[Izanagi]Something afoot with Rum

[Sia]

He traveled alone today. Well, almost. Shuichi took a few steps out onto the docks of Waterfall country and smiled, scanning the corners and checking around in his peripheral vision as he walked the streets in the early morning mists. His hand trailed the guard rail of wood and he wondered down the way with not a care. He wondered, really, just how bad it might be to get involved with some pirates, now that he had set foot outside of the country again. Far from Earth Country now, Shuichi looked down at his nails, curled up into the palm of his hand and scowled. "Ugh." He was here for a purpose, a mission, and with some conviction and a little willpower he stalked down the stairs of the boat and left it portside with a jump. He landed with a thick click of his boots and made a mental note of how precisely how loud they were and that he should work on that immediately. His hips dropped and he pivoted his feet and walked incredibly quietly after that as she strolled down the next dock. He saw many pirates here, some Black Wake on their way back and forth from a smugglers run. "I'll take some." He had said with a laugh. "Several crates, at least eight if you got them." He said with a completely straight face. "And I'll pay you a little more if I don't even have to lift a finger to move them." The offer was modest, and he would pay quite handsomely. He loved the method, really, it just...It worked so wondrously well for them.

You're a crazy one, Maido. Shuichi thought to himself though he had to admit that her suggestion to, "just ask and see what happens," worked much better than he originally thought. His ears twitched and his tail swatted about and the pirates said absolutely nothing of it to him but nodded and grinned. "Yeah but it's not all here we'll have to go get it," said the one of them. "Eight is a tall order," said another pirate. "I can pay in coin or spice." Shuichi said with a shrug. That got their attention immediately, he noticed, and he said. "Tell your boss Maido wants to parley." As he spoke his eyes had turned bright red and glowed a vapor aura of blood that exuded from his eyes. His voice had changed too, turning feminine and beautiful. "Stop that." Shuichi's regular voice said out loud to which Maido's chakra resonated within him and her voice emanated out from his core instead of from his face hole. "Fine whatever, crybaby." She said in her soft and tinder tone. The pirates exchanged glances and laughed a little. "Well...that's a good one." The one of them said. A few other pirates had walked up on the nearest ship now, having moved from starboard to port and noticed Shuichi interacting with the two pirates on the dock.

"Hmm." One of the older pirates on the boat had said to the rest. "What's going on I wonder?" They nudged Ichiro.

[Izanagi]

Another successful voyage home. It had been strange at first sailing the Northern seas after spending so much time down south along Shrimp Continent and the Isle of Serpents. One had to be much more careful when raiding ships that flew banners of any of the great nations or their allies. But there was always opportunity hitting the myriad of merchant vessels that sailed for Whirlpool country or Steam. They were both central and international trading hubs. If one was careful to avoid patrol vessels and didn’t get too greedy there were always a few choice ships to hit. But so too did it help to have a large fleet at his disposal and a handful of ships that could front as legitimate merchant vessels. Kaisui had stayed south with the Flagship of the Black Wake, the Owashi. This left Ichiro as captain of his own vessel, the Ahoudori, another brig. She was a fine ship, 16 cannons, and a crew of 63. Sporting white sails and a golden-colored albatross as the figurehead, she passed as a merchant vessel and was well-seasoned for smuggling.

On the occasions that they did raise a black flag, they didn’t leave any survivors to tell of the deception. Not unless they joined the Black Wake at least. Fortunately, they didn’t have to send too many souls to the deep on this run, only a pair of Wind country schooners scuttled, procuring a haul of silks and various spices. Most had already been bartered off for provisions: food, weapons, rum and wine before returning to Waterfall Country. Though naturally Ichiro always had a few choice treasures tucked away and some exotic goods to sell to his countrymen. Barrells of wine and crates of rum as well as various bags of spices and dried and salted foods were being unloaded as Ichiro looked out from the deck of his ship.

It wasn’t long before his attention was brought to a developing scenario on the docks. A man he didn’t recognize was talking to his men and periodically looking back at the Ahoudori. He had the look of a trader, it wasn’t uncommon for such individuals to gather at the port city of Kawakita, typically from earth country but every now and then those from Tree or Lightning or further still would make a stop by. Waterfall country after all was known for its exotic animals and medicinal ingredients and many came looking to get their hands on such rare creatures. It wasn’t often Ichiro dealt in trade of live animals, but he was a resourceful man and whatever a buyer was looking for he tended to find a way to get his hands on it. “10 Ryo says he’s after a Big Mama” the man who nudged him wagered. It was typically a safe bet, and he had the look of an exotic’s trader. But something in his gut told Ichiro there was more to it than that. “I wonder…I think there might be more to it than that” he considered, stroking his bearded chin thoughtfully as he looked the man over in greater detail. He noticed the Iwagakure insignia after a few moments and naturally steeled himself for the possibility that this man might be a slave trader. Whatever the case, he wouldn’t get any answers by simply observing.

Leaping onto the dock below, Ichiro was informed of the request to buy crates of rum and the request for a parlay. The captain huffed in amusement, was that really all it was? Though it was a cruel thing to buy out a crew of pirates of the lion’s share of their rum supply. That simply wouldn’t do. Wearing a navy bue tricorn hat, a long blue jacket and loose-fitting grey pants, Ichiro kept his wakizashi and tanto at his hip. His icy blue eyes contrasted sharply against his messy black hair and mid-length beard. A man of nearly 30, he was handsome and composed. Trained in the samurai arts and those of the shinobi he had made a name for himself as a merchant and as a pirate. But in other circles, he was known as a scholar and a healer. In fact, with such a common first name many would never know the other hats he wore and that was just the way he preferred it. Approaching the lion-like man, Ichiro cocked his head slightly as he looked the man over once again. “8 crates. You’re a thirsty man, getting tired of sake and vodka? I suppose you don’t get much rum in Iwagakure, do you?” he raised an eyebrow. It was hard to believe Iwa would send a shinobi on a liquor run, but perhaps this was a more personal matter. Whatever the case, Ichiro couldn’t think of any reason Iwagakure would have ill will towards their activities, if anything they were quite the thorn in the side of Iwa’s enemies so it seemed reasonable to assume the intent was genuine. But that name that had been dropped had to have been a mistake. Just what was this guy playing at claiming they were Maido, or at least an associate of hers. That was a name well known and feared by all pirates, one of the most fearsome of Kirigakure’s shinobi and the most known for slaughtering their brethren on a whim.