Pointless report:
Hi guys…yeah I screwed up again and didn't post every month like I promised…As my friend keeps reminding me. But then I learnt that there are these crazy people were saying the world's supposed to end today. So I decided to get my act together and finish up and post this chapter. You know, just in case. Although it seems extremely unlikely and I won't lie when I say I laugh my ass off every time I think about it.
So, I'm posting this chapter right now, before the supposed doomsday and wait to see what happens. And then if the crazy people were wrong (Gasp! Who would have thought it?) I'll be posting another chapter in the next few days. (Or tomorrow, depends on how much I can get done)
So~ apocalypse end-of-the-world shelters to: Jen567, SniperKingSogeking0341 and leens ().
Enjoy the chapter!
-"~"-
Mariko waited patiently for the girl at the desk to finish talking on the Den Den Mushi. After she'd been let in, she'd been directed to another part of the house to find out which room she was in and get her key. She snorted. This whole set up was like some fancy hotel, which, considering the set up was more or less true.
The girl put the receiver back on its holder. "How may I help you?" she asked in a professional manner.
"I'm just here to find out what room I'm in." Mariko said feeling a bit foolish for having to answer what she thought was an obvious question.
The girl took a small black book out of the drawers. "Name please,"
Mariko stated her name and watched the girl flip through the pages. Mariko absentmindedly examined her nails.
"Daiyomondo Mariko, room 36 in section H on the third floor. Here's your key and a map to help you find your way." The girl said in a clear voice.
Mariko took the items and stared at them numbly. "…Wait, you mean this place has different sections?"
The girl nodded. "Madam Kousei's estate has several smaller sections connected to the main house."
"But this place didn't look nearly that big from the front!"
"If you go around back you can get a better picture of how large this place is. That," the girl said tapping the map, "is why you'll need this."
Mariko looked at the map and back at the girl, then back at the map with a blank expression.
The girl sighed and wove her fingers through her brown hair, "Alright, would you like me to show you to your room, miss?"
Mariko blinked. "Yes please,"
The girl sighed and stood up. "This way please,"
Mariko followed her without complaining, she'd need the walk to figure out how in Hell's name she'd be able to find her way back if this place was really as large as she was told.
The two walked in relevant silence, broken only when the girl pointed out a helpful landmark in hopes it would help Mariko find her way around.
"Here we are. There's a Den Den Mushi in the room in case you need to contact me or anyone else on the estate. Just so you know all meals are being held in the dining room on the first floor in section F. If you need any help with directions or any other assistance, contact me, my number's on the map I just gave you. Dinner will be served in about a little over an hour." The girl said promptly, she looked at Mariko sharply with her large brown eyes, "Did you get all of that?" she asked.
Mariko blinked. "Uhh…Yes? I'm…not sure I'll be down for dinner."
"Alright, I hope you enjoy your stay." The girl turned on her heel and walked down the hall. Mariko looked at the map and back at the girl and shook her head. Definitely like a hotel, but at least they're organized.
She put the key in the lock and turned it and stepped inside.
The room was moderately sized, with creamy pale yellow walls. Even through her boot, she could tell the ash colored carpet was plush and soft. The queen-sized bed had a lovingly decorated headboard and a thin blanket on top covered in swirly designs. Mariko noted that the blanket was mostly for decoration, she didn't think it would be getting too cold at night. A dresser and a vanity were side by side against a wall, both built with pale white wood next to a door she assumed led to the bathroom. A sleeping Den Den Mushi slept on a small side table next to the bed, the snail seemed to be wearing a tuxedo and a top hat.
Mariko felt plain compared to the room, as if merely taking a step into this room would be a crime against it.
"That snail looks more in place then I am." She muttered under her breath.
She slipped off her boots and put them in the closet with mirror doors right next to the entrance. As she felt her feet sinking into the carpet without her boots on. She wiggled her toes, an oddly pleasing action.
She threw her bag against a wall and flung herself onto the bed. She buried her face into the sheets, they smelt of a mixture of crushed rosemary and pine leaves. She made a silent note to find the laundress and ask her if she could take a bottle of detergent with her back to the Hearts. With any luck, the crew might even smell better.
Her mouth twitched into a smile as she imagined Law smelling like this, or even Bepo for that matter. She laughed softly to herself, the whole idea seemed ridiculous.
She lay there for a minute, or maybe an hour, she wasn't really sure. She rolled onto her back a stared at the ceiling. She was sure that if someone were to be watching her, she'd look like a giant black blob clashing terribly with this regal room. She brushed off a bit of dirt from the sheets that she'd probably brought in with her. She yawned and stretched, even though she wanted nothing more than to curl up under the sheets and sleep for about a thousand years, she'd made a promise to Law.
She glanced out the window at the low sun. She supposed she could call him now, but she'd told him she'd call at night, but then again, it could very well be night where the ship was. Wherever that was…
She grudgingly sat up and stretched. She had time to kill and she didn't particularly feel like going downstairs and wandering around lost in this place. She scratched her arm for no reason. She should probably take a shower.
She slid off of the bed and dragged herself to the bathroom. She flicked on the lights and stared at the bathroom, or rather what was occupying the entire area around the sink. Makeup and other such beauty projects covered the entire surface area of the counter and looked like a beauty queen's dream.
Mariko blinked. The makeup was still there. She picked up a tube of liquid glitter and stared at it, and then she picked up bottles and tubes and anything else she could get a hold of. She opened a few of them and sniffed experimentally and sneezed, causing a bit of fine powder to fly away to parts unknown.
She stared at the pile of things in her arms.
She looked up at her reflection blankly.
What the Hell were these used for?
She'd never been girly, at least not that she could remember. Of course there was always the possibility that she had been a very girly 2 or 3 year old and she'd just forgotten. Yukio had worn makeup, but Mariko had learnt at a very young age to not touch with any of Yukio's things. So in her mind she'd just dismissed the value of makeup, Yukio did not want her near it so there was no point wanting it. Besides, mud puddles and animal chasing were much more interesting and fun to do.
Looking down at the sheer amount of makeup, she couldn't help but wish she knew what it was all used for. She glanced down until her eyes rested on the garbage can. She was just about to drop it all in when a thought passed through her mind.
She could possibly sell this stuff. It was free, and any price would be decent wouldn't it?
She considered this possibility. She hadn't been getting much pocket money since she'd joined the Hearts and the money she'd gotten from Yukio was running out. Come to think of it, she wasn't even sure if the Hearts made any money. She remembered the medical equipment they had at the bottom of the ship in the operating room. She couldn't imagine it came cheap, unless they stole it, which was also a possibility. And then there was the food, feeding the crew could take a bit of money as well.
She sighed. Maybe she should start paying attention to the inner workings of the crew. She glanced down at the makeup, and then gently set it down on the floor under the sink out of her way. Whether she'd give Law the profits later or not was her choice, but for now, she'd keep them.
She slipped out of her clothes and left them bunched up in the middle of the floor. She picked up one of the delicately folded towels and laid it on the ground and undid her hair until it came loose. She turned the knob in the shower and held her hand under the water to test its warmth. Satisfied the water was at the appropriate temperature, she jumped inside.
She let the water fall over her head. Her shoulders relaxed, she could do this, she could get through this.
She smiled, but for now all that mattered was the warm water. She sighed as her troubles seemed to be washed down the drain.
-"~"-
Mariko yawned and rubbed her eyes.
"I'm sorry, am I boring you?" she heard Law ask her from the other end of the line.
"No, I've just been hanging around my room since I got to the estate. Getting chased by that guy in town really tired me out."
"Right…Did he look like anyone I'd know?"
"You mean besides the fact he was pretty damn annoying, I don't think so. I think I've seen his face before, I just can't put my finger on it, but I'm pretty sure it wasn't from some bounty poster."
"Was he someone Yukio might have known?"
She thought for a moment. "I don't think so. He didn't seem like the type she'd talk to unless she had too. He wasn't some high class guy, I know that for sure. His clothes were more practical and he was definitely in shape if he could get onto the rooftops and keep going without a pause."
"Bounty Hunter?"
"No, they're normally a little bit more discreet when they're out hunting. This guy was shouting at me trying to be heard over the crowd."
She could hear him drumming his fingers against something.
"Well it seems your little vacation is certainly keeping you on your feet." He said blandly.
She grimaced. "You're telling me. But after I got to the estate nothing interesting happened. Tomorrow I'm going to go exploring for a little bit, I got here earlier than expected, I still have another day before this party's supposed to happen so I might as well try and get some downtime."
"Just try not to get into any trouble."
She made a loud fake gasp. "What? I hate trouble of any kind! I think you must be confusing me for someone else!"
Law chucked. "Right, of course you do."
"It's pretty late here, so I'm going to bed soon."
"Alright, take care."
"Wait, before you go could I ask you something?"
Law was silent for a moment. "If it's about your damn demon she's fine."
"No, it's something else."
"Alright, what is it?"
"Umm, where do the Hearts get their money from?"
Law was silent for a few moments.
"Law, are you still there?"
"…The same way pirates normally make a living. Collecting treasure and claiming it from other crews."
"Oh,"
"Why do you ask?" he asked coolly.
"Just a something that crossed through my mind, that's all."
"…Right, well goodnight."
"Yeah yeah, see you later, asshole."
"Goodnight, princess."
Mariko hung up the receiver and collapsed onto her bed, replaying the last bit of the conversation in her mind. She sighed and groaned.
"Nothing awkward about that conversation at all." She muttered rolling her eyes.
Feeling too lazy to change out of her clothes she closed her eyes and fell asleep, letting her body sink into the mattress.
-"~"-
Mariko opened an eye and blinked in confusion at the world. For a moment she wondered where she was. She yawned and stretched her arms. Right, she was at the estate.
She rubbed her eyes with the back of her hand.
"What time is it?" she mumbled.
Reluctantly, she slid off the bed and dragged herself to her backpack. Did she had a watch or something inside that she'd failed to notice?
"It's possible," she said answering her own question.
She rummaged through her bag, throwing a variety of items onto the floor. She sat back and sighed, this was too much work to do.
She stumbled back to her bed, picked up the map she'd thrown onto the side table and punched in the number on the map.
She lay down and waited.
"Hello, front desk speaking. How may I help you?" a voice asked cheerfully.
"What time is it?" Mariko muttered groggily, for some reason she still felt sleepy.
There was a silence on the other end. "About 5:30pm."
Mariko despite herself smirked. She'd actually managed to sleep through the entire day. "Cool, thanks."
"Wait, is that the only reason you called?"
"…Yeah?"
"Don't you have a watch?"
"Maybe, I can't remember if I brought it with me."
"…Then why don't you go look for it?"
"Too much effort. Too lazy to try. Thanks anyways." Mariko mumbled hanging up the phone before the girl could reply.
She slumped back into her bed and closed her eyes. No point getting up today.
-"~"-
There were four thoughts going through Mariko's mind when she woke up. One was that the party was that night. The second was that as a result of her over 24 hour sleep it seemed she was now fully awake with no chance of sleeping for the foreseeable future. The third was that she was savagely hungry, which was reasonable considering she hadn't eaten a decent meal since the morning she'd left the safe house. And then there was the fourth thought which was probably the only thought with enough power to stand up to her growing hungry, that Law was definitely going to bitch at her for not calling him last night as part of their agreement.
Her stomach growled so loudly it hurt.
"Sleeping all day, bad idea." She did a fist pump into the air. "Right. Got it. Understood completely."
She dragged herself off of the bed and felt every muscle in her body stretch. Although her stomach strongly objected, she took the time to change into an extra set of clothes, seeing as how she'd slept in her clothes. Usually she wouldn't care one way or another, but being in a new place made her cautious and anxious. She felt the need to impress someone, even if she didn't know who that "someone" was.
She yawned. Her thoughts were all jumbled together, if she wasn't careful, she'd spend the rest of the day worrying about absolutely everything.
She hastily pulled her boots on and grabbed the map and key before running out the door.
But first, she needed to find food. She sniffed the air and breathed in a mixture of pastries and fruit coming from somewhere.
She felt her mouth water and she took off without another thought. Her nose was probably a better guide then the map would ever be anyways.
-"~"-
Mariko shoveled a few more pancakes into her mouth, the maple syrup and whipped cream dripped down the sides of her mouth. A few other patrons indiscreetly gave her disgusted looks and slowly moved away from the table she was at. Mariko ignored them and chugged down a glass full of orange juice.
She sighed in satisfaction and leaned back in her chair. She licked the corner of her mouth and tasted the sweet maple syrup. She knew she should feel embarrassed by her sloppy eating but instead she felt oddly content. After all, wasn't she on vacation? Away from Law and the Hearts? If she wanted to stuff her face and pig out she should be allowed to. Selfishly she felt like she deserved a little time off.
She grinned foolishly. Even if she was in a way forced to come here, she might as well enjoy herself. She snickered under her breath. It must be the warm tropical weather that was improving her mood. It wasn't like her to feel so carefree.
She stood up and started to wander in what she hoped was the general direction of her room where she heard a terrified squeak coming directly where she was about to put her foot. She looked down in confusion. A small white mouse stared up at her with terrified eyes.
Please don't squish me! Its eyes pleaded.
Mariko blinked and squatted down. Surprisingly enough, the mouse barely flinched. Although Mariko doubted it had anything to do with bravery, it was most likely fear that froze it in its place.
"Hey there little guy," she cooed. The mouse's eyes flickered to something that could have been suspicion. She cocked her head, amused. "Where'd you come from?"
For a moment Mariko thought of all the dead mice Arasoi had hunted and eaten while they were on the ship and Mariko suddenly felt a bit sad. She looked the mouse over, it seem average enough. She considered killing it and keeping it until she got back to the ship. She thought for a moment on whether the mouse would still taste good to a cat if it had been dead for a few days. She tried to compare it to beef or some other meat and failed.
During these thoughts the mouse watched the strange girl's expression change to that of deep concentration. Although on the surface it looked completely innocent, its instincts were warning him of some form of danger, although it couldn't figure out what.
Just as Mariko was about to come to some conclusion a voice rang out from the other side of the room.
"Tyrannosaurus!"
Mariko glanced up to see an older man with combed over dark blue hair, wearing an orange and red pin-striped dress shirt and dark dress pants running towards her.
She sighed. He looked like an upstanding man of society if she'd ever saw one. She hoped he wasn't looking for some scum to belittle.
"Nmaa~ I'm so sorry, that's my mouse in front of you." The older man said as he came closer.
Mariko looked at the mouse and then back at the man and sighed. It looked like she'd need to find another treat for her kitty.
The man bent down and held out his hand, which the mouse, who Mariko figured was named Tyrannosaurus, gratefully jumped into.
The man stood up and put the small mouse into his left breast pocket in his jacket. He petted the mouse with his right hand. "Nmaa~ I'm sorry if he caused you any trouble, miss"
Mariko remembered to shake her head. "It's no problem. I'm Mariko, just by the way."
The man smiled. "My name is Iceburg, mayor of Water 7 and the President of the Galley-La Company."
Mariko let out a low whistle. "Lovely city,"
"Nmaa~ Have you visited it before?"
"No, but the pictures and descriptions make it sound like a Water themed paradise."
Iceburg looked thoughtful for a moment. "Thank you. Are you a traveler?"
Mariko shrugged, after all this man had told her about himself without hesitation. "I'm a pirate, my captain's still out at sea with the crew so I'm here alone. What about you?"
Iceburg sighed. "I'm here with one of my top foremen and I've just given my new secretary the slip. Sadly, she's not as organized as my last one."
Mariko shrugged, deciding not to pursue the matter. "I suppose it couldn't be helped."
Iceburg snorted. "Nmaa~ something like that."
Mariko grinned, for some reason she was starting to like this guy.
"Nmaa~ anyways, I should go before my secretary finds me."
Mariko grinned. "Maybe I'll see you tonight. I don't know if any of my friends are going, so it'd be nice to see a friendly face."
Iceburg smiled back thoughtfully. "Perhaps, also if you wouldn't mind, if a young woman comes in here looking for me, you wouldn't mind pointing her in the wrong direction would you?"
Mariko smiled sweetly. "What exactly did I see? I don't know what you're talking about."
Iceburg laughed. "Exactly,"
-"~"-
Mariko wandered towards the general direction of her room, or what she thought was the right direction. It was hard to tell sometimes, the walls were all painted the same color and the tile flooring never really changed. She looked down at her map again, had she taken a wrong turn?
She sighed. It seemed it was easier to leave her room than to find her way back again.
An idea popped into her mind. She glanced over her shoulder. No one was around her at the moment. Most of the guests had probably gone for a swim in the sun, or to the salon to get ready for tonight.
She took a deep breath and held out one of her right hand.
"Luna!"
A slight glow emitted from the back of her hand and quickly faded, leaving a dark arrow pointing behind her.
She groaned and turned around, watching the arrow adjust itself to point forwards. She knew she'd taken a wrong turn.
Keeping one eye on the back of her hand she walked in the direction indicated.
She smirked, "Grave misuse of magic my ass." she muttered under her breath.
-"~"-
Mariko stared at her reflection in the mirror thoughtfully, the light colored bathroom making her skin seem paler and slightly sickly. Up close, she could see all her face's flaws in front of her. The pimples hidden along her hair line, the fading scratches from Arasoi and the mild sunburn on her cheeks.
She looked at the piles of make-up at her feet and touched her face lightly. She half reached for a pot of skin colored liquid and stopped. She shook her head and looked back at the mirror.
"I don't need it." She told her reflection. "I can do this being me."
-"~"-
She took a step back and was faintly relieved that Law wasn't there to see her. Otherwise she might never live down the name "Princess" in a lifetime.
She wore a long silk backless, A-line style dress. After being used to pants for so long, she felt mildly self conscience as the fabric brushed against her legs.
And then there was the color.
Mariko glared down at her dress, at her pink dress. Her cotton candy pink colored dress. The same shade of pink you'd see plastered over every item a girly 6 year old girl would own. The color Mariko tried to steer clear away from whenever possible.
Once again she cursed at her misfortune. Of course she would have to wear something like this. She glanced at her mocking reflection and hugged her bare scarred arms around herself.
She promised herself that as soon as she got the chance, she was either selling or burning the dress.
She straightened her posture and walked towards the door and after a moment of consideration, loosened her hair out of its braid and let it fall across her shoulders.
"Please don't let me fuck this up." She said silently, and opened the door.
