Pointless Report:

Gyahahaha~! Hi everyone! Oh jeez I'm so happy! Law you're SO my favorite op character!

As you can see I've read the recent chapter and I'm absolutely thrilled!

So anyways just a heads up that I might not release a new chapter next week. I've got at least 4 other one-shot fanficts I want to write (3 OP ones and 1 other, keep reading and you'll find out the "other" is), knowing me I'll probably forget about them if I don't start writing soon!

IN OTHER NEWS: I forgot to mention in the last chapter that I've made a new poll so if you're not going to review then at least vote on it! (It's on my profile, in case you didn't know!)

I'd like to take this time to thank EvilBoyzR2Cute, Jaytia and Sharingan Hime for reviewing!

Also Jaytia, of course I'll do your request for a Fairy Tail fanfic! As soon as I read your review, an idea came into my head, I'm gonna do it on Cobra! (Total thinking time: o.2 seconds) I'll definitely start writing it this week, it's on my "To do" list!

Anyways let's start this, slightly-shorter-chapter-compared-to-the-previous-ones!

Disclaimer- Honestly, if I owned One Piece, Law would have come in sooner to save the day and I wouldn't need to yell at my computer to load the ****ing page.

Also, let it go on record that I put the disclaimer in only because Mariko said that if I didn't put one in this chapter she'd rearrange my-face…and I like my face the way it is!

Mariko: *cracks knuckles* Keep going idiot! You're wasting people's time!

Bishamon tossed the stack of bounty posters on the table. 'Navy bastards,' he growled to himself.

Takeshi had specifically told the government to keep the girl's identity secret and to let him deal with her. Bishamon rubbed his temples hoping it would relieve him from his stress. He was a loyal servant to Takeshi, he told himself.

It wasn't his place to question Takeshi, no matter how much he longed to know what went on in his mind.

He glanced at the cause of his stress. 'Daiyomondo Mariko,' he said under his breath. She looked so calm and peaceful in the picture, he hated her for that. What right did she have to run loose while others suffered because of her?

He collapsed on his bed and thought about that day so many years ago.

He had only been a young nine year old boy at the time. He remembered coming out of the shelter his father had ordered him to stay in "for his safety", only to see his father, Ebisu's, bloodied body on the battlefield. He'd been stabbed with gods know what and left for dead.

His father died 3 days later.

Even when his father was buried, Bishamon had refused to shed a single tear, his father despised weakness. Ebisu had been the only person he'd really respected and the young boy had worshiped his father for his strength and cunning. He had been his only family.

He's trained vigorously afterwards and was accepted into the Ishi-kanshisha at the age of eleven.

If he'd known the girl he'd run into in the halls all those years ago would be the cause of all this, would he have let her go?

He sighed. That was all in the past now and there was no point in pinning the blame on her. If he did, then why not blame Yukio for training her, or Takeshi and Rin for giving her life and raising her? If he blamed them for that, then why not blame her ancestors?

He ran his fingers through his short hair. Despite what he'd like, he was only human, a human with a job to do.

He looked over at her poster again. He felt a smile tug at the corner of his mouth. Even after all these years, her eyes were the same strange purple. 'So we're dealing with the "Death wish" are we?' he mumbled.

He heard a sharp knock on the door. 'The door's unlocked, you can let yourself in.' he called to whoever was on the other side of the door.

A young man stepped nervously into Bishamon's cabin.

'Must be a new recruit,' Bishamon thought to himself.

The man cleared his throat nervously. 'S-Sir, we received a message from Hōseki.'

'Let me guess, Takeshi's pissed off that we didn't catch his brat before she did something stupid and got the Navy's attention?' Bishamon asked lazily.

The recruit flinched, obviously disturbed at what he'd heard.

'If you have nothing else to say then go.' Bishamon said coolly.

The recruit swallowed back a retort. 'Strangely enough, sir, he said nothing of the sort. He just wanted you to know that when we catch up to her, if she resists, then you have permission to kill.'

That caught Bishamon's attention. He narrowed his eyes but said nothing. The recruit took that as a signal of dismissal and left without another word.

If he had ever wanted to question Takeshi's orders he would have done it at that moment. He gritted his teeth in frustration. What was he thinking? This was his own daughter they were after, not some lowly criminal.

When he first set out, Takeshi had specifically told him that he wanted her back alive and relevantly unharmed, and now he was saying it was alright to just kill her?

He punched the wall in frustration. What mind games were Takeshi playing at? He bit the inside of his cheek, ashamed to have let his temper get the better of him even for a second. When he joined the Ishi-kanshisha he sold his soul to the devil, and now he was their leader.

The Ishi-kanshisha was Hōseki's greatest military force. They were responsible for enforcing the laws and serving the ruling families. If they were told to kill, they killed. Whenever they were given an order they were expected to lay down their lives to accomplish it, and be willing to sacrifice anything. Joining them was practically selling your soul.

Bishamon tried to imagine killing her, but all he saw was the little girl from his memories, smirking at him.

He pushed the face to the back of his mind. He should be ashamed of himself, questioning his orders and hesitating to fulfill them. What would his father have thought? He'd have thought his son a coward.

He couldn't stand it any longer. He grabbed his private Den Den Mushi and punched in the number. He waited impatiently, willing the person on the other line to answer.

'Hello? Bishamon is something wrong?' A familiar voice asked from the other end.

Bishamon breathed a sigh of relief. 'Gods, Washi it's good to hear from you after so long.'

'So what's the problem? You don't normally use this number.'

He grimaced. 'I need your help.'

An uncomfortable silence stretched out.

'Washi, are you still there?' Bishamon asked nervously.

'…So I'm guessing you saw the bounty posters, didn't you?'

'Not only that but I've received orders that it's alright to kill her!'

'I'm not surprised.'

'What? Washi I need you know what the fuck is going on! If you know anything, tell me.'

'…Listen Bishamon, things have changed since you left. I'm not entirely sure what's going on.'

'Washi, I need to know.'

'Alright, but I'm warning you that I'm only telling you rumors I've heard floating around, so it might be these are completely wrong.'

'Washi, from experience, I've learned that every rumor has a bit of truth in it.'

'Well then good luck figuring out the lies from the truth because some of this stuff is pretty farfetched.'

'Listen, I'll take anything you give me but I want to hear it.'

'Apparently you're not the only one after Mariko.'

Bishamon felt the color drain from his face. 'I'm guessing you're not talking about a few bounty hunters after her head, are you?'

'Bounty hunters are the least of your problems right now.' His friend replied coolly. 'The witches are making their move.'

'What?! Why would they go after her, and why only her? Why not Yukio as well?' he demanded.

'Because Mariko isn't one of them. Besides, I thought you said you dealt with Yukio.'

Bishamon growled, trying to get a hold of his temper before he lashed out at his friend. 'I did take care of her, but could you explain to me how it is that Mariko's not "one of them" when she's a witch just like them?'

'They think she's an abomination. Since she was taught by Yukio and not an official member of their clan, they don't consider her a real witch.'

'That's idiotic. She knows what they know so why don't they accept her?'

'Listen, it's their traditions, I don't get it anymore then you do. Yukio was trained by them so she's fine, but Mariko wasn't granted permission to learn their techniques.'

'Shit! So you're telling me I have to worry about witches now?'

'Unfortunately, so how's the mission been so far?'

Bishamon felt his eye twitch in annoyance, he couldn't tell if that last comment was sarcastic or not. 'We're on her trail. We know now what route she's taking. It's only a matter of time before we catch up with her.'

Bishamon heard his friend sigh in relief. 'That's good. It'll be good to have you home again.'

'Hey Washi, before you go could I ask you one more thing?'

'Sure, ask away.'

'How's my lord doing?'

'…He's been better. Takeshi's been keeping a close eye on him since you left, it'll be even worse now that Mariko gotten a bounty on her head.'

Bishamon let out a breath he didn't know he'd been holding. 'That's probably best for him.'

'What if he finds out?'

'Then get ready for all Hell to break loose.' Bishamon could almost see his friend smirk.

'That'll be fun. Anyways I have to go, call me when you've made any more progress.'

'I will.' Bishamon promised.

Bishamon put turned off the Den Den Mushi and flopped down on his bed, contemplating what he'd learnt from his friend. Although Washi had enrolled years after he had, the two of them had developed a strong friendship. He could always count on Washi for accurate information.

He snorted. Thinking back to the bounty hunter he'd killed weeks ago.

'Unfortunately my lord has ordered me to keep this mission from the public, too bad for you.'

The words echoed in his mind. He scowled. His only true lord didn't even know the true nature of his mission. As far as his lord was concerned, he and his men were out representing Hōseki Island at a meeting. He curled his hand into a fist. It pained him to have to lie to the young man.

'He's only a child.' He muttered.

But he couldn't help but feel relieved. It was good that his young lord was being so carefully watched by Takeshi. 'Maybe I'll be able to come home without having to clean up whatever mess he'd gotten himself into, for once.' He murmured to himself.

He looked over at the sleeping snail and considered calling him.

'You can't protect him forever.' The voice in his head nagged.

He snorted. It was too risky anyways, he didn't trust himself not to drop a few hints. It was better if his lord didn't know about Mariko, at least for now.

Scratching his head he reluctantly stood up and headed for the door, the sooner he finished his mission, the sooner he could come back.

'Enjoy your freedom while you still can "Death wish". You can't run forever.' He sneered.

-This is a time/scene skip…this is the only way Fanfiction'll let me divide things…Ignore this-

Mariko shuttered.

Law looked up from the bandages he was cleaning. 'What's the matter with you? Your wounds are healing nicely and they shouldn't be hurting that much anymore.'

She shivered. 'I'm not sure how to describe it but it's like some kind of terror from Hell is coming.'

Law chuckled. 'Well last time I checked Mister Eustass already left this island, unless,' he said thoughtfully, 'he's coming back to finish you off.'

Mariko screamed backing away from him. Law laughed.

'Don't even joke about that!' She screamed.

Law grinned. 'Well it can't be that bad. Now hold still, I need to change your bandages.'

Mariko calmed down and reluctantly moved forward, avoiding eye contact.

'Something's coming,' she thought to herself, 'I can feel it.'

Ishi-kanshisha: Stone Guardian (Did I mention Hōseki has a theme? Well you know now!)

Hōseki: *see chapter 9 (silly readers, you think I'm going to repeat myself? XD)