Fire

Not a single creature of the night disturbed the chilly darkness covering the abandoned fields spread over hectares of originally wild land. They were sad in their loneliness, waiting for the proper blanket of snow, which didn´t reach the valley under the mountains yet, letting them half-exposed to the cruel frost.

Not even a dust of wind dared to interrupt the heavy silence. It was the time of the deepest night, when the sleep of all honest people was the strongest; the time for them to gather new strength for another hard day. The time, when only the bravest ones dared to walk under the night sky, proudly resisting the freezing power of winter, which was just taking a breath before throwing its full power on the inhabitants of Montana.

Two men on the top of the wooden palisade, which protected the white farm, were almost jumping on their spots, trying to warm themselves up hopelessly, while guarding the front gate. Their rifles were leant over the wall, ready for use at once.

"It´s quiet around here, right?" one of them yawned widely.

"I´m more concerned about this damn cold," the older man snorted, huddling inside his winter coat.

His companion approached closer with a conspiratorial expression.

"So... You also think that our dear boss is kind of paranoid already?" the young guard whispered, even though there was nobody else around.

"Maybe even crazy," the other man replied in a very upset mood, as he had planned to spend his night off in Madame Sukina´s brothel and instead of that, he was freezing up there. "Our dear boss arranged the whole Indian tribe to be wiped out; he´s the most fearsome man far and wide; there´s a four-meter-high wall around this property and he still fears somebody might be that stupid to come and try to do something. Sweet Jesus…"

"Exactly," the younger one nodded, breathing out on his numb fingers. "Who would be so dumb to attack his fortress in this damn winter?"

"No idea, maybe he´s expecting aliens or something," the older man continued his upset humming on the address of the mansion´s lord.

"Heh, you believe in that kind of bullshit?" the younger´s eyes went wide.

"Don´t be an idiot, it was just a joke!"

"Ok, sorry, sorry... Hey, don´t you wanna get some nap now and we could change within two hours then? Nothing´s gonna happen here anyway..."

"Fully agreed," the other guard nodded, quite enthusiastic about the idea. "I´ll go then and..."

The man´s speech was interrupted by a loud bang, which cut through the air sharply. Both guards turned on the spot, hearing the sound resonating from the other side of the guarded property. They saw nothing at first, but almost right away, there was another bang, accompanied with cheerful tiny lights high up in the air above the farm.

"What the fuck..." the older man gritted through his teeth.

"I wasn´t informed about any fireworks," the younger one noted. "What about you?"

"Neither I," the other one snorted.

The flood of bright lights on the background of the pitch-black sky doubled in their numbers.

"Should we go to check it out?" the youngster asked not very happily.

"You go," his companion decided. "I´ll stay here for sure."

"Eeh?! There´re other guards, right? Why should I...?"

"Don´t be such a brat and go," the older man snapped.

"Fine, fine," the other one gave up his complaints. "Just don´t sleep over here meanwhile, nah?"

The older man watched his younger colleague climbing down the ladder from their small watchtower, thinking that he might have been wrong. Maybe there was somebody crazy to attack Karnaka´s farm, in case that the attacker had a damn good reason for it... And using fireworks? That sounded crazy enough.

*

The fireworks seemed to work out even better than they had hoped.

From the safe place in the crown of a tree at the edge of one field, Jin observed the scene behind the palisade, where many torches and the dark figures from the slaves´ houses in the back yard of the farm started to gather toward their light show. Exactly as they wanted, the fuss lured most of the people outside.

The young gunslinger waited until he was sure that two Indians from Babb Tribe lit up all detonating cords. Then he jumped down the tree and in a quiet rush, he sneaked away from the hill, where they set their fireworks up.

Jin met up with Liwan, who was already waiting for him next to the huge empty water barrel. Most of their Indian comrades remained hidden and completely silent. Not knowing their position, Jin wouldn´t have even thought that somebody was hiding close to the back gate.

Kazuya and other four Indians, Hawk Eye included, were on the other side of the palisade, as they were supposed to sneak inside at the front gate. And the success of Kame´s group depended on the proper distraction from their side, which was about to happen.

Covered by the deep darkness, Jin and Liwan dashed off toward the back gate, behind which they could already hear the nervous voices, carrying quite dangerous packages in their hands...

*

The fireworks were particularly beautiful, when Kame, Hawk Eye and other two Babb Indians approached the front gate. Only one guarding man remained on the wall above them. When his figure appeared in the watchtower in the convenient position, the young Indian of Blackfeet Tribe proved he deserved his name. Just one accurate aim was enough for him to hit the throat of the man with his arrow.

The unheard death of the guard secured the Babb Indians an undisturbed climbing over the wall, while they used the same inconspicuous way as Kame many weeks ago, when he came to the farm for Jin. Then they opened the front gate quietly and Kame with Hawk Eye pulled the cart full of canisters inside. Not to raise any attention, they closed the gate again and their small group rushed toward the house.

The sparkling lights in the air made quite a fuss behind the farm; the excited voices were carried in the cold air and the guards were running across the frozen up garden, confused about the night disruption.

Kame´s heart was steady, as they proceeded forward, using the shadows of the trees for cover, despite his mind started to be gradually consumed with adrenaline. Very soon, they came across the men guarding the corners of the white house, but for their luck, they were also distracted by the fireworks and the handy Indians of Babb Tribe stole their consciousness without any unnecessary noise. It was very important for them to remain unnoticed and they had to act fast; the whole farm would be up on their feet soon for sure.

Using the fancy railing for support and relying on the strength of their arms, Kame and Hawk Eye climbed up on the roof over the veranda. Then they let other ropes run down from it, waited for the signal and pulled it up again. With the end of ropes tied around them by Babb Indians, the canisters of kerosene oil appeared in their hands.

Without any delay, Kame and the young Indian started to spill the liquid over the roof. There was a lot of space to cover and they needed to focus on it fully. Kame couldn´t let himself to be distracted by the tremendous explosion of sound and light at the back gate, which shook with the house itself. He had to trust Jin and Liwan that they were careful enough with their dangerous mission...

*

The adrenaline was rushing through Jin´s veins, when he and Liwan overstepped the remains of the destroyed gate unnoticed, using the chaos after the explosion. The Babb Indians launched their loud attack when they reached the wall of the barn, for which Jin didn´t have any nice memories. The screaming of attacking red men brought chills on his back, as he ran around the building and then toward the house, side by side with Liwan.

When they reached the white wall, the guards had already responded on the Indian attack with furious shooting. But Jin and Liwan were at the mansion, and nobody chased after them yet, just as they had planned.

Everything was negotiated and properly set up in advance, and so far, it was working.

The fireworks created an awesome confusion at the distant side of the gardens. Then, just before Karnaka´s men were able to agree if they should open the gate or not, it blew up right into their faces. The precious dynamite from Billings worked perfectly and it amazed Jin with its power. It made an impression on the Indians too, not mentioning the poor slaves, who were screaming in fear even now, but there was no time to admire the miracles of civilization.

Babb group pretended to attack the farm at the back gate to gather all attention on them, while Jin and Liwan were free to sneak through the destroyed gate before the guards could have got themselves together. Kazuya´s group was supposed to do their job on the roofs, hopefully not disturbed by the busy guards.

That plan of theirs was more crazy than brave, and anything could have gone wrong with it. However, there was no space for such worries in Jin´s mind focused at one and one goal only – to find Raynold Karnaka and make him pay finally.

When the small back door opened with a shriek, both he and Liwan remained motionless, stick to the wall. Two figures in white nightwear came out with lanterns in hands, discussing the unexpected fuss and they remained standing in the door. Jin recognized the black faces of Karnaka´s slaves, who were probably allowed to sleep in the mansion.

He turned to Liwan, whose face was fiercely determined in the yellow light. The Indian indicated cutting the throat with his finger, and Jin frowned in disagreement. He couldn´t bring himself to kill the innocent ones, even if it meant risking their exposure. He shook his head vigorously and turned his revolver, catching it for the muzzle, so that Liwan could see it. To Jin´s relief, after a moment, the Indian nodded to agree with his proposal.

Both Negros were knocked down unconscious within a mere few seconds and they were dragged behind the small shed for the wood supplies.

*

Kame smelled the odor of kerosene all around, and he hastily brushed his hands over the trousers to get rid of their stickiness. After their hasty work, all available roofs were spilled with flammable liquid. The Babb Indians had to get rid of three Karnaka´s men, as they proceeded around the farm´s wall with their cart and even a few gunshots were fired, but so far nobody else noticed them. All attention was focused at the back gate, at the Indian´s attack, as they hoped.

Kame reached the veranda´s roof, where they had originally started, out of breath. The climbing over the windows and roofs was difficult, as well as dragging up the heavy canisters. Hawk Eye appeared on their meeting spot a minute later, breathing even more heavily than Kame.

They nodded at each other and smoothly jumped down, ending up in front of the main entrance. Babb Indians were guarding the nearest corner of the house.

By that time, the fast gunshots and yells indicated a furious battle behind the farm, but Kame didn´t pay attention to it – to get inside was what mattered to him.

While Hawk Eye remained guarding on the veranda, not to let anyone get to Kame´s back, he approached the half-open door, which was probably left like that by some rushing guard. Forcing his breath to steady again, Kame took his revolver in one hand, while he pushed the door open with the other. The corridor was dark.

As far as Kame remembered, Karnaka´s workroom was located on the ground floor, but the bedroom was certainly upstairs. The fuss in the back of his property had to wake Karnaka up and it was difficult to say, where he was now. But the first floor was Jin´s and Liwan´s task, so Kame avoided one of the two staircases up and proceeded further in the hall.

*

The first floor was so abandoned that it got on Jin´s nerves. The slaves and most of the guards were brought out outside, but there had to be some others; Karnaka definitely had more people at hand than that... So, why was everything so damn empty?

The Indian was just checking the situation from one window, when Jin, filled up with bad feelings, grabbed Liwan´s shoulder and nodded with his head to tell him they should go downstairs.

Both young men rushed back down, using the stairs for servants. Reaching the ground floor, Jin noticed some strange flash in the shadows and cowered down just in time to avoid a proper shot into his head.

"There they´re!"

"No killing, you moron!"

Jin heard those two voices only faintly, as he took cover behind a robust stand with some vase, only a moment before the second gunshot pierced the floor and made an ugly hole in it. He repaid a glance of Liwan, as the Indian was retreating upstairs.

"Stupid rule, I´ll not let myself be killed!" some argument was heard from the side of his opponents, but Jin couldn´t care less, what bothered them. Crouching behind the stand, he checked both bins, and then counted down the shots, which Karnaka´s men wasted trying to reach his hideout. After the sixth shot, he peeked out behind the heavily damaged stand and shot back. The yell of pain told him he didn´t miss. But right after that he noticed the figures of more guards, rushing there from some room on the left side.

Damn it...

*

Kame was careful and ready for anything. But he didn´t know that Karnaka was ready, too.

The house was so quiet, that it was suspicious. Kame was passing the wall with expensive pictures, all his senses on alert and he was approaching the faint light under the door of the workroom. That light could have meant Karnaka was inside.

Holding his breath and focusing on his goal, Kame didn´t notice the motionless dark figure hiding behind the high sculpture...

They wouldn´t have caught him so easily, not being for a scared scream of a young black girl from the other end of the corridor, who was just getting a beating from an old man, from a reason Kame was never supposed to find out.

It distracted Kame enough to allow the waiting guard to jump on him, before he could even take a second breath...

*

Jin was outnumbered. Just when he started considering the retreat to another part of the building, the surprised alarming calls told him something had happened on the other side of their furious shootout. He peeked out carefully and saw that in some miraculous way, Liwan and Hawk Eye appeared behind Karnaka´s men. His Indian comrade had just knocked the second gunman down with his tomahawk, before fleeing toward the other side of the house, accompanied by the younger Indian. Almost all remaining guards set off after them, shooting furiously.

It was a question of two precise shots to get rid of the last two and Jin could proceed to Karnaka´s workroom, forcing himself not to be too bothered with the dead bodies on the floor.

After they searched through the whole house, Jin was sure that if the mansion´s lord was not there, in his favorite room, than he was not on the property at all...

Counting the gunmen on the walls and in the gardens, who were fighting against the Babb Indians and those inside the house, who chased after Liwan and Hawk Eye, there could not be many of others, who would be guarding Karnaka, Jin thought. Unless that nasty old man recruited half of Bozeman City. Except one clash, the empty halls were confirming his assumption so far. Even though that he continued forward extremely carefully, until he reached the familiar door with two wings.

Jin just hoped it was the correct door, as he remembered there were two of them leading into Karnaka´s workroom. The strange thing was that if the man was inside, Jin expected the entrance to be either locked or guarded. But there were no guards in sight and the doorknob didn´t show any resistance, when he pushed it down.

It was suspicious and Jin´s instincts felt some unidentified danger, but nothing could have stopped him at that moment. He had to take an action, while Liwan with his young friend kept the guards inside the house busy and before the Babb´s Indians would act according to the plan, leaving their small group without any support.

He took a deep breath, made sure both revolvers were steady in his grip and kicked the door wide open, revealing the brightly lit room. As he made two fast steps over the threshold, checking both sides of the space first, he noticed there was a gray-haired man standing close to the window and observing the finishing fireworks outside. Jin knew it was Raynold Karnaka, even before the old man turned to face the young gunslinger.

A burning desire for revenge roared for the immediate action, but something immobilized Jin´s fingers on the triggers. Something what froze the blood in his veins.

Except smiling Karnaka, there were three men inside the workroom. Two of them were guarding the second door, with their guns aiming at Jin and the third one was Brad. The smirking gunman was holding his revolver in the position, which made Jin literally freeze in the middle of the room, just two steps from Karnaka´s desk. Jin´s feet got stuck to the soft carpet and his heart skipped a beat, seeing the muzzle of the lethal weapon almost buried in Kazuya´s right temple.

The light brown eyes met with Jin´s. While the older one was flooded by horror from the possibility that gun would have fired, Kame was not terrified; his look was just upset and regretful, as he kept his hands up in the air.

"Greetings in this noisy night, young man," an awfully calm and satisfied voice interrupted the scene, in which Jin kept aiming at the old man, two guards had the intruder in the sights of their revolvers, and Brad had the younger one of the two avengers in self-confident check.

Very unwillingly, Jin disrupted the eye connection with motionless Kame to look at Raynold Karnaka. The man, who destroyed his family and best friend, who ordered the death of Kame´s mother and the whole Blackfeet Tribe and the one, who let Math Grenet torture him, was standing unarmed right in front of him.

Just faintly, Jin noted that the disgusting servant Cameron was not nearby. Karnaka was dressed in the silk gown, as the fuss at the back gate dragged him out his bed. No matter the time they had carefully chosen for the attack, the man was obviously prepared for them anyway...

Shit... This is pretty much screwed...

To Jin´s surprise, Karnaka didn´t seem upset or angry. The old man was observing him with a curious expression, with the hands folded behind his back, not burdened with the revolvers aiming at his head at all.

"I was looking forward to meet with you again, Akanishi," Karnaka continued. "As well as with Kamenashi. I was expecting you two, boys."

Maybe, you did, Jin told only to himself, trying hard to think calmly. But, there´re some obvious ´buts´...

Raynold Karnaka didn´t expect them to get past his guards so fast. It would have looked otherwise and they would have been probably dragged in front of the mansion´s lord either tied up or dead. Further, there were only three gunmen in the workroom, which was quite few in case Karnaka had expected them to come and try to assassinate him. And two of the guards were without shoes, the clothes hanging on them as if they only threw it on themselves in a rush.

Karnaka himself was clearly sleeping, when they got their plan into the motion. And the absence of his most loyal servant, who would have protected the lord with own body, told Jin that something else was going on too, what didn´t let Cameron to be there.

Jin kept silent, thinking quickly about the situation, and pushing away that part of himself, which was eager to shoot Karnaka´s head off right away. He couldn´t let that part to take control, because if he did, Kame would have paid the highest price possible for it.

"You were good, I have to say," Karnaka assumed with cold shine in his eyes, which he narrowed between many wrinkles. "But you should realize by now, you are no match for me, boy. Lower your guns."

Jin repaid that ice-cold glance and didn´t move a muscle.

This was the last chance to pull his promise off until the end. How can he give up after everything what happened, and after everything they did to get so far?

By the corner of his eye, Jin still saw Kazuya´s face. Somehow, he knew the other one didn´t want to give up either, no matter how desperate their situation seemed to be.

"Well, if you don´t do it voluntarily, you can bet it will be done the other way," Karnaka stated, still sure of his victory. "I´m curious to find out, just how much you treasure your friendship with our dear Kamenashi here."

The click of the gun´s fuse sliced through Jin´s mind and he couldn´t help but glance at Kame again. Brad was ready to shoot and he was observing Jin with eager expectation. But Jin was more focused on Kazuya´s eyes. And those eyes were silently telling him not to give up. Jin saw it there, but he was also painfully aware of own inability to do it. He couldn´t have sacrificed Kame´s life for revenge.

"So, what will it be?" Karnaka asked, sitting down in his favorite chair, as if he was just in the middle of discussion with some business partner.

Jin´s hands shivered and then he slowly let them go down, still repaying Kame´s look. He noticed surprise and then something so warm in the younger´s eyes, that it made him feel lucky despite the situation.

"Good boy," Karnaka said with a satisfied smile. "I knew you wouldn´t sacrifice your friend. You´re too soft for revenge, Akanishi."

It might have seemed that way, but neither Jin nor Kame were willing to let their only chance slip away from their fingers. There was an unsaid mutual agreement between the two young men, which Karnaka didn´t and even couldn´t see.

Jin didn´t know what it was, or by what it was caused. But it was the most strange and at the same time completely natural feeling. Neither he, nor Kazuya said a single word aloud, but despite that, it was as if they knew what was on other´s mind.

Kazuya´s eyes glanced somewhere behind Jin´s back. His tense expression changed almost insignificantly, but Jin had noticed it anyway. Especially, when Kame focused his darkened look back on him. There was somebody in the corridor, from which Jin came, and it was not another enemy. Kame was trying to notify him about somebody else, and that could be only help...

With hardly suppressed excitement, Jin focused on Karnaka, who was stabbing him with a hungry stare, like a predator observing his prey.

"You caused me quite a lot of troubles, boys," Karnaka stated, as he lit up the thick cigar. "But I bet it didn´t pay off to you, right?"

Neither Kame nor Jin said anything.

"How did you like a new alteration of your precious Indian village?"

If Karnaka was expecting an outburst, he was wrong. The old man´s words were not important for them; they had to be fully focused on what was about to happen.

"But I think I will have to remedy the negligence of my subordinates. I was informed that some red skins are helping you..."

At the next moment, Kame winked at Jin and almost right after that, he collapsed. Brad was so surprised by the sudden heaviness of his body, that he let Kame slip from his grip and stepped away.

"What the…!" he snapped perfectly dumbfounded.

Fainting out was something to be expected from a woman. A young and strong man falling down to the floor with a heavy thud caught the man unprepared and made his jaw drop in surprise. But Jin quickly realized that was the only good way how to get rid of the danger, which was too close to Kame´s head and the younger one only pretended his unconsciousness. And this certainty allowed him to raise his hands again.

One of the three gunmen was numb for the moment, and Karnaka himself unarmed. So, the two guards at the door were his priority.

The first bullet from Jin´s revolver found its goal in Karnaka´s subordinate´s head before he even managed to focus his eyes from the collapsed Kamenashi at the determined gunslinger. Jin intended to aim at the other guarding man as well, but one short glance assured him it was not necessary anymore. The man was standing there with a blank expression. The reason of it was a big ugly wound on his head caused by a tomahawk, which was now buried in the wall behind him.

Jin knew he should have paid attention to Karnaka next, but he couldn´t help but glance in Kazuya´s direction again first. The younger one was already back on his feet, without Jin noticing when that happened. The ugly weapon, which threatened to end his life only seconds ago, rested in his hand and the gun´s original owner was half-lying half-sitting with the wound in his stomach creating the bloody pool on the floor.

Jin didn´t let yourself enjoy the relief from seeing Kame all right and hastily turned to the table on the other side of the room, where he expected Raynold Karnaka, probably aiming at them with his own guns.

It would have been like that, too late for both youngsters, not to be for an owner of the tomahawk, which ended the life of one of the guards.

With a dangerous expression, Liwan had torn his dagger out from the painfully hissing old man. The Indian managed to hit Karnaka´s arm perfectly, just when he tried to take the revolver out from the drawer in the table, exactly as Jin had suspected. Right after that, the dagger was pressed against the old man´s throat instead.

It was a spectacular view, to see the war-painted Indian with his long black hair, keeping in a tight corner the gray-haired master of the white farm in his housecoat. Karnaka was bleeding from the deep wound in the arm, but he didn´t utter a sigh of pain. He just kept piercing the Indian with a scornful look.

Jin couldn´t admire that picture longer, as the heavy thuds from the corridor requested his attention. Kame had already jumped to the door and he pushed them to close again in the last second. The angry yells and heavy rumble of fists on the wood let them know that the gunshots attracted more Karnaka´s gunmen from somewhere in the house.

Kame couldn´t resist the pressure from the other side for long, but there was already Jin placing the chair right under the doorknob to prevent them from getting open, still holding a gun in the second hand.

"Open up or we´ll shoot this door to pieces!" one angry voice was heard.

"Are you crazy?!" the other one scolded him in a more quiet voice, but it was still audible for Kame and Jin, who were pressing themselves against the surface, both with heavily beating hearts. "Boss is in there, idiot!"

The young avengers looked at each other. If they wanted to deal with Karnaka, they had to do it fast, or get rid of those behind the door first.

"Are you the one, who ordered my tribe to be killed?" an ice-cold question resonating with suppressed anger made both of them turn their heads.

Liwan was still standing behind Karnaka in the chair, the blade of his dagger cutting the man´s throat slightly. And to their surprise, the rancher was smiling even in that situation.

"Oh, yes, that would be me," the man confirmed. "The less red savages around, the better for me. It was just a repayment for the rip-offs you made at my lands."

Liwan seemed to freeze for a while, his expression a picture of disgust and hate. Jin and Kame remained silent, watching him tensely.

The heavy thuds on the door continued and became stronger and more furious. The guards were still trying to get inside the room.

Then Liwan´s expression changed. He stepped aside, giving Karnaka one long spiteful look and then he spat on the carpet next to his chair. The Indian couldn´t have made his opinion about the old man any clearer. Then he glanced at the shaking door and both youngsters holding them, said something in Indian language and disappeared in the second door, from which he had miraculously appeared before.

"That was pretty lame," Raynold Karnaka stated.

The old man seemed to be unmoved by the deaths of his men, including Brad, who was staring into the space blankly, or by the Indian´s behavior. Jin thought that the total opposite was the truth, as came for Liwan.

Their Indian friend didn´t let himself fall on the same level with a man, whom he didn´t even consider worth of killing. Liwan let the two of them deal with it and he just went to make sure they would make it. The surprised yells and the cease of the thuds on the door told them he succeeded for the moment.

"Shouldn´t we help him?" Jin suggested hoarsely.

Kame was listening to the sounds behind the door just as closely as he did. He was also worried for Liwan, but he shook his head: "He can handle it…"

Jin didn´t hear the rest of the sentence, as his instinct yelled at him, that he let Karnaka out of his sight too soon. He turned his attention back to the man, just in time for his hand to react, and he fired.

This time, Raynold Karnaka couldn´t suppress a painful scream, when the precise bullet pierced his shoulder and forced him to release his grip on the spare gun, which he drew from the Devil knew where...

Raynold was sure he would manage to use the mistake the two of them did. He would love to show to both those brats, just how the lack of respect towards him got rewarded. But that youngster was damn fast.

He stared at just another bleeding wound in his right arm, thinking that it would be great to have such a shooter with incredible instincts among his men. The old Akanishi was good too, but his son surpassed all expectations. It was such a shame the young man didn´t seem to change his opinion anytime soon…

Both intruders of his mansion left their place at the door and slowly crossed the workroom toward him. Karnaka´s most precious revolver was lying down on the carpet, next to the unfinished cigar, as his fingers let go of it in a shock from new pain. It hurt as hell and Raynold started to feel dizzy from the loss of blood, but he remained standing behind his table.

It was very interesting to watch the expressions on the young men´s faces. That desire to end his life was there, but at the same time also a hint of hesitation. So far, if they killed, it was in self-defense. What they were planning to do now, that was a murder...

Karnaka ignored the twitching and pain in his arm and focused on his two assassins fully.

"You really want to kill me, don´t you?" Raynold raised a mocking question. Two pairs of eyes pierced him with almost equal volume of hate. Karnaka smiled. "That´s not a surprise to me, but I wonder, boys... Can you do that? Are you able of a cold-blooded murder?"

A deafening silence responded him and he let his smile widen: "It´s not that easy as you thought, is it?"

Akanishi was the first one to move, as he made a step toward the table and with a swift move, he aimed right between Karnaka´s eyes.

"I´ll gladly give you an answer on your fucking question, old man," he spitted out hatefully.

Karnaka did not even blink and kept looking right into those burning eyes, when the younger one approached the table, too. Kamenashi placed a hand on Akanishi´s arm.

"Jin... No."

A short and very clear word made the older one tear his eyes away from Karnaka and stare at Kamenashi in pure confusion.

"No," the youngster repeated and slowly pushed the other´s hand down, so that the possible track of lethal danger headed to the expensive carpet, which Karnaka personally chose years ago.

Raynold couldn´t suppress an amused smirk. Exactly as he hoped, this was a spectacular performance of his creations.

"But... Kame!" Akanishi was obviously angered. "This is what we came for! He must pay for...!"

"I know," a cold voice from the younger´s lips stopped the irritated reaction. "I know, Jin."

The other one stared at him even more confused.

"Then... what...?"

The younger one looked around first and then he crossed the room toward one of his dead men. When he headed back, there was a long rope in the boy´s hands.

"I just don´t think that this man deserves a mercy of quick death," Kamenashi stated with that freezing voice, which Karnaka didn´t expect from him at all.

Akanishi was repaying the other´s look for a moment, before glancing at the rope.

Raynold had suddenly realized a few facts. There was too much of warmness in his workroom and there were some suspicious sounds above his head. And that smell... That smell as if something was... Then it hit him.

Red skins set his beautiful farm on the fire!

Those little bastards... Nobody will play with me like that... at that moment Karnaka thought, it was enough of games. He checked if the two avengers were still discussing with each other, and he raised his hand for the last hidden gun, just under the desk.

That movement was faster than a blink of an eye. Without any aiming, Akanishi fired again. A blinding pain flooded Raynold from his shoulder through the whole body and made him kneel.

"Not a fucking move, you sneaky bastard," Akanishi gritted through his teeth. "It would be a shame if you missed your final..."

That voice brought Raynold on alert and he raised his eyes to look at those two again. And he didn´t even think about smirking anymore...

Jin didn´t understand at first. He couldn´t believe that Kame would have chickened out after everything they had already done. But then, seeing the rope in the younger´s hands and realizing the strengthening sounds of the flames, he suddenly knew without Kazuya saying anything else.

One part of Jin was shocked to see that kind of expression on Kazuya´s face, but he didn´t want to think about it at that moment. There was no time to be emotional over what brought that scary face up from the pure heart of the younger one. Jin understood, what was on Kazuya´s mind and he fully agreed with his idea.

Luckily, he managed to spot Karnaka´s suspicious move, as he expected nothing else than tricks from him and without thinking, he acted in a pure instinct and fired again. Full aware of that he didn´t want to kill him. Not yet...

Karnaka stared at them from the floor, quite upset now. Well, it was about time he would have lost that fucking smile of his.

Jin approached the man from one side, while Kame proceeded forward from the other.

"If you like that damn chair so much, we can let you have it... forever," Jin stated as Kame handed him over one end of the rope right in front of Karnaka´s face.

Raynold Karnaka was gazing from one to another, not a sign of previous self-confidence on his face. When he started to fight them, it was too late. In silent cooperation, both avengers lifted him up, forced him to sit down and tied the old man to his chair for both arms and legs.

Raynold was not very happy to admit that the situation got out of his control.

His subordinates were either dead or busy dealing with the Indians´ attack. Not that he wouldn´t put up a fight, when those foolish boys were tying him up in unspoken cooperation, but there were two of them, they were young and angry. Together, Akanishi and Kamenashi didn´t have any difficulties with him, not to mention he was weakened by the still bleeding injuries.

The rope around his wrists and ankles was too tight; Raynold felt his hands and feet going numb from the lack of blood. Both youngsters were watching him wordlessly. The silence in the room was interrupted only by the sounds of hungry flames, which were getting stronger each minute.

They really dared to ignite his own house!

"And you think this is not a murder?" Karnaka barked off, shaking with his ties.

Not a muscle moved on Kamenashi´s face. It was almost incredible, that such an expression could be found in those girlish features. There was such coldness, that it made Karnaka shudder.

"No…" Akanishi reacted harshly. "This is something fitted for you, Mister."

And finally, only then, fear appeared in the eyes of Raynold Karnaka. He was not afraid of anything until that moment. Nevertheless now, there was something very real in front of him to be worried about, and it was his death.

"Cowards!" the terrified rancher blurted, when both of them turned their backs on him, heading to the door. "You don´t even have guts to shoot me dead!"

They stood still for a while, before only Kamenashi turned to face him once again.

"We might be judged for this one day, but you´re definitely not the right person to do it, Mr. Karnaka," he stated in an incredibly cold tone.

"You´re making a mistake, boys…" Raynold spitted out.

The man flinched, when Akanishi turned on his heels suddenly and dashed back across the room.

Oh, yes, be angry, boy, come on, Karnaka thought, when the young man pounced on him. You need to make something stupid, right?

"Jin!" Kamenashi´s worried exclaim didn´t stop the young gunslinger from overturning the chair with Karnaka in it and letting it fell on the floor roughly.

"You failed, Karnaka. You´re the one, who made mistakes," Akanishi´s face was just above Raynold´s, as he leant down to him, with his eyes full of contempt. "And now, you´re going to pay for all of them. Say our regards in Hell."

Then Akanishi got up again, not considering Karnaka worth of even one more look and returned to the younger one. Flooded by awe, he had never felt before, Raynold had to admit that his creations didn´t act as he had expected, not at all.

He was left in a very uncomfortable position on the floor, from which he could see just the legs in black boots going together toward the door. The wave of heat infiltrated his workroom, when the door was opened, awakening the true fear inside him. Karnaka opened his mouth to say something, even though he had no idea what it would be, but the boots disappeared in the hall and then the door was closed again.

He waited for the yells and gunshots. Some of his men would definitely come to check up on the situation. But nothing could be heard except the muted sounds of something burning.

Damn it… I have to get out of this myself then. Everybody is useless in the end. Everybody… he kept complaining in his mind.

Raynold shifted himself violently, trying to turn on his side. He managed to do it on the third attempt. The armrest of his favorite chair pinched his right hand under it, almost breaking the bones in the process.

"Shit!" Raynold swore in pain. "You two will pay for this, I swear," he murmured while the pain from the hurt hand was blinding him.

He needed to get on his knees and in the end he managed to turn, as he wanted. He intended to get on his feet and move toward the window.

Who cares about some scratches, when the roof of my house is burning?

Sending all his useless subordinates to Hell and promising them proper punishment, Karnaka slowly realized that he couldn´t do what he wanted. The ties were too tight and his body too numb to be able to brace and straighten himself.

Raynold felt the drops of sweat flowing down his face. And he also heard the flames much closer now; some cracking above his head told him that the upper floor was already badly damaged. He took a deep breath and tried again, but he only ended up on his side, this time probably breaking the bones in his fingers with the fall.

"Shit, this is ridiculous! I cannot die like this!" his swearing was interrupted by a heavy cough. Only then, he noticed that his workroom was gradually filing up with heavy smoke. "This is… impossible. There is… no way I would…"

One part of him already knew that the room would become his grave. He was going to be consumed by fire. After everything what he had accomplished, after all those guards he hired…

Impossible… Impossible!

Karnaka kept telling that to himself even at the moment, when the part of ceiling caved into the workroom, letting the flames spread over the expensive carpet, consume the clock in the corner, the table with all his documentation and the terrible painful screams from his throat…

*

Neither Kazuya nor Jin hesitated even for one second, when they left that room and closed the door behind them. They both felt that what they did was right.

Not saying a word, they started running toward the main hall. There was no time to remain in the house any longer. The plan was proceeding during their dealing with Raynold Karnaka and the Babb Indians used the incendiary arrows to let the kerosene oil on the roofs flare.

Their surrounding was warmer with each passed second and the air in the rooms was filling up with grey clouds. They covered their faces by the scarves to protect them in front of the heat and preventing themselves to breathe in too much smoke.

Unfortunately, they found out that their planning worked even too well, when they arrived into the main corridor. Instead of a door to the veranda, there was a wall of flames, as the fire already consumed the wooden part of it. There was no exit for them anymore.

Kame and Jin looked at each other and then turned on their heels to rush back through the corridors toward the back door.

The alarming and almost hysterical calls were heard from the outside, as some slaves were bringing the buckets of water from the well in foolish attempt to cease the fire. They had no idea, how the false attack at the back gate ended, but supposedly the Babb Indians should have retreated to safety by now.

They were already close to the stairs for servants, which Jin and Liwan used before, when Kame heard something. It sounded like a desperate calling for help, which didn´t let him continue.

He stopped running and looked around the corridor. The air was almost clear there, so it was easy to find one half-open door.

"Kame! Come on, we must get out of here!" Jin called over to him from the entrance to the kitchen.

"Wait! I heard somebody!" Kame yelled back, so that his voice would reach Jin through the roar of rapidly approaching flames.

"What?! Wait, don´t…!"

But Kame already dashed toward the door, pushing them to open fully.

It was the dining room for black servants and it was empty. But there was another door on the opposite side and the screams and also faint bangs kept coming out from there. And that voice... It sounded as if it was a child.

Kame jumped to the door and tried to open it, but it was locked. He was more than aware of the flames behind the window, which lit up the room, but he ignored them and searched for anything to destroy the lock.

"Kame! Damn it, what are you doing?!" Jin stomped inside the room furiously.

"Please! Help! Help!" another scared scream was heard from behind the door, giving Jin the response instead of Kame.

"Shit," the young gunslinger commented.

"Help me to find something!" Kame was opening the drawers of the big cabinet one by one. "It´s locked."

"We have no fucking time for this!" Jin burst out and approached the door. "No matter who you´re, step back!"

"Please, help us! Please!"

"Step back! Or we´re leaving! Now!" Jin yelled impatiently.

The calls ceased right away and he waited only three more seconds, before he prepared himself.

"Jin, what do you...?"

Kazuya didn´t finish his question, as the older one already supported himself over the doorframe firmly. Then he raised his leg and aiming precisely at some spot near the doorknob, he kicked over it with his heavy boot twice in the fast sequence.

The door shook heavily under the first kick and swung wide open under the second, accompanied with the crack of hinges ripped out of their places, making Kame´s eyes go wide in surprise.

"Damn door," Jin complained rudely, while standing at one leg, trying to shake the painful pins and needles from the second.

"We could have used some less violent way to get in," Kame stated and approached the dark space carefully.

"It worked, didn´t it?" Jin snapped, massaging his numb thigh.

Kame rather focused on the doorway, where he spotted some small figures.

"Hey… Don´t be afraid, come out," he forced his voice to be calm, even though all his instincts urged him to get out immediately.

Kame and Jin, both on the brink of their composure, watched as two black children popped out from the darkness of the small cellar.

"Please, don´t… Don´t punish us anymore…" an approximately ten-year-old girl sobbed.

"Nobody will punish you," Kame assured her hastily.

Jin´s face turned pale despite the high temperature inside the house, when he realized that the kids were probably locked up in the cellar since the evening. Except the girl, there was a little younger, but sturdy boy, whose face was wet from tears.

"Come on, we must run now," Kazuya urged on the girl, raising his hands toward her.

The girl hesitated. But when she looked over Kame´s face carefully, something told her she didn´t have to be afraid of him and let Kame pick her up from the floor.

"Take her, I´ll take the boy," Kame turned to hand the child over to the older one.

But Jin didn´t move and seemed perplexed.

"Jin! Take the girl!" Kame urged on him again and the other one finally nodded, taking the girl in his arms. "Come on, we will get you out," Kame grabbed the boy´s hand firmly.

The sudden roar and cracking made all of them flinch. It was definitely near the kitchen and both kids cried out in fear. And it forced Jin to get himself out of numbness.

"Let´s get out of here!" he exclaimed.

"Go! I´m right behind you!" Kame assured him.

Jin dashed into the corridor as the first, with Kame following him. It was already damn heavy to breathe, as the hall was full of new smoke and the flames were flickering from the nearby rooms. Everything was so hot. Hot and smoky.

Half-blind Jin let his instincts work and rushed toward the exit as fast as possible. The loud sounds indicated the roof was crumbling; the hot sparks were all around them. The boy, still holding Kame´s hand, stumbled and almost fell down, before Kame grabbed him up and took him in his arms too, remaining just three steps behind Jin.

They raced into the kitchen, noticing the high flames behind its windows. Not paying attention to it, Jin headed to the door, still straining the sobbing girl against his chest, and kicked them open. The gust of fresh air told him the way out was free.

Not caring what awaited them outside, as it was definitely less dangerous than the fire on rampage; Jin passed through the door and stumbled down the short veranda on the cold ground. Rushing a few steps away from it, to get them further from the glowing flames, he heard an awful noise of something falling.

He put the girl on the ground and quickly turned to make sure, that Kazuya was all right. But the younger guy was nowhere in his sight. There was just the pile of burning boards from the collapsed veranda´s roof and pillars. The back exit disappeared behind the wall of roaring fire. And Kame with the small boy apparently didn´t manage to get out in time...

"No…" Jin´s throat was squeezed in horror and disbelief, so that he almost couldn´t breathe. But even though he yelled the younger´s name: "No! Kazuya!!"