R&R, An Unexpected Reunion [Invite only]

[EriChar]

“Been a while since I’ve stood here…” Came a reminiscent tone from a man with Red Hair and a black cape, as he looked up the main street of Cocoyashi Village. Despite having more than ten years pass since the last time that he had seen the street, little had changed. The buildings were slightly more aged, and some had visible signs of having been repaired recently, but for the most part the village looked as it did. I wonder if Genzo still has the pinwheel in his hat? the man thought as he scanned the faces around him for the sight of the policemen he remembered.

Sweat on his brow, the red haired man brought his right arm up and opened his shirt a little, showing off a well formed set of muscles. “I don’t remember it being this hot either…” He said to himself, finding that he missed the hat that would have in the past provided him with a nice shade.

With a merry smile, the Red Haired man wiped his forehead with the same arm and then moved over to a nearby bench, which was shaded by a handy straw parasol. Sitting down, the man in the leaned back onto the strong wooden support for the parasol and enjoyed the cool shade that was provided by these sitting areas. I guess I’m not as young as I used to be… The red haired man thought as he contemplated his retreat from the sun. Tapping his seat with his right index finger as he reclined, the red head was in an unusual state of silence for his usually outgoing self. Bringing his right thumb up to his red hairline, the man scratched his head before standing up. He wasn’t the type to sit idly or run away from things, so hot or not he was going to heave to bear it as he continued through Cocoyashi. Setting off, the red haired man habitually tugged at his cape and brought it further over his left side, the action exposing the handle of a blade he kept on his right hip.

Moving down the main street of the village, the red haired man stopped at a vendor and exchanged a few coins for a coconut filled with fruit juice. Taking a sip from the bamboo straw, he was pleasantly surprised by the taste. “Not bad, even if it’s soft.” The man said, reflecting on the drinks appealing nature, despite its lack of intoxicating ingredients. As he continued to take sips from it, the heat he had been feeling started to feel less intense, and he had to admit that the vendor hadn’t been wrong about the drinks refreshing qualities. Moving along the streets, the Red Haired man’s eye was caught by something, something he hadn’t ever expected to see here, and moving away from his planned route, he went to investigate with the words “It can’t be…”

[Tsin]

If a certain red-haired pirate captain thought it had been a while since he last set foot into Cocoyashi Village, then hearing about the amount of years it's been for some other people would probably give him a kick. And as luck would have it, one of these people just happened to be stalking the streets of the little community himself... Or rather, stalking was probably not the most accurate term for it. That would've implied some level of skulking, a bit of secrecy, and no small amount of being hunched over. Really, this man only had that last part going for him, and to be fair, it was because his water-soaked cloak weighed quite a bit.

Plus he was old.

This is all to say that... Silvers Rayleigh was poking his head around Conomi Island again.

It was quite a short sail over from the island that nobly called Roguetown it's home, which is exactly where the Dark King had come from less than hour ago. As luck would have it too, whenever something is a short sail it also happens to be a short swim, a fact that Rayleigh felt quite happy with after his ship capsized in the wilds of East Blue. He didn't really feel it necessary to discuss the reason for such an event, but no small amount of probing would probably reveal that he felt particularly in the mood to reward himself for saving two stray wanderers and a stray dog from a crazed marine. A couple taverns later, then onto his ship... Though the old man was no fool, don't get him wrong; he would never drink and drive a boat. He'd try to sleep it off instead.

And then... a lot of the blanks probably fill in themselves.

Proof positive of the idea that you couldn't teach an old man new tricks though, Rayleigh was in the process of uncapping his flask even as he walked along now, the same wide grin as always plastered under those crystal-clear eyes. For good reason though, the relic of the golden age having fond memories of his first time through this place, before Arlong had set up camp. That amusing sheriff and the red headed little spitfire he was always having trouble with...

Speaking of red-headed, something right down the road caught the old man's eye, causing him to pause in taking a drink. The form of a familiar figure was approaching, his own gaze locked right onto Rayleigh's... It looked like that blast from the past had noticed him first, and the Dark King didn't mind letting the comparative young'un do the legwork for this meeting. It wouldn't do any harm to encourage him though, and to that end, the white haired elder finished taking that swig and then heartily raised his silver flask to the familiar man. "This old and I can still be surprised... Hah!"

[EriChar]

“Da ha ha ha ha ha! ” laughed the Red Haired man as his suspicion was confirmed, as he threw his hand up and ran fingers through those crimson locks. Pausing for a moment, he looked up and down the man he had spotted, despite his hair looking a bit more ‘silver’ and perhaps an extra line or two, Rayleigh still looked and carried the presence of a lot younger man than he was. Despite being slightly hunched, Rayleigh still looked as imposing as he ever had as a pirate, but perhaps it was something that only someone more versed in combat would be able to notice the confidence the man seemed to radiate.
“Small world, eh?” Said Red Haired Shanks, a renowned man in his own right who was now motioning to politely tip his not possessed hat to the silver haired old gent he had met. If someone had told Shanks when he had stepped off the deck of the Red Force that he was going to bump into Silvers Rayleigh, he would have laughed off such a silly meeting, and yet here he was, staring at his one-time superior. It had seemed such a long time since he had seen his old mentor; Shanks had trouble remembering just how long it was.

As he looked at the beaming grin and the eyes that shone from behind the round frames of the man who was once known as the ‘Dark King”, Shanks found his memory flashing to a million and one memories of his youth, and about a million of them involved Rayleigh separating him from Buggy in some sort of quarrel. For the life of him, Shanks couldn’t really remember why they had fought so many times; it seemed to have lost its importance now. It wasn’t the time to be wandering off to dream land either, it was a rare chance to catch up with an old friend, and Shanks wasn’t going to waste it.

With a grin and a glance from side to side, Shanks leaned a little bit closer to Rayleigh and said in a quieter tone “So, what’s a dangerous criminal like you doing on an island like this?”, with playfulness in his words. With a grin, Shanks lifted his arm and held his hand out to his old friend, offering a respectful handshake. It was a happy reunion for Shanks, just what he needed after the recent tiring and trying times…

[Tsin]

It made sense for the red-haired one to try and act a bit polite to the elder; afterall, for one long span of time, the man with the flowing crown of silver was his commanding officer, at least in the loose sense that pirates tended to view rank on a ship. And the years had passed since those glory days, with Rayleigh being the first one to admit it. Contrary to all the extra lines on his face and the constantly whitening hair on his head though, not all of those years were treating the old man badly... For one thing, he seemed to have lightened up considerably since his days as the first mate, throwing an arm over the shoulder of Shanks and laughing heartily alongside him in his soaking wet cloak.

"Hahaha... Small world indeed, Shanks-kun! Or should I say Shanks-san these days? You've made quite a name for yourself, Mr. Yonkou!" The Dark King even went so far as to ruffle the younger man's trademark crimson locks with his calloused hand, completely disregarding any attempt to speak quietly of the pirate emperor's position. He had the same memories of him and the fledgling clown
too afterall, and now that disciplinary duties were no longer a concern, Rayleigh was ready to join in on the fun.

"So, what's a dangerous criminal like you doing on an island like this?"

"Oh ho... You're asking me that question? I haven't been dangerous for anybody in a lot of years, Shanks; Just an old ship coating technician waiting for the marines to forget and seeing how the world's come up with these aging eyes." As always, the twinkle in the eye of that relic put to shame the youthfulness of men decades younger than himself, but he still enjoyed talking about it.

"How about you then, eh? It seems like somebody of your status would be making a fair bit of noise in Grand Line rather than walking around a quiet little village like this one by yourself." Rayleigh lightly tapped his own silver flask against the coconut held by Shanks, apparently just in an effort to drive home his next comment. "Had enough drink for one lifetime and looking for the quiet life?"

Of course, with that constant smile, there's no way the old man was ever serious about his verbal jabs, but they were proof of that a younger soul was in that body somewhere.

[EriChar]

"Hahaha... Small world indeed, Shanks-kun! Or should I say Shanks-san these days? You've made quite a name for yourself, Mr. Yonkou!"

“Da ha! For the man who stood next to the seat above all others, a Yonkou is more of a footstool.” Said Shanks with a grin, it seemed odd to be called according to titles by someone he had looked up to for so long, even if Rayleigh had been joking.

"Had enough drink for one lifetime and looking for the quiet life?"

“Da ha ha hahaa!” The mere suggestion reminded Shanks of those times as a pup when he’d seen Roger and Rayleigh drink whole brewery’s dry in the search of a good night. “I’m sure the captain would turn over in his grave if either of us ever even thought that a man’s life could have enough drink!” Shanks joked with a laugh, winking at Rayleigh.

The knock of that silver flask made Shanks acutely aware that there was one thing this reunion was missing; the old demon drink. Remaining in slight entanglement with Rayleigh, Shanks begun to veer them toward a nice little pub by the name of “The Mermaid’s Tale” that he hoped was still in Conomi. Good drink, salty wenches, rowdy brawls, everything a man of the sea needed.

“The quiet life, eh?” Shanks said thoughtfully as they meandered around the town, running his thumb along the bottom of his jaw, bristles of his stubble traveling roughly over his skin. “I wish you luck, but I’m not sure the men and boys who caused uproar like we did will ever get to settle down.” He said, reflecting on the past, and as a certain boy came to mind, with a smile and a mist in the eyes Shanks added “Especially when there are such promising seeds growing…”

Returning to the moment, to pass the time a little on the way to a more suitable venue “Truth is…” Shanks began “There’s a little village not far from this island that’s been good to us; me and my crew. What with the uproar at the summit, we decided to take a detour and check in, pay back a few long standing debts and such.” Shanks said, giving a nod as he remembered having chased an opportunist away from Foosha only a few days before, coward had ran at the sight of the Red Force before he’d even landed. Makino had whipped up him and his boys some of that home cooking they’d missed all these years, and even Wood Slap seemed a little bit more mellow, Shanks could have sworn that he’d caught the slight start of a grin from him when Luffy’s name had come up.

“On our way back now, but thought we’d take the long way, we don’t get into these parts very often anymore!” Shanks said, in truth he had always had a fondness for East Blue, despite being born in the West sea’s he had always been enchanted by it, Roger having come from here and now another hot blooded pirate who was making a name had followed in those giant footsteps.
“What of yourself?” Shanks asked, looking his older friend in the eye happily “Have you gone on another big swim, or did you upset Shakki-san?” He asked, only half joking about the last part, Shanks knew all too well that if Shakki was in a bad mood with you, it was better to be at least half the world away.

[Tsin]

Rayleigh allowed himself to be led by one younger than himself; Kids always knew the good hangouts after all, even if they were actually near-40-year-old-men and just kids at heart. Arguably though, this actually meant that they knew the best hangouts since they had the clout to get in anywhere but still the energy and the immaturity to enjoy it. And if there was anything the old man was overflowing with, it was probably energy. He had honed a certain level of maturity through the years, or perhaps shed a little bit of it if somebody knew him former, but not quite enough for...

"The quiet life, eh? I wish you luck, but I'm not sure the men and boys who caused uproar like we did will ever get to settle down. Especially when there are such promising seeds growing..."

"Ah, but that's the point of it all, isn't it Shanks-kun?" That much fabled wisdom of the ages was beginning to show itself here though, as the legendary pair trotted peacefully along those Conomi Island roads to find some shade and some drink. "Seeds can't grow if the remnants of the past are still stomping around the garden, you see?"

The Dark King unhanded his nakama at that point, expression filling with thought as his free hand pulled at the bulbous tuft of hair set upon his chin. "But... I was a man back then, and grew into an ancient just fit to watch the fields. You, however, have become a fine captain fit for working in them." A compliment, even when wrapped up within a metaphor, was still a compliment,
and as such the self-proclaimed ancient roughly clapped his hand upon the Red-Hair's back for a job well done. "Having said that though, you are mighty far off from the pasture, Shanks-kun."

"Truth is..."

Rayleigh then listened to the story of how his friend had arrived upon the East Blue in relative silence, making only enough noise as it took to swish his flask a bit and check the amount of its contents, and then drink the full amount of that contents in a single gulp. And whether satisfied by the drink or the idea of somebody he had a hand in raising dutifully taking care of his old obligations, the old man was all grins again by the end of the story.

"What of yourself? Have you gone on another big swim, or did you upset Shakki-san?"

"Hah! Well, one usually leads inevitably to the other so it might be safer to say both... But no, when I had left she was still sound in mind and body. Told me that Crocus had put up shop near Reverse Mountain though, and I thought it wouldn't be so bad for one old man to go and make sure another one hadn't croaked yet!" For whatever reason, the Dark King still seemed to find talking about the near nature of death the height of hilarity, judging by the amount of laughing and good cheer it brought out.

"Then after checking in on him, I came out to Roguetown to relive some old sights and washed up on these shores just before we met; Ship capsized while I was out there; Damndest thing." Of course, as previously mentioned, Rayleigh was no stranger to shipwrecks for one reason or another... And there's only so many times it can happen before somebody has to start suspecting operator failure.

But uh... anyways...

"Remember Crocus? He's still looking after that enormous whale as well... Only grown bigger since we last him. There was something familiar painted on his head too; I suggest you go for a visit if you haven't already." The old man chuckled a bit at the thought of the artwork on the whale's head, as well as the originator of that scrawl. "The new batch of sproutlings are interesting indeed."

[EriChar]

"Hah! Well, one usually leads inevitably to the other so it might be safer to say both...”


Shanks let out a small laugh at the words, the truth in them amused him. The occasional light hearted chuckle was the only noise made by Shanks as he listened to Rayleigh’s tale of travel and tragic boat choice. It was the strangest thing to hear the Dark King mention death, since to a certain extent, he still retained that childish mind-set that his elders were invincible; no amount of army or age should have been able to kill the men of his preceding generation, it wasn’t something he wanted to accept. However, recent memories of the War at the Summit told him different, Whitebeard who had stood for what seemed like forever, and looked like he would go on standing forever, had fallen as well had the legendary Sengoku. With a thoughtful expression, Shanks continued to listen to the tale woven by the one-time Pirate King’s right hand, realising that in light of recent events, this meeting was all the more important.

"Remember Crocus? He's still looking after that enormous whale as well... Only grown bigger since we last him. There was something familiar painted on his head too; I suggest you go for a visit if you haven't already."

“Da ha ha ha!” Shanks chirped up, the deeper thoughts subsiding when hearing of another former comrade “Crocus-san is still doing well?” Shanks said excitedly, the reminiscence was igniting the hot old blood of youth within Shanks, the conversation making him feel ten or twenty years younger.
“We’ll definitely have to stop by then!” Shanks said, as him and his crew had crossed the calm belt to return to blue seas, he felt a surge of thrill when he thought of the adventure of scaling Reverse Mountain again. “We can give you a lift too, if you want...” He added, the nostalgia of travelling with old Raleigh again was hard to ignore, and short of the old man stealing a boat, he didn’t want to leave a friend stranded. “I’m sure my crew will enjoy the company of someone with stories such as yours, especially the more embarrassing ones of myself.” Shanks told Rayleigh, while he had let them in on a fair few of his less mature adventures, Captain Red Hair expected his mentor to have many more that could keep them in hysterics.

After strolling for some time, Shanks looked up to see that they had finally arrived at the place he had led them. The old “Mermaid’s Tale”, which chance would have it was still in business. The exterior was more beat up, and the lettering faded on the sign, but the black wood and dark windows remained. Shanks had preferred this venue for several reasons, firstly and foremost it would have been open and serving wets at this time, as it being barely after lunch several other pubs would usually be limited to a food menu. They also had a speciality, a mixer of the juice from tangerines produced locally and one or ten spirits. A cunningly popular concoction, as it’s quantity of alcohol quickly increased a person’s enjoyment, but the refreshment of the tangerine lessened the payback the day after. There was also the entertainment, well, the girls that served the drinks. While the novelty of theme pubs quickly wore off in other venues, it had to be said that the seashell bikini’s and the faux-scale sarong’s that scantily covered the beverage providers had something of an enduring appeal. Madame Grehtta certainly knew how to hold on to her patrons.

Stepping through the door of the pub to a familiar tinkle of a bell, which was immediately followed by half a dozen young ladies in the aforementioned attire saying a cheery “Welcome!”, Shanks apologetically said back to his old superior “Sorry, I think Shakki-san might be mad a little longer this time…”

[Tsin]

It was a fine offer that Shanks put on the table, and Rayleigh gave it all due thought as he walked alongside his old suborinate. Various options to weigh and consider, the 'ifs', 'ands', and 'buts' of various scenarios and consequences. Whether or not the suggestion would be feasible from a practicality perspective... And, of course, how horribly sloshed Rayleigh would probably end up near-constantly if he were to get back onto a pirate ship at this age and mentality. There were other mitigating factors as well, but in the end they all drove him to kind of a disappointing result.

"No, no... I couldn't possibly join you. I'm not working these fields anymore, Shanks-kun. Extend my apologies to your crew for me." There would be no telling what kind of hijinx a group of men like the Red Haired Pirates would get into afterall, and the Dark King was trying to make a noted exit from that lifestyle. It wouldn't do for the marines to suddenly start reprinting his old bounty poster, or worse, printing an updated one; The statute of limitations on those things practically never went away. Only through sheer ignorance and age could the old man afford to get by as free as he was now.

Besides, he had other plans... Plans not yet made admittedly, but that triffling little detail had never stopped him before.

Despite all this though, when the two bellied up to the bar that Shanks had in mind, Rayleigh had no qualms to the concept of drinking with his old friend. "Hah, I can see that you're going to try and keep me out for as long as you can then... Fine!"

"Sorry, I think Shakki-san might be mad a little longer this time…"

"Don't you worry about her; Whether I'm gone for a month or a year, she'll be just fine. Might even like it better when I'm not there!" The ancient put his grin back on and guffawed as he followed his friend through that swinging door, waving to the girls as well. "And there are sights out here for my tired old eyes as well."

The Dark King wasted no time in helping himself to a table; Sitting at the bar was usually the tradition for rough and tumble men, but he wasn't about to deny the lovely young ladies the pleasure of their assigned duties. And while waiting for one of them to arrive... "You ever run into Buggy on the seas? The pair of you used to be inseperable when we were all together..."