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 11: Not only eyes can close

A dense liquid could be felt in her hands. Kaylee closed her eyes with indignation, got up off the ground and gently placed the cub in her mother's arms. She entered the castle bringing with her nothing but an atmosphere of great anger.

"Why did you do it?!"

"What is this change of attitude?" Mihawk asked in return, although calmly from his seat, without taking his eyes off his reading.

"Don't get smart with me," she said with an irritated smile, lowered her tone a little and spoke again, trying not to alter her temper. "I'm disappointed in you, you haven't complied with my simple request."

"If I remember correctly, you asked me not to kill any mandrills during your stay, and I haven't..." he replied, not looking up but with clear annoyance on his voice.

"..." She lowered her head in anguish and again raised her tone. "Leaving them dying is almost the same! How could you? You have done him so much damage... Just look at my hands! they are stained with his blood. Why is it so difficult for you to have a little compassion? You are insensitive!"

He slammed the newspaper shut and got up to go towards her, that little phrase had already been unpleasant to hear before. Kaylee began to feel his aura emanating a stormy energy. She decided not to move and to keep a firm expression.

"Mermaid, you know exactly where the exit door is."

"Just admit your guilt." She spoke coldly.

"Ha! How dare you see me as the culprit?" He walked past her and closed the door through which she entered. "First, you have nothing to prove it, and second, you are not the one to tell me what I should or not do. If I feel like to, I will kill as many as I please, I never accepted that condition." He exhaled reluctantly and after a silence added: "I have kept my word."

"You really were not involved?" She asked with a trace of hope. She didn't feel hints of insincerity.

"What reason would I have to lie?"

They stood face to face for a few seconds, as if searching for a signal in the presence of the other. After their separation, Kaylee heard the front door open and close. She was still standing, walking in circles, restless. It had been a misunderstanding. But one question still remained: Who or what did such harm to the humandrills?

It started to rain and the sun had already set completely. She went to the kitchen and heated water with a kettle, perhaps she would have tea before going to sleep. Her concern led her to the dining room, she lit a candle and as she listened to the rain hitting the windows, she remembered her first crew. She felt her plan hanging by a thread, she feared for the welfare of the humandrills. After all, achieving her goal had more than one meaning to her.

She walked into the darkness of the room, driven by curiosity, until hearing the swordsman arrive "He's back," she thought. Although, when she left there, she noticed that he was not there, some footsteps were heard upstairs, after a few minutes, the steps returned.

"You." He looked at her for a brief moment. "Go away, I have to make a private call."

Mihawk waited until she came out of the room and closed the door. His hair was wet, apparently, he had been in the rain, the drops fell from his head to the floor. He pulled a snail from a shelf and sat near the candle Kaylee had lit.

"Mihawk?!" It was Shanks's voice.

"When will be the day that you become more normal?" The swordsman asked, clearing his throat.

"Don't tell me you went out in the rain?! Dahahaha Who made you mad now?" The Yonko asked. "Many thoughts in the head?"

"Always meddling in my affairs, redhaired," he answered seriously. "I heard about the Whitebeard matter, you sent one of your subordinates."

"Wow, it's been a while after the letter. I heard about Crocodile, I'm still amused that you've joined one of those Shichibukais meetings, so how was it?"

Kaylee climbed the first few steps and stopped. She huffed annoyed. Although it was the man's home, she was not obliged to obey him in everything, but then, she remembered his voice; it sounded like he had an ailment. She thought the best was to watch closely. From one moment to another, she heard the dining room door open and the swordsman emerged from it, moving to the fireplace that still had embers heating up. He put one more log in there, picked up a book from nearby, and sat heavily on his chair, letting out a long groan.

Steps coming down the stairs interrupted his little break.

"Where is she going now?" he wondered, leaning forward.

The sound of boiling water reached his ears. After a few moments, Kaylee walked over to him, carrying a tray with a kettle, a cup, and herbs. She placed the tray on the table next to him and sat in the chair nearby.

"Are you okay? Your breathing is weak," she said, but there were no answers. Then she took the kettle from its location and a cold hand stopped her.

"I can do it on my own; I can take care of myself," he said, taking the kettle from her hands and added with a sniffle: "But thanks."

He took a sip of the hot tea and set it back on the table. His face looked tired, he looked weak. She got up and without warning placed the palm of her left hand on his forehead.

"Good, you don't have a fever," she whispered.

"What's your problem, mermaid?" He asked as he grabbed her wrist and pulled her hand away from his forehead. "The fragile woman who always worries about others…" for a few seconds scanned her face, his gaze irritated. He pulled her closer to him. "How naive."

"So, caring about others makes you naive?" she replied and using her brutal force she freed her hand away from his grip. Clearly angry that she was called 'fragile'.

"Of course," mocking her he added, "I remember well how your own crew wished you dead. With that pathetic attitude, I wonder what does destiny has in store for you."

"Not me." She frowned, what had happened to her crew was none of his business. "I don't believe in destiny."

"Everything happens for a reason, mermaid. Fate has brought you here," he stated, looking at her with annoyance.

"You're wrong, that has been my will. I want to be here!" She asserted, straightening. "I know that I can make a change in the humandrills, a change here, on this Island. Kuraigana is charged with negativity, I can feel it… But there is hope, I see it in some creatures and in you."

He opened his eyes in surprise, his chest burned as his heart gave an almost painful pounding. He got up irritated and combing his damp hair back he approached her.

"You don't know what you're saying, just like that time… Those things you call beautiful are nothing more than a mask. False images that humans cling to so they can lie themselves and thus think they have a reason to exist. Only vague attempts of people's minds to hide the misfortunes that surround them, there is no true beauty in this world. Do you comprehend it?!" He spoke harshly.

"We don't just exist."

Reasons to exist are many, for not, you have to go to the souls of those who have ended their own lives. Kaylee thought that there has always been a reason, absurd or obvious as it may seem, that moves humans or other thinking races; Therefore, nobody walks through the world without a reason, be it for money, power, a person, the song of birds, the beauty of the world… How was it possible that this man was able to abstract himself from it?

"Explain yourself," he asked the mermaid, incredulous.

"I know there are terrible things in the world, but I cannot ignore its wonders. Don't you think that more than an effort to hide them is an attempt to mitigate those misfortunes? Nature, kind gestures, those little everyday joys. That should give us a ray of light, a reason to keep going," she replied softly.

"That's only a display of weakness." He shook his head. "Needing reasons to live! Absurd... The strength of man does not depend on such banal things, it is built solely by his own effort. Changing a world that is rotten at its roots? Indeed, those who are weak and unable to get up on their own are the ones who easily fall the most."

"No!" She grabbed her hanging whistle and her face went rigid. "They are those who are prepared to fall no matter how many times, because they have dreams, because they believe that they can contribute to a change in this world. However," she rested her hand on his torso and added, raising her face to the swordsman, "those who fall are those who believe that there are no traces of light or that they have simply lost it. There is weakness in the man who lives afflicted thinking that dreams do not exist."

The swordsman looked closely at the woman in front of her, tried to find an answer in her absent eyes. He had underestimated her; she exuded a strength of spirit that he had not seen in a long time. He felt a fire in his chest, a mixture of pride and enthusiasm. His silence lengthened recalling an image of him when he was just a child. Then, he took her hand gently and with a trace of bitterness.

"Dreams do exist, however, it seems that I still don't understand them."

A twilight, days after those events, Kaylee was waiting for the little humandrill as she used to. That day she was wearing Shanks' scarf, as it was a color that the animal liked. The days before, he had been a little late to meet her. Sometimes for arriving in the company of other cubs, others, which unfortunately were becoming frequent, for arriving badly injured.

That afternoon the air was unusually warm, the light was very dim due to the sun being covered by a large number of dark and threatening clouds.

"He's taken too long; I've trained him well… It's not normal," she spoke quietly, her concern evident. "What has happened to him? What if today he received more serious injuries like that first time?"

From afar there were sounds of metal colliding with each other, there was a fight between the humandrill. A shot and the heartbreaking cry of the little mandrill reached her. Kaylee got scared and quickly went to get her weapons, closed the window through which she was waiting and ran into the forest. Her fear prevented her from controlling the haki in its entirety, hurting herself uselessly and not moving forward as much as she needed. Suddenly a great beam of light illuminated her face and after a few seconds the roar of lightning was heard and it began to rain.

"Ahh!" She cried helplessly. "How can I rescue him? My senses are useless in a storm like this! No, no, no... What do I do?" She clutched her head in horror as she felt another lightning approach.

The earth rumbled; the mermaid was succumbing to panic. Her stomach was clenched and her heart was pounding. She bent down and covered her ears, began to cry desperately; by herself she felt useless, if she didn't do something, her little friend would die from her cowardice.

"D-Don't be stubborn Kaylee… You need help!" She screamed to herself trying to move back to the castle. "I recognize this smell, I cannot perceive it very well, it's the smell that comes from the fireplace... this tree with moss, then the small descent. I'm close… I am already very close."

Hawk Eyes was at the desk in his room, writing in ink, a screaming from the outside froze his actions, he was not sure if it was a humandrill or his peculiar guest. "It's impossible that is her, she fears these natural phenomena," he thought. Despite this, the front door opened and he barely heard her call his name. He got up from his seat and put the pen aside, doubting himself he walked slowly to the door.

"Mihawk! Dracule Mihawk!" She called out desperately as she frantically knocked the door from the other side.

A pain in his chest drove him to open his door quickly.

At first, she could not utter a word, she was shivering and tears kept coming out of her eyes. She opened her mouth trying to speak, but a lump formed in her throat, at that moment she couldn't take it anymore and approached his body. Leaning her head against his chest, she whimpered with such force that she was almost out of breath, her hands were cold and they also rose up to his warm chest, clinging tightly to his shirt. Mihawk did not understand the situation, he did not know what exactly to do, he rested his hands on her shoulders, caressing them gently with his thumbs, until she relaxed her breath and finally spoke:

"H-Help me please... Please!" She gave a big sigh and stepped back. "I need you."

"Easy, I'm here, I'll help you..." he said with a serious but calm tone. "What is the problem?"

Her expression changed, she felt surprised with that answer, her hands clung tighter, she lowered her head trying to organize the words inside her head.

"It's the little humandrill, I think he's in trouble. I couldn't go to his aid when I heard him cry when this storm started. My haki control is not enough. I don't like to admit it, but… I can't do it alone," she spoke through tears.

"The law of the fittest rules here, Kaylee..."

"Please!" She pleaded again in frustration, dropping to her knees. "That humandrill cub is my only hope!"

"I know... I was just going to say it's risky for you to go," he interrupted, bending down as well and, putting his hand on her arm, added, "I said I'd help you"

"What?" After a pause, Kaylee smiled at him and stood next to him. "I must go swordsman, if he sees you, he will flee even if he is badly injured."

"So be it"

They both ran in silence. Just as she had heard before, the metallic sounds and howls of the humandrills were still heard. Kaylee sped up her steps, with her haki she run behind Mihawk, stepping on where he placed his feet. Many thoughts crossed her mind, but one in particular felt that it was very important to tell him.

"I want to apologize, Mihawk!" She began to say agitated. "I haven't spoken to you as I should, s-surely you have your reasons for having done some things. I have misjudged you and..."

"Is not the moment…" Mihawk replied, barely pausing. "I see armed humandrills to the west side."

The rain kept falling with the same intensity. He turned to look at her for a few seconds, and put his hand on her shoulder. She took a few steps forward until the humandrills could also look at her and in that second everyone was silent, some ran away from there.

"Little humandrill!" Kaylee called out into the silence.

"They won't attack you while you're near me, so don't rush."

"You know that if you come with me, he will be scared," she replied, walking towards the direction the cub's aura could be seen by her.

Not even the rain could diminish the smell of blood surrounded that place, his friend's cries were heard nearby. What lay ahead was a heartbreaking scene; the mother of the little humandrill moribund on the ground and, in her arms, was her cub. Kaylee approached her, the heart of that creature was beating slower and slower, the little animal was also seriously injured, neither of them carried weapons.

"I'll take care of him." She stroked her head as tears spilled from her eyes. "I'm very sorry for being late."

Kaylee had a black and white vision, a premonition that they would attack the mandrill, she quickly took her weapon and fired at the enemy, it was a huge humandril. She gulped and tried to shoot again, she was able to observe the rage-filled aura of that animal and anticipated its movements. Taking advantage of shooting its limbs to prevent it from moving quickly. Running away was difficult with the weight of the humandrill in her arms, she saw Mihawk approaching and ran towards him, however, the roar of another lightning distracted her and she was in complete darkness falling to the ground.

When she got up, she felt a strike on her head. The humandrill celebrated his victory. The swordsman failed to avoid the impact, and a second after attacking the mermaid the animal received the swordsman's lethal cut.

"How frustrating." Mihawk put his sword away and looked down at her. "How far are you willing to go to protect your hopes? Your humandrill is unconscious." He leaned down and patted her face lightly. "And you too... Your incidents are becoming a habit. How many problems you give me!"

He sighed and lifted the humandrill off the ground and placed him in her arms. Then he grabbed her head, but as he did so she woke up.

"N-No please," she begged, getting up on her own and smiled at him. "I can, thank you very much for your help."

She kissed the animal in her arms and began to hum softly. Everything was calm, despite this, after a few steps she began to feel dizzy and her legs gave way. He kept walking; she was going to lose him.

"My head… I feel like it's going to explode. Why do my legs feel so heavy? I better sit down for a moment," she thought.

A lightning illuminated his hand that once touched her head, it was covered in her blood. Mihawk froze from inside. He turned and noticed that she had passed out again, he approached her and leaned over. Carefully he removed Shanks's scarf from her head, looked at it indifferently, and put it in his pocket. The swordsman lifted her delicately and left. "Her arms won't separate from that animal... It's really like she's clinging to her only hope" he thought.

As he advanced in the direction of the castle, his dagger was grabbed by the little mandrill that used it as a baby bottle.

"Little bastard..."

The fireplace warmed and dried the still unconscious mermaid. He had seated her in one of the armchairs and covered her with a blanket, he had a book in his hands but he had not taken a single glance at it for several minutes. He was unintentionally looking at her.

Her eyes were closed peacefully, her hair was messy and damp, falling gracefully across her chest. Her lips were parted, tempting. Mihawk sighed and walked over to her, picked her up again, and led her to the room where she was staying. After slowly placing her on the bed, he went away to look for the humandrill who had been curled up in the chair and left the creature at the foot of her bed, imagining that when she woke up, she would feel relieved.

Mihawk sat Kaylee by putting some pillows behind her back, stood on the edge of the bed and took a small briefcase and from it some bandages, and when he saw that he did not have scissors in there he used his dagger. He carefully took her head and with a damp cloth removed any trace of blood that could remain. With the bandage began to wrap her head, but stopped when he saw her open her eyes.

"What are you doing?" She asked.

"Is it not obvious?"

"Is this my crown?" She asked again turning to him with energy.

"It's just a bandage," he replied with a bit of annoyance. "Are you trying to be sarcastic?"

"It's beautiful, thank you!" She said, smiling affectionately at him.

"…" Mihawk trailed off and frowned. Again, he didn't understand anything.

"So? Has everyone had lunch yet? Did the fairies come to sing?" She continued asking. "Oh! Don't tell me! The dance has been canceled?!"

"What is she saying? Is she hallucinating? She hasn't heard a single word from me," thought the swordsman with a great degree of uneasiness. "Perhaps she thinks she's dreaming..."

"Kaylee wake u-" His lips got shut by her forefinger.

"Shh," she silenced him with a smile and ran her fingers down his cheek. "Is it you?"

"What?" Mihawk asked in confusion.

"Yes! it's you... My prince charming," she pointed out, taking his face with both hands.

When Kaylee brought her face close to his, he began to feel very nervous, without wanting to, his muscles stiffened. When he felt the heat of her breath near his mouth, he began to feel a burning surrounding his body that incited him to bring one of his hands to her hair.

"I shouldn't" he thought fleetingly when he felt Kaylee bring her face closer to his. Even if he surpassed her in physical strength, he was unable to resist. One of Kaylee's legs moved the humandrill who gave a groan that startled them both.

"Ah!" Kaylee yelled, falling back onto the pillows.

"She woke up," he murmured, confused, not knowing if he had made a statement.

"Oh!" She yelled again, backing up to the back of the bed. "What was that my prince?"

"…" Mihawk got up from the bed with one hand on his forehead.

"I know! It was a Sea King," she said, getting up from the bed and grabbing her whistle and blew it hard. "That will be enough! You no longer have to fear my dear fairies. We will soon reach land!"

His gaze changed, his eyes widened in astonishment, he couldn't feel more shocked at that moment, which was not surprising with such deranged behavior from her. She seemed trapped in a dream of fantastic tales, and that genre of literature was not exactly of his preference.

To be continue…