They Don't Know About Us
Author's Note: Hey everyone and welcome back to They Don't Know About Us! I do hope that you are enjoying this fic! Thank you all for all the comments and kudos! I really do appreciate them all!
This fic just hit 75k Hits and I couldn't be in any more shock. I never expected how much people would like this fic. It was just a little crack fic idea I got that I decided to write after some people on Tumblr said they liked the idea and now, here I am 43 chapters later. Like omg, THANK YOU GUYS SO MUCH! I APPRECIATE ALL OF YOU AND THANK YOU FOR SUPPORTING ME!
Chapter Forty-Three: Shattered (Trading Yesterday)
Chapter Summary: The fight isn't over as they realize that Shanks isn't himself anymore as Shanks attacks Mihawk out of the blue. Unsure of how to stop his husband, Mihawk has to resort to defense tactics. Later, Luca makes his presence known.
Mihawk felt the hairs on the back of his neck stand up and his haki quickly notified him of the impending danger. While it was confusing, he had kept his guard down. It was only Shanks that was supposed to be in his room. There was no need for him to be concerned about his own safety. He lifted his hand up, gritting his teeth as he felt the pain surge in his hand. His eyes widened as he was knocked to his back on the floor. The blood splattering down onto his face as his arm shook from the force that he had to use.
Just millimeters away from his face was a knife. Coated in his own blood. His eyes widened even more as his eyes connected with bright blue. The hair framing the face was bright red and three scars over his left eye. The slight dusk of freckles across his cheek. The feral growl that was coming next.
"Shanks!" Mihawk snapped. "What the hell are you doing?!"
This wasn't Shanks' doing. It couldn't be.
Shanks was straddling his waist, both hands on the grip of the knife as he snarled. "Die."
Even though it was Shanks' voice, he had picked up another voice mixed in. Like two people were speaking at once. "Shanks?! What happened to you?!"
He was running everything through his head. Trying to come to any conclusion, until he got to one. He was still under the influence of that Devil Fruit power. How did they stop this? Water woke him up originally, but could it stop this? When they didn't even know what it was? He couldn't even be sure that he was right about this. But those eyes. They were the same shade as that man he had seen above Shanks before. As soon as it was there, it was gone again. Replaced by the bright violet purple that symbolized when an Omega had gone into a frenzy. Mihawk had only ever seen Shanks in one of these states on a handful of occasions. Shanks had almost mastered controlling his instincts over the years.
This wasn't Shanks. It was him but it wasn't.
"Shanks!" Mihawk tried again.
He hated the only option that he had as he reeled his leg up, forcing it into Shanks' side, using his good hand to shove his shoulder and flip the two. Shanks was snarling at him still, baring his teeth as he hissed. Mihawk grunted as he pulled his hand off of the blade, jumping back as he huffed. He didn't have the chance to brace himself before Shanks was pushing himself off of the floor. He ducked out of the way, keeping his front turned to the Omega.
He couldn't even smell his scent anymore. Like it was being overshadowed. It was nothing. Just like before. Only this time, Shanks was moving around. Eyes locked to him.
He did know that he needed more room. Figure out how to get out of this situation without actually hurting Shanks. Mihawk noticed the way that his husband moved. It was almost feral. Going purely off of which direction Mihawk ended up in. All he was doing was moving his own body around just to divert away from the slashes that were being aimed at him.
"What the hell is going on with you?" He questioned to himself.
He started backing up with each step. It wasn't what he liked to do. Hated even. But it was necessary to get Shanks outside where he could maybe devise a plan. He thought about the ocean. If it worked the first time. Maybe it would again. Shanks seemed perfectly fine before. What changed? His hair was wet, still freshly cleaned from the bath he had taken. Freshly cleaned clothes. It was even more odd to him that Shanks was wearing a button up that had all the buttons done all the way to his collar and the sleeves rolled down.
As they got to the door, he was forced to reach up, using his hand to wrap around the Omega's wrist to keep the knife from hitting him in the face. Though, it had left him open as Shanks' foot came up and sent him back through the door. The wood splintering against his back as he rolled backwards and back onto his feet. He pushed himself up, seeing that Shanks was still standing at the door. For that moment, the blue was back in his eyes. An almost sadistic smirk on his face as he leaned against the door frame, twirling the knife in his hand for a moment.
It was like a game.
Cat and mouse?
Predator and prey?
Marine and Pirate?
Whatever game came to mind.
"If that's what you want to be like, bring it." Mihawk stated.
X
They had all remained relatively quiet after Shanks and Mihawk both headed over to the Red Force. Luffy sighed, plopping back down into his sitting position as he crossed his arms and frowned. "What are with those two? It's not like we're kids anymore." He huffed.
Ace hummed, leaning back on the step as he let the sun hit his face. "You know those two, they always downplay their own emotions and thoughts to keep us from worrying. The older I get the more I see it." He grumbled for a second before he was facing Luffy. "They'll be fine."
Luffy wasn't buying it. Something seemed off about it this time. He just couldn't place it. To think about it, Shanks hadn't been acting right since they got back with him. It was so small that he had barely seen it, but growing up with him, he had learned all the small things about his Omega father. When he was hiding something. When he didn't want to talk. When he wasn't feeling good. He was apparently just in a heat. Shanks always acted weird a few days following one. It had to be that.
"Will they?" Luffy questioned. They had just gotten him back. He didn't like the thought that something else might be going on. Haven't they been through enough now?
At this point, they had been through just about anything this world could throw and them and survived it.
"I'm going to go check—" The Alpha Captain paused as he stood up, hearing the crashing sounds ringing through the air. He frowned as he looked over his shoulder, noticing that he wasn't the only one who heard it. "What is that?"
He looked back to the Red Force, his eyes widening as he saw someone flying across the deck before they were back on their feet. Mihawk now stood there, standing up. His eyes landed on his bloody hand first. "Papa?!" Ace screamed out, pushing himself up.
Luffy went to run forward, being stopped by Marco holding his arms out. "Something's wrong." The blonde Alpha stated.
Luffy could see Mihawk's mouth moving before he felt the air catch in his throat to see Shanks walking across the deck. Standing before Mihawk. Mihawk's guard was up before suddenly he dodged, leaping, and landing on the rail as Shanks followed his movements. "Dad?" Luffy muttered. "What is—"
"Something's off about Red-Hair." Marco suddenly interjected. A snarl on his face as he also looked over.
Rouge rushed forward, gritting her teeth as she stood by Marco. The bandages peaking out from underneath her clothes as she reached up and touched it. "That bastard. We didn't actually break that damn power. Did we?"
"It's the only thing I can think of." Marco stated.
Law came up on his other side. "We're all exhausted. Can we really take him on? Hawkeyes-ya isn't going to fight him. Judging by the way he's acting." His eyes narrowed as he watched the fight. "This doesn't make any sense to why this is happening. Why he's attacking his own husband."
"Why the hell is he doing this anyway?" Thatch questioned, rushing forward with a hand on the grip of his sword. "This is Red-Hair we're talking about."
"This can't be him!" Ace snapped. "He's… he's never done something like this!"
Dragon growled as he marched forward, the few Revolutionaries that were on the Moby Dick following him. "Robin! I need to know anything you know about this power! Hawkeyes isn't willing to fight Shanks himself! Any detail you can remember will help!"
Mihawk was only jumping around which only worked to confuse Luffy that much more. What the hell was happening? Why was Shanks attacking Mihawk? Mihawk wasn't reaching for Yoru. Only working on defense by using his arms. Luffy could see him talking, but nothing seemed to be working.
Robin moved around all of them, getting closer to look at Shanks and Mihawk. "His… eyes." She muttered. The Beta woman started to mutter under her breath for a moment. "Okay, there were no known powers within the book but… Shanks said he was in the place between the world of the living and the afterlife. All we must have done is weakened his hold enough that we could wake him up, but not actually stop the hold that he had on Shanks."
"So, you're saying that the power he's under is manipulating him." Dragon stated.
Robin nodded. "It seems like the only correct explanation to why this is happening. Shanks is incredibly strong. He's already proven that he can go into a war and practically stop it with words alone. The Marines didn't even want to fight him. He took out the entirety of the Strawhats by himself and didn't break a sweat. We are in for a rough ride." She explained, looking back over, "His eyes… they are blue."
Luffy frowned, rushing forward and ducking under Marco's arm to grab the rail to get a closer look. Sure enough, Shanks' eyes were practically glowing the second that he turned to reveal his face. The smirk on his face was one that he had never seen before. It didn't feel right. It was like he was looking at someone else. "Why does he seem like he's possessed?" Izou questioned. "Oyaji! What's your call?!"
Whitebeard came forward, "Don't hurt him. Try and restrain him if you can." Just as Whitebeard had said that, Shanks landed a kick on Mihawk's chest and sent him over the rail before he was crashing into the deck of the Moby Dick.
Mihawk grimaced as he stood up, a hand on his chest but his eyes still locked to Shanks. "Papa!" Ace and Luffy exclaimed, turning, and running over to where Mihawk was. Ace kneeled down as Luffy kept standing, turning back towards Shanks.
"What is happening to him?" Ace questioned.
"I'm not sure, but it has everything to do with that power he was under. I'm sure of it." Mihawk stated, heaving as he pushed himself up. "When he speaks, it's not just his voice."
"What are you saying?" Luffy added.
"That man is controlling him somehow." Mihawk said as he got back to his feet. He was barely back to his feet before Luffy was blinking and Shanks was by them, reaching out and pinning Mihawk down to the deck. The Alpha Swordsman reached out, grabbing Shanks by the wrists before he was throwing Shanks off of him and getting back to his feet. Luffy noticed almost immediately that the only person Shanks was focused on was Mihawk. "What kind of power is this?!"
Shanks coughed as he wiped at his mouth, his eyes shielded by his hair as he was pulled himself back up with the rail. "A power that you couldn't even fathom." Shanks muttered. That's when Luffy heard it. What Mihawk meant about his voice. It was as if someone else was talking directly through Shanks. His voice was there, but it was almost masked by another voice.
"It's like… possession." Robin muttered. "Did his soul physically leave his body in that sleep power?"
"Seems so." Dragon replied, "He must have the ability to manipulate any soul that has gone under his power or within his domain."
"It must be whenever someone enters into purgatory or the afterlife that he has the ability to do this." Law stated, gritting his teeth. "It doesn't seem like a power that can just possess someone's body. If that were the case, why not the person he actually wants dead?"
"Physical touch." Robin stated. "He also attacked Rouge but never actually laid a hand on her."
Shanks chuckled, swaying on his feet as he leaned back on the rail before looking up to show his face again. Those black veins were back. Almost worse compared to what it was before when he was completely unconscious. His eyes are completely bright, glowing blue. "You're a smart one, Nico Robin." He stopped as he flipped the bloodied knife in his hand. "This power grants the ability to manipulate life and death and every aspect involving one's soul and consciousness. This soul still belongs to me."
Mihawk turned, growling, "So, you've been speaking as him this entire time."
Shanks smirked. "What would it be like to be killed by the very person you've sworn to protect? The life that you vowed to make sure never got hurt." He pulled himself up onto the rail. "Why aren't you defending yourself?"
Luffy looked around. He didn't understand a thing of what was going on. If this was happening to Shanks, wouldn't that mean, the cause was here? He looked at everything in sight before he was looking up into the mast and sails of the Moby Dick. His eyes narrowed as he felt the hairs on the back of his neck stand. If this wasn't Shanks actually speaking to them, someone else was doing it for him.
"Sabo, Ace." He whispered, taking a step back to be by his brothers. Sabo seemed to have the same thought as him as the three of them were now standing side by side with Ace standing directly in the middle of them. Just like they would be as children. "Up there."
"Didn't Uncle Dragon say he was after Papa?" Ace questioned, keeping his voice low as he let out a growl. "Which means, he's using Mom to do it. He knows more about them than he should."
"What kind of power allows for this?" Sabo added, pulling out his pipe and wrapping his hand around it. "Ace, that man healed you somehow. So, shouldn't you stay out of this?"
Ace kneeled slightly, letting the flames dance over his shoulders as Luffy kneeled down, placing a fist directly against the wood, preparing to activate Gear Two. "I can still support from long distance. My flames don't affect my children. As long as if I don't get hit or go into close combat, I'll be fine."
Luffy smirked. "Let's do this."
How were they the only three that noticed? Luffy couldn't feel a presence as he activated his Observation Haki, but it was the best hiding spot on the ship. His guess, he was hiding his presence. "My guess is, defeat the guy who is making Dad do this." Luffy stated.
Ace turned his head slightly, looking over to where Shanks and Mihawk were standing off. Shanks hadn't moved yet. Just more or less taunting Mihawk. "Why hasn't he made him attack again?"
"Maybe, it's all of us." Sabo replied. "Isn't just Hawkeyes-san and Rouge the ones that man tried to kill? There are so many of us on the ship. We could stop Shanks-san before he got to them."
Luffy didn't like this. They had to free Shanks. He only blinked as he was forced to jump back as Shanks did finally leap from the rail, crashing into Mihawk. The splatter of blood that followed as a cut came across Mihawk's face. Mihawk was back to being pinned to the deck. Shanks' feet settled on his wrists. Sitting directly on his chest as he twirled the knife again.
"Well, I spoke too soon." Ace muttered. "And Luffy, you're sure he's up there?"
"Has to be." He stated. "It's where I would hide if I didn't want to be seen."
"We don't know for sure but seems like the best bet." Sabo added.
Luffy turned away from the mast, letting his eyes settle on Shanks and Mihawk where they had landed in the clearing away from them. "We have to stop Dad before he injuries Papa more." He stated, "But that guy makes me want to punch his face in."
"Luffy!" Zoro shouted as the Strawhats moved, surrounding around the three brothers. "What do you want us to do?"
Robin was standing a bit ahead of them, arms held up and ready. Robin was great for capturing. They could at least immobilize Shanks.
They all paused as they heard, "Please… stop." It was just Shanks this time. "Don't make me do this!" He shouted.
Luffy blinked. Shanks was… fighting back. He grabbed at his head, the knife falling from his hand as he trembled. "Dad…"
"Stay out of this!" Mihawk snapped, his eyes landing on where Luffy was. "You've all been through enough!"
"Wait a second—" Sabo started.
"This is my fight!" Mihawk shouted.
X
He had refused to lay a hand on Shanks. He couldn't. It was becoming more clear that Shanks was in no control of himself. His voice. His power. His body. It only fueled the anger that was spiking in his system. He gritted his teeth, balling his fists as the Omega pinned him once more. He couldn't bring himself to actually fight back. This was Shanks. The Omega father of his children. The love of his life. He would never hurt him if it couldn't be helped.
It was almost seeming like an impossible situation. He was going to have to attack. Shanks could and would kill him if he kept his guard down.
He looked up, looking Shanks right in the eyes. Since they came over here, his eyes hadn't changed back like they were before. It was just for a moment, but it was like a flash. Shanks was fighting back. He could see the hesitance. The way that Shanks looked like he was trying to jerk away before he was finally screaming out, begging for it to stop. He called for the others not to intervene. At this rate, Shanks – or at least, his body – would lash out at anyone who dared to touch him.
The blue came back to Shanks' eyes as he grabbed the knife he had originally discarded, the tip now located directly over Mihawk's heart. Just one movement. That's all it would take.
"Do it, Shanks." Mihawk muttered, now keeping his eyes locked to Shanks' face. "You'll let him go… if I die, right?"
Shanks smirked. "A life for a life."
"Do it!" He shouted. "Kill me!"
"You'd let the man who loves you… kill you?" He paused, tilting his head as he kept his eyes locked to Mihawk. "You would destroy his soul because you think it would release him?"
"IF THAT MEANS HE CAN CONTINUE TO LIVE OUT HIS LIFE! DO IT!" Mihawk shouted.
Shanks froze again. His eyes turning back to normal for just a moment. "Mihawk…" He grimaced as he shook his head, the tears springing into the Omega's eyes. "That's not true."
"The moment I realized I was in love with you." Mihawk stated, letting his voice drop as a slight smile came to his face. "The moment I saw those scars, I knew. I knew that I would do anything if it meant that you got to live the life you wanted. You've given me everything I could ever ask for." Shanks looked like he was still mentally struggling as he squeezed his eyes up, lifting his hands up with the knife between the two of them. "Shanks." The Omega froze, eyes opening for a moment. Even if they were still that blue. Shanks was present within his own mind. "I love you."
Shanks let out a shout as he arms came down and Mihawk let the smile come to his face as he saw the blade through the side of his eye. The Omega was leaned over him. "I won't!" Shanks shouted before he was throwing himself backwards, a scream erupting from his throat as he gripped at his head. "GET OUT OF MY HEAD!" Mihawk's heart was racing as he sat up, moving to kneel by Shanks. The movement seemed like it was the wrong thing to do as Shanks immediately lashed out again. Hands popped out of the deck, pinning Shanks down to the deck. The Omega hissed out, "What the hell?"
Mihawk looked over, seeing that Robin had activated her Devil Fruit as she looked at Shanks, "I'm sorry, but we can't let him continue attacking before he turns on someone else."
Robin had her hands on Shanks' wrists, upper arms, around his neck, torso, waist, legs, and ankles. Keeping the Omega completely pinned down as he struggled against it. That at least gave them a moment. The thought came to mind, could Shanks' haki be activated? If so, a lot of them would be rendered unconscious. To think about it, Shanks hadn't once used his haki at all. Like he couldn't. He paused as he stood back up completely. It could be that Shanks was just drained so completely of his own haki that he couldn't use it, but Mihawk was positive that wasn't the case.
He looked around. If Shanks was being controlled somehow, that man was here. He could feel it. He could recall hearing Luffy, Ace, and Sabo talking about it which lead his attention to the mast. If he actually was here. That's where he would be. He would be hidden where he could watch everything but stay out of sight and the line of fire.
Mihawk's attention was grabbed again when Robin suddenly yelled out in pain as she stumbled on her feet. The bindings keeping Shanks in place coming off of him before Shanks was back on his feet. Luffy rushed over to Robin, checking her over, "Are you okay?"
"Yeah, just… I don't know what he did, but it hurt." Robin muttered. "This isn't going to be easy."
"No, it's not." Mihawk replied, turning back towards Shanks. Shanks had just moments of clarity between this hold on him. If Mihawk could tap into that, he could possibly break into Shanks' mindset. Even if he couldn't break it, he could at least give Shanks a fighting chance. He refused to hurt him. Lay a hand on him. This was his final stand.
Shanks lifted the knife back up, slashing it towards Mihawk. The Alpha moved back, blocking the move again as his hand wrapped around the Omega's wrist. He twisted his hand just enough that he could use his other arm to pin down Shanks' other arm to his side. "Let me go." Shanks hissed.
"I'm afraid I can't." Mihawk replied.
"Please, Mom!" Ace shouted, "Snap out of this!"
"Please!" Luffy shouted at the same time. "This isn't you!"
Shanks was struggling against the hold, trying to turn his hand back. Mihawk sighed, inhaling sharply before he was releasing it. He tapped directly into his own instincts. Shanks might not be bonded to him anymore, but they had been bonded at one point. Had children together. They still had a connection.
"You can continue to attack me." Mihawk whispered. "Maybe I deserve it for all those years that I left you behind. Left you to raise our children alone." He had kept his voice just low enough that Shanks could hear. He was positive that the man doing this to Shanks, could hear him too. It was fine, but if he could talk directly to Shanks, that's what he needed. He could feel how the Omega trembled.
This Omega was the love of his life. Every reason that he wanted to continue to be strong. He wanted to continue his path to be the strongest for the sake of their children. So, he could continue to protect them in his own right. This entire time, if he had just told the world what these three were to him, so much of what had happened wouldn't have. They would have been fine. The knife had moved, now pressing directly into Mihawk's throat. Nicking his skin enough that he could feel his own blood running down again.
"I put so much burden on you." Mihawk continued. "I knew you could handle whatever this world threw at you, but I took advantage of it. Allowed you to do it without me. You almost singlehandedly raised Ace and Luffy alone. All those times I should have been there and wasn't. You never blamed me for it. You just kept telling me to live out my life how I wanted to, but never took into consideration what you might have felt. Still, I wouldn't change what kind of person you are. If anyone has learned anything, it was me. You made me better. Made me want to be better."
The air had caught in the Omega's throat as the knife had started to justle. His eyes widening as there was that flash of grey in his eyes. "Mih—" It was cut off again as Shanks' eyes rolled into the back of his head and he collapsed. Falling right into Mihawk's chest.
"What happened to him?!" Ace exclaimed, running forward, and getting beside them.
"Should we, um… tie him up?" Sabo questioned.
"Throw him in the ocean?" Luffy added. "That worked last time."
"I don't think it will this time." Mihawk muttered, kneeling down, and laying Shanks against the wood. He turned, facing the mast again. "Come out! If it's me you want, keep him out of this!"
X
Luca smirked as Mihawk called out to him, twirling Shanks' necklace in his hand. It had proven difficult to keep Shanks under his hold. They had seemed to figure out the aspects of the power from observing. Shanks was his until he released him from it. Even if Mihawk could get to him just for a moment. Giving him that extra push that he was desperately needing.
The others appeared shocked as their eyes moved to where he was, and he jumped down. Landing on the second floor of the cabins as he looked down. "So, I can see the Hawkeyes in Straw Hat Luffy now." He stated. "He was the first to figure out where I was."
Without a thought, everyone had turned towards him, aiming guns, pointing swords, activating their Devil Fruits. All lingering onto the man. "What have you done to my Dad?!" Luffy shouted, "Just let him go!"
The man smirked, tilting his head, "Monkey D. Luffy… no, it's actually Gol D. Luffy." Luffy paused, gritting his teeth as he balled his fist. "Your protectiveness of your family shows in all the actions you take. Within the very memories that Shanks has." Mihawk paused, eyes back on the man.
"Memories?" Sabo questioned. "You can see his memories!?"
The man hummed. "Whoever enters the realm of the afterlife. Even in the in between… I can see it all. I can know exactly how they felt. What they have seen. It's quite fascinating. You can tell exactly who a person is with their actions." He kneeled down, placing his chin on his palm as he braced himself on his knees. "He loved you, Sabo. As one of his own. To him, you were a son. How people can create families of their own. It's a concept that Marshall D. Teach took for granted. Yet here you all are. A large mixed family. Allied together by the six who share a connection deeper than bonds."
"Teach has nothing to do with this!" Ace snapped, growling as his hand was once again on fire. "Who the hell do you think you are doing all of this?! Haven't we been through enough without you!"
"You have." The man replied. Mihawk froze at his answer. What was he saying? "I initially came to clean up the mess that was caused by Teach. Kidnapping Red-Haired Shanks probably had to be the stupidest move he has ever done in his life, yet it was inevitable. He would have been consumed with his need to finally have him and lure in Ace. Creating a strong pack of his own. For years, he boiled in his obsession with this family. Wanting it as his own."
Ace gritted his teeth, only stopping from rushing ahead as Mihawk reached out, forcibly pulling him back. "Do not engage this man."
"I don't get it, Papa." Ace whispered. "Why would he be doing all of this? Why save… why save my pups?"
"I don't know, but the more he talks, the more we learn about what this is." Mihawk replied, keeping his voice low. Mihawk turned his gaze back to the man. "You know all about us, but we don't even know your name." He called out.
The man smirked, "Did Dragon not tell you my name?" He hummed, "My name is Azazel D. Luca. It's nice to meet you." Mihawk could almost get sick from the pleasantry. It almost felt genuine. What the hell was this? This man was clearly unstable. At least when it came to him. If he was the target of this man, he would allow it. Let his attention be on him if that meant it wouldn't be on the others. He could handle it. He smirked, his gaze sharpening on Mihawk, "Except for you, of course. I'm pleasantly surprised that all of you have figured out how to bypass my abilities by using the sea water."
"It wasn't that hard to figure out." Marco hissed, moving to stand in front of Ace, partially blocking the Omega's path. "You're obsessed with life, aren't you?! First, you shoot Commander Rouge. Put Red-Hair into that eternal sleep bullshit, and now this. What the hell do you want from them?!"
Luca had a soft smile on his face now. Almost as if he was greeting an old friend. It was the strangest thing. It was as if he was seeing an angel and a demon at the same time. Like Luca was flipping between being pacifism and sadism. "You have to applaud yourselves. If you hadn't acted, Shanks could have died. He was running out of time. He was already facing injuries from Blackbeard, including exhaustion, internal bleeding, forcible bond breaking, and various other factors that would have caused his demise." He actually looked proud that they had managed to wake Shanks. That didn't account for what was happening to him now. The possession that Mihawk was just going to call it.
It was about him. Rather he wanted to admit it or not. The perfect person to be able to kill Mihawk and possibly get away with it was in fact Shanks. Aside from Ace and Luffy, Shanks was the one person who Mihawk refused to lift his hand too. He would duel any of the three any day in a sword fight, but this wasn't the same.
"What is happening to him now?" Ace questioned. "What I'm getting from this is just… we broke your power but kind of."
Luca made a face, shrugging, "You could say that. Devil Fruit users are susceptible to the sea. It's why they can't use their powers within water. My powers do fall in line with the elements of life and death. Everything plays a key factor in keeping people alive, but at the same time, they can and will cause death. You should know that, Gol D. Ace." Luca explained. "Your very fire can be used to warm people. Cook. Create light. However, it can also be dangerous. It can kill."
Ace's gaze narrowed as he growled. "You're dodging the question."
Luca tsked, shaking his head, "I was getting there. Water is also similar to this. While we need water to sustain our bodies with hydration. Keep clean. Purify, you could say, it is also dangerous. You can drown, per say. All the elements of the world, despite holding such fascination to life, can also cause death." He paused, sighing as he stood back up, his hands in his pockets now. It was almost as if he was reaching for something within them. "When you threw Shanks overboard, it weakened the power against him just enough that he was able to wake himself."
Mihawk paused. Shanks woke himself up? He turned, looking over to where Shanks was still fast asleep against the deck. Face first as his hair covered his face. The Alpha turned back towards Luca, frowning. That didn't make sense.
"No one has ever broken through that power, and all of you gave him that push that his body needed." Luca hummed, rocking on his feet as he looked out to the sea. "The sea is so vast. So beautiful. Even here on the Grand Line."
"Just cut to the chase!" Luffy shouted, "What do you want?!"
Luca looked over to Luffy, pulling one of his hands from his pockets. Mihawk felt the air catch in his throat as Luca revealed what it was within his hand. Shanks' courting necklace. "Wouldn't you say? Whatever I please? Leaving my life free to do what I want?" Luca just shot back questions as he made a noise, bringing the pendant into his hand and looking down. "This is one of the most detailed pendants I have ever seen. No wonder he treasures this. Made out of some of the finest gold. The chain is strong, and the pendant itself is even more telling." Luca's hand was glowing again around the pendant that had Mihawk narrowing his gaze again. That's where Shanks' necklace had gone. It made sense to why it suddenly disappeared. Mihawk had assumed Teach had something to do with it. "As for Shanks, since he was in the afterlife, I have the ability to manipulate his physical body. All you did was wake him up, his soul still resides in purgatory. You could say, he's quite literally split in two. His consciousness his in his body, but the remainder of him is in my hold. The only person who would understand this is dead. The only person who could help you is dead."
"So, you're saying—" Dragon was stopped as that sadistic smirk came back to Luca's face. For a moment, Mihawk could hear Ace gasp.
"Teach." The Omega Commander muttered.
"You could quite literally rip his heart out and he would still be alive." Luca stated a sharp glance. His eyes moved away from Dragon and to Mihawk, "This must be destroying you to know that Shanks still isn't free." Mihawk growled, reaching for Yoru as he prepared to attack. Luca rose his hand, showing his glowing palm. "Hawkeyes, I wouldn't be so irrational. Understand, if you kill me, Shanks will also die. He is tied to me."
This was placing Mihawk into an impossible situation. What the hell was he supposed to do? He had to take this man's word for it. He was the only one here who knew the true extent of this power. "You bastard."
"So, Hawkeyes, I'll give you what you are yearning for." He stated, "If you can defeat me, I'll release him. If you lose, you die."
"You never did tell me why you want me dead." Mihawk growled. "I have plenty of enemies, but I would have remembered someone as strong as you."
Luca chuckled, jumping down, and landing on the deck as he started to walk forward. There had been no order to attack, but all of them were ready. Mihawk was positive that he absolutely would keep his promise of finishing the job. The Alpha passed directly by Mihawk, stopping at Shanks, and kneeling down. Mihawk went to move, stopping as Luca was careful in moving Shanks onto his back and undoing the top buttons of his shirt, revealing the large black mark on his chest. "All those years ago, I met him. He was kind to me. He even patched up my injuries that I sustained from you. You tried to take my life without care for mine or his. That is why you must die. You were uncaring of life that you almost took two."
"Wait, you know my Dad?" Luffy questioned, his guard dropping for a moment as Luca placed his hand over Shanks' chest. His palm glowing as some of the black to his veins started to retract back over his heart. "If he was nice to you… why do this to him?"
"Unfortunate circumstances, Straw Hat." Luca hummed. "I would have preferred not to do anything to him, but sometimes, things happen for a reason. I was just about to release him from my power when Hawkeyes showed up."
"When Papa showed up?" Luffy continued.
This would be the perfect time to strike, but it was like Luca was trying to get Mihawk to do it. Attack him with his back turned. Why did this seem so important. Significant to what he was referring to before?
Luca smiled and nodded. "He'll be fine for now. As long as if he doesn't touch water again for a while, he'll remain the way he should be." Mihawk blinked. Water? Shanks had just taken a bath before this happened. The water had caused this? He hummed. Luca had practically told them that the water was the cause. Each aspect had two variations. Aspects to life, but aspects to death as well. It must have meant when Shanks was placed into the ocean, he helped allow him to break from the hold of what was causing him to sleep, but when he bathed, it activated another part of the power. Made him fall back into to Luca's power.
His bloodlust towards Mihawk was shining through Shanks. If his soul as Luca put it, was still in purgatory but his consciousness was here, Shanks was still perfectly fine. He was just tied to Luca. Luca wanted a fight with him.
"Do you truly love him enough to put your life on the line with a man that you know has the power to kill you with just a touch?" Luca questioned, turning, and facing Mihawk know. Blocking Mihawk's direct path to Shanks. He could barely grip properly onto Yoru with the wound on his hand. It was almost calculated that Shanks had attacked his hand first thing, but that had been from Mihawk reacting. Unless if that's the outcome that was wanted.
He was already at a severe disadvantage. Luca was right. One touch and Mihawk could easily fall under this power, but he believed in his Swordsmanship. He believed he could do this. This is what he had been training for for years. He was the World's Strongest Swordsman.
"You won't be the victor of this fight." Mihawk shot back. "This is between me and you."
Luca smirked, placing his hands back into his pockets. "I wouldn't have it any other way."