The student is now....some what better

"So tell me, why are you back Soren, I know it's not to see little ol' me?"I rubbed my still sore nose, and I was still trying to figure out how the hell she hurt me. "The reason why WE are here is that some bastard betrayed our crew and ran off. We're on a manhunt, and we heard that he's back in the Drum Kingdom."

Shakky only noticed that I wasn't the only one in the bar and her eyes shone with recognition. "Well, are you going to introduce us?" Nodding, I gestured to Ace, "Shakky, this is Ace. Ace, this is Shakky, an omnipotent being who seems to hate my guts."

"It's good to me, you Ace. I apologize for having to sail with this idiot." Ace laughed, "He isn't that bad, but he did drag me into a haunted forest." I ignored Shakky's glare, suddenly very interested in my boots.

"I'll have to talk with him later, but let's get some food into the both of you." Ace's stomach growled, and he almost didn't seem to notice. Little did he know that the grim reaper was ready to claim his soul as Shakky hit us with her sky-high prices.

I sighed as Ace looked over at me pleadingly, "Don't worry, I'll spot you, but you'll owe me one." I was given a discount as I helped Shakky in the kitchen. Since I was cooking, I argued that I didn't need to pay, but she put her foot downlisting prices for the various ingredients and gas bills.

Not even the joy of cooking could fill my now empty wallet. I thought about making a seafood-themed dinner, but I decided that Ace had suffered enough. Setting down the plates in front of Ace and Shakky, I watched as they both ate.

Ace was almost done in half the amount of time as Shakky, and he was nearly in a food coma, "This is a lot better than that time you almost burned down my bar making toast." Bristling, I turned to face the angry woman, "That doesn't count. Rayleigh had been pelting me with stones all morning. I swear that some of them broke the sound barrier."

Ace's stool hit the floor as he jumped to his feet, "Rayleigh, you mean Silvers Rayleigh the dark king!" We both glanced over at Ace, who looked like he was searching for the nearest weapon, "Yeah, he's my teacher. Why do you look like you've seen a ghost?!"

Ace grabbed his bag and started walking towards the door, "You guys have been great, but I need to get going." Before Ace could reach for the door handle, the door opens, revealing Rayleigh in the doorway.

Rayleigh adjusted his glasses and squinted, "Ace, is that you?" Before Ace could respond, Rayleigh grabbed his ear, stretching it like rubber, "WHERE THE HELL HAVE YOU BEEN!!"

I winced as the sound reverberated through the bar, almost rupturing my eardrums. Ace, who had taken the attack's brunt, was foaming at the mouth and had lost consciousness. Dropping the son of his closest friend to the floor, Rayleigh turned to me, "Soren, could you please heal him? I don't want him to go deaf."

I nodded and rushed over to Ace, healing his eardrums. Before, I couldn't understand how Rayleigh could be a disciplinarian, but now I just wondered how seriously he took his job after that.

When Ace woke up, Rayleigh was right back on him, I could only catch snippets of the conversation, but it had something to do with gambling, coating a ship, and a fire.

By the time Rayleigh was done with Ace, the flame user looked like he had survived a war. I realized that Rayleigh had a visible blush on his cheeks and discovered the reason for his enraged state.

"So what brings you two back? I thought you had died when I saw you're new bounty in the paper," Rayleigh asked while looking into his empty bottle. I told Whitebeard the reason, and he frowned, "I hope you catch the backstabber. There is no place for people like him."

"We're glad you feel the same way as us, gramps." Ace said while trying to reach for a bottle himself, but Shakky knocked his hand away. Rayleigh sighed, "How long do you plan on staying?

I looked over at Ace, "Only a few days, we don't want to lose our trail." Ace nodded in agreement, "Then we can't take too long, can we." Rayleigh stood and stretched, "What do you mean. What can't take too long."

Holding out his arm, Rayleigh grabbed the sword Shakky tossed to him, "It's been a few years, so how about we have a friendly spar?" Ace and I looked at each other and shrugged, "Sure, why not."

Outside, Ace and I stood on one side while Rayleigh stood across from us. I looked at the environment and could remember each time I bled on the grass. "Don't you think this is just a little unfair, gramps? We're not the same kids you bullied all those years ago."

Smiling, Rayleigh covered his sword in Haki, "We'll see about that." Before I could even register what happened, Rayleigh was past us, holding out his sword like he was in a generic anime.

I could feel the blood tracing its way down my cheek, and I reached up to check. It was blood alright. Turning around, I drew my own sword. Sanguinem was shivering in anticipation, "Okay, then I guess we started."

Ace was ahead of me by one step as he shot towards Rayleigh. His body wreathed in flames. Meeting him halfway, Rayleigh grabbed Ace's punch and pulled him in. Aiming his other hand at the ground, Ace used his flames to shoot both of them into the air.

Jumping to join in I brought Sanguinem down on course to take Rayleigh's neck, blocking with his sword Rayleigh spun throwing Ace to the ground to face me head on.