I just need more episodes to work with + lots of ppl have been asking for this. I read the manga but I kind of want to stay on the same page as the anime. So here's Ace
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I stood behind the bar, smiling at the woman in front of me as I cleaned out a glass. "So, when would you like the knife to be done?" I asked her, placing the glass down with the others behind me.
"I will need it at least in 2 weeks, I don't like using my neighbor's so much," she replied and opened her purse. "How much will something like that be?"
"For you? Maybe seven thousand berry(like 50 bucks)," I answered.
She shook her head and pulled out fourteen thousand berry, placing it in front of me. "That's much too little for your hard work, (y/n)! You get everyone's orders out so fast! You shouldn't be giving discounts left and right," she scolded me.
"She's right! You need to start charging more!" Boss said from the left of me, patting my shoulder.
"You raised her too humble, Terry!" the woman turned her scolding to the Boss. He gasped in shock.
I took half of the money and scooted the rest back to the woman. "No, I really don't. Plus, I do it because I enjoy it. I don't survive from it," I huffed.
"Nonsense! I'm leaving this money here! I'll be back in two weeks!" she called over her shoulder, rushing out of the bar.
I pinched the bridge of my nose and sighed, "Why does this keep happening?"
Boss laughed and patted my back, grabbing the money with his other hand, "Because your skill isn't something to sneeze at, (y/n)! Even the Navy men who pass through here get weapons from you! You're getting famous for it on the island." He stuffed the money into my hand.
"Yea right, I'm just the only blacksmith here," I responded with a shake of my head.
"Stop selling yourself short! Now, I'm going to help the chefs in the back, you stay up front," he told me.
"Shouldn't I do that?" I questioned, watching him walk to the door to the kitchen.
He waved his hand, "No, no! You've gotta market your side hustle. Plus, you can handle yourself better out here than I could if any pirates make trouble."
I nodded, "Very true. Go on ahead then."
As if on cue, a rough looking bunch walked through the doors of the building. They looked like your average pirates. They made sure to glare at everyone they could as they walked up to the bar. They sat down at the stools and one in particular smiled at me. Looks like he's in charge of the group. I kept my face from scrunching in disgust.
"Hello, pretty lady. Give us a round of beer," he ordered. He reached to his belt and grabbed a small bag, setting it onto the counter. The sound of gold coins.
I smiled politely at that sound. "My pleasure," I responded, moving to grab the tankards. As long as they don't do anything to wreck the place or get people to leave the bar, I will do nothing to them. I gave them all their drinks quickly.
The next few hours felt like an eternity. It was filled with annoying jokes, obnoxious loudness, and stupid attempts to flirt with me every time I'd come around their side of the bar. Nonetheless, they were paying as the hours dragged on and the drinks got refilled, so I can't be too hasty with wanting to kick them out.
When it was nearing the middle of the night, a man walked in. I don't know why I took notice of him so quickly. I see a lot of strange characters enter the bar, so it wasn't as if his open button up shirt and black shorts should have had me surprised. I'll admit, he was attractive, but that's not the reason either.
He sat at one of the bar stools. I walked over to him and smiled, "Hi, sir. Anything I can get you?"
He smiled and nodded at me, "Yea, I'll take whatever food you suggest and something to drink."
"Sure thing," I responded, turning back to the kitchen window. "Oi! Got an order of fried rice!" I yelled to the kitchen staff. I got a yell of confirmation back from them. That's pretty much my favorite thing to eat here.
I got him a glass of water since I didn't know if he wanted to drink alcohol or not. He gave me a nod of thanks. With a closer look at him, it seems that he's got freckles. And once again, I'd just like to say, he's attractive.
"ANOTHER ROUND!" the rowdy pirate crew shouted from the other side of the bar.
"Yea, yea!" I called to them flippantly. With a swift motion, I grabbed all of their tankards and walked over to the beer tap. It was fairly easy to hold all of the tankards on a large platter, even as I filled them. Thankfully, they're not a big group, or else I'd have trouble with balancing this thing.
While I was filling up the cups, I glanced up. The freckles guy was staring at me. I raised a brow. He smiled, saying, "Don't mind me. Just looking at the... cups behind you." I huffed in amusement and walked back to the pirates.
The next 20 minutes were filled with me doing my normal job, handing out food to the tables away from the bar. It just so happened that every time my gaze would pass over Freckles, I'd make eye contact with him, which he'd break by playing it off somehow. What a strange guy.
What's even stranger is the feeling I'm getting from him. I feel like I've seen him somewhere before. Like he's some kind of important figure. Somewhere... He can't be a powerful marine, right? Those pompous assholes always have to make sure they've got some part of their uniform on them.
"FRIED RICE!"
I made my way back behind the bar to grab the plate of food, bringing it to Freckles. "Here's your food, sir," I said, putting his plate down in front of him.
"Thanks," he replied, immediately stuffing the food in his mouth.
I don't think I've ever seen anyone consume food this fast. With a quick look around the place, I think I've checked up on everyone. Now that everything was pretty much taken care of, I opened the door to the kitchen and peeked inside. "How's it going in here, Boss?" I asked. He was cutting up vegetables with a couple chefs.
"I'm great! Is that pirate group still here?" he questioned.
I nodded, "Yeeeaaaa. It's almost closing time, though, so I may have to kick them out soon."
"Feel free!" Boss chimed. I gave him a thumbs up and turned back to the restaurant. Immediately, I saw Freckles face first in the plate of fried rice.
I stared at him a moment. He's not moving at all. I was so fixated on him that a scream involuntarily left my mouth when Freckles sprung up from his slumped sleeping position. Bits of rice and shrimp were stuck to his face. "Ah... I fell asleep," he grumbled.
"...You fell asleep? In your food?" I tried to clarify.
He grabbed the shrimp off his cheek and ate it. "I do that from time to time," he shrugged it off.
I sweatdropped, "Just at random? Have you gotten that checked?"
"It's fine," he waved it off again, taking big spoonfuls of rice into his mouth.
"Uh... right..." I trailed off. "Well... Do you like the food?"
He finished the food in his mouth and nodded, "Yea, it's great! You've got great taste. I might come back here for the rest of my stay on the islan-"
A hand on his shoulder made him stop talking. "Sorry to interrupt, but little miss here needs to fill up our next round. Don't be taking up her time like this, friend," the main pirate from the other group told Freckles, a false kindness in his tone.
"You could have just yelled it out again," I told him. "Go back to your seat, I'll get your drinks right now."
The man smirked, "And who are you to be telling me where to go? Your job is to look pretty and give me what I ask, so stick to that." My fists clenched. Control yourself. He's just a talking shitstain.
Freckles grabbed the man's hand, which was still on him, and threw it from his shoulder. "Hey, I don't know what your problem is, bu-" he fell asleep in the middle of his sentence.
"Even in the middle of conversation...?" I mumbled, looking at Freckles' sleeping face, which had lulled to the side from him being unconscious.
"Is this guy messing with me?!" the guy questioned. His face twisted in anger.
"Hey, hey, let's calm down. I think he's got some kind of condition," I tried to defuse the situation while leaning over the bar to grab Freckles' arm, bringing his slowly slumping body away from the pirate behind him. When he was collapsed against the bar, I let go of him.
The guy made a noise of irritation. "Don't make excuses for your little boyfriend," he grunted. He then turned his attention back to the sleeping man. He pulled out a sword and hit Freckles' back with the hilt. My eye twitched. "Wake up!"
Freckles woke up with a start, once again, and looked back at the man. "Oh. What is it?" he asked. My irritation faded and I almost laughed.
"Get up! You disrespectful little shit!" the man demanded.
Freckles smirked, standing up. "What did you say?" he taunted, leaning his back on the bar.
The rest of the guy's little crew went sauntering up behind the leader, pulling out their weapons. This was followed by a few people clattering out the entrance in fear of a destructive fight. That's my cue.
I jumped over the bar, landing between Freckles and Leader Guy. "Listen guys, I'd like you to know that fighting in this building isn't tolera-" Leader Guy grabbed my shoulder and attempted to throw me to the side.
Freckles reached a hand out to stop this, saying, "Oi! Leave her o-"
My fist already made contact with the leader's face, successfully breaking his nose and sending him flying out of the entrance. The few pirates behind him charged at me, but I easily slammed two of their heads together. My hands gripped their skulls, using them as weapons to hit the three people left. When they were all passed out, I threw them out of the bar.
"Impulsive shitheads," I grunted, watching the doors to the entrance swing violently on their hinges due to my actions.
"I didn't really expect that," Freckles said behind me.
I turned my head to him. His eyes were wide, and he was staring at the entrance as well. "Thanks, I strive to be unpredictable," I mused, walking back to the bar. Their sack of money was still on the table. I took a look through it. Yea, more than enough for the shit I had to deal with tonight. Freckles began walking back to his seat after a second more. "Looks like your food is on them, Freckles," I told him, smiling while swinging the sack of gold by its tie.
"Freckles?" he repeated, picking up his spoon and smiling at me.
"Right, I mean sir," I corrected. "My bad."
He shook his head and chuckled, "No, I think I like it." He shoveled the rest of his rice into his mouth and looked around the restaurant. "Guessing by the lack of people in here, it's about time you closed up, huh?"
I nodded, "Sure is. Now that you've finished your food, you're free to go."
"Is that the polite way of saying you're kicking me out?" he asked.
"Correct again," I confirmed. "Begone."
He got up. "I'll come see you again, Bar Girl. Maybe we can exchange some real names next time," he proposed, turning around and walking out of the entrance.
I stared at the doors a second longer after he was out of sight. A hand on my shoulder made me jump. "I do not approve of him," Boss stated firmly.
My face flared and I slapped his hand, "Don't joke about that!"
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And so it begins. This is kind of like a flashback deal, so this is all in the past and has actually happened.