[Episode] Romeo, Where for art thou Romeo?

Summary:

The waves around Loguetown were quiet and helped push the small sailboat closer to the town. The morning sun was welcoming to the awakening teenager as he rose out of the boat getting close to the island. Kyaime looked at the island, slightly disappointed. "I thought this was the right island...Well. I probably should get some food anyway..." He thought aloud as his stomach began to rumble. The island in front of him had a multitude of people on the docks. After securing his boat and getting off, he made his way to find and let the dock warden know he parked. He felt like he needed to be a little more responsible after the way he left the last island.

Stumbling through the docks on his land legs, he felt that the city held a similar feeling to his hometown. It was like he walked back in time to Loguetown, the only thing for sure was that he was different. He walked through the streets, enjoying the morning air and the number of people shopping around the town. Since he made the stop, he decided to make a list of things to do. The first was to find something to eat. The second was to find out any more information about the Captain he was chasing. That was about it for his list, Kyaime's attention span was fairly short due to his distraction caused by hunger.

Wafting towards Kyaime was the smell of some delicious food. It was almost cartoonish the way it wafted over and baited him to follow. Like a moth to a flame, he quickly followed. The aroma was one that reminded him of baking with his parents. The smell of strawberries and fresh bread was what he was picking out. That was just the dessert that he could tell. There was a breaded main course that he could smell as well, but he couldn't discover it just by the smell from this distance. Was it Tonkatsu? Karaage? Tempura? No matter what it was, he was going to pay through the roof for some.

Entering the building that emanated the smell, Kyaime watched as a boy a little bit older than him cooked through a small window. He had blue spikey hair and seemed to only have a jacket on his top half, no shirt underneath with an apron over his jacket. It was open to reveal a scar in an X on his chest. He turned and said, "Welcome in!" Kyaime quickly walked up to the window, bypassing the actual place to order, and just yelled to the chef, "I'll have extra of whatever you're making! Pleaseeeee" As the chef laughed, he pointed to a seat and said, "Orders up."

Happily sitting down, he sighed in relief as he knew he would be getting food. He was quickly able to solve the first part of his list, now it was a matter of time to get his second part done. The true problem was going to be finding out who would know anything about that Captain. Would he need to go look at a bounty board and find a picture of the pirate? There was bound to be a better way to find out than just that. As he sat impatiently waiting for his food, he started to actively eavesdrop on the conversations in the shop to see if he could catch anyone talking about anything that would interest him, or at least be of some use to him. He overheard two lovers arguing about needing to get to a safer town. At the next table was a group of adults talking about how good their meal was, which just made his impatience worse. At the third table, he overheard a well-dressed man talking about a pirate that owed him a lot of money. It immediately caught Kyaime's attention. He looked over at them to ensure that he would remember who they were, but as it happened he watched his food come out to his table and got too distracted. The breaded meal was a Tonkatsu Curry that had freshly made strawberry bread on a second plate and a bowl of rice. "Itadikimasu!" He exclaimed as he began to eat.


WC

704 / 704  /  5000

It had been a few months since Max arrived in Loguetown, his pockets filled with trinkets and his two trusty pistols. The boy had dreamed of adventure long before he had ever set foot on the harbour. He had dreamed of exotic islands and even more exotic people, but had found himself quite disillusioned at the sight of Loguetown. Some of the cities’ buildings were derelict and the Marine base had been fully destroyed. The pirates’ coup d’état had been successful, as not a single marine could be spotted on the island.

Max tried to keep to himself as much as possible, he had found the town to be a lot less hospitable than he’d expected when he’d first arrived. He stuck to the back alleys whenever possible and kept a low profile.
Today was no different than yesterday. The midday sun illuminated the harbor town, as gulls mewed overhead, circling over the fishing boats that came back with today’s catch. Max was leaning against a wall in an alley that gave out onto the harbor. The perfect spot to see which ships were docking without being spotted.

The boy had been planning his departure from the island for weeks. After arriving, he had quickly found himself stuck, with no acquaintances or a boat of his own.  

Max stepped out from the alleyway, into the sunlight. His coat wrapped around his waist, the young man sported a short-sleeved white tee and his signature black yoga pants, his pistols hidden from sight in the pockets of his pants.

Max had been offering his services to any ship captain that had docked into port, in exchange for passage to the next island, but no one seemingly had use for an adolescent kid without sea legs.

Today had been a disappointing day. No new ships had arrived at port, except for a small one-person ship, seemingly owned by a boy not much older than him. Seeing as the chances of Max getting a free ride on that ship were slim, he had decided not to give it any attention and turned his attention to getting some food. Shortly after arriving, he had found an Onigiri stand right off the main street that was actually pretty cheap and thus he had survived for the last few weeks on Onigiri alone.

“Ah, our great adventurer returns. Your usual?” A voice sounded out from the small stall as Max approached. Barely reaching over the counter was a man, at least ninety years old. “Onigiri-senpai!” Max exclaimed happily. The owner of the stand had been one of the only people Max had gotten to know during his time at Loguetown. “Two Yaki-onigiri, please!”

The old man clearly knew his craft. He cooked the rice balls over an open flame until the exterior became crispy, the smell of Onigiri filling the cramped alleyway. He then used chopsticks to dip the onigiri in savory Miso Butter. The fragrance, meanwhile, had filled the entire alleyway and Max’s nostrils, as the boy craved a bite.

Only a few minutes had passed, before the old man shoved a small bag into Max’s hands. “Today’s on me, boy. Try not to get into too much trouble”.

With dumplings in hand and after thanking the senior one too many times, he made his way back to the port, sitting down at the water’s edge to enjoy his food and the scenery.

A few more moments of bliss before the boy had to get to work.

After finishing the Onigiri and gazing out over the endless ocean for another moment, the boy stretched his arms over his head and got up. Normally, around this time, he would make his way to the main street, where most of Loguetown’s inhabitants came together and hoped to find easy targets to pickpocket. Today was different though, today the boy had an appointment.

Max had been approached a few days ago whilst going about his usual business. Moments after he stole a few coins from another passed-out, drunk pirate, the boy was approached by a tall, broad-shouldered fellow. He’d introduced himself a Tybalt Cappo, recruiter for the Cappo family.

The Cappo family, apparently an influential family in Loguetown had need for someone quick and quiet and he’d been asked to come to their mansion for what he thought was a ‘job interview’. As he got closer and closer to the appointed place, Max got the feeling that this wouldn’t be a normal job interview. He saw guards posted at all entrances to the mansion and patrols in the nearby streets.

Wanting to look a bit more intimidating, Max put his coat back on and quickly put his pistols back into his coat pockets. He didn’t feel at ease, but felt like he didn’t have much to lose at this point.

He cleared his throat and approached the guards posted at the main gate. “My name’s Maximillian Beckham. They’re expecting me.”

WC

821 / 821  /  5000

Kyaime kept his face in his meal, the mouthwatering food keeping his attention as he tried to keep his ears open to noise around him. The meal was distracting enough that he wasn't wanting to take his eyes off the food. As he took a bite of the Tonkatsu, he listened half-heartedly to the conversation going on at the third table.


"The stupid kid owes me a..."

"I know, but we need to figure out a way to get back at them..."

"We need someone who the Cappo family doesn't know..."

"We need the family to come up with a better plan..."

Hearing those parts of the conversation, Kyaime felt he knew that he could offer himself. He needed work anyway, supplies weren't going to buy themselves. It would be knocking two birds out with one stone. As he got close to finishing his food, he noticed one of the fancier dressed individuals, who looked in his mid-fifties, go and talk through the kitchen window.  "Are you done playing Chef? We have to go, Mercury. I need to figure out our next step."

"One sec, I can't leave this on the pot. I need to plate it." The blue haired man said, confusing Kyaime. That is when he noticed the resemblance between the two, they must be from the same family. Their cheek bones looked the same, the way they stood was similar, and the way they spoke to each other. Kyaime instantly realized the two were father and son. With a smirk, he finished his meal. He knew it wasn't the smartest thing to do, but he went and quickly paid, he needed to get ahead of them so he could offer his services. He felt something was off, but couldn't quite put his finger on it.

Walking outside, he waited about four minutes while leaning against the side of the building. He kept thinking over what he would say, he couldn't just throw out his name and hope he got some information. He would need to offer them information that would make him useful, something that would change how they viewed him and see him as an asset compared to some weird stranger on the street asking for  a job. Kyaime couldn't figure out a good way to approach them without just saying that he was eavesdropping. Maybe being honest was the best answer, Kyaime wanted to continue to think about what to do as he heard the ring from the door. The older man and the younger man with the blue hair walked out. Kyaime immediately without hesitation knew his way in.

"Hey, my name is Kyaime. I just wanted to say thank you for the meal and give my compliments to the chef." He said, interrupting their conversation and injecting himself as the focal point.

WC

469 / 1173 / 5000