The Day It All Began (Mihawk X Shanks)

Chapter 13: Refusal

Mihawk didn't know what to say. He met with Shanks thinking that it'll be another tied duel, but it wasn't.

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As the years went by, both Mihawk and Shanks regularly met up to have a duel, and each battle would end up in a tie. They never could land a devastating blow on each other, and always ended the fight after several hours later.

Mihawk met up with Shanks one day on a small island with a village. He waited patiently for Shanks, and when Shanks finally arrived, he sensed something was off. He didn't know what, but something was wrong. It wasn't until Shanks neared Mihawk, that he saw it.

"Shanks... Your..."

"My arm? Yeah I know. Funny story actually."

"You idiot. What the hell did you do that lost you an arm?"

"Look at it as a symbol of a promise. I made a promise to a friend with this arm of mine. Anyways, I'm right handed, so there's no trouble in holding my sword."

"That's not the problem. I'm not going to fight you when you're at a disadvantage."

Mihawk sighed, and placed his sword on his back. He just stared at the missing arm, and shook his head.

"Hey it's still the same before. It's not like I lost the ability to fight. Trust me. Just fight me and you'll see."

Shanks walked up to Mihawk and grabbed his hand.

Mihawk shook his head once more, and removed Shanks's hand off of his own.

"No. I won't say it twice. I am not going to fight someone who has a disadvantage against me. It'll bring dishonor in my name."

"You're not actually worried about fighting. There's something else to it, isn't there?"

"No. That's all. There's nothing more dishonorable than fighting someone who holds a clear disadvantage."

Mihawk faced away from Shanks, and started to walk away. Shanks quickly chased Mihawk, and grabbed his arm, spinning Mihawk around to face him.

"What's really bothering you? I know it's not the fight being held back."

Mihawk refused to look at Shanks, and stared out at the beach in silence. He finally spoke out after a few minutes of awkward silence.

"... I... Just can't stand looking at you, without a part of you. It feels empty. It doesn't feel right."

"That's all? Look it's nothing. It's just an arm."

"I know. I know, but it's still bothering me. Was that promise worth it?"

"My friend will make it out there in the future, and you'll see."

Shanks closed in the spaces between him and Mihawk, and placed his head on Mihawk's shoulder. Mihawk reflexively wrapped his arms around Shanks's neck. They stood still, hugging each other on the beach.

"You know, it's going to take some time to get used to you not having your arm."

"Yeah I'm still getting used to it too." Shanks gave Mihawk a light kiss on the cheeks, and stepped away. He sat down on the sand, and watched as the waves hit the shore. Mihawk joined him, and silently observed him.

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Even though Mihawk stopped the duels, both the men met up frequently for a drink. Each time they met, their reputation was bigger. Villages and towns feared these two as they met up for a talk in the bar, but nothing big ever happened.

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One morning, Mihawk decided to visit Shanks. Usually Shanks would have been the one to visit Mihawk, but Mihawk decided to switch it around this time. He took out Shanks's vivre card that he stole from Shanks a while back, and tracked him down.

He reached a small island, and saw the giant ship docked on the shore. He was there for sure.

Mihawk landed on the shore, and leaped out of his coffin boat. He walked out to the sand, where he was greeted by new recruits.

Never seen near the captain before, the new recruits took out their weapons and circled around the enemy. They knew who Mihawk was, and was afraid of him. Mihawk could see them shaking as they neared him.

"Hawkeyes! Just what've you come here for ?"

"No need to get antsy, I've no business with the rest of you. Where're your officers?"

Mihawk paused, and looked around at the alarmed crowd of recruits.

"To be hanging around on an island such as this... Your captain is quite the easygoing man..."

Hearing the news, one of the new recruits ran toward the inland of the island. Mihawk knew he was heading into the area where Shanks was, so he followed him.

"C-c-c-captaaiinnn!"

Mihawk finally reached where Shanks was inside the island. He noticed Shanks sitting under a giant parasol with the rest of the crew surrounding him.

"Ah Hawkeyes. Quite a rare guest I've got today. I'm not in such a good mood right now but... Have you come for a fight?"

"Hmph... As if I'd want to settle things with a man with only one arm. I came across some interesting pirates, and I was reminded of that story you told me long ago. That story about an interesting little kid in a certain village..."

"So you've come out at last, Luffy. Hey, everyone! Let's drink! It's time for a party!"

"Drink? But weren't you grumbling over your hangover just now!?"

"You dumbass! How could a man not drink on a day as joyous as this?! Hawkeyes! You sit down and have a drink too!"

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Thank you for your patients! I haven't forgot about writing, it's just I've been a little busy you see~ This part took me a while, since I took their actual dialogue from their meeting in the manga. If you're interested, they meet on Chapter 96. Thank you 💕