I don't like you! by BloodyMarryMe
Ah~ Finally chapter 21 is here. I didn't know if I would be able to finish it today since I had some extra work I assigned myself; since I didn't proofread some of the first chapters (so they had a lot of mistakes) I decided to do it now and fix them up. So hopefully it'll be easier to read now.
And I must admit I was slow with writing this cause I'm reading "The Amulet of Samarkand" (again XD) and when I start reading something, I just can't put the book down till' it's finished. :P Ah, Bartimaeus, the book wouldn't be the same without him. (Probably not worth reading then ^^') I love that demon. :D
*ehem* well anyways, not much to say except hope you enjoy and fave fun! Oh, and I'm really happy with all the comments and reviews I've got. Thank you guys sooo much for all your support and I see you like my frequent uploading so I'll try my best and keep it that way. :)
Disclaimer: I do not own One Piece nor any of its characters but I do own the OC Suzune Miyako.
This story is a LawXOC ff and is rated T for blood and language.
CHAPTER 21
*Where did that girl go?* Law walked through the crowed with gritted teeth, easily avoiding the nobles on the dance floor and making his way out of the ballroom. His crew has checked everywhere and searched throughout the mansion but there was no sign of a missing samurai girl. This was not part of his plan.
It should've been easy. The culprit would see Miyako and try to either expose her (but then exposing himself in the process) or lure her somewhere and deal with her himself. And when the second happened, Law would keep a close eye on her and follow them, catching the person behind this charade. Miyako was supposed to be the bait and everything would work out perfectly. Unfortunately he didn't take into account that the girl would disappear without telling him.
*That troublesome woman,* he thought bitterly as he walked out of the ballroom and stopped as he reached the back garden of the mansion.
Also there was no sign of that waiter who talked to the girl earlier, and Law knew he had to be involved somehow. Then something caught his attention.
"Bepo" He called his first mate who came running, holding Law's nodachi in one paw and Miyako's katana in the other, which he took from her room. Before Bepo could ask what was the matter, the captain continued. "Has someone checked the back garden?"
The bear thought for a while before shaking his head. "No, no one….sorry."
Law ignored the depressed state along with the bowed head of his first mate and instead took his nodachi and the katana from the polar bear's paws. He tied the katana around his waist, a strange feeling since he wasn't used to the extra weight there, but he ignored it and moved on. With a quick pace, Law walked into the darkness of the hedge maze.
~…~
Uncertain footsteps could be heard in the darkness as Miyako pressed on. She put one hand on the stone wall so she could orientate better since she couldn't see anything ahead. The pathway kept leading down and the samurai had a strange feeling she was walking right into Hell itself. Perhaps an overdramatic thought, but considering the pitch black nothingness ahead of her, it was understandable that one could be paranoid. Especially when you're almost certain you're walking into a trap.
As she walked, Miyako realized the pathway was becoming less steep until the ground under her became completely even and she found herself in front of a doorway. It led inside a barely candle-lit room, large in size but bare and cold. Miyako looked at the stone walls and large pillars holding the cracked roof. She could see that on the other side there was another doorway, leading into darkness again. *At least this room has some light.* She looked at the few large metal candlesticks, holding long candles that provided the only light in the room.
But what interested Miyako the most was the presence she felt. There, in the shadows, was definitively something...or rather someone. But the darkness in the edges of the room hid the people from her view. Yes, there were 6 of them, Miyako realized. And one of those presences seemed familiar even though Miyako couldn't really put a finger on it.
Her question was answered, however, when a familiar but unexpected person walked out of the shadows and in front of her. The candlelight shone on his wild blonde hair and bright blue eyes that looked menacing in the slight light.
"You!" Miyako exclaimed with surprise clearly written on her face. She didn't know what to say. "What are you doing here?" Then realization entered her mind. "It can't be…"
The blonde man grinned evilly. "Hello Lady Shiori-sama, or should I say, Suzune Miyako."
Miyako gulped uncomfortably. The other 5 men in the shadows didn't move yet but this all gave her a rather uneasy feeling. There was no way she could defeat 5 men without a weapon, especially if they were more of those assassins from the other night.
But the focus of Miyako's attention right now was the man in front of her. The seemingly cheerful and nice waiter she had bumped into in the ballroom. The one who gave her the message. Of all the suspicious people that went through her head as she walked down here, he was nowhere in her mind. Not even in her deepest thoughts did she think he had anything to do with it. The first time she ever saw him was tonight, those few minutes of her time, and he seemed like an unimportant staff member.
"So you're the culprit behind lady Shiori's disappearance." That was a pretty obvious statement, but Miyako wanted to gain some time until she thought of a plan to escape. Though nothing came to mind at the moment. She cursed her foolishness for walking into a trap and not notifying anyone where she was going.
"How insightful of you to notice," he said sarcastically and mockingly, giving her a wide grin. His features showed no sign of earlier warmness but instead he looked like a snake ready to attack its pray. "And I would have done everything perfectly if you hadn't come along and started creating trouble for me. But luckily, we'll take care of that soon enough." The blond snapped his fingers and 4 large assassins walked from out of their shadows, each carrying a different kind but equally deadly weapon. The last one stayed in the shadows, standing near the blonde man as his guardian.
Miyako jumped to the side and took one of the long metal candlesticks, throwing the candle on the floor in the process. "Where is Shiori and what did you do to her?" She asked almost in a growl but the man just chuckled. He obviously had no intention of telling her anything even if she was about to die.
The first assassin rushed at her, carrying the same spear as the one she killed the other night. Miyako managed to block, holding the candlestick in both hands, but it was heavy and she wasn't used to fighting with such items. Not to mention how hard it was to fight in high-heels and a fancy dress. All she could do was block and dodge, as she walked backwards. From the corner of her eye, she saw the other three men rushed towards her as well and Miyako knew it was over.
*Am I really going to die like this?*
A blue sphere suddenly formed around them and surprised yelps answered her question. Miyako stared with wide eyes as the three men, who were rushing towards her, were now missing all their legs. Their limbs were cut off in one swift motion and flying around them. The assassins' eyes, the only thing unmasked on them, were wide open and stared at their passing appendages in sheer horror.
A certain smug captain appeared out of the doorway and walked into the barely lit room. But instead of his usual smirk, he wore a serious face with a deadly glare to match. One was certain; Law was pissed. Still, even with the deadly aura swirling all around him, Miyako was never happier to see her captain as she was now.
The man who attacked her had jumped backwards and prepared his spear for another attack.
"Miyako!" Law's voice brought her out of her musings and she snapped her head towards him, right in time to catch her katana that he threw towards her. Her face brightened up instantly and she grinned happily, feeling her sword once again in her hands.
Law almost rolled his eyes when he saw the girl beaming with happiness as her katana was returned to her. She would always do it when she got her weapon back, as if it was an old friend of hers instead of a sharp piece of steel. But then again, Law could somehow understand; he didn't like not having his nodachi by his side either and would only entrust it to certain people with holding on to it.
Law focused back on the fight and right in time as the assassin threw his spear at him and then rushed at Miyako, not wasting any time to see if the weapon hit the pirate captain or not. Law easily dodged the spear, but that made him lose concentration on his sphere and the blue film disappeared around them.
To make it even worse, suddenly a new assassin appeared out of nowhere and attacked the captain, but luckily the pirate sensed the man and blocked his sword with his nodachi. It's not like he hasn't been doing anything these couple of weeks; he's been training his Kenbunshoku Haki to be able to use it. It was still more of an instinct, but much stronger than it used to be. Law jumped backwards as the assassin slashed at him and then created his sphere again, just to make it disappear when he had to block another blow. The assassin was fast and he obviously had no intention of letting Law use his devil fruit powers. He could see his crewmember only meters away, facing quite a predicament herself, but had his own problems to worry about. She'll just have to handle it herself. Besides, if she couldn't, then she was too weak for his crew to begin with.
Meanwhile, the assassin who threw the spear at Law wasn't useless without it, as he brought out another weapon. It was a kusarigama; A chain-sickle. The assassin threw the chain and it wrapped around Miyako's throat, or at least it would have if she hadn't acted fast enough to put a hand between the chain and her neck, which saved her from being strangled on the spot. The assassin pulled her towards him, making Miyako lose her balance, though she still held her katana in her other hand tightly. She stumbled but managed to stay on her feet and then quickly blocked the incoming attack, as the man sliced at her with the sickle. They were in quite the position. The man holding the chain in one hand, trying to tighten the grip it had on Miyako as best as he could, while in the other he held his sickle, against Miyako's katana which she had to grip tightly in one hand while the other stopped the chain from crushing her throat.
They stayed like that what seemed like forever, Miyako gritting her teeth in annoyance. Then the man moved his foot, trying to kick her in the knee and trip her so she would lose her balance. The samurai noticed this and tried to move aside, but he quickly pulled the chain, bringing her closer to him and making her stumble again. He used that moment of surprise to bring the sickle down on her. She threw herself to the side, losing her balance completely in the process, but managed to avoid the fatal attack. However it ripped through her shoulder, making quite a large wound and blood gushed out staining the weapon, floor and both of them. Miyako cried out in pain, but used that moment to stab her katana in his side, since his sickle was unable to strike again so quick. She had to sacrifice some flesh, but it was worth it as her sword stabbed through his side and appeared on the other side, right above his ribs.
The man made a grunt as his eyes widened in both pain and surprise, before they rolled back into his head and he fell down on the ground, releasing the grip on the chain. The sickle and the chain fell down on the ground with a loud noise that echoed through the room. Miyako fell as well, on the other side, with a small yelp. She sat up and gripped at her bleeding shoulder. *Great…well at least now they match.* She thought ironically as she looked at her other, equally bandaged, shoulder.
Law heard the yelp of pain on his right and saw Miyako from the corner of his eye, getting sliced in the arm. Luckily, it seemed she also managed to take down the assassin. He didn't really have time to ponder about her wellbeing at the moment since he had his own fight to worry about. He jumped to the side and dodged another slash of the man's sword and brought his nodachi in a downright position to block a slash at his side. That left the assassin open and with a round kick, Law kicked him in the stomach and sent him flying. Law didn't intend to give him time to recover.
"Room." A deep voice of the pirate captain said and the familiar blue sphere appeared around the assassin. Law made three quick slashes with his long nodachi. One wouldn't think he could swing such a large sword so quickly and precisely, but he had no problem wielding it, from the years of experience. The assassin was cut and separated in three parts; his waist, torso and head cut and were now flying around the blue sphere. The pirate didn't take the time to play with the body parts and mish-mash them as he didn't have time to waste…unfortunately. He felt a bit disappointed at the freshly cut bodies before him that he couldn't play with.
~….~
Miyako saw her captain walking over as she stood up and gripped her arm; a failing attempt to stop the bleeding. The wound was much deeper then she thought. Her katana was once again tightly tied around her waist and the girl never wanted to take it off again.
"Are you alight?" Law asked, gently removing her clutching hand to see the damage underneath. He still had that dark look in his eyes as he examined the wound in all seriousness.
She nodded. "I'm fine." But then turned her attention to the other side of the room. There was still someone there, watching the show and not liking the result as his men fell defeated. "We're forgetting about someone." She nodded in the direction of the blonde man who had clenched fists and gritted teeth to prove his anger.
Law glared at the blonde. "So it seems," he mumbled and made a step forward, clutching his nodachi tightly.
The blonde made a step back and put a hand in the darkness, holding something on the wall, but it couldn't be seen as it was hidden by the shadows.
"I'm not done yet!" The blonde hissed, his wild hair falling on his glaring equally wild eyes. All the fake warmth from before disappeared from his face and it was obvious he was furious. He pulled a lever on the wall and suddenly the floor opened.
Miyako could only gasp in surprise as she felt the ground under her disappear. Both her and Law fell into the endless darkness underneath as the floor closed once again, leaving no light behind.
Little by little the veil of mystery around this whole event starts to unfold. (Ok, that sounds lame XP)
But more action! yay! I think I'm gonna start writing chapter 22 immediately since I'm on a roll here. But you'll get it tomorrow so you'll have to be patient. :P
Speaking about patience, who here also can't wait for chp. 663 of OP manga to come out? . I mean, come on! Why are they taking so long? I can't wait to read it.
Well anyway, hope you liked this chapter and tomorrow I'll probably post the next one. (Damn, why aren't I so diligent when it comes to studying as I am when it comes to writing ff?)
So reviews are welcome as always and I if you have anything to comment on, criticize, or just state your opinion, feel free to do so. :)