In a Bar: Looking for Adventure

At the South Blue, Ranei was simply wiping the glasses with a clean cloth as he looks at everyone in the night time. Thugs were everywhere, drunk people messing around. Ranei moved his head down as a rum bottle was thrown at him. It shattered into hundreds of fragments once in contact, raining down on the calm bartender. Getting up, Ranei looked at the person who threw it and simply glared at them. "These guys are idiots...I don't know what to do with them..." Ranei thought at the funny drunk, laughing around in a really weird and awkward dance.

Looking to the left, the bartender looks at the bounty list. "Feh...just 500,000 beri bounty today? ...I was hoping for some more..." Ranei thought at the huge tacked wall full of papers posted up by the Marines. Ranei then takes one, and wavers his head to the right to avoid another rum bottle thrown at him. "This guy? A sword...tends to be a swordmaster. We want him dead or alive, bring him to the Marines HQ, no exception." Ranei scoffs as he reads it and goes back to the table and continues to clean the glass. Another rum bottle was thrown at him, and the bartender catches this time. He then pulls out his black and gold gun, and points it at the rum bottle, and shoots a revolver bullet immediately. The huge chaotic area immediately stops and was dead silent, all staring at Ranei. "Throwing rum bottles ISN'T a great idea, it's wasting new glass. Next who throw it, I'll make sure that you'll clean up this whole bar..." The bartender announces. Everyone stares at him for a second, shrugs it off, and returns to their normal business.

Phinneas Edwards wandered the streets of the small village, looking for some action. He'd been cooped up in that kitchen too long and his half-sister and captain was driving him up the wall. Why his father chose her to be captain, rather than him, he'd never know. Just thinking about it made him angry. Sliding his black bandana off of his head, he wiped the persperation from his brow. Although it was a fair temperature outside, the heat of the kitchen stove seemed to follow him everywhere he went. Shoving the cloth in his pocket, he ran a hand through his light brown hair and sighed. Mid-sigh, he jumped at the sound of a gunshot not too far off. Grumbling darkly he ran his hand down the back of hi neck and followed the sound.

"I need a drink." he muttered. To his surprise and relief, the source of the gunshot was a bar. Tromping in, he surveyed his new surroundings. Happy drunks, sang loudly and off key, cheering on one who danced around in a rediculous fashion. Snorting, he made his way to the bar, avoiding broken glass and people who had seemed to have had a bit too much alcohol for their stomachs to handle. Pulling up a stool, he rested heavily on the counter top.

"Lively place you got here." he quipped sarcastically, "I'll take a pint of whiskey."

Ranei looks at him and shrugs. "Coming..." Ranei mutters and goes to the beverages behind him. Quickly grabbing a whiskey bottle, he pours it down on the clean glass that he just wiped with. Ranei then places it on the table and softly shoves it at the new customer, aligning it with him very perfectly.

Ranei then quickly draws his revolver once again, and shoots out a bullet. It went through the new customer's hair and shoots it at an empty rum bottle that was thrown at their direction. Ranei quickly jumps out through the table, and went to the source of the throw. Immediately, Ranei uses his revolver and hits it on the back neck of the drunk person. Instantly, he lost consciousness.

"Anymore?" He asked as he reloads his gun and puts in six new bullets into his gun. Half of the people left as their response, the rest peacefully sits on the table, playing cards. Ranei drags the unconsciousness person into the back of the table and drops him. "You want anything else?" Ranei asks as he leans on the table.

Other than a slight flinch, Phinneas looked completely unfazed by the small scuffle. It wasn’t the first time something like that had happened. Oh not at all. Usually, it was worse and it was he, himself disposing of the annoying drunkards. This guy seemed to have it all under control though. Downing the last of his pint, he shook his head.

“I’d better not. I’ve got to be back on the ship in one piece by the crack of dawn.” He muttered, musing darkly to himself. Shifting his weight into a more relaxed position, he sighed, “Must be great. Well, owning a business here I mean. You stick in one place and never have to worry about sudden climate changes. No seasickness, no bloody marines tailing you all the time.” He rambled a bit, not really sure if he was trying to talk to the man, or just talking to hear himself speak.

Fingering the rim of the glass he sighed deeply, staring into the grain of the wood of the countertop, “A pirate’s life for me, my arse.” He grumbled.

"Well, this isn't my place..." Ranei says as the man on the floor next to him started to wake up. Ranei steps on his face, and the man loses consciousness again. "First of all, I'm hired into here. Second of all, this place is ALWAYS a mess after it closes. Third, because of the chaos that erupts and my own stupid laziness that's around here, I get my pay cut." Ranei quickly talks as he grabs his glass and starts to clean it.

"So...a pirate, aren't you...well, how ironic, I happen to be a bounty hunter..." Ranei mutters. "Don't worry, I won't turn you since I'm pretty bored of this life...I need more adventure..." Ranei then sighs as he stores in the glass. "Well, if you excuse me..." Ranei then walks outside and another bartender comes in. Ranei then whispers to him. The bartender nods and once Ranei walks out, he groans and starts swearing at the uproar that might happen soon.

------

Pirates... Ranei thought. It was full of adventure indeed, but, he definitely didn't want to go against the Marines, or even worse, the World Government. Ranei walks towards the back of the bar and looks at a paper target in front of him. The word pirates echoes through his head. Ranei gets out his Project Revolver and points at the target.

Phinneas sighed as Ranei left and slapped his payment down on the counter. Making his way back outside, he breathed in the fresh air. That should’ve been enough of a break for him. Who was he kidding? The sea was the only thing he knew. There was no way he could settle down like Marina did. For him, the only thing that seemed to be missing was power. He wanted to be recognized as the son of a notorious pirate, he wanted to terror to be struck into the hearts of Marines that heard his name. No, instead his half-sister got all the glory.

Chuckling at his own expense, he even felt stupid that a starving, local bounty hunter didn’t even want to bother with him. Most would say that wasn’t really a bad thing, but it hurt his pride. Pirate… do I even deserve that title? Am I really a pirate? Or just a remnant... He thought to himself. He made it a point to walk to the Ethereal as slowly as he could

BANG! A gunshot was heard as Phinneas was walking past the back of the bar. More gunshots were even heard as two more bullets had shot.

----

Ranei looked at the target while his Project Buster was smoking from the barrel. He looked at the target and all three shots hits the bull eyes, all on the same black dot in different places.

Ranei stares at the target, looking back at his past, having a flashback of himself with the assassin. "AAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHH!" Ranei shouts as he rams through the door and shoots out his pistol at the assassin. The effect was immediate, once Ranei pulled the trigger, the recoil of the gunshot hits him back and Ranei falls into the ground. The bullet hits the vase and it explodes to many tiny little fragments.

The assassin, not even reacting of the shot, goes towards Ranei and steps on him, moving his shoe around. "You idiot...when you shoot a gun, NEVER shoot for the head. Even though it's fatal, you can always miss. Always aim for the heart! If even if you do miss, chances are, you can end up hitting other important and vital organs." He explains.

Ranei, groaning in pain, glares at the assassin. "I'm going to kill you..." Ranei mutters. The assassin adds more pressure into his feet. "If you want to kill me, then stand up and do better!"

Ranei, now pointing his Project Buster at the target, glaring menacingly at it. Then pulls his hand on the trigger.

BANG! The small and young Ranei then puts down his gun and was excited to see that he finally hits the target. Although, it was way off the target itself, Ranei was still pleased. "Hey...I got it!" The assassin, still not impressed, just replies in his unchanged expression.

"All you got is a lot of things to learn, kid. Here's a better shot..." The assassin then pulls out his gun and shoots three fast bullets from his pistol. All the bullets hits the black target in the form of a triangle, so perfectly aligned. "Pull yourself together, stupid. You need to put all your strength in your shoulders...take a breath..."

Ranei takes in a breath, looking at his current target.

"And SHOOT!"

At the word of "Shoot" in his mind, he immediately pulls his trigger of his Project Buster and shoots the target with one loud gunshot. It was a clean shot, the bullet was dead center of the bullseyes, even hitting the middle of his three shots before. Ranei sighs as he reloads his gun of the four bullets and puts it away.