The village came up faster than he had anticipated, but that was fine for him since it was getting rather late. The sun was beginning to set and he leaned heavily against the gnarled wood of an old tree as he looked over the village.
No blue and white, but there were flags. Assorted in their difference and one that stood out more than it should. He had just left them though hadn't he? Or was it longer then he thought… the grandline really was too confusing and he couldn't wait to explore the Blue's rather than this crazy sea.
Mihawk shook his head and he headed down the rocky slope towards the village. If nothing else he would do his best to avoid the crew because while he had said he should have stayed… it wouldn't work out well for him.
On the outskirts he saw children playing in the dwindling light. Their laughter showing more of a carefree life than the last village. He felt a small smile of his own pulling on his lips and inclined his head to the parents as he passed them. It was clear that he was simply a traveler and wasn't going to cause problems. Not that he looked too intimidating with only a small dagger and plain sword.
"Hey! You!" He stopped out of instinct and turned his head, looking back towards the town square.
The crowd he had been hoping to avoid had parted showing a rather pompous looking man wielding a long sword clumsily. There was a grin on his face and his messy blue hair was in a horrible Mohawk.
Mihawk raised a brow and faced the taller man, walking over slowly. "Can I help you?" He asked in a deadpanned tone. Really… there went laying low. He could see Roger's hat in the thinning crowd. Where the Captain was, Shanks was sure to follow.
The man leered down at him, "I see you have a sword. Care to try your hand against me." He stated cockily and his eyes lit up in malice. Bandaged fingers gripped tighter around the longswords handle and Mihawk could see the muscle strain in the man's arms.
A sigh slipped passed his lips and he pulled his dagger out rather than his sword. "Against you… this is over kill." He spoke blandly and shifted his stance slightly as he watched the outrage cross the man's face. Really it was his own fault for underestimating who he was challenging.
"Are you serious?" He snapped and brought the heavy sword down, gouging the ground with the tip of the blade. "Fight me then, bitch."
Mihawk lifted the dagger, feeling the wind from the sloppy hit. The longswords hilt ground down to his own and brought them eye to eye. He let a brief smile cross his lips before he initiated his own strike.
He pushed back and watched as the larger man lost balance. It was quick work after that and he watched as the blade snapped and its wielder fall to his knees. Mihawk flicked his blade clean and slipped it away before walking in the direction he had seen Roger.
"Good show." Roger said with a laugh and turned on his heel. Mihawk felt the fingers in his hair before he could stop it and grumbled under his breath. "Didn't think we would see you again so soon. Got a place to stay?" He asked with the same grin on his face as Mihawk was starting to associate with him.
"Not yet, but I can manage." Mihawk admitted and stepped over a body that was flung from the loud tavern doors. He looked up at Roger with a tilt to his head in question. Adults weren't exactly on the top of his trust list so to say, but Shanks and Buggy seemed to look up to him… that had to account for something then.
"Just stay with us then. I bought out the whole Inn so the Crew could have some land time before we continue on." Roger said and held open one of the darkly stained doors for him to walk through.
It was like a noise barrier… the way the sound increased tenfold as he stepped inside the building. Mihawk could feel a headache starting to form at the absolute chaos that made up the Roger Pirates… Really… they were truly going to be a menace on the seas at this rate. A cheerful menace, but one nonetheless.
"Hawky?" There was a clatter and he looked over to see the red head crawling over tables to get to him on unsteady feet.
"You let him drink?" Mihawk asked in disapproval, looking at Roger with a raised brow.
"Hey! He's fifteen and a Pirate. If he's old enough to fight he's old enough to drink!" Roger said with a resounding cheer echoing in the walls of the tavern.
Already he could see Buggy standing on the bar arm in arm with fellow crewmates as they sung drunkenly at the top of their lungs. He sighed and caught Shanks with ease, tugging the shorter—and wasn't that an odd thing to think—male against him and towards the stairs. The teens eyes were shining in mirth and the drink sloshed around in his unsteady hands.
Mihawk took it from him and handed it off to another crew member as he led Shanks up the steps one by one. "Try not to drink so much… you're still a kid." He complained lightly as he felt Shanks clamber onto his back in a piggyback hold. "Jeeze…" A silent sigh left him and he shook his head a bit. Really… pirate or not they were all still kids.
"S'warm…" Shanks mumbled and buried his face against Mihawk's neck. It wasn't long after that when he heard the soft snores from the younger teen and let a small smile play out on his lips.
"This rooms unoccupied." Mihawk looked up and he raised a brow at Rayleigh. The man was an enigma to him. Then again the other man was also what he called Roger's Handler. The one who kept him following the line… sort of. Not to say that they both didn't cause absolute havoc, because they did. Mihawk watched first hand with the week he spent on that ship.
"Thanks, Rayleigh." He nodded and passed a grateful look to the man when he helped get Shanks in bed and tucked in.
Mihawk sank down into the chair beside the bed and he relaxed in it, watching Shanks for a moment before his attention was drawn away. Rayleigh leaned against the doorframe with a look of fond exasperation as he watched the red head.
"We weren't going to take them with us." Rayleigh said, startling them both. "I mean… they're kids. What fourteen maybe thirteen when we picked them up and now heading into more dangerous waters?" He walked to the other chair and sat down heavily, age showing on the man's face. It wasn't easy… knowing others' lives were in your hands.
"It's no point in regretting it now." Mihawk pointed out and he reached for his magic, conjuring two cold glasses and a bottle of firewhisky. It strained him slightly and he could feel the ache and pull. A muscle that needed to be stretched out more often to be of any use. "What you have to do now is train them to stand on their own. Teach them to fight and survive. I've seen you and Roger with a blade… teach him that. Teach him how to lead and navigate. You're his family now after all so it's your job to see that he grows into a man."
Rayleigh laughed quietly, accepting the drink with no hesitation, "You really are older then you look aren't you?" He asked with a glint of curiosity.
Mihawk only raised his glass before downing the contents, watching in amusement as Rayleigh spluttered from the strong taste.
"Never judge a book by it's cover." He spoke and relaxed back into the chair, "You shook probably go back down. Your Captain is no doubt causing chaos and mass hysteria." Mihawk said and he let himself relax knowing that this was the last place he would be attacked. Not when these pirates were his allies and… friends at least.
Morning came and with it was the telltale groans of a teen that was having his first hangover. Mihawk stretched out and he sat up more, glancing over to see Shanks curling up with a pitiful whimper. A soft sigh left him and he took out a few small tablets and glass of water before moving to sit at the edge of the bed.
"Morning, Red-hair. Did you have a fun night?" Mihawk asked and presented him with the medicine and water.
"Wha…Hawky?" He sat up slowly and took the pills without question, downing the water to chase them down his throat. "I thought I was hallucinating last night. You're really here?" Shanks woke up a bit more and a slow growing grin was pushing through the pain of his hang-over.
"For a bit." Mihawk admitted and he stood up, brushing his hands clean before fixing up his clothes from the sleep rumpled state they were in. "I was going to go and grab my little boat to get it to the docks… would you like to accompany me?" He offered and waited by the door for a response.
Shanks blinked for a moment, flush on his face for whatever reason. "Oh! Yeah! I mean yes. I'd love to help." He stuttered and hurried to untangle himself from the blankets, stumbling over to Mihawk on one foot before straightening back out.
It was… cute.
The older man shook his head in amusement and opened the door, "Let's be off then." Mihawk said and they stepped over the bodies of Shanks' fallen crew… most hadn't made it back to their rooms and so they were cast around the halls and room in a drunken sleep. "Try not to drink so much anymore, Shanks. Pace yourself." He said as he looked at one particular man in disgust as he had apparently gotten sick on himself.
Shanks just watched on with wide eyes as he quickly followed behind the taller man. This was obviously the first time he had seen his entire crew so thoroughly smashed before and while it was amusing to Mihawk… it probably wasn't to Shanks.
The two slipped out of the building with no trouble and Mihawk led the way. He bought them both a few apples before they left the village though so that Shanks would have at least something on his stomach. It was better than nothing at least and if he had to get sick then it wouldn't be bile.
"So… when did you get here Hawky?" Shanks asked, tilting his head to the left as he bit into the bright red apple.
"Yesterday evening abouts." Mihawk said as he held up a branch for Shanks to pass under. "Got in a bit of a scuffle with a wannabe sword fighter as well. They're… no longer an issue." A smug smile pulled on his lips as they climbed over a thick tree trunk that mush have fallen from age a long while ago.
"Oh, so Captain invited you to stay then?" He asked and hopped a bit on the unevenly spaced stones, mind obviously wandering.
Mihawk stopped to watch the red head in what he was quickly finding out to be fond amusement. "He did. If you are going the same way as me I might even ask for another ride to the next island." He watched Shanks stumble and his eyes brightened even more… if that were even possible.
Shanks bounded back over to his side with an eager grin, "Really! That would be awesome!" He said in excitement and then gasped as his foot caught on an upturned root.
"Careful," Mihawk said and caught his arm to steady him as they finally made it to the softly sloping beach where he had left his boat.
The water lapped softly at the white sand and it was so crystal clear you could see the distant corals that surrounded the area. Another reason he hadn't brought the large ship any closer. Mihawk hummed and he glanced over to see Shanks' eyes were sparkling. A laugh left him when the teen started taking his shirt off, hopping from foot to foot as he fought with his shoes.
"What are you doing?" He finally asked and kept a bit of distance between the two of them. While he did enjoy sailing… water was not exactly something he was overly fond of…
"I'm going to go swim. Are you coming with?" Shanks asked, toes curling into the sun warmed sand with a look of happiness on his face.
"I can't." Mihawk said simply and watched as the confusion crawled over, "I can't swim so there is no point in me-!" He blinked as he was cut off by a face full of bright red hair and wide eyes.
"You can't swim! And you've been sailing all alone! Are you crazy?" Shanks asked and began tugging him towards the water with a determined frown. It was… endearing and it distracted Mihawk long enough for the teen to have tugged him to the water's edge.
He shook his head a bit and then rolled his eyes, "I'm fine, Shanks. I don't have to learn." Mihawk said and attempted to break free of the strong hold. Keyword: attempted.
Shanks had a vice grip on his arm and spun around so quick that Mihawk might have thought he had whiplash. There was a scarily determined look to his eyes that had Mihawk nearly groaning. He knew that look… he often wore it himself when he had it in him to get something done.
"Fine…" He relented and was rewarded with a dazzling smile that could have blinded him had it been closer to noon instead of dawn.
They waded into the water after Mihawk had discarded his own boots and shirt. He could feel the tension crawling down his spine with each step deeper into the water, a knot forming in his throat. It was a vivid reminder of why he hated doing this. Too much trauma. Too much memories all grouped together that went further back then his fourth year at that thrice-damned school.
He felt cool skin on his arms and came to, looking into kind eyes. "It's okay Mihawk. I am a grade A swimmer. I won't let anything happen to you." Shanks said as he pulled them just a bit deeper before stopping. "I know you have floating down since we got you out the ocean… so swimming won't be too far off."
Mihawk forgot about that… he had been riding on such high emotions that it was easy to block out that he was in water back then. He had just shut everything away until it became relevant again… and it was looking like now was as relevant a time as it could get.
His grip tightened on Shanks arms, but he nodded and handed over a bit of trust to the bright smiled Red-head… It would be fine.