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ELEVEN YOU'RE A BANDIT LIKE ME
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KEELI WAS BUZZING WITH ANTICIPATION, her heart thump-thumping in her chest, as she stormed out of the fish bar, after Dracule 'Hawk-Eye' Mihawk, one of the Seven Warlords of the Sea (this was madness). And even though she was hurrying along, not paying attention to the way she moved, her footsteps made no sound on the wooden floorboards. No one that passed her by paid her any mind. She didn't stand out. Once you learned how to be a ghost, there was no going back.
So, when Keeli caught up to Mihawk at the docks of Baratie, he didn't hear her coming.
But Keeli hesitated; how were you supposed to address a Warlord?
"Excuse me, Mihawk — sir — Mr. Warlord—" Keeli stumbled over her words, anxiety obliterating her confidence.
Mihawk stopped in his stride, his back still facing her. That allowed Keeli to get a good look at the sword strapped to his back. It was a curved, single-edged black blade, polished to a shine, glinting in the light of the lanterns illuminating the docks. The sword was shaped like a cross, with a golden crossguard decorated with blue and green gemstones. The hilt was covered in what Keeli thought were bandages. It was an impressive sword, for sure — and Keeli knew that Jonah, as a swordsman himself, would be in awe.
But it was also intimidating, and Keeli wasn't sure if following Dracule Mihawk was such a good idea after all.
Mihawk slowly turned around, his yellow hawk eyes landing on her. Keeli's heart stumbled in her chest, and she swallowed. He studied her for a moment — or at least Keeli thought he was, she couldn't be sure, his face was blank — before he said, "You can call me Mihawk."
Keeli blinked, then nodded. "Right — Mihawk." She cleared her throat nervously. Goodness, Keeli, get yourself together! she told herself. Why was she so nervous? Mihawk hadn't made any indication that he wanted to hurt her — on the contrary, actually, he'd said that Jonah would be happy that she was still alive and kicking, and it didn't seem like Mihawk was planning on changing that.
