Mihawk's interlude Part 1

Mihawk did not know what to think. It was silent on the boat as they headed back home and all he could think about was the million ways this could have gone wrong. He had so many questions but he had to have patience. The answers would come with time. He was going to Drum Kingdom to see , the old hag. How she maintained her youthful body was beyond him but she was the only doctor he trusted, having been going to her for decades. Though her price increased every visit, the old witch, Mihawk thought.

I guess it was time to meditate, it would be some days until they reached Drum and he needed to relax in order to question his charges. He looked over to Luffy and Perona and both were whispering to each other, and if he really wanted to, he could listen in but everyone was allowed their privacy every once in a while, heh, they stopped as soon as he looked over. I guess he gave them a bone chilling smile instead of comforting them because they started sweating. He started laughing and the apologies started pouring forth. He took a deep breath and exhaled.

They immediately stopped, "My apologies, I'm trying to be comforting but it seems like I'm failing miserably, " he said awkwardly. "It is not my intention to intimidate you, I am not angry with you. I am angry with myself and others. I am especially disappointed with myself, for failing to keep you safe," Luffy and Perona made sounds of protest as I finished.

"No, that's not true," they yelled. "It's my fault, I should have been more vigilant, I was careless and overconfident which got me captured by Harlan's crew," Perona said. At the mention of Harlan's crew my haki poured out in waves, "That bastard, how dare he, I imagine he is dead- I too was careless it seems, " I intoned. Luffy exclaimed, "I was dumb too, I challenged Shanks and left Perona behind at the castle, if it wasn't for Shanks I don't know how i'd get there as soon as we did, " Luffy started crying, " I'm so sorry Perona, it's all my fault," he wailed miserably. Perona began crying as soon as Lu started and her shrill cries scared the News Coo away.

Hmm, when exactly did this become my life, I questioned, had someone told me I'd be trying to comfort a child, my child and young woman I basically considered a daughter, I'd laugh in their faces and cut them down for putting such an image in my mind. Oh my how the tables have turned, he chuckled internally. He took another deep breath and did something he also thought he wouldn't do, he picked up Luffy and gathered Perona into a hug. They both started crying harder. Mihawk was never much for touching or showing any type of emotion but when Luffy was brought into his life and shortly thereafter Perona, those two shifted his world especially Lu. So here he was hugging, something he grew comfortable with doing over the years though only ever with these two.

"Ok, let's all calm down, I'll make some tea and you both can tell me from the beginning what happened, tears are ok but let's take some deep breaths and center our minds " he said. He got up and gathered everything he needed and some food for he knew Luffy was always hungry. After everything was ready and he came back to find them cuddling and the urge to take a picture came to mind, it was a secret hobby of his, he carried a small album with photos of them, of the humandrills, of a lot of their growth, they knew about it but also knew not to say anything to anyone, anyone, he meant it. But he resisted the urge and sat down and let them eat and drink until they were sated.

He listened to their story and experienced a myriad of emotions. He wanted to kill Harlan himself, and perhaps he owed Shanks a spar, but he would never apologize to the oaf, and maybe he would set up a play date with these Ace and Sabo characters, while Perona expressed annoyance with Marco the Phoenix she also didn't seem opposed to a visit. He would bring several bottles of sake and wine and drink with the Old Man while the children entertained themselves. Things to think about.

I didn't know what to think after they finished their stories. It was jarring and reminded me to train once again and spar with the humandrills. They also had to move the island. He did not want Shanks coming back and the fact that Harlan also came was troubling. It meant he had been careless and grown lax and too comfortable in his role as shichibukai. It was unacceptable. He resolved to train himself further. While he always portrayed a calm and stern exterior, his mind was always preoccupied with thoughts of Lucky and Perona. How they wormed into his heart, he hadn't a clue but he would do anything to protect them, which meant more training for them. He already had a plan brewing but first he would see to their medical attention in Drum. They had fallen asleep after telling their stories and eating and felt safe enough to finally relax. He sat watching over the two as they sped along the unpredictable waters of the Grand Line.

A/N: So sorry for the delay! Life got hectic and it's finally starting to slow down, yay holidays! But don't hate me lol no ASL goodness yet. But here's something I think you all or most idk will like, I enjoyed writing this chapter, Mihawk is a very interesting character and important (who wants him to go to Wano in canon lol?, I wanna see how he fares against the samurai, the manga is getting so interesting) but we barely know anything about him so with these "interludes" I wanna explore his character because he's such a complex guy in canon,I want to give him some backstory, I don't wanna mess too much with his depiction but things are obviously different because he's raising Luffy so I wanna show that progression in character. Lmk what you think? Thank you to all the follows, likes, my guest readers,this is my baby, my first fanfic, and it brings me so much joy that others like this story as much as I do :) I plan to update soon. I'm also on AO3 with the same username now !