cannonball in her grip was still vibrating.
"But…"
"Think fast!" she cried, quickly tensing her legs. "Geppou; Neko Chouyaku!"
As she kicked off the floor her other fist came up, smashing the cannonball in its side, sending it flying back toward Johnathan's suit – it hit one of the shoulder turrets dead on, detonating it in a burst of flame. This discharged all the bullets left unfired, and one of them slipped past the visor, clipping the marine captain in his forehead.
Johnathan grunted in pain as blood quickly seeped down over his right eye. With his left, he glimpsed The Black Cat down below, preparing another Rankyaku; begrudgingly, he retracted the remaining turret.
"Rankyaku; SHISHI HOUKOU!"
The air wave impacted on the armor's chest, and although it dissipated like the first it nonetheless left a noticeable dent. Johnathan growled. "Hit me all you like, Black Cat, but you won't get your way!"
With that he abruptly charged, crossing the distance between them with a few wide stomps. Clenching one fist, he drove it downward toward her. As he did, the cannon fired again, at point blank range.
"Geppou!" The Black Cat dodged the initial cannonball, but the explosion behind knocked her away from the head, and toward one of the arms. Landing neatly on it, she thrust out one hand to stop the suit's other when it swung at her.
She sighed wearily as a hole in the palm opened, exposing a smaller gatling gun. "Okay, okay, you like guns, I get it." The assassin leaped again, narrowly avoiding the hail of bullets that flew past where she'd been crouching. Some of them hit the armor, eliciting a growl of annoyance from Johnathan.
As she flipped in mid-air, The Black Cat turned her body to point feet-first at the other arm's cannon. "Geppou; Kurohyou Zenshin!"
The captain's growl intensified as the woman's stomp bent his cannon's barrel, preventing it from firing. But she wasn't done there, charging up the arm toward the suit's head. She pulled back her fist and drove it forward.
"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHH!" and was met with blinding pain, as an electric current ran out of the metal where she touched it. It held her in place, shuddering from the shock, as Johnathan watched with a smile.
"Only a fool neglects to protect his weak points, Black Cat – and only an even bigger one thinks someone wouldn't!" he cried. For her part, the assassin gave him a steely glare, even as her body twitched and spasmed.
Finally, the electricity shut off, and she collapsed, sliding down the suit's arm before dropping to the floor, smoking and burnt.
Johnathan's smile grew as he looked down at his opponent's prone form. "There we are…and to think, everyone is so afraid of you."
He nodded as The Black Cat pulled herself up on her elbows, flashing him an icy glare. "I think it's time that you felt fear, Black Cat...and pain."
The woman's eyes tightened. "What do you know…about PAIN!" It seemed to be a touchy subject – which Johnathan failed to realize.
"Yes, I do – I know people like you enjoy inflicting it, and balk when threatened with it yourselves. Yes…and I enjoy inflicting it on criminals, just as they deserve."
He lifted the suit's leg, exposing the cannon with the detonating shells. There came a whirring of bolts and gears as it was primed. "I'll ask again, Black Cat: do you have any last words?"
Slowly, a grin spread across her face. "Gotcha, you bastard."
With her usual burst of sudden movement, The Black Cat flipped to her feet, driving her foot upward and outward.
"Rankyaku; Neko Kugi!"
"I – Impossible!" Johnathan cried, trying in vain to move the leg back down. Too late, however, as the thin, pointed air wave sailed straight into the hole, moving up it's shaft before colliding with the readied shell.
The reaction was like a chain of dominos falling. The shell detonated inside the leg, and quickly reached the others further back, causing yet more explosions. Soon enough the entire suit was shuddering as its own ammo dumps combusted on it, smoke coming off every part.
"No, no, no, no, this isn't happening!" cried Johnathan. "Hold together! HOLD TOGETHER!"
When the explosions ceased, amazingly, the armored suit was still standing. The Black Cat whistled. "Wow, that's some good design, Ironsides – nice and durable. You must have paid a pretty penny for it."
Slowly, she walked up to the motionless iron man, grinning up at Johnathan all the while.
"You…" began Johnathan, sounding disgusted. "You…"
His fellow assassin smiled wider. "Gonna have to cut your off there, buddy – I'm a busy guy, and all."
Reaching out, she touched the leg's surface, gave Johnathan a toothy smile, and pushed.
"It…wasn't supposed to go this way." The captain muttered, as the suit slowly tipped over. "How could I fail against someone like you?"
The Black Cat shrugged. "How? Pretty damn easily, that's how. It happens all the time." She added in more strength, and finally, the suit toppled over, crashing to the floor.
Johnathan watched as The Black Cat climbed up onto it, walking across the chest and toward the head slowly. He growled as she stopped, smiling down at him.
"Go ahead then, Black Cat, kill me! Butcher me like the animal you are! But think for a second that this will crush the spirit of the-"
"Shut up." The Black Cat spat coldly, before drawing her fist back. "Neko..."
Johnathan shut his eyes.
"TSUME!"
The captain heard the clang of metal rupturing, and the whistle of air close by, but didn't feel his head splitting apart. Slowly he opened his eyes to find The Black Cat's fist a quarter of an inch in front of his face.
Grabbing him forcibly, the assassin tugged Johnathan out of the hole she'd made. Flipping the captain around, she held him upside down.
"I'm not gonna kill you, idiot." she sighed. "Even if I wanted to – and the thought's crossed my mind, believe me – what would be the point of that?"
Johnathan sneered upside-down. "The point? Hah, like you even need a – hurkh." He coughed as The Black Cat punched him in the chest softly, for her.
She frowned. "You just don't know when to be quiet, huh? What the hell's wrong with you anyway, 'Captain'? An assassin can't look down on another."
Johnathan spat. "Assassin…you? You're just a-"
The Black Cat hit him in the cheek this time. "Thought I told you to stop talking?"
Walking across the floor as the Captain sputtered, she reached down and picked up the two coins, flashing them in front of his eyes.
"First things first: you lose, even if I haven't butchered you like an animal, or whatever stupid crap you like to spout. Here, take it."
She shoved the eleven coin into his hand. As she did, the two coins shook as if on cue.
"Winner: The Black Cat…" the ten coin hissed.
"Loser: Captain Blitzkrieg…" the other added.
The Black Cat ignored it, glaring at Johnathan. "Now, listen up carefully, 'cause I'm only gonna say this once. You have two choices, Ironsides – you can take this coin, become the new eleventh-ranked assassin…and tell everyone on this island who you really are, before leaving forever."
As his eyes widened, she continued. "Or, you can give this coin back to the GLAA", and go back to being a real marine. Pick one: you can't have it both ways."
For a moment Johnathan looked shocked, but rallied with a glare. "Who are you to make that decision? I am-"
The Black Cat shut him up again, probably permanently, by shoving her fingertip in front of his right eye. "I said, shut up, unless you want to be called 'Captain Depth-Perception' from now on. Now, for whatever reason, you seem to think I'm some mad dog killer, huh?"
The Captain said nothing.
"Let me tell you something then, Ironsides. If I really came here wanting to kill...then by now you'd be the only one left alive in this entire base. That's not a threat - it's a guarantee."
Johnathan stared at her face, knowing she was telling the truth. "T-then…"
He wasn't rude this time, so The Black Cat settled for shaking him sharply. "Nothin' that special," she said, shrugging, "I just don't like doing it. I also don't really like people saying I do – because that compares me to people like you."
Her glare intensified. "'Perfect Justice', huh? That's the stupidest crap I've ever heard, and you're spouting it off like that makes it alright to kill people. Well guess what: it doesn't. Nothing does: that's the whole of being an assassin, dumbass."
She punctuated this with another shake. "If you forget that, and try bringing morals or emotions into this…well, then you just become a common murderer."
Finally, she dropped him onto the wreckage of his suit. "Dammit, even the Marines know better than that. You've betrayed both your duties; good -ing job."
A moment passed, and then Johnathan averted his eyes from her silently.
The Black Cat lifted her head as she heard the sound of clapping coming from nearby. Turning, she saw the cause; a rather petite man with brown hair, clad in a silver suit. He hadn't been there a moment ago, although admittedly both of them had been quite distracted until now.
"Very good, Fraulein – I am impressed as always." he said, voice thick with an accent. "Once again, you have managed to completely destroy your opponent, along with most of the room they were in. Why, you even managed to do this after the small hiccup of being unlawfully detained. You never do cease to amaze."
The Black Cat shrugged. "Yeah, well, I had some help for that last one."
"So I am told." the little man replied with a shrug of his own. Then, in the blink of an eye, he two was astride the collapsed metal, staring down at Johnathan. "Now then, Captain Blitzkrieg…I would like a word."
Johnathan sighed. Morally cowed by an assassin, and now faced with violating GLAA Regulations…this wasn't a good day.
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"You are currently fighting those who uphold the law – however ineptly they may – to protect an assassin and her accomplice."
Asakura thought about this as she tossed a kunai into a marine's arm, before replying to herself, "However, they themselves are aiding an apparently corrupt captain, who wishes to obscure justice himself...although, Siegfried and her are still the ones outside of the law."
She sighed, spinning around. "Kaze no Ninjitsu; Yaiba Senpuu!"
Wind picked up as she let loose shurikens and kunai, allowing the wind to carry them as they flew around her, attacking multiple marines.
"This is quite irritating – at least most of my targets are direct with their morality."
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Once more, Siegfried had to compliment The Black Cat's fighting talent – making this idiot lay down so quickly was truly impressive. The bounty hunter had hit Dober everywhere he could think of, but it was like punching a Badger: you could certainly hurt him, but he'd be too focused on killing you to care.
Not that Dober was particularly good at that…or at least, he wouldn't be, without the injuries kitten had given Siegfried. As such, an axe swing that would have only hit air normally came close enough to gash his side. Similar injuries had been given to him throughout this fight, and in his case they actually did something. Behind him he could still hear Asakura subduing the rest of them – he could hardly rely on her.
Letting out another roar, Dober raised his axe in a clearly telegraphed blow. Siegfried sidestepped as it came down, thankfully avoiding the attack altogether…and came up facing the barrel of the marine's bazooka.
"Oh…hm."
Quickly Siegfried flung himself to the ground, the sphere of heat passing dangerously close to his head. As he came downward, however, Dober's foot came up, right into his chest.
After he'd flipped straight over and hit his head on the ground, Siegfried mused dimly that Dober probably could have done more damage to The Black Cat than him, if he had stood a chance of touching her.
But the marine appeared very capable of touching him. Dober slowly leveled the bazooka's barrel to point straight at Siegfried's face. True to his name, the hulking soldier pulled back his lips in a smile that showed many teeth.
It was a moment of wordless gloating just long enough to let Siegfried push off the ground and shove his legs forward, kicking Dober right in his own. He went down with a grunting growl, hitting the ground heavily.
Rather than get to his feet, Siegfried decided to give his legs a rest and simply not let Dober do so. Throwing himself down onto Dober, he jabbed an elbow into his neck, eliciting a choked gasp from the marine. Some people might not have called that move exactly fair – the instructors at Grieger Academy especially. After all, they had extensive classes dedicated to teaching how not to fight fair. Just using elbows was practically posh.
Ducking aside a wild swing from the axe that would have made him a lot shorter, Siegfried pulled back his fist. "Geist Faust!"
Dober grunted as the blow smashed into his head, bouncing it off the ground to meet a second one. This continued for a bit until the marine's flailing hand gripped his dropped bazooka, swinging it to the left in a burst of strength.
Siegfried immediately ceased attacking to grab the oncoming weapon with both hands. But Dober was strong, and as he pushed forward there wasn't much the bounty hunter could do to keep from being forced back.
Assuming he wanted to use orthodox methods, of course, and that obviously wasn't on the agenda right now. Rearing his head back he thrust it forward in a mighty headbutt, crashing his and Dober's temples together.
This should have ended the fight, it really, really should have. But giving up wasn't a trick that this dog had been taught. Dropping his bazooka, Dober's hands flew out suddenly, grabbing Siegfried's by their wrists. The bounty hunter winced instantly – the marine's grip was like a steel vice, and it didn't help that his hands had been colliding with the stone wall that was his body just recently.
Slowly Dober forced him backward, and before long the situation was reversed, with him on top. The marine brought his face in close to the bounty hunter's.
"Break your hands…" he growled, "then break your neck…easily."
Instantly Siegfried's mouth tightened to a thin line. Many who met the young man would say, rightly, that he had a teensy, tiny bit of an ego. He took considerable pride in most everything he did, but especially his words. Having a line turned back on him like that, and by someone like this…it was truly unacceptable.
Siegfried had to admit, though, Dober was right: breaking a couple bones would be no problem with his strength. They were certainly important factors in a fight, as well…but not nearly as crucial as the area the marine had given him a clear shot at, even without free limbs.
"I can break something easily too, Dober." he whispered nearly unintelligibly. The giant marine blinked, leaning in close to hear properly.
Slow as he might have been, he immediately saw something was wrong when Siegfried smiled at him.
"I said, GEIST DONNER!" The bounty hunter shouted, a mental shockwave firing from his forehead into Dober's at point blank range.
The marine reeled backward, eyes blinking rapidly (on reflex, Siegfried) as they filled up with water. His entire body trembling like he'd been shook up in a blender, he slowly pitched backward, kicking up dirt as he landed heavily on the ground.
Slowly Siegfried got to his feet, quickly going to the marine's side and touching his forehead. The bounty hunter sighed in relief; he didn't like using that technique on anyone, and so close…
Thankfully, someone as single-minded as that wouldn't wake up with much more than a bad headache: Siegfried had firsthand proof of that.
"'Having a hard head counts on the inside too', I think you said? Ha ha…"
"Yo, Shades."
The bounty was abruptly jarred from his inner monologue by a hard slap to the back. With a gulped back cry, he teetered and would have fallen had a strong hand not gripped his collar.
Siegfried heard a sigh behind him. "Oh, c'mon, I didn't hit you that hard."
"Yes you did, Kitten." he replied calmly. "Well, much harder than that, actually, and many times."
The Black Cat nodded, chuckling as she dumped him on his feet. "Gee, and you couldn't have done anything to encourage that, could ya? Anyway, that was like two days ago – don't be a baby."
"Just two days ago, I think you mean." Siegfried said with a smile of his own.
She nodded. "Well, I guess you were kind of a bleeder. And least I didn't ruin your looks; they're the only thing you have that's actually honed."
Siegfried's eye twitched slightly. He turned away from the assassin as a gust of strong wind swept over them, to see the marine force finally neutralized.
"Ah, Asakura, you're done...uh, could you put that kunai awa-"
He turned to watch The Black Cat snatch the weapon out of the air, spinning it calmly around one finger. "Didn't work last time, birdie: why would it this time?"
"Back away from him, now." said the shinobi coldly, drawing a replacement as she advanced.
The Black Cat stared at her, bemused. "Or what, I gotta ask?" She flexed her hand once and released it, dropping the kunai with its crushed handle to the ground.
Asakura's eyes narrowed behind her mask. Around them, the wind began to pick up...\
Siegfried looked between the two of them, frowning: two people from very different backgrounds who were very powerful, with every reason to fight...and each powerful enough to knock him out for another day, or worse, if he gave them reason to. This wasn't good at all…
The young man cleared his throat. "Um, girls, perhaps we could-"
"Be silent, bounty hunter."
"Yeah, Shades: if she wants to go, don't interrupt her business."
Siegfried gulped. He took a step backward – well, just one step probably wouldn't do much here, but would making an earnest retreat work either?
The two women tensed, and then leaped…
"Ladies, ladies; I believe Mister Siegfried requested you calm yourselves. It seems impolite to ignore such a thing, doesn't it?"
Siegfried blinked. One minute they were about to clash, the next they were on the ground, a somewhat tiny man in a silver suit standing between them. The bounty hunter blinked in hindsight; he had heard that voice before.
The man first turned and fixed The Black Cat with a reproachful stare. "Really, Fraulein – I know better than perhaps anyone how easy it is to…excite you, but I think I told you quite plainly. Or, didn't I?"
"…y-you did…" The Black Cat muttered. Siegfried raised an eyebrow; he'd never have thought she could take such a docile tone.
The man in the suit nodded. "Why, I'm glad you agree. Would you mind, then, reminding me what that order was?"
'Order', then? This was getting more and more interesting. Siegfried watched as the assassin slowly nodded. "…find these two, and tell them you want a word?"
There came a pause, and then the man's mouth quirked up in a smile. "Yes, yes, exactly Fraulein. I'm glad you remembered, after you chose to forget it."
Ignoring whatever reaction The Black Cat gave, the man turned around, smiling at Siegfried and Asakura. Then, he bowed slightly.
"Before anything else, I would like to apologize; even if it was a…unique case, two outsiders becoming swept up in such a dangerous affair is quite embarrassing." He sighed and shrugged. "We greatly prefer to keep our business enclosed and private; as you may imagine, this occupation holds endless possibilities for...unfortunate accidents. It is quite fortunate that none happened here, isn't it?" he smiled at the two.
When a man who looked completely harmless and polite gave you an expression like that, the only smart thing to do was mirror it. Siegfried did so as naturally as he could, smiling. "I have to agree with that, sir. I also have to say that it's nice to meet you face to face."
The bounty hunter tried to keep a straight face as the man was suddenly mere inches away, leaning in even closer to size him up. It wasn't an easy task; the man had an impressive way of appearing to stare right through you.
"Siegfried, I assume?" he murmured softly. His eyes abruptly narrowed in a careful squint, but after a moment the man nodded. "Yes…yes, you seem about right. Has anyone ever told you your voice fits your appearance perfectly?"
"It takes a lot of work, let me tell you." Siegfried answered back. "If he cups my chin, I'm punching him: no questions asked."
Thankfully the man did not, turning around. "As Fraulein has said, I would like to speak to the two of you. Preferably in a private location: this one seems a bit, ah, used."
The Black Cat snorted behind him. "You could just say 'you guys destroyed them all'. Not everything needs a metaphor."
"Yes, Fraulein, and not everything requires unfeminine brute force, but you feel quite satisfied using it at every opportunity." the man instantly replied, making her wilt slightly. "Now then, can I assume you two will be accepting the pleasure of my company?" He smiled.
Siegfried decided to speak privately to his partner,. "The 'or you'll enjoy the company of whatever is six feet underground' was left unsaid, Asakura, so I trust there's no problem?"
"It would be an unsure threat, Siegfried – his speed took me by surprise, and that is all." The shinobi thought back coolly. "But if it will mean gaining some insight into this mess, I am all for it."
Cutting off the mental link, Siegfried nodded to the man. "I think that will be fine, sir."
The man's smile grew, showing off teeth. "Fantastic."
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As they were ushered into a tiny room in the face, Siegfried smiled brightly at its current occupant. "Oh, hello there, Captain – you seem well."
Johnathan scowled slightly. "All thanks to you, bounty hunter. It's nice to see you're no longer hiding anything either."
Siegfried shrugged. "I just decided to make things even between us, that's all." He said calmly. "It's not my fault you weren't really prepared to be honest."
"Quit being a sole loser, Ironsides." The Black Cat muttered, plopping down in a chair. "He screwed you over, I kicked your ass; end of story."
Remaining on his feet, the man in the suit smiled again. "Indeed, Fraulein, indeed." He turned to Siegfried and Asakura, gesturing for them to sit as well. After they did so, he looked over them and nodded.
"Now, I will explain this no doubt confusing turn of events."
Reaching into his pocket, the man retrieved a card which he flung across to Siegfried. On it were initials, and a small slogan:
GLAA
~Your Friends on the Other Side~
Siegfried pursed his lips. "You're a representative from here, then? Exactly what does this acronym mean?"
The man seemed pleased as punch to answer. "Again, it is not terribly surprising for me that you don't know of it, mister Siegfried. GLAA, quite simply, stands for Grand Line Assassin Association; a guild of killers for hire." He bowed. "Incidentally, you may call me Sirius."
"I see." Siegfried nodded slowly. "A place like the Grand Line would be perfect for that, as long as they were secretive enough."
The man nodded. "Indeed. The marines cannot police everything, after all, and while our group is nowhere near their equal in size, we have managed to become quite entrenched here."
"To the misfortune of all innocents nearby, I am sure." Asakura said coldly. The shinobi still looked like she was contemplating attacking the two.
Sirius turned his eyes on her, appearing to notice the masked woman for the first time. "Ah…" he murmured slowly, as though he had something on the tip of his tongue. "You are a shinobi, aren't you? Yes, our employees have encountered several of your group before in their jobs; often ending quite inconveniently for us, as I recall."
Asakura nodded reluctantly. "I do remember some shinobi arriving back with grievous injuries. Their debriefings never mentioned your organization, however."
He shrugged. "Even if they did know of us as a whole, I doubt they'd broadcast that fact. It most likely wouldn't matter to any of you."
"Sure as hell didn't to her when she tossed a knife at the back of my head." put in The Black Cat with a mutter.
Asakura turned to her. "I could easily send one at its front if that is your wish, assassin."
"Try to, I think you mean." The Black Cat fired back.
Sirius cleared his throat. "Please keep your posturing for another time, Fraulein."
He continued. "Now, as you might imagine, the GLAA contains assassins of varying strengths and abilities, as well as different ranks reflecting that."
His finger quickly snapped out, swiveling to point at The Black Cat. "As of just recently, Fraulein has achieved the rank of our tenth most skilled assassin, after defeating Captain Blitzkrieg – or if you would prefer, Captain Johnathan – in a sanctioned match."
Siegfried nodded. "It makes more sense than broadcasting to your target that you're coming to assassinate him. Kitten didn't really seem stupid, so I was hoping for a good explanation."
"Hey, Shades?" The Black Cat said pleasantly. "Shut up or I'll feed 'em to you."
"…right, point taken." Siegfried replied, trying not to sound intimidated.
Sirius continued. "Anyway, I would like to thank the two of you for saving our fastest rising star from an untimely demise, as well as rooting out a rather severe troublemaker." He turned a momentary smile at Johnathan, who surprisingly didn't get frozen alive.
Siegfried sighed mock-wearily. "Cheating can snowball so severely, can't it? Karma could suddenly strike from the most unlikely source."
The assassin organizer beamed. "You read my mind, Mister Siegfried!" His face abruptly grew serious. "But now, I have just one question: what do you want?"
Siegfried looked hurt. "What? Can't I have helped her out of the goodness of my heart?"
"No."
"Hell no, are you kidding?"
"Oh, of course not, are you joking?"
The bounty hunter drooped. "Well, it helped." He brightened up. "But it any case, it's convenient that you're here, Mister Sirius. I would like to formally request that The Black Cat accompany me."
Sirius' smiled quirked a bit, while The Black Rat raised an eyebrow. Asakura just folded her arms and glared.
"My…" the man in the suit began, "you have a darker heart than I took you for, Siegfried." He turned to The Black Cat. "What say you, Fraulein?"
She shrugged, but smiled. "Can't say I'd mind too badly – Shades is a pretty interesting guy, so I'm curious what he wants me around for."
"Wonderful. That settles that." Suddenly, Sirius had a clipboard in his hand, tapping a pencil against its surface. "Now then, I assume you have the name of your desired target memorized?"
"I'll have to answer that with another question, sorry." Siegfried replied. "Your group will take a job on anyone, correct? There are no limitations?"
Sirius chuckled. "We would not break much of a profit by refusing clients, would we Mister Siegfried? So long as the payment is concrete our agents will attend to anyone, no matter their race, gender or position. However, if they are quite well off, do not expect the errand to necessarily be successful."
"Ah, I see." Siegfried nodded with a smile. "With that in mind, my target is…" He looked down.
Sirius and The Black Cat leaned forward, while Asakura looked at Siegfried with an expression of curiosity behind her mask.
After a few moments the bounty hunter lifted his head. He wasn't smiling any longer. "Red Dog."
The assassin supervisor raised an eyebrow. "Excuse me?"
"I said, Admiral 'Red Dog' Akainu, Mister Sirius. Or haven't you heard of him?" Siegfried replied with all the warmth of a glacier. "Perhaps the most violent, dangerous member of the marine organization? Uses tactics that kill as many civilians as they do pirates? Treats the lives of his own men with complete disregard? Does none of this ring a bell, Mister Sirius?"
The Black Cat blinked, looking mystified, while Asakura seemed to understand better. The shinobi had only seen him speak of someone like this once before, and she was well aware of Admiral Akainu's reputation; it seemed it took quite a bit to make Siegfried genuinely angry.
"Yes…" murmured Sirius calmly. "We have received several requests for the 'good' Admiral's head. All of them so far, no doubt understandably, have failed."
He turned to The Black Cat and smiled. "But if anyone is capable of this, it is Fraulein; as I am sure you are already fully aware of."
"Yeah, I can take the fire guy, no problem." the assassin nodded, grinning. "Assuming you can pay up, of course."
"Indeed, Fraulein." the man said, smiling. He quickly jotted down something on his clipboard, and tore the section he'd wrote on off, passing it to Siegfried. "This would be the agreed price for making the Red Dog forget the trick of being alive, ha ha."
Siegfried stared at it and whistled. "This does seem quite appropriate for him." He shoved it into his pocket. "But given an Admiral's tendency to move around quite a bit, I can't in good conscience send Kitten off on a fruitless errand like that."
"That and you're broke, right?" The Black Cat said bluntly.
"Right, that too." Siegfried agreed. "It was more curiosity than anything."
Looking straight at The Black Cat, he smiled. "Incidentally…I have a proposal for you, Kitten?"
Sirius stepped aside slightly, practically disappearing as The Black Cat shrugged. "I figured something like this was coming. What do you want, Shades?"
"Well…" Siegfried leaned back. "During your friend's explanation, he mentioned the GLAA having ranks, didn't he?"
The Black Cat shrugged after a moment. "You heard him crystal clear, didn't ya? What's your point, Shades?"
"You want to be number one, don't you?"
She recoiled slightly, expression turning briefly to one of shock before her usual brevity returned. "Yeah, I do. I want to prove I'm the strongest assassin there, and the only way to do that is to reach Rank One.
The assassin's eyes turned defiant. "So what about it, Shades? You got a problem with that?"
Siegfried's smile didn't waver. "I do, actually…I have a problem with a young lady undertaking something like that by herself." He extended a hand toward her. "So why not come with us? We're travelling through the Grand Line as well, and there's strength in numbers."
The Black Cat looked nonplussed. "Ah, I get it: you want my help with something stupid, right, 'cause I'm strong?" She sighed, sounding disappointed. "You could have just asked, man – that's kinda my job, after all."
Siegfried chuckled slightly. "Alright, Kitten, as you wish."
He cleared his throat. "You're a very strong, very unusual woman, and I am currently looking to recruit people that fall under those two categories. What I need your help for is…complicated, but I assure you, it's something of great importance."
The woman looked unimpressed. "Uh-huh…and I suppose it'll change the world too, won't it?"
"Extremely, Kitten." Siegfried smiled. "Perhaps greater than anything that's come before."
He leaned forward. "As with any great change there will be a number of people resistant to it: very strong people."
The Black Cat raised an eyebrow. "Keep talking, Shades."
Siegfried shrugged. "Well, it's only natural. Being the Grand Line's greatest assassin is one thing, but combined with having helped cause a revolution…why, your name would last forever!"
Lies were good, but the best phrases to spin off the tongue were plain truths. Everyone currently in the room could recall the moment when just a few choice words had been enough to set off a revolution that was still being felt today. It was just a shame the World Government never quite realized that reminding people how much of a monster he had been also reminded them of that fact. Showing people their desires also helped, and Siegfried had a notion The Black Cat didn't care so much as becoming famous as kicking people's heads in on the way there. There was no way she would say-
"No."
"W-what!" Siegfried sputtered lividly, shocked out of his reverie. He looked up to see-
"Hehehehehehehehe…" The Black Cat snickered. "God damn, just that was worth coming to this island! You should have seen your face, Shades."
"…my own fault, I guess, for forgetting it goes both ways." Siegfried thought to himself, slightly irritably. It didn't help that a noise that might have been laughter was coming nearby from Asakura.
"Anyway…" the assassin said, wiping a tear from her eye. "Sure, Shades, I'll come with." She paused to take in the glare from him. "Don't get mad; your ego was asking for it since I met you."
The Black Cat smiled toothily. "Oh yeah, and I have a few conditions."
This was a new one. "Alright, name them, Kitten."
The smile gave way to a glare. "Number one: you can't call me that."
Siegfried folded his arms. "I refuse." Beside him, Asakura snorted.
The Black Cat seemed to think about those. "Okay then, whenever you call me that, I get to hit you as hard as I want. Which leads me to number two: I get to be your sparring partner."
This came as a shock, he had to admit. "Sparring…with me? Are you sure I'm worth your time?"
"What?" she looked annoyed. "Sure, I beat you up, but I do that to plenty of people. It doesn't mean you're not good – just kinda raw, is all."
Siegfried frowned, looking a bit put out. "I have had training, you know."
"Yeah, and what's your point?" The Black Cat said bluntly. "Nobody can develop completely from their first training, Shades; whoever your teacher was did a good job, but you're…special."
"I didn't exactly give him a chance to, either." Siegfried thought before nodding. "If you think I can learn to fight even a tenth as well as you, Kitten, than I'm all for it."
The Black Cat smiled – a genuine one that made something inside the bounty hunter gulp – before clapping her hands. "Alright, then, I think that's it. Glad to come along, Shades."
Siegfried blinked, actually shocked again. Twice in such a short time, too… "That's it, Kitten? You don't want anything else?"
She gave him a look. "Do I look like a girl who needs much, Shades? Like I said before, you caught my eye. Huh, you almost sounded disappointed there."
Siegfried chuckled. "I'm easily upset, I suppose." He extended a hand. "Glad to have you aboard, Kitten."
Getting up, the assassin grasped his hand firmly and shook. Siegfried winced slightly.
The Black Cat smiled again, in her usual toothy way this time. Ironically, this seemed far more natural. "Oh yeah, and you can knock that 'Kitten' crap off. The name's Adrian Bartley. Laugh and I'll kick your teeth in."
It was, Siegfried reflected, just the right sort of name for her. Just another phenomenon to place under The Grand Line banner – there was enough strangeness in the place to fuel over a hundred books, and at least that many had been published. Ironically enough, their sales were lackluster in the actual sea itself: no-one wanted to pay to read about what they experienced in everyday life.
"I don't think that will be a problem, Adrian. It's nice to meet you." Siegfried said, allowing the new name to roll off his tongue pleasantly. "My name, as I was saying before you interrupted me, is Siegfried. Feel free to fill in the other yourself; I'm afraid I don't have one."
"Glad to meet you, Siegfried." Adrian said back.
A moment passed, and then the bounty hunter snapped his fingers, before gesturing to the other woman nearby. "Oh, right, and this is Asakura. I think you two have met."
"Kind of, yeah." Adrian waved awkwardly to the shinobi. "Yo, I guess."
Asakura's answer was to fold her arms and glare. After a moment she nodded back. "…hello."
The awkward silence was ended by Sirius, forgotten up till now, clapped his hands smartly. "Alright, then, I will be sure to keep this in mind when contacting Fraulein. Do be careful with her, Mister Siegfried – she can be quite a 'clawful', ha ha."
Then, suddenly, he wasn't there. Siegfried watched the spot carefully, and then sighed. "I'll never be good enough to figure that one out."
With that, he stood up, gesturing toward the door. "Well, shall we be off, ladies?"
Asakura got up, and wordlessly left the room. Adrian rolled her eyes before following.
"Wait a moment, Siegfried." called a voice as the bounty hunter made to do the same.
He turned to see Johnathan, who had gone practically unnoticed until now.
"Did you want something, Captain?"
Johnathan nodded. "Yes…I felt I should say something to you, given all that's happened these last few days."
Siegfried shut the door. "Alright, I'm listening."
The marine captain and former assassin looked…regretful. "I'm sure you must consider me a villain, now, don't you?"
Siegfried's brow furrowed. "That's an interesting question; you tried to duck out of a fight by having your challenger killed, you hired me to do it by lying, and you finally tried to get rid of me when I found out the truth."
Abruptly, he walked across the room, stopping near the window. "However…"
With a flourish, he whipped open the curtains, exposing a wide view of the city. Siegfried waved a hand at the grand sight. "You didn't do any of that for yourself – you did it for this island. I can't really accept what you did, captain, but I can understand why."
Johnathan nodded slowly. "A marine's duty is to fool the people into thinking we can always protect them. Do you think they'd ever trust a hired killer?" He chuckled. "I never intended to become an assassin, you know. It just sort of…happened, one day."
"Most things do." Siegfried said matter-of-factly. "No-one can really control where their life takes them. All they can do is roll with the changes as they come."
He smiled as he walked back toward the door. "I certainly gave you a few to do just that with, didn't I? Think very carefully about how you react to them, captain – that's the only advice I can give. Now, if you'll excuse me, I probably have two women to keep from strangling each-other. Farewell."
With that, Siegfried left…and then walked back in, smiling. "Sorry, something slipped my mind; I have one request, which I very much hope you'll accept." The threat was left unsaid.
Johnathan listened, and frowned as Siegfried spoke. "If being an assassin means meeting people like this, then I think I have had enough of it. There's going to be some changes around here."
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Luckily Adrian and Asakura hadn't progressed to that level quite yet. The former simply looked bored, while the latter was still brooding silently.
Striding out of the marine base's gates (which the marines worked quickly to shut behind him), Siegfried smiled brightly. "Shall we be off, ladies? The ferry will be leaving in little while, but I'm sure we can kill time before then."
Adrian nodded. "Okay, then." Turning, she walked off ahead of them. Siegfried raised an eyebrow at this before following, Asakura taking the rear.
The bounty hunter lagged until he was side-by-side with her. "You aren't happy." he said calmly.
"You have a talent for stating the obvious, Siegfried." Asakura murmured back.
Siegfried shoved his hands in his pockets and nodded. "I suppose I can understand why; having to work with someone who's the opposite of your ideal can't be very fun."
The shinobi nodded, watching Adrian's back. "Back then, I saw a little of what you meant, Siegfried, when I was watching closely. She is…different than what I expected of an assassin; but she still is one, no matter what niceties you use to disguise it."
Behind her mask, she frowned. "I will take your advice, and try to understand her viewpoint. However, I do not think it will be easy."
"Nothing ever is." said Siegfried reassuringly.
Asakura gave him a look. "When you are not the one attempting it, of course."
Her erstwhile friend chuckled nervously. "That's a…bit harsh, Asakura."
She fixed him with a cold smile underneath her mask. "Oh? But that is who I am, Siegfried? Or can you not accept that?"
A beat passed, and then Siegfried laughed. "Good…very good, Asakura, ha ha."
"Hey!" Adrian called back. "You guys coming, or what?"
The two hurried to catch up.
"Besides," Siegfried added, "this keeps a dangerous assassin occupied, however slightly. Isn't that a good thing?"
"This group has only three people so far, and already it is proving to be more dangerous than she could possibly be alone." said Asakura, shaking her head. "Who will you recruit next; Dragon himself?"
"Sure, if I can find him."
The shinobi sighed. "…I dare not leave, now. You sound serious."
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Adrian leaned back in her chair and whistled. "Okay, so let me get this straight."
"Very well."
"You, Sieg – gonna call you that from now on, by the way – are forming a band of merry men, all delightfully weird in their own special way."
"Well, I'm the only man here right now, but otherwise you've got it, Kitten."
The Black Cat nodded. "Right, and we're going to…lay that one by me again, will you? It was kind of insane, so I didn't quite hear it the first time."
"Alright – we're going to bring down the World Government."
"Okay…" Adrian's face contorted with thought. "…so, you want to do what an entire army of revolutionaries have been trying for years, and have all but proven to be impossible?"
Both bounty hunter and shinobi nodded. "That was about what I asked when he approached me, as well." the latter said.
Adrian gave a heavy sigh. "Goddammit, I'd like to call you nuts, but the GLAA has done crazier things for money. I've had my fair share of business with the World Government, too…and I can't say I'd mind taking them down."
"Neither would plenty of people." Siegfried agreed. "To potentially great benefit, if we only play our cards right."
Adrian nodded. "Right, that…" his brow furrowed. "'Headology' stuff, right? Making people think your way."
Siegfried smiled. "I like to think that I'm pretty good at it – the best, in fact."
To her credit, Adrian stayed calm, quirking her lips slightly. "I figured you were hiding something else. What was that, Sieg?"
The young man shrugged. "Nothing more than what I am, Kitten. A psychic, that is to say."
"Oh, okay."
Once again, this was not the reaction Siegfried had been expecting, to put it lightly. Once his body had recovered from twitching all at once slightly, he regained his smile as best he could. "You…accepted that rather quickly, Kitten."
Adrian grinned. "What? I'm not stupid, Sieg - when I start getting hit by thin air, and punches from someone without super strength hurt me that bad, I know something's up. I didn't figure it was a Devil Fruit, either: wouldn't fit your ego."
"I agree. It would not be…appropriate, somehow." Asakura added.
"Why, thank you," Siegfried said, sounding unamused, "having my unique gift of the mind reduced to 'oh, that's neat' is just fine. Honestly."
"Yeah, well, that's about all I can say about it." The Black Cat replied bluntly. "Compared to the average Devil Fruit user, it's kind of lame, actually."
"...'lame'."
"Right, lame." She nodded. You can't become an element, your body can't shapeshift, and you can't change into an animal. Your punches are a little stronger, sure, but that's not really saying much in comparison."
Siegfried frowned. "I have been training to make them useful, you know. Just because they aren't flashy doesn't mean they aren't useful – although I suppose saying that to a battle maniac like you doesn't mean much."
"Like I said, takes one to no one." Adrian said, shrugging blithely. "Anyway, there's weird crap on every island in this sea, and I've been to plenty of 'em. Someone talking with their mind doesn't impress me too much."
"…and I was looking forward to it, too." Siegfried frown deepened.
Adrian's eyes caught his and she smirked a little. "So, are we about ready to go, then? With a job like this, it helps to hurry."
"Indeed." added Asakura. "It is important not to let yourself become distracted."
Siegfried's smile reappeared, although looking disgruntled. "Oh, yes; initiative means a lot when you're trying something like this."
He stood up sharply, motioning toward the door of the restaurant they had stopped in for lunch. "The ferry is leaving in a bit, so shall we be off?"
Without waiting for an answer, he turned and walked stiffly out the door.
"Touchy." muttered Adrian, getting up as well, but not before nodding at Asakura. "Not bad, birdie: you're more interesting than I thought."
0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Just as the two joined Siegfried outside (the bounty hunter having thankfully gotten over it quickly), Adrian suddenly snapped her fingers. "Oh yeah, I almost forgot."
Siegfried watched as she reached into her pocket, withdrawing a small carton he hadn't noticed when he'd frisked the woman earlier.
"Cigarettes, Kitten?" he said, surprised. "I didn't expect that from you."
"Yeah, well, it's not a habit or anything." the assassin said, sliding one of the tubes out and patting her pockets for a match. "Hope you don't mind – and if you do, bite me."
Siegfried chuckled. "That's more like it. If I can associate with an assassin, I don't think a little smoke is going to bother me; go right ahead."
The Black Cat nodded. "Yeah, that's what I was expecting." Striking the match, she lit the cigarette and fit it to her lips, inhaling. Asakura sniffed, picking up her pace slightly.
"Good?" Siegfried asked conversationally.
"What?" Adrian blew some smoke out to the side. "Hell no – tastes like someone's ass in my mouth."
Siegfried raised an eyebrow. "So why do it, then?"
Adrian shrugged. "I dunno." She looked at the tube. "It's just something I do whenever I've had a good day."
"Oh, why thank you, Adrian."
"There's that ego again." The Black Cat said with a snort. "Anyway, I'm the tenth best assassin in the Grand Line, starting today…so it's a good idea to keep myself grounded; thinking everything will go right all the time is just idiotic." She took another drag, her face unreadable.
Siegfried was silent.
The storm passed quickly though, and Adrian's cheery demeanor returned, punctuated with a light punch to Siegfried's back. "Anyway, if I add something bad onto a good day, maybe the reverse will happen sometime, huh?" she said, chuckling.
Her new companion stumbled from the blow as pain rain across his shoulders. He chuckled wearily. "Who knows, Kitten? It can also be both, you know."
Adrian nodded, smiling. "Sure can – just look at tomorrow. It could be good for one person…and bad for another."
Ahead of them, Asakura sighed loudly again.
"Huh? Did I just hear a sore cricket chirping, Sieg?"
Adrian watched as the mask was fixed on her. "Nothing but the wind, assassin." Asakura said, coldly. Around them a slight breeze was kicked up.
"Heh heh…" Adrian slowly chuckled, inhaling more smoke from the cigarette. "Yeah, I can tell already. Hanging with you guys is gonna be real interesting."
As the ferry came into view, Siegfried mused on the day's events. He'd acquired a new ally, who his first somewhat hated, and the feeling seemed to be very mutual. He got along with Adrian about as well as with Asakura, but he'd have to get to know them better. You couldn't have a group without being close, after all, and besides, he wanted to.
Siegfried smiled. "Yes, things are slowly coming together."
To be continued…
Next time, on Bounty Seven…
Adrian: Great – more noise. Perfect.
Captain Tenille: I don't like the looks of this weather…reminds me of that legend I heard once…
Asakura: I sense an ill will approaching.
Ghost Ship, Part 1
?: Landlubber tourists, eh? Ha ha ha, they don't know what they're in for…
The Dude Of Doom – I'm very glad I keep living up to your expectations, Mr. Doom. But, and I don't mean any offense, some criticisms would be nice as well, instead of just blind praise. Not that I mind that, of course, heh heh.
Shinobi-dono – They do have certain chemistry together, don't they? I have to make sure it doesn't come across as either of them being genuinely vindictive, though – which can be difficult for both of them, as you might imagine.
Attacks and Terms
Asakura
Kaze no Ninjitsu; Yaiba Senpuu – Japanese for 'Wind Ninjitsu; Blade Cyclone'. Summoning a spinning wind around her, Asakura tosses out several of her ranged weapon, allowing them to whirl around and attack several foes at once.
Adrian
Rankyaku; Neko Kugi – Adrian tosses out a rankyaku that is thin rather than long, ending in a particularly sharp point. Designed to fit through tiny openings to strike crucial targets, as seen in this chapter.
Whew. That was a long one, wasn't it? Hope I managed to wrap everything up to your satisfaction, and if I didn't, I apologize. In any case, we now have three people on the (completely intentional) rag-tag band. There's gonna be a bit of a break before the fourth, so hopefully they'll be enough to carry it until then.
Speaking of which – see you next chapter.