Hey everybody,

have fun with the last official chapter ;-)

P.S.: At the end waits a little surprise...


Chapter 49 – Mihawk

-Zoro-

Listening to the soft beeping in his hand, he looked at the serene landscape, as the sky was getting darker and darker.

Finally, his call was answered and for a second his voice failed.

"Hey," he said, fortunately sounding as indifferent as usual.

"Can you speak freely?" came the usual question.

"Yes, I can."

Then a soft sigh of relief greeted him.

"How are you, Roronoa? I have been waiting for your call."

"I'm tired," he replied truthfully, closing his heavy eye for a moment. He was really, really tired and longed for his bunk, but if he was honest, he had longed for this moment even more – besides, it wasn't like he actually had the strength make it to his bunk; not that he had the slightest idea, where the Sunny was at the moment.

"But I think tomorrow it will be all over the newspapers, so I wanted to tell you myself." He rubbed the back of his neck and looked up at the sky where the first stars appeared. "Kaido has fallen. We defeated him."

For a second it was dead silent. Nothing could be heard except the gentle wind. Then an unsteady breath broke the silence and Zoro ignored the glassy eyes of the transponder snail.

"So you knew," he concluded from the other's unfamiliar reaction, but the only response he received were loud, shaky gasps for air.

So he waited, waited in the pleasantly fresh wind of the night for the other to calm down. It didn't bother him to sit there and watch the dark world. He didn't know whether he had expected Mihawk to know, but it didn't surprise him, so he sat there and waited.

Inhaling loudly, the other ended his silence.

"Thank you," he said in a raspy voice. "Thank you, Roronoa."

Zoro left this uncommented, shaking his head slightly over a soft sniff from the other side. The other owed him no gratitude.

"Why didn't you do it yourself?" He asked instead, continuing to ignore the noise from the other side of the line. "Why didn't you attack him yourself?"

"Because long ago I made a promise to never seek revenge in case someone might kill her," Mihawk replied in a brittle voice that reminded Zoro of the time when the other had stayed at the Thousand Sunny's hospital room, "and that promise was all I had left of her. A dead sword and a dead promise were all she left me in her death."

Zoro looked at the horizon in the fading light, but the moon had already risen.

"And why didn't you tell me?"

"Because I didn't want to influence you or take my revenge through you."

Again they were silent for quite a while.

"How are you?" Zoro asked. "Do you stick to Chopper's diet plan?"

A scratchy laugh was his answer. "Oh, Roronoa. You just overthrew one of the four Emperors, and you ask me about my diet?"

"Well, actually, we overthrew two, but who's counting?"

"Really? Oh, I cannot wait to read the papers tomorrow morning."

Now the transponder snail showed that subtle grin Zoro liked.

"But I do have a drop of bitterness for you," he sighed now, looking at his battered forearms of his even more battered body. "I think I overestimated myself a bit. It will take me a little longer before I can defeat you."

He didn't like the other not answering. Zoro didn't want to disappoint him, didn't want to be a waste of time, but the past fight had shown his weaknesses and Zoro knew that he wasn't ready yet, that he needed more time, more than he had expected before, now that he had seen the truth.

"And this realization shows me that you are slowly getting dangerously close to me."

Goosebumps spread down his back.

"What?"

"Oh yes indeed, you know now how we monsters fight and recognize your shortcomings. You have seen the abyss, haven't you? Oh, finally! Finally you are able to estimate your own skills at the highest level and to understand my abilities." The other almost whispered and Zoro felt his body shiver. "You always know how to cheer me up. Oh, I am truly excited. How tired are you? Do you still have the energy to tell me about your fight?"

That question surprised Zoro, because any tiredness and exhaustion that had been in his bones until minutes ago had disappeared and before he even knew what was happening, he almost stumbled over his own words as they gushed out of him. Mihawk was the one person he had wanted to talk to about this fight. As if he had only hoped that the other would ask him.

As often the case, Mihawk was silent most of the time, listening, asking interested questions and encouraging Zoro's narration with wordless sounds of approval or astonishment.

Then Zoro interrupted himself.

"You knew it, didn't you?" But this time it was a question. "That I have it?"

"You are a Roronoa, heir to the throne of Alciel, are you seriously asking me this question?"

Zoro did not even appreciate this unnecessary comment with an answer, but only raised an eyebrow.

"Of course I knew that you carry the qualities of a king within you."

"Why didn't you tell me?" He repeated this question. "I told you that I..."

"You were not ready yet. Besides, I did not want to deprive you of this experience. As a teacher, I had to walk a fine line to explain what you did not know without depriving you of the opportunity to grasp and comprehend something yourself. The more I explain to you, the more I deprive you off and the lower the learning effect and your growth. That is why I decided not to tell you anything until you activated it."

Snorting softly, Zoro rubbed the back of his neck. "So that was the one thing you couldn't teach me."

"Exactly."

Taking a deep breath, he slid down the wall.

"You're a bastard, you know that?!"

"Well, I can live with that, after all, I am your bastard."

"Drop this cheesy crap," he grumbled.

"Oh, that is already cheesy for you?" the other replied with a condescending undertone, while the little transponder snail turned slightly pink.

"Okay," Zoro murmured and decided to change the subject, "now it's your turn to talk."

"No, wait," replied the other, "we are not done yet. You..."

"I've talked enough for today," Zoro interrupted directly, unable to stop a faint yawn. "I can tell you the rest later. But what about you? You were attacked."

"Oh, you cannot call this little intermezzo an attack. They did not even reach the shore," sighed the other, sounding as arrogant as Zoro knew him. "It was a brief distraction, certainly, but extremely boring. Not enough to..."

"Hey, Hawk Eyes! What's taking you so long?!" A loud, slightly slurred voice interrupted the former Shichibukai and almost at the same time Mihawk groaned as if in pain.

"You do realize that you are interrupting a conversation, right?" Mihawk hissed in an undertone like Zoro had rarely heard.

"Oh! Don't tell me! Is that... is that Roronoa?!"

Zoro didn't like the way his name was mentioned in some off singsong and he decided to shut up for the moment and not confirm this assumption.

"You are disturbing a private conversation and you are drunk. Leave, Redhair! I told you to refrain from interfering with my privacy."

"But you were so annoying today and we stopped way too early!"

"Let go of me!" It sounded like a semi-serious scuffle, though Mihawk sounded pretty pissed off. "I told you I was waiting for a call! Besides, I will not fight you as long as your alcohol level exceeds Beckman's IQ. "

"I heard my name," came another, much deeper voice.

"Beckman, finally! Remove your captain from my private premises. Tze, pirates!"

"Aren't you a pirate yourself, Dracule?"

"Just leave! And Redhair, remember, at sunrise, do not be late or I will sink your ship."

The deep voice laughed softly, while the red Shanks mumbled something incomprehensible.

"I don't think he'll make it on time, and you've never been an early riser anyway. Start after lunch, then he won't be quite as hungover."

"Whatever, not my problem, if this fool does not know his own limits."

"Good night!"

"Just leave! Argh!" Mihawk groaned loudly, and Zoro was still struggling not to laugh out loud.

"You... you have visitors?" He asked, and it took all his willpower to keep his voice under control. "And did I hear that right? You're fighting?"

Mihawk sighed again and Zoro could almost see him tearing his hair.

"What have I gotten myself into?" He groaned softly. "I thought I could endure a lot after your crew, but this... Oh, what am I doing to myself?"

Zoro almost felt sorry for Mihawk, but he was far too curious to respond to the other's complaints.

"Again, you're fighting?"

"When he is not getting drunk or sleeping off his hangover," the other growled, obviously exasperated. "This drunkard seems to like to forget that even he is getting older. But he still drinks in large quantities, could even compete with you."

"You've never been there when I'm getting serious," Zoro replied with a quiet grin, causing the other to snort contemptuously.

"Getting drunk is not a competition, Roronoa."

"But if it were, I would win."

"Unbelievable."

"You're avoiding my question." He didn't let himself be distracted. "Shanks is on Kuraigana? Since when? Why? What's going on on your side?"

"Stubborn as ever," Mihawk grumbled, but he didn't sound quite as harsh as he had a few seconds ago, a little more conciliatory. "It is actually your fault."

Zoro only raised an eyebrow and would certainly not put on this shoe.

"You inspired me to rethink my past decisions and that is why I decided it is time for a change." He sounded unusually gentle, not half as arrogant as he usually sounded when he told Zoro about his convoluted thoughts. "You know, I have always been a little jealous of you, Roronoa."

This statement surprised Zoro much more than Shank's unexpected interjection of.

"I always thought of us a bit as opposites. As a Dracule, I not only have first-class talent, but I have also been trained by the best of the best in the best possible conditions. You, on the other hand, talented, of course, but perhaps not even the brilliant talent par excellence, under second-rate teachers, third-rate conditions, one would think you would need decades to even come close to my level."

Zoro mentally rolled his eye, there it was again, the Mihawk's self-adulation he had almost missed for a moment.

"Still, you always had something I was missing. For a long time, I could not understand this persistent ambition, because I never had to show effort to learn sword fighting, like you. It was even expected of me according to my family and I was good, therefore... But I wondered how good I could be if I had even a shred of your ambition. Neither you nor I will ever achieve the perfection I aspire, but I wonder how close I could get if I start to show commitment, as you have always done."

"You decided to start training again?"

"Well, dry practice still bores me too much, nothing has changed, but yes, I have decided that I am far from reaching my limits, that it is no longer enough for me to just be the best swordsman in the world. I obtained this title a long time ago and it is time for me to seek out a new goal. Comparing myself to others has always been irrelevant to me – because I am better either way – but I want to see how far I can get and that, my dear companion, actually motivates me a lot. It has been a long time since I have overcome my last limits and I am curious to see if I can do it once more."

Once again, Zoro felt goosebumps tingling down his bandaged forearms. The other didn't want to call it a dream, but it was very similar. Maybe he really couldn't achieve what he wanted, but who knew...

"So you want to get stronger?" He asked. "Or do you want more?"

"Ah, well noted, Roronoa," the other whispered. "That is right, strength alone would be a far too monotonous goal for me. No, I gave up after a long period of failure. But back then I was young and inexperienced, not used to not being able to do things right away, and frustrated. But you inspired me, hours of pointless diligence, fruitless workouts, who knows what I can do if I am willing to face these challenges stoically."

"You want to regain control," Zoro whispered breathlessly.

"You should indeed hurry, Roronoa. The longer you need, the more time I have to get close to this perfection and even if Redhair is a nail to my coffin, he is the best training partner I can have for the moment. He loves fighting, much like you, and he is annoyingly pushy like your captain, and he was delighted when I told him he needed to help me overcome my lack of motivation and discipline. So hurry up, because I intend to become better than I have ever been."

"Asshole," Zoro murmured, unable to stop grinning like a fool, while his still exhausted body was already longing for a fight again, longing for that fight, his greed had awakened, "you fucking bastard."

The other laughed softly.

"You should feel honored, Roronoa. I have never prepared for an opponent, and I have never been willing to train for a fight. But Redhair will help me overcome limits that no one has ever crossed, so do not dare to think your little skirmish against Kaido can even come close to what awaits you."

"Oh, shit," Zoro whispered as he realized what that meant and how this greed inside him grew as his battered bones complained. He wanted to fight so much. "You're making it really exciting."

"I want to be a worthy opponent to you, Roronoa, more than once. I also want to fight you a thousand times, but I do not intend to lose a thousand times, so I have to find a way to defeat you without killing you."

Zoro could not prevent a playfully indignant snort. "And here I was excited to see what happens when you lose your control and show all your unconstrained power."

"You misunderstand, Roronoa, if I were to regain my control, I should also be able to give it up at any time without running the risk of losing myself. So I will be able to offer you all my strength every single time."

There was that tension between them again, which Zoro liked so much, even though he knew he wouldn't be able to resolve it right now — not that his body was able to do anything right now — but he couldn't wait. He wondered what exactly was going on in the other's head, that after more than 15 years he had decided to fight with Shanks again, to train, to prepare for Zoro, to become even more than he already was.

"You understand now," he whispered, "you understand now why I can't stop training."

"Yes, I do, Roronoa," Mihawk confirmed, almost in a whisper. "You have awakened it within me, my ambition, just as you awakened Jiroushin's fighting spirit back then. So get ready; for he who sows wind shall reap storms."

"Do you really think such a bad saying would impress me? If anything, I'm even more motivated now, because I've got fifteen years of persistent ambition ahead of you."

The other laughed softly.

"Anyway, today you should not train anymore. You should rest a bit and after that I would appreciate a call to hear the rest of your adventure."

The second Mihawk mentioned it, Zoro realized again how exhausted he really was.

"Alright," he murmured, "but you can just call if you want. I'm afraid I'll sleep through days again, as tired as I am right now."

He looked at the world around him in the cold light of the moon. Although Mihawk had told him to finally go to bed, they had still talked about this and that – and Zoro had already decided to learn more about the other's training with Shanks in the next conversation, he was so curious – and now he could not convince his battered body to get up and go to bed. Maybe he should just sleep here, but as tired as he was, he couldn't sleep.

The feelings within him were boiling, the expectation that Mihawk had aroused in him, the curiosity, but also the knowledge that he was far from where he had to be, where he wanted to be. Maybe he had been naïve, but he had hoped to do something more against Kaido, and Mihawk would face him all alone. There was still a long way to go, and as much as Mihawk was yearning for this fight, Zoro was as well, maybe even more.

Rubbing through his face, he leaned against the hard wood in his back, but the images of the past fight, Mihawk's voice of the past hours, all this filled his mind and he could not stop the carousel of thoughts in his head.

"Hey, was that Hawkguy?"

Suddenly, it stopped.

"Mhm…"

"Cool, how is he? Haven't heard from him for ages."

"He's training," Zoro remarked as the other threw himself next to him, a little more carefully than usual, "with Shanks."

"Oh, is that good or bad?"

Grinning, Zoro shrugged his shoulders. "I'm going to have to train more, a lot more."

"Shishishi, sounds very good."

"Mhm..." Zoro sighed. "I'm sorry I've made things complicated lately, Captain."

"What are you talking about?" Luffy asked, looking at him with a raised eyebrow and an innocent look.

Smiling, Zoro shook his head and enjoyed the physical closeness of Luffy, who rested his head on Zoro's shoulder. For quite a while they sat there and just stayed silent. Zoro liked the pleasant atmosphere, liked the silence. With Luffy it was exactly the other way around than with Mihawk. While it was easy for him to talk to Mihawk and while he liked the conversations, he didn't need words with his captain and that felt just as right.

"But to be honest I was relieved when I heard that you had reached Wa No Kuni," Luffy murmured, and Zoro looked down at him in surprise. "I knew, of course, that you could deal with everything and that you wanted to have fun, but Robin also said that it wasn't all about fighting and... and I was worried that you would go somewhere where I could no longer find you."

Zoro was silent and just looked up at the sky. It was unusual for Luffy to talk to him like that, and Zoro knew exactly why he was doing it. Unlike Mihawk, he understood Luffy exactly, without being able or obliged to put his thoughts into words.

"Do you remember when we were attacked by the G-6 soldiers," Luffy rarely spoke seriously, and Zoro just nodded. "There was this moment. You looked at me with this strange expression and I... For a moment I thought I was going to lose you."

Zoro remembered that moment. At that time, he had not yet had his own powers under control and had been so desperate that he had considered using them, even though it could have cost him his mind. In his luck, however, Homura had stopped him before, but that had been the moment when Zoro had lost himself without even knowing it. Later, Zoro had lost his crew and body, but at that moment he had lost a part of himself without even understanding it.

"But you found me," Zoro said. "You found me on both Sarue and Wa No Kuni."

"Yes," Luffy suddenly beamed at him. "Because you called me."

Silently, Zoro closed his eyes and leaned against the hard wood; he was so tired, and it was a beautiful evening.

"Zoro?"

"Hmm?"

"Please don't go anywhere I can't find you."

He laughed softly and lightly nudged the other with his shoulder.

"Don't worry, Captain, I don't intend to go anywhere. I will follow you as long as you want."

"Oh, that's good, after all, you really have a bad sense of direction."

"Glasshouse, Luffy, Glasshouse."


So my dears,

this is it, the story is finished so far, just missing the epilogue (which will be Nr. 52). But the thing is, I have been working on this story for forever (2015 I actually staruted typing it down to be exact^^') and even after I was done, those two swordsmen kept pestering me. Meaning there are multiple scenes that never made it into this trilogy (alternave versions, cut scenes, and scenes of what happened after the third part) and I decided that I want to shared them in some sort of One-Shot collection.
The first OS will be posted shortly after the Epilogue (I would love to say the same day, but given how unpredictable my life hast been for the last couple of months, I will not o.o)
Of course I hope that one or another of you might enjoy reading it (and if you some ideas of ever had a scene you wished to read, just let me know, maybe they will make it into the collection ;-))

As a little appetizer the next chapter will be one of those scenes, covering one of the fanfics topics, that hasn't been closed yet...

So with that beeing said I hope you will enjoy and see you soon^^