Unforgiven Swords: Chapter 15

Previous Chapter

 Right after the gunshot, that made a hole on the roof, Macabre RedClaw jumped and reached the bounty hunter and his thief.

 As soon as he saw Hound’s face, the White Wolf rushed, tonfa in hand, and punched.

 All Hound needed to do was raise his arm, and the attack was blocked.

 Macabre: Alina, run!

 Alina: No, it’s not like that!

 The captain attempted another punch, right onto the assassin’s face. Before, however, the Red Hound’s hand was already holding his fist.

 Hound: I just want to talk, White Wolf.

 Macabre: As if I would believe that…

 The left tonfa moved, aiming to reach where the right one couldn’t.

 Hound simply spun the hand that held Macabre’s fist, and the captain was on the ground before any more attacks were performed.

 Hound: All I ask is that you listen to me for a minute.

 Macabre: (on the ground) After what you did with Naishi? You think I’m stupid?

 So the pirate was not giving up, it seemed. Hound rose his umbrella, pointing it downwards, and with the empty eyes of a raven, and made it go down in a second.

 Macabre spit blood, and the impact caused by the umbrella over his chest caused the roof to collapse.

 The next instant, he was back into the house.

<p align="left" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:left"> Alina: What do you think you’re doing? He is still my captain!

<p align="left" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:left"> Hound: He shouldn’t have tried to fight me, then… (jumps through the hole on the roof, landing next to Macabre) I’m here to talk.

<p align="left" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:left"> All of the pirates surrounded him.

<p align="left" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:left"> None of them believed in the assassin’s words.

<p align="left" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:left"> Hound: Oh, well…

<p align="left" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:left"> He quickly dodged Naishi’s flying kick, which aimed for his face. Next, he used the umbrella to block a sword blow by Karen. He also sent her to the ground with a head-butt.

<p align="left" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:left"> Macabre stood up in a jump. Hound was turned back, so that was his chance to attack. Naishi thought the same, while Karen, facing the blue gaze of the bounty hunter, waited for her two crewmates to move.

<p align="left" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:left"> One assailant in front, two behind… They rushed.

<p align="left" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:left"> Hound: Do you really think I’m that stupid?

<p align="left" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:left"> Hound lifted his arm, and threw a bomb to the ground. Soon enough, the place was full of smoke.

<p align="left" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:left"> Alina DeMasque descended into the house. All she could see was a thigh smoke, covering most of that room.

<p align="left" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:left"> She looked up, and saw a hole, not the hole on the roof, but also on the second floor.

<p align="left" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:left"> Alina: (thoughts) I leave for one day and they manage to destroy the second floor…?

<p align="left" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:left"> While the RedClaw pirates tried to find themselves amidst the mist, Hound stood still.

<p align="left" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:left"> All he had to do was to wait for the crew to stop and the smoke to disappear.

<p align="left" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:left"> It was then that he felt a presence next to him.

<p align="left" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:left"> Jon L. Treach pointed a pistol to his enemy bounty hunter. He shot five times, emptying the barrel, and manage to destroy only a few jars and walls.

<p align="left" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:left"> Hound: (raising the umbrella and putting the finger on the trigger) You’re lucky I’m not willing to kill today.

<p align="left" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:left"> Hound shot three times towards the roof.

<p align="left" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:left"> Hound: (shouting) I’m here diplomatically, you fools.

<p align="left" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:left">

<p align="left" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:left">

<p align="left" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:left">

<p align="left" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:left"> And so, minutes after the mess, Hound was leaning on a wall, observing the whole crew of the RedClaw pirates.

<p align="left" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:left"> The pirates, on the other hand, found quite hard to keep observing such a man.

<p align="left" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:left"> Alina: So, why are you here?

<p align="left" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:left"> Alina somehow acted as the neutral part of that conversation, the one that assured neither side would try to kill the other.

<p align="left" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:left"> Hound: I want to give you the chance of a fair fight.

<p align="left" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:left"> Naishi: What? What do you know about fair fighting, assassin?

<p align="left" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:left"> Hound: I have a code of honor, pirate, differently from most shinobi… I’ll get right to the point: Locke Wolff is willing to use low tricks against you.

<p align="left" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:left"> Karen: What kind of “low tricks”?

<p align="left" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:left"> Hound: Well, the thing is… He is obsessive. When he first mentioned it to me, I did not thought he was willing to do it, but he wants to attack Ainer Grave’s family…

<p align="left" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:left"> They remained in silence for a minute.

<p align="left" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:left"> Hound: When I made you declare war, I knew all we had to do was waiting for you to attack us, but Wolff does not wish to wait. He plans to use the members of Grave’s family as hostages, forcing you to come near us, so that we can kill each of you. Now, normally I would accept anything he ordered without hesitating, but the problem is… I can’t just act as his hound, even though that was what I promised I’d do… and, above all else, I do not agree with such a coward plan, especially coming from a man that held such honor once.

<p align="left" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:left"> Silence remained again.

<p align="left" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:left"> Macabre was the only one not looking to Hound as he spoke. Instead, he observed the night through a window, just as the assassin was doing with the wooden floor.

<p align="left" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:left"> Macabre: What are you proposing, then?

<p align="left" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:left"> Hound: To take the fight somewhere else.

<p align="left" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:left"> Macabre: How?

<p align="left" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:left"> Hound: We pretend that this meeting never happened, to start. The rest is with me… You will receive instructions when the time comes.

<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif; mso-fareast-font-family:Calibri;mso-fareast-theme-font:minor-latin;mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";mso-ansi-language:EN-US;mso-fareast-language:EN-US; mso-bidi-language:AR-SA">A large conflict came near to its conclusive end.

<p style="text-align: center;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif; mso-fareast-font-family:Calibri;mso-fareast-theme-font:minor-latin;mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";mso-ansi-language:EN-US;mso-fareast-language:EN-US; mso-bidi-language:AR-SA">Next Chapter