Gifts:Pirates and Pirate Hunters working together?

Kiku stepped out onto deck, his crew were already running around making sure their ship was taken care of, seeing if there were any needed repairs, any food supplies needing to be restocked and such, some men were out getting things they wanted or needed.

       “Honda-sama, our men have spotted ship coming in from other side of island.” One of Kiku’s men ran up to him the moment he saw his captain step out into the light.

       “Well then.” Kiku rolled up a parchment he held in his hands which he was reading while in his office. “I think that we are ready. Let’s go and meet the Bad Pirate Trio and get Nika back.”

       “Hai!” The man bowed and went to ready to the rest of the men who would accompany their captain.

       Kiku tucked the parchment away in his coat, letting his hand linger on it for a brief moment as he closed his eyes. That uneasy feeling wasn’t going away and if he wasn’t carful, his mind might run away on these thoughts all too quickly.

       Letting out a sigh, he slowly opened his eyes and straightened up. He fixed the black hat on his head. “Let us go.”

       Kiku started to walk towards his men, looking into their eyes, seeing they were just as determined as he was to get this meeting over and done with. He gave them a small nod and then walked down the plank and off the ship. Kiku decided that he would take three men directly with him into the meeting place while the rest of the ten men selected would wait close by if needed. He wasn’t about to meet with pirates and not come armed and ready. He thought if they were stupid enough to bring Nika before him, he would take her and make the order to capture the three well known pirates. Might as well bring them in since they so willingly presented themselves before a well-known Pirate Hunter.

       His eyes scanned the shops, his mind still reeling. ‘These three pirates would have a lot of men at their disposal…I want to involve these townsfolk,’ he thought seeing two boys play with sticks in a sword fighting manor.

       “Honda-sama.”

       Kiku looked over his shoulder, “Hai?”

       “What if they don’t have Nika and this is a trap?”

       He gave a sly smile, “Then they will wish they hadn’t called me here. There will be no need to hold back.”

       The man nodded.

       Kiku looked forward again, returning to his thoughts. ‘But what if they had Nika on the ship instead of with them or they really didn’t have her.’ He narrowed his eyes as another thought came to mind, ‘They may be working with Kirland, but I never would have imagined they would be allies, though Pirates are always sneaking around…I suppose I will just have to be on my guard.’  

       Fear then washed over him, ‘What if plans went wrong, they would order to kill her if they suspect something…No!’ His hand had found its place around the handle of his katana, giving it a squeeze. ‘They’re heads would be separated from their bodies before I let them hurt Nika.’

       His men caught their captain’s motion of placing his hand on his weapon. Normally he was a hard to read man but when it came to his thoughts about certain people, his actions were always easy to read. Kiku was in deep thought and they knew well enough that when he was in such deep thoughts, you better pray you weren’t on his hit list.

                                                                                    -----

       Meanwhile, Francis stepped off his ship and placed his hands on his hips. “Well, we are ‘ere.”

       Gilbert joined his side, “Ja, now ve find zhe katana wielding Jap.”
     
       “Oui.” Francis smiled as his eyes wandered to two women, “But first…” he quickly found himself before the two women, bowing and taking their hands in his.

       Gilbert rolled his eyes, yes he acted the same from time to time but Gilbert at least knew when there were other things more important. “Can jou focuz?! Ve need to go…now!” he started off without him.

       Francis sighed and bid the two women a farewell before catching up to Gilbert. “What can I say? I am a true man of love, I ‘ave a duty to make women ‘appy.” He smiled flipping his pony tail off his shoulder.

       “Do I have to remind jou zhat ve are on a very important mission?” Gilbert eyed his French friend.

       “Non, I remember,” he sighed. “I juzt can’t ‘elp it.”

       “Ja, ja.” Gilbert grumbled. “Vhat ever happened to ‘I vill never flirt vith anozher girl ever again’, hmm?”

       Francis frowned, “She would want moi to be ‘appy. If I flirt zhen…it’z like nozhing changed.”

       Gilbert nodded, “Ja, alvright. Sorry I brought it up.”

       “Non.” He looked up and gave a smile, “It’z fine mon ami. You’re right, I need to focus on zhe matter at ‘and.”

       “Glad jou finally got it straight,” Gilbert laughed out.

       The two men walked down the road through town. Gilbert kept his gaze out in front of him while Francis surveyed the area around them. Francis’ men had begun to blend into the town, hand rowed to the island on the other side to start to mingle.

       Gilbert smirked as he thought of just how this meeting would go, of course he knew it would begin with some difficulty but he had no doubt that Kiku Honda would see eye to eye with them.

       “’ey Gilbert, it would appear zhey got ‘ere before us.” Francis turned his head to look at Gilbert, tilting his head and gesturing to the Inn.

       “Ja.” He looked around and noticed some of Francis’ men hanging around the area, “But it von’t be a problem. Making an entrance after zhem givez us zhe upper hand.”

       Francis chuckled, “Oui, you are right. Shall we ‘ead inside?”

       The two stopped outside the doors, Gilbert adjusted his hat and narrowed his eyes with his cocky smile complimenting it. Francis dusted off his pirate coat and adjusted his white gloves on his hands.

       The two both pushed the doors open and walked into the Inn, making their way to the dinning pub part, seeing the Japanese man standing in the back corner.

       Kiku saw the two enter; cocking a brow he wondered where the other member was and where Nika could be. He side glanced at the man who was always at his side, giving a small nod to him.

       The man approached to the pirate captains, “Greeting, my captain has been expecting you, prease have a seat.” He gestured to the round table with four chairs.

       Kiku took his seat, eyeing the two before him, waiting for them to do the same. Gilbert moved one of the chairs aside and took his seat in front of Kiku, Francis pulling up a chair beside gilbert.

       “So, ret us get down to business. Where is Nika?” Kiku did his best not to growl his question.

       Gilbert was the one to speak, “Before ve get to zha-”

       “I won’t ask again.”

       Francis sighed, “We need information on where to find Arzur et being working togezher to find ‘im, zhen we will get back what ‘as been stolen from zhe bozh of us.”

       Kiku narrowed his eyes, “Exactry what are you imprying?”

       “He meanz, jou help uz und ve help jou,” Gilbert gave a cocky grin, looking right into Kiku’s blazing dark eyes.

       Suddenly the table was tipped over, katanas drawn; Kiku’s men pointed their weapons at the two pirates, guns also cocked and ready. Swords slipped under the chins of the Asian men, French pirates stood behind the Pirate Hunter’s men aiding their captain and Gilbert.

       Francis had his head tilted back, Kiku’s blade under his chin but Gilbert’s sword was pointed at Kiku, the tip of the blade poking his chest.

       “Why do jou have to make zhis so hard?” Gilbert asked. “All ve vant iz to negotiate.”

       “There is no way I wirr ever negotiate with pirates.”

       Francis backed up, Kiku would have stepped forward if Gilbert’s sword wasn’t already at him.

       “Lizen, we are aware zhat you wouldn’t juzt come ‘ere et work wizh uz right away but-”

       “But what? What gives you the idea I wirr risten to anything you have to say?”

       Gilbert quickly drew back his sword just slightly and swung it at Kiku’s katana, knocking it from his hand as Francis caught it.

       Kiku narrowed his eyes, he was about to speak again when Francis cut him off. “We ‘ad Nika but Arzur took ‘er et wezher you care of not, ‘e ‘as taken somezhing from uz as well. Nika ‘ad our word we would protect ‘er et we failed ‘er but even zhough we took ‘er az a way to get to you et now we don’t ‘ave ‘er, we still came.”

       Gilbert took the katana from Francis and held it out, “Ve came to help find her. Any information jou have vill help us. Consider it a truss for now between uz. Until ve get zhe people ve love back.”

       Kiku hesitantly took his katana back, letting the words that Nika was taken from Arthur settle in. Half of him wanted to kill these men before him for letting her fall into that vile pirate’s hands but at the same time, maybe he would accept their offer. For now. He needed to get Nika back, by any means, but was he really going to accept the help of pirates? That was against the code, the law, he and his men could be trialed for working with them.

       Kiku looked around the room, once again his men were neck and neck to the French pirates. He knew that if any of them tried to break free and attack, they would be killed. They were at the Frenchmen’s mercy.

       “Why wourd you invorve me?” Kiku asked.

       “Because, we ‘eard you knew of Arzur’s whereabouts.”

       “No.” Kiku took his set, his eyes cast down and hidden under his hat, “It was farse information.”

       Francis and Gilbert looked at each other briefly before Gilbert put away his sword. “Zhen, we have nozhing for you und you have nozhing from us. I suppose zhen we will be going.”

       “Wait…” Kiku looked up, “Do you think I wirr just ret you go. You rerease my men and we wirr fight you.”

       Francis chuckled, “Oui, you will let uz go because even zhough we don’t ‘ave Nika we do ‘ave someone going to rescue ‘er. So very soon we will et if we don’t return, she very well may die.”

       “But you said you said you gave your word Kina wourdn’t be harmed!” Kiku shot up again, angry at his words.

       “Ja, zhat iz true.” He walked away from Kiku, continuing, “But if jou vish to treat uz like lying deceiving pirates, zhen ve vill act like it.”

       Francis chuckled, “Whezher you believe it or not, Nika waz never ‘armed while wizh uz et she learned to defend ‘erself.” He turned to follow Gilbert out, “Might I add zhat zhe ‘as ‘idden power in fighting? She iz a good shot et can fight ‘and to ‘and combat razher well.”

       Kiku stared at the two men leaving, their men going with them, leaving behind confusion in the air. Once they were gone, Kiku’s men circled around their captain, waiting for orders.

       “What do you want us to do Handa-sama?”

       “…we…we forrow them. Forrow them back to their ship and by then I shourd have my answer.”

       As the men glanced between each other, they parted and followed Kiku out of the Inn. Making their they trailed the pirates from a distance and carefully.

                                                                                     ----

       Francis stopped and let his men go aboard the ship with Gilbert.

       Once aboard, Gilbert turned and leaned on the railing, watching Francis stand and wait. “Jou zhink he vill make himself known?”

       “Oui…but whezher or not ‘e will agree to go against zhe law to working wizh pirates iz what I am wondering.”

       “Vhat if he says nein?”

       “What if he sayz oui? Even ‘unterz ‘ave a price.”

       “You are correct.” Kiku walked up the dock, this men hanging behind him.

       Francis watched the Japanese man come towards him, his hand on the handle of his sword. Just in case, though he knew Gilbert would shoot before Kiku would land a hit.

       “Well, what ‘ave you decided on?”

       Kiku stopped and inhaled, “Hai. We wirr not be working together but passing information in terms of finding someone we care about. You did mention Kirland has someone you care about.”

       “Ja, a friend.”

       “Anozher pirate I per-”

       “Non, a lady of zhe court.”

       Gilbert held in a chuckle, “Ja, she iz a friend but she iz a lady of zhe royal court. Zhat iz all ve can tell jou.”

       Kiku wondered how a lady of some royal court would ever be friends with pirates, but that wasn’t important. “So zhen, how wirr we stay in contact?”

       Francis flicked his chin up and a white squawking bird flew up from the pirate ship and landed on Francis’ shoulder. “You can take a little friend of mine wizh you to keep in contact. ‘e will always be able to find moi.”

       He nodded and held out his arm, the bird flew up and over to Kiku, landing on the extended arm.

       In the pit of his stomach, he knew this was wrong but what other method did he have in order to find Nika. His eyes went from the bird to its master boarding the ship.

       The two captains made eye contact as the ship jerked forward and began to sail away from the port, from the pirate hunter they had just got on their side to lend a hand.

       Gilbert turned his back, “Zhe more enemies after Arthur.”

       “Zhe ‘arder ‘e will fall. Et all zhe pain ‘e cauzed ozhers will be returned.”

       “Ve have to find him before he getz vhatever it iz he iz looking for. Before he haz zhe chance to hurt anyzone else, especially Felicia und Nika.”

       Francis nodded and stared to his quarters with Gilbert behind him. They were now done with one part of the plan, whether it was safe to believe Kiku Honda wouldn’t try arresting them when this was over and done with. Right now, the more enemies they brought into this fight, the better. They just hopped that Arthur wouldn’t be too far and that Felicia and Nika were as safe as being with that madman pirate.

       Little did they know another would be joining the hunt for Arthur There was one more enemy that would be looking for Arthur’s head on a platter. All the players of the game Arthur was creating were aligning, whether he himself knew the identities of those players.

To Be Continued~