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When Mihawk awoke most of the inhabitants were already dead, the rest were slowly dying, which gave the village where he lived a strange smell of death, iron, and burning flesh. He staggered to his feet, one hand on his bleeding forehead and the other clutching his broken sword firmly. Mihawk had been training for five years to pursue his goal of becoming the best swordsman in the world. However, despite his training, the child, for Mihawk was only ten years old, had been defeated by a fearsome pirate crew.
Captain Butcher 'The Wolfe' Hartford and his bounty of two hundred million had come to plunder the small island and succeeded. Despite his best efforts, Mihawk had been knocked unconscious by Butcher and left for dead, but the captain had made a mistake: he had left Mihawk alive.
Mihawk stopped looking at the orphanage where he had grown up of which only ruins remained and limped with difficulty towards the beach. His face twisted into an angry grin when he saw the pirate ship, the Howling Galley, whose black flag was a wolf's skull, in the distance.
Mihawk's knees gave out and he fell against the sand, his hand automatically moving towards the necklace around his neck. Playing with the oval steel medallion was an old habit, bouncing it or bringing it to his mouth when he was concentrating. Mihawk's golden eyes widened as he fumbled to touch the medallion which, when he looked down, was no longer around his neck. Seized with an inexplicable panic, Mihawk looked around but the medallion was nowhere to be found in the sand. And his instinct told him that the necklace had not fallen during his fight since the chain was made of resistant steel.
It only meant one thing. Captain Butcher "The Wolfe" Hartford had stolen Mihawk's necklace probably as a trophy or simply for its beauty since a nautical compass was engraved on it. However, for Mihawk the necklace had a significant sentimental value: it was the only way he had to find his family since inside the medallion was a whiter card - which Mrs. Marie explained to him to be a Vivre Card - and an inscription: find us when time has come -R & S.
Mihawk clenched his fists so tightly that blood flowed as he memorized the black flag in his mind. Two things were certain for the young swordsman:
He will find his family one way or another.
And he would prove to Butcher that a hawk is stronger than a wolf.
*☠️*☠️*
Shanks had no shame in admitting he was terribly bored. Boredom had always been his worst scourge. He drank too much when he was bored, which drastically increased the Captain's chances of having grotesque ideas and thus leading his crew towards a new potentially deadly adventure. Although Shanks didn't necessarily need to drink to have bad ideas.
The Red Force cruised leisurely through the waters of the Grand Line following the directions of the Logue Pose. Shanks had woken up early and spent most of the morning bothering Beck, but his second in command, out of anger and annoyance, had instructed him to watch the horizon from the crow's nest. Shanks had obeyed, hoping to find something to look at, but he had been counting the number of fish or seagulls for at least two minutes and was already bored.
Thus, two possibilities presented themselves to the captain. Either he resumed his favorite activity even if it meant really pissing off Beck – which was very dangerous – or he could convince his crew to go say hello to the Navies. There had to be a base nearby.
Shanks was thinking about going downstairs to check his theory in his room by examining the maps stored in his office – what good was knowing how to read a book or write a letter when you could decipher a map? - when something caught his eye. An island precisely. Shanks used his spyglass to see if the island could be a cure for his boredom or not when he saw that a pirate ship with a wolf's skull drawn on the black flag was already docked in the port. Not only that, but chaos reigned in the city in the background: houses were destroyed and corpses of pirates stained the port.
Shanks was hesitating whether to go or not when he saw a small coffin-shaped one-seater ship.
"Hawkeyes?" the redhead asked aloud although he was all alone in the crow's nest.
Usually Shanks would be delighted to see his rival, especially at times like this when boredom was a more formidable foe than the swordsman, and this feeling was deadlier than Yoru's black blade. Yet once again the captain hesitated. This kind of bloodthirsty killing was unlike its rival; Mihawk was smart, methodical and had standards: if the elder had to fight another swordsman he would do so in an open area rather than in the midst of civilians. So Shanks used his haki to preview what was happening on the island and he made his decision when he felt that it wasn't really Mihawk who was behind this massacre.
The chaos was even more deafening now that Shanks was on the island: the smell of blood stung his nostrils, the screams pierced his eardrums, and the smoke made his eyes water. Shanks strode into the chaos with Gryphon already out of his scabbard, he didn't care if the townspeople or the Navy recognized him; the most important was Mihawk.
Shanks ran when he heard shots being fired further ahead of him: the rest of the other pirate crew were trying to defend themselves with guns. Not that bullets would be more effective in taking down Mihawk.
"Hawkeyes!" Shanks called out to him to get the swordsman's attention, but his attempt was in vain. Then the redhead muttered another name: "Goryo."
Goryo was the name of the second personality that lived in Mihawk since birth and had its own autonomy and independent spirit. The swordsman had no choice but to explain to Shanks the nuisance that lived inside him after the redhead encountered Goryo in a peculiar way. Mihawk had no explanation for this second personality except that Goryo was a serial killer with an overflowing appetite for human blood. Mihawk had control of Goryo since childhood and only very rarely lost control. The only time Shanks had seen Mihawk lose control was also the first time they had sex; though the arrival of Goryo, who had threatened to slit his throat, had killed the redhead's excitement.
Thus, Shanks was ready when Goryo changed his target and attacked him by surprise with lightning speed. Gryphon and Yoru's blades screeched violently as they made contact. The golden eyes that had always hypnotized Shanks had turned blue, a sign that Mihawk was no longer in control. Luckily, the swordsman had ordered Shanks to fight Goryo if ever Mihawk couldn't get the upper hand. The Captain then gave everything he had to wear down the second neurotic personality even if it meant physically injuring Mihawk in the process.
The other crew had taken the opportunity to flee during the fight between Shanks and Goryo.
It took nearly three hours of intense combat for Shanks to overcome Goryo. The redhead was about to attack again when he saw a sparkle of gold in Mihawk's eyes and he let go of Gryphon just in time to catch the swordsman who had passed out. Shanks carried Mihawk in his arms closer to the beach when he felt the curious gaze of the locals on them. Now was not the time to be recognized as a pirate or to be interrogated.
Thus, Shanks brought Mihawk back to the Red Force where Hitsugibune was already attached thanks to Beck's presence of mind. His second ordered their subordinate to return to their occupation as Shanks laid the swordsman on the ground with his thigh as a pillow for Mihawk's head.
Shanks knew the instant Mihawk woke up - his nose wrinkled up in a cute way every time Mihawk woke up from a deep slumber. Hawkeyes blinked away the fatigue and his golden eyes fell on Shanks. The redhead didn't even have the privilege of seeing the surprise on his lover's face because it seemed that Mihawk could never be surprised by anything.
"Red? What are you doing here?"
"You mean on my ship?" Shanks teased with a cheeky smile.
Mihawk frowned and adjusted his question: "Could you tell me why I am on your pirate ship?"
"Hmmh," Shanks pretended to think about it, "would you punch me if I told you I kidnapped you like the mean pirate that I am?"
Mihawk raised an eyebrow but didn't answer.
"I met Goryo and we had a lovely chat before you managed to regain control and passed out. I thought you'd rather be somewhere safe to wake up."
Shanks didn't expect Mihawk to thank his foresight or kindness. It was rare for the swordsman to admit his weakness to anyone, even himself, and thanking Shanks would be like admitting he needed help dealing with Goryo. So the redhead expected to at least have a quiet afternoon with his lover and a few bottles of alcohol.
What he hadn't expected, however, was Mihawk getting up before asking in his cold voice: "and who gave you permission to meddle in my personal business, exactly?"
Shanks opened and closed his mouth not knowing what to say, he had the impression that self-mockery wouldn't save him from Mihawk's haughty gaze. The swordsman's lips were slightly pursed in anger.
"I let Goryo out," Hawkeyes confessed softly.
"Why would you do that? This massacre… Did you let it happen?"
Hawkeyes nodded after a few seconds.
"Why? You don't need him to win your fights."
There was a long silence before the swordsman reluctantly admitted, "The Captain of the Howling Pirates, Butcher "Wolfe" Hartford, stole something from me a very long time ago."
"What was it?" Shanks asked as he got up, he felt ashamed to have intervened now.
"An unimportant bauble."
Shanks raised an eyebrow, "I don't believe you."
"Good. I am not asking you to believe me. In fact, I did not ask you anything and I would like to end my so-called 'captivity' by leaving."
"The Red Force will be faster than the thing you dare call a boat if you want to catch Butcher."
"No," Hawkeyes said quietly as he walked over to Hitsugibune, "it's just a trifle, he can keep it if he wants. More important business awaits me."
"What's more important than drinking with your only rival?" Shanks asked as hope made his heart beat a little faster.
Hawkeyes stopped walking and looked behind him at the redhead, "reporters dubbed me 'the world's greatest swordsman' yesterday morning."
"Congratulations, my angel!"
"Except that I haven't earned this title yet, there is one name left on my list and not the least."
Shanks frowned, inwardly wondering who it could be. The solemn look on Hawkeyes' face dissuaded him from asking his question. Mihawk looked like a man who was consciously walking toward his own death.
"Is there anything I can say to keep you from leaving?" Shanks asked with that infantile hope that still characterized his youth.
"No, there is no such word. I just hope you will not mind if I win."
"Who are you going to face?"
But Hawkeyes kissed Shanks in front of his entire crew instead of responding. Strangely, this kiss had the bitter aftertaste of the last goodbye.
"I thought you didn't believe in luck?" asked Shanks with a huge teasing smile.
"You are annoying when you talk too much," the swordsman replied before leaving.
*☠️*☠️*
Come to think of it, perhaps Shanks should have insisted on knowing who Hawkeyes went to fight, although deep down he already knew the answer.
After Mihawk left, Shanks had decided to make it up to him by retrieving the "unimportant bauble" himself, which must have some importance since the swordsman had nearly massacred a village to get it back. As promised, the Red Force quickly caught up with the Howling Galley and the crew beat Captain Butcher Hartford's with ease. The "wolf" was lying at the foot of the redhead who was wondering what he should do now. It wasn't as if Mihawk had given him the description of the object. He pointedly ignored Beck who was smoking behind him and whose gaze seemed to say "now what?"
"I don't know," Shanks muttered to himself as the sun's rays shone on a silver chain around Butcher's neck.
Surprised and curious, the redhead bent down and touched the necklace with his fingertips to inspect the medallion. It was a simple little thing. An oval silver medallion with a nautical compass engraved on it. However, Shanks imagined his lover with this kind of necklace around his neck: simple and refined, like him.
Shanks fiddled with the clasp of the necklace to retrieve it and he held it up to the sky so the sun's rays could glisten on it. The richly engraved nautical compass did not go with the Mihawk aesthetic, not like Kogatana. In fact, it reminded him of an old conversation he had with Rayleigh when they were still on the Oro Jackson.
The Rogers pirates had settled on an island, it was late and Gaban was telling them a story about a son starting an adventure to rescue his father who was lost in the darkness and married the princess of the night along the way. Roger then nudged Rayleigh and said playfully, "Maybe it's a prophecy of what's going to happen to you."
"He'll have to conquer his own darkness first," Rayleigh had replied before stealing Roger's bottle and drinking.
Gaban then mocked the second by saying: "that would make you the father of a prince!"
"Don't abandon us for your prince-son, Rayleigh!" laughed another pirate.
For their part, Shanks and Buggy had looked at each other without understanding the private joke. Rayleigh refused to tell them the truth when they asked the question about the joke. Shanks persisted long after Buggy gave up and Roger's second in command finally capitulated one night when they were alone:
"Shakky and I have a son who is a bit older than you. His name is Ryo."
"Why doesn't he live with us here? Why have I never seen him?"
Rayleigh was star gazing when he admitted, "We were forced to leave Ryo in an orphanage when he was two years old after he nearly killed several crew members. It was too dangerous to keep him on the ship. "
Young Shanks frowned, he didn't like the idea that Rayleigh's son had been abandoned because he was dangerous. Why had no one stayed with Ryo to teach him how to master his strength?
"Don't worry, it's temporary, Ryo will find me," Rayleigh said confidently. "I left him a necklace that only he can open with my Vivre Card in it. There's a nautical compass engraved on the locket to give him a clue."
Shanks looked at the medallion in a new way. What was the probability that there existed in this world a second medallion with a nautical compass engraved on it? Shanks tried to open it but was unsuccessful. Which meant… The Captain's red eyes widened when he finally understood: Mihawk was the son Rayleigh had been waiting for. Except that without this necklace, Mihawk -or Ryo- could never have found his family.
And suddenly Mihawk's voice rang in his mind, "I just hope you will not mind if I win."
Thus, Shanks knew two things about Mihawk's mysterious adversary: he was strong enough to make his lover doubt his victory, and Shanks knew him.
"We have to go to Sabaody," Shanks said in his authoritative Captain's voice when he joined his crew on the Red Force.
It took four days for the Red Force to reach the small island since they had been delayed by a storm for three days. When they arrived, the sky was gray and snaked with lightning, although there was never any thunder. A fearsome battle was taking place on an island two hours from Sabaody. Shanks ordered his men to stay on the boat as he took a rowboat to go to the island where Mihawk and Rayleigh were fighting.
"They fight to kill," Shanks thought as he rowed with all his might. The thought made him shiver with fear. He hoped he wasn't too late.
Before the fight, the forest island must have been the typical example of wild and luxuriant nature. Now all that was left of the forest was firewood since no tree had survived the fight. At least Shanks had a perfect view of the fight in front of him. Rayleigh and Mihawk had clearly been fighting for days, their bodies dripping with sweat and fresh or old blood. Neither of them were wearing tops which allowed Shanks to see the extent of their injuries as they both had cuts and bruises here and there.
Mihawk leaned on the dirt ground before throwing himself on Rayleigh who intended to use all his strength to push the arrogant kid away. Knowing that they were going to kill each other if they continued, Shanks decided to intervene and unsheathed Gryphon.
His arms trembled in shock as his Haki-soaked blade blocked both blades.
"Shanks!" said Rayleigh with surprise and anger on seeing that his former apprentice had dared to intervene in a fight between two honest duelists. "Move out, little brat."
"Stay out of this, Red!"
Shanks planted Gryphon in the ground, motioning his two friends to step back, they reluctantly obeyed and took a step back though they were still glaring at each other if one ever try to break the imposed truce. Now that he had their attention, the redhead pulled the necklace out of his pocket and showed it to the other two men by raising it between their two faces. Gold and gray eyes widened at the same time and they reached out to catch it Shanks kept it out of their reach.
"Is this necklace familiar to any of you?" he asked teasingly seeing their reaction.
"Where did you find that, brat?"
At the same time, Mihawk asked with his voice filled with surprise, "How did you get it?"
"I wanted to make amends for the last time," Shanks confessed turning to his lover, "so I hunted Butcher down and got it for you."
He held the necklace out to Mihawk as if he was going to give it to him before backing away when his rival tried to grab it, "Do you forgive me, my angel?"
Mihawk approached Shanks and gave him a soft kiss as a token of his gratitude. Shanks backed away, remembering that Rayleigh, Mihawk's father, was right behind them. Thankfully, the eldest of the three was too taken by his own existential crisis to see the kiss. Rayleigh witnessed his surrogate son give his opponent the necklace he had given to Ryo, his blood son, and almost lost his mind. Shanks let Mihawk examine the necklace as he turned to Rayleigh.
"He's Ryo?" asked the old man staring at Mihawk.
"I believe, yes. In any case, the necklace belonged to him before a pirate stole it from him."
Rayleigh gulped, "I didn't even felt it was him. What kind of father am I?"
Shanks put his hand on Ray's shoulder, ready to offer comfort when Mihawk burst out laughing. His voice was distorted and darker than usual. Shanks had a doubt but he couldn't see the swordsman's eyes as they were hidden under a curtain of black hair. The medallion was open between his fingers, an irreducible sign that he was its worthy owner, and the Vivre Card was slowly moving towards Rayleigh. For a sec, Shanks thought Mihawk had gone mad, but it was just his second sociopathic personality that had taken control.
"Were you so afraid of me, father?" Goryo asked in his sardonic and eccentric voice, spitting out the last word as an insult.
The second personality giggled uncontrollably, his hand hiding his expression in a dramatic way. And then, Goryo stopped laughing before materializing in front of Shanks and Rayleigh, Yoru in his hands. Neither of them had time to grab their swords since the attack was too unexpected and fast. Rayleigh stopped the black blade from severing his head with his hand. Blood slowly ran through the older swordsman's fingers.
"Do you hate me, Father?"
"Goryo, stop!" Shanks ordered as he approached, he stopped moving when cold blue eyes deadly glared at him.
"I told you it was a trivial thing," Goryo said though Shanks recognized Mihawk's voice in there. "Your wish has been granted, dear father, I passed your test and found you. Unfortunately for you because it is with deep regret that I'm warning you about your soon-to-come death."
"I was never afraid of you, Ryo," Rayleigh said with conviction, "but the nuns were better at helping you control yourself than I would have ever been."
"To exorcise the demon that was inside me? I'm not one. Though it wasn't their fault for trying," Goryo chuckled at the memory, the blade getting closer to Rayleigh's neck, "admit that you didn't want me because you knew I would surpass you."
"Mihawk is stronger than you, give him back control, we want to talk to him," Shanks said.
Goryo refused the offer, he had taken advantage of Mihawk being distracted by the big news to regain control and did not intend to give it back.
"You're right, I was overwhelmed by circumstances," Rayleigh admitted softly, "I loved my son but I had a duty to my crew. I thought living in a quiet environment away from the fighting would allow you to earn control over Goryo. Selfishly, I was hoping that you would find me and give me a chance to catch up. That maybe you'd be young enough for me to teach you a couple of things, but you're an adult now and don't need of me."
Rayleigh let go of the blade which gave Goryo the opportunity to satisfy his murderous impulses.
Cold blue eyes turned golden for a second as Mihawk called out Shanks' name and Yoru fell to the ground. Knowing that Goryo would quickly regain control, the redhead rushed over and hugged the swordsman from behind. He backed up a bit as Goryo thrashed fiercely in his arms, uttering insults from a vocabulary that Mihawk would never dare to use even to define his worst enemy. Shanks kept a firm grip on Mihawk as he knelt. He slowly rocked the oldest in his arms and hummed a song he knows by heart, binks no sake, even though Mihawk hate this song.
Shanks knew he had succeeded when he felt Mihawk go slack in his arms, his eyes were closed and his head hidden below the redhead's jaw. The young captain gently held the injured body of his lover in his arms and watched him sleep peacefully with a sweet smile on his lips.
"Is he fine ?" Rayleigh asked kneeling beside them, he was about to touch Mihawk but stopped at the last moment. Most of the injuries on the young swordsman's body were made by him after all.
"Yes, Mihawk always passes out when he regains control. He says Goryo uses way too much energy to gain so much speed."
"Shouldn't we tie him up?"
Shanks shook his head, his thumb brushing a lock of black hair away from Mihawk's eyes, he was still surprised that the swordsman's alabaster skin was so soft for someone so tough.
"It's not necessary, he has complete control over his second personality even in his sleep except when…," Shanks hesitated before admitting, "when Mihawk is too overloaded."
Rayleigh saw the way Shanks looked at Mihawk and his flushed cheeks before realizing, "What kind of relationship do you have with my son, exactly?"
"Our relationship is defined by our rivalry, except sometimes the fight takes a different turn... We're not together - together like a couple, nor exclusive and we don't do anything romantic like candlelight dinners, walks on the beach or... ," Shanks stopped talking when he noticed he was nervously jabbering which made Rayleigh laugh. "I'm just sure that Mihawk has a special place in my heart and I care about him whether it's as a lover, rival or friend. He is the one who helped me pull myself together after Roger's death. He may not be the son you dreamed of, but he's the friend I need."
"Maybe he was never meant to be Ryo, or to marry the princess of the night," Rayleigh said with a sigh, "but I'm proud of the man he's become, especially if he's helped you. We should take Mihawk home to meet Shakky before she kill us."
Rayleigh picked up the necklace and hung it around Mihawk's neck with Kogatana, then he put his sword and Gryphon back in their respective scabbards before retrieving Yoru.
"I don't know for Shakky but you can coax Mihawk out with a super expensive glass of wine," Shanks said, getting up easily despite his precious burden in his arms, he was excited to tell Rayleigh all of Mihawk's secrets, "or tickle him, but he'll cut off your fingers if you try and then he'll kill me for telling you. Oooh and he's snoring in his sleep like a cat."
"How would you know that, little brat?" Ray asked teasingly.
Shanks nonchalantly shrugged, "well, you know after a long fight and all that…"