Hello everyone,

I know it's been some time and I'm really sorry for letting you wait, but I'm in the middle of my exams, so time is a little bit short for the moment^^'

Thank you for your patience and as always comments and critics are more than welcomed.

See you soon

Sharry

Chapter 5 – Dinner

-Zoro-

He smiled at her words. The housekeeper seemed so happy about him and Hawk Eyes being here. It would be impossible to tell her, who he really was. Why did he want to protect her from the truth?

And why the hell was the simple presence of the other swordsman enough to charge him with so much energy?

Slowly the smell of food reached his nose, reminding him of how hungry he was. The filled plate made his mouth water. Yes the truth could wait till later, food first, like his captain would say.

He was ready to attack, when he realized the odd behavior of those other two. The housekeeper in front of him had placed her elbows on the table, her forehead laid against her folded hands. In the shadows he could see her toneless moving lips. Hawk Eyes to his right had his eyes closed as well, his hands folded in his lap.

For a moment Zoro looked at the crucifix pendant of the Shichibukai. The room was filled with a warm quietness while he watched the other one praying. He had to admit that he had never seen others do this before eating. His mother had taught him, how to behave when an elderly lady was present. He knew about manners more or less. But since he had left the Dojo he had been alone most of the time. Later with his crew almost every meal ended in a war. He had not once been sitting at table, where no one was eating, but praying to a God he did not believe in.

His eyes were still fixed on that cross. He knew it actually held a weapon inside. A weapon, which could be more deadly than the biggest sword, if it was used by the right person.

After some more passed seconds both believers awoke and started eating, like nothing had happened at all.

"No modesty, my dear Loreen. Before the Sire finishes all of it by himself."

Surprised he looked up, getting mad at himself for reacting to that name. He simply nodded and reached out for fork and knife. He was not used to their odd behavior. Nobody attacking the food, nobody screaming and laughing around. Both of them were relaxed, showed perfect manners, when he tried his first bite.

It was great! His last time eating had been days ago some nasty prisoner grub. He really wanted to try all of this and had difficulties behaving himself. But it only took short time, to feel stuffed already.

Meanwhile the housekeeper built up a polite conversation with the other swordsman over trivial things. The landlord answered in short sentences without unnecessary words. Zoro could feel his yellow eyes on him, but he tried to ignore it. He also realized that he started to mirror Kanan's manners, immediately he let go of his fork. He did not care for that stuff.

The Shichibukai drowned his small laughter in his wine, still watching him, making Kanan interrupt herself and looking at him.

"My dear child, are you fine? Are not hungry or is it not your taste? I can prepare something else; just tell me what you want. We have a lot of things stored, but I can also go to the market real quick. Do you like fish? Or are you a vegetarian? This would be no problem. I always wanted to gain more experience in the meatless cuisine. My oldest daughter has been avoiding animal products since she gave birth to her second child. Please, say something. Is something wrong, Loreen?"

"If you would hold your breath for a second, Kanan, you might notice that our guest is just thirsty." The calm voice Hawk Eyes stopped the housekeeper, who jumped up agitated.

"Oh, of course. How rude of me. What would you like to drink? Water, wine? We have some exquisite juices, freshly made by Tamuro, the salesman. Or maybe…"

"Kanan" The Shichibukai raised his voice again, not replying to his guest at all, who tried himself to be part in this conversation, but failed with his weak voice to be heard. "You may fetch us some wine. We will return now to our conversation in the saloon."

Surprised Zoro watched the older one get up, changing the whole atmosphere with those serious yellow eyes. In this moment he was the man again, Zoro met at that time. The greatest swordsman in the world.

Without thinking he stood up as well.

"What? We have not finished eating yet." The tall woman complained.

"Thank you for the good food," Zoro said, rushing to the door. Finally he would receive those needed information. The black haired one followed him, wordless.

"Wine in the afternoon already. I'm afraid someone here has an alcoholic problem", he teased silently, while sitting down at the couch. Hawk Eyes ruffled through his black hair and fell at his chair.

"Honestly the wine seems to be the only solution for the moment." The older one just answered, peering through his fingers at him. Zoro had the feeling that he could really make Hawk Eyes livid with rage and somehow he liked that thought. He might be in an inferior position during a fight, but here they were on the same level.

Zoro reached out for the newspaper at the pile of books.

"There is nothing written about the strawhats, but the new wanted posters might be interesting for you." The other one said calm, placing his elbows on his knees. Carefully Zoro pulled out the stack of loose papers, looking through them roughly. Some photos seemed familiar but were not of big importance for him. Then he saw it.

With a bright smile his Captain looked at him. He felt his emotions giving him a hard time once more. He took the wanted poster of the rubber boy, not caring about the others.

The new amount was nice to look at. A smile grew on his face. Luffy was now one of the most dangerous Supernovae, those were really some news he enjoyed.

"Because you are supposed to be dead, it is more than comprehensible they charge your captain with it."

He just nodded, not able to draw his eyes away from the smile of his young friend.

"This does not bother you?"

Confused he looked at the other one. "Why should I? He's my captain."

Surprised the Shichibukai tilted his head. "Wherefore?"

Now Zoro was really confused. "What do you mean by that? 'Cause he's my captain."

"No, I meant… well let it be." The black haired one sighed again, holding his head.

"Plain talking this means you got nothing new, do you?" Zoro came back to the main topic.

"Indeed. My source told me that there actually exist navy soldiers who use their head for working. He will notify me as soon as he is able to."

He nodded simply. "So what was it you wanted to talk about?" He asked, reaching out for one of those books. "What about those books?"

Thoughtful he read the title Reincarnation and their manifestations.

"I had in mind we could use the time we have waiting for information to find out what happened to you. Maybe there is a possibility to turn you back." Hawk Eyes answered calm and took a book as well. "This island might be small, but thanks to uncountable merchants the library is excellent. One of the best in the world I would suppose."

"You're talking a lot again." The former pirate hunter murmured silently, focusing on the book in his hands. "Don't think that'll help. I never heard of anything like that."

"And because you are the best educated scientist alive your knowledge is crucial?"

They glared at each other.

"Or is it that you have no intention of returning your old form, Roronoa Zoro? In that case, I should return those books."

An evil grin darkened the Shichibukais' features, who reached out for the book in Zoro's hand.

"No!" He yelled too loud and too quick, pressing the book against his chest.

Laughing snortingly the black haired one leaned back, while the housekeeper entered the room.

"I was not certain, what kind of wine you might like, Sire, therefore I have three different ones."She told the landlord.

"What kind of wine would you prefer, Ror… Loreen?"

Shortly they looked at each other, before Zoro flipped his book open and shrugged his shoulders.

"Don't care and don't know. As long as it's hard liquor, I'm fine with it."

The elder laughed while Kanan scolded him aghast.

"Honey, you should not say something like that. The value of a wine lies not in its alcoholic strength, but…"

"Kanan. This is not worth your effort. Our guest apparently has no knowledge about wine. I assume a tart red wine would be a good choice."

Out of the corner of his eye Zoro could see how the housekeeper shook her head.

"Except for you and your father no one likes those tart wines. I believe a young lady prefers something delicate sweet…"

"Nothing sweet!" He interrupted, ignoring her shocked eyes.

"But Loreen!"
The landlord laughed again. "As expected!"

-Mihawk-

Smiling self-righteous he took the preferred bottle of wine from his old nanny.

"That would be it, Kanan. You may leave now, so we can resume work."

Angry the woman stared back, but she answered sharply. "Of course. My courses of the kitchen are already awaiting me." Holding her head high she left the room. The girl at the couch laughed softly behind the book, while Mihawk stood up to get two glasses.

Filling both of them he offered one to his guest.

The day went on, both swordsman using the time together to work themselves through the pages in almost complete silence. It did not take long for the first bottle for wine to be emptied and the second one followed. Only necessary words were exchanged, the pile of books shrank slowly.

The Shichibukai had to admit that this was even worse than the time he spent with the mayor at his bureau. Besides he had not found anything yet that could be compared to the situation of the pirate. Exasperated he put his book aside and took the next one. This one seemed to be more interesting, but it was also missing most of the parallels.

"Say, Dracule." Surprised he looked up as the other one raised his voice, his green eyes still fixed at the written lines in front of him, although not reading. "I don't get why you're doing this. Kanan said, you never stay longer than a day. So why are you doing this for me?"

He did not answer but regarded those intricate letters. After a while he could hear the turning of pages. The other one did not expect an answer of him. Not that he had one.

Since this morning he was asking himself just the same. Why was he still here? Why was he helping the other one? He did not know. Just like he did not know why the other one was able to break his limits with only a few words.

He still felt this subliminal tension in his body. Seldom had he sensed this kind of energy, but he knew exactly what it meant and that was bothering him.

He was craving for a fight.

The knowledge about the youth being able to destroy that whole stronghold on his own, even as an injured captive, had awakened his curiosity. How strong did he become?

But he would never know. At least, not as long as the other one was stuck in that body. Maybe that was it. Maybe he was looking forward to have a worthy opponent. Maybe he wanted to get him back, if somehow possible.

"No luck again." The youngster sighed, throwing the book next to him at the couch. "Oh boy, it's already getting dark. Your source for sure is taking their time."

"I did not assume you were such a communicative person, Roronoa." He murmured, scanning the pages.

"I'm bored."
"Then make yourself useful." He answered without a second thought. The content of this book could be important. The other one was not replying and so he continued reading. Now, without the chatting voice of his guest, it was easier to keep concentrating.

The book spoke about patients, who had near-death experiences but were saved. All of them had one thing in common. They were unaware of their names or their whereabouts. In contrary, most of their fragmented memories were those of another life and all of them pledged to be another person.

Some of them believed to be old men, now stuck in the body of a young child. Others assured to be of another gender. While some of this behavior was assumed to be caused by delusions and dissolved within a couple of days, others were regaining more detailed memories, enabling them to name people and places of another life.

Those patients were brought together with the persons they claimed to know of a former lifetime. Some of them were even able to recall intimate conversations or moments, nobody could know. But the most interesting thing was that the human they assured they were, did die. Usually while the patients themselves were not conscious.

"I might have come across something noticeable." He murmured vacantly. After some seconds he realized that he was not receiving an answer.

"Roronoa, are you listening?" Annoyed he looked up. He was alone.

"Roronoa, for heaven's sake where are you?" He rose at once. An all too familiar laughter filled the doorframe of the hallway. Surprised he noticed that not only the girl but also the empty bottles and glasses were gone.

Taking the book he followed those quiet voices, leading him to the kitchen. The housekeeper sat at the kitchen counter and ground some herbs. The green haired one was at the sink, working busily.

"Thank you again, Loreen. I really appreciate your help."

The girl laughed softly. "I had nothing to do so it's fine. I'm telling you, I'm no big help cooking but I spent already too much time of my life drying dishes."

"What are you doing here?" He entered the conversation. His guest looked over to him.

"Well, you told me to do something useful. So what are you fussing about now?"

He shrugged his shoulders. "I reckoned you conduct another book."

"There was none left!" The girl hissed back.

"Hush, No quarrel in my kitchen." The housekeeper interrupted. "If you two want to argue, fine by me, go to the living room or the saloon. However the kitchen is a place of love and affection. You may find work but never dispute."

"Gosh, even the cook couldn't put that any cheesier." The green haired one said, putting the towel aside.

"Which cook?" The housekeeper asked confused.

"The cook, who cannot shut up even while doing dishes." The girl shrugged, burying those small hands in between the dress pleats. "Are you coming Hawk Eyes? You heard it, didn't you? We can fight in the living room."

Perplex he watched his daredevil leave the room; this pirate would truly drive him mad. The woman next to him laughed quietly.

"She is on a par with you, Sire."

"Excuse me?" He looked down to her, but she was smiling.

"She reminds me of your late sister. Self-confident and brave. She pushes your buttons, Sire."

"The very idea!" He shook his head. "She was different. Sharak was strong, a warrior."

"That might be, but you cannot deny it, Sire. You like her."

"Certainly, in bits and pieces." He growled sarcastic and followed his guest. But he could not disclaim, that his calm, rational mind liked to switch itself off as soon as Roronoa showed up.

The pirate was back at the couch again, flipping through the newspaper. The dress was strangely scrunched together in between the knees.

It was obvious for the Shichibukai that the other one had stolen something out of the kitchen, but he did not pay too much attention to it. He doubted highly, that the pirate would be stupid enough to attack him with a kitchen knife.

"So you did find something?" The green haired one asked serious without looking up. Mihawk leaned against the back of the couch, handing down the book, his view still caught by that small fabric bundle, becoming slightly curious.

"At least it contains similar cases." He turned his back against the sofa and waited for the other one to skim through the book. In case he actually would be foolish enough to attack him, this would be the best moment to do so.

"I do recall the name of the author." He explained after some minutes. "I believe he is a scientist of the navy. If you agree, I could arrange an appointment. Maybe he is…"

"Cut that." He was roughly interrupted by that soft voice. With a loud chop the book was thrown at the table.

"Could you clarify your thoughts for me?" He asked without turning around and held on to his good manners. His hands however clawed deeper into the back of the chair. He could feel how the pirate leaned back. The back of his head was almost caressing his left wrist.

"That got nothing to do with me." The other one said plain.

"Well, in my opinion there are remarkable similarities in be…"

"The only mutuality is someone being death."

"Yet it is you, who is stuck into a stranger's body, maybe the girl, you stole it from, is in…"

"No. This isn't anybody else's body and no one is stuck in mine. Unlike those patients I remember how I died and that my body was destroyed. If this body would have died, it'd show any sign of injury.

With a sigh he let go of the sofa and walked over to the fire place. "Maybe we should still talk with that…"

"No!" This voice was determined. Mad he was raising his hands.

"Let me at least finish my sentence! Why for heaven's sake not? Don't you want to find a solution?"

The other one started to talk, but he continued.

"You want to stay in this body forever? You don't want to become Roronoa Zoro again? You don't want to defeat me?!" Harsh and loud his voice wavered between them.

The young woman did not answer, but stood up slowly and turned towards him.

With folded arms his enemy made his way over to him. The face calm, eyes looking clear at him. It was impossible for him to tell, what was moving the other one. Not once in his life he was looked at by such eyes. Those eyes were not those of a child, not those of a young man, but of a human, who had seen and lived through too much to talk about.

How could such a young child look at him so superior?

The pirate tossed the braid over his shoulder and leaned against the back of the couch, where Miahwk had been standing not a minute ago, just looking at him.

"I am Roronoa Zoro and one day I'm gonna be the greatest swordsman in the world. No matter what, whether as Zoro or as Loreen."

The determination of those words caught him off guard. Seldom had he heard a voice with so much confidence.

He just shook his head.

"With all due respect, Roronoa, but take a look at yourself! It is impossible for you to reach your goal in this body."

"And still I will!"

"Are you not capable of understanding? A woman, like you are right now, will always be weaker than a man. They physically inferior to us, Roronoa! Because of that you need to become you again!"

"And if it's not possible?" The other one made a step towards him, his childish face deadly serious.

"Do you really believe I wanna be like this? You think I wouldn't prefer to be with my crew and to be myself?" He came closer another step and suddenly seemed to be quite threatening for such a delicate woman.

"Two of those books I read said exactly the same of what you told me. Another book dealt with a man, always dying forcibly and being reborn as a boy. But that got nothing to do with me. I feel that those things aren't the same like what has happened to me. I don't believe something alike has ever happened before! I don't know why I'm here and I cannot change what changed me. But I'm gonna make the best out of it."

Now he was standing right in front of him. "I know very well that women are weaker in almost every way, but this won't stop me. If needed, I'll find a way to defeat you while being a woman before you get struck down by age."

For a moment the tension between them was thickening the air, a wrong movement could lead to a fight.

"Say," he finally broke the silence, "How old do you think I am actually?"
The pirate laughed.

"Well you were already old, when I was still a kid, so I would guess…"

"You still are a child. A rookie tries to explain life to me, very funny!"

It was silent once again.

"Very well." The other one looked up to him. "You truly have an ambitious goal."
The pirate grinned.

"It's my dream and I'm gonna reach it."

Mihawk laughed softly. "And for another time I am not certain if you are lead by pride or foolishness, but of one thing I am certain."
"That is?"

He almost let those thoughtless words slipped, but bethought himself of the better and just shook his head.

"You are fairly too young for this talk." He said, laughing like a devil and walking passed the girl.

"What the fucking hell?!" His tomboy cursed.

"Guard your tongue, Roronoa. And if you may follow me, so you can chose the next wine for us."