DISCLAIMER

The world and the characters of ONE PIECE belong to Eichiiro Oda. Only OC's belong to me.
The story takes place before the Time Skip, from the Arabasta Saga, that is, before Marineford's war.

Chapter 8: Defying the untamed

A small piece of paper moved slowly inside a glass jar, it was located behind a curtain, abstracting itself from the darkness of the old room. That place was perfumed by the essence of the sea; in fact, in that place the waves sounded as if they were hitting the walls. At that time, the high temperature of the day had concentrated there, further into the room the heat of a body emanated it too. His physique endowed with robust muscles, despite having a hook in his right hand, was weightlifting without any inconvenience.

A snail began to make its particular sound, the man's face turned to the device and he smiled revealing the missing upper incisor tooth, with his hook's arm he put down the weight and approached it.

"Good afternoon," greeted him.

"It's me, Egana," he replied briefly. "The Vivre Card has moved again. Have you already made a decision?"

"I hid it, physically and spiritually." He paused for a few moments, his eyes watering. "I-I feel unworthy to go to him."

"What's happening to you? I have left my life as a pirate but it's no reason for you to resign!"

"That's obvious Egana," he refuted, playing with his big mustache. "The problem is that I still feel useless for not being able to do anything to help that day, everything was destroyed by that shichubukai. I managed to get some of our loot back. But what is the use of going to see him? I need to get stronger… and meet the expectations of my editor. That is why I have withdrawn from the world. This peninsula is very dangerous and is practically deserted."

"I have to admit it hurts a little that you don't mind that I'm gone..."

"Of course, I care!" He answered with tears in his eyes. "Oh! All that time with you was precious to me. I'm sorry, my dear companion, that you don't want to join us in another adventure, well, eventually. I already told you that my heart has lost some passion and I don't want to go to Captain Mask this defeated. I have thought about contacting some of the first crew, perhaps it is better in case the Captain wants to return to sea."

"Never change Shakespear," he replied in a sad tone. "Now I'm taking care of my mother. You know? There is a very strange atmosphere in the mansion, the maid here is hiding something, I think... Anyway, we are talking again soon."

The bald writer hung up; the call ended. His face was serious, he glanced at the curtain and with a painful expression left his room.

When dreaming, we find our reality in the oneiric, where even the most impossible and incoherent can happen and it would not be strange to our eyes. Within this fantastic world there are dreams that help us rest, but there are others that torment us, nightmares that embody fears or events from the past that we don't want to remember. Kaylee was asleep, her brow furrowed, something was disturbing her sleep.

She heard the voice of some men in the distance, they had to escape.

The voice of an agitated woman was approaching her at great speed, reassuring her she'd be untied shortly, while she listened as a sharp metallic object cut the ropes that held her. Suddenly, she was lifted by warm strong arms. She tried to stop her, saying that she was also able to walk. Everything turned darker when they reached the stern of a ship. "Stop them!" the strong smell of a cigar got into her nose, her face disfigured with fear, the almost imperceptible voice of the woman tried to comfort her but it was useless, after hearing a shot that woman fell to the floor.

She finally recognized her.

A great thunder illuminated everything around her.

"Estelle!" A man yelled.

"Fabian!", The woman replied.

"Here we are dad!" Kaylee whimpered desperately.

The calls intensified and another shot rang out. Her mother fell to the floor again and laughter began to be heard around her, she felt great helplessness and hatred, suddenly, she felt that she was being pushed outside the ship, she was falling, her mother began to cry and so it began to rain, she did not want to lose her again and raising her hand she clung to the side of the ship and began to climb it with difficulty and slowness, getting far enough to reach her was impossible, nonetheless, her father's voice echoed in her ears "Please find her".

The light scent of her mother reached her nose, she got into the ship again and began to shoot at the oppressors, she felt scratches, aggressive pushes, high-pitched screams. She took her mother's hand and felt a painful cut on her left thigh, she did not care.

She had succeeded.

In an instant, a beam of light burst onto the ship, everyone disappeared, and they both jumped into the sea. The darkness remained until they approached the surface. After emerging from the waters, her mother took her in her arms, now she felt lighter, younger… She was a little mermaid.

It seemed like a dream.

They sat on the sand, her mother's hand touched her wound, but she grabbed it and put it aside, it felt so real, she didn't care about anything else than having reached to her, unlike that first time. Then she threw herself into her mother's arms and hugged her with all her might...

"Kaylee," Mihawk spoke, as the mermaid clung to his neck. "What are you doing?"

"Mom, I did it! I finally reached you!" She exclaimed, still asleep. Her eyes, although closed, let out their uncontrollable crying.

He opened his eyes with surprise and lowered his head to one side until catching a glimpse of that strange mermaid who was hiding her face while snuggling into his chest. He could barely observe that she had a wide smile. Some tears began to dampen his clothes and without realizing it, in an involuntary gesture to comfort her, his hand had approached her back. He stopped before even feeling her hair, remembering that she was afraid of physical contact.

"Kaylee, let me go."

In her dreams her parents laughed, they were at home, finally reunited. At last, a beautiful conclusion, all the evil had disappeared and they could now live happily as a family. Thus, from one second to another the colors and silhouettes disappeared; everything became dark as her daily reality. She opened and closed her eyes, took a deep breath and woke up. However, she was still hugging someone. As she breathed in, she felt the body of the other person, whose heart was beating rhythmically under a warm body. Her arms stopped embracing that body and her hands rested on the stranger's chest. Judging by his large back and the absence of a bust, she could infer that it was a male human. She still did not know who it was, so she sniffed gently and recognized a slightly familiar wine aroma.

"It can't be... Hawk Eyes?"

"If you regained consciousness, would you do me the favor of moving aside?"

"Oh no! Excuse me Sir !" Kaylee froze and broke away quickly. As she moved, a great pain reached her thigh, she gritted her teeth and groaned. "What does this mean? When did it happen?"

"Quiet miss , I'm not done yet," Mihawk warned irritably as he continued his healing. "It was a rather deep sword cut, I don't know how you managed to get here."

"No," she said instantly, shaking her head quickly. "I was in my boat, on the shores of the Island. I-I don't even know how I got this wound, I thought it had been part of… my dream."

"How strange." Mihawk watched her closely, her eyes still red and teary. He looked away. "The only possibility that remains is almost illogical ..."

Kaylee smiled. "The humadrills", she thought. She knew that no matter how absurd it was, it was most likely, something in her told her that they were the ones who had brought her there. Sighing, she intended to say something, but silenced by closing her eyes. "What a Shichibukai!" , She mused, "Why would he think it's strange? Even some warriors have pity for the wounded... Hmm, it seems I slept a couple of hours, I'm already dry. My jeans are are ripped where I got the cut...He was healing my wound...My arms, shoulders and limbs are cold." She opened her eyes.

"Where's my raincoat?" She thought aloud, without noticing.

"You didn't have one when I found you."

"Might be shattered..." She paled as she felt what remained as a cover. She was still wearing her own outfit. Only her boots were gone, but it was no longer a problem. She let out a quiet sigh.

"..." He observed her action with a cold glare, noticing that she mistrusted him. "You will sleep here, I put a blanket on your left. Good night."

He got up and left.

"Thank… you, sleep well," she replied with little energy. In their last meeting, he had told her that he was not interested in friendship, she was not sure whether to be informal with him.

"I didn't mean to stay here again, much less to perceive his forced hospitality," she thought as she snuggled into the blanket that was next to her. "That shichibukai is intriguing, serious, very mysterious. I'm afraid that the nerves that I could be attacked or yelled have not decreased. Although, I can control that, his voice is somewhat soothing… I don't have to fear, I already learned that... I'm sure Mihawk is not a bad man, just an elder who is very difficult to understand... This could affect my plans. Despite this, I must not give up. I will achieve my goal."

The Shichibukai closed his door, contemplating the golden handle scrupulously, his eyes looking beyond, deep in thought. He turned around after a few seconds, closed his eyes, and exhaled in resignation, taking a few steps towards the large window of his room, reached out to unhook the curtain, held the soft fabric for a few moments, frowned, and hid the gloomy landscape with more force than necessary. Something was bothering him.

The next day, Kaylee woke up unusually early, still somewhat dark. The rain, unlike the fire in the fireplace, had not subsided. She yawned, stretched a little and when she put her little limbs against the ground in order to get up, her legs felt weak and she fell to the ground. She contracted her face, barely bearing the strain on her injured leg.

"Thank goodness that didn't sound so loud," Kaylee told herself in a whisper. "These are not like human feet, although they have a heel when it is not a single tail, they don't have the adherence and thickness that other mermaids have, I must be careful."

The rain ruined her plans and her senses. It seemed to be a day in which talking was the only thing she could do, a difficult task with such company. And the worst thing was that all her belongings and inexplicably her weapons also seemed to have been left in her boat. Everything would be ruined, unless she left and came back without the swordsman noticing.

The mermaid got up again and tried to support being on her two limbs, when she succeeded, she decided to raise one leg to take a tentative step. She fell once again. Luckily, she managed to lean on a chair nearby. She sat up and crossed her arms annoyed. Suddenly she heard some knocks. Not sure what it was, although she knew it came from a glass door or window. She got up and stood still. Nothing was heard but the wind moving the trees.

"It must be my imagination."

She turned around hearing it again, now from the front door. She did her best to find the closest wall and thus guide herself to the entrance, after a long walk she found the knob and opened it gently. She was hearing a very fine rain and, suddenly, a metallic noise.

A groan.

"Are you the little humandrill?" She asked, reaching out her hand gently. "Have you come to see me?"

When the humandrill saw her, he did not understand why she did not see him in the eye, he liked that, it gave him a little more confidence. But when he saw that she stretched out her hand, he scratched it and ran away. Upon reaching a distance of about forty feet, he turned his head and stopped. There was a reaction in her that he did not expect, she was peaceful. The little animal approached shyly and, suddenly, his eyes widened in fear, he shuddered and left until he was lost in the thick forest of Kuraigana Island.

"Wow, I should go back to where I was…" she said sadly.

"Yeah, you should," Mihawk who had already come down the stairs startled her. "I sensed that something was happening around here. What were you thinking by interacting with those beasts?"

"I don't... I don't think they're beasts," she replied, hesitantly turning to face him. "Why didn't they kill me when they saw me? Or why would that beast come back here?"

"Have you given him food?" He asked with a cold look.

"Y-Yeah, but…" She held her breath and exhaled. "I don't want to start a quarrel."

"Why? You fear me?" He asked, approaching her defiantly.

"No," Her gesture expressed great determination taking a step forward as well.

That step would bring her consequences, she lowered her neck in pain, while closing her eyes she took a deep breath and straightened up showing a small smile that completely contradicted her situation.

"Excuse me Sir , but I'm not planning to make this place gloomier than it is."

Mihawk silenced, frowning angrily. He was able to calm down taking his anger out by slamming the front door. He took a quick glance at the lady returning to her seat, and looked apathetically at her hand that had a scratch on it.

Soft and melodic hums broke the long silence that had perpetuated in the castle since the dawn of that day.

The swordsman approached to light the fireplace. He hadn't been there since the little confrontation between them. Playing with her hair, nearby, the mermaid achieved a beautiful braid that rested over her shoulder. She was sitting on the couch with her legs towards her body covered by a blanket.

The heat of the fire and her humming gave a certain temperance to the place. Without a word, he sat down in his big chair and began to read. Kaylee, hearing him turn its pages, breathed in, her voice trailing off. Mihawk, who was already used to hearing her, wanted to say something but instead he cleared his throat.

"Has my humming bothered you, Sir?".

"Yes," he replied seriously. And leaning down, he looked into her green eyes. "Don't hold back your singing."

"I believed." She paused for a moment, he was being casual with his speech, decided to do the same. "I thought that you preferred silence..."

Amusingly, a speechless moment answered it all. She pushed the blanket aside and sat up properly, a little anxious and animated, the last time she had sung out loud was at the Mermaid Cafe in Fish-Man Island. Certainly, all mermaids have different talents, just like humans. In particular, these creatures of nature not only possess beauty, the vast majority have a fine voice, but hers was not only like that. From her lips escaped the melody that was finally free, a harmonious, delicate and beautiful song.

At first, Mihawk had a hard expression, however, his facial muscles relaxed as he listened to her. Suddenly, as his eyes rested on her, an unreflective thought caused a fast deviation of his head closing his eyes and hardening his face, only focusing on hearing...

Thus, the nightmare ended between them and it was only twelve o'clock. There were still things to be resolved, plans to carry out ... Finally, the atmosphere had become more comfortable; at least temporarily.

To be continue...

Notes:

OC: Shakespear
One Piece (c): Egana, maid