Doskoi! Wasshoi!

[Mai Kobayashi]

"Heh, I knew you had good taste, Rosie nee-san~ "

Shiromi flashed her wide, toothy smile at Rosie when she ordered the same drink as her. The idiotic Fishwoman made a pistol motion with her finger towards Rosie and a clicking sound, produced by her tongue hitting against the back of her teeth, accompanied the gesture. She leaned back in her chair, a sure sign that the tall redhead had officially been recognized as cool and hip. That's right, such a laid-back and 'cool' gesture... it definitely couldn't be explained as anything else, right!? For a moment the chair she was sitting on teetered dangerously off-balance, but the silver-skinned woman quickly dropped the gesture to hold on to the side of the table. To avoid falling over, her fingers clung on strongly enough to elicit a loud creaking noise from the wood. Whatever coolness that gesture was meant to convey, it obviously fell flat immediately when she had to struggle so hard just to keep herself from teetering over.

But, more importantly, both of them obviously felt like she was dumb right? Tapioca was food afterall, food! Of course, she knew what it was! When it came to food this number one glutton knew everything there was to know about it after all! As Reynard launched into his long-winded explanation though... She just put on a confused smile as it turned out that there was actually a lot that she DIDN'T know about it...

"Yes, I know about it. Tapioca!"

You could almost see the question marks floating around her head as she gave him a deadpan stare for a moment before putting on her widest, beaming, dumbass smile.

"In other words, it's a mysterious spicy potato right?"

Something about the mood at the table changed after that. It was a very simple question, answered with the same simple one in turn. But the mention of the word Pirate had put both the fox boy and the large woman on edge. They weren't showing it directly. The boy looked like he was about to burst into laughter and the large woman let out a small chuckle as if downplaying the suggestion but both of them had their guard fully up. The Fishman didn't seem like the brightest sort but every now and again, in betwixt bursts of her stupidity she was oddly perceptive. Her yellowed eyes narrowed slightly. Her voice dropped ever so slightly, the bubbly, and stupid tone she had been using all this time replaced by a cooler more level-headed tone. It was, at first, almost unnoticeable but there was a definite shift in her disposition. Perhaps it was just a response to the tense atmosphere.

"Hmm, A pirate huh?"

The response was still airy, the smile still on her lips, but there was something cocky about it, something off compared to just a moment before. She reached up to the collar of the oversized T-shirt she was wearing and pulled it down her shoulders even further, with no sense of shame at all, to expose most of the tattoo that covered the top of her breast and half of her shoulder, well as much as she could show without fully exposing herself in the middle of the tea house anyway and just enough to be a little dangerous. The black mark of a stylized sun in full plain view.

"Is it about this? This a just a fashion statement. I don't really care about Pirates but when it comes to celestial dragons and their hobbies I'm not a fan. My sister was a mermaid. The world government and the marines stood by as Pirates took away a child. But it was also a pirate that freed my sister from slavery and brought her home. At the very least to me, this mark is a reminder that sometimes Justice is something that laws alone can't provide. But I'm not a pirate, I just don't think the marines' justice brought me any. Or my sister. So I'm making my own. "

There was no joking tone now, no mocking jokes. But more telling, the 'cute' feminine words that littered her speech pattern were dropped entirely. She shrugged her shoulders for a moment, pulling the hand holding her collar down forwards while reaching her other hand down her shirt. She pulled out a stack of slightly yellowed paper and casually flipped through it as her eyes looked between Reynard and Rosie. Her pointed smile growing slightly wider as she reached the end of the stack and put it down on the table just decidedly enough to cause them to spread out across the table. She reached over and took a toothpick from the small canister on the table next to the salt and pepper shaker.

She put the small piece of wood between her lips and once more leaned back in her chair, one hand behind her head. There was no sign of clumsiness now, she didn't look like she was going to fall over this time but her other hand very obviously rested on the hilt of her sword as she spoke, the toothpick sticking to the corner of her mouth.

"I'm not a pirate, and you two don't seem like you have a bounty. There is no money in it for me either. If you lie and say you are not pirates that is good enough for me. If you happen to really not be? That is fine too. I don't really want to pay for all those donuts after all, so it would be a lot easier. But... If you prefer to take this outside anyway. We could... I don't really care to start fights that don't get me anything though. And you don't seem heinous enough that I have to make a point. But, that tense atmosphere on deciding whether or not you are going to jump me or not. That has to go. right~?

That last high noted 'right~?' almost seemed like mockery in retrospect.

[Fox]

“Quite knowledgeable about it, isn’t he?” Rosie commented rather blithely on Reynard’s explanation about food. She patted his head, ruffling his hair lightly. That gesture of affection felt appropriate at this particular moment. “Young Reynard here is quite the up and coming chef. Meals are never bland with him around.”

Rosie stared blankly at Shiromi’s odd gun gesture. Hm. Odd. A quick survey of the room indicated that it wasn’t a signal for a surprise attack, so she didn’t react too much other than to watch Shiromi lose her balance with a rather amused smile. However, her counter question had elicited a rather interesting reaction from their fishwoman companion. She narrowed her eyes. Her tone shifted. Oh? Hm. Rosie’s smile widened a little as she leaned in ever so slightly.

Rosie was rewarded with a rather interesting view. She recognized the mark of the Sun Pirates, of course, but the color was wrong. Just a fan, then? She put her hand to her chin as she considered Shiromi curiously. A bold thing to do for certain. A tattoo instead of a brand. Familiar. But different. Rosie’s hand went to her neck and touched the soft fabric of her turtleneck sweater. Underneath was her own mark. She listened calmly, nodding slowly as Shiromi explained.

“I see,” Rosie said cordially, “How interesting.”

Shiromi wasn’t quite done. Grabbing a stack of papers that Rosie knew to be bounty posters at a glance from within her shirt, she rifled through them, pointedly glancing between the two of them. Hm. Putting on a show was she? Rosie just rested her head in a hand, watching as Shiromi’s smile grew wider before she eventually put her hand on the tilt of her sword. Oh? Rosie sighed inwardly. Was it to come to blows before tea? That would be such a waste, but, instead of attacking, Shiromi continued.

“My, my, I did say I was going to treat you. The donuts are really a small matter,” Rosie said with a sigh as if genuinely offended that Shiromi thought she was going to have to pay, “No need for such hostility, my dear.”

Rosie knitted her hands together and smiled coldly.

“I admire your goals. It is a shame that the World Government and Marines haven’t fully embraced your people yet. A waste, really,” Rosie said with a sigh, “That’s been the state of things for years, but with time, things will change. The law and Justice will change. Such is the way of living things. I hope to see the Ryugu Kingdom joined with the World Government properly in the near future, and the protections extended to member nations extended to it as well.”

Rosie turned as the waiter returned to their table and delivered their food - a heaping plate of donuts for Shiromi with the assurance that more was on the way. She took her tea in hand and took a long sip.

“Ah, that is nice,” Rosie commented on the bubble tea, before lifting her eyes back up to Shiromi and smiling her usual crooked smile that lacked mirth or warmth, “Dig in! Wouldn’t want those donuts to go to waste, would we?”

Taking another sip, Rosie kept her eyes on Shiromi. Contrary to Reynard or Shiromi, she’d been rather relaxed throughout this whole exchange. It was all a matter of fact. It was enough that Shiromi was threatening them to assure her that the Fishwoman was not a pirate. Words were cheap, as Shiromi had correctly surmised. Still, that mindset of hers… Well, it was fine as long as she remained a Bounty Hunter. Shiromi was the sort of person that Rosie rather enjoyed the company of, criminal or not. That didn’t mean that Rosie would hesitate to apprehend them if they did happen to be a pirate. Deman Reeves was proof enough of that.

---

Rosie | #fad7f6 | Post Count: 6

[Sam]

-- CHAPTER 10 // Doksoi Wasshoi

Oh no, Shiromi blurted out she knew something! But her face gave the opposite impression and what she said about tapiocas proved that in fact she was a little confused but had the spirit. The explanation wasn't exactly wrong but wasn't right either. Reynard grimaced.

"Uh... yeah... something like that."

He replied, no matter! At least he amused Rosie who was giving him a nice warm head pat. His tail wagged slightly and his eyes closed along. The compliment he received helped too! Gosh, he hoped he really was such a good chef, but coming from someone as blunt as Rosie he at least knew it was true. The woman hardly wasted time with unnecessary pleasantries.

Sadly, all good things must come to an end and unsurprisingly it was thanks to Shiromi who had at this point registered the question Rosie had posed. It all shifted so fast... as the fishwoman in question pointed at a sun-like tattoo near her chest. One that Reynard only slightly recognized, it was the one that Jinbe the Knight of the Sea had... no? It looked similar at least. He was a notorious pirate and former warlord. Was it all tied? Was Shiromi part of a crew that belonged to Jinbe? Reynard furrowed his brow. He highly doubted that, if she was sailing with him shouldn't she be in the Grand Line not wasting her time here in the East Blue? No, in fact when he first saw that tattoo he had not thought much about it beyond it being a simple fashion statement of sorts. Something that was perhaps common with fishfolk of whom he wasn't all too familiar with. But this didn't seem the case. There was a deeper connection here now. That said even Shiromi admitted to it just being for fashion. She wasn't a pirate, at least it didn't seem so. But, she did hate the Celestial Dragons... now that was something that Reynard wasn't totally unaware of. He knew people who had disgust for such folk and they were in their rights. His own homeland was no different to a lesser degree... The Goa Kingdom was nothing but a mock trial on the grand scheme of the world.

"I'd be grateful too."

Reynard said choosing his words carefully, Rosie was a lot better at this whole ordeal than he was. Unlike her, he wore his heart on his sleeve. So whenever he did attempt to cover up things they came out almost robotic and forced.

"I must agree with Rosie-sama, it's a shame and I do hope that all races end up joining up under one banner one day. It would be best for our world as a whole. It's optimistic, I know but..."

He paused and looked down for a moment blushing slightly. With that, he stood up like a rocket and proclaimed.

"I'll help make that change if I must, I will be a hero to all the people."

Reynard didn't raise his voice high, his tone was clear and composed. He was a gentleman, not a mongrel. Despite that there was a fiery passion behind his words, even his demeanor changed drastically. Once he noticed what he was doing, however, he immediately sat down. Standing standing in slight embarrassment, oh how improper.

Despite it all, the tone shift was still palpable, Shiromi was going on and on despite Rosie's best efforts. This time going as far as to bring out some bounty posters lying them on the table. Some of which he did recognize. It made Reynard slightly tense up... his ears perked and his eyes slit. His primal senses tingled with slight danger. It didn't help that Shiromi was now putting her hand on the hilt of her sword, in fact lightly threatening them. His fingertips, hidden under the table transformed into clawed points.

He was not going to let this ruin his tea party with Rosalyn. Of course, he wasn't aiming to kill... his strike would serve to incapacitate at most. He in fact didn't want to resort to violence. Like at all. As much as Shiromi did annoy him he didn't think she was a bad person and in fact he... sort of liked her (platonically of course.) There was something endearing about her dopiness and he was hoping she'd drop the aggressive act.

But then, it yielded. Rosalyn in her infinite wisdom persisted... she maintained her cool. Something that Reynard and Shiromi seemed to struggle with. As the tea, donuts, and rice cakes were brought to the table, Reynard made his claws disappear once more. His fingers losing the coat of dark brown fur over them and the black claws that once decorated them. His ears returned to their relaxed position as did his eyes and his tail went back to its typical swaying motion.

"Oh, goodie!"

He said excitedly grabbing his tea. For the sake of everyone, he was going to do his best to pretend nothing happened. Instead, he tried to focus on the posters on the table.

"Oh! Oh! A bounty hunter eh? I like looking at these, they always get creative with names. Let's see... 'Ferryman' Myles Suzuki, 'Tainted Devil' Tenebrae, oh! Here this one I recognize this one!"

Reynard pulled out one of the posters, this one he recognized personally as one from the East Blue. One he had partaken in defeating. Wagyu the Butcher! With a bounty of 11,800,00 beli! A mountain bandit from Shimosuki Island.

"You should toss that one, I took down Wagyu about eight months ago."

-- NAME // Reynard Ayoki

-- CLASS // D

-- TECHS USED // None.

[Mai Kobayashi]

"Ahh... I see. Not pirattes afterall...?"

Her hand loosened its grip on the sword, ever so slightly, its position shifted to further down the hilt, and with only the thumb and index finger she took hold of one of the loose ends of the rope that tied it to her belt. A small thug and the sword came loose, scabbard and all. The legs of her leaned back chair made contact with the ground again and she leaned the sword, standing up, against the back of her chair instead. It was probably as clear a sign of relaxing her guard as she could give but the truth is.. at 6 feet long it just made sitting on a chair a hassle with it strapped to her waist!

"Well that is good, truly good... Ahhh... so dangerous, dangerous. I thought I was going to die...

She ran the back of her hand across her forehead, wiping away a small bead of sweat, the tone of her voice cracking into a much higher pitch, even more so than her previously established usual. She seemed exceedingly relieved that it turned out there was no reason to start a fight after all. Maybe it was a little bit overplayed but the truth was that she had yet to fully recover from her injuries after the disastrous finale of the Mirror Dome Grand Prix last week...

"It is easy to look tough as a Fishman but... I'm actually a coward and really weak... Uh-na-na.. "

She offered an apologetic smiler, looking rather distressed as she admitted to it. A nervous laugh escaping her. Oi, she was way too happy about that not turning into a fight, She raised her thumb up with a trembling hand when the arrival of their order once again completely changed the atmosphere at the table. As the unhealthy amount of donuts was brought forth she clasped together her hands and observed the pile of round, soft doughy goodness with a star-like sparkle in her eyes.

"Ohh! You really do understand, Onee-san! Pirate or whatever, people need full bellies to be happy and healthy and when it comes to food to fill your belly with there is nothing like donuts, neh?"

Somehow she managed to sound completely understandable and avoided talking with her mouth full and yet three donuts had already disappeared into the ferocious jaws that scythed down their number faster than a cannon leveraged against a snowman could make the unfortunate effigy vanish.

"I see I see, a Hero huh? Then, You eat some too! You need to grow big and strong to be one of those, right?"

It was obvious she was only half listening to Reynard's words, she nodded politely as her hand grabbed hold of donut after donut and the size of the plate steadily decreased. Well, average human-sized donuts were no match for that oversized mouth of razor fangs, of course. Even so, the speed with which she was scarfing them down was abnormal by any standard. Except now she was holding one out towards Reynard. No, it was so close to his mouth and being motioned at him so ferociously it was a wonder she hadn't accidentally shoved it into his mouth yet.

"EHHH?! A BOUNTY OF OVER 11 MILLION, YOU TOOK IT DOWN?! ON YOUR OWN!?"

She stood up all of a sudden, the donut she was offering ended up hitting about his eyebrows before she let go and it fell down onto the table and she raised her hands in abject surprise, the shrill EHHH!? she let out enough to be heard even outside of the tea shop with perfect audible clarity.

"Kukuku, well didn't you say you were that strong to begin with?! I-I wouldn't have threatened you! Gah, I really could have died just now! Scarry, too scary..."

She really tried her best to look cool, putting her hand on her chin and trying to look like she was calmly thinking, but the little sweatdrops running down her forehead obviously told anyone she was holding back a sudden panicked as she put on her bravest, cooling sounding voice. Ahh.. and suddenly started using super manly old-man-like pronouns to...

"Well... Shimosuki Island is my home... So... Thank you. I was going to go home and deal with her.. no I've been meaning too but... 11 million is impossible for me. I was too scared..."

Her forehead twitched a little. The ridge above her eye, where a normal human might have eyebrows wiggled restlessly as she admitted that.
Though it came out stuttered and a little bit, mercifully, quieter than her normal over-excited tone. But despite that, her eyes never lost sight of the two of them as she wolfed down another donut and took a long sip of her own bubble tea, regarding them in a merciful moment of silence. That was obviously too good to last...

"Ahh but you two really don't look like bounty hunters either. So mysterious~"

[Fox]

Both Shiromi and Reynard were quick to relax after the food arrived. She shook her head at their mutual foolishness and took another sip of tea, having a bit of a cake to go along with it. Rosie just nodded graciously at Shiromi as the Fishwoman offered her apologies. It wasn’t any bother to her really. Whether it had come to blows or it remained peaceful, Rosie would have been fine with either outcome. It made little difference to her. Either way, it would be an enjoyable experience for her.

Reynard took the liberty to go through the bounty posters, citing some names that Rosie recognized. She tilted her head as Reynard mentioned taking down one of them. A… Wagyu. Hm. She vaguely remembered his files mentioning something about that. She tapped the poster and glanced at Reynard.

“This was before you joined, was it?” she asked before glancing at Shiromi because of her sudden, very loud outburst. Rosie blinked at her silently.

Shiromi seemed suddenly grateful that she hadn’t had to fight the two of them. Rosie smiled, amused, and took another sip of tea. Blissful silence fell upon the table for a few moments after that, the rest of the patrons turning back to their own business instead of staring at an overly excitable Fishwoman. Rosie only lifted her eyes back to Shiromi when she commented about their occupation.

“Ah, that is because we are Marines,” Rosie said simply, finishing off her bubble tea and putting it to the side, “That was interesting, but I think I prefer herbal blends. How are the donuts? I’m sure more are on the way.”

---

Rosie | #fad7f6 | Post Count: 7

[Sam]

-- CHAPTER 10 // Doksoi Wasshoi

Good, Shiromi had fully calmed down removing her hand from the handle. He felt safe once more, not that he thought it would have been much trouble to take care of her. After all, Rosie was also at his side. But at least there was mutual agreement that they were pirates and meant no harm. The now relaxed boy began to take sips from his tea smugly. Shiromi returned to her dopiness commenting on how she thought she was going to die. Reynard shook his head, still smug. What a silly thing to say.

"Coward? But you're carrying a sword, a weapon that forces you to fight in close quarters?"

Reynard inquired only to be called a hero by Shiromi and have a donut shoved at his face. She wanted him to eat, sure.. he would partake in donuts but she didn't have to be excessive like this. Reynard cocked his head back, his pupils shrinking slightly in surprise.

"Y-yes... I'm going to eat don't worry..."

He stuttered with a flustered look on his face. All his smugness had gone down the drain in that instant. He had never had someone try to force-feed him like this before, it was... an uncomfortable experience to say the least.

*plop*

The chocolate donut fell on his face as Shiromi suddenly recoiled back. With an annoyed expression, Reynard stared back at the foolish fishwoman, his face now smeared in chocolate. He let out a sigh as she went on about Wagyu and how she was impressed he could defeat such a tough enemy. Well, sure... it was relatively impressive.

"W-well yes? It was pretty hard, she wanted to keep me as her cooking slave. But that didn't match with my dreams so I kicked face in, both figuratively and literally."

Reynard explained.

"Wagyu wore scaled armor that was impossible to pierce and had a massive kanobo. But I was able to kick through her defenses."

Wagyu did boast a hefty bounty for being an East Blue mountain bandit that often terrorized Shimosuki village and its surrounding islets. But perhaps most surprising was that Shiromi herself was from such a place... oh, so that's why she carried a sword. Although, it was strange... he felt he would have recognized a Fishman among the human populace there. Especially one as tall as Shiromi. Was she out of town eight months ago? Rosie's pale finger hitting the poster interrupted his thoughts.

"Oh huh? Yes, Rosie-sama! I did fight her before joining the 22nd... in fact, I fought her the day before I officially joined and at least two weeks after meeting Kikori in Shell Town."

He explained calmly, oh Kikori was someone he didn't want to cross and to think that maniac was still on the loose. At least with Corone and Wagyu they were now behind bars serving their due time. But Kikori? No, he was probably still butchering people like a mad man. If only he had been as strong as he was now and been able to defeat him. Reynard turned to Shiromi now.

"Oh yes, we're Marines! But we're off duty actually. Rosie-sama is taking me out for tea today."

Rey said proudly with a warm happy smile. This was really all he wanted to be happy and finally, it was being given to him.

-- NAME // Reynard Ayoki

-- CLASS // D

-- TECHS USED // None.

[Mai Kobayashi]

"I have never encountered a donut that wasn't any good, but there sure are a lot of fancy flavors here... I kind of prefer the plain sugary ones. That's why I was trying to pawn off the chocolate to him you know. sssh! "

She proudly professed her undying devotion to the round pastry in all its forms. Of course, even amongst the refined palette of a true donut lover, there was one that reigned supreme, one dough ring to rule them all. And surprisingly it turned out that her tastes in that regard were rather plain and modest. Just plain sugared donuts were such an... ordinary choice it was almost disappointing. She went through the trouble of explaining the last part of that sentence behind the back of her hand but considering she didn't lower the volume of her voice at all there was literally no doubt at all that Rey had heard every word about her pawning of the one's she liked less on him.

"You can't tell a donut's true value when it is covered in distracting embellishments. The only way to know if a shop has good donuts is to find the basics and judge those. If the plain sugar donut is good, all others are too. If they can't get the basics right, everything else is a fluke. I am a simple idiot so I like that honest straightforwardness."

It was a dumb reason, no maybe only half of it was. At least from one perspective, she was right. If the basics of any food are no good, no matter how much you add onto it it will never be great. But you can hide mediocrity in the confusion of a large number of ingredients. The way she let it slip so offhandedly and making a motion with her hand as if brushing away the notion made it seem like just one of those semi-smart things she occasionally concluded through all the wrong ways of conjecture. But it was reynard who's question she blinked at for a moment as if he caught her off guard. She scratched the side of her head for a moment while thinking before raising her shoulders in a shrug.

"I'm a crybaby who doesn't like to fight and would rather run away than fight. That is plenty to be considered a coward, neh?"

Well, those were just a few commonly listed traits though, it wasn't exactly like she gave any deep insight into her personality as she shrugged it off. But her next words, though she was obviously trying to maintain her stupidly carefree tone ever so slightly made the tone of her voice tremble.

"I'm afraid, every time I do fight. I'm not afraid of my enemies, not afraid of dying. Getting hurt or losing don't scare me either. But you know, I'm still afraid. Of losing something more precious I can never get back once it's gone. "

A moment of silence was left hanging in the air before she picked up her tea and took a large noisy sip of it and then looked between them.

"I see, Marines. Then taking down bounties doesn't actually get you any reward money, does it? In that case, I'll pay for the donuts. You don't really earn a fortune as a marine, neh? I'd feel bad making you pay for all this on your rare day off where you finally get to spend some of your pay!"

[Fox]

“You met the Mad Butcher as well…? How unfortunate that he got away from me,” Rosie said with a sigh, chiding herself. Truly, that operation had been a spectacular failure. Well. Aside from those slaves that she’d managed to rescue, she supposed, and the corrupt Marine officer that had been exposed. But neither the Revolutionaries nor the Mad Butcher had been captured that night. “At least not much has been heard from him lately. Maybe he died.”

Rosie chuckled at that pleasant thought. It would be a sublime happenstance if that were the case. But, there was no way of knowing until he was located, dead or alive. She tilted her head slightly as Shiromi spoke of donuts, nodding slightly in understanding. There was a wisdom to an idiot’s simplicity. As if to punctuate Shiromi’s point, Rosie took a sip of the other sort of tea she’d ordered.

“Hm… interesting,” Rosie commented, “I suppose I can understand your fears.”

She had things to lose too. Her recruits, whose lives were worth infinitely more than her own, came to mind. Her goal, her dream, also came to mind. If she wasn’t around, who would shepherd the Marines along the correct path? She certainly didn’t trust the current Fleet Admiral to do it. He wasn’t capable of such a task. No, he was an obstacle. One that would eventually need to be removed. But those were concerns for another day. Rosie waved Shiromi off.

“Please, I invited you along. It’s only proper that I should be the one to pay. It’s no trouble.”

Besides, her father was an esteemed Marine engineer. His inventions had made him rather wealthy, though he preferred to live humbly, lavishing her with presents. Rosie hadn’t complained. The allowance it gave her funded her research for a time. She still received it even now that she was markedly busier. She wasn’t sure what to spend it on.

---

Rosie | #fad7f6 | Post Count: 8

[Sam]

-- CHAPTER 10 // Doksoi Wasshoi

Watching the woman ramble was mildly amusing. Apparently, she disliked the flavored ones? That was an oddity, most people liked them. Although perhaps more vanilla are the glazed ones... which funnily enough were his mother's favorites. Period, they were his mother's favorite food and it was something she would often buy for herself as a tasty treat when visiting Naya Town's bakery.

"Fascinating."

Reynard blurted out, although it was silly talk it was still food talk and he loved to hear what people had to say in regards to food. His ears flickered as he listened in on the matter... Shiromi even went as far as to explain what she meant by cowardliness. Reynard didn't really understand what she meant? Fear to him didn't immediately make you a coward it was normal to feel fear after all if anything standing up despite having fear was what made you brave. Bravery couldn't exist without fear after all... therefore true bravery neccecited the existence of fear. Lacking fear outright didn't make you brave. No, it made something else. It made you a fool. That's when Rosie piped up commenting on her understanding of her fears. She also commented on Kikori...

"Huh? Oh, yes I did in fact meet him... you did mention you met him before back on Tequila Wolf during our debriefing... you even made little doodles of them."

Rey chuckled remembering the moment, he put his hand over his mouth. His boss was endearing even if she claimed she wasn't. Rosie believed herself to be a cold hard shell of a woman and well she could be... her statement of wishing Kikori was dead was more than a reflection of that side. It was sadistic to a degree, the way she said it. You would hate to be that woman's enemy. But if you were on her side, she could be warm. Or maybe... it was her attempt at it that made her endearing. After all, actions spoke much more than words.

"Maybe he did die, the sea is a treacherous place... storms, pirates, and as of recent I have heard that the underworld is extremely active around these parts again."

The marine rubbed his chin, he hoped such a thing wouldn't explode into something uncontrollable. But then again, there was nothing the 22nd couldn't handle! He was certain of that... they were a strong bunch. So far he hadn't met a single pirate crew around these parts that could as much as stand against them. But that could very well change on a whim... it seemed like extraordinary people were popping from the earth left and right these days.

-- NAME // Reynard Ayoki

-- CLASS // D

-- TECHS USED // None.

[Mai Kobayashi]

"I see, then it's fine! "

The marine woman's assurance that she was happy to pay was met with a momentary stare. There was a silent unspoken moment of recognition that had occurred the moment the woman said she could understand those fears that were too difficult to put into words. But that moment passed as quickly as it came. Then the Fishman blinked once. She grabbed another donut from the slowly dwindling pile and bit into the side of it before giving a wide beaming smile followed closely by and an airheaded shrug that seemed to suggest she was taking the fact that it was 'no trouble' at absolute face value.


"Hoping people die on their own rarely works out all that well... Well hoping people die in general is a little gloomy, neh?"

The conversation moved on towards a subject that was a little confusing for Shiromi to follow. It didn't seem like these two were still talking about that wagyu person... or maybe they were and she just couldn't follow the conversation as well as she liked. But the ear boy said he had taken that bounty in, it was a little strange to hope a prisoner would just up and die on their own. No, they probably were talking about someone else. Well... was this one of those moments where people who knew each other for a long time spoke in half sentences or was it some sort of marine code... she wasn't really smart enough to tell the difference either way but...

"Hmm hmm, I see.. I have absolutely no idea who you are talking about. But that last part is true at least. There was a little bit dangerous of a guy on this Island last week too... No, a few of them honestly."

She looked down at the simple T-shirt and jeans she was currently wearing. They were a little tight in places... Maybe she had been eating too many donuts? She vigorously shook her head, which must have looked at least a little strange to Rosie and Reynard alike. You know, given they had 0 context as to WHY she was suddenly shaking her head after looking at her own clothes. No no. It was just that humans were tiny and these clothes had been tight since she got them. That was absolutely it!

"Ruined my clothes too... "

...Well, at least she really had a habit of blurting out her thoughts, didn't she? Maybe they could follow that insane train of thought by sheer context clues. She tapped the half-eaten donut on the table twice as she was thinking before tosing the remaining piece into her mouth and picking up two more donuts, the suspiciously lavishly decorated kind she professed to like less... and held one out to each of the marines. Was she trying to get in their good graces by offering the donuts she did not like... and that
Rosie was paying for as an incentive? Yes, she most certainly, totally was.

"Well.. I need to go home and get some more clothes anyway. Say... I don't suppose you two could give me a ride on your ship? I kind of got stuck here after last weeks storms ran my little dinghy aground and I don't really fancy swimming to the next island... "

[Fox]

Doodles? Was that how Reynard remembered that briefing? Rosie couldn’t help but feel just a touch annoyed at that, but she let it go. Reynard’s head had been shoved through the ceiling that same day. He was bound to remember it… oddly. She just sighed into her cup of coffee. Her drawing skills were impeccable anyhow. They were perfect likenesses. Or at the very least, she’d been serious when she was drawing them. Anyhow, perhaps Shiromi was right. Best to move on from gruesome topics when sharing a meal with one’s associates.

“Hm… yes, so it seems. I’d send out more patrols from our division if we could spare it, but our current assignment is… well,” Rosie sipped at her tea. There were a lot of things that she could say about their current assignment, but not in present company for a variety of reasons, “Spreading us thin in its own way.”

Rosie looked up at Shiromi in time to see the women look down at herself and shake her head. She blinked, until Shiromi elaborated about her clothing. The ones she was wearing didn’t seem ruining. They did look a little tight, but… Rosie presumed these were replacements for her actual clothes. The thought occurred to Rosie to offer to buy her better fitting clothes, but she passed on the idea. A store’s worth of donuts was enough charity for one day.

Or not.

Staring at the proffered donut with a look of mild incredulity, Rosie shook her head and took another sip of tea. Was this her poor attempt at a bribe? It was almost charming in its own way. Rosie smiled crookedly.

“I’m afraid not, but I can buy you a ticket for the ferry. Where is it that you’re headed after this if I may ask?”

---

Rosie | #fad7f6 | Post Count: 9

[Sam]

-- CHAPTER 10 // Doksoi Wasshio!

Reynard furrowed his brow, more dangerous people in Mirrorball? Again? Perhaps that was the issue with densely populated islands such as these. There was always something new, but it still stung him that the island found itself in trouble once more.

"Again? Damn I thought I cleared out the mafia from this place."

He shook his head and let out a sigh, half-epxecting Shriomi or Rosie to tell him that evil never rested. That would be true at least. That's when Shiromi pointed out her clothes had been ruined in the entire ordeal. The vulpine man tilted his head slightly he hadn't noticed that. But now that she mentioned it her current clothes were a little tight.

"T-thank you."

Reynard stammered as he grabbed onto the glossy pink donut. Why Shiromi kept pawning off the flavorful ones still was confusing to the young man. No amount of explanation would ever serve to have him understand the eccentric woman's odd reasoning on matters.

"You know, I bet I could make better donuts than these."

He proudly proclaimed. Looking over the donut once more before taking a bite. There was no doubt, these were tasty. But he believed he himself could do a lot better. Swallowing the final piece he looked at Shiromi.

"Oh please don't swim home, its panda-shark mating season and they get awfully aggressive during this time. Its advise against going swimming. Why not take our offer, we can get you a ferry."

-- NAME // Reynard Ayoki

-- CLASS // D

-- TECHS USED // None.

[Fox]

A rumbling from her pocket jerked Rosie out of her inquisitive state. She leaned back, her expression settling back into something more neutral, and pulled a small den den mushi from her pocket. She nodded to Reynard and Shiromi, standing up from the table briefly. “Just a moment. I need to take this.”

She walked outside and listened to the person on the other end, making small acknowledgements and hanging up after the person on the other end did. She sighed. So much for a nice day of shore leave. Rosie stepped back inside, putting money down on the table to pay for their meal and an extra portion that she handed directly to Shiromi.

“Here. This will buy you a ticket to anywhere you’d like to go in the East Blue. My apologies, but we’ve got to go. It was a pleasure meeting you, Shiromi. Duty calls, Reynard,” she said looking over to the recruit.

With a final nod of farewell to Shiromi, Rosie swept out of the tea house and made a beeline to the docks. With Reynard presumably at her side, she looked down and explained the situation to him. “Pirates have decided to try to raid Mirrorball. Are you ready to demonstrate to them what happens when they do that on the 22nd’s watch?”

---

Rosie | #fad7f6 | Post Count: 10

[Sam]

-- CHAPTER 10 // Doksoi Wasshio!

He continued to munch on a donut idly, there were so many aspects of the recipie he could perfect. From the dough, to the cooking time, to even the type of sugar used. Sure, Shiromi liked simplicity and there was charm in that. But to Reynard even an uflavored donut could amount to something greater if treated with the right amount of resolve. Just because it was basic didn't mean it could be bad.

"Hm?"

His ears flickered as he saw Rosalyn recieve a call, something was up. His institution picked up on that much. Just a few minutes later and his Pink-haired boss was putting money on the table with no sign of sitting back down. Hell, she even gifted some extra money to the air-headed fishwoman. Reynard too stood up, getting ready. It was a shame, sure. He wanted to nothing to do with work. But duty called in this very moment.

"Yosh! I'm ready as I'll ever be!"

He proclaimed with resolve, it seemed Mirrorball was still having it's fair share of problems. Even after the defeat of Corone Pavor at his hands the power vacuum was probably left wide open. Greedy pirates were probably looking to fill that vacuum but just like last time he would stop them. Better yet, he had Rosalyn to guide him making it all that much easier. With a flick of his tail he followed after his Ensign.

-- NAME // Reynard Ayoki

-- CLASS // D

-- TECHS USED // None.