"YO HO HO HO … YO HO HO HO!"

The Boy Joy Bar's east-facing balcony offered a dazzling view of the city lights.

Swiss company sat out here enjoying their drinks.

Meanwhile, Swiss danced on a table inside, pirates merry all around him.

They were a drunken choir singing Binks Sake.

Alcohol sloshed everywhere as they sloppily danced away with cups filled to the brim.

"Is he always this lively? His presence alone has quadrupled my sales." Yoko asked the crew, her head resting in her hand as she leaned on the table, observing Swiss.

"Haha, have you ever heard of choreomania, Yoko-san?" Jinzo replied.

"Oreo-what-now?"

"Long ago, there existed a small but culturally advanced kingdom. It was a theocracy. The citizens were very conserved and took religion incredibly seriously. They believed in the nucleus family headed by a patriarch."

"Boringgg. Where do topless women head the societies?!" Raito lamented.

"I'm sure we'll find it. The sea is a big place." Grit assured him.

Jinzo ignored them, "Women had barely any say, children none at all. They were such temperate people that something like whistling was frowned upon."

"Obviously, all this restriction of freedom was a total power grab by the aristocracy. A ploy to control the masses, if you will. Children were even encouraged to inform the state if their parents sang in their household."

After a few cups of sake, Raito felt a healthy glow, "Imagine growing up without music? Poor kids.."

"Mmm," agreed Jinzo, "But everything changed when 'that man' arrived."

Yoko liked where this was going, "That man?"

"No one knows who he was or where he came from, only what he did."

"One day, a sailor visiting the country was in the town square when the church bells rang. He thought the bells sounded so beautiful that he began to dance."

"The citizens looked on in horror. 'Does he not know our laws?' they would murmur. Being associated with this man would mean death. And yet… They could not take their eyes off the man. They watched until something magical happened. Their bodies began to dance on their own!"

"This caused a chain reaction. Spreading like a virus, people began to dance! The capital was home to a thousand churches. One thousand church bells rang endlessly for months on end. All the while, the people kept dancing. They couldn't stop."

"They danced themselves to death, and the kingdom became no more. Scientists are still baffled to this day, trying to explain what happened. One of the leading theories is that a disease manifested, resulting in a thing called 'choreomania'. Though such an event has never happened since, and there is still debate as to whether this happened in the first place."

"Wow.." Raito mused over the story before glancing back at Swiss, "Maybe the disease is still out there?"

"We should terminate patient zero while we have the chance.." Grit half-joked.

"Hmmm…" Yoko thought about her father, "I don't think that would make a difference. Someone else will just come along and inherit its will."

"Inheriting the will of madness?" asked Grit, before looking at Swiss and sighing, "Ha.. You might have a point."

"Hehe.." Jinzo's mind was as sharp as ever, "I've heard Swiss mention some stuff about inherited will before. Now that I think about it, Yoko-san.. Weren't you the one who gifted him his new coat and log pose? What do you both know that we don't?"

Yoko leaned back in her chair and looked at Jinzo inquisitively, "Hmm, I'm not sure. I can't speak for Swiss, but my father always had a serene quality about him. A smile as wide as the world and a laugh that could liberate even the coldest of hearts."

"He had such vitality; the patrons loved him. Business was booming when he was around. But then he got sick, and his health slowly declined super horribly. I had to watch as his body failed him. It was terrible. And yet, even on his death bed, that laugh… that smile… it never changed."

"I asked, 'why father? Why do you smile when you're about to die and leave me all alone?'.. He replied, 'Oh Yoko, I'm not gonna die. As long as people are breathing, there will be those who inherit my will and make my dream come true. Promise me, Yoko. Promise me you'll never stop dreaming!"

"I cried uncontrollably as I promised him. He laughed, looking at me with such kind eyes until he died. Even after death, his smile never faded, as it had always been."

"…" Jinzo listened silently. 'Death with a smile?' he thought queerly.

Yoko sighed deeply, "I don't know… Something about Swiss reminded me of my father. I handed him the items before I knew what was happening."

After hearing her story, Jinzo tried to grab at dormant bits of information in his mind that swam like fish impossible to catch with your bare hands. It was like everything linked together somehow, but he knew not how to understand it.

"Hmmm… Inherited will…" Jinzo said, stroking his chin in contemplation. His right eye began pulsing with the early signs of that dreaded strain. Was he going to be able to read tonight?

But his thoughts were interrupted.

*SMASH!*

The table broke, and Swiss laid on his back in a pool of sake and shattered glass.

"BAHAHAHAHAHAHA!" The crowd laughed. "BAAAKA!"

"TROLOLOLOLOL! Shut up, ya bastards!" Swiss laughed along with them as some men helped him onto his feet.

He stumbled outside, "Yoko-channnn, your tables don't meet safety protocols!" he said, plopping onto the seat next to her.

His drunkenness caused his body to be more dead weight than usual.

His plop onto the seat was much too clumsy. The chair broke. His ass landing on the ground with a heavy *THUD!*

"Ooof!"

"Ugh! Just stand and don't touch anything!" Barked Yoko

Jinzo felt a little awkward as if he was personally responsible, "Sorry about that, Yoko-san. We should probably get going before we cause any more destruction."

"Boo! Why leave?! Let's stay here until morning!"

Grit laughed a tad, "Haha, we have an executive game to get to, remember?"

"Member? Oh shit, we're missing a member! Joka, where are you?!"

"Yes, we need to find Joka." Raito tried to inform, though it didn't seem like Swiss was all too lucid to compute.

The lads stood, and Jinzo pulled Swiss along by the elbow, "It was nice to meet you, Yoko-san!"

"You too, Jinzo, Grit, Raito! Make sure you keep that idiot out of trouble!"

"Don't be so harsh, Yoko-channn! Grit is surprisingly intelligent once you get to know him! TROLOLOLOL!"

"Tch!"

Grit and Swiss bickered as they made their exit. Raito bowed respectfully to Yoko before joining them. Jinzo left after giving her a warm smile. The crowd awww'd in sadness as the life of the party was escorted away.

Yoko watched as her new friends left.

Despite his shortcomings, Yoko had an inkling that Swiss would always be alright.

But this feeling multiplied tremendously after meeting his competent companions. She felt that they were cursed, yet also somehow blessed to have Swiss guiding the way.

"Haha," laughed Yoko, shaking her head as if she caught herself being a complete idiot.

"Who am I kidding? They're fucked!"

—

[ssyffix: yo!]

[ssyffix: thx 4 reading, and 4 ur patience, pals]

[ssyffix: I love the scenes when the gang are together :)]

[Joka: *sobs in background*]