Hey everybody,

thank you all for your lovely words, I promise I will answer later, when I'm back home and have a stable connection and enough time without my cute little niece trying to type for me^^'.

My vaccation has been great so far (thanks again, you guys are so sweet^^), but I managed to sneak away for a few hours to revise and upload this chapter, because I didn't want you guys to wait for too long.

Starting next chapter I will upload twice a week, I have not made up my mind yet on which days, but I will give you notice (or the favoring/following might take care of it ;-P).

So enjoy, and have a great weekend. See you all next week ;-)


Chapter 10 - Reunion

- One week later -

-Zoro-

"Stop running away. I'm not done yet."

"I'm fine. Leave me alone."

"You're not fine! The moment you'll transform you'll keel over."

"I'm fine! I still have at least three hours left."

"So what? No injury heals within three hours."

"Stop worrying about me. You're annoying!"

"I'm not worried about you. But if Hawk Eyes shows up and you're dead guess who's head he'll be taking? I can do without that."

Zoro and Perona walked through the corridors of the castle, he with his swords, she with gauze and bandages.

"You want to fight those monsters again?" She muttered, but didn't stop him, "you're already injured enough. At some point they'll kill you."

"I haven't beaten all of them yet," he murmured coolly, stepping outside, "and as I recover, they do as well and become stronger."

He couldn't prevent a grin. These monkeys were strong, fast, and merciless, the perfect training partners.

"You can stay here. It's too dangerous for you out there."

She snorted: "As if I'm going to leave you alone in the woods again. I searched for you for five hours just because you got lost again."

He did not respond, but walked down the stairs, knowing that she would follow him in her ghost form soon.

Hawk Eyes had called, the war was over and the Shichibukai had already left fetching his coffin boat.

Zoro knew that the other would not take too long, so he had to defeat all the monkeys as soon as possible.

It had been a matter of pride that the other had advised him not to go outside. Like a little child who had to go home at dawn. The other did not take him seriously! Still did not take him seriously!

"There you are. The ruins are straight ahead, you're running in the completely wrong direction again." Perona appeared between two treetops and flew down to him.

Zoro followed her, tearing down a few of his bandages that restricted his movements.

Except for a few hours, Perona had always been close to him. Had watched him fight, then led him back to the castle and then taken care of his wounds.

It was annoying but he suspected that she simply did not want to be alone. When she didn't spend her free time with him, she was in the castle trying to cook.

She was terribly bad at it. Luckily, all the sugar, honey, and whatever else she could have used to sweeten things up were empty by now, so it was almost impossible for her to prepare anything sweet, which she suffered greatly from.

He, on the other hand, was mostly satisfied with simple things that could be eaten without much effort. Certainly not the most elegant solution but it was practical and fast.

He had used the last week to become stronger, to become better. Not only by fighting against the Humandrills, as Mihawk had called them. Together with the non-stop babbling Perona, he had talked more unintentionally than intentionally about his transformation repeatedly and even though she was certainly annoying, he had to admit that she had helpful ideas.

Every morning he had turned into his original form, had felt the pain every time and had gradually gotten used to it. He also kind of imagined that he needed less and less time to recover from the transformation. After that, he had always gone fighting.

For the first few days he had only managed to stay in his true body for a few hours, but at some point it became so painful that he had not been able to do anything else but sit down and endure, until he had to give in to the relentless throbbing. The transformation back to Loreen, on the other hand, was almost liberating, he was exhausted, but this pain, this throbbing, disappeared the instant his change was complete, leaving him behind simply tired.

But yesterday he had actually managed to stomach until the late afternoon and, as Perona had correctly remarked, it meant that he could train the period of time he could stay in his own body. If he was able to extend those intervals, he could stay longer in his true form, maybe not having to transform into Lady Loreen at all. But yesterday he had also been much more exhausted and had slept through the whole night until the midday hours.

Another problem was that wounds he didn't even notice in his actual body were almost unbearable for him as Loreen. A small flesh wound on his thigh, hardly worth mentioning, had almost made him faint as Loreen.

Perona was right. As Loreen it was difficult for him to tolerate such injuries, and since Zoro could not prevent himself from transforming again, he could only prevent himself from getting injured.

Mihawk had tried to engrave this task in his mind from the beginning, had emphasized that Zoro needed to learn to pay attention to such small things because his female body was much weaker, but now in his old body he had to be careful not to fall into old habits.

After a month as Loreen, he found it almost difficult to carry the weight of Rhis true form again, to recall the size of his body, to control the movements of his muscles. In relation to the flyweight of his female shape, this body moved almost sluggish and dull.

Another problem was that he could not transform back into his true form for several hours after his body forced him to turn into Loreen. Maybe it was because he was exhausted or whatever, but he didn't know for sure and that confused him. It confused him that he didn't know what was happening to his own body, but he didn't have time to be distracted by it; he didn't allow himself to start brooding over this, because he had more important things to worry about.

While he was fighting the monkeys, he tried to ignore all these things, tried to enjoy the pure feeling of the fight, but he wasn't quite able to do so.

Since he had ended up on Kuraigana he slept poorly. As soon as he woke up, everything was nothing more than a colorful whirlwind of memories and images. But somehow these strange dreams didn't let him be. But he didn't want to think about that now either, so he fought.

Hours passed and the insatiable monkeys gradually grew tired, for the first time in a week the monkeys withdrew on their own.

"Oh, did you actually beat them?" Perona squatted on the top of the huge cross, which was probably a tomb.

"For the time being," he murmured, putting his swords away before turning to leave. Now he couldn't resist a quiet grin, he had done it, finally he had been the one to make the opponent retreat and not vice versa.

"Hey, where are you going?" She flew after him.

"Back to the castle, today's fight is over. They need to treat their wounds."

"Same goes for you," Perona said as she flew over him, pointing at his head.

It was the only injury he had not been able to prevent today, but it was a pretty stupid one, right in the middle of the forehead, because he hadn't notice the slingshot of one of the weaker monkeys while he had concentrated on his three main challengers.

As soon as he arrived at the castle, he began to clean his swords. He could already feel the annoying throbbing; a sign that his body would need to change soon.

"Let me take a look at your head," Perona muttered, coming into his room, now back in her body, "you have to treat such wounds."

He let her do what she needed to while he took care of his swords.

"You're even calmer today than usual," she complained. "Is it because Hawk Eyes will be here soon?"

He did not respond but put Shuusui away.

She wrapped a bandage around his head. Since he had told her that Moria was still alive, she was in a much better mood. This strange man of a monster seemed to be very important to her, not that Zoro really cared, nevertheless he had asked Mihawk about the guy.

"Done." She got up. "You really should pay more attention. Do you enjoy fighting so much? Putting your body through so much pain can't be healthy at all."

He looked up to her. On the first day of his training, she had saved him with her hollow-ghosts. He had collapsed in the middle of the battle in front of the monkeys when the throbbing had suddenly developed into an irrepressible pain and she had prevented the horde of primates from killing him.

"It's not about simple enjoyment," he said calmly, nodding in appreciation for her help, "I want to be the best, the very best swordsman, that's my dream and a few monkeys won't stop me from doing so."

She shook her head. "Men."

Then she went out and he enjoyed a few minutes without her presence.

The last few days had been exhausting. He had given himself little rest, had given himself little opportunity to think. He wasn't allowed to think about how his crew was doing, whether they were all still alive, and he wasn't allowed to think about the fact that there had been a war he had no information about.

The last thing at least would probably change as soon as the Shichibukai would show up, after all, he had fought on the front line. But the way the other had spoken to Zoro during their last call had made it obvious that there was something important that Mihawk wanted to discuss with him in person. The other had kept something from him, something he didn't want to tell Zoro via transponder snail.

It had to be something about his crew or Eizen, what else could be important to Zoro?

Suddenly he got up and rushed out of the door, chased down the hallway and the stairs.

"Hey, what the..." Perona just came out of the kitchen at the heel of the stairs, but he ran past her.

"We're no longer alone," he said, surprised that she hadn't even noticed.

"What... How?" Sie followed him to the hallway, where he opened the door to the entrance hall, almost at the same time one side of the double-sided gate opened.

Zoro stopped.

In front of him stood Mihawk, who paused as well and just looked at him for a moment.

Zoro hadn't told him that he had managed to transform himself, and now he was facing him. It was the first time since that day in the East Blue that he faced Mihawk as himself, as Roronoa Zoro.

The other was no longer that superbly tall, but the Shichibukai still looked at him with big eyes. For a second, the world seemed to freeze in time.

"Roronoa."

Within the next heartbeat, the other stood directly in front of him, looked down at him for another second, and then embraced him.

Zoro didn't move, he had not expected that..

Of course, he and the Shichibukai were no longer the enemies they had been when they had faced each other in the East Blue, yet Mihawk was no one to be overwhelmed by emotions, no one to show them that openly.

Zoro didn't know what to do. This wasn't Luffy, whom he could just push away if he was too annoyed by his hugs, or Chopper he would pat a few times before brushing his little hooves off.

Finally, the elder took a step back and placed both hands on Zoro's shoulders. He looked at Zoro with a confused expression on his face.

"So, you are able to transform," he muttered.

"You've just realized that now?" Zoro murmured. "Didn't you notice the difference in size, the hair, the voice?"

The other grinned awkwardly. "You are not that much taller now."

"Oh, shut up!"

He slapped the other's hands away, but Hawk Eyes still smiled in amusement.

"On my way to the castle I saw the Humandrills," the Shichibukai mumbled, his smile nothing but a memory, "I worried I would not find you alive."

Zoro looked away, blushing offended.

"You really have that little confidence in me?" He asked softly. "Do you really doubt that I can keep up with some monkeys?"

Mihawk half-heartedly shook his head. "It is probably one of my biggest misconducts to always underestimate you."

Was that sarcasm or was he serious?

Still, the older man looked at him, his golden-yellow eyes pinched in a highly concentrated way, regarding Zoro like a piece of art.

"What?" Zoro murmured, not liking how the other one kept staring at him.

"Something is different, you look different."

Zoro folded his arms. "Yes, of course, I'm me again."

"I was not talking about that. No, you wore earrings before, right?"

Unintentionally, Zoro grabbed his left ear. It was true, of course they were missing. "What did you expect? They melted in the fire."

The other nodded in agreement, still seemingly pondering about something.

Suddenly Mihawk took a step forward again and pulled Zoro's shirt to aside.

"Hey, what the…?"

"Oh." Mihawk took a deep breath and just then Zoro realized that the other was staring at the upper end of his scar.

He watched the elder examine his scar, his eyes glided along the shirt as if the other was able to see the scar beneath it. It was only now that Zoro realized that it was the first time the other saw this scar.

Grinning, Zoro took a step back and then simply took off his shirt.

The other's reaction did kind of surprise Zoro, after all, it was nothing more but a scar. Admittedly a scar that was of deep importance to Zoro himself, but probably less so for the Shichibukai.

"I marked you at that time." The voice of the Shichibukai was calm but there was something subliminal that Zoro could not define. "And one day you will mark me just as well."

Zoro grinned and put his shirt back on. "You bet I will."

Mihawk grinned now as well.

"Gosh, what tension! Are you always like this?" Out of nowhere, Perona showed up.

Immediately, Mihawk's grin disappeared and he glared at her over Zoro's shoulder.

"You must be Perona, who entered my home without permission."

His gaze was just as dismissive again as Zoro preferred it and on the other hand the faster breath betrayed Perona's nervousness.

"Not my fault. There was no one around, the door wasn't locked, and I was all alone."

The Shichibukai sighed.

"Well, but now I have returned home and since you have already exploited my hospitality enough, I ask you to leave, now."

"What? You throw me out?!" Blank fear echoed in her words. "But there are these monkeys outside, they'll kill me!"

"And this would be my concern because…? Oh, wait it is not." The elder was as cold as ever.

"But…, but..."

"Let her stay."

Surprised, Mihawk stared down at Zoro.

"She might be annoying as hell, but she helped me after Kuma sent me here and she took care of my injuries."

He pointed at his head.

For a moment, the elder looked at his bandage and then at the girl with the pink hair before lifting both hands defensively.

"For all I care. Fine, if that is your wish." He turned away. "But you are not my responsibility, girl. Your life is indifferent to me and I am not as lenient as Roronoa. So better not put my patience to the test."

Perona took a step back.

"Urgh, you're even worse than Zoro."

The Shichibukai ignored her and looked at Zoro again.

"Roronoa, I would like to unload the rest of my luggage first and then we need to talk."

Zoro nodded before turning to Perona.

"Hey Perona."

She quickly peeled her gaze from Mihawk and glanced at Zoro.

"You stay here and cook something edible."

"Don't order me... okay."

She had dared to speak up against him, but Mihawk intimidated her wordlessly.

On the way through the forest, both swordsmen were calm.

"So, you don't intend to leave for the Sabaody Archipelago right away?" Zoro asked, undisturbed by unwanted listeners.

"Not today," the other agreed without meeting Zoro's eyes. "There are more important things that we need to discuss. If you still want to leave after that, I am willing to set out by tomorrow."

Zoro nodded without replying. By now, he knew when a discussion was worth it and when it wasn't. So he walked on silently, aware of the eyes of the other glancing at him every now and then.

"What?" He muttered, tugging at his bandage. He did not like to be observed like that.

"Nothing. It is just a bit unusual."

Now he looked at the other. Zoro had expected it to be different between them once he would get his true form back, but the other was still behaving as annoyingly as before. Zoro himself on the other hand could clearly feel the slight throbbing in his body.

"You knew I made it, didn't you?"

"Of course. The missing swords, the clothes, and why else should Bartholomew Kuma sent you away? It was obvious."

They passed through the shadows and Zoro could feel the presence of the monkeys, but none of them could be seen. Apparently, they feared the Shichibukai.

"And you're not hurt?" He muttered then, even quieter than before, and felt a silent blush creeping across his cheeks.

Mihawk laughed softly. "What an unfounded concern."

"Stop bragging. After all, it was a war and even you..."

"Roronoa?" The elder looked at him seriously. "Did you really worry about me?"

He quickly looked away and didn't answer.

"Who has little confidence in whom now?" But Mihawk did not sound offended, smirking quietly and looking to the approaching shore. "But no, I am not hurt."

They had reached the ship and Zoro was amazed at how much stuff had been hidden in its tiny belly.

It took several minutes before they had gotten all of the luggage out and started carrying it back to the castle.

"It is clearly an advantage that you can now take on this form for things like this," Mihawk said with a wry grin, but Zoro remained silent. "Well, Roronoa, why won't you tell me about your training for the last week. You were obviously not idle."

The way back was a little more leisurely and Zoro willingly told the elder about the last days. However, he limited the narration purely on his confrontation with the monkeys.

The other barely interrupted him and asked little, let him speak freely, rarely saying a word.

It was only when they went up the steps to the castle that Zoro finished his summary.

The other was silent.

Once inside, they placed the luggage in the entry hall.

"Tell this girl that we will retreat for now and that she should finish dinner by an hour. Preferably, I would welcome some tea until then."

Zoro looked at him with raised eyebrows but went to the kitchen nevertheless and told Perona.

She looked at him with big eyes and began to mutter that she was no servant, but after he proposed to her to discuss that with Hawk Eyes herself she backed off.

After that Zoro followed the Shichibukai into a huge room with a fireplace.

Mihawk settled on an expansive armchair that looked almost the same as the armchair in Sasaki and noted Zoro to take a seat as well.

"Certainly, you want to know the details of the war."

Zoro nodded.

"Well, there are some important things you should know. Does the name Portgas D. Ace tell you anything?"

Wary about what might come, he nodded again. "I know him, he's Luffy's big brother and he's one of the Whitebeard pirates."

He could see Mihawk looking at him for a moment in astonishment, hesitating for a tiny moment.

"Portgas D. Ace is dead and the Straw Hat was miserably overpowered on the battlefield."

"What?!"

"If you want, I will explain everything to you."

"Ace is… Ace is dead? That… that can't be!"

He stood up and rushed for the door.

"Roronoa, what are you doing? Where are you heading?"

"To Luffy!"

He forgot to breathe.

"Sit down."

"No, I have to..."

"Roronoa!"

He turned around and looked at the by now as well standing Shichibukai, who rarely got as loud as he had just been.

"The war is over and what has happened has happened. You cannot change the past and headless action would only mean your captain would have to suffer another loss."

Zoro stared at him.

"Sit down and find out what happened. After that, we can put together a strategy."

He swallowed heavily.

"Luffy was there, too?" He asked tonelessly.

The Shichibukai nodded.

"Did he survive?"

"He was gravely wounded, but he had strong allies. I expect him to survive. However, the Marines believe he was deathly defeated."

He was still staring at the elder, who sighed.

"Well, I will fetch some tea now, take the time to try to calm down a little bit."

With that, the elder turned to the door.

"Mihawk!" He shouted after him. "Fuck fetching tea! Fetch booze!"

The other looked over his shoulder, raising his eyebrows, but then nodded.

Minutes later the two sat opposite each other again, between them expensive liquor and the Shichibukai told him what had happened.

Their conversation lasted a long time and at some point Perona came in but didn't say a single word when she realized what they were talking about, but listened from the background.

Time was going by and the booze was quickly emptied. The throbbing in Zoro's chest got worse and worse and when there was nothing left to discuss he got up.

"So?" Mihawk asked calmly. "What are you going to do, Roronoa?"

For a moment, they looked at each other.

"Isn't that obvious? Tomorrow we leave for the Sabaody Archipelago. I have to go to Luffy."

The elder nodded. "Very well. So be it. If that is your wish, I will not tell you how foolish this is."

"Too kind," he muttered, leaving the fireplace room.

As soon as he slammed the door close, he had to wipe the sweat from his forehead. His head was pounding, but just now his body was the bigger enemy. His view blurred.

He barely managed to escape to his room before giving in to the pain in his chest.

He slipped down the cool wood of the door and greeted the incoming exhaustion as the pain subsided. He had never lasted as long as he had today.

It was dark and cool in his room and he couldn't prevent his slender fingers from shaking.

"Luffy," he whispered, allowing tears to run down his face.