Maelstrom

Chapter 41

Mihawk's POV

Damn that vexing woman to hell, she was the bane of your existence.

You really couldn't understand why you volunteered your services to someone as...well Ruse-like as her. She was so confusing, so playful and childish, immature, lacking, arrogant, naïve, and yet...you sigh as you bury your face back into your hands.

"Ahhh, what a troublesome student, now I know what Red-Hair meant. Really, how on earth did he deal with her antics?" You question the empty room, a grin on your face as you chuckle softly.

Ruse D. Argenti, huh? That woman really knew how to intrigue a person.

With another drawn out sigh you rise from your lounge chair, choosing to not recall what had just happened, if you were to think about her antics you would likely give yourself a headache. Women were simply confusing creatures, no doubt about that. As you shuffle around the books she had left from her reading material your eyes catch a letter with a red wax seal buried in one of the pages.

Hmm...that symbol looked familiar. You pause for a moment, golden eyes narrowing in agitation, your somewhat good mood now completely and thoroughly ruined.

That was why the symbol looked familiar, it was the shibaku's symbol.

A shrill ringing echoes around the main hall, the sound of your den-den mushi. Ah, even better. Now you have to deal with that mess, but you had Ruse with you, how were you to go about that? If you were to recollect the faces and figures of the current warlords you could narrow down the ones that would recognize Ruse as Rayleigh's child, but maybe if she had an alibi...

Ring. Ring. Riiiiiing. Riiiiiing. Ri- You snarled as you yanked the responder off the hook answering the caller with a large amount of frustration.

"Yes." You answer, voice flat, devoid of any emotion, yet our teeth were gnashing, jaw clenched in annoyance.

This had better be worth your time.

"Good evening 'Hawk-eye' Mihawk. I apologize for intruding on your night, but I would like to inform you that the shibaku's gathering that had been previously scheduled for a month ahead is moved up to next week."

A brief pause before the voice continued.

"That is all." The voice clips off before you could respond, your golden eyes flaring with anger.

Of course, that would be an ideal situation for you, how lovely. Sarcasm was not your forte, you exhale loudly, giving yourself a moment of silence to recollect your thoughts and gather your bearings.

The seven warlords were scheduled to meet in a week's time, and you had only one person you knew of that would recognize Ruse if she were to be brought with you, which wasn't a question, you had to keep her close to you especially at a time like this. Meaning you would be giving the troublesome young woman a crash-course of her devil fruit powers, along with Haki knowledge. Ah, she would likely not take that information very well, but you had no other options. Sending her back to the Red-Hair and his crew would betray your word, and you were a man of honor. You only hoped that Ruse herself would be able to pull off an alibi.

The wild woman she was, she'd likely be able to master the basics of your teachings in a time limit, already proving herself to be a rather advanced learner from her prior actions. The real trouble would be if she had the determination to create a whole new persona for herself, though you weren't too eager about it, you knew that you couldn't let her venture off of her own without at least a proper disguise from prying eyes.

Well, there goes your hope for an enjoyable week, you muse as you look back at the den-den mushi and the red sealed letter. And with that news, you sigh heavily again, deciding it best to get some rest before you were to wake tomorrow.

Your new student was in for a rather rude awakening.

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