Good morning (yes, I know I'm way earlier than usually, but wanted to get this out, before my day gets started^^')
I guess nobody is surprised by the title of this chapter after the las cliffhanger (sorry for that... not really), so here we go, have fun, and see you friday^^
Chapter 35 - Conflict
-Zoro-
"Roronoa Zoro!"
Holy shit!
Before Zoro could even finish this thought, steel clashed against steel.
The impact's wind gust cut his cheek. As touched by finest blades, several thin lines of fabric and skin ripped open on shoulder and upper arm. Barely an inch before Zoro stood Mihawk, a simple sword drawn and coated. His blade was crossed with the usual sword that each Marine carried.
"Get out of my way, Mihawk!"
Opposite the Shichibukai stood none other than Cho Jiroushin, Vice Admiral of the Marines and Mihawk's closest could hardly see anything over the older man's tall shoulder, but the pure hatred that dripped from each syllable of the blond reached him just fine.
"My apologies, Jiroushin, I cannot just do that."The Shichibukai sounded as calm as ever.
Only now did Zoro realize that Mihawk had taken one of the swords that hung over the fireplace for decoration. How fast did he have to still be able to block his childhood friend's attack in time?
"I am very reluctant to repeat myself, Shichibukai Hawk Eyes." Zoro couldn't remember hearing the mostly good-humored Jiroushin speak so seriously."Step aside!"
Zoro had been inattentive, he had slept very little and had been mentally preparing for today's training. The last months he and the Shichibukai had never been disturbed on Kuraigana by uninvited guests, not even by Eizen; obviously Zoro had become a little too used to it.
"No." Mihawk still sounded anything but tense, even though he had stopped his best friend's attack. Both Zoro and Mihawk had expected the day to come at some point; the day Jiroushin would find out who Lady Loreen really was. Zoro, however, had not expected it to happen like this.
He had hardly foreseen the soldier's sword-stroke, had hardly had the time to dodge. If Mihawk hadn't put himself in between, Zoro would most likely be dead by now, or at least quite bloody. And Mihawk actually claimed that Zoro should soon be equal to the blond? Sure.
"Mihawk," Zoro said. He did not want the two to oppose each other because of him. "Step... "
"Stay out of this, Roronoa!"
Did the other actually just dare to shut him up? While this whole fucking matter was about him?!
"Jiroushin", Mihawk took the floor again, "I asked you back then that my words may reach you when the day would come."
What was the other talking about?
"So please, put your sword aside and let us talk."
"What's the point?" The soldier replied, much cooler than Zoro was used to. "Back then it was about Loreen, Mihawk. You will not stop me from holding the G-6's destroyer to account."
The Shichibukai laughed quietly and shook his head slightly.
"Oh no, I cannot let that happen, Jiroushin."
Zoro felt the blood gliding down his cheek and dripping on his shirt, but much more impressed him the tingling on his skin that was caused by the men in front of him, so this was how strong they truly were.
"Stop playing your games!" The Vice Admiral growled bitterly. "This isn't about your weird likings. He may be your protégé, but I can't let him get away with it. One last time: step aside!"
"One last time," the Shichibukai replied just as earnestly, "if you want Roronoa, you have to pass me first and believe me, you will lose this fight."
As if to underline his words, Mihawk slightly changed the grip on his sword so that the back of his blade now withstood Jiroushin's edge. A clear sign that the best swordfighter in the world was ready to fight.
"If you don't give me a choice, I'll give in to that demand."
"That's enough now!"Zoro finally decided to go in between before it would really get nasty.
"Roronoa, step back, this has nothing to do with..."
"Stop it," he interrupted Mihawk, "this is all about me and I've told you before that I won't allow you idiots risking your friendship because of me."
"Wait, what?"
Zoro quickly looked over to the blond, who observed him suspiciously.
"Loreen once said something just like that to me," he muttered.
"How slow on the uptake are you, Jiroushin?" Mihawk sighed, lowering his weapon. "We cannot make it even more obvious for you."
For a moment the soldier looked back and forth between Zoro and Mihawk, and then Jiroushin stared at Zoro's chest, at the small gold chain, half-covered by his shirt, that the Shichibukai had given him.
The green eyes of the Vice Admiral grew large.
"Impossible," he whispered, "that's impossible."
Now they were all quiet. Zoro knew that Jiroushin could attack him again at any time, and he still doubted that he could react quickly enough, but he would not let himself be protected by the Shichibukai again.
"You can't be serious." With half a laugh, Jiroushin shook his head and looked at Mihawk accusingly. "You must take me for a fool."
"Well, at least you act foolish enough to be one."
Roronoa rolled his eyes. The Shichibukai really didn't know how to defuse a conflict, not that he was the one to talk.
"So, you want to tell me that this... this monster..." The soldier nodded over to Zoro but did not look at him. "and Lady Loreen are one and the same person?"
"Does this seem so much less likely than Roronoa Zoro surviving the demise of the G-6 unharmed?"
Now the serious eyes flashed over to Zoro again.
Once again, no one said a single word.
Suddenly the door opened behind Zoro and Perona stuck her head in. All swordsmen looked at her, her eyes grew large, and she quickly closed the door again and disappeared.
"Impossible," the Shichibukai grumbled annoyed. "So rude."
"You're not much better," the soldier muttered equally displeased, and put his sword away. Clearly, the tension was broken.
"Tze, at least I know how to behave," Mihawk replied, bringing his weapon back to its place.
"Then at least make use of this knowledge from time to time."
Zoro watched the other two, apparently, he was the only one for whom the fight was not over, and the Shichibukai noticed it, as he nodded over to him and folded his arms.
"It is alright Roronoa. You can relax."
"I wouldn't be too sure of that," Jiroushin disagreed, dropping on a chair at the dining table, contrary to his words. He reluctantly pulled over a half-empty coffee otherwise cheerful eyes were firmly stuck on Zoro, his otherwise always grinning mouth pressed together to a narrow line.
"Oh please," Mihawk said again, walking past the soldier. At the table, he pulled the daily newspaper from the breakfast tray before strolling over to his favorite his legs crossed, he opened the newspaper as if the conflict had already passed."Now you are still angry and probably upset, but once everything is settled, you will soon grin as stupidly as always."
The Vice Admiral snorted disapprovingly. "You are quite calm for this situation here, Mihawk."
"Oh no, you misinterpret, Jiroushin, I am more furious than words can express. It is one thing for Roronoa to make reckless, thoughtless mistakes..."
"Hey," Zoro grumbled, but the other completely ignored him.
"... but that I do not perceive when a Vice Admiral comes ashore, tze. There can be no excuse for that." Said Vice Admiral wanted to reply, but suddenly Mihawk looked over the newspaper at Zoro rather indignantly. "And yet, Roronoa, that does not justify the fact that you came in so carelessly. You should have noticed Jiroushin and not just burst inside."
"Says the one who slept deeply when I stood right in front of him," Jiroushin muttered.
Zoro didn't like the situation at all. A few seconds ago, both men had been ready to fight and now they were behaving almost as if this moment had never happened. But then Zoro realized it, grasped it so suddenly and clearly that he could hardly stop the wave of wistfulness sweeping over him. These two idiots behaved just like Luffy and he would.
He had traveled with his captain for half a year, but Zoro had known pretty quickly, within a few days, if he was honest - even if he didn't want to admit it at that time - how much he was willing to give for his captain. More than half a year ago, he had lastly sacrificed himself for his crew, and shortly afterwards his crew had been destroyed. Today to the day a quarter of the time they all had to become stronger had passed. Only a quarter and yet Zoro had spent as much time on Kuraigana as by Luffy's side.
"Roronoa, are you even listening to me?!"
Surprised, Zoro looked up. He had not even noticed that he had been distracted in this dangerous situation.
"Where are you with your thoughts?" His teacher immediately scolded.
But Zoro turned to the Vice Admiral, who was still sitting at the kitchen table, with the empty coffee cup in his hands.
"You seem to take all this very calmly, Cho Jiroushin."
For a long time, these otherwise joyful eyes looked at him seriously. From the fireplace Zoro could hear paper rustling, the Shichibukai had probably decided to watch this conversation only from a distance or that his newspaper was simply more important to him.
Jiroushin laughed half-heartedly and shook his head.
"On the contrary," he muttered, looking over to Zoro again. "Do you know you were one of the first people I would have liked to have killed myself?"
This confession did not surprise Zoro as much as it perhaps should.
"For us Marines, it is natural to put our lives at risk every day and every fight, certainly every war can cause losses." Then Jiroushin bent over the table and reached for the coffee pot. "But what you did wasn't a fight, it wasn't a fair dispute. Like vermin, you smoked out my comrades in their base. The capable warriors, the naive beginners, the veterans coming to rest, all at the same time. But it was not only the soldiers who had sworn their lives to justice who lived on this base, but also doctors, cleaning and kitchen staff, shipyard staff and technicians. Not only for a soldier the base is a second home, for some even the only one, and you have destroyed all this, all these lives and the lives of family members, of friends."
The blond snorted.
"And for what? For a handful of criminals and pirates." Shaking his head, Jiroushin looked over to the Shichibukai. "Forgive me that I do not welcome your oh so admired miracle boy as warmly as you obviously can."
The soldier sounded so exhausted that not even sarcasm swept along in his voice.
Zoro accepted those words. It wasn't the first time he heard the accusation, and it wouldn't be the last. He knew what he had done, he had been aware of the extent. Zoro had no excuse, did not want to, and could not justify himself. Yes, he had killed countless innocent people just to save his friends and of all these people he had been the one given a second chance, by no more than a strange coincidence he was alive.
This injustice made even him sometimes thoughtful, and he would never forget what he had done and was still willing to do. But the world was not a just place, and Zoro would do what he had to do to save his friends from this injustice.
"Now you are here, miraculously alive, and my best friend asks me not only to spare your life, but to even spare you. To commit treason by concealing your survival from my superiors and as if that weren't enough, you even claim that you and Lady Loreen - the lovable, innocent, sweet Lady Loreen - are one and the same person."
Now Jiroushin leaned back, shaking his head, hands still on his already half-empty cup.
"Did you know it, Mihawk? When you asked me for information about the straw hats? When you asked me to train Loreen? When I fought with her? Danced on the ball?"
"Yes, Jiroushin, I lied to you from the very beginning."
The Vice Admiral did not respond but took a deep sip. Jiroushin looked older than usual. His face so unusually serious, so unusually hard, and full of grief. His gaze on the cup between his fingers, he laughed quietly.
"How many times have I spoken to Lirin about worrying about you, Mihawk, because you're like a madman watching some brat from the East Blue, and when I learned of the G-6 and Roronoa Zoro's death, my first thought wasn't how horrible it was, how many comrades and friends I had lost, what a terrible deed it had been. No, my first concern was that maybe you would do something really stupid."
Surprised by this statement, Zoro lowered his gaze, feeling his cheeks heat up. He had heard many times that Mihawk's interest in him had been greater after their encounter in the East Blue than he had ever thought and that the other had ever admitted.
"You are exaggerating," the Shichibukai grumbled from his armchair. "I was upset, but..."
"Upset doesn't even begin to describe it, you were beside yourself. But then, out of nowhere, this petite, fragile Lady Loreen appeared, and you were like a different person. I have rarely seen you so happy and although I had my doubts, my questions, I decided to ignore all of this to not stand in the way of your happiness. Now, in hindsight, I really was naive. I should have seen from the beginning that there was something wrong about the whole situation."
Mihawk clicked slightly with his tongue and got up.
"You are not at fault, Jiroushin. People tend not to consider the impossible and I wanted to make sure you would not attack Roronoa in his female form. He was so fragile. Even now..." He didn't finish the sentence and just pointed to Zoro.
"Could you stop it?" Zoro grumbled rather angrily, rubbing the blood off his cheek. "Fragile? As if. Besides, who threw me through the room just yesterday?"
He could see that the memory of the previous evening alone was enough to put the Shichibukai in his place. Then he noticed the eyes of the Vice Admiral again.
"And you want to be Lady Loreen? I just don't want to believe that. You are like day and night."
Zoro shrugged. "Don't need to tell me, believe me..."
"I gave you my blessing!" Suddenly the blond jumped up and rushed three steps in Mihawk's direction; rattling fell his chair to the ground.
"What?" Zoro had no idea what the soldier meant by that, but by means of Mihawk's rosy cheeks he suspected that it could not mean anything good, while the soldier continued to stammer.
"Wait, wait, wait! He, Hawky? He?! I mean, I didn't want to say anything about the age difference with Loreen because you were happy and you know I don't interfere in things like that, but..."
"Jiroushin!", Mihawk coolly interrupted the blond. "Roronoa and I are not in a romantic relationship."
"What?! Where does this shit suddenly come from?!" Zoro stared at the other two men in front of him.
"Who would come up with the brain-cracking idea that ..." He could hardly continue that thought. Mihawk was his teacher, his greatest rival, maybe also a friend, well, they were friends and maybe because of their views in swordfighting they had a level of understanding each other that not many had, but... something like that?
The Shichibukai looked at him condescendingly.
"Of course, from the outside, this idea is not that absurd, Roronoa. The press has very quickly spread and decorated the intimate relationship between Hawk Eyes and Lady Loreen; we tried ourselves to keep the gap between truth and impression as wide as possible."
"Yes, but love? Romance? Who believes in such a nonsense?"
To his astonishment, Zoro was now stared at by both men. Mihawk's expression was hard to read, between amused, annoyed, and indifferent. The Vice Admiral looked rather confused and also slightly offended.
"You know that I'm expecting a child with the love of my life, right?"
Apologetically, Zoro raised both hands. "Sorry, but at what second did I somehow indicate that there was something going on with this snobbish old bastard of a teacher?"
"Roronoa!"
"When did you not?!" Replied the Vice Admiral, also ignoring Mihawk. "The first time we met, you wore one of Hawky's shirts..."
"That was my shirt. Besides, we didn't meet there for the first time."
For a moment, Jiroushin looked at him in disbelief, obviously thrown off by the sudden change of topic.
"Not?"
"No. Shelltown, Marine base, just over a year ago," Zoro grumbled, trying to steer the issue in a different direction.
"Oh, I remember. Captain Morgan; there was this young man tied to a wooden cross. He had apparently attacked Morgan's son and was therefore to be executed. That was you?"
Zoro couldn't prevent a quiet grin, the story back then had happened a little differently, but it didn't surprise him in the least that this idiot with the axe had not planned to let him go after the 30 days from the beginning. Luckily, Luffy had shown up.
"And even then, you didn't die, did you?"
Now Zoro smiled slightly at these almost accusatory words.
"Just didn't stick with me."
"Well, could we end this vexed issue?" Mihawk re-entered, apparently offended that they had ignored him. "It is all cleared up now, correct? Roronoa is Lady Loreen, no one should know about it. You have spoken about all that bothered you and everyone is satisfied. Jirou, could we get to the point now? As far as Roronoa's training is concerned, I thought that we..."
"Stop!" The other interrupted Mihawk with his flat hand pressed against the Shichibukai's face. "You're not serious now, are you?"
Obviously not aware of any guilt, Mihawk tilted his head and backed off from the hand of the other.
"You let me steal classified files, lie to me for months, use me without my knowledge to train a criminal, and ask me not to hand him over to the Marine, and think you can just put me back into his training now?"
For a breath it was quiet.
"Well, yes." Mihawk nodded.
"Are you mad?! Why should I do this?!"
"Because I ask you to, and you would be a great help to me. Together with you, some points in Roronoa's training plan would be much easier to confront."
"Noooohoho!" Huffing, the blond turned around and stalked through the room, his arms folded. "I'm not going to help you make training easier for one of my enemies and an enemy of the Marines! How can you believe I would do something like this?!"
"I am really surprised how upset you are today, Jiroushin. I am not used to that."
"Could you stay serious for a second, Hawky? Why are you training him in the first place?" Now the Marine pointed at Zoro. "This guy is also your enemy. After all, he wants to defeat you, rob you of your title, or not? So..."
"Roronoa, please give Jiroushin and me a few minutes." It didn't even seem as if the Shichibukai was interrupting the other. He had already made a decision. "You should have breakfast and then, shall we say, we meet in 15 minutes in the entrance hall, alright?"
"Hawky! Don't just ignore me!"
Zoro recognized the way the other spoke to him. There was no discussion, no objection. Although he thought the situation was anything but settled, he nodded swiftly and turned to leave.
"Another question, Roronoa."
Zoro stopped at the door with a sigh, his teacher could be really annoying.
"What form were you running in this morning?"
Surprised, he looked at Mihawk briefly before shaking his head.
"We had agreed on it, not in this one."
-Mihawk-
Smiling, he watched Roronoa leave, only then he turned to his childhood friend, who looked at him clearly too calmly.
"You are serious, aren't you? You really want to persuade me to help you turn this monster into an invincible enemy?"
Now Mihawk could hardly prevent a nasty grin.
"Exactly."
Shaking his head, Jiroushin leaned against the table.
"Why? Are the enemies that both you and the Marines have not enough for you yet? Wasn't the war bad enough?"
"Calm down, Jirou. It's..."
"I'm not going to calm down," the blond replied, without even getting loud. It was this silent rage that signaled Mihawk that his friend was really serious. "How can you still want to protect this brat after everything he has done? He's a monster."
"Like me?" Mihawk asked soberly and could see his friend's eyes widening.
"What, no, you're different than..."
"Do you know how many people I have killed, Jiroushin?" For a moment, his friend probably thought he was asking a rhetorical question, but since Mihawk did not continue to speak, Jiroushin shrugged. "Do you know how many people have died in this war? For the life of a criminal?"
"What is your point, Hawky?" The Vice Admiral frowned.
"If you convict Roronoa for his actions, I wonder how you can serve the Marines so faithfully, that is all."
"Are you nuts? You compare an unavoidable war of soldiers against a union of countless pirates with an assassination by one individual even with civilian casualties? Are you crazy?!"
"You are probably right. It is certainly not fair to compare a senseless demonstration of power by the World Government - which has given up its duty of care towards its employees only to be able to execute a single pirate - to a single man who was willing to put the life of his comrades above everything else."
Jiroushin snorted: "You have always been gifted to express facts in the way that suits you. Do you actually want to tell me that you approve what this pirate has done?"
Now Mihawk smiled again.
"I mean, I envy both Roronoa's and his captain's will."
"What? What are you talking about?"
Mihawk turned away and looked at the empty fire pit.
"Do you not find it almost foolish; one destroys an entire Marine base just to save his friends, the other breaks into the safest prison of the World Government, only to save a friend, successfully breaks out again and then also takes part in a war to which he could easily have fallen victim?"
"Insane is probably the right term for these monsters, these madmen."
Once again, Mihawk looked at his childhood friend and smiled weakly.
"I wish I was more like these two madmen."
"What?"
"Then I might have chosen a different path back then."
Surprised, Jiroushin opened his mouth without saying anything.
"If my will had been a little bit stronger back then; if I had been willing back then to sacrifice as much as Roronoa or his captain would, I think things would have turned out different." Shaking his head, he waved off when the other still did not answer.
"You are right to condemn his actions, ethically it is probably quite critical, but we both know that I have never bothered about anything like this. Yet Roronoa has his principles and priorities, and he only follows those, regardless of any consequences, and that is indeed a strength that I very much envy." Mihawk shrugged. "Whether you kill one person or hundreds, a murderer is a murderer, the real question is whether you stay true to your own sense of honor."
They both remained silent for a few seconds before Jiroushin finally replied: "As always, you have your own logic with which you look at the world, Mihawk. I don't agree with your words and I don't understand why you want to help this brat? What fascinates you so much about him that you distort the truth so much?"
Slowly, Mihawk turned to his former Vice.
"Oh Jiroushin, is it really me who twists the truth or the World Government? Believe me, whether we like it or not, a new age will soon dawn, and I have the certain feeling that the Straw Hat and its crew will not be unremarkably involved. However, this has nothing to do with my interest in Roronoa."
"Not?" Jiroushin asked, his arms folded, apparently far from satisfied with the course of the conversation.
"Let me make you an offer, Jiroushin, help me with Roronoa's training today and if you...", Mihawk directly interrupted his friend's growing objection, "... at the end of the day, are not as surprised and fascinated by Roronoa's talent as I am, I'm not going to stand in your way."
"What?"
Mihawk nodded: "Correct, you can hold Roronoa accountable, however you like it, and I will not interfere."
Disbelieving, the Vice Admiral inspected him.
"You're not someone who would make such reckless bets with such a high stake, this is a set-up," Jiroushin speculated softly.
"I only offering a way to resolve this conflict fairly. You do not have to go along with it."
"And what would be my stake if you were to convince me?" The soldier asked with noticeable distrust.
"You will not betray Roronoa, not to the Marines, to the World Government, to anyone, not even to Lirin, and you will also assist me within your possibilities with Roronoa's training. Your experience and skills would be very important to me."
The other laughed loudly.
"You're mad!"
"Maybe, but believe me, after today you will want to know how much better Roronoa can still get."
They looked at each other.
"You're pretty sure you're going to win. He may be a miracle boy, but in the end, he too is just a simple man, Hawky. I've taught hundreds, do you really think he's the one who can still surprise me?"
Mihawk smiled.
"If you look at it like that, you can make this bet without any risk or are you afraid?"
"Of course not."
They shook hands and Mihawk could not prevent a quiet laugh.
"You have already lost, Jiroushin."
With these words, he turned to the door.
"What makes you so sure, Hawky?"
Over his shoulder, he grinned at the other.
"Believe me, my friend, I have never seen anything like Roronoa."
