Since last chapter was so short, I'm going to post this one pretty quickly. After this, depending on how quickly I can write, I'm going to post once or twice a week. For now, we'll plan on once a week, but if I can spit out chapters quickly enough, we'll have a bonus in the middle. Lots of reviews may increase the chance of a bonus. Just sayin'.

Oh, right. I forgot to mention it last chapter, but where Signer and criminal marks are concerned, no one has either unless otherwise said. Both play a role in this fic, so I'll mention it if anyone has either.

We have cover art! Yay! It's just a lazy thing I threw together, and it will more than likely change once I'm not lazy enough to manip them into western-style clothes :P That being said, onto chapter two!

Thanks to FiringShootingStar, Rose-Aki, dbzgtfan2004, theforgottenpeople96, AnimeKiwi369, RunoandAkizafan, RobotFish and Cecil Kain Cerberus for reviewing! This fic is officially on a roll :D

Sunset Horizon
Chapter 02 – The Barmaid and the Thief

Yusei leaned back in his regular chair at the saloon, one elbow slung comfortably over the back of the seat and the other hand clutching a glass of whiskey. In this town, the options for drinks were limited to beer, whiskey, or gin. His choice always went back to whiskey, his throat relishing in the harsh burn biting his taste buds.

Kalin sat across from him with a mug of beer in front of him, left mostly untouched. He watched his friend with raised eyebrows for a long moment, watching Yusei watch the bar. "When are you going to get a clue?"

Slowly, he tore his gaze away and offered a small smile to his friend. "Seriously? You're telling Yusei Fudo, the Shooting Star, to back down? That's like telling a thirsty man not to drink."

"...Was that supposed to be a pun?"

He blinked. "What do you mean?"

He took a sip of his beer before saying, "You are a thirsty man being told he can't drink." After a slight moment of silence, he added, "Metaphorically, of course."

Giving a casual shrug, Yusei retorted, "Maybe."

There was plenty of truth to Kalin's words. He would be the last one to admit it, though. No one told him he couldn't have something. No one.

Except for her.

He perked up slightly as she moved through the bar, holding a tray over her shoulder as she made her regular rounds for empty glasses. She kept her eyes on the wall as she moved past him, doing everything in her power to ignore him. Of course, he wasn't about to let her ignore him. He stretched his arm out, reaching to stroke his hand along her creamy white arm and causing her to freeze up. Her dark red dress fell loosely around her curvaceous figure, leaving the waist-down up to his imagination. Above the belt, her bodice was tight and her white frock fit snugly around her full breasts, forcing him to swallow his spit as he made an effort to keep his eyes on hers.

He shifted his hand, stroking up her side and brushing along her bare back. A slight smirk stayed firmly on his lips as he swiftly tucked his fingers into the fabric of her dress, causing her to lash out with her free hand a slap him across the face. His smile stayed put as he withdrew his hand and murmured, "You're bound to break a man's heart, Miss Izinski."

She stood tall, glaring down at him, and snarled, "The whole town knows you don't have a heart to break."

He sighed heavily and settled his arm back on the chair. "I thought you were different from the rest of town."

"Not when it comes to loathing you, Yusei."

Could anyone blame him for being attracted to her? She was the only woman in town to have any spirit and stand up to the Enforcers. Most others were too afraid of them and didn't cross them if they could help it, but not Akiza Izinski. She was a vibrant personality and readily fought against anyone who thought to tempt her, confidently rising up to take them down.

By now, people in town knew Yusei had laid a claim on her, and no intelligent man flirted with her out of fear that he would come for them. He had in the past, and he would again. He had killed men simply because they looked at her improperly too many times. To say she was pleased by his attachment to her was a massive overstatement, and she constantly pushed his affections away.

But the more she fought, the more in love he fell for her.

Yes, he was in love with her. It wasn't just a sick obsession that kept him crawling back to her. He wanted to see her happy, and he wanted her to want to be with him. He never touched her too provocatively, just enough to rile her up. He didn't let his fingers stray too close to her personal places, but he couldn't stop himself from touching her all together. He loved how beautiful she was when she was angry.

Her magenta hair would flare out when she glared and her ochre eyes would spark almost to a dark chocolate brown. Her lips formed a thin line and her shoulders would stiffen. She was an epitome of beauty and fire, her graceful movements in the bar only adding to her allure. She never tried to attract attention, and always denied it when it was given. It used to be that she would brush off flirtations with a gentle smile and a solid 'no,' but since Yusei had laid eyes on her, things were different.

Yusei had made it very clear to the rest of the town that no one made a move on her but him, and he had especially stressed the point to the other Enforcers. He was adamant when announcing that she was off-limits to any of them. Jack was the only one mildly bothered, but Crow and Kalin had just shrugged and rolled their eyes, already knowing his feelings.

Despite his protectiveness, he still wanted her to be happy. If her attitude towards him so far had been any indication, she would never feel the same for him as he did for her. He knew that, and though he wanted to be the only one to love her, he gave her room to be with men she chose. He had no problem with 'escorting' the filthy and perverted men who would latch onto her outside and shooting them in the thigh as a warning.

He made a policy of warning them first, and if they tried again, he would give them a more damaging injury, such as taking out a kneecap or a shoulder. If they came onto Miss Izinski a third time, then he would kill them without regret. It had only happened twice, as most others had learned their lesson the first time. He had killed for other things, but he had only taken two lives on account of his guardianship of her.

He never even looked at another woman in a remotely intimate way. Those looks were reserved for Akiza Izinski. His heart belonged to her, and if she could only see that he wanted her for love and not her body, he would be able to die happy.

Of course, his incessant flirtations laced with mockery didn't help her reach that conclusion. For all she knew, he was just a perverted bar patron who found a gorgeous woman and wanted to defile her just so he could say he did. The actions he took didn't necessarily indicate the love he felt, but he was in the general backyard of 'criminal' status, so he couldn't exactly go around and let the world know he was in love and give them a weakness to use against him.

He would tell her how he felt once the town was free.

At least, that was the plan.

He couldn't help but smile up at her lightly as he rubbed the sore spot on his cheek. "I'll take that as a compliment."

She rolled her eyes and turned to walk away, snatching his half-empty glass of whiskey and adding it to her tray. She didn't care if he was done with it. It was a move to spite him, anyway. It didn't bother him, but, rather, made him want her more. She was so full of spunk that he couldn't help but love her. The whole town knew of the Enforcers and they knew that they meant business. Crossing a member would usually mean pain or death. Or a combination, depending on the mood of the Enforcer encountered.

However, this young barmaid didn't care. She would fight and didn't care if it got her into trouble. This was the only saloon worth going to in town, and she owned it. No one would dare take her out of it.

Especially not on Yusei's watch.

He watched her walk away, still smiling to himself. He always enjoyed their brief and cold interactions. She had no idea how he felt, but he was all right with that. For now, anyway.

"What the hell is wrong with you?"

Turning, he glanced at Kalin and hummed a short, "Hm?"

Shaking his head, he sighed. "Never mind. I just decided I don't want to know what goes through your mind."

Giving a shrug, he replied, "I'm not sure I know how to answer that, anyway." He shifted to stand, stretching his back out and waved a quick two-fingered salute at his friend. "I'm heading back home. I got my Miss Izinski fix for the night."

"Wonderful. Now you can have perverted dreams in the bunk right next to mine."

"Very funny, Kalin," he said, rolling his eyes as he started to walk away. His friend only said that to get him going, but they all knew Yusei was, deep down, too much of a gentleman to even have dirty thoughts subconsciously. The others, though… They all had their own bunk in the same room, and Jack had been pleasant enough to bring a girl right in there in the middle of the night on more than one occasion.

On top of that, Yusei wasn't one to remember his dreams well. The following morning, he always just had a clean slate to start his days on. A part of him was glad he didn't have dirty dreams about the love of his life. Because he didn't, he would be able to enjoy it when it really happened.

If it ever did.

He shook his head as he walked out of the saloon, drinking in the deceitful chill of the night. He would be allowed to love her one day. He would do everything he could to prove to her that he loved her and truly cherished her. It would take work, but he would have plenty of time for it after New Domino became independent from Yliaster.

Walking back into the small home he shared with the other Enforcers, he wasn't at all surprised to find he was the only one there. Jack and Crow were still looking into Goodwin's slave trade, no doubt, and he just left Kalin at the bar.

The home was small, only one room by definition, but it had a wall running through the middle to add a slight amount of privacy. In the half with the door were two desks where they did their planning and sorted through the items they swiped. On the wall to the right of the door were two of the bunks, built into the wall. Each one had a bed up a short ladder with a cubby space underneath. A curtain ran across the small gap, hiding the space each one used to store their things. Yusei had installed shelving into his, giving him a minute amount of organization.

He built it with the intentions of keeping his things sorted, but it was a pointless cause. He was just too messy for his own hide. It was a good thing he had the curtain, even though his friends knew how messy he could get. It didn't really bother him. They could get messy, too. At least Crow could. Jack was the embodiment of cleanliness and though Kalin wasn't as extreme, he did clean up after himself and kept his space tidy.

Around the corner from the partition, Jack's and Crow's bunks stood, placed on the wall opposite the door and kitty-corner to the other two's. Shelving lined the inside wall on both sides, serving as storage for whatever they needed. Several of them held the forms of ammunition and gunpowder for the weapons Yusei had forged for each of them, while others held paperwork or some of Jack's hats. Food and liquor sat on more, keeping a supply for when they didn't feel like leaving to eat.

He breathed in deeply. Despite all its faults, the small place was home. It served as their base of operations, their place of rest, and their private abode. He walked inside and pulled his leather coat off, rendering him completely shirtless as he hung the fabric on the hook by his bed. Following that, he pulled the buckle to his belt with Stardust's holster, removing it and hanging it beside his coat. Stretching his arms over his head, he dropped down to the floor for his nightly routine of push-ups and crunches.

On top of being one of the best aims in town, he was also pretty handy in a fistfight. As of yet, no one had taken him down, though he'd come to a few draws with Jack when their preferences clashed. Yusei was their unofficial leader, but, now and then, one of the others would have a different idea and challenge him over it. They were all like brothers, but they still fought with each other physically and verbally.

He lowered himself to the floor, touching his nose to the wood before pushing back up. His focus stayed on the spot directly below him, but strayed slightly to the right to glance at the red tattoo on his right forearm. It resembled a dragon's head, while abstractly vague in doing so. He'd had it for several years, and it had been something of an inspiration when he'd named the Stardust Dragon and his friends' firearms.

On his last birthday, he'd turned twenty years old. He was considered an adult in society for two years now, but he wasn't one to care what society thought of him. He lived his life on the dangerous side, always preferring to have fun over doing what was expected of him. Several people looked down on him for it, but he didn't care. He just wanted to be free, and no one would stop him.

...

Jack crept through the passageway, following Crow's lead as he snuck through the night. Goodwin's estate was too easy to sneak into anymore, but they never took it for granted. The second they did was the second they got caught. He let Crow take the lead for the night, since his strengths lied in stealth and creeping around. Jack would rather barge in during broad daylight and announce his presence, then take on all of Goodwin's people.

It was more his style.

But he wasn't stupid. He knew stealth was prudent at times and, when investigating a slave trade, it was especially necessary. He considered himself to be a flamboyant man, and didn't appreciate being underestimated. His pride was both his greatest strength and his greatest weakness. His aim was even better, and he had yet to be trumped in a contest. If a man in town wanted to prove they were the best aim, Jack was the one they would challenge.

His Red Dragon Archfiend was a weapon crafted by Yusei, styled black and red with a dragon-like scale motif along the barrel. It was his trusty weapon, and he never went anywhere without it. He wouldn't even sleep without it under his pillow or bathe without it beside the tub.

His attachment to his firearm could only be rivaled by his love of women. He was a popular man in town, living life dangerously and without a doubt of his own abilities. This cock-sure attitude of his led him to be quite the magnet for young women, and he enjoyed every moment of it. He didn't care for each individual girl. They were just distractions to feed his ego and to kill time with.

He wasn't a man who ever saw himself marrying or settling down. He would sooner leave town than let a girl wrangle him down, and he didn't intend to ever leave his home. Kalin and Yusei both shook their heads at his treatment of women, and had a fair amount of things to say. Crow never seemed to care, so long as he went to the girl's home instead of bringing her to their house.

That didn't mean Crow wouldn't offer a few smart aleck remarks for him, though. The fire-orange-haired teen always seemed to enjoy messing with Jack, leaving him no choice but to mock him in return. Jack was the oldest of the Enforcers, and that often led to several snide comments. He was only a few months older than Kalin, but it didn't stop Crow from teasing him for being an old man.

Despite that, the two of them made a great team when sneaking around, and they almost always managed to get along perfectly during their missions. Even now, Jack stayed back around the corner as Crow did what he did best, peering around the corner and expertly spying through the dark. He was feeling mildly restless, itching to either get out or shoot something. They had been searching undetected for almost two hours, and had yet to find anything.

Crow motioned over his shoulder for Jack to follow him as he made a break across the hall, dashing silently into a small study. The blond followed, keeping one hand on Archfiend's grip as he ran into the room after his cohort. It was just another room of the estate, a large table in the middle with books and papers piled up, a few chairs placed around it, and bookshelves and closets lining the walls. Directly across from the door, a giant portrait hung on the wall, featuring Goodwin smiling gently with a book on his lap.

Jack felt a snarl curl his lips as he took in the sight of the portrait, so richly colored and no-doubt expensive. He didn't care what Goodwin did in his spare time. He just hated the man in his entirety. Turning away, he shifted to help Crow search through the room for any evidence they could find. The paperwork they had only indicated he was assisting with slave trade, but it wasn't solid proof of funding he contributed or how deeply involved he was.

They needed some kind of proof.

He picked a book up from the table and flipped it open, peering across the pages quickly before snapping it shut. Just a work of fiction. He picked up another book and scanned the spine for a title, then set it back down neatly. The easiest way to avoid being caught was to make it appear as if they were never there. It was easy for them. The first few times they snuck inside, they'd been a little sloppy and had learned quickly to be careful.

He roamed along the shelves, scanning the bindings of the books for something that didn't hold a title. Except, knowing Goodwin, he'd keep the juicy stuff hidden inside the cover of a novel, just to hide it in plain sight. It seemed like something he'd do.

He roamed along the shelves, glancing at the dust-laden covers for something that looked like it was used more recently. It was common sense that something used to log the slaves that came in would be used frequently. He paused, coming across a leather-bound book that was colored red and didn't have a fleck of dust, but faded as if the years had not been kind to it. He reached out to grip the spine and pull it out, releasing a slight gasp of shock as a low grinding sounded behind him.

"What the hell?" Crow's voice sounded as he turned to look behind him. One of the bookcases had slid back and to the side, revealing a hidden passageway inside the wall. Jack smiled to himself, taking pride in the fact that he was the one to find it. His cohort walked closer and pulled a match from his pocket, striking to light it on his leather holster before heading inside. "Shall we?"

"Let's."

His attention turned to the door as a black flash swept in suddenly, a person swinging in the room by gripping the doorframe and flipping to land on the table. They paused only briefly, then continued to dash into the secret passage with a sack over their shoulder. Jack watched the figure run, the only glimpse he'd caught showing that they were dressed in black with a mask over their nose and mouth. He wasn't even able to tell what gender they were.

He blinked, glancing at Crow and musing in a hushed shout, "Did you see that, too?"

He nodded and drew his Black-Winged Dragon from its holster, raising it to eyelevel before moving down the passage after the person. "Come on! Let's follow him. The bastard might get to any evidence before we can!"

His chin dipped in silent affirmation as he raised Archfiend and started down the passage, unsure of what to expect while wondering who that mysterious thief was.

Now we actually meet Akiza and Jack and, oh, who is this strange thief? Any guesses?

…Quiet, ye who beta'd and acted as a sounding board and knows. Don't mention the name in a review so it stays a secret, okay? kthxbai.

Most chapters should be this length from here on out, so they'll be a little longer than the prelude. There may be the occasional one that's longer or shorter, but this should be the general length. Enjoy!

Please review!

-Valk