One Piece (Love Story) [Part Two]

Chapter Three Hundred and Fifteen

-Chapter Three Hundred and Fifteen-

-Zoro's P.O.V-

"Please!" I begged, down on my hands and knees with my forehead pressed hard against the stone-cold floor. "Will you train me as a swordsman?!"

"You disappoint me," Mihawk said, "Stand up—I can't believe you would ask your enemy for instruction, have you no shame?" he asked. "Get out of here, this is pathetic—a pity perhaps, but I overestimated your worth" I didn't care for his jest as I continued to bow, listening as he poured himself a drink. "I said stand up, you're making a fool of yourself."

"Please! Help me!" I begged once more.

"First of all, the baboons beat you and after that you couldn't even make it out to sea" Mihawk pointed out. "I can't help you—it's hopeless."

"They didn't beat me" I corrected him, ignoring the pain in my chest as my wounds started to bleed once more after reopening during my last fight. "You're the only one left to take down, but I'm just not good enough to win against you the way I am now—anybody can see that."

"I don't follow" Mihawk admitted. "Clearly you still consider me your enemy...yet here you are bowing down, begging for my help—what do you mean to do?" he curiously asked.

"Kill you, of course" I truthfully answered as I finally sat up, watching as his lips twitched upwards before he burst out into a hearty laughter.

"You admit you want to kill me and you expect me to assist you in that?" he inquired, amusement dripping from his voice. "You're strange, what a ridiculous request—aren't you the least bit embarrassed? Perhaps your priorities are different now, Roronoa" I clenched my jaw, watching as he turned his attention towards the pink haired woman that silently floated close by. "You, the Ghost Woman, go take care of his injuries" he ordered.

"What? Why on earth would I take orders from you?" Perona frowned.

"We'll begin after you recover" I couldn't stop the way my lips tugged upwards into a bright and wide smile the moment I heard his words, pleased to know that he'd be willing to train me.

"Mr. Fancy Pants...treating me like some kind of maid..." Perona quietly growled. "What are you waiting for? Let's go, stupid!" she snapped as I followed her out of the room and allowed for her to treat my wounds. "3D is crossed out and 2Y is under it?" she questioned as she curiously stared down at the paper, now seated on the chair by my bedside after she was finished with patching me up. "You're right, I see—it's like a tattoo on his arm!"

"A while back, the whole crew promised we'd meet up at a certain place in three days" I said, staring down at the Vivre Card Rayleigh had given me. "But we just couldn't" I closed my eyes at the memory.

"So let me guess, 3D means three days—right?" she asked. "Then the 2Y is probably...um..." she trailed off, not quite grasping the meaning of the word.

"Two years" I told her.

"I knew that" she quickly defended, embarrassed at not having gotten the meaning behind the words as quickly as she would have liked.

"So the meeting is going to be two years later, alright" I told her. "Means he pulled that stunt in Marineford knowing it'd get him in the newspaper, that way he could make sure each of us got the message—that was smart, especially for Luffy" I praised. "But none of us has what it takes to survive in the New World, that's why we have to train, so we'll all be stronger the next time we meet."

-Later-

"Hey! Didn't I tell you to rest up?" Perona scowled as she followed after both Mihawk and I the moment we left the castle and stepped outside. Silently did I cast a small glance to the man beside me, huffing before I stared forward once more and began to think back on that day that I had first met Luffy and the vow I had made after my defeat to Mihawk.