A Merry Time in Minatsuki

[Bladeninja]

A young man, David Ikito, laid his bare feet on wet soil as he finally reached land. He had already traveled a long journey in his life, having ventured in and out of the grand line and acquired good and bad reputations. His row boat wavered on the shore of the bay where he docked. Looking at the weathered transport, David briefly reminisced about having a motor on it before the darn thing ceased working.

David knew his comfort wouldn't last long if he laundered around, and he was actually interested in taking his time to explore the island. Getting a saxophone gig always seemed the best route, so he ventured from the bay into the nearby town. Wet grass and dirt was visible all around him. The sign he passed by told him he was in Minatsuki Town, as he passed by a dozen farmer-like people who gave him a strange glance. David wondered if he smelled, but detected no odor from himself and carried on. Finding a bar took nearly no effort, but finding one that served much more than alcohol took the helpful gesture of a random citizen. This led him to a place uniquely named "Sampson's Feast".

Upon entering, he listened to a stringed instrument called a pipa playing a jovial melody before it winded down. David then proved to the manager that he could play a hearty song without overshadowing the oriental strings. This took him to the step where his employer would go through a list of large bounties and see if his name was found. The pirate saxophonist rarely saw his employers look for anything below 50,000,000 beli, but this time he saw one name on the list as low as 30,000,000 beli. Damn, that's cutting close to mine. Clearly "Sampson's Feast" had seen its fair share of chaos, but David's bounty was fortunately low enough to get him the job. He prepared his instrument, went onto the stage, and introduced himself to the customers.

"Evening to all dining," he said with a smile. "I offer you this song I call 'Whispering a Prayer'." The musician then accompanied the pipa as he did previously.

[Djinn]

As the honking tone of the saxophone floated through the air, another customer walked in through the front door. This dining hall had high ceilings with an assortment of various lanterns hanging down and providing light throughout the building. There were heaping plates of food being carried to various tables, patrons hungrily tearing into their food, and plentiful booze! This brought a wide smile to the face of the man standing in the doorway; "Yosh! This looks like it's gonna be good!" He was Captain Berk, leader of the Sea-Tiger Pirates, and an upcoming rookie from South Blue.

The towering Shark-man strode into the restaurant confidently, the floor boards of the restaurant groaned loudly under his weight, drawing the attention of the other patrons. They looked for a moment, then seeing what a scary beast had just entered the tavern they looked back down at their food. Berk walked to the middle of the room, taking a seat at an empty table and waving down a waitress. "Yes sir? What can I get for you?" The waitress was a middle-aged woman, one who looked like she would rather be somewhere else. Berk scratched his chin for a moment, then answered; "Let me have an Ale. I'm waiting on someone, so if you see me sitting with someone else come back for his drink order too." As the waitress left, Berk turned his gaze to the musicians performing on stage. They played a festive tune from up on the stage, music to eat by.

When he got his ale, Berk talked to the waitress some more, "What do you have to eat here?" The waitress crossed her arms, pointing to a list written on the wall as a menu. "What, can't you read?" The befuddled pirate shook his head and the waitress for the first time expressed something other than bitterness, pity; "We have seafood and chicken, pork and beef. Does that sound ok?" Berk thought for the briefest of moments, "Ok, I'll take a whole roasted pig!" The waitress wrote it down and went to put in the order, leaving the gyojin to enjoy himself.

[Quincy]

Dance Island, while a fairly rural-focused land, had one aspect that seemed to pull all types of seafarers towards its shore, and that was Minatsuki Town. While the town was a decently sized hub of commerce and people, one industry in particular was what the town was fabled for: Breweries, and by relation, various alcoholic brews. It was this town of brews that one “Sea Wolf” Vanos was currently visiting in. He came here with his captain to try some of the island’s famous rice wine, or “sake” as the Eel-man had heard some drunk bloke spout out, however, the Gyojin had left Berk to go attend to some recent “business.” The business was currently being held between him and some fool that had tried to pickpocket him. Little did the street rat know, Vanos had a history of pickpocketing people back in the West Blue, and barely any beri to his name but the Eel-man would leave that little fact to himself. Regardless, the Gyojin could immediately tell when his wallet was being nabbed, yet didn’t react. He would teach this amateur thug a thing or two yet needed to do it in private. It would be no good if people just saw a Fishman beating up a human, no matter what the circumstances may be. A quick “catch ya’ later, Capt’n.” and Vanos was after the thieving bloke. He trailed the fleeing pickpocket through crowds and backalleys until the dirty looking man had stopped behind a few barrels, presumably to assess his latest catch. So involved in searching through the Eel-man’s fairly barren wallet was the street rat that he didn’t notice the sound of approaching footfall, until it was too late that is. The Sea Wolf cracked his knuckles, and despite the human’s pleas and stammering, laid into the thief with an almost sadistic grin.

A grin remained on the Gyojin’s face as he finished counting his newly acquired Beris. Was it a crime to beat a criminal blind, and then take the money they had stolen for themselves for your own pocket? The better question was whether Vanos gave a damn about the laws of the land, but everyone knew the answer to such an obvious question; Hell no! The way the Fishman saw it, it was a dog-eat-dog world out there, and when it came to dogfights, a wolf was always gonna come out on top over some mutts. Back to task at hand, a loyal first mate had to find his captain, yet this was proving to be a harder task for the Gyojin than he had thought. The entirety of Minatsuki Town was filled with bars and breweries, any one of which Berk could be drinking like a demon in. Vanos sighed fairly loudly, and set out on the tedious task of searching every bar in town for his massive captain. Well, at least he could grab a drink or two while he searched each bar, which caused a grin to re-spread across the parched Eel-man’s face.

[Bladeninja]

Having eaten long before beginning his performance, David was able to focus on his playing. A shout and an annoying creaking noise resounded from somewhere near the entrance, but he paid it little mind. His melody started out at a moderate tempo, and the song went smoothly. Minutes later, he paused to allow the pipa player a solo while finalizing the plans for his own. The saxophonist's eyes were briefly drawn to a fishman, who was already seated with an ale. He couldn't ponder about the fishman long however, as his solo approached.

David's solo started out with a normal amount of energy, bobbing up and down the notes a few times but still at a moderate tempo. As he did so, he at least overheard the waitress giving the fishman an attitude. Both parties soon came to an agreement, with the fishman ordering an entire roasted pig.

Heh, good to see that he hasn't lost his appetite. Still, that was weird.

Whether or not the fishman needed any uplifting, David wanted to contribute to a better mood. He began to let loose with an energetic melody, with the pipa player supporting him as he entered the climax of his solo. The saxophone was lifted and swung to the left and right by the pirate's dexterous fingers, most of which were occupied by the varying notes. David was willing to let this energy continue for another minute, but suddenly he worried about showing off too much on the first song. First impressions were important, and it was risky to throw something extravagant on a crowd whose interests he did not completely know. He gauged some of the faces in the crowd and was pleased to see that most of the attention he attracted was positive. One or two people were looking strangely at the saxophone, unfamiliar to its sound and shine. David thought little of those staring, keeping in mind that half a dozen other patrons had the faces of dazed drunks.

[Djinn]

One such dazed look came from the hulking Fishman who sat with a partially eaten pig's leg hanging half-way out of his mouth. The waitress sat down a fresh flagon of ale, the sound of which snapped him out of a trance brought on by the strange sounds of the musicians horn. It was strange, sounding something like the honk of a seagull mixed with a more nasally trumpet. For all the innate awkwardness of his instrument, the musician played masterfully. He blended the various sounds of the instrument into lilting melodic strings of sound, these had been what had entranced the pirate. He nodded approvingly before tearing into his food further, ripping at it with all the ferocity of his tiger-shark nature. Everyone seemed to be enjoying themselves, and the ale flowed freely as everyone tried to forget their troubles for a night. But then trouble came knocking.

Three men walked through the double saloon doors, each of them with a steely look in their eye. The one in front was dark-skinned, wearing a pair of over-alls over a white shirt. In each of his hands he held a sledgehammer, and on his head he wore a steel helmet that was tilted back on his head. He turned and said something to the man behind him, a lanky fellow wearing clothes typical of Pecos Island in West Blue, on his hip was a lasso on one side, and a revolver on the other. This fellow tipped the cowboy hat upon his head forwards and grinned visibly, stroking the handlebar moustache on his face before nudging the fellow beside him. This fellow, a bearded man with a deep tan, dressed in tanned animal hides and wearing basically a taxidermied raccoon on his head walked back out of the bar as his two friends walked over to the bar.

Outside, the mountain man pulled out a Den Den Mushi, "'Pecos' and 'Hammer' are inside, we don't see the bountyhead we came here for, but 'Hammer' said he saw a wanted poster of the musician playing in there right now. We don't have to go home empty handed, at least. What do you want us to do?" From the Den Den Mushi, a deep, booming voice sounded; "Wait there and keep an eye out for 'Blackheart' we don't want to go arresting some small fry and tipping her off that the Obsidian League is lurking around... Crockett, keep a low profile." The bounty hunter smiled, "I always do, Bunyan-san." He then hung up the phone snail and walked back inside the bar. If bounty hunters like those of the Obsidian League were lurking around, Pirates were best suited to lay low. This group in particular were known to bring in hard cases: the dreaded Obsidian Squad #3: Tall-Tales Hunters!

[Bladeninja]

Deciding to ease the tempo a bit, David completed his solo and returned to playing on equal grounds with the pipa player. The song soon ended, and both musicians ceased playing for a bit. The audience was still contained, but their appreciation was evident by their smiles and moderate applause. Before long David was back to doing his job, playing a melody that was generic yet relaxing enough to repeat a few times.

Now that he was out of his "solo mode", the musician was able to exercise his natural curiosity and observe the crowd for cues. What looked like a construction employee made a noticeable entrance, namely because the man was holding not one sledgehammer, but two. "Some people never rest huh," he thought to himself. If the hammer wielding patron simply eased his muscles and ordered a drink, then the evening and David's music would appear all the more relaxing. Of course, such an occurrence rarely ended that easily in the sake hotspot known as Minatsuki Town. The overall-wearing, hammer-holding man was accompanied by another. This one had a cowboy hat, but resembled a sheriff more than a mere cattle hand.

Right then and there, a man with a raccoon-butt hat left the building. David surmised that the fur-topped man wanted to get away from the two men that recently entered. This worried him, as he imagined that things might get bothersome.

Tch. Just play your relaxing music David. Fighting's fun but not at work.

Sure enough, the fur-topped man returned and David reacted with a mental smile since his lips were occupied. Minutes passed as David brought his relaxing song to an end. He ended in a playful way to avoid putting anyone to sleep; however, the strange patrons did not seem to share joy in his lighthearted playing. More than anything, David noticed they had been staring at him for a bit. Nonetheless, David's break had arrived. With one less excuse to avoid dealing with them, David began packing up his instrument and had plans to order himself a drink.

[Djinn]

As the musicians finished their set, the crowd's voices picked up and covered the sound of bones clattering onto a plate. The Fishman sitting in the front row of the audience let out of heart belch as he wiped his face off with his fore-arm. Laughing, the Pirate waved over the musician he'd just seen going off on stage; "I'll buy you a drink if you want, guy!" To show he wasn't fooling around, Captain Berk pulled out a sack of beri and let a few fall to the table. "Bring us some pints, matey!" He was still waiting on Vanos to come back, after all, and it never hurt to meet someone interesting.

From across the bar-room, the three bounty hunters continued to drink at the bar, but only "Pecos" Bill was still drinking alcohol. John "Hammer" Henry had settled on water, and tried his best to look at the door to see if their real target had come in yet. Meanwhile, "Bloodhound" Crockett was enjoying a cigarette as he smugly leaned over to his cowboy friend; "Easiest money we've made in a while. I hope we get a crack at 'Black Heart' though." He exhaled towards the ceiling, watching with increasing interest the spectacle this loud ass ruffian sitting in front of the stage was putting on. The tracker shook his head, "Guy sticks out like a sore thumb... We got anything on him?" His sledge toting friend shrugged before going back to his water. 

The barkeep came and set down a pair of ales, one of which Berk readily snatched up. He paid the bartender, who counted the cash and confusedly stammered; "Uh, this is too much money..." Berk shrugged; "I don't know how much it is, just keep it." The man smiled and nodded several times, "Thank you, Sir!" He walked back behind the bar to stash his tip while the Shark-man's gaze fell back upon the musician he was hoping to talk too; "Oi! How's about that drink?"

[Quincy]

Every man has a limit with alcohol, and right now Vanos was pushing his. He haphazardly walked to the next drink stop in sight, which in a town famous for its breweries, was hardly very far. He joyfully sang a merry drinking tune with two humans he had come across 5 or 6 breweries ago… or was it 9? One thing was certain; Vanos sure as hell had no idea, and hardly cared! He laughed heartily along with his two companions, who were doing their best to not trip over one another as they stumbled down the lane, heartily chuckling all along the way.

The latest of the Gyojin’s chaps were locals at a bar the Eel-man had just happened upon, but what lead him to join them in a drink was specifically what the two plastered gents were downing: Sake. The drink perplexed Vanos. Sure, he had eaten rice and, while it was far from his drink of choice, he certainly knew what wine was. So how did they get rice wine? The Fishman hardly knew about different brewing processes, but it must have been something special to this island. Either way, his current compatriots—Rigo and Vigo—were attempting to coerce the Eel-man to take a drink, though they hardly had to try, and passed him a bottle of sake and a small cup to sample it from. Vanos however, used to his favored ales and other drinks, took hold of the Sake bottle by its neck and threw back a large chug of the rice wine. After he had had a substantial taste of, in his opinion, the pretty decent drink, decided he’d drink the rest of the bottle later, and mistakenly capped the bottle with the small cup the two locals had offered him. “Eh, s’not bad. Actually, it’s pretty peachy, but you blokes are missin’ out! Ale’s all the way!” Vanos had happily announced, however, his audience of two were more focused on the bottle he had set back down. Rigo reached over and lifted the bottle, only to quickly set it back down and whisper something about “over halfway gone” to Vigo, but this hardly concerned the Gyojin, he himself actually rising to leave, figuring he better find Berk, and a fine ale, soon. As Vanos turned to leave, the two locals quickly stopped him and invited him on a drinking spree, free of charge. Only two things could draw the Eel-man’s mind so quickly; Mermaids and Money. This held especially when it didn’t involve any of his money, and so Vanos went along with Rigo and Vigo’s plan of unlimited bar hops until they drop.

The three merry drunks were currently strolling down the street, obnoxiously singing their favorite drinking songs. That was, until Vigo stopped walking, stood with a slight wobble and stared off in a seemingly random direction. Vanos turned back to his new drinking buddy and without realizing how loud he was, yelled, “OI VIGO! Hurry up, ya wanker!” the Eel-man stated, ending with a slight chuckle as he ungracefully “uncorked” his latest Sake bottle and threw back the remainder of its content. Vigo merely disregarded the Gyojin, and began muttering about relaxing music. The Sea Tiger’s first mate stood and listened, hearing a faint sound in the distance, yet nothing he could make out. Rigo suddenly jumped in with his twin Vigo and the two began cheering and whooping in the middle of the lane, until they hastily grabbed Vanos on either side, stating they had one more bar to hit before the night was over with. Their Fishman companion merely looked about dumbfoundedly, until he shrugged and joined them once again in drunken merriment.

[Bladeninja]

Sunset had arrived when David finished his performance. As he finished packing up his saxophone and closing the case, he easily noticed the same fishman beckoning him. The fishman's cheery and loud way of enjoying his food helped his call to be heard, although David did not often get offered a drink after a first show. The man glanced toward the barkeep, who gave him a thanks loud enough for David to hear. David pointed to himself to ask if he was truly the one being invited, and sure enough the fishman confirmed it while asking again.

"Sure, sounds great. Gimme a sec to drop this off in the back," David replied, pointing to his saxophone case. Regardless of whatever town he was in, he generally avoided drinking alcohol with his saxophone vulnerable on the ground by his foot. He stored his saxophone in a timely manner, preferably where no one would trip over it, and walked toward the friendly fishman. He asked what the drink was, and was satisfied when told it was ale. Without wasting any time, David sipped from his glass of amber drink and smiled. "Lemme introduce myself. David's my name," he said. "What's yours?"

David couldn't help but take a second glance at the armed men that entered earlier; there he also found the raccoon-topped guy was looking near his direction. David hadn't seen them all enter simultaneously, so he had previously assumed that the hatted fellow stepped for a bit to avoid the other two. Now it seemed they were all together, so David figured he was just being paranoid earlier and let his guard down a bit. Not wanting to stare, David looked back at his drinking partner and drank from his glass again. He inquired of Berk, "I just got to this town recently. Know anything about it?"

[Djinn]

"The name's Berk, how's it hangin'?"  The crudeness of his greeting was lost on Captain Berk, like most other things.

"I just got to this town recently. Know anything about it?" The friendly musician, David, asked in between gulps of ale. The gyojin shrugged, "Nah, just got into town myself... I was going to meet up with someone, but my friend isn't here to recognize her. So I have no idea who I'm looking for." Berk casually took a draught from his tankard to wet his whistle, that roast pig had been saltier than he'd expected. "I enjoyed your music, what was that thing you were playing with called?!" The Sharkman was honestly interested, there was so much he'd never seen before out there, it was always cool to see something new. It was a shame that what could have been such a pleasant evening would come to an abrupt end in less than ten minutes!

The spark that would set this incident off was currently watching a trio of drunken fools stumble into the bar across the street from her. Her eagle like stare caught a glimpse of someone that she recognized; someone she'd tried to kill before. From under a drawn hood and cloak, "Blackheart" DeLuna was waiting for her chance to slip inside unnoticed. She was a wanted Captain in South Blue, and normally she wouldn't show up at a meeting with some rookies; but after the ruckus they caused at the Pirate's Market, she'd at least hear what these "Sea-Tiger" Pirates wanted to talk to her about. So, as inconspicuously as she could, the feared woman moved around to the back of the restaurant where she could enter unnoticed.

Meanwhile, the trio of Bounty Hunters watched the trio of Drunken fools stumble in, laughing and hollering loudly. Berk looked over as well, spotting his First Mate; "Hey, Vanos! Come on over mate, we're tying one on!" He shouted across the room, disturbing more than one patron's meals, then slammed his tankard down on the table before motioning for another drink... The two drunken twins immediately took the invitation to go drink, dropping the Eel-man and scrambling for seats to this random braggart's drink-a-thon. This rager was just getting started.

[Quincy]

A hard knock on the head greeted Vanos as he entered his most recent bar dive. He cursed below his drunken breath, his mind reeling, oblivious of his companions’ sudden departure from his side. The Gyojin blinked, wondering how the hell he had ended up on the wooden floor, but shrugged it off as he lazily picked himself up from the ground and groggily eyed what he had come here for: a drink! The Eel-man saw Vigo and Rigo drinking like demons as they matched tankards of booze with a massive Shark-man, one that looked eerily similar. The giant Fishman turned towards Vanos and called out “Hey, Vanos! Come on over mate, we're tying one on!" Somehow the Eel-man had caught up with Berk, Captain of the Sea Tigers, and the best case scenario was laid out before him; his drinking buddies, captain, and more alcohol than the intoxicated Gyojin could hope to handle. A hearty laugh erupted from his toothy grin as Vanos called out to his captain. “Good on ya mate! Let’s get merry! Vahahaha!” the Fishman slurred in his thick accent he generally tried to contain, yet simply couldn’t in his plastered state.

As Vanos moved to join his captain, his drinking buddies who were already helping themselves to the free drinks, and a man that Berk was being chummy with, others didn’t appreciate the obnoxious Fishman’s drunken outburst and antics as much as Rigo and Vigo did. One man in particular was reminded of his personal distain of alcohol and the drunkenness the poison brought out in the best of people. Sour thoughts stirred in John “Hammer” Henry as he thought back to the broken home he was raised in. His lazy drunk for a father was the sole reason he went to work early in life, taking whatever laborious jobs he could, chiefly of which involved work on railways both on land and at sea. The work was not without its benefits however, as the young man had gain strength and skill with a sledgehammer during his time working. All the same, he hated the sinful drink and seeing how rampant it was across this island made his blood boil. John stood from the bar, downing the rest of his water as he began making his way towards a certain drunk Eel-man, intent on “sobering” him up.

[Bladeninja]

He acknowledged Berk's name, but reached a dead end when he tried to find out more about Minatsuki Town. He then thought about Berk's situation of trying to find someone. "No sweat, just curious. Wow, that sucks," he said, not really sure what else to think about it. On a lighter note, Berk also complimented him on his music playing. "Thanks very much. The instrument? It's called a saxophone. It's made of brass." David was obviously pleased to entertain someone. He raised his glass of ale high enough that the bottom was pointed upward, leaving only foam and droplets behind as he finished it.

He took little notice to the trio of drunks that came in, but Berk's invitation, hearty as his other words were, made him take notice. A blue-skinned, spotted man stumbled into the eatery with two humans catching up to him from a few feet away. The eel man's reaction to Berk's invitation led David to believe that this was Vanos; more importantly, it looked liked this meal was turning into a bit of a shindig. David reacted accordingly by making sure there was room on the table. He pulled up a chair from an empty adjacent table, making it so there was just enough room for the five of them. To his surprise, the accompanying fellows made it to the table before Vanos and each picked up a glass to drink. Unsure how to greet them all, the musician simply said, "Um, hey all. Nice to meet ya Vanos."

David picked up a drink of his own, letting Berk know that he could pay for the rest of his own drinks. He couldn't help notice Hammer Henry's walk toward Vanos. Conspicuous enough with his tools, the man wore a really pissed expression on his face that was troubling to say the least.

[Djinn]

Riotous laughter was pouring off the table as the drunks and pirates rubbed elbows and drank heartily! Three waitresses had to detour to replace the drinks at the table every minute or so, all while "Hammer" eyed their table. Oblivious to the hunters approach, Berk excused himself; "Hey hey, I gotta piss... Where's the bathroom?" One of the waitresses pointed him to the back of the restaurant, and the Pirate Captain got up to go relieve himself. He drunkenly stumbled to the back of the inn, luckily managing to not break anything in the process, finally he came to the door the ladies had pointed him to. He stood there for a moment, holding his groin as he waited for the door to open up, but it never did. So he shrugged and walked on into the washroom, unfastening his pants as he rushed up to the toilet. Then, as he began to piss, he heard something that made the hairs on the back of his neck stand on end; he wasn't alone. "So, I'm guessing you're Berk?"

He turned around quickly, setting eyes on a cloaked figure who was leaning against the far wall of the bathroom. The figure stepped forwards and pulled the hood back to reveal blonde hair, a narrow chin, and glittering dark eyes; a woman! The gyojin's brow rose, "Yeah, you're 'Blackheart,' right?" The female pirate nodded; "That's me, and I have a question for you... Why are you trying to contact my crew?" Berk scratched his chin, then answered her straight; "Got a job too big for my crew alone. I need capable allies; I heard you and your crew are some of the best in South Blue." He'd heard it from Vanos, since he'd been the one to scrap with this woman; to be honest, the Eel-man had said she'd been more than capable of out-fighting him. The woman's face shifted into an incredulous look; "I've heard some of what happened at the Pirate's Market, didn't think a crew of hot-shots would be coming to me asking for help. What could be big enough to make you do something like that?" The Tigershark-man shook his head, "Uh uh, I can't tell you until you say you're in."

DeLuna scoffed; "Ha, well you might have more immediate problems to worry about..." The gyojin's brow furrowed as he questioned her further in a slur; "What d'you mean?" The Blackheart Captain took her weight off the wall and pulled her hood back up, "Bounty Hunters. Have you heard of the Obsidian League?" Berk nodded, and DeLuna continued; "Well this bar is crawling with one of their groups, these guys will bring you down before you can even get into what ever you want me and mine for. I tell you what, if you can beat them up, I'll hear you out, ok?" Berk's face split into a drunken grin, "Yeah! We got a deal! Great to have you on board!" Then, buzzed to say the least, Berk flung the bathroom door open again and strode out into the bar room. He looked around for a moment as DeLuna slipped out the back of the restaurant, but after a moment he realized he had a problem; "What do these guys even look like?!" Anyone could be the enemy, and all he could do was wait for them to make their move.

[Quincy]

A hearty uproar could be heard from a table center of the establishment, chiefly due to the antics of one “Sea Wolf” Vanos and his newly acquired drinking partners. Rigo had been busy explaining his favorite drinking game to the table while Vigo certainly lived up to his name as a “Keg Killer”; the man taking tankards of alcohol down in swings. The bar maids were struggling to keep up with the rising demands from such a rowdy table. The largest patron had decided to go be private somewhere, much to the drunken amusement of the patron’s first mate. “Oi Berky, where do ya think you’re runnin’ off ta? There’s a tankard with ya name on it, but I can’t promise it’ll be quite so full when ya get back! Vahahaha!” Vanos drunkenly slurred out, his native West Blue accent being uninhibited in his speech.

Berk, however, left regardless of the Gyojin’s empty threats, yet it mattered not, as Rigo and Vigo were up to no good yet again. This time, the two were showing the new guy at the table—David, if Vanos was remembering right—and the Eel-man something called the long chug. It involved Vigo laying down on the floor as Rigo raised the tankard his friend had recently been drinking from and gracefully poured it into his open mouth from atop the table. To his credit, Vigo didn’t miss a single drop, his mouth reaching near the peak of liquid he could hold but it never overflowing as he balanced the intake with what he was drinking away. The Eel-man was loving every second of the two’s shenanigans, and could easily see his own crew do their own sorts of drinking games. “Heh, next time we have booze.” Vanos thought to himself with a smug grin. The tongue-foolery, however, would be quickly thwarted as John “Hammer” Henry paced over to Rigo and with a swift motion of his hand, disrupted his steady stream. This resulted in a sputtering Vigo who finally had an overflow of alcohol from his mouth, and an irate Gyojin. He had been told before that he could be very quick to anger and violence while he was boozed up, yet all of these people had made the mistake of telling him so while he was drunk. The end results were always their points being proven quite right and quite harshly on a very personal level, and it looked like John was about to learn the same.

“Oi, ya piss ant! What ya tryin’ ta pull!” Vanos shot up immediately in an attempt to defend his newfound drinking mates. With no further warning, or even the chance for John Henry to explain his actions, the Sea Tiger’s First Mate threw a wild haymaker. He didn’t realize just how abruptly his actions would lead to utter chaos in the small establishment and how he had brought another conflict between the Sea Tigers and the Obsidian League to life.

[Bladeninja]

As noticeable as the workman approaching them was, David was once more distracted by the amount of energy the two buddies of Vanos had. The musician himself had only finished two glasses and was starting on his third one, but he could tell from their guzzling and over a dozen glasses on the table that everyone around him had a different way of enjoying alcohol. He wasn't due back on stage for an hour or so, but neither a buzz nor a stomach full of ale appealed to him. He almost missed Berk leaving for the bathroom, but turned to him and gave him an acknowledging "Okay" before he left.

With Berk gone, David only felt all the more uncomfortable around these drunkards. He wasn't adverse to an alcoholic culture, nor did he mind people that just wanted to have a good time. He was a pirate for crying out loud, and merriment was a welcome companion for a musician such as himself. The main issue was that David found himself worrying about their health, and that all this partying attracted a lot of attention to his table. Hope my boss won't be a pain in the rear about this. That guy was more cautious about bounties than I usually see, the musician thought to himself. The rest at the table were obviously free of David's concerns, but he was nonetheless surprised when one of them deliberately laid on the wooden floor while the other raised a tankard. To his knowledge, even drunk people would find that situation uncomfortable; yet, here they were guzzling away at a container seemingly meant for pouring drinks into glasses and not mouths.

Unfortunately, David's worries had been in the wrong place. He had previously noticed the approaching workman, but didn't expect him to go interfering with them directly as he caused the drink to fall faster. Thinking about how much of a pig this guy was, David adopted the same pissed expression as the offender in front of him. The poor guy on the ground would be more or less fine after getting up, but his drink dripped off his mouth ungracefully. David was hardly surprised that Vanos soon retaliated; really he was most surprised by the abruptness of the attack, which was actually a simple swing of the arm like a hockey shot. Given his state, a blow less focused and direct as a punch should have been expected.

The rude workman hadn't come just to get his ass kicked however, so he flinched his arms defensively against the sudden swing. Seeing Vanos as a senseless merry-goer, he went ahead and gave him a piece of his mind. "Manners man. Some of us just want to eat a meal in PEACE!" With his left hammer in his pocket, Henry backhanded his left fist toward the middle of Vanos' body. As he did so, he held a hammer in his right hand and rose it to prepare for a crushing impact.