Chapter 50.3- And So the Dragons Danced

XXXX- ISHIDA

“The Fire Lord, huh?” He asked with a look to his side. He itched to have his bow in his hand. He felt naked without it. That was why he spread his arms out and put one on the table before using the other to pick a hold of his cup of tea and bring it to his mouth.

“Precisely. Someone like you shouldn’t have much trouble with that, would you?” The fellow across the table from him asked.

“Why would I not? I have heard the kind of things Natsu Wu is capable of, and I’d rather keep my head down and avoid incurring his wrath.”

“You already have his wrath. No Fire. Lord would stomach knowing that a deserter from the Yuyan archers still lives” He did not react at the obvious threat. So that was the stick to the carrot. ‘I know who you are and will expose you if you do not do as I will’. How plebian.

“Why should I care? He’d struggle to find me just like everyone else.” He said with a casualness that he worried sounded false even to his own ears.

“We found you. If we could, then someday someone else could as well. Take this deal, do what we need you to do and you will never have to work a day in your life again. You could buy a ship to the Earth Kingdom and live your days out as a king on your own small corner of the planet.”

“That sounds tempting, but I didn’t get here by taking careless risks. Trying to kill someone who’s killed everyone he has ever faced from before his balls even dropped is the definition of a careless risk”

“You’re an archer. You don’t even have to get close to him, do you?” The man objected.

“Sure. There’s a Nine in ten chance that I get him right in the eye and kill him in seconds. But there is that 10 percent chance that he just happens to turn his head at the wrong moment, and the arrow shatters against his helm. The city would be locked down, searched, and as you must know, the signs of what I am are not easy to hide. I’d be flushed out and killed. A 10% risk of death is far too much for my tastes, I'm afraid.

“What would it take to make the risks more edible?” The man asked with a sigh.

“I don’t think you get my point here, Gentleman. I will not be risking my life for your gold. If you want the Fire Lord dead, kill him yourself.” He said.

“We’ll expose you” The noble hissed.

“Go right ahead and do what you want” Ishida replied. He had a strong bullshit detector, and something about that offer just stunk to the high heavens to him.

“We will” was the last thing he heard as he left the tavern.