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 13: Vivid Tales

The south wind blew with a little more intensity that warm morning, there were a few hours left before the sun appeared on the horizon, she was submerged in the tub meditating with no other lights than those coming from the moon dyed in blue tones. As the wind passed through her window it made a noise like a whistle; Apparently, a front of bad weather was approaching, probably as disturbed as the sea of thoughts that were not allowing her to fall asleep again.

"Easy, I'm here, I'll help you..."

The swordsman's voice echoed in her ears, that time, moved by her despair, she ran to beg the swordsman for help. Before, she would not have thought of such a solution, even more, knowing beforehand his cold attitude. Clearly, going back to sleep with her heart beating so fast was a difficult task, although it was much more difficult not to remember similar moments. She got her head out of the water and sat up.

"My last memory was when I was holding Petit in my arms and walking behind him. However, when he asked me that question, the first thing that came to mind was that moment. He caressed me not only with his hands, his words did too. Is a man like him capable of showing such… concern? Did I misjudge him all this time? Maybe I'm rushing and getting carried away by... my heart."

"Are you willing to listen to me?"

It was the first time he had addressed her like that, with utmost respect and formality. She felt him anxious, expectant, with a clear intention of wanting to have her full attention. Luckily, she had had the strength and the sanity to bear her excitement. Despite this, something as simple as waiting for a reciprocal gesture was more difficult, she had put her hand on his, she waited for a caress, an uncertain movement at least, but he had not flinched.

She sighed.

"I wonder," she mused aloud. "Where could he be? In the middle of our last conversation, we heard the ring of a transponder snail, he got up to attend to it and left babbling a few things... He was angry."

Far from the castle, a trail of bubbles was left by a sea turtle swimming at full speed. It was nodding and yawning at every moment, many days had passed since its starting point and it was already exhausted. Looking ahead, he noticed that the ocean floor was emerging little by little, clearly distinguishing the shores of an island.

On top of its head was the characteristic hat of one of the postal companies from the Grand Line. The once-weary animal's eyes snapped open, both from the gloomy atmosphere emanating from Kuraigana and from the man's gaze on the ground that was staring at it.

"Dahahaha Now it's time to repay your debt Hawk Eyes", spoke a familiar voice from the snail the swordsman was holding.

The red-haired woman left her room, walking barefoot through the castle. Her long meditation made her remember that she did not know the whereabouts of one of her most personal belongings: the mask that she used to wear as Captain Mask, indeed, her all-important disguise. She searched behind every door she did not recognize, one of them was cold. As she opened it, the cold and damp wind hit her face. The mermaid wrinkled her forehead, cleared her throat and closed the door that led to the outside, of all the rooms in the castle that she did not know, only one of them was more likely to hide her things, she knew exactly which it could be; she wanted to ignore it.

"I can't go in there… It's his room, the most dangerous place" she thought. And her fear was not unjustified, it was not to ignore the sudden anger that could burst in the swordsman. Although, most of the times he was just serious.

With a little shudder, she climbed a few steps and was guided by the swordsman's scent.

"Well, it would definitely be more difficult to ask," she murmured nervous as a blush occupied her face.

A bone-chilling screech came out as she pulled the door handle. She took a couple of steps back, speechless and terrified. Despite this, she regained her composure when feeling the pleasant and warm atmosphere that was inside the room, deciding to enter without further ado, took a few steps and stepped back to close the door behind her. An unusual action.

Smells from all sides reached her nose, among which she recognized her coat. The first thing she found when she crawled up to the first wall was a kind of closet, although she didn't open it because the predominant smell there was his. A few meters from where she was, she felt a very tall and wide wooden cabinet; "A shelf", she thought as she opened one of its doors and a lot of things fell over her; the hardest was an encyclopedia.

"What is the meaning of this?" She wondered as she rubbed her head in pain.

Among the things that had lunged at her and the ground, she found a key. "Maybe here is my mask after all, this piece of furniture is huge," she said to herself as she tried to find another drawer or door. She stretched out her arms trying to find some box, lock or just her mask her hands got a small chest. "And it has a hole for a key", she thought excitedly; However, the reality is not so simple, the key didn't belong there.

Her face showed some disappointment and put in order the things that had fallen because of her. Suddenly, she pondered that there was heavy rain and hail falling over the roof of the Castle. Outside was dark and restless, however, she felt strangely calm and safe in that room surrounded by the smell of wine and oak that somehow characterized that human who captivated her so much.

Curiosity led her to analyze the swordsman's belongings, ignoring the dangerous secrets that those simple objects could hide.

"Another surprise…" She cleared her throat again. "Paper rolls. Judging by the fiber it has, it could be a reward poster. What's more, here are many of those posters considering the size, although these others are wider, they could be maps..."

Despite not having sight, Kaylee was right. Inside the rolls of paper were cartographies of various islands of the Grand Line and the 'Wanted' that she held at that time was hers, Captain Mask's and his last reward of eight million after what happened on Sibenik Island.

She returned Mihawk's belongings to their place and climbed onto a nearby chest, thinking that perhaps on the highest part of the shelf she could find her mask. When her hands reached to the top, she felt not only a little dust, but also a strange object that seemed to be made of glass. The desire to discover what it was made her wobble and, to ruin the moment of extreme physical instability in which she found herself, she heard a door slam from the front door.

Her pupils contracted considerably in size, surprised, because of the intense rain she had not noticed the arrival of the Shichibukai, nor did she expect it, she believed that he would not return until the next day. Unfortunately, he was already inside and was approaching his room at a brisk pace. She didn't know what to do, if she moved, she would cause noise and if she stayed still, he would discover her… She decided to do the right thing; she would get off the chest and approach the door to apologize. To her misfortune, planning and doing are different things; especially for her.

She fell and next to her the fragile object, which turned out to be the glass sculpture of a falcon, which obviously could not fly and broke when hitting the ground. The roar was heard in every corner of the castle. Kaylee, scared, looked for a table to hide in, but instead, she found a closet, instead of a suitable space she found, curiously and almost miraculously, what she was looking for so much: her coat next to her mask.

"Whoops! My things were not in a mysterious place," she said, pulling on the coat that still bore the cut mark from their first fight, and the mask instantly changed her voice. I haven't put this on my face in a long time, Hue hue hue. Mhihi! I missed laughing like that!"

There was no use in hiding or disguising. Although that was clear to her, she could not remedy the actions she had already taken. Captain Mask located a heavy curtain that could hide him.

Mihawk stormed into his room, kicking the door open. The intruder tried not to make any noise, he planned to wait for him to fall asleep and escape.

"Ahg, you stupid redhaired," he broke into silence. He poured the last of the sake into a glass and raised it to his lips. After finishing, he set the bottle tightly on a table, crushing the glass of the bottle at the base. "I don't know if I'm awake anymore."

At that moment Captain Mask saw that something was thrown in his direction, he did not dodge, the trajectory did not go to his body, he noticed late that the dagger had reached the neck of his coat, leaving him trapped. The dagger was embedded in the wall, his footsteps approached the curtain, he withdrew the dagger and pushed the curtain aside. In front of him he saw the body of the intruder.

His eyelids were heavy, even with his perception disturbed by alcohol, he distinguished the masked one and, therefore, Kaylee.

"Get out."

He had to get out of that room, although, as it was his first time in there, he was very confused, he hurried to the first wall he found, there was a door nearby, but he discovered that it led to the bathroom he wandered until he found another wall with no exit. Mihawk leaned heavily against the doorframe that led to the balcony, near the curtain. And he walked directly towards him, he grasped his small dagger and aimed at the neck of the masked woman with its dangerous edge. He backed away, his back hitting the cold wall.

He, seeing the mask more clearly became even more mad, grabbed it violently, snatching it and exposing the shocked face of the mermaid.

"My mask!"

"What are you doing in my room?" He asked with a cold look and evident fury.

"I was looking for my belongings," she answered, breathing heavily, her heartbeat faster and faster. She smelled his sake scent, terrifying her. Afraid that the scene from the past would repeat itself. "I know I shouldn't have entered... much less knowing that you weren't here."

"Tell me... why are you going to disguise yourself again? Running away?" He asked as the plane of his dagger rested on her face.

"It is nothing of your concern"

"Like the scarf... right? but I know that it has only a childish meaning... like you."

"You are drunk. Move away your dagger from my face."

"Damn it... Yes, I am," he admitted and in a soft voice, he smiled. "There are times that I am grateful that you cannot see."

"How dare you tell me such wor-?"

Mihawk bent down and leaned his wet forehead against hers, shutting her up, apparently dizzy. The Redhaired's words were heard in his ears: "You know the whereabouts of the scarf and I answered your questions, but you are not willing to talk about how you found out, therefore, in return you must drink the entire bottle of sake that I'll send you."

He narrowed his eyes and stammered annoyed, he brought his dagger to her chest, pulling out one of the buttons of her coat, thus revealing her nightshirt. His breathing was a bit agitated, he felt that his body was moving on its own. Suddenly, he opened his eyes and threw the dagger away from him. He broke away from her silently, picked up the mask, and handed it to her. He brought one of his hands delicately behind her and led her to the indicated door.

"Good night," he said as he closed the door.

She walked distressed to her room. She did not know what to say, not even in that state with great influence of alcohol he had reacted as she feared, there was no point of comparison with that traitor... She felt ashamed to think for a second that Mihawk could hurt her.

With the sun already lighting up the new day, she was walking slowly towards the pond that was nearby, the wild ducks flapping vigorously after seeing her approach. It had dawned a couple of hours ago and there were still traces of the rain from the previous day. The little humandrill guided her steps.

She could hear the humandrills growl in the distance; they fought among themselves. She lowered her head gloomily and sat near the pond, caressed Petit who was next to her and began to sing. The notes came softly from her vocal cords, her song was sad, it was about a princess who did not know how to stop the hatred that was in her country, that was one of the many melancholic tales that Shakespear, her old friend, wrote on mornings like that.

The door to the balcony overlooking the pond opened. Hearing the footsteps of the swordsman, she froze and tried to stop her tears, but it would be useless to hide something that her face revealed, the hint of her sadness was still present in her eyes.

Mihawk looked at the horizon thoughtfully and descended the stairs. He advanced slowly and stopped just a few meters from her.

"I started this comical project moved by wanting to change my past mistakes. I thought of the humandrills as the crew that wished my death. As Captain Mask I treated them all the same, I imposed fear and respect... and when I tried to form bonds it was too late." She sighed but did not turn to him, she did not want him to see her teary eyes. "When you told me about the war that took place in this Kingdom, how they became violent, I believed that the only hope was in the same solution. But by listening to the humandrill cubs like Petit, I understood that they were the real solution."

"Because they weren't contaminated with the war..."

"And they are intelligent, they know how to protect eachother, they like to feel affection... Well, after leaving Kuraigana I understood that the problem was me. I came back with hope and yearning to make a big change, however, I could not help them all."

"What happened to your optimism?" He asked in dismay. "What about that mandrill next to you? I was reluctant to believe in the slightest possibility of a transformation in these beings, but you have shown me otherwise."

"I wanted a more evident change..."

"More evident?" He stated with a smile. "They call me Hawk Eyes, however, it seems that you see more than I". He watched the wild ducks in the distance, thought for a moment, then added sternly: "You know well that change is not a short process and imposing it is a mistake without prior analysis, even more so, starting from the wrong premise. There are changes," he continued slowly approaching where she was sitting, "that are good and bad at the same time, positive for some, but with negative consequences for others. As a result of what I have seen, I believe that the humandrills copied even the smallest details of the human personality, because not everyone agreed with the things you have made. You must learn to accept that."

"I do not wish to leave Kuraigana Island and feel that I have left this place worse than before."

"…" Mihawk looked at her with a frown. "No matter how many times I've heard it from your mouth, I still don't understand what's so wrong with the atmosphere here."

"Please do not get me wrong!" She exclaimed nervously, coughed slowly and spoke again. "It's just that the violent humandrills are gonna be the first animals someone meets when arriving on this island, add to that the characteristics of here, its general darkness, its humidity. I like peace, but the silence that befalls on this Island is too much."

"And that should burden me?" He asked with his usual apathy.

"Sure… it shouldn't," she admitted, getting up after a snort and added in a whisper. "I forgot that you are not that different, unless maybe... when you have that in your blood."

"Excuse me?" Mihawk raised one of his eyebrows.

"Oh, it's nothing, really," she chuckled.

"That in your blood, definitely refers to alcohol... I think the sake affected me more than necessary," thought the swordsman. "That Redhaired... When I woke up, my room was in chaos, however, she... Was it a dream?"

Seeing how Kaylee walked in another direction he had the impulse to stop her, he grabbed her wrist and forced her to turn around, he stared at her trying to find some information.

"You were in my room yesterday... Your mask and coat are not where I had them..." He paused and frowned, trying to clear up fuzzy memories. "And what is more serious, the order of my things changed."

She began to blush little by little, turned her head away and he let go of her waiting for an answer.

"Yes, I was actually there... I know that having done that without your consent was not the right thing to do, although you know very well that if I had asked your permission you would not have let me enter. Even if I can't see! Anyways, you didn't have to hide my things in your room."

"Hide? ... I just kept them there, don't exaggerate, it would have been simpler if you asked me," he countered irritably.

"It's not as simple as you think," she replied annoyed, blushing even more.

The swordsman stared at her stunned, that unusual expression on Kaylee was causing a strange sensation on his chest. He had no recollection of the events that had happened between the two of them, although he did remember a button on the floor. He swallowed hard.

"What happened?" He questioned sternly.

"Oh! Nothing! What could have happened?" She answered nervously.

"Do not lie."

"If you don't remember anything, just leave it like that." She spoke softly, her heart boiling under her chest. "You didn't do anything inappropriate."

She covered her lips as she remembered the gentle way Mihawk said goodbye the night before. He grew impatient and scrutinized her, not taking too long to guess that she was hiding something embarrassing. He lowered his head in disturbance, his memory showing him fuzzy images, a fleeting action and feeling.

Leaning his forehead against hers.

Desire.

He blew out his breath and shifted his gaze to the water in front of them as he shook his head from his own thoughts with a slight mocking smile.

"The weaker Humandrills and those who put away their weapons relocated to another part of the Island, but I need to know which one."

As they walked, Petit began to jump of joy and took Kaylee's hand leading her to the southern part of the Island, Kaylee recognized it, it was the area of the animals that she had not been able to identify. Apparently the humandrills had taken territory from them and the bears were upset, some were injured.

"What are these animals?"

"Bears," he replied, watching one of the cubs approach him. "They are more submissive and... affectionate than humandrills. Many have injuries due to their anomalous encounters. Indeed, this part of the Island is quiet, but there is another, not far to the southeast side, which is more inhabited by birds and small animals, it is more abandoned... for a reason I ignore."

"Can you take me there?"

Later, in the castle, Kaylee went up to her room, found her belt, and put her firearms there, along with one of them her folding cane that she had not used for a long time. She felt her nose stuffy, apparently, she had caught a cold. She decided to leave her mask and coat, took her small bag, some belongings and went down the stairs, looked in the direction of Mihawk's aura, she felt irritation, there were no words. She left the castle, she did not say goodbye, she did not want any trace of concern or affection to be reflected in an obvious way, much less now that she knew she had feelings for the swordsman. He, on the other hand, watched her thoughtfully from his place as she closed the door behind her, without even turning around.

That was unusual.

"What's in your head, mermaid?"

Petit was waiting for her outside the castle door; he wanted to accompany her. The mermaid hesitated to take it with her, but apparently there was not much she could do to prevent it. The humandrill was not that small, although it was still not taller than Kaylee's waist, it had quite a bit of resistance. He offered its back and carried her quickly to the shore where her boat was.

And so, she began her journey without much encouragement, a large fish like a dog dragged the boat to a huge lighthouse. A great staircase from the port was the access to the place. The humandrill stayed in the boat and went to the desolate harbor. No one could be heard around, although not far away a man was watching her and, seeing that she was disoriented, approached to the port with great agility.

"What's going on?" She wondered, startled. She saw the aura of a human.

"What are you looking for, miss?" He asked politely.

"Forest octopus food or something to make it go away," she stated calmly.

"What?" He blinked in disbelief, he knew that violent specimen. "You will not find any of that here, only we, the Marines, are here. Most of us specialize in the study of weather and we are here in case any of our boats have a problem on the Calm Belt."

"The Marine?" She asked incredulously.

"Didn't you see the ship next to…?" He paused as he looked into the woman's eyes, she had clear pupils. "I'm sorry. Let me introduce myself; I am Rear Admiral Catacombo, I am here to guard the Great Lighthouse while it is repaired."

"My name is Kaylee, nice to meet you," she reassured him with a smile. "Tell me then, where is the Island that could be useful in my search?"

"Wait, I think I have something that might be of use to you ..." The sailor stared at her. She did not look like a pirate, he smiled happily and blushed, he felt lucky to be with a woman with such beautiful features.

He led the mermaid to the base of the gigantic lighthouse, humming out of tune, offering his great arm to the lady so that she could walk safely. The ceramic walls were blue and white, the floors were rough, apparently it was something similar to the pavement. His subordinates got scared by seeing him return; they were not in their respective labors; however, his look was happy and he did not say anything about it. He grabbed one of them by the collar and spoke to him in a commanding tone:

"The lady is looking for help to get rid of a Mori Dako." He turned to look at her with a smile. "On what type of island do you need this?"

"It's an autumn island, with a lot of humidity," she said.

"Uh ..." The young man was silently looking at her, she was a mysterious beauty. He finally spoke after being hit on the head by his superior. "B-Basically, these animals eat crustaceans, some fish, small animals and birds. What they love the most is fighting, if you can get someone strong enough to beat them, it will be enough."

"Are you alright?" The Rear Admiral asked her. "I see that you are a little pale."

"It's just a cold," she assured him.

"Anyway, if you need a doctor, you have one very close to here, the log pose in just a couple of days points to that Island," said another cadet who also heard the conversation.

"Wait... how did you get here if you don't use one of those devices?" Catacombo asked.

"Some animals have a kind of compass on their heads, I use one that helps me. It doesn't always point in a good direction and I can wander for days in the middle of the sea," she lied without a trace of nervousness.

"Your monkey?" The man asked again. "I have a friend, Rear Admiral Sicily. He has a braille map and a snail that reads the log pose, very useful for marines who have little vision, I think he is now in the Saavedra Kingdom, I will tell him about you, he will receive you with open arms."

"I used to have that... But I've lost them. You are very kind. Tell me," she addressed the other marine. "What is the name of that Island that you mention, the one if I need medical assistance?"

"L-Little East Blue,"

"Now then, allow me to walk you to your boat..."

Upon reaching Kuraigana again, the little humandrill jumped happily ashore. Both arrived safely to the Castle, which to her surprise was completely deserted. She sighed and sat down on the front steps. The smell of damp earth made her remember another one of her plans, she took from her bag a small bag of seeds that she bought on Turtle Shell Island. From there she circled the castle until she found herself outside the door that led to the basement where the bottles of wine were.

She bent down and with her hands dug in different places and deposited the seeds in the earth and in the pots with earth inside the castle that had nothing but dry and dead plants.

"At least with this solution this place won't look so sad... Even if I can't see it," she sneezed and smiled. "The humidity is sufficient; I don't think that major problems arise for them to grow up beautiful as I have heard that they are."

"Guh?"

"Easy, it's just a cold," she coughed hard trying to clear her sore throat. "Wow, I hope I'm not getting worse."

Realizing that the nightfall was close and that she would not find that human man, she decided to go to the forest. The great Mori Dako had received a cut in one of its eyes by the swordsman, when seeing Kaylee, the great octopus growled angrily and turned its back on her.

"We must plan an attack," she said to herself in a low voice as she drew with a stick on the ground. "You outnumber him, and apparently his pride was trampled on. The sooner the attack begins, the better, you will need to return it to the sea for it to find another island.

"Guhh!" Petit jumped to her side with energy, after all fighting was in their genes. He screamed at his companions, it looked like he was translating what she was saying.

"At least you'll fight with a better motive, right? We are going to regroup your friends we will attack tonight."

Her attacking tactic was simple. They would not use weapons, only the brute force of their bodies, after all, the fight had to be fair and that forest octopus would not fight with anything else than its great morphology. One line of defense would be busy making it retreat and another group would provoke him to go into the sea.

After a few hours, the great Mori Dako fell into the cold ocean. At last, the territory belonged to the peaceful humandrills. Kaylee, had returned to the room that she had been using in the great castle.

Despite her eagerness to hear him again, she couldn't help but exhale in resignation, she wondered if what she had done when she left had been the right thing, or at least the right thing to do on her part. It saddened her anyway that he didn't take the initiative to say goodbye to her.

She walked over to the bathroom and filled the tub with water, undressed, and completely sank into it.

"I can't get that man out of my head," she told herself as she tried to sleep. "It is harmful to stay on the Island. I have the feeling that I'm confusing his actions, it may be that he doesn't feel anything... for me."

Kaylee had already managed to get the humandrills to settle on the southeast side of that melancholic island. She was out of the bathroom, resting on her bed.

"Eyes are the doors to the soul… That's what my mother used to tell me; she never liked humans. After being kidnapped, I wonder what she thinks now. Is she alright? According to her, men are ugly, but when I felt that man's skin, I couldn't think it was unpleasant. My father used to say the opposite and talked about the masculine charm that is facial hair Mhihihihi, how I miss that merman… Time passes very quickly. I must go and forget him before it's too late.

Her breathing was painful and she felt a great discomfort in her throat. It was definitely not just a cold. She prepared a bag and took her mask, at that moment her fingers hesitated, she touched it slowly, it had a few scratches, but it was in good condition, the memories after that acquisition drew a painful smile on her face, she closed her eyes after sighing.

After two hours there were no hints of her or the little humandrill on Kuraigana Island.

The fish carried her towards the Great Lighthouse. The navy ship was no longer there, it looked like an abandoned place, even though it was a relatively warm day. She arranged Captain Mask's coat on the floor of the boat and felt something on the pocket.

"My button..." said as she took it out and placed it back there. She would sew it up later.

She laid over the coat while the waves moved the boat gently, after a few minutes she was sound asleep. The cold caress of the wind woke her up a few hours later, the humandrill was curled up next to her giving her warmth. Kaylee stroked his fur and took a fruit from her bag and gave it to him, she smiled when she realized that it was not difficult for her to imagine her life as a pirate by his side. She wondered if the little animal wanted to be separated from her in the future... She sat down and called a fish, after a few minutes a fat one appeared, who approached and looked at her strangely, it was not usual to see mermaids on those sides and agreed to help her.

Everything around felt peaceful until the boat started to agitate, there was a lot of shaking under the water. Something was not right, in an instant everything was suddenly quiet, then the little humandrill began to cry.

"We are in Calm Belt!" She bit her lip. "A Sea King is approaching."

The second she spoke those last words, a ferocious beast pierced the boat and smashed it to pieces.

Kaylee and Petit clung to the remaining pieces of wood from the boat, she drew her pistol, and fired; but her shots weren't capable of damaging the creature enough. The impressive blows of the waves stunned her and the waves produced sank her under the waters of the sea. She swam quickly to the surface and after blowing her small whistle, the Sea King shuddered and fled quickly. The humandrill watched her with its eyes wide.

"Easy, everything will be fine," she said as she approached him. This instrument was given to me by my father, it is a treasure of the New World, it can scare Sea Kings in a radius of a hundred meters."

"We have to get out of the Calm Belt before another one arrives… But I need to swim faster. I must use my mermaid tail… And find my things that have sunk," she thought.

After finding the bag and her coat in the depths of the sea, Kaylee again called a fish to help her reach the nearest island, tied a rope of the boat around her waist and tied the other end to the wood where Petit clung. She swam under the water following the fish.

A gold hook was polished with a quick and somewhat awkward flick of the wrist, which was not surprising since his right hand was not the dominant one. The cloth used for this purpose was a simple curtain. The weather was calmer than other days, the sea coast looked calm and fresh that morning, the most disturbing to the eyes being a simple piece of paper that moved across the frame of that window.

Shakespeare with his usual appearance, had a tattoo of a feather dropped transversely that beautifully disguised an old scar from a sword cut over his naked torso. He was a proud man, bald and, of course, passionate. Hiding that mark was inappropriate in his view.

He quickly picked up his transponder snail and called his old friend.

"Egana! Listen, his Vivre Card is moving around again, it's definitely time to meet him. Come on, both of us, I know you will regret it!" He stated with a smile on his face.

"Well, I don't think so, I'm retired. It may sound absurd because I'm younger, but my days as a pirate are over, I hope you continue to live them for both of us," he said in a soft tone. "Well, as you know, I returned to my mother's mansion, and I was only able to be with her for a few months... she was very ill and passed away."

"..." He looked down at the ground sadly. "I'm sorry, at least her spirit is resting at last."

"Do you remember the maid I mentioned to you? And the strange environment behind her? Well, it's because she had a big problem with Gekko Moria, that shichibukai stole her shadow ten years ago, so she doesn't reflect in mirrors nor can her be touched by daylight. For that reason, I could not sell the mansion. As she cared for my mother, it is only fair that I should not abandon her," he said with determination.

"I had heard of that Shichibukai, what a worrying situation... I will commence my search for that mysterious being that fills my soul with a longing for adventure," he said, lifting his shining hook of his left hand with great force.

"As a last job for our Captain, I managed to find the whereabouts of some of our fellow first crew members."

"Do you know about Leandro?"

"Yes, all of them. But first you must go and find our Captain. I wish you luck..."

Kaylee was dragged back to the Great Lighthouse, to her fortune she could listen people. But if she was seen without a boat her true identity as a mermaid would be evident.

A big figure emerged from the sea approaching to the pier, climbing it.

"It's Captain Mask!" A man yelled.

"Careful," Catacombo spoke. "His record specified he had an exceptional aim."

"I'm not looking for a fight, I had one recently to get a monkey… Hue Hue Hue," the masked man spoke.

"How dare you!" The marine yelled in anger. "What did you do to that lady?!"

He fired at him; the Captain fired at the bullet that was approaching him.

"Among the blind... Only the one who sees better survives," he scoffed.

Captain Mask saw someone approaching from behind with the intention of ramming him. He dodged it easily, the other falling into the sea. He took advantage of his luck to go after him to hold him hostage.

"Give me a boat!"

After the robbery Captain Mask was hunted for a month, with no success.

She learned while on the run how the Straw Hats had declared war on the World Government. Doing something like that seemed fascinating to her, she was proud of those pirates. Running away from the marines had only given a use to the energy emanating from her agitated heart. Kaylee felt renewed in spirit and knew what she had to do to stop, once and for all, that sweet and dangerous sensation: Return to Kuraigana Island to speak to him face to face.

The mist covered the island of eternal darkness, silence and dimness were a common sight there, even more so for the silhouette that contemplated that horizon, his golden eyes made a great contrast with the deep blue of that night. The moon illuminated the pond in front of him, reflecting some stars.

For a few moments he felt too conscious of that stillness. His eyes narrowed as he remembered the soft hum of the mermaid.

Will she return?

A hawk appeared in the reflection of the waters amid the moonlit clouds of the sky, Dracule Mihawk looked up and saw the majestic bird land lightly on the balcony, settling beside him. A message was tied to one of its legs; an answer to his letter... As he took it from the hawk both remained silent.

He opened the envelope and as he began to read, frowned and went quickly into his room.

Finally, the signs of a great disaster to befall the world were emerging.

To be continue…

Notes:

(c) One Piece: Rear Admiral Catacombo, Mori Dako, Egana, maid (her name is Margarita), Rear Admiral Sicily, Little East Blue, Gecko Moria
OC: Shakespear, Leandro Kesa
Based on something existing or simply invented: The Great Lighthouse, Sibenik Island, Grand Line Mail Network with turtles.

Hello you, the one that reads. Thank you for checking this story.

Now, gotta be honest, the lack of comments/reviews has been more discouraging than I could have anticipated... I know I can't make you, so I just feel like writting this to release my heart... yep, that's it~