[center][i]"An' so e'haaanged..."[/i][/center]

[indent]It wasn't a merry song that played when they entered the tavern. Far from it, in fact. T'was the Ballad of Ivan Williams, a slightly less-common but still well-known tavern song reciting the ill-fortune of a man named Ivan Williams. To anyone that knows the history of the tune, Ivan Williams wasn't a pirate at all. He was shanghai'd and forced to row oars on a smaller ship. He was a tiler before that, so he knew nothing of the open sea. The song has plenty of variations and verses explaining why he took to the sea, and in some he even becomes a pirate, but for the most part Ivan is a sailor of misfortune that is ultimately framed for the crimes of another pirate wanting to escape his life on the seas with his treasure. It was an odd song to play in an tavern trying to be merry, and it made the atmosphere lousy for drinking and being rowdy, but that sure as Hell didn't stop people from trying.[/indent]

[indent][i]"...From an Ivan rope... 
...thick of hemp...
...but held no hope...

...So drink, me 'earties,..
For Sir Ivan the Bold!

Youse see:

He hung for our sins...
...and gave us the gold!

Put a'round on'm, old Ivan of the sea...
For the beggars an' sailors, an' even the thieves...
For tomorrow we sail, black flags up high!
A scoundrel's life, we know
For williams, you see, we're pii-iiigh.. rates!
The lowest of the lowww...."[/i][/indent]

While this less-than-merry tune was playing, Shouta was sitting in front of the stage with two large whiskey bottles beside him, and a tall glass full of ice that he refilled when he finished his drink. Shouta wasn't exactly happy about slaughtering half a crew or making a scene; he was even well-aware that there was a chance several people would be after him tonight, for whatever reason. Revenge. Irritation. Or, maybe someone knowing his reputation. In any case, he wanted to be drunk if he was going to meet more people, and he was doing a fine job of it. Singing off key with the otherwise-talented bards of the tavern, Shouta wasn't causing as much of a distraction as much as he was just acting like your regular tavern drunk. There was a significant chance no one in the tavern even knew what he did or what he just announced not terribly long beforehand. For all intents and purposes, Shouta blended right in with a room full of drunks.