Chapter 9

Ace chased the man he recognized as Vash. He made sure to hide his presence. He jumped from rooftop to rooftop, watching the wild chase Vash was giving to the man who bumped him at the market earlier.

Eventually, Vash's pursuit ended. He caught the man. Vash had much more stamina than him. Ace watched Vash drag the man to an empty alley to interrogate him.

"Moris! That's you, right? I finally found you!" Vash said, pushing Moris against the wall.

"What the hell do you want from me?" Moris tried getting Vash's hands off of him, but failed. Vash was incredibly strong.

"You know what I want."

"No! I don't! I don't even know you!"

"Why'd you run away from me, then?"

"You approached me with a fucking gun. You expect me to just stand there?"

Vash backhanded Moris who fell on the floor. He quickly picked himself up and tried to run away, but Vash shot him in the thigh.

"Arghh! Damn it! Fuck!"

Moris clutched his shot thigh as he screamed in pain. Vash approached him. He fumbled for something in his pockets. It looked like a picture or a piece of paper. Ace couldn't see it from the rooftop. Vash showed the piece in his hand to Moris whose eyes lit up in recognition.

"Wh-what's she to you?"

"My best friend," Vash spat. "Now, you know what I want. Speak."

"I don't know anything, man!"

"Don't give me that crap! You're the goddamn triggerman!" Vash kicked Moris in the face. "I want names! Who hired you?"

Moris didn't answer. He was busy trying to ignore the pain. Once he did, he just laughed at Vash.

"Or what?" Moris chuckled. "I recognize you now. They said you wore a white coat. But I know you, Stampede Vash. You don't kill."

Vash just looked weirdly at Moris as if he was staring at an irredeemable idiot.

"Are you stupid?" Vash said before shooting one of Moris's fingers with his .22 caliber revolver.

"AHH FUCK!"

Moris clutched his hand that was missing a finger. He now had that look saying he was afraid of the man in front of him.

"Say goodbye to the nine others if you don't wanna speak."

"There wasn't any names, man! You're a bounty hunter! You know how it works!"

Vash clicked his tongue in annoyance. He then pressed the barrel of his gun to one of Moris's fingers as he knelt down in front of the man.

"I don't give a shit! If there weren't any names, tell me what they look like! Anything!" Vash put his face closer to the man before saying, "You have nine chances. If I don't like what you tell me, you better start learning how to eat with your feet after I let you go."

"Okay! Okay! Let me think! Fuck, man!"

Moris panicked before closing his eyes to think properly, Ace assumed. He was watching everything from a rooftop adjacent to the alley. After a while, Moris spoke.

"He didn't give me a name. But!" Moris quickly added when he felt the cold barrel push closer to his finger. "The briefcase he used for an upfront payment. It had some symbol on its handle."

"What symbol?"

"I-I can't remember! It was small!"

"Well you better start remembering!" Vash shot his revolver. Moris lost another finger.

"Damn it! Fuck, you didn't have to do that!" Vash let Moris shout and squirm to deal with the pain. After a while, Moris spoke again.

"It was… It was a simple symbol. Three bullets lined up horizontally."

"...are you sure?" Vash said after a while. It seems he recognized the symbol.

"Yes! I swear!" Moris pleaded with Vash to believe him.

"Where is this briefcase?"

"At my apartment. In front of Magazine Bank. The one with white walls and red house. Third floor, second window from the right," Moris quickly answered.

Vash kicked Moris in the head hard enough for the latter to go unconscious. After a few seconds, Vash just shouted in frustration.

"Damn it!" Vash kicked the walls around him. His kicks were hard enough to shatter stone and bend iron. Ace took that moment to introduce himself.

"Well, that was certainly my first time seeing an interrogation scene," Ace said, still squatting on the edge of the rooftop. In a way, he was being honest.

Vash quickly turned around and looked up at Ace, clearly spooked at not knowing he was being watched. He quickly aimed his revolver at Ace's head.

"Who are you? The one hired to clean this up?" Vash lightly kicked Moris's unconscious body.

"Nope. Just a passerby," Ace jumped down from the roof. Vash's revolver was still aimed at his head, but he wasn't worried.

"You better just forget what you saw then. Get out of here," Vash tried convincing Ace to just walk away.

"Unfortunately, that won't happen."

"Why not?"

"I'm interested in you."

"..."

"..."

"Sorry, I don't swing that way," Vash said with a pitying look on his face. Ace just did a double take.

"Not in that way!" Ace quickly rejected what Vash thought he meant.

"Then what?"

"I'm a pirate," Ace proudly declared. "I want you in my crew."

"Sorry, not happening," Vash scoffed.

"Ehh? Why not?"

"Can't you see I'm busy? Go away," Vash put down his revolver after realizing that Ace wasn't hostile to him. He walked away, probably in the direction Moris gave him. Ace quickly followed and walked beside him.

"So, if you weren't busy, you'd join me?" Ace grinned at Vash.

"I'm a bounty hunter. Pirates like you are my prey."

"Who cares? You can still join!"

"Like I said, I'm busy!" Vash walked faster, but Ace matched his speed.

They walked down a street with a fairly decent amount of people. Ace noticed that they parted like the sea to give way to him and Vash. Or they just didn't want to even be close. Ace suspected it was the latter.

"What if I help you, then?" Ace offered. Vash staggered in his step, surprised that a pirate would offer him help.

"I work alone, pirate," Vash rejected Ace's offer again.

"Not anymore," Ace grinned slyly.

"You're one annoyingly stubborn pirate," Vash sighed in exasperation.

"You just gonna keep calling me pirate?" Ace raised a brow.

"How else would I call you? I don't even know who you are."

"Ahh! That's right!" Ace quickly got in front of Vash, stopping him from walking. "Introductions are in order. Nice to meet you! I'm Ace!"

Ace offered a handshake to Vash. Vash just looked at it for a moment.

"Vash," he answered. He took Ace's offered handshake before walking away. Of course, Ace followed. A pirate and a bounty hunter walking side by side.