Falaise

The Letter

This so exciting, we're reaching my favourite part of the fic!! Hope you'll enjoy it, don't hesitate to let me know in the comments!!

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Though his hands did not tremble, his breathing was shaky.

Mihawk walked to his desk, sitting down to read the letter. His fingers lingered on the pendant against his chest, until he unsheathed the small knife hidden inside the cross.

The swordsman deftly unsealed the envelope, taking the yellowish parchment out and unfolding it. He recognised Akagami no Shanks' handwriting.

Biting his lip in a rare display of nervousness, his eyes fell on the first sentence.

So you were in Falaise.

I should have known, as you are a cruel man, Dracule Mihawk.

I did not care for the news of your presence in Normandy, by my brother's side. There are limits that, I believe, should never be crossed. And yet, I have been a patient man from the start. Know that I did not look for you beyond the necessary research when you took the decision of deserting me. Despite the fact that you broke my heart, that day, Mihawk. If your purpose was to afflict me, know that you've succeeded.

But I'm a changed man now, and I forgive you. I forgive you, and am ready to have you by my side again.

A war is brewing, and your place is beside me, on the battlefield. Forsake Buggy, he does not possess the calibre to see this war through. The throne of England belongs to me, and I will not let neither Teach nor Buggy seize it. Together, we can defeat them both.

If that is of concern to you, there is room for the Desert King. As for Buggy, he remains my brother, and will not be harmed. He simply is not fit to be King.

Think about it, Mihawk. Teach is heading for England as I am writing, and I shall meet him there. Soon, I will meet you, too. Soon, I will come your way, and I know you'll wait for me. I know.

Shanks.

Mihawk's hands were still shaking when he set the letter down. Outrage had now replaced apprehension. Mihawk was seething. This note was a spit in his face.

He had dreaded the moment Shanks would learn about his whereabouts. He did not have any nightmare about it, but would have preferred so. Would have preferred to see it pester him in his sleep instead of inhabiting his mind every second he was awake. The nagging feeling at the back of his mind that the day would come where someone would be sent to retrieve him, and his peace would be broken.

Crocodile's presence had gradually appeased this feeling, and Mihawk had accepted the fact that this time would come soon the moment he had agreed to be Buggy's knight. He knew, then, that his identity would be revealed shortly, and it had been.

Shanks' letter, thus, was nothing of a surprise, but his presumptuousness filled Mihawk with rage. Nothing had changed since his departure. Shanks still saw him as his. A man to drink with, a soldier to dispose of, and a body to take as he wished.

To his eyes, Mihawk was something to own. And it seemed like he saw his own brother in a similar way, not even bothering to imagine that Buggy could protest.

Maybe it was even worse, the fact that he did not even deem Buggy capable of standing up for himself. He wasn't even offered a place by Shanks' side, though it was a poisoned chalice Mihawk knew not to let the sweet taste deceive you.

How self-centred Shanks was, to believe that Mihawk's escape had been to hurt him, how he could not realise that he was the reason Mihawk had fled. How belittling it was, to see that Shanks did not even think that Mihawk could betray him. The admission of Teach's destination being an inestimable piece of information whose revelation could backfire if Mihawk was to use it ill-advisedly.