Author's Note: (Please read)

Hey there Lovelies,

Waz up! I am really tired and kind of running low on energy, so i'm going to make this short. Please read the short note at the end!

Warning:
I do not own One Piece!
Characters might be a little OOC!
It's really warm!

I actually had a hard time writing this chapter, so I hope it doesn't suck! Anyway, please enjoy!

Chapter 9: Help

Nami looked up in confusion, "What is this?" she asked as she held up the object her father had just dropped on her.

"You are eight and therefor old enough to start learning the art of swordsmanship," he said and pointed at the stick, "That is a Bokken, a wooden training sword. We start tomorrow," he said and walked off.

Nami took a moment to register everything that he had just said and when it did, her eyes started to shine. She clutched onto the Bokken and smiled widely, "Thank you so much daddy!" she exclaimed.

Mihawk grunted and walked up the stairs to go to his bedroom. He actually had wanted to stall the whole sword fighting thing a little, because he was terrified she might get hurt. She seemed to be a magnet for trouble and never really went a day without running to him for a band aid. He did really want to teach her all his techniques, but he much rather kept her small for a while. But now that she was eight, it was becoming hard to dodge the subject. He could hardly use the excuse that she wasn't old enough, because he had already started fighting at the age of six. He had decided to just start with it, get it over with. He would start training her the basics and would not let her get even close to a real sword until she had understood all of those and several other techniques.

Meanwhile Nami was clutching onto the wooden Bokken like a new born child with a huge grin on her face. She looked at in awe, even though it was a simple bloodwood one. She had dreamt about finally learning how to fight with a sword like her father did for a long time now and now it was becoming a reality. She couldn't wait!

"Spread your legs further!" Mihawk scolded and used own Bokken to push her left leg, making her loose her balance and fall face first onto the ground.

She grumbled and looked up at him, "This is no fun at all," she pouted and scrambled up.

He raised an eyebrow, "What did you expect it to be? Did you think you could just learn it all like that," he said and snapped his fingers.

Nami puffed her cheeks and looked the other way, "No, I just thought it would have been a little bit more easy than this," she mumbled

"If I sugar coated for you, you won't learn anything," he said and dusted some dust off of her clothes. "Try again."

Nami took a deep breath and concentrated. She put her left foot to the side first and then swung her Bokken out while putter her right foot out.

"Legs," Mihawk scolded again and pushed her leg again.

Nami made a small 'eep' sound as she collided with the earth once again. She huffed and jumped up, "Can you tell me without making me fall!" she exclaimed and glared at her father.

He shook his head, "No, you won't learn by just words," he said and lifted his Bokken. "Again."

She tried several more times, before she started seething in annoyance. She glared up at her father, "Why is it not correct?! I am putting my leg out!" she shouted and put her left foot to the sideways, swung her sword and stepped out with her right.

Mihawk grinned, "Seems like you finally got it," he said with a small chuckle.

She looked up in surprise and looked back down at her feet. They were perfectly placed and she wasn't plummeted onto the ground. She smiled brightly and looked back up at him. "I did it!" she cheered and jumped up in joy.

"Yes you did, but this is nothing compared to all the other things you are going to have to learn," he commented and watched as her face fell.

"Did you have to ruin my moment daddy?" she asked solemnly and pouted.

He chuckled and ruffled her hair, "Let's get it over with then," he said and picked his Bokken back up.

She nodded and gave him a determined look, "Okay, let's go daddy!" she said and readied her sword.

The rest of the day Mihawk taught her all kinds of basics. She had a hard time in the beginning, but after falling many times she got the hang of it. He had to admit, she was a natural. Even though she whined quite a few times and got extremely frustrated, she did not give up. By the end of the day she was covered in dirt and mud, but she had a huge smile on her face. These were her first steps into learning sword fighting and she couldn't be happier about it.

"You did very well today chipmunk," Mihawk praised and gave her a small kiss on her forehead.

She smiled and leaned her head on his shoulder, "Thank you for teaching me daddy," she whispered and let her eyes droop.

Mihawk smiled softly and stroked her hair. He carried her to his room and gently lay her on the bed. Kicking off his boots he fell on to the bed next to her. He didn't really fight, yet he was exhausted. Nami automatically curled up into a ball against his chest and he chuckled slightly at her sleeping face. She looked like a little hedgehog, but she always shouted at him when he told her that. He felt his heart give a little pull as he thought about it. Nami had definitely become more independent. She would never put her arms up at random times to be carried and she would hardly ever ask if he wanted play with her. She was starting to learn how to cope with things on her own, which some parents would be happy about, but he just saw it as a step closer to her leaving. He had never thought about before and had not thought about it, but he never really realized how much he had grown to love her.

He remembered the first few weeks after he found her, he was clueless with what he was going to do with her. He had made a quick and irrational decision, just once letting his heart take the lead. He didn't like to admit it, but the from the moment she giggled at him, she had changed him. Maybe he didn't change as much around others, but definitely from the inside. He remembered contemplating on giving her to an orphanage in the first week. It made him want to travel back in time and kick his own ass. He couldn't imagine now what it would be like without her. He would probably stayed the lonely, rather cold hearted and stoic man he was. There wouldn't be any of her laughter, sound of stuff breaking or constant thumping of her running around resonating through the castle if she wouldn't have been here. Just the eerie silence that echoed through the castle since he first got here.

He sighed as he glanced once more at his little girl. He watched the steady rise and fall of her chest and listened at the soft mumbling she would always do in her sleep. Seeing her like this always gave him a sense of serenity and would calm him on his stormier days (which was mostly after Shichsbukai meetings). He smiled and brushed a strand of hair out of her face before reaching for the light to turn it off.

He groaned and rolled over, but couldn't find a comfortable spot, it was as if he sleeping on the floor. He searched for a little orange haired monkey that, but found only a hard surface. He frowned and preyed his eyes open. To his shock he found that he really was on the ground. He quickly scrambled up and looked around him. He was in a street full with stores, but no people. It looked awfully familiar to him, but he couldn't quite pin point it. He frowned as he started walking through the street. There were a few food stands and clothing shops, nothing out of the ordinary. What surprised him though, was when he passed a small half broken down store which had a board with the words, in thick black painted letters; Dracule Sword Service. His eyes widened, now he recognized the place. It was his home town, where he grew up.

The store was owned by his father and his older brother. The business wasn't all too well and the three of them often struggled to make ends meet, but it worked out. His father was a kind and jolly man and his brother was a real joker that always stood up for him. But why was he here? He left the town immediately after that happened and had not turned back. He had tried to wash out the memories by training and beating the shit out of bad guys, so why did he come back to this place? He gulped slightly and walked further down the road. Something in his mind screamed that he should run, be fast, but he couldn't see why. There was no one on the road, it almost seemed as if the town was dead. He felt his heart race for some reason.

A scream ripped through the silence and echoed through the empty streets. His heartbeat quickened as he turned to the direction of the scream. That scream, it was familiar. He started running in the direction of the cry for help without looking back. His legs felt heavy, like they were made from lead. He struggled to go forward and gritted his teeth. He eventually came to an alley. He looked around franticly and what he saw made his eyes widen. Two bodies lay lifeless and bloody on the ground. One was an older man with black hair that had strands of grey sprouting out. The second was a teenage boy with very dark blue, almost black, hair. He felt his blood run cold as he looked at the bodies.

"It can't be," he muttered stunned.

Those two bodies, they looked like his father and brother. He shook his head, it couldn't be them. But when he opened them they were still there. His breath became rigged and he wanted close his eyes and just fall asleep, but he couldn't seem to tear his eyes away from the bodies. Another scream resounded through the alley and he shot his head up. A tall muscular man with scruffy blond hair and menacing black eyes stared at him, in his arms a small girl.

'No, no,' he thought to himself and closed his eyes again.

When he opened them the man was still standing in the alley, in his arms was Nami. She was crying with a helpless and panicked look on her face that tore his heart out. He shook with fear as he watched the man bring a knife up to her neck.

"Stupid boy, you weren't supposed to see this," the man growled and pushed the knife against Nami throat, who whimpered and started choking on her sobs.

"NO!" Mihawk said frantically and took a step towards them.

The man pushed the blade further as a warning, "And what are you going to do about it boy?" he said and let out a dark chuckle.

Mihawk frowned and reached for his sword, but found nothing. That couldn't be right, he always took his sword with him. His eyes shot back up to the man who had started laughing.

"Even if you had weapons kid, you couldn't do anything to me," he said and tipped his head back laughing.

Mihawk frowned, what the hell did he mean. The man then began to grow until he was more than four heads taller than him. No, wait, the man wasn't growing, Mihawk was shrinking. He looked at his hands, they were like those of a kid. He began to panic as he watched his daughter try to squirm free from the man's grip.

"I am wasting my time with this," the man sighed.

With a swift motion he swiped his blade across Nami's neck. The blood spewed from the wound as the man roughly dropped her to the ground.

"NO!" Mihawk cried out in despair and ran to her side.

Tears began to prick in his eyes as he picked her body up in his arms. Why did he feel so small? It was as if he was the same size as Nami. Why was this happening? He tried to put pressure on the wound even though he knew his attempts were futile, she was already dead. He clutched on to her body and rocked back and forth.

"Why, Why, Why?" he repeated in a mantra and stroked her head.

Her body started to disappear and his eyes widened. He clawed at the air trying to take her back, but she vanished. A mist flowed in the alley and started clouding it in darkness. Mihawk couldn't see anything anymore and he hastily scrambled up. A spot light jumped on and illuminated three bodies hanging from three crosses. Their faces were hidden, but he knew what to expect.

The first figure looked up, "Son," his father whispered with a soft smile, blood still seeping through the stab wound near his heart.

Mihawk shook his head and tried to block it all out, "No," he muttered, but felt his eyes draw to the second figure.

His head looked up and a goofy grin made its way to the figure's face, "Brother," his older brother muttered and turned his head up completely so Mihawk could see the gunshot hole on his head with blood still dripping out.

Mihawk covered his ears and trembled as he turned to the third figure. It was much smaller than the other two and he knew it was coming, he just didn't want to see it.

The third figure looked up and the corners of her mouth twitched into a sweet smile, "Daddy," she said sweetly and looked up, causing the cut in her neck to stretch and blood flow heavily from the wound.

Tears fell from Mihawk's eyes. Curse himself, he promised himself. He wouldn't cry after his brother and father died, but how couldn't he. The three of them turned to Mihawk with personal smiled and stretched their hands out to him.

"Please," his father started and winked at him.

"Wake," his brother continued with an easy grin.

Nami appeared beside him and touched his shoulder, "Up," she whispered in his ear and vanished.

"DADDY!"

Mihawk shot up from his bed panting and covered in sweat. His eyes darted around his surroundings and he found himself back in his room. He looked to his left and came face to face with Nami. She had tears brimming in her eyes and a frightened look on her face. Relieve washed over him and he pulled her into his arms.

"Thank god," he muttered and he held her a little closer.

Nami trembled in his embrace and wound her arms around his neck, "What happened daddy? You were saying all kinds of things and you were trashing all about and you just wouldn't wake up," she said and pulled back to look at him.

He sighed and brought his hand up to his face, "I'm sorry I frightened you. I just had a bad dream," he said reassuringly and patted her head.

She frowned and cocked her head to the side, "You have nightmares?" she asked slightly in disbelieve.

He chuckled and raised a brow, "What? You think adults are incapable of having bad dreams?" he said in amusement.

She puffed her cheeks and slapped his arm, "No! I am not stupid like you," she said annoyed, to which he sweatdropped just slightly. "I just thought you never had bad dreams, or dreams at all," she shrugged and shifted in a more comfortable position.

He snorted, "It might seem so, but I am just as human as you," he said and flicked her head.

She sighed and jumped off of the bed, "Yes, except for the fact that you can destroy a whole ship with one sword slash," she pointed out and pulled her boots on.

He let out a laugh, which he only ever showed around Nami or the red haired idiot, and stood up from his bed, "True."

Nami picked up her Bokken from the side of the bed and jumped to his side, "Are we going to practice sword fighting today?" she asked excitedly and hopped on her feet.

He nodded and put a shirt on, "If you want to," he said and picked her up in his arms.

She did not complain this time and let her father carry her, "Can I use a real sword now?" she asked quickly.

"No," Mihawk answered back immediately and walked out of his room.

She pouted and glanced unsurely at his face, "Hey daddy," he hummed as a sign he was listening. "Do you want to talk about your dream," she asked attentively.

He sighed and shook his head, "There is no need for that," he said softly.

She frowned slightly and looked at him, "It helps. When I had nightmares and I would tell them to you, I would always feel better," she suggested.

He smiled softly and looked at her, "Don't worry, because just seeing you is all the help I need."

She raised a brow, but didn't go in to it.

So, there it is! I hope you guys didn't think it was really weird or bad, I just wanted to give some more insite on Mihawk. This is my interpretation of Mihawk's past with a little nightmare sprinkled in it. It is kind of dark, I realize that, but next chapter will be happier!

Please Review, Favorite and Follow if you liked it!

Thank you: DragonCrescent13, AllyMyLife, leroalice, Mai96, Elfen Children, Kuroshiroyuu, Ace's Lover, Bloody. 5507, Animezpeps, Toreh, psunshine2, wjgr, Emma3mikan, MeowzDJ, guest, Missy anon, Guest,Shivisdivis, scatteredPhilosopher for Reviewing last chapter!

Also regarding the little boy, most of you had it right. But don't check the comments if you weren't sure, because he is coming back and then everything will be clearer!

I hope you liked it and I'll read you next time ;)!

XOXOXO Cherry!