A/N: Yeah I'll just leave this here. Tell me if I got Mihawk right, even a little. It's harder than I thought it would be. For that matter, was Luffy somewhat /in character/?
Second Letter - Mihawk
'To: Strawhat Luffy.
From: H.
My name, if you do not remember it, might be better off left unshared. Some of the members of your crew might take unkindly to the fact that you contacted me. In case it has escaped your notice, my replying means that I am not… opposed to establishing an acquaintanceship. However, I find the term 'pen pal' to be rather juvenile. If we are to be correspondents, do refrain from referring to me as such.
In future attempts to put your thoughts to paper, do not refer to me as 'Guy with the cool eyes and the big sword' in any way, shape, or form.
I have trouble believing you were the one to take down Arlong. However I shall take your word for it, as the government is unusually tight-lipped over the situation and your sharp incline in bounty has not gone unnoticed. I suppose congratulations are in order for such an achievement. Not many rookies best such a foe in what I surmise are your first few months of walking down the path of piracy.
Your navigator was not incorrect in admonishing you for sharing sensitive information via this avenue of communicating. Messenger birds are known to be intercepted for routine Marine checks as a manner of hunting down pirates more effectively, if official channels are to be believed. I find the practice distasteful, myself. It is a disruption of privacy, and I consider myself a private man. I do not recommend eating the messenger birds.
If I had intended for the green-haired swordsman to die, he would be dead. Make no mistake, I am not a lenient man. He holds promise, a rare commodity in this stagnant age. It was my curiosity that spared him. I shall see how far he will manage to come.
Yes, I eat meat. It is an excellent source of protein. You appear to be as enthusiastic about eating meat as one of my former rivals is about ingesting sake, something the likes of which I have never seen before. And I have seen many things. Perhaps your roads may cross someday.
As for your list of inquiries, there are few activities that can truly elicit joy from me. I suppose one could say I enjoy to indulge in drinking wine. My ambition has since been fulfilled, and my current dream is one some would ridicule, and as such I see no need to divulge it to you, an unknown. As for my eyes, ask one of your crew members about 'genetics'. I am not your teacher and have no desire to act as such.
As you have no way of knowing the subtleties of swordsmanship, I shall let your unintended insult towards my blade slide. Roronoa is thusly unaware of said subtleties that he would not recognize them if they came crashing into him, and so I am fairly certain in deducing that he has not thought to teach you. Yoru is my partner in life, and not merely a sword, referring to her as such is demeaning and an insult to her, as well as to my ability.
Fire around me tends to take on a green glow, indeed. I believe it is because my Haki, as a pure form of energy, has taken to interfering with the flames, which as in themselves a pure form of energy, also. It is one of many mysteries in this world that have yet to be solved.
How did you meet Shanks? Tell me about your adventures so far. How did you acquire your nakama?
You have piqued my interest, Strawhat. All that is desired of you now is that you hold it. I do have a habit of discarding that which bores me.
H.'
Close to an island where the hills are covered in what appear to be rows upon rows of cacti, a certain Strawhat-wearing teen rips apart a lone, dark red envelop with abandon and a large grin on his face. The large grin, splitting his face in half in a D-shape, would have been alarming to anyone not used to interacting with a person holding the same initial in their name. The orange-haired woman next to him merely sighs, already used to her captain's wiles and quirks.
"What's that?" She asks, arms crossed imperiously and a frown on her face. Of course, she isn't confused by his grin – her captain had just never received mail in the time they'd spent at sea until now. And the color of the envelop itself – dark red, like freshly spilled blood, was unnerving enough for the woman to pry into the rubber man's private business.
"Shishishi! It's from my pen pal! He replied!"
The woman deadpans. "I thought you forgot about that."
"Never! He seemed really nice when we met and Usopp said I should have a pen pal, so I went 'why not' and wrote him! Usopp even helped me with the grammar! Long words are confusing!"
At the admission, not a shred of shame in the teen's voice, it's not just the navigator that rolls her eyes or facepalms in disbelief.
Zoro merely grunts, annoyed at the disbelief of the other crew members. "Let him have his fun. It's just letters. Luffy…Who'd you write, anyway?"
The only answer he gets is a secretive grin, no less large than the one the teen initially sported. "Shishishi!" Then the captain jumps off his perch at the figurehead, one arm stretching unnaturally far towards the door that leads to the galley, the other hand clutching the letter securely, the heavy paper creasing in the tightness of the grip as the teen launches himself towards his new destination.
Tearing through the creaking wooden cabinets for pen and paper, the teen eagerly sits down at the table, almost overreaching and falling off his chair in his enthusiasm.
He'd ask Usopp to check before he sent out his new letter, of course. Even though Usopp wasn't allowed to see the letter since he wouldn't show his letters either, the meanie. The Cool Guy with the Cool eyes had replied, which was way more interesting and Luffy definitely wasn't going to wait for the messenger bird to take off again! It had taken a long enough time to catch one that flew over the Going Merry in the first place.