The Day It All Began (Mihawk X Shanks)

Chapter 3: Reunion

A couple of months passed by as the red haired man trained in the forest. He knew he was in there for a while, but didn't know exactly how long has passed by until he reached the town once again.

"Wait 9 months?!? I was training for 9 months in that forest?!" Shanks exclaimed at the news of what the date was. "I was so busy training I didn't even notice time go by!"

He may not have noticed the time pass by, but he did know exactly one thing. What he was training for. He wanted to prove to Mihawk how strong he was. He wanted to meet him once more.

Shanks decided to set sail to where Mihawk was. He took his vivre card out and went to the dock. His ship was still in a good condition, so he took the rope off the dock and raised the sails.

"Just watch Mihawk. I'll be the first person to beat you in a duel!" He said to himself. With confidence, he set sail to the island he was on.

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Mihawk wasn't too concerned about visitors on the island. The island wasn't marked on the map for some reason, so there was a only a small chance of meeting people here. Knowing this, he was worried that Shanks would not be able to find him. What if the vivre card didn't work well? It would be a shame if he wasn't able to see the beautiful red hair again.

During the months that have passed by, Mihawk trained night and day. He even managed to tame every beast that lived on the island. He was certain that he was stronger than Shanks. But that was up to their long awaited duel to decide.

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While Mihawk was unaware of what Shanks was doing, the red haired man was planning on sneaking up on Mihawk. It would be like a surprise visit.

As Shanks neared the island Mihawk was on, he began to feel nervous. What if the duel doesn't turn out the way he imagined it to be? He decided to forget about his worries and focus on meeting him.

Because the island was so big, he didn't know where to start looking. He knew Mihawk was here because of his coffin boat that was located near the shore. Maybe he's inland, Shanks thought.

Shanks reached the shore and dragged his boat onto the shore to keep it from drifting away. He decided to search for him deep in the forest. "I'll run into him somewhere on this island for sure." He thought to himself as he made his way to the forest.

Mihawk was unaware of the visitor on the island. He was busy trying to meditate. He went to the waterfall near the lake, and stripped down. He didn't like being completely naked because he didn't want any surprises by his enemy. He just took his shirt off and carried his sword with him. Mihawk placed his sword gently on a rock nearby, and sat down under the waterfall. He closed his eyes and blocked out noises around him.

Shanks found a river flowing near by, and knew that the swordsman would be near by a water source, so he began to follow the path carved by the gentle flow of the water. As he walked, he began to wonder about what Mihawk has been doing all this time. Probably training, but who knows what really happened.

Shanks stopped in his tracks and looked up from the spot. He saw a beautiful lake with a waterfall in the distance. If he could climb that waterfall, he could use the height as an advantage to look for Mihawk. He didn't notice the meditating man until he was closer to the lake. It caught him off guard, since he didn't expect to see him so soon.

Shanks hid behind a tree to observe what the swordsman was doing. He just sat under the waterfall with his eyes closed. Good. It means that he hasn't been sighted yet. The red haired man thought that it would be a good chance to be able to sneak up to him, so he walked out of his sight stealthily.

As he got a better look of the man, Shanks's face turned red. He looked at even the tiniest of the details. The scar he had on his chest, the well defined muscles of his body, and his masculine face. "No no no what am I thinking! Let's just focus on catching him off guard." He thought to himself. He still couldn't stop blushing at the sight of the man, even as he took his mind off of him.

Mihawk knew something was close by, but he didn't know it was a human. He thought it was just some animal walking by, since the lake was a common place visited by the beasts. It was until he opened one of his eyes he knew it wasn't an animal. He saw a glimpse of a red blur nearby behind a tree, and knowing all the beasts in the forest, this wasn't one of them. But for some reason, he felt a sense of relief and familiarity from it. He knew it was Shanks sneaking up on him.

"I know you're out there Red Hair. You don't have to stare at my body at such distance." Mihawk shouted into the forest as he smiled. He was certainly happy to see the man again.

As Shanks heard the shouting, his nervousness went away. He finally would be able to see Mihawk one to one without any distractions.