Pointless Report:

GYAHAHAHA~

Well I actually managed to release it before the last day of the month, so it looks like I'm getting a little less lazy in releasing chapters.

Many thanks to the awesome reviewers: Wolfy0122, Meiya Soku, SniperKingSogeking0341 and Jen567. I really appreciate you guys taking the time to write a little something. It helps so much!

For once I don't think I hate anything else to write up here so~

Let's start the chapter!

-"~"-

Mariko slung her backpack over her shoulders. As much as she was dreading it, she had to go pick up her dress from the store in the village down the road.

She sighed. If she could've gone to this party in her usual clothes it would've been easier. But no, it had to be formal.

She wondered if she should have brought along Law or any of the other Heart pirates, but then she remembered how they behaved at their own parties…

She was suddenly very grateful that she was indeed doing this alone.

-"~"-

Mariko stared at the dress in unmistakable horror.

The dressmaker looked at her with a worried expression. "Ma'am, is there something wrong?"

"This isn't what I ordered!" She screeched. Even she winced at how high her voice had gone.

"Yes it is ma'am. Maybe you just don't recognize it because you ordered it from the catalogue."

Mariko's eye twitched. "If it was the same dress why is it a different color?"

"Perhaps they ran out of stock of the one you ordered and sent you one the closest in color?"

"This is almost the exact opposite to the color I ordered!"

"Please calm down ma'am. You're disturbing the other customers."

Mariko gritted her teeth. The party was the next day and she was running out of time to get herself a dress. She was already cutting it close when she ordered it. But this wasn't what she was expecting, but the other choices in the store weren't that appealing either.

She muttered under her breath, paid for the dress and stormed out of the store. Her cheeks burned from embarrassment, after the party she was burning this dress. She'd rather throw herself into the Calm Belt than let Law see her even in possession of something like this. She was almost praying that there really wouldn't be anyone she knew at the party. After wearing this dress her reputation was going to be on the line. It was going to take the destruction of three marine ships to make up for this.

She cursed under her breath, whatever sick twisted controller of fate was without a doubt laughing at her from the heavens.

-"~"-

Mariko folded her dress into her backpack. She'd made the right decision on leaving most of her stuff on the ship. It had freed up a lot of desired space. The only things left now in her backpack was, her dress, some jewelry, some nice shoes she'd found in Yukio's closet, her Den Den Mushi, the photograph of her sister and her, extra clothes, a few emergency treats for Arasoi, a hand sized piece of crystal, a few guns and knives, a brush, a notebook detailing her plots for killing Law (coded of course), candy, her grimoire, pencils, her wallet and a paper weight shaped like a kitchen sink (which Yukio had given to her as an ironic present).

She organized her things. Amazing how light it seemed after taking out most of her things. She did feel sorry for the Den Den Mushi though, she always tried to cram him by her clothes so he wouldn't get hurt as easily. She took out the photograph and wondered if maybe when she got on the ship she should take a picture of all of the Hearts together to keep with her if she ever had to leave again.

She snorted. Who'd have thought she'd start caring about those guys, she was probably just feeling sentimental after looking at her sister. Besides, they'd probably think it was a stupid idea, but still, it couldn't hurt to ask.

She zipped up her backpack and slung it over her shoulders. It was time to go.

She took one last look around the house. The house was cleaned, dishes were washed, and everything had been put away. She stood back appreciating the simple joy of leaving a clean house.

She opened up the hidden door and closed it behind her. She brushed off a bit of the dust off of the crystal. She felt power surge through her hand. She remembered Yukio explaining the importance of crystals.

"Crystals are an essential for magic users. They can naturally synch and harmonize with the body. They're sometimes used for healing purposes, because they have the power to store, structure, transmit, focus, amplify and transform energy. Knowing this, over the past few years we've learnt how to store some of our magic power inside them to use them later when we're feeling a little low on energy. Somewhat like a battery. Depending on the size of the crystal, it shows how much energy can be stored inside. Large spells or large quantities of magic go into large crystals and minor spells or smaller amounts of energy go into small crystals."

Which was why Yukio had put large crystals in each of their safe houses, because of the crystals' use in magic, no matter where they were in the world, if they focused their power they could teleport from house to house. The power in the crystal would link with the power inside of them and the crystal would act as an anchor and pull them towards itself. The closer you were to the crystal, the easier the link could be achieved. This had proven quite useful in the past few years whenever they'd needed to leave somewhere in a hurry.

Yukio had stressed the importance of crystals throughout their training. Although Mariko hadn't been as gifted as Yukio in transferring magic into crystals, it was doable if she concentrated hard enough.

Mariko thought of the little crystal necklace she'd given Law, the one she'd put spell inside. It was only a little spell. She hadn't made it anything specific. It was meant to protect Law, it may not be able to save him from falling off a cliff, but it could change the course of a bullet or make an enemy's eye glaze over for a moment to stop their concentration or lose their focus. Just little things, but when it came down to life or death, those little things could prove to be very significant.

A "wish" was what Yukio used to call them.

And Mariko found herself deeply wishing Law wouldn't get hurt while she was away, although she couldn't figure out why. She just hoped her little charm would be enough.

She put her hand over the crystal and focused her power. It was easier to focus near an almost fully charged crystal. She could feel her aunt's familiar power synching with her own and she felt herself relax. Although Hitokoe Island didn't have a safe house on it, Mariko had been there enough times to have memorized and visualize a safe place on the island to appear without causing too much of a commotion. She remembered when she was little she accidently landing on top of a woman's head. She'd dashed off before the woman knew what had happened. She wondered how many sessions of therapy the woman had gone to before she'd gotten over her fear of children falling from the sky.

After the party, she'd need to go to the island the Hearts were at. If it was an island she'd never been to, she'd need to find a boat to take her there. She couldn't just go directly onto the ship, because it was always moving, she wouldn't be able to get a lock on it, and if she did manage to lock on, she'd land in the spot where the ship used to be, most likely in the middle of the ocean.

She groaned, if only she could go to a place where a specific person was located instead of where a specific place was located. It would have saved her quite a bit of valuable time.

She pushed those thoughts to the back of her mind. Those problems could wait for a few days. Right now she needed to worry about what was going to happen today.

She closed her eyes as if it would help her concentrate easier and picture the scene in front of her. She imagined the lush trees and the path just a few feet away.

She took a deep breath. The still air changed to a humid tropical breeze. The sound of waves became far more acute and clear and she could hear shouting and laughter coming from what might have been the beach. The comfortable temperature rose to that of a lovely hot summer day. She could smell the rich earth and foods from the nearby town.

She peeked out of one eye and let out a sigh of relief. She was always afraid she'd end up in the wrong place.

Stretching her muscles she headed for the path.

She walked onto the path and looked in the directions. "Now which way was I supposed to turn?" She muttered. She cursed under her breath. Both ways looked more or less the same, which way was she supposed to turn?

She sighed. "Eeney, Meeny, Miney, Moe. Stab a Sea King in the toe, if he hollers let him go. Eeney, Meeny, Miney, Moe. My captain says to pick the very best one and you are not it." She finished, pointing in one direction. "Alright, so I go this way." She muttered turning in the opposite direction. If it turned out she was wrong, she could always turn around and head the other direction.

-"~"-

Mariko walked along the busy streets holding a piece of paper with directions firmly in her hands. It had taken some persuasion but she finally managed to convince the local law enforcer that he did not in fact recognize her and she was just going to visit an acquaintance.

A few heads turned to stare at her as she continued on her way. Possibly because everyone was wearing shorts and t-shirts while she was in head to toe black, complete with her hoodie and long pants. Definitely not the recommended summer island vacations wear.

She was feeling a bit overheated but not enough to change her clothes. She passed by a group of girls about her own age wearing more makeup then clothes, their cleavage on the verge of falling out of what could vaguely pass as shirts. The girls seemed to be flirting with another group of guys and were laughing loudly.

Mariko snorted. She'd take hanging around with pirates any day than those brainless punks. Even Law would be better for that matter.

She shook her head as she scanned the girl's clothing "style". It seemed everywhere she went there were scantily dressed girls trying to show off every inch of skin they could manage. Out of the corner of her eye she saw a few other men eyeing the girls with blood dripping from their noses.

She snorted in disbelief. What a messed up world they lived in.

"Hey!" A deep voice yelled from somewhere behind her.

Mariko's ears perked up but she kept on walking. She was surrounded by people and whoever the loud person was could be yelling at someone else.

"Hey you!" The voice repeated.

The voice seemed closer now and Mariko quickened her pace. She didn't have time to get into trouble with anyone, at least not today. She wasn't sure if the person was yelling at her or someone else but she wasn't going to stick around to find out.

"You in the black! Wait up!" The voice shouted again.

"Shit," she muttered under breath. The chances of her being the one called just rose.

"I'm not gonna hurt you!" The voice yelled.

"Like Hell you aren't," she said through gritted teeth. She took a chance and glanced behind her.

A young man blond haired man was without a doubt now chasing her. Pair of orange goggles was strapped onto the top of his head and he seemed to be wearing an open denim jacket with flames at the cuffs. Under the jacket she could see he was wearing a yellow t-shirt with a white bull's eye in the middle. A fat cigar was sticking out of his mouth, leaving a trail of smoke streaming behind him as he moved through the crowd.

"Just wait a minute!" He yelled.

Mariko had a feeling she might have seen him from somewhere, but she was never one to pay attention to such details. She gritted her teeth and dashed into a full scale run, weaving in and out of the crowd. She heard the man curse under his breath and she could sense she was getting the upper hand.

She heard some gasps coming from behind her but she didn't dare look back. If she looked back she might lose some of her speed. Whether the guy meant her any harm or not wasn't the issue right now. The fact was she didn't appreciate having some weirdo chasing after her.

"Hey slow down! I just want to talk to you!" The voice yelled from…above her?

She glanced up and almost tripped. To her disbelief saw the man running along the rooftops. And what was even stranger was that the man seemed to have ropes coming out from his sleeves.

She swore under her breath. While she was busy getting through this crowd, he had all that space to run as fast as he could. If she didn't lose him quickly, he'd catch up to her in no time. She glanced at her directions briefly and darted to the left onto a smaller street. If it was a chase he wanted, it was a chase he was going to get!

She could hear him jumping from one building to another, from what she could hear, this wasn't his first time chasing someone. Or maybe he was usually the one being chased. She wasn't sure.

She turned again narrowly running into a couple minding their own business. She heard them shouting at her but she didn't even turn her head. Her mind already preoccupied with losing the man chasing her. This wasn't like the time she'd tried to outrun Zoro, there weren't any trees to hide behind, no bushes to trample. It wasn't even night time, where her dark clothes might have given her a bit of an advantage in camouflage. They weren't even on equal playing grounds. As long as he was on the roofs, he could see her and maybe even predict where the winding roads would take her. She could barely glance over her shoulders.

"Jeez, he just won't give up will he?" She panted.

A thought passed through her mind. Wasn't she the one deciding where they were going? Didn't the hunted ultimately decided where the chase would go?

She gritted her teeth. She was only vaguely familiar with this island, but hopefully she knew a bit more than that guy chasing her. She hoped she had the brains to make this work.

As the chase continued, the people thinned and for that Mariko was grateful. She was running out of breath and she needed to lose this guy quickly. Even if he didn't look like marine he could very well be a bounty hunter. The last thing she needed was to get caught, and this time she didn't have the option of having her crewmates or Arasoi helping her out. She was on her own now.

She took several random sharp turns and, feeling desperate, she ran into a nearby shop. She weaved her way through the people and went out the back door, leading her to a back alley. To her right was a dead end and to her left was the street she'd just come off of.

She knew he'd be there in a few minutes, and there'd be no point in going back to the street. She took a quick glance around for some place to hide.

She could hear him getting closer and without a second thought, dived into a barrel and put a lid on top of her, completely hiding her presence.

Her heart felt like it was climbing into her throat and sweat dripped down her forehead. She stayed as still as possible, making as little noise as she could. She heard footsteps come into the alleyway.

The footsteps stopped then carefully advanced. Mariko could hear him muttering to himself and she had to stop herself from shaking as he got closer and closer to her hiding spot. The footsteps stopped right in front of the barrel and miraculously turned around and left the alley.

Mariko waited for a few minutes until she was sure he was gone then cautiously pocked her head out of the barrel. To her relief the alley was once again deserted.

She hopped out of the barrel like it way the most naturally thing in the world and stretched out her muscles. It had been a close call but he was gone.

That guy had been pretty damn persistent. She could still smell his cigar even after he'd gone. It showed her how close he'd come to finding her.

She glanced down at the directions again and sighed. She hoped she hadn't gotten too far off course.

-"~"-

Paulie walked along the streets with his hands shoved in his pockets, looking obviously disappointed. The first modestly dressed woman he'd met in his life and she'd managed to give him the slip. He sighed, he'd just wanted to talk to her and she'd run off.

He exhaled a trail of smoke. Who knew, maybe he'd meet her again. It was a small and crazy world. But for now he needed to finish up his errand for Iceberg.

He inhaled from his cigar. Still, it would have been nice to talk to a girl who wasn't shoving off so much skin. He got tired of being around women who seemed bound and determined to distract men when they were working.

He shrugged. Oh well, back to work.

-"~"-

Mariko stood in front of a large ornate gate in awe. Behind it was a huge stereotypical mansion, right down to the fancy fountains and pillars.

She stared at the handle. Was she really allowed to touch something like that?

She looked around and saw a gardener waving at her. "Oh Miss, do you need something?" She called.

"Is this Madam Kousei's house?"

The gardener gave her a suspicious look and came over to her. "And if it is?"

"The Madam invited me to her party tomorrow night. I was expecting to come here and have a room ready for me." Mariko said coldly.

The gardener looked her over for a moment. "Wait here for a minute." She said and ran towards the house.

Mariko sighed. She had a feeling this was going to get annoying.

She looked up and saw the gardener returning with a large muscled man who Mariko assumed was some sort of a servant or butler.

The man was holding a clip board of some sort. Mariko snorted. How tacky, a guest list?

"Name," the man asked gruffly.

Mariko sighed. "Mariko Daiyomondo," she said dully. "I told you mine now what's yours?"

The man predictably ignored her and flipped through a few pages and stopped. He glanced over at her. "Let her in." He grumbled.

The gardener opened the gate to let her in.

"Hey! It's rude not to respond to people when they ask you a specific question." She called after the man. The man continued to walk to back to the house. She hadn't really expected him to reply, but it had been a long day and she just felt like pissing someone off. Mariko smirked. She was going to have fun with trying to crack that guy.

"Head inside and you'll be shown to your rooms." The gardener said politely, interrupting Mariko's plotting thoughts.

Mariko sighed. "Yeah yeah," she muttered absentmindedly.

She wandered towards the house and heard the gate squeak as it shut. She felt herself chuckle, one way in, one way out.

If she was going to be stuck here until this whole thing was over, she might as well have some fun. But first, she yawned, she was taking a nice long nap. Too bad she didn't have Arasoi to snuggle up to.

She stuck her hands in her pockets. She looked up at the sky and wondered what the Hearts were doing.

But nothing in the sky signaled that her mental question had been heard as the clouds drifted by lazily through the silent atmosphere.

Mariko gave a deep disappointed sigh and headed inside.