"WHAT'D YOU SAY?!" Usopp shouted.
"For real?! Nami sailed off with the Going Merry?!" Luffy shrieks.
"I need a straight answer!! Now, what happened?!" Zoro demands.
"We . . .It only happened in a few minutes" the blue jacket went on to explain the events that happened while they were onboard the Going Merry. Not that you care since you've been looking out at the sea of the sliced galleon flagship.
You snapped out of your daze when you heard Zoro punch the restaurant wall in anger and frustration. "Damn it!! She just had to make the situation worse!!"
"The heartless thief!! Kaya gave us that ship!!" Usopp seethes as he clenches his fist, trying to keep his anger in check.
Luffy stands upon the railing of the outer deck searching the horizon for their ship. "Wait, I see a ship!! It's the Going Merry!!" he cried out. He then turns from his position to the duo. "Tell me where your boat is"
"We have moored it to the restaurant"
While they're talking about Nami, you turn back to the flagship and go back to your daze. To think that it had to come down to this . . .you just want to eat your fill and then beat Arlong's ass but this is seriously so troublesome . . .
"DON KREIG!! THE MAN WHO DESTROYED OUR FLEET IS BACK!! WHAT ARE WE GONNA DO?!" One of Kreig's men shouted.
All heads turn to the imposing figure in the small coffin-like boat sailing through the wreckage of Don Kreig's galleon. Out of all of you, Zoro is the most shocked at seeing the man he's been searching for since he set out to sea.
"That's . . .that's him" Zoro gulps. You were very excited, shaking in excitement. You couldn't wait to fight with him again. Luffy noticed Zoro's and your attention on the newcomer. "Hey, who's that??"
"That's the man I've been looking for" Zoro answered. "Hawk-eye Mihawk"
"So that's Mihawk" Luffy mutters.
"Yeah. The Greatest Swordsman"
"Y-you monster!!" One of Kreig's men grunts to the man calmly sitting on his boat. "Why are you doing this to us?! What the hell have we ever done to you?!"
"Just killing time" Mihawk replied bored, with a strong, deep voice.
You chuckled. That's so like him. The Kreig pirate is pissed off at the man's calm answer and aims his guns at the swordsman then fires. "Bastard!!"
Mihawk is undeterred by the Kreig pirate's harsh, angry tone and merely misses his famous long black blade and deflects the bullets with the tip of the sword, changing their trajectory with such grace and precision, much like the kind he used to split the ship the pirates are floating on.
The Kreig pirates are shocked at how the bullets missed their target at such close range. "What?? I missed?? But I aimed straight for him!!"
You couldn't take it anymore as you dived into the water and swam fast toward Mihawk in your shark form. "(F-First Name)?! Where are you going?!" Luffy shouted. You ignored Luffy as you took out your spear and burst out from the water. The blades clashed causing an immense shockwave to resound, knocking most of the spectators off their feet. Mihawk was shocked at you who almost got a drop on him.
"That spear . . ." he breathes. "Only one person I know wields such a weapon. That can only mean you're . . ."
"It's been a while, Mi Tesoro" you smirked. "I know you're itching for a fight. So am I so shall we take this dance??"
He smirked. The blades continue to clash which gives you nostalgia for when you first fought in the arena. "This takes me back to when we first fought" you hummed in nostalgia.
"I must say, you have gotten stronger since the last time we fought. You even look different"
"Hah, as much as I want to show my real face, I have reasons to do so"
Just as you parry the last strike, you didn't notice that Mihawk landed the second strike as the real attack. The first one was a fluke. You barely managed to dodge to your left as the strike scratched the bottom cheek of your face mask. You sighed as you removed your mask from your head, revealing your dark red eyes and h/c hair.
"Now this is troublesome"
"So you must be . . ."
"The Phantom Thief, Arsene?? The one and only. Now you see why I have to wear that mask??"
He chuckled. "I can see that now"
Both of you ignore the shocks of the spectators as you continued clashing your blades. Luffy and Zoro looked at you in awe as you fight. Zoro thought of that day during the tournament when you fought with Mihawk for the first time. It was intense just like now and it was vivid which made him looking more forward to his challenge with him. Luffy saw how you fought the bandits back at the Grey Terminal. You're strong but he didn't expect you to have gotten stronger.
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The duel was bloody with constant power struggles. Both of you were exhausted with wounds all over your body except the back. You were panting until you spoke up. "Giving up??" you smirk.
He chuckled at your expression while wiping the blood away from the corner of his mouth. "Not really. . ."
Everyone was silent for a moment. The dust was finally settled. You readied your spear back to your fighting stance.
"Let's finish this," you said as you took the initiative to attack. You let out an onslaught of attacks toward Mihawk, all of which were parried. He slashed upwards, knocking you off balance, and was about to stab you in the stomach. You grinned as he took the bait and scored your spear to the lower right which is successfully parried. Both of you took a step back to distance themselves before you both rushed in to attack again.
Everyone looked shocked at how the both of you were still standing closer together and breathing harshly. A blade protruded from your collarbone while a blade from just beneath Mihawk's shoulder.
Luffy was watching with tense eyes, not knowing who was going to win this fight, causing worry to feed in his stomach. He knew that this strange man is strong, very strong.
You were wheezing at this point. You took out your spear from him as he pulled out Yoru from you. Both of you were clutching your wounds, losing too much blood. This is now the showdown between endurance, like walking on a tightrope.
"Heheheh, fuck. We're losing too much blood. We were having so much fun together, however, I can't be unconscious just yet. I still have unfinished business left and I refuse to fall when the title of the Greatest Swordsman is still waiting for the next"
Zoro was touched by your words and turned away with a pink hue blush.
You stood up as you struggle to gather yourself while Mihawk didn't try to get up. The two of you were staring at each other with cold gazes in silence. He then let out a chuckle and said, "It seems you have beaten me this time, mi Cielo. It was exhilarating, fighting with you" Then he passed out after that as he slumped to the ground. You held a proud smile on your face while everyone looked at you in shock.
"She . . .she beat him. She beat the Greatest Swordsman in the world" Zoro looked at you in disbelief and shock. Luffy looked at you with a sigh of relief and then his signature grin. You pointed your spear at Zoro. "Do you see that, Zoro? Now listen up. If you want to be the Greatest Swordsman, you have to be at my level to beat him. I won't have that title cuz you still have a promise to keep!!" you exclaimed, grinning.
Zoro's eyes widened and smirked. "Does that mean I have to beat you first??"
You smirked. "We'll see about that and Luffy, mind passing me my bag?? It's on the table behind you"
"Sure!!" Luffy grinned and stretched his hand to grab your bag before passing it to you. You held it and took out a vial of healing substance to restore energy. You rummaged through to find the syringe but found broken shards of it. You facepalmed. Why did it have to break?! Is it due to the cannonball from earlier?! I swear once I find that ship, I will teach those brats a lesson and make them my test dummies. Mihawk might kill me for this but he can thank me later . . .
You slowly walked to Mihawk's unconscious body and put him on your lap. You drank your potion in your mouth and gave him mouth-to-mouth which seems like a kiss. Everyone looked at you with their eyes bulging out of their eye sockets.
"WHAT WAS THAT FOR?!?!?!" Everyone screams at you. You twitched and huffed. "My syringe broke so I can't just pour it into his mouth while unconscious so I had no choice but to do that tho I'm sure he will kill me after this but he'll thank me later"
Luffy pouted in jealousy while Zoro clicked his tongue and Usopp frowned in envy. Although you both just met, he can't help but feels jealous. You gently put Mihawk back as you went over to his body to patch up the wounds and gashes you gave him. You gave the Kreig pirates an intimidating glare as cold as ice and said, "If you dare interrupt, I will gouge your eyeballs and make it my necklace. I will also make sure you better not tell anyone about my identity. You got that??"
This shuts them up as they screeched in horror while you clicked your tongue in annoyance.
____________________________________________
Mihawk woke up a couple of minutes later and got up to see his wounds were patched up. He looked to the side, seeing you sitting beside him with your wounds healed.
"You're awake, Mi Tesoro. How are you holding up??"
"Did you . . .do this??" he asked, groaning.
"Yes, I did. I told those people not to interrupt so you don't have to worry about it" you replied as you crossed your legs.
"Did you also . . .did 'that' to me??"
You gulped as you sweatdrop at him. "Y-yes but I had no choice. My syringe broke in shards and you're unconscious so I had to do it!!" you clapped your hands together to apologize close-eyed. Mihawk glared at you and then averted his gaze from you. "You shouldn't do that to random people"
You opened your eyes to find his ears in bright red. You raised a brow in confusion. What the heck just happened?? You thought he was gonna be mad at you like last time but he looks away?? Then you suddenly came to a realization. You snickered and scoot over to his side.
"Ne Mi Tesoro. You liked it, don't you??" you raise your eyebrows with a smirk. He clicked his tongue and replied, "Don't assume something ridiculous like that"
You grinned close-eyed. "Pfft. Whatever you say!! Your red ears say otherwise"
"Shut your mouth"
"Oh?? Go ahead and do it then" You tapped your lips twice. "Come here and shut my mouth, darling. If you can, that is" You looked at him with a half-lidded gaze.
He almost wanted to do it but it's a good thing he held back cuz there are people here and no way he's gonna stain his reputation for this. Even after all the fights, he had with you for the past 9 years, you still amuse him to no end. And fuck, he even started to like you in the midst of it.
"Btw, there is someone I know who has been looking for you to challenge you. Remember the little boy you met with me 9 years ago??"
He snapped out of his blush and went back to his usual calm, nonchalant self. "Yes, I remember. I saw that he has potential back then but I didn't want to interfere in his life just yet. I accept his challenge"
"Yo, Zoro!! You can come down now!!" you shouted as Zoro smirked and grabbed his swords to get ready.
"I'm ready," he said as he put on his bandana.