Pointless Report:

GYAHAHAHA~!!! I'm back!!!

Wow it's been almost 2 months since I've updated, I must be getting lazy. XD

Anyways, lots of things have happened since the last chapter (March 22) and this chapter (May 10), between these 2 chapters I've had my birthday! So, as an apology (sort of) for the late update, when you write your review, guess my birthday and write your idea for a chapter. If you guess correctly, I'll do a big shout out to you and write a side chapter all about your idea!

Hey a HUGE thanks to: Arrowachi, footballstar0, DemonicJester and Jaytia for reviewing!

Just a heads up, Fanfiction decided to delete the star thingies that I've been using so I had to go back and replace each chapter. So when you see "-This is a time/scene skip…this is the only way Fanfiction'll let me divide things…Ignore this-" seriously, ignore it. It's just me being partially funny. I'm really sorry if this pisses you off, I know it does for me. X(

Just one more thing before we start this eagerly awaited chapter, I just want to say this *ahem*: I HAVE THE OLDEST LAWxOC FANFIC ON FANFICTION!!!!

M: Wait…Did you just say "LawxOC? *twitches* Why you little-

MP: *Runs off into the sunset like a bat outta Hell*

Let's start the chapter!

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

Mariko slid her backpack over her shoulders while running through a mental checklist.

'Knives, key, food, wallet, storybook, picture…' she thought walking out of her room.

It had been a few days since her encounter with the demon and only last night Law had declared her well enough to move around without reopening her wounds. As much as it pained her to admit it, he was a pretty good doctor and without him she would've been stuck in her room for weeks. Not that she'd ever say that to his face.

She remembered the last thing he'd said to her last night.

'Now that you can walk around without breaking your bones, promise me you won't immediately go out looking for trouble?'

Which was exactly why she was going to explore the area where she met the demon. Her curiosity had been nagging her to go back ever since she'd left.

She tiptoed down the hall. It was still early and there was a chance that the Heart pirates were still asleep. She'd be surprised if any of them woke up before noon after all the alcohol they'd been drinking last night.

'Where're you going?' someone slurred behind her.

Shit.

She looked over her shoulder and sighed in relief, it was only Zeke.

'The captain said not to leave the inn.' He continued, swaying slightly.

'Yes, you're right.' She thought, mind racing.

'Hmm?'

'Zeke you look terrible.'

'I do?'

'You're going straight back to bed, you look like you're about to pass out.' She said grabbing his arm.

'I am?' He asked groggily.

'Now, go back to bed, you'll feel better after you've had some more sleep.' She said smiling reassuringly.

Zeke blinked slowly. 'Okay, night Mariko.' He mumbled dragging himself back to his room.

The door clicked shut and Mariko relaxed. That was too close.

Letting out a sigh of relief, she crept down the hall. Hopefully Zeke'll have forgotten their conversation by the time he woke up.

Smiling triumphantly, she walked out into the early morning sunlight.

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

'Freedom~!' she sang inside her head. She mentally shook herself. If she got any happier she'd start skipping down the streets, not good for her reputation. Still, it was looking like a good day, the sun starting to rise, the streets were almost deserted, no one knew where she was, she had a backpack full of dangerous weapons, all she needed now was for a meteor to conveniently crush Law and it would be a perfect morning.

She breathed in deeply. A sour stench ruined the otherwise refreshing crisp air. She grinned. 'Alright nose, don't let me down.' She muttered, setting off down the road.

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

A cold wind snuck up on her sending shivers up her spine. This was the place alright, and she'd be damned if she couldn't find out what made this place so eerie.

A voice at the back of her head nagged her. 'There's a reason why no one's here, you should go before you get yourself into trouble.'

'Shut up.' She hissed back. The voice retreated. 'Don't come whining back to me when this turns ugly, don't say I didn't warn you.'

Mariko felt the voice disappear. 'Stupid figment of my imagination,' she muttered.

'Why are you talking to yourself?' a small voice asked.

Mariko looked around suspiciously, inching her fingers to one of her knives.

'I'm right here.'

Mariko focused her senses. There was someone hiding in the shadows, and from the sound of their stomach's growling, they were hungry. 'Why don't you come out a face me when you're talking? It'd save us both the trouble, besides, it's creepy.'

'At least I don't talk to myself, are you a crazy lady?' The voice sounded like it belonged to a child.

Mariko's eye twitched. 'It's a kid, Mariko. You can't just rip its head off.' She thought to herself.

'Only crazy people talk to themselves, are you a psychopath? Because you look like one.'

Even if the kid was annoying as Hell.

'Look kid, I don't have time to talk to someone hiding in the shadows. Also, for the record, I'm 16 almost 17 so that does not qualify me as a "lady". Now if you're not coming out, I'm leaving.'

She could almost see the kid's brain mulling it over.

'I'm going now! Have a nice life kid!' she shouted turning on her heel.

'Don't go…'

A little girl came shuffling out. Her dirty blond hair covered one of her grass green eyes. Her clothes were several sizes too big and hung off her thin figure.

Mariko stared blankly at the girl.

'Happy now?' the girl asked sadly.

'I'm satisfied…well see you.' Mariko said brushing the girl off.

'Hey wait! Where're you going?' the girl demanded. 'Aren't you shocked at all?'

Mariko raised an eyebrow. 'Uhh…no, should I be?'

'Don't you feel anything?!'

'Nope, listen it's been nice meeting you but I've got places to explore.'

'Don't you pity me? Jeez, I gave you my best sad defenseless face I could. And you feel nothing at all?! No reaction? No "Oh you poor thing"? Nothing?'

Mariko narrowed her eyes. 'I pity no one.' She said coldly.

The girl stared.

'I'm going, and don't even think about following me, I'm not a babysitter.' She said over her shoulder leaving the shocked girl behind her.

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

'Stupid kid, thinking she can make a quick Beli off me. Honestly, if she wanted to pull some heart strings she could have at least looked hungry and had dirt smeared all over her. Calling me crazy! Of all things! Annoying brat!' Mariko ranted.

So far the area looked almost normal.

Almost.

There was still tension in the air, not as strong as when the demon was in the bar but it was still pretty bad.

'Maybe I should've asked the kid about it…' she mused.

'The "kid" has name you know!' a voice responded haughtily.

Mariko twitched. 'Yeah? Well I don't care what you're called, and I thought I told you not to follow me?'

The girl glared. 'Well it's not like you're hard to track.'

'Well seeing as how you and I are the only people out in the open, it wouldn't be hard. And yes, I know we're not alone, you think I haven't noticed all the people spying on me from the shadows?'

The girl shut her mouth mid-question.

Mariko smirked. 'If I was really trying to hide from you, an amateur like yourself would've never found me.'

The girl looked murderous.

'Now if you've no information to share with me, I suggest you leave. I'm a very busy person.'

'I know why no one comes here…I can show you.'

Mariko grinned. 'Good, now we're getting somewhere.'

The girl gritted her teeth. 'Fine, follow me, but don't call me kid!'

Mariko grinned 'Lead the way!'

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

Mariko twisted her hands against her cuffs muttering promises of slow a painful deaths. If she ever got her hands on that little rat… She struggled against the chains pinning her to the wall. She should've known it was a trap and she played right into their hands. The girl led her into a dark alley, right to a gang of bounty hunters. At least she went down fighting and she would've gotten away if they hadn't used a tranquilizer, who the Hell uses tranquilizers anyway?

She sucked in a breath as the chains brushed against her skin.

Damn, Seastone.

She readjusted her hands, making sure that no Seastone would accidentally burn her skin.

'Like faeries and iron.' She muttered.

Her mind was already buzzing with possibilities of escape, but none of them would work to her benefit. They were all too risky and relied too much on luck for her comfort. There were too many things she needed to know before she could do anything. She needed to know what part of the city she was in, how many people she was up against and what they planned to do to her.

If her hands were free, she'd have been pulling her hair out, but since they weren't she shouted out curses and swears to the ceiling out of frustration.

She bit down on the inside of her cheek. 'Calm yourself down. If you can't keep your cool, you won't be able to think straight.' She said to herself. She inhaled deeply, and then exhaled.

Feeling calmer she contemplated on her first question, where was she. She closed her eyes and concentrated. Shuffling footsteps echoed off some walls nearby, a damp mildly earthy smell mixed with metal and some hushed voices.

A smile spread across her face, alright so she was in a large area underground or a basement and there were a few people that she could sense here at the moment. She could deal with this. The gears in her head began to rotate, processing this new information.

Blast a hole through the ceiling? No, she might be under a building or street with innocent people, even with her blood stained hands. She couldn't bring herself to hurt people she didn't even know.

She snorted. Hadn't Yukio always told her pirates had no principles? But then again, now because of Yukio she was a pirate. She snickered under her breath at the irony.

She sighed and wondered when those stupid bounty hunters would realize Law wasn't coming to save her…At least not that she knew of. She couldn't have been gone for more than a few hours. Besides, they wouldn't even know where to look, she hadn't told anyone and none of them saw her leave. She could be on an entirely different island for all they knew.

She blew a loose strand of hair away from her face. Why couldn't they just hand her over to the marines already?

'Alright fate or whatever the Hell you want to be called! I could really use some sort of sign that could tell me that you're still looking out for me!' She called out.

She listened for a moment a shook her head. Now she was officially crazy, there was no one to help her now so she might as well think of a plan to help herself out of this mess. If only she had her backpack, Seastone might burn her skin she could still pick the lock.

She looked around, there had to be something to help her. No windows, single light bulb, leaky pipe, moving shadow…wait what?!

She concentrated on the spot where she'd seen the shadow flicker.

'Uhh…Is anyone there?'

Something flinched.

Mariko narrowed her eyes. 'Hey if you're not going to help me get out of here, I don't need any damn false hope right about-'

A pair of golden eyes popped out and stared intensely back at her.

She stared as a figure emerged from the shadows.

Mariko said the first thing that came to her head. 'Aww~ what a cute kitty!' she cooed lapsing into baby talk.

The cat gave her a disgusted look, flicking its tail.

Mariko stared in awe at the cat. She was completely black except for the very tip of her long tail which was white. She had short pointed ears and her short fur gleamed as the light bounced off her slim form. Her eyes were mesmerizing, deep and intelligent. They were exactly the same golden color as a harvest moon.

The two were silent. One hoping she may have found her rescuer (somehow) and the other slowly realizing the girl had no food to share.

Mariko contemplated on her idea, well if she talked to herself… 'Hey cat!'

The cat regarded her with a bored expression.

'Could you find my backpack? Inside there're my tools, just bring me those and I can get myself free.'

The cat didn't move an inch.

'If I can get out of here, I'll get you some crab. How's that sound?'

The cat licked the back of its paws. When it seemed satisfied that the girl had waited long enough it promptly walked off and disappeared.

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

Mariko groaned loudly. What was taking that cat so long?

Heavy footsteps were coming closer to the room.

'Oh boy, company…' Mariko muttered to herself.

The heavy set of doors swung open and a beefy man marched through.

'Well it's about time someone came. I was getting bored out of my mind!' she sneered.

The man glared down at her. 'You better shut the Hell up! Otherwise I'll cut that tongue out of your skull.'

She smirked. This guy didn't scare her one bit.

'Now listen bitch, you've got two options. Either you tell us where your captain is or we keep you hear until he comes looking for you.'

Mariko suppressed a snort.

The man narrowed his eyes.

'I'm sorry to tell you this but your plan is screwed. No one's coming to find me.'

'Oh really? And why's that?'

Mariko rolled her eyes. 'Because no one knows I've gone, and when they do realize I've gone, they won't bother coming to find me. I leave and disappear almost every day, it's nothing unusual. So you might as well forget any dumbass plans to catch them, because it's not going to happen.' She watched smugly as the vein on the man's forehead throbbed. 'Maybe I pushed him to hard…' she thought vaguely.

Oh well, it was too late to back down now.

The man growled. 'You think you're so smart don't you.'

'Compared to you? I'm pretty sure I am.' She replied coolly.

That pushed him to the boiling point.

He drew the knife from his belt and charged. Mariko's survival instincts took over as she shifted her weight to avoid the blade.

'You're going to pay from that bitch!' He screamed.

A hissing shapeless mass leapt out of the shadows and launched itself at the man. Mariko stared in shock as the fight erupted in shouts, curses, claws and blood.

The man collapsed onto the floor, blood oozing from his face. The cat shook itself before walking away with its tail high in the air. She dropped something at Mariko's feet. Mariko blinked. It was her lock picking tools.

'So…I guess I owe you quite a few crabs huh?'

The cat meowed in agreement.

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

Mariko slipped her backpack over her shoulders. The familiar weight calmed her nerves faintly. She cracked her knuckles, stupid bastards going through her stuff. She glanced over her shoulder at the group of unconscious men, some pummeled, some with deep cuts ranging anywhere from their faces to their legs. She had to admit the cat was an excellent fighter.

She turned the doorknob she stepped out into the fading daylight.

'Damn, I've wasted an entire day.' She muttered.

The cat mewed sarcastically at her feet. In the natural light, Mariko noticed the cat had even darker circles around her eyes.

'It's like they're darker then black.' She mused. She cleared her throat awkwardly. 'Pretty good timing, you know, the whole rescue thing.'

The cat flicked her tail in reply.

'I mean it, if it hadn't been for you I would've been shipped off to the Marines and killed execution style or worst, Law would've had to intervene.'

The cat gave her a quizzed look.

'Law's my captain, technically speaking anyway. I'm kinda cursed to obey his every command.'

The cat yawned and began wondering if she'd ever get that crab the girl promised her.

'But I suppose the crew's alright, they get on my nerves and are a pain in the ass when they get drunk but otherwise they're a pretty friendly group, at least the ones I've met.'

The cat pounced on a shadow.

Mariko watched her silently. 'I should probably give you a name or something. It feels weird always calling you "cat".'

The cat cocked her head. 'I'm listening.' She seemed to say.

Mariko contemplated. 'How about Fuitchi?'

The cat scratched the air. 'See these claws? I can scratch you to ribbons.'

'Tatakai?'

The cat hissed.

Mariko chewed her lip. 'Alright, what about Arasoi? Does that live up to your standards?'

The cat thought for a minute. Then looked Mariko straight in the eye and mewed reluctantly.

Mariko grinned. 'So Arasoi, you hungry for that crab?'

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

Mariko marched into the inn. 'Hey guys I'm back!' she shouted. The few crew members glanced at her but quickly looked away.

Shit, what happened?

She scanned the room and saw Zeke ducking out of view, obviously trying to avoid her.

The key word is "trying".

Mariko sprinted up to him, Arasoi following her faithfully (or hungrily).

Mariko grabbed Zeke's collar and spun him around to face her. 'Oi Zeke, would you mind telling me what the Hell's going on? Did I do something wrong?' She asked bluntly.

Zeke mumbled something and looked down at his feet. She didn't hear everything he said but she was able to get the idea. She needed to find Law.

'Well thanks for your help Zeke, really thanks.' She said sarcastically.

'What the Hell did you do Law?' she muttered as she ran through the halls like a bat outta Hell.

'What did I do wrong?'

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

She found him in the garden, or what the inn was trying to pass off as one. There were only a few flowers poking out of the long uncared for grass. A few table sat in a random pattern by the door. Law was sitting at one of them with a newspaper in his hand.

It almost seemed as if there was nothing wrong with the scene.

Almost.

Mariko couldn't help but notice the tension in his shoulders and how he seemed to be looking through the paper not at it.

She tucked a loose strand of hair behind her ear. 'I'm back.' She said sliding into a chair behind him.

'Good day to you, too. Thanks for blessing us with your presence.' He replied.

'Err, I'm sorry if I left without telling you guys where I was going this morning.'

'It's alright.' He replied hastily.

Alright, something was definitely wrong.

She raised an eyebrow. 'Uhh Law, is there something-'

'Why's there a cat sitting next to you?' He interrupted, temporarily changing the subject.

Arasoi hissed.

'Her name is Arasoi, and she's my new friend. I'm thinking maybe she could come with us.'

Law turned and frowned at her eyeing Arasoi with mild distaste. 'Absolutely not.'

Mariko narrowed her eyes. 'And why not?'

'How do you know it doesn't have an owner? Someone could be looking for it right now.' He countered.

'First of all "it" is a girl. Second why wouldn't someone want to look after this cute little-'

'And you're not responsible enough.'

Silence.

'If you can't even keep track of your room key, how are you going to be able to take care of a cat?' Law asked.

'Hey! I only lost that key once! And I'd take very good care of her!' Mariko shouted. What the Hell was his problem?

'You're not keeping her!'

'You've got Bepo!'

'Bepo is a crewmate, he's not a pet!'

'So?!'

Law rolled his eyes and turned his back to her.

'Hey don't ignore me! We're not finished here!'

Law slammed his newspaper down. 'Yes we are.'

'No we're not!'

Law turned and looked her straight in the eye. 'Mariko, I'm your captain. When I say something's done. It's done.' He said icily.

Mariko bit down a retort as Law went back to his paper.

What the Hell was up with that damn paper anyway?

Acting on impulse, she dived for the paper, snatching it out of Law's hands.

'Mariko,' he said in a warning tone, making a grab for it. 'Don't read that, give it back.'

She jumped back a few feet, putting a distance between them.

'Please, just give it back.'

She flinched. Why was it so important to him?

One glance at the paper told her everything.

A large picture dominated the front page. A man, his wife and children were standing on the docks waving at the camera. Under the picture was a caption. 'Daiyomondo Takeshi and his wife Rin wave goodbye to the Marines from the docks after a 3 daylong conference on Hōseki Island. Accompanying Takeshi was his daughter Keiko (age 13) and their son and heir Tetsuo (age 8).'

Mariko felt her blood turn to ice.

Shit.

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

Fuitchi: Discord

Tatakai: Conflict

Arasoi: Strife