Drunks in Distress: Part I & II

Takashi was sitting at the beautiful cherry wood bar, the stool surprisingly comfortable as he propped his head up on the bar using his left arm. His right hand placing it's index finger on the neck of a nearly empty sake bottle as he twirled it on the edge that sits on the counter, if boredom had a physical form it was him in this moment. Slowly as the moon grew brighter beyond the doors, the streets began bustling more and more, the night started with people walking by and admiring making comments of 'checking this out later' but the bar remained mostly unoccupied. About an hour passed and it seemed as though the entire village had decided to bring themselves into this bar, suddenly the doors behind the bar burst open and out stepped a strange little man. He turned and pointed at Takashi "You've been here almost all day, do me a favor and get behind the bar and start making drinks. Don't worry I'll pay you." Takashi looked puzzled for a moment, but like a light switch coming on he had an amazing plan. "Only if I get free drinks while I work on top of pay." Takashi smirked and waited for a moment. "Fine, just don't get drunk!" That's all it took, Takashi jumped over the bar and threw away his old bottle. He removed his jacket and tucked in his shirt, grabbing a black waist apron, tying it tight and hanging a rag from it. He walked over to the customers closest to the register, "Good Evening, what would you like to drink?" It was two young adults, probably about the same age as Takashi. "Rum, for both of us." The male talked over the sounds of the crowd as he pointed to the black bottle on the wall. Takashi grabbed the bottle and two glasses, his years of alcoholism made pouring two perfect shots without the measuring device a easy task. Quickly addressing and handing the drinks over, "I'll give you time to decide on your meal, excuse me while I tend to this other gentleman." As he turned from them facing the sink behind him, he reached into a small plastic container full of steaming water grasping a bottle of hot sake. Quickly pouring 3 shots and knocking them back, he turned and approached the older gentleman who had walked to the bar as he served the couple.

Takashi approached the elderly gentleman with a smile, "Good evening, what can I get you?" The man said not a word just simply gestured to the sake he had watched Takashi drink, with a smile he grabbed the bottle and walked over pouring a small cup of warm sake. Setting the bottle down after wrapping it in a hot rag, allowing the man to pour what he wanted from the bottle. Turning to check on the couple, Takashi saw as there was money on the counter and they themselves had left. He simply walked over taking the ryo and placing it into the cash drawer, signing off on the two drinks receipt and closing that meal. That's when the little man came from the back followed by a tall rather handsome blonder man in a suit, "Appreciate the help, here's your pay. Sanji finally showed up so you can go now, and here." He handed him a bit of ryo for the job and as they parted, Takashi was gifted a bottle of sake. He picked a seat by the elderly gentleman, beginning a conversation as the night carried on they shared their bottles of sake.

(601 WC)

Claiming: 1,000 Ryo | 5 AP | +6 Vigor | (600/1,500) Great Fireball Technique/B-Rank Version

The bar room hadn't changed a bit since last night, the bartender was here this time at the very least. Takashi walked up ordering his usual warm sake and a glass, that's when the door to the kitchen burst open as it had the night before revealing the same little odd man from before. "It's you!" he exclaimed as he pointed at Takashi, "Listen, you did pretty good last night. So how about you run security this time? Same pay and yes free drinks. Deal?" Takashi took another sip of the sake, setting his empty glass down before speaking. "You sir have a deal." he stood from the bar, grasping his sake bottle with his left hand and beginning to travel around the crowd listening and watching as carefully as he could.

Passing through the crowds he listened closely, there were a few little notions of arguments amongst patrons but nothing that couldn't be settled among friends. So Takashi continued on wading through the crowd listening for any signs of customers getting too rowdy or uncontrollable, finally he picked a nice corner booth with a good vantage point allowing him to observe the whole tavern. A few hours passed as he watched the crowd, Sanji sent him over his second bottle of sake for the night. With a grin he popped the cork and took a swig, that's when he heard it carry over the crowd "Oh yeah! Well catch this!" Shit! was all that ran through his mind as he quickly flicked the choko like a shuriken, it busted upon impact with the kunai luckily knocking it to the ground as he stopped running and was now standing between the two men. "Who the hell are you?" Takashi ignored him for a moment, taking note of his headband as he looked to the man who he had just saved. This man was an ordinary citizen of the village, "Go home sir. I'll handle this." Takashi watched as the man nodded and left the tavern, "I didn't say you could leave!" The shinobi drew his hands together displaying the seal of the tiger, Takashi grasped the seal with his left hand and landed a solid strike from his fist against the shinobi's jaw knocking him off his feet. With the drunkard knocked out cold and laying flat on his back, Takashi picked him off the floor carrying him from under the brutes arms towards the door. This man was much larger than Takashi, his feet dragging the floor behind as he made his way to the door eventually opening it and throwing him into the street.

Takashi made his way back inside, the crowd watched him for a moment as he slipped through and made his way back to the corner booth. Returning to his nice warm bottle of sake, pressing the opening to his lips as he lifted the bottle and quickly threw back a fast swig of the delicious rice wine. He sighed, 'That was close, that idiot was ready to kill the poor guy. Some people shouldn't drink.' By this point of the night Takashi's face had began to show a bit of red across his cheeks, he was feeling quite lively when the merriment of the night was once again interrupted by the sounds of a stool breaking could be heard. He jumped from his booth this time he had forgotten to set down his sake bottle, with it grasped between his index and middle fingers of his right hand swinging from the bottle neck Takashi arrived to see a man standing over another that was now laying in the debris of a broken stool. "What is going on?" Takashi barely finished his sentence as the second stool came flying towards his head, the newest assailant swung the stool as though he was a baseball player looking for a home run. Luckily he was able to duck quick enough to merely feel the wind as it came past him, "Okay, questions later then. Takashi used his left hand to flat palm the ground lifting himself from the floor and allowing him to swing his body around landing a kick to the assaulter in his lower right ribs, as he stumbled back Takashi would jump to his feet remembering the sake bottle in his right hand and take another swig finishing off the bottle.

The brute came charging towards Takashi with rage in his eyes as he pushed through the crowd, Takashi began to time his speed as the man came closer and closer until the timing was perfect. He quickly slams the sake bottle into the mans face using his own speedy impact to multiply the strength of the strike from Takashi, the force was enough to knock the man on to his back now holding his face over his eyes as blood seeped from his hands. "Damn you! I'll kill you for that!" The man yelled as he began climbing up to his feet. Takashi acted on the words, despite the obvious intoxication his entire demeanor changed with the threat of his life. His casual smirk erased and replaced with emotionless lips, his eyes narrowed with unwavering focus as he placed two forced strikes into his ribs and gut with as much force and precision as he could. Upon impact he turned using the force to project the opponent towards the door of the tavern, the impact sent the brutish fiend flying out the door and crashing in the street. Takashi simply turned and approached the bar, grabbing a new bottle of sake and taking his payment for the night. He never did like senseless fighting and that's all tonight had turned out to be.

Takashi stumbled his way back to the corner booth, the reason for his more clumsy movements coming from slight exertion and the slow increase in his drinking. Tonight was a reminder of why he avoided people most the time, he couldn't stand the senseless cause and effect of strangers meeting strangers. He slugged down about half a bottle of sake and with time began to fade away into the ever moving forward night.

(1,023 WC)

Claiming: 2,000 Ryo | +12 AP | +10 Vigor |  (1,500/1,500) Great Fireball Technique/B-Rank Version