Proud and Prawn Bar and Seafood

Just as the umbrella began to sink down into macs drink there was a roar of cheers that ressonated through the bar. Okay, maybe that was a bit much given there weren't actually many patrons, but the few that were there all seemed to glance towards the door and let out a hearty grunt of approval. Now you may be asking yourself why would the denizens of this less than ideal establishment, who had come here to drink away their sorrows, Be suddenly excited about a door? The answer was simple. They aren't. Who gets excited about doors, that's wierd. In the doorway however, was a certain small puppet turned real boy, and it would take moments for the excitement to be clear. 

"Heyyyyy. Julie! get me two of those drinks I like! What's up issei, hows the job?! Yea yea probably can't talk about it yet. We'll get ya there. Sir pattington bartholemew the third! Hate seeing your ugly mug in a dump like this!" Pinochio shot glances at a few of the regulars as he sauntered past the tables and right up to the bar.... And then beside the bar to take a stepstool positioned in the corner, and then back to the bar where he climbed the small ladder to take a seat, you guessed it, at the bar. 

"You all know how this works! First round is on me!!!!" The bartender rushed to action as he found his seat, not even charging mac for the drink he'd ordered or preparing to set up a tab. Her hands flew through the makings of a vibrant blue drink that one would swear glowed in the dim light of the bar, pouring several liquors into a tumblr before shaking it vigorously with ice and pouring it into  a plastic cup with a painting of the small taijutsu master giving a thumbs up on the front. THe cup slid across the bar into his waiting hand. 

"See. This is why I like this place. Everyone apreciates a positive attitude..." They Uh. I mean they didn't really, but no one was going to tell pinochio that. Most of the denizens weren't huge fans of the boy sized man asside from the drinks he ended up providing. He got chatty and constantly challenged people to arm wrestling matches. Thankfully his win percentage had been rising recently. Something about having found a seat that his opponents couldn't literally just lift him up out of, slamming him and his arm into the bar for the easy dub. 

He took the drink in hand, spinning the yellow and red decorative umbrella as he took a long sip. Yes. This was in fact the good stuff. 

"So! Who's in for the arm wrestling prize tonight?! I'm feeling lucky and I'll only use four straps to keep myself in the chair!! Who's feeling froggy?" There was no answer form the npcs too busy calling for drinks before Pinochio decided to take the free round off the table. 

(TWC 500)

Getting back into the swing of the shinobi work was a lot of stress. Ban had been starting up her morning training more vigorously, her missions were mostly labor intensive like body guarding, construction assistance or something of the sort. On top of that, she also had to say good bye to Murata as she left for her diplomacy mission as the new Mizukage. 

Ban would try to keep her spirits up as she was doing this to improve on her skills and finally get her rank up to chunin. However, she might need some assistance keeping her spirits up with some other spirits. 

The Hozuki hear about a bar not too far from her house called the Proud and Prawn Bar. Ban wasn’t normally a drinker but she figured tonight was an exception. She entered the small bar before too many people had showed up and ordered a drink. They didn’t have any dark liquor, which was fine to Ban as she wasn’t too picky. She ordered beers to start and would seat herself at a booth away from the bar top. She would drink in peace for the most part…until THEY arrived. 

It started with Mac entering. He was unfamiliar to Ban but she also didn’t recognize anyone in the bar thus far. But then came the loudest women you’ve ever met barging into the bar. Ban’s skin crawled as the Kunochi made an effort to say hi to everyone in the bar. Ban didn’t recognize her either, she figured for a good reason. But she was followed by someone else. Someone more vaguely familiar. He was small wooden boy. Ban wasn’t sure where she had seen him from but there was a hazy memory of small wooden boy in one of her dreams about zombies. 

Pin sat down at a table challenged the bar to arm wresle. Ban couldn’t help but chuckle. But intrigued by the boy’s attitude, she approached his table and sat on the other end. “Aren’t we a bit young to be hanging out at a bar?” Ban took a final sip of her beer and placed her right elbow on the table. She figured it wouldn’t hurt to accept a friendly game.

Mac would watch the once upon a time puppet enter the bar, seemingly a regular, gaining the attention of everyone so that he could avoid the shame of drinking his fruity cocktail. Mac wasn’t sure what they cooked it up with, but he knew it tasted good, and hit him better. It could have been maybe the sugar catalyzing the alcohol before it got to his liver, or maybe some ninja level medical sorcery that imbued this small drink with a powerful punch, but it made Mac feel all sorts of bubbling deep inside that, over the course of the night, through more drinks, would shed out to show itself. As Mac swirled the brew in his stomach, he would take an odd look towards the youngish man that had made his presence known to the crowd. Something about the short fella rung a bell with Mac, so, feeling exceptionally confident, Mac decided to grab another drink, then start making his way over to the mannish boy that had seemingly brought the life of the party along with him, judging by the reactions of the relatively sparse population of the bar, all getting enraptured in the persona that was Pinnochio.

Walking up to the real boy, Mac would make a comment, stating, “Do I know you? I feel like I’ve seen you before, maybe with a wig fighting cultists or dancing with mummies or something? I swear it must have been somewhere,” slurring his speech slightly, not super pronounced but enough that any seasoned shinobi would be able to notice. Hearing the young looking man’s offer of an arm wrestling match, Mac would respond by stating, “I don’t know about participating, but if you need an official who can collect some bets and make sure everything is above the belt, or, should I say below the shoulder. So come one and come all, who wishes to wrestle wrists and biceps with… what was your name?” Mac would ask, again remembering that he had forgotten whatever their name was, but continuing his pitch nonetheless, “And those that believe in themselves, believe in their friends, or fail to believe in this small boy’s chances at winning a test of strength enough to put some money behind it? You there, you look tough and it seems you’ve already stricken up a conversation with the reigning, defending arm wrestling champion” Mac would interrupt himself to ask Pinnochio, “You are the champion, right?”  making sure to say it in a whispered voice, even if he didn’t remember to lower the volume of his voice to match his intent, “No matter,” he would resume, “You ma’am, with the salty legs and silver hair, how would you like a chance to match strength with the vertically impared man here?” Mac would say, feeling much more lively than he had since he was a kid. What was it that was in that cocktail? Whatever it was that he had consumed, intentionally or unintentionally, it certainly had an effect.

WC: 500, TWC: 1,166

"You know. You do look familiar, but I can't quite place it. Have you done any missions that you can recall with a three and a half foot tall ninja, maybe who ended up hurting themselves fairly gravely or ended up dying while in a wierd dream world? Cuz listen. I've been having these weird vague dreams that I was on missions in this strange place for like. Nearly a month. I would say specifically starting at like. September second and going on through November seveth or something? Is that too specific. Long story short, there were defintely people in the dreams, and I definitely didn't leave a single one of them without stabbing myself or dying in some unfortunate way, so that could be a great tip off." The question made him feel a bit wierd. Like there was a whole wold out there with real people he'd been inadvertently dealing with, but couldn't possibly remember. Thankfully his pause to consider the oddity was cut short by another entrant making a comment. He looked over at the girl, his face turning beet red for a moment before he took a deep breath. 

"Calm down Pinoch. It's not their fault. Calm down. calm down. Madam. I will have you know that I am twenty two years old. I'm just incredibly short and well within the spring time of my youth." THe words were honey off his tongue. That phrase just felt... right. For a moment he considered the meaning behind it, before remembering it wasn't his job to think, it was his job to hit things really really hard. 

"Springtime of my youth. I really like that. I think i'll say it very loudly every time i'm around someone." At this point, Mac would be hyping up Pinochio's power in arm wrestling. A horible decision really. When he leaned downward, half yelling his whispered question, he would be met with the opposite of what he'd hoped. 

"Oh. No, sorry. I've actually never won uh. See I have a bit of a handicap in tha--" Before he could explain the situation he'd been in previously, A mountain of a man sat down at the table across from him. There was a heavy creek of snapping lumber as the chair flexed visibly in an attempt to hold his weight. In the monsterous man's palm Pino's hand looked like a toothpick. 

"Lets do this. " He pulled a set of straps from the bag at his side. It took him a few moments of twisting and hooking, but finally he'd strapped himself into the chair so tightly he could barelly move more than the one arm held in his opponents grip. THis was going to be his night. The battle raged. There was a shifting back and forth as the two pushed with all their might. Pinochio saw his opportunity, right when the body builder took his free hand up to wipe his brow, and activated the fourth heavenly gate. His opponents hand rocketed to the table at lightning speed under Pino's incredibly new strength stat, and then....

THe guy just lifted him up. He'd strapped himself solidly to the chair, but the chair weighted maybe six pounts and if Pino weighted eight that would be impressive. With little effort the man simply hoisted the boy and his chair up, turning him upside down before placing his wrist onto the table with him still suspended in air. 

Bar:2315
Pino:0

(TWC 1077)

The bar definitely got more lively after the arrival of Pin. After claiming to be the champion, Mac, one of the drinkers sitting on one of the stools at the bar, offered to become a ref for Pinocchio and to take bets. Ban just rolled her eyes at him, there wasn't much fun about betting on Ban as there was in just watching a match. 

Pin also seemed to recognize Ban when she approached, asking if it was a part of some weird dream phenomenon where everyone was getting weird dreams featuring other people. Ban shrugged, showing that she didn't really know what she recognized him from since she basically blocked out the idea that it was anything more than just a weird dream and forgot about most of it. Although she couldn't help but feel some kind of companionship with this strange puppet-like they had gone on a long mission together. However, their strange acquaintanceship didn't stop Pin and Ban from getting off on the wrong foot. Ban's teasing question about his age seemed to rub the boy puppet in the wrong way. He quickly got defensive and tried to cool himself down and calmly explained that he was 20 and in the "springtime" of his youth. The Hozuki couldn't help but feel strange that this guy was around the same age as Ban. However, appearances can be deceiving. All she wanted to do now was see what this self-proclaimed champ had in terms of strength. 

Before Ban could challenge the energetic kid, a large man sat next to her and forced her off to the side. Ban was shocked that this blockhead had the audacity to ignore her presence. Ban stood up, but as soon as she did, Pin and this man were already engaged with a match of strength, momentarily subsisting her rage. To Ban's joy, Pin was actually holding up against this clearly larger man. "Get him!" Ban found herself cheering for Pin! It reminded her of the times during the blood games where she would root for the underdogs. Ban would find it even more enjoyable when Pin's aura radiated and allowed him to slam his opponent's hand into the table, giving him the victory. Ban cheered with perhaps a couple of other people. 

However, this cheering would soon change as this large man would just stand up and suspend Pin in the air with his chair strapped on. It seemed for the moment that this large guy was going to do something dramatic in response to his loss. Ban watched carefully to see what this brute would do to Pin while holding him up. Would she really need to get into a bar fight tonight?

TWC: 820

People were actually watching. PEOPLE WERE CHEERING FOR HIM! The only thing better than this moment was the realization that it wasn't a big joke. FOr once, he had an audience who wasn't laughing at him. This must be exactly what it feels like to be a powerful shinobi. Then mac's tone changed. It was subtle. Had they really thought he would win? At least the thought was nice. 

"Yea... That's kinda how it always ends. I'm stronger than basically anyone here, expecially with the power of my eight inner gates--well four. I mean the technique is called eight inner gates but I can't open more than four so I call it--I'm losing my train of thought. " It didn't seem to matter. In the time he'd taken to explain what had happened, it seemed that his new best friend had decided to stick up for him. 

"No really. It's cool. Uh. I mean. They always end up just lifting me with one hand. It's cuz I'm so small but I know if I keep working on it I can find a set up that will anchor me enough to--aaaannnnnddd theres a bar fight. Fair enough." He watched the exchange at first. He almost wanted to let his new best friend take care of things himself. He could right? He wouldn't actually start a fight that he couldn't win--well. He just added several more to the battle. This is fine. Pinochio knew exactly what to do. 

"Whoever throws a punch in this fight doesn't get free rounds for a week! I'm not joking" He flinched as the battle intensified. Apparently the random non player character patrons in the bar weren't interested in free drinks. That meant there was only one thing left to do. Taking a deep b reath he'd calm his body. The world seemed to disappear for a moment as he focused on the fight ahead of him. It's not like he could actually just sit and watch. THen, he made his move. 

His fingers flew through straps and buckles, unhooking himself at record time. Whew. That was tough. Now he could fight.Unfortunately, that was exactly when Mac would send someone sprawling towards his still seated location. He was forced to watch as a huge body builder of a man fell forward, knocking him off his chair. When the pair landed, there was no sign of the small taijutsu user. His body was dwarfed fully by the huge man. THen the man flew literally through the roof. A giant white tiger head formed from sheer air pressure rocketed up from Pinochio, Sending the man flying out of sight. 

"Alright. If it's a fight people want.... I guess it's punchin shit real real hard time!' He drew his weapon, setting the butt of what should be a kasurai gama against the ground. Resolve set on his face as the aura of taijutsu energy pulsed. Also the ground pulsed. Fun fact. A tremor flowed from Pinochio outward. From his position, he knew he needed to stop the powerful technique before it reached the two who had rooted for him, but the effects were near immediate. Three thugs shot up from the ground, flying into the air and through the roof like the first before the ground ceased to shake, his earth shaker technique sending them a terrifying twenty two meters strait up. For added effect one random one would have their speed and strength debuffed by fifty points. 

(TWC 1654)

Was Ban about to get into a bar fight? Yes, yes she was. But Ban wouldn't be the one to start it. Mac, the drunken "referee' for the arm wrestling match started shouting insults towards the large man which would lead him to get knocked on the head with a bottle. Ban was impressed with Mac's ability to stay conscious while being drunk and also taking a hit from a glass bottle. That's how it started.

Ban wouldn't interject at first, just rolling her eyes and watching the foolish men take out their frustration on each other. At one point, Mac would bend over and trip up one of the men going for him, which lead to his punch being redirected towards Ban by accident. Ban however saw this as childish and just caught the fist in her palm. Her own strength easily allowed her not to take any damage from this clumsy man. From there she just threw him to the wall, knocking him to the ground for the rest of the fight either from the intoxication or the injuries or both. 

The two boys were easily taking down the other bar patrons, even leading one of the fighters to be launched through the roof of the bar. The bar was an absolute mess. Chairs and tables had been destroyed, there was a giant hole in the ceiling, and all the customers had either been knocked out or had left save for Ban, Mac, and Pinocchio. Nevertheless, the ones causing the most damage were the two village shinobi. Ban was enraged and embarrassed that these two would represent their military-like this. She was going to have to do something about this.

Ban walked past the two genins and stood and the entrance of the bar and loudly shouted to get the attention of the two amateurs.  "Excuse me! Is this really the Shinobi of Kiri that has the best to give their citizens? You two are disgraceful. No one is leaving this bar until everything is cleaned up and repaired! Am I clear?!" Ban's lavender eyes showed furiously and seriousness. 

One of the men that were involved with the fight tried to get past Ban. "I ain't cleaning this shit up..." Ban quickly dealt with him with a sucker punch to the gut, causing the air to leave his body. Ban shoved his body back as he was trying to catch his breath. "I said no one is leaving." Ban wondered if the two would cause any problems in protest. 

WC: 421
TWC: 1241

Mac would stand up, straightening his posture, all of his focus on the shiny coin he had lifted from the ground, completely oblivious at first to the fact that a fight was going on around him, but subconsciously aware enough that when splinters erupted from the cieling, he managed to grab all before they could strike the detective with his right hand, his gaze still locked on the coin, before launching them out at first seemingly towards the man lady silver hair had apparently thrown, but traveling at the speed they did, they narrowly missed the man and instead stuck into the wall, propping back up a shelf that was knocked over by the impact of the man into the wall. "Hey, I can never tell whether or not this is heads or tails, don’t know if this means good or bad luck,” Mac would ask, quickly going into analysing the situation around him to conclude, “Well shit, looks like it was bad luck. What the hell happened while I was down there, was there some kind of fight or something?” Mac would genuinely ask, being somewhat unaware of the events that unfolded, only seeing unmoving bodies littering the bar, and moving bodies making their way fairly quickly through the bar.

Mac would turn around to grab the drink the bartender left for him, preceding the drink slinger’s departure from the Proud and Prawn, getting ready to drink it as he heard a shrill “Excuse Me!” come from behind him. Turning around, drink still in hand, he would respond to Ban’s demands with a simple, “Huh? Are you talking to me? I didn’t participate in any fighting young lady, and I can’t speak for the rest of the crowd here, but I know I took no part in the fighting, I am was just getting some drinks, and next thing I know, people are stacked up to my knees and you’re throwing people” all the sudden a loud scream became audible from above, as a man crashed again down, hitting the earth with a loud thud after crashing through more of the bar. “Oh, and apparently that guy fell, wonder what sent him up there? Anyway, the point is, don’t act all high and mighty, you are just as responsible for violence as all these people that seemed to have been knocked on their asses. Judging by the bruises on their fists, it looks like they were the first to throw punches, and while yes, you have the right to self defense, you should be more mindful of property damage, you damaged the wall, and almost knocked over as shelf of liquor had I not used some splinters to prop it back up. You also seem to have caused more than minor damage to the base boards and wall, can it with the holier than thou routine,” Mac would then shift his attention to the short man, “I’m not going to lie, that shit was extremely cool and I want you to teach me how to do it, but, that said, what you did was extremely dangerous and could have been toned down considerably, you almost killed this man, and even though its questionable as to whether or not he deserved it, that's not for us to decide on a whim.”

Mac would then take a deep breath, setting his drink to the side, back on the table, before seemingly turning off all hints he was ever intoxicated, seriously stating, “Now I am a big enough man to admit I had a place in this too, should have been of sounder mind and should not have caused any sort of provocation, that said pointing of fingers and claims of guilt along with attempts to cast shame will get us no where and do nothing to correct the wrongs of ourselves, nor of others. We all clean this place up not because it’s our fault for destroying it, but because we’d rather see it cleaned. Casting the blame does nothing but make excuses for our own inaction now, has anyone seen a dust pan?” Mac would ask, running his hands through his long blonde locks as he shaked it in the breeze coming into the bad, giving the aesthetic that sparkles were coming out of his hair as it waved in the breeze, each shard pricking a bit at Mac’s scalp, proving annoying, but something he would need to get done, and something he had done before. All the shards clattering to the ground, Mac would recompose himself, go to a corner of the room, pick up a broom and start collecting the shards, “These things can be a safety hazard, would not want to see anyone get hurt now would we, now, lets get some work in, and after we’re done, let's say we chip in, leave the barkeep some money for tender and to cover the drinks, and I mix everyone up something special to celebrate a coming together. Feels like we got off on the wrong foot.”

Mac would scan the room, finding that, with the man who was so mercilessly sucker punched, the only three people standing in the room were the shinobi. “Well, looks like its just us three, always hated closing shifts while being understaffed. Name is Duncan McNally, but you all can call me Mac, don’t think I met any of you all before. It would be a pleasure to get to know your names so I can start seeing some familiar faces around the village,” the former detective would claim, extending his hands out, one too each conscious being, attempting to play peacekeeper knowing that if he got cracked again in the head like that, he’d be suffering a much worse headache than any hangover would present him with, well, except for that one time he visited Wolf Country, but that was a simple case of a man not knowing his limitations on Wolf Vodka. Hoping he appeased the two, after shaking hands, Mac would go right back to trying to fix the place up, sweeping around the groaning bodies before looking again for the dust pan.

WC: 1024, TWC: 2717