On with the story!

Bishop could feel it. Ever since he departed from Rook's shadow, he'd felt eyes on him. It was his scar. Even though it was covered, the sight of a bandaged man still drew the eye of the passerby. Plus his bad mood was souring his features. People probably thought he was a ruffian or something. As he walked down an avenue filled with shops, he could see people turning to look at him in his peripherals. They weren't openly gawking or anything and there weren't that many, but he could still feel them. Maybe he should have let Rook buy his mask. But this was personal to him. The mask was almost like his identity. If he didn't pick it out himself, he wouldn't be himself.

…besides, there was another reason he'd separated from his brother. He tilted his head slightly to the right to see Isaac still following him at a distance. He knew he felt bad for his outburst. And that he wanted to make it up to him somehow. But Rook was ready to rip him to shreds. If Bishop had remained with him, Isaac would have lingered around the already lit fuse until it burst. At least this way he wasn't in danger of being killed by Rook. But at the same time, he wasn't quite willing to put it behind him yet.

While he seemed distracted with Isaac, a skinny rat of a man with large front teeth and sallow skin bumped into him. He looked apologetically at Bishop. "Sorry about that, friend. Didn't see you there." He backed away maybe two steps before Bishop stopped him with a firm hand on his shoulder.

"You will hand back my money and walk away quietly." He whispered, leaning in close. The thief must have thought him an easy target with his injured eye. But what most people didn't take into account is that even without one eye, he was always aware of his surroundings.

The man tried to shove him away. "Hey, all I did was bump into you. What the hell gives you the right to-."

He was cut off as Bishop reached into a hiding place and pressed the nozzle of his pistol into him. "Now, please."

The man froze, as one tends to do when a firearm is suddenly aimed into their ribs. He glanced first at Bishop and started slowly reaching for the money in his pocket, but he stopped as a man's shadow fell over him.

"Yo Bishop, this guy giving you trouble?"

Bishop sighed very, very slowly. It would have been impractical to look at him since that would require turning his head in an uncomfortable angle. But he knew Isaac's voice well enough to know who it was. "I have the situation under control. You aren't required." He addressed the thief again. "Now. You were about to hand me my money?"

The smaller man nodded vigorously. Hastily reaching into his pocket, he pulled out a wad of bills and thrust it at him. In his haste, he fumbled and dropped the bundle. His eyes bulged in fear of what Bishop was going to do to him, but the navigator calmly plucked it out of the air before it unfolded and scattered on the ground. And having what he wanted, he released him and put the pistol back into its hiding spot.

Once he saw that the danger was gone, the man speedily backpedaled out of reach, turned, and ran. All the while, Bishop was counting out the money to make sure he'd gotten everything back.

Isaac stood awkwardly beside him, not quite sure what to do. "So, uh, guess you really didn't need my help." He hooked at thumb in the direction the thief fled. "You sure you want to let him go like that though? He might come back later to get revenge or something."

Counting down the last bill, Bishop smiled softly. He'd actually given back more than he took. Satisfied, he tucked the money back into his pocket and looked off in that direction. "He's a thief. We're pirates. Professional courtesy to let him go." That was all the reply he gave before continuing down the row of merchants and sellers. He could feel Isaac watching him go and heard as he continued following him. There was no helping that though. Short of violence, there wasn't really a way to make him stop. He was the type that would stick around even if he yelled at him. The best thing to do for now was to ignore him and focus on his task.

Doing just that, he studied each stall as he passed. These weren't secondhand shops like they were in Rook's plaza. There were workers shouting all over, vying for customers and trying to drown out the deals being offered by everyone else. There were clothes and silks, weaponry (not that he would buy a weapon from anyone but Rook), pots and vases, and even high quality glassworks. There was even a crowd around two stalls where the owners were arguing over whether or not one's wares were genuine. He passed all them. He didn't have time now to browse around. He needed to get his mask before he could calm down enough to do such a thing like relax. But even that might be difficult with Isaac stalking him from behind. Just the feeling someone was constantly watching him was making his skin crawl. It made him want to sink into the ground. But that might cause a scene so he refrained.

It took a while to find what he was looking for. He had gone through almost an entire town before he found a carpenter. He was a rough looking man with scruffy beard and tan skin. His hands were tough and callused from a life of wood working. There was a large saw and a half hewn log next to his stand, though Bishop was sure it was more for decoration than for actual carving. His wares consisted of a variety of wood carvings. There were rocking chairs and wood carvings and, much to his joy, even a few wooden masks.

There was one problem though. None of them were what he was looking for. One was an extremely gaudy tiki mask. It would have covered his entire face plus a good portion of his neck if he put it on. That was out. There was also a mask clearly designed for a woman. It had silk fringes with frilly designs like a butterfly. Also out. The last one was…alright. It was a half-mask like his own, but this one was attached to a hat and had a pinwheel strapped to the top.

"Hehe. Noticed that one didja?" The carpenter asked with a pleased smile. "Got the idea for it while I was visiting this town in East Blue last year. Interested?"

Before he got a chance to reply, Isaac grabbed it and put it on. And the moment he did, the pinwheel on top started spinning in the breeze, making a gentle clacking noise with each turn. "Hey this is awesome! You should totally buy this one!"

Bishop took a deep breath to calm himself. "Do you do repairs?" He asked a bit tersely.

The carpenter rubbed his scruff and squinted. "Depends, I guess. I don't have all my tools here. But show me what you've got and I'll see what I can do."

He pulled the mask halves out of his coat and handed them to him. But the carpenter didn't need to look at them long. "Sorry to tell you, but this is beyond me." He fit the two halves back together experimentally. "If it were just cracked or dinged, I'd be able to fix 'er up in no time. But completely separate like this, the most we could do would just glue them back together. It wouldn't look nice but…" He shrugged. "I'm not sure there's anyone on this island who can graft them back seamlessly."

"Oi, oi. The fuck you mean you can't do it?" Isaac demanded. His anger started growing as he grabbed the man by the shirt. "That ain't what we wanna hear. So you better get fixin' before I snap your arm in-"

That was enough. Bishop pulled two guns out and shoved them into Isaac's back. "Enough! I don't want you here. Leave. Now!"

Isaac, the carpenter, several shopkeepers, and just about every person nearby froze at his outburst. Isaac in particular seemed startled and confused. He'd never heard Bishop yell like that. Even in battle he kept himself in control.

"I-I was just trying to h-."

"I know." Bishop cut in. "But I don't want it. Go. Away."

"But I-."

Bishop cocked the pistols. "I won't ask twice."

Isaac released the carpenter slowly and took a few steps back. "At least let me pay…"

He fired a warning shot into the air. Everyone nearby screamed and fled from the scene. The carpenter backed away, but he just stared at the two pirates.

Bishop brought the barrels down, directly in front of Isaac's eyes. He didn't say a word, but the message was quite clear. It was regrettable that he didn't get the point before he fired into the open air in a crow full of people. That might make things complicated later. Normally he wouldn't have done it. But he really needed to get away from Isaac.

Isaac hesitated. But you can't really win a staring contest with the barrel of a gun. So he lost that contest. Backing away, he tried looking at Bishop one more time, hoping that just by staring he could convey his thoughts. But that didn't happen. So instead he muttered, "I'm sorry." Then he ran away with the crowd.

Once he was satisfactorily out of view, Bishop turned back to the carpenter, who was more than ready to bolt. He slipped the weapons back into their hiding places and lowered his eyes. "I…apologize. Both for me shipmate and my conduct."

The carpenter eyed him. The guns were gone… "Well…so long as you don't cause me no problems…"

Bishop bowed his head slightly in thanks. "The mask." He said, getting back to the reason he was there. "Can you make me a new one?"

He stroked his scruff again. "Hmm…I could…Exactly like this one, eh?" He picked the two pieces back up and turned them every which way, studying them. "Plain half-mask with a black coating. Simple enough." He eyed the navigator, stopping at the bandaging over his left eye. "Hmph. I'm guessing you aren't going to want no ordinary wood. Maybe something…sturdier?"

Bishop raised an eyebrow and thought of it. Working on the ship, he was honestly surprised the mask lasted as long as it did. He definitely would need something a bit tougher otherwise he would have to keep replacing it. And that simply didn't sound appealing. So he nodded. "Right. What do you have in mind?"

The craftsman grinned. "Maple, Birch, and Hickory are the hardwood I typically use. But if you were wanting something to really hold up, I've got some Cebil and Black Ironwood that I've been itching to use. But…"

"How much more?"

He let out a laugh. "Ah, you know how to get straight to the heart of it. Aye, it's gonna cost you a bit more for those. Twelve thousand. And don't try bartering. After the scene you just caused, I'm not going a beri less."

The man had a point. Gunfire rarely did well for business. It was entirely possible he'd lost business. The inflated price likely made up for the customers that were going to shy away from his shop."

Bishop nodded and shook his hand. "Deal." Reaching into his pocket, he pulled out the majority of his money and counted them out.

Once the final note was counted, the carpenter tucked the money away in a lockbox. "It'll be a few days before its ready. Those harder woods are more difficult to ply than you standard variety lumber. Come by the evening of the big race and I'll have it for you." There was a commotion down the road and they looked to see police running in their direction. And man could they run. Figured considering running was the national pastime here. The carpenter waved him off. "Now get going. I'll feel bad if you got arrested after paying me. Just remember, evening of race day."

Bishop nodded his thanks again. Then he walked off at a leisurely pace, not concerned with the quickly approaching authorities. He turned a corner into an alley and when the police caught up, they were astounded to find the corridor empty.

One of them took of his cap and scratched his head. "This is a dead end right?"

"Yeah. The sucker must have scaled the walls or something." He pointed up. "There! I saw something move!"

"Aw, cut it out. Nobody can climb a wall like that. There's nothing to hold onto. You've been reading too many comics."

"Then you tell me where he went."

"Doesn't matter where. He ain't here. Lucky bastard must have run away."

"Hmph. At least he ran. Remember that bloke last year who hid in the woods? Damn fool. He had no idea what lives in there."

The first policeman turned on the last speaker and raised a club at him. "Shut your slow mouth before I know that half-paced brain out of your skull! You know better than to be talking about the forest. Specially this time of year."

"Right. Sorry Captain." He apologize abashed.

"Now let's go search. He couldn't have gone far."

It watched the entire scene. The gunshot had attracted its attention. It had to duck in an abandoned alleyway so as to remain hidden. It didn't like straying into town like this, but luckily all the townsfolk were too busy fleeing to see it.

The ruffian wasn't high on its list of candidates. He was too muscular. There was too much risk. But the bandaged shooter was promising. He lacked the strong physique compared to the other three it had seen. He seemed to have an injured eye as well. That worked in its favor.

Those thoughts died when it saw. When he came towards its alley, it hid behind a dumpster. Then the shooter walked into a wall and disappeared in order to escape the police. If he could vanish like that, he went to the bottom of its list of candidates. Even if it succeeded, what could it do if he simply disappeared again? No. It would have to look elsewhere. It held its breath as the police talked with each other. If they decided to search the alley, it would be discovered. But luckily they left without incident. Unfortunately, though, it could hear people returning to the marketplace. It couldn't leave the same way it entered. It would have to improvise.

The officer had seen something earlier. When Bishop hid inside the wall, he traveled to the top and peaked out. But when he was noticed, he ducked back inside. When they started bickering amongst themselves, he slipped his head back out. They were talking about something living in the forest. Interesting. Seems like they were unwilling to chase anyone into the woods. He would need to remember that incase anything went dicey.

But something caught his eye. Looking down from above, he noticed a figure hiding in the shadows of the alley. He couldn't really tell from this distance but it didn't seem…right. There was something off about it. He shrugged. Probably just another criminal hiding from the prying eye of the authorities.

When the policemen left, he was about to go back inside and return to ground level, but movement caught his eye. Turning his head to see better, his eye widened in surprise when the shadowy figure suddenly jumped into the air. On its way up, the two of them made eye contact. Its eyes were just as shocked as his were. The moment passed and the being soared up and landed on the roof behind him. He turned to look, but whatever it was had already started bouncing its way across the rooftops towards the tree line.

Bishop sunk back into hiding. It was very possible he had just encountered whatever frightened the local police into avoiding the woods. Certainly no normal human could make jumps like that. He shook his head. Hopefully it was a coincidence. Hopefully it would leave him alone.

This one turned out a bit better than the last I think. Didn't run into the same roadblocks as I did last time but then again you all are the judges. Let me know what you think.

Till next time!