Mihawk

When Mihawk dies he is seventy-three years old. When the former 'Greatest Swordsman in the World' dies it is not at the hands of Roronoa Zoro, as he had expected. Because for all that the 'Pirate Hunter' is a demon he is not one to kill for the sake of killing, and therefore he defeats his teacher soundly, but doesn't kill him. No, Mihawk has been retired for over ten years when he dies.

Despite this he is killed in battle. The younger brother of one of his old adversaries has found him and gotten to him. He has gotten old by now, and his skills aren't quite what they used to be. His opponent is skilled enough, not a rookie by any means, it is obvious to a master swordsman like Mihawk that this man has been training all his life for this moment, most likely close to thirty years. It's a good enough death.

He doesn't mind dying, he was getting even more bored with the world than usual. The excitement and challenge in his life has dropped significantly since Roronoa defeated him. He hopes that the wine in hell is good. He doesn't think he'll be going anywhere but hell. Mihawk hasn't exactly lived a pure and lawful life. He has murdered and shed gallons upon gallons of blood in his time.

He refuses to admit it out loud, but life has started getting lonely. He used to be able to have a drink or a spar with Roronoa when they crossed paths, but his old pupil has been dead for a year already. As such he doesn't interact with anyone but puny challengers nowadays. Shanks died earlier in the year and half of his crewmates went with him, including Benn Beckman, one of the only tolerable men in this world. It's gotten so bad that he sometimes miss the days when Perona would float around, whining about some uncute thing or another.

The blood flows from his wounds but he remains standing until he is completely submerged in darkness. It no longer feels like he is standing on the ground, just sort of floating. Mihawk wonders if this is death, eternal darkness. He hopes not, he's still conscious after all and this cold darkness would get terribly boring terribly quickly.

But then the darkness starts to disperse and allows the master swordsman to see and feel again. What he feels is familiar and his sight confirms it. He's sitting leaned back in the seat of his old Coffin Boat. The candles are lit and the green fire flickers comfortingly. There's no one around but he still hides his surprise at the fact that this is not the hell he was expecting.

It feels too much like it did in life. The swaying of the boat and the wind on his face. It feels the exact same way as it used to when he was younger and would sail around in an attempt to stave off his boredom. He sincerely hopes - something he doesn't do often - that the afterlife won't be as boring as life had been. Maybe it won't. There ought to be dozens of dead, but skilled, swordsmen around in death.

Hawk-Eyes hears a distant murmur of voices. The cacophony is a mix of cheering and singing, most likely that of drunk pirates. He contemplates his choices for a moment. On one hand these pirates could prove an interesting challenge, but on the other they sound both loud and drunk which is an excellent recipe for a headache if they're strong.

Mihawk makes a decision against his better judgement and unfolds the single sail in a way that lets him head towards the sound. If nothing else he will enjoy ending the annoying sound.

He soon spots a ship in the horizon. They must be incredibly loud, he muses, to be heard so far. When he nears even more he realises why. The ship is one he recognises well. It is one he has seen many times and been aboard many of them. He can feel the headcahe building already as he studies the Red Force. Trust Shanks to party loud enough to be heard past the horizon.

The poor sod on watch yells loudly in an effort to be heard over the cacophony of the party, and succeeds in gaining the attention of a few men. One of them runs to the stern where Mihawk spots a head of unmistakeable red hair. The man is waving his hands frantically and shouting. Mihwak scoffs to himself. The man must be new, none of Shanks's more weathered men would be caught dead panicking over an approaching ship like that. When the man leaves Shanks rushes to the railling. His face splits into a grin and he waves happily.

"Oi! Hawky! Is that you?" Mihawk knows that Shanks already knows, the question is more rhetorical than anything.

Mihawk is almost alongside the large ship now and Shanks is still waving cheerily. When the hull of the Coffin Boat and the Red Force, collide with a muffled thump the redheaded captain seems to realise that he should be fetching a rope-ladder if he doesn't want his ship cleaved in two.

He throws the ladder over the side and attaches the other end. Mihawk has just grabbed the robe to climb up when Shanks suddenly pales and yells down.

"Wait, stop! You can't come aboard yet!"

"Why in the world not?" Mihawk asks, slightly offended.

"Have you made The Decision yet?" Shanks asks hurriedly in response.

"What decision?"

"You need to make a decision before you board a ship or go ashore. If you go anywhere but your boat before that decision the place you've gone will become your default for the coming decade." Shanks's explanation is messy and even Mihawk is confused. Luckily for both parties however the rest of the crew somehow heard Shanks's shout and has headed over to find out what is going on. Among them is Benn Beckman, whose hair has returned to the coal black colour it once was. Beckman is a clever man and is the only one who can always make sense of his captain's ramblings.

"He means that if you go somewhere before decidig what you want to do in afterlife you'll be stuck there for a while. The rule applies to everywhere but Waiting Ships. You can only change your decision once a decade. You would most likely cut someone's head off if nobody warned you, that's why he's so panicky," the first mate explains calmly. He sends a sideways glance to his captain. "I think it's decision time."

"Hey, Hawky…" a grin spreads over Shanks's face, "Join my crew."

Mihawk stares. It isn't the first time Shanks has tried to recruit him, and it isn't the first time a part of him wants to say yes. But he is a loner, has always been, so he has always denied his friend in the past. Now however… lately he hasn't only been a loner, but lonely. He's found himself missing company at the strangest of times. Would it really be so bad? Having nakama?

"...Fine," he says at last. Shanks jaw drops for a moment, along with the rest of the crew, but he quickly picks it up to grin a brighter grin than Mihawk has ever seen.

"Welcome to the crew, Mihawk!" he exclaims joyfully. Mihawk grabs the rope-ladder and starts climbing, not particularily caring for anyone's shock. His boots hit the deck with a thud. The rest of the crew seems to be graudally getting over their shock, some picking up their jaws and others picking themselves up from the floor where they'd fallen over. He can understand their shock, but this is almost ridiculous.

Shanks slings his single arm around Mihawk's shoulders.

"Welcome to the afterlife, my friend. Sorry 'bout yellin', I'm not very used to all these rules yet, but it's my job as Captain to warn and guide and stuff so that's that," he explains.

Beckman is the first after Shanks to recover. His mouth turns upwards at the corners in something reminiscent to a smile.

"Welcome aboard, Mihawk, it'll be good to have someone sensible around to talk to," he says.

That's when it hits him what he has just done. He has agreed to sailing with Shanks. Forever. The realistaion must be clear on his face because Beckman chuckles and Shanks laughs loudly.

"Dahahahaha! Let's have a party!" Shanks yells and suddenly the crew is spurred into action, cheering and yelling for booze.

Mihawk has a feeling his exasperation will grow bigger than ever very quickly. But he doesn't mind too much. At least he won't be bored.

AN: This is really short, sorry. I haven't had much time to write this week. Also Mihawk is kinda hard. If anyone's wondering about why Shanks still only has one arm it's because I figured that saving Luffy's life would be something that he didn't regret, he'd rather be proud of it. He's also live with one arm for 40 or so years by now, wouldn't it feel a bit weird to him to have two arms again after all that time?

There isn't going to be a chapter next week, as I am going to be travelling and won't have access to internet or a computer. Fair warning.

Thanks for reading!

Next up: Thatch