The Day It All Began (Mihawk X Shanks)

Chapter 17: His Smile

Mihawk left the battle field, feeling like he just aged a thousand years. He felt tired, and wanted to go back to his home on the abandoned island, and take a nap for an hour or two. Ten years would work too.

After seeing Shanks's face again, Mihawk lost all his strength to fight. To save himself from the troubles, Mihawk left the battlefield. Even though he secretly wished to desperately talk to him, Mihawk didn't want to risk putting Shanks in danger.

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It didn't take very long to reach his home. Within a few weeks, Mihawk finally managed to set foot on his beloved castle again... Only to find out that he had guests. Not just one, but two.

"You. How did you get here."

"I... Our crew became separated when we were up against Bartholomew Kuma... He sent everyone flying, and I ended up here," Zoro quietly spoke out.

Roronoa Zoro. He fought against him back in East Blue, but he never thought of meeting him again so soon. Next to him was a pink haired girl... Who was floating in air? Mihawk stood still, observing her, and realized that she was a devil fruit user.

"Never mind that. I don't care what you did to get here, how you got here, and what you want from here. Do whatever, but leave me alone." Mihawk turned away, and walked towards his room, ignoring the pink haired girl and green haired swordsman. After dealing with the war, he was in no mood to talk, and deal with the two unexpected guests.

Mihawk flopped down on the bed, and shoved his face into the pillow. No matter how long he stayed still or closed his eyes, he couldn't get Shanks out of his mind.

What really bothered him was that even in the midst of war, Shanks was smiling. That idiot can't even take anything seriously, can he?

One thing Mihawk definitely noticed about Shanks, was that even though he was busy cleaning up after the war, Shanks saw Mihawk. As he walked away, Mihawk definitely felt Shanks's eyes fall upon him. But it wasn't frustration or anger. It was different. It was as if Shanks longed for him. His eyes were fierce, yet oddly soft; something only Mihawk has seen so very often. Shanks wanted to see Mihawk, and Mihawk knew about it.

Mihawk sighed, as he laid on his back. He closed his eyes, and drifted away, with the image of Shanks's smile on his mind.

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Shanks knew Mihawk saw him. He expected that idiot swordsman to at least say something, but all he did was walk faster towards his boat. No matter how much he tried, it was as if Mihawk really hated him. This only made Shanks upset.

There was no point in chasing down Mihawk if he was purposely avoiding him. Shanks decided not to follow after him, and instead focus on cleaning up after the war. But his mind only focused on one thing, no one man. Mihawk.

"Damn it. It'll only make me more frustrated the more I think about him." Shanks mumbled to himself.

Ben Beckmann, who happened to be near by, walked up to his captain and placed his hands on Shanks's shoulder.

"Look if you really want to talk to him, I can deliver your message to him."

At the sound of this, Shanks's face brightly lit up.

"Can you really? Hurry then, first mate! You're going to miss him!"

Shanks pushed Ben towards the direction of Mihawk, and excitedly awaited his return.

After a few minutes, Ben Beckmann returned to his captain's side. He had a neutral expression on his face, like the usual, so he couldn't tell if it was a bad news or a good news.

"He doesn't want to see you right away Shanks. You gotta give him some space."

"He's not mad at me... Is he?"

"No. From the looks of it, he's just tired. You can go visit him later, but you'll have to wait."

Shanks let out a sigh. He was relieved that Mihawk wasn't mad at him, but also frustrated that he had to wait longer to see him. But how would he find him again without Mihawk's Vivre Card?

But it didn't matter now. He had business to take care of. It was only a matter of time before he can track Mihawk down. If it meant being able to see his smile again, there was nothing that could hold back Shanks.