Hey there,
wow, it's already time again for a new chapter. Now that Mihawk is out of the way, what do you expect will happen? And what do you think will happen during Mihawk's journey? Some answers we will get today... some not^^'
So I hope you will enjoy it ;-) Have a great weekend and see you monday!
Chapter 40 - Scars
-Zoro-
"Geez, you run quite fast!" Zoro slowed down as Jiroushin huffed beside him. "I thought these laps were more about getting used to it."
Zoro did not respond but shrugged his shoulders as they continued to run. Unlike Mihawk, who preferred to spend the early morning hours sleeping, Jiroushin had insisted on accompanying Zoro during his warm-up ritual.
On the one hand, the soldier had wanted to observe him a little more in order to be able to assess his development better, and on the other hand, Jiroushin had always followed the motto that a good teacher had to sweat at least as much as the student in a unit. And Jiroushin has just followed this requirement excellently. Although they hadn't even finished the twentieth round, he seemed to lose his excitement.
"How many laps do you usually do?"
"It depends," Zoro grumbled. He didn't like to talk when he had hardened his whole body, it always felt so scratchy in his throat. "I have to be careful that the power difference doesn't get any bigger, so I usually do more laps in this form, around 50."
"What?!"
"Yes, as I said, you don't need to run with me, Mihawk never does. It's too bothersome for him."
"It's alright, I just didn't think my shape would suffer that much because of some desk work. Luckily Hawky isn't here, he'd just laugh at me."
Zoro did not respond. Fighting Jiroushin he had realized for the first time how good he had become, and here too Zoro had, if at all, the Shichibukai as a comparison, who had never sacrificed even a pearl of sweat.
It wasn't that Zoro wasn't sweating - he was always sweating very fast - but for several weeks this training was no longer serving his physical exhaustion, but only as a mere preparation, even in this body he slowly began to relax.
Last night he and Jiroushin had begun to put Mihawk's task into action and had noticed something very quickly: As long as Zoro was able to take in and give up foreign Haki in peace, he had no problem with it at all – probably that's why there had been no problems with the sponge exercise back then – but as soon as a little movement came in, it got difficult.
Jiroushin had finished the training pretty quickly; had not been persuaded to fight Zoro again yesterday. But today, today, they would fight, because only in this way could Zoro learn to save his own Haki and only use the Haki that he would take from Jiroushin.
At the same time, however, it also meant that if he did not do it right, he would again run the risk of losing control, and Jiroushin definitely wanted to prevent that until Mihawk was back.
Silently, they ran side by side. It really wasn't like it used to be.
Yes, Jiroushin was still talkative and yes Zoro felt almost as comfortable with him as with his crew or with Mihawk, but it was clearly not like it had been more than half a year ago on Sasaki. The soldier was no longer so ingenuous when talking, chose his words more careful and at meals he chatted mainly with Perona about plants and herbs, spoke to Zoro only when it concerned training or Mihawk.
Not that it really bothered Zoro, he liked his quietness, and when the exhausting Perona talked to Jiroushin about the revival of the farm garden behind the castle, she at least left him in peace.
But somehow it bothered him that the otherwise so good-humored, almost hilarious, and happy Marine now often looked serious and disapproving. Of course, Zoro knew that Jiroushin was right to be anything but in a good-willing towards him, and in fact he had always been indifferent to a tense mood.
But sighing, Zoro admitted that he had become accustomed to the serene atmosphere on Kuraigana, to the consensual, pleasant silence between him and the Shichibukai, which was only sometimes interrupted by Perona. Only now did Zoro understand that he felt comfortable on this island and somehow, he just didn't want this strange harmony to be disturbed by anything.
It was strange, actually, changes were indifferent to him, and actually something like that didn't affect him at all. In fact, however, it bothered him. Things had changed, but nothing else changed on Kuraigana, after all, Mihawk hated change.
However, Zoro had not exactly jumped in the air with happiness, when Robin had joined the crew, there had also been a lot of tension at the beginning and also there he had accepted the changes rather annoyed than generous.
When they got into the next lap, Zoro decided to discard those thoughts, as they wouldn't take him any further anyway, and to focus on training.
They should run a few more laps before they could move on to the right training. Of course, Zoro had to transform and change beforehand, which Jiroushin used to quickly call his wife - which was why Zoro had to wait almost half an hour for him - but at some point they had finally found themselves at the ruins and started training.
-Mihawk-
Boredom!
When had been the last time he had been on the road and got so bored? He could not recall. It was true that he sometimes undertook small assignments for the World Government, had to go to Sasaki for short organizational discussions or had not been present every day at Roronoa's training for other reasons.
But the knowledge that it was not even the first day of a seven-day trip, and Roronoa trained with Jiroushin without him while he sat here and watched the sky...
Mihawk would prefer to turn around right now. If he were to return home now, he could reach Kuraigana in the early hours of the morning. But what would that look like if he were to turn back now?
He could already hear Jiroushin and Roronoa making fun of him, not wanting to understand his concern and doubts.
There was only one reason for Mihawk to make this journey, to explain once and for all to his father that he was no part in his life. Gat did not need to send Nataku or anyone else after him. It was of no concern to Gat whatever Mihawk decided to do with his life and what not. The old man had forfeited this right when he had left Mihawk behind as a little boy.
The only meaningful thing he could hope for from this annoying journey was that both Gat and Nataku would back off from Roronoa, even if he had to lose everything else. The islands would somehow be protected by Jiroushin, and Mihawk had given up his title on the day Nataku had tried to kill Roronoa because of him. He still obeyed the call of the World Government, but only as long as it was still useful to him.
No, although he still believed that he was one of the few who actually earned the title of a Shichibukai – the government dogs – both by strength and intelligence, he had long since lost interest in it. His interest was only Roronoa, Roronoa and his selfish dream.
He looked at the sky with a sigh. He knew that neither such thoughts nor such actions were appropriate for someone like him. Worrying about an uneducated brat from the East Blue. To subordinate his whole damn life to the good of this boy. It gnawed not only at his pride as a nobleman, as a Shichibukai, as a swordsman. It humiliated him not only as a Dracule and as a Hawk Eyes, no, it was much worse.
"I am like Shanks."
He rubbed his face with both hands. He could never again face that bastard.
How could it be? They came from different worlds, other origins, other upbringing, other manners, other resumes. They were like day and night. One the honorable son of a sublime noble family, the other some nobody from an unnamed village. One educated and master of his art, the other coarse and a lover of the beautiful and cheap. One selfish and vain, the other selfless and friendly. But for all their differences, they were now, in the end, the same.
Mihawk had never understood why Shanks had sacrificed his arm for some child - much more, he had never understood why Shanks had to sacrifice this arm in the first place given his strength – although he had always quietly believed that Shanks had only done this in order to stop fighting against him.
But now he knew better, now he knew these emotions that clouded the mind, and now he knew that he was willing to sacrifice much more than just one arm.
"However," he muttered, looking at his left hand, "I will probably have to wait with such selfless deeds until Roronoa defeats me. After all, I don't want to disappoint him as much as you did to me back then."
Mihawk had always known that he was selfish and self-involved. Two attributes that were mostly negatively loaded, but he actually liked them. He had been proud to care for nothing but himself. But it was not as if he was neglecting these character traits for Roronoa, no, it certainly was not like that.
It was simply that Roronoa, consciously or not, influenced his happiness above average, so Mihawk would continue to do everything to stay satisfied, as simple as it was. But of course it was not that simple...
-Zoro-
Exhausted, he let himself sink to one knee, rubbed his forearm over his forehead and face.
"Well!" He heard Jiroushin, and when he looked up, the no less panting soldier pointed at him with his index finger outstretched as sweat dripped down his sleeve. "If you hadn't done so many laps you would be better off now. Do you regret it?"
Zoro rose with a grin.
"Do you think I would go down that easily? I'm not one of your third-rate cadets. This is little more than a better warm-up for me."
The blond laughed but stopped when Zoro ripped down his already badly damaged shirt and threw it next to the green coat he had taken off at the start of their fight.
"So that's it," Jiroushin muttered, almost humbly, "the scar."
Unconsciously, Zoro brushed over the scarred skin of his left collarbone. Then he rubbed his neck, tried not even to hide his grin.
"It is rare to see anyone who survived a direct attack by Hawky. You have to be very proud of this scar." Zoro was surprised that the peaceful warrior understood him. "Hawky at least respects it very much, at the same time it is a sign of his respect for you. I've never seen him leave a challenger alive. What's more, this scar is your promise that one day you will mark him as well."
"You know a lot about this scar."
Zoro went back into combat position, but Jiroushin waved off as he dropped to the ground.
"Of course, do you think I wouldn't remember when my captain called me after almost four years on his own accord just to tell me about some insignificant pirate hunter from the East Blue?"
Jiroushin looked at him from the side and shrugged his shoulders.
"I know everything about you that there is to know. For hours Mihawk talked about you and asked me again and again to get information about you, he even visited the red Shanks, only in hope that he might know you. Of course, I know what this scar means. But it's pretty daring to think you could inflict such a scar on Hawky. Believe me, in all his fights he hasn't earned a single one."
Zoro grumpily folded his arms. "I know he showed me," he murmured, tilting his head and remembering the flawless skin of his teacher's chest. "But to be honest, I don't really care right now. Let's move on."
The soldier waved off again. "I think it's enough for today."
"What?" Zoro growled, stepping towards the blond. It may have been that this guy was Mihawk's best friend and even more than that, but if he wanted to stop now, Zoro would have to give him some reason. "The sun has just set, and you said yesterday that we would fight today until I couldn't stand anymore. I'm still standing, so we'll keep fighting."
Jiroushin rolled his eyes.
"I only said that because you really wanted to keep training yesterday. It is unhealthy to fight every day until complete exhaustion..."
"I don't care!" The soldier looked at him with big eyes, but Zoro stared back coolly. "I've been through this with Mihawk many times and I don't have the time to discuss the same thing with you."
Jiroushin rose clumsily. "Well, listen, you can't..."
"I'm not some novice like your cadets, got it? It's not enough for me to be some average swordfighter. I want to defeat Mihawk and preferably before he starts cracking his bones due to age."
"I understand that, but..."
"Really?" Zoro had no problem interrupting the other, and he noted that this surprised the blond. He respected Jiroushin, the peaceful warrior, fifth best swordsman in the world, former vice-captain of Hawk Eyes, and Mihawk's best friend since childhood. He relied on Mihawk's judgment that Jiroushin could help him get better, but Zoro wouldn't let neither Mihawk's annoying worries nor Jiroushin's concerns slow him down. "Don't get me wrong, but I doubt you can really understand it. So, you probably can't understand why I can't take it slowly, won't take my time..."
"You're pretty rude." With his arms folded, the soldier straightened up and now looked down to Zoro. "I may lack your and Hawky's fighting spirit, but don't underestimate me, Roronoa Zoro, otherwise you'll regret it."
It was not a serious threat and yet the Vice Admiral seemed anything but friendly.
"I understand how your mind works. You're not particularly hard to read, not for someone who knows Mihawk as long as I do."
Zoro kept a straight face, though he was slightly angry. It wasn't that he wanted to come across as mysterious, as Robin and Mihawk liked to do, yet he didn't like to be described as easy to read.
"I understand that you are demanding a lot from yourself," Jiroushin continued. "You are merciless, cruel, almost more to yourself than to your opponents. I am well aware of this - as I said, I have had to get a lot of information about you - and I'm also aware that you want to prove a lot not only to yourself but also to Hawky and therefore want to get the most out of these two weeks here."
Slowly Zoro understood why this guy was a coveted teacher within the rows of the Marines, he was really a bright head, probably smarter than Zoro could even grasp. But this were not the Marines and he was no ordinary student.
"However, I think you're wrong for going too often beyond the limits that your body shows you. Especially in training when it doesn't have to be. In addition..." The Vice Admiral spoke directly and raised a hand to interrupt Zoro as he opened his mouth. "In addition, you have already understood the principle. The only thing you're missing is simple experience and it's going to come with time. But we are not talking about two weeks, but months, years. Just as your Haki skills become more and more self-evident over time, this as well will become easier for you over time."
Slightly confused, Zoro bowed his head.
"How do you mean that?" He asked suspiciously.
It was true that as the day had progressed, he had become better and better with keeping an eye out for which of the two Hakis he was using in his body. A few hours ago they had even started with light standard combat exercises, but it was exhausting for him. It was hard for him to focus on everything at the same time. Which Haki he took to use both Kenbunshoku and Busoshoku Haki and then absolving the basic combat movements as flawlessly as possible and absorbing Jiroushin's Haki with the half-second, in which their bamboo sticks touched.
It was exhausting and although Zoro had not reached his limits physically, he was exhausted. He had to get better; he wasn't allowed to get defeated by that.
Now Jiroushin shook his head before smiling slightly.
"It's perfectly normal that you're exhausted, Roronoa Zoro. You have to pay attention to many things at the same time. The standard exercises may be second nature to you, but you are a newcomer to the field of Haki application. Many who have only been training Haki as recently as you would be overwhelmed to use both variations at the same time, but you additionally have to absorb Haki and decide every second which Haki you use. To complete so many tasks at once would overwhelm everyone at first. But over time it will become a habit for you. Just as you used to have to pay attention to each muscle, every part of your body, and your balance in these simple standard exercises when you were young, and now those things are a matter of course for you."
Jiroushin shrugged.
"I don't know what you want from me, to be honest. My job was to teach you to distinguish which Haki you can use during a fight until Hawky is back. It didn't take us a day, but you can. All you're missing now is practice and you won't get that today. You are already mentally very exhausted and if we continue to train now you will just be unfocused and then you will make mistakes. So, you achieved what your teacher demanded, and I would suggest we call it a day."
"No." Shaking his head, Zoro went back into combat position.
"What's your problem?" Jiroushin grumbled, throwing both hands in the air. "We still have almost two weeks left, and you have already achieved the goal for this time today. What else do you want?"
Now Zoro grinned.
"I want to fight you."
"What?"
"Yes, of course, yesterday you said we were going to fight today, fight properly, not those few basic steps back and forward. Maybe I'm exhausted, maybe I'm making mistakes now. But then it's your job to correct me, isn't it?"
Jiroushin looked at him almost expressionlessly.
"I don't care if I've already done Mihawk's homework or not. That is not what I am about. I want to be as good as possible within the time I have. I know that Mihawk will teach me how to control this condition - when I go crazy - so I have to master everything else as well as I can by then. You say, I 'm just missing the practice for that; I say, let's practice."
For a few seconds, the soldier did not react at all, but then he nodded, pulled the bamboo stick out of his boot and also went into combat position.
"Well, I know people like you. Then reap the fruits of your stubbornness. You want to fight, so we fight. For every mistake you make, you'll run ten more rounds tomorrow morning. Let's see how long you keep barking."
Zoro's grin grew.
"Bold of you to believe that something like this would intimidate me and not spur me on."
Instead of answering, Jiroushin attacked.
It was a fight Zoro liked. If he had suffered headaches before, they quickly disappeared into the fever of battle. It was difficult and yes Zoro made mistakes, but it was also a lot of fun and he realized that he was already better today than in his last fight against the Vice Admiral two days ago.
Jiroushin, too, seemed to like this tutoring session. He clearly enjoyed letting Zoro pay for every gap in his defense, every second-rate attack, and every other mistake, but not even once Zoro's bamboo broke.
Over time, the rational lesson became an almost friendly exchange of blows. While Zoro kissed the ground again, Jiroushin laughed and teased him, but Zoro was only too happy to get even when he dodged through the iron defense of the Vice Admiral or simply tore it down by brute force.
Unexpectedly, their fight ended when Zoro ripped the bamboo out of the blond's hand and it bounced against an overturned ruin and splintered. Surprised, both swordsmen looked at each other before Jiroushin nodded appreciatively.
"Maybe I have to apologize to Hawky. You're a little more talented than I wanted to admit."
Zoro did not respond, but this was mainly because he was too busy to keep breathing. Their last exchange of blows had pushed him to the limits of his abilities, not only in terms of Haki, but also his fighting skills. It may be that Zoro would soon surpass the man in front of him, but he wouldn't be able to catch up so quickly with decades of experience.
"Are you now agreeing that we will end training for today?"
Nodding, Zoro fell to his knees, leaning off the ground with both hands. A dull plop meant that Jiroushin had also fallen to the ground.
"You're unbelievable," the Vice Admiral snorted, "you can't help but give everything in every fight. That's why you're even improving in the middle of it, right?"
Zoro shrugged his shoulders and put himself in an upright kneeling position to watch the other. Fortunately, Jiroushin looked no less exhausted. The elder smiled at Zoro, just as he had grinned back then at Sasaki.
"You are an idiot. You know this is just training, right? And tomorrow you'll have to run 70 laps more in addition to your 50. If I look at you right now, I think I will have a day off tomorrow."
Laughing quietly, Zoro slipped on his butt to sit more comfortably.
"Don't worry, I'll challenge you tomorrow as well."
Jiroushin raised only an eyebrow before leaning against a large stone and folded his arms.
"Fine with me."
They fell silent as they both re-energized.
With the tip of his foot, Zoro kicked aside his bamboo.
"I wonder how long Mihawk will keep me from fighting with my swords," he murmured more to himself than to the soldier.
"Probably until you can control your madness," Jiroushin speculated. "Although I assume that your Busoshoku Haki should soon be steady enough to try out some real swords."
Apparently delighted, the soldier laughed.
"Oh, my God, don't look at me like that. You just learn fast, okay? If you've become more confident in what Haki you are using, I don't mind giving it a try with actual weapons."
"Really?"
Perhaps Zoro would come to enjoy the fact that his strict but over-concerned teacher was gone for a few days. Again, Jiroushin laughed.
"Unbelievable, now I see the similarity between you and Loreen, if you amuse me like that."
Blushing, Zoro tried to bring his facial features back under control.
"Although I'm also curious to see what Hawky has planned," Jiroushin muttered. "You don't see such a mania every day."
A little more relaxed, Zoro rose and began to stretch to prevent muscle soreness.
"What would you do?" He asked curiously. Mihawk had been rather inaccurate in his statements. Zoro had until recently thought that controlling would mean that he would no longer reach this strange state; now he knew that he was going to reach it, but without losing his mind. Yet the Shichibukai had not really revealed exactly how this should be done.
Jiroushin scratched the back of his head.
"Well, you're just a weird case. But I'd be lying if I said I hadn't thought about it." The blond got up and began to stretch with Zoro. "I don't like the way it happened during our fight, absorbing tons of foreign Haki at first and then spending your own until you reached this state. It's harder to control and therefore more dangerous for you."
Confused, Zoro straightened up. "I don't understand that."
Jiroushin nodded. "In order to learn how to control this state, you must be able to consciously bring it about. But I don't mean what happened in our fight. That was far too inaccurate. I would like to determine exactly when you lose control and then stay with you at that verge."
"What verge?"
They looked at each other.
"The verge at which the foreign Haki becomes stronger than your own and your body decides to take over control to save you."
"But why?" Zoro muttered. "Mihawk said I have to be a monster. But you said I just had to overcome mental self-regulation. I thought it would be the same."
Shaking his head, Jiroushin stretched his shoulders.
"No, they are probably two sides of the same coin, but you'll still need both to stand up to Mihawk, I agree with him. If you can control that state, you will be able to unfold all the forces in your body at once, along with overcoming mental self-regulation, you can even surpass the limits of your own body, just like Mihawk does. But the longer this condition lasts, the more severe the consequences will be for your body. You've already noticed how much it only burdens you for half a minute."
Zoro did not respond.
"I think I'd let you spend some Haki first and then we'd approach the verge in small steps, that would be much safer than what we've seen during the fight and if you're in danger of losing control, you're just giving away some of the foreign Haki. Yes, I think that's how I'd do it."
Again, they remained silent for quite a while and carried out their stretching in a mutual silent.
"You are quite silent, Roronoa Zoro. You dislike my idea, don't you? Probably far too save in relation to what Hawky is up to."
Zoro only snorted quietly. It wasn't as if Mihawk willingly took risks as long as it was about Zoro.
"It's not," he grumbled, after all, he didn't even know what the Shichibukai's plan was. "But couldn't you stop talking to me as if you were reading the accusation? I know my name, don't worry."
"Tze." Jiroushin straightened up and placed both hands at his hips. "What should I do then? Hawky got pretty angry when I called you by your last name."
Zoro shrugged.
"Well? That's his problem, isn't it? I know you can't really stand me, but it's really annoying, okay? Can't you just call me Zoro, like everyone else I've exchanged a few sentences with?"
Now Zoro also got up and they looked at the other.
"Hawky doesn't call you Zoro?"
"Yeah, that guy's nuts."
Sighing, the soldier turned and walked over to his sword.
"Well, for all I care. It's Zoro, then. But that doesn't make us friends, understand?"
Defending, Zoro raised both arms and collected his scattered clothes, before following the Vice Admiral to the castle.
"Say," Zoro muttered behind the soldier, "can I ask you something?"
"Hmm?" Jiroushin's curls swayed wildly as he turned to him.
"If I get a little more experienced during the next few days, would you try it with me?"
The soldier stopped and looked at him suspiciously. "What should I try with you?"
"Your method. Mihawk hasn't explained to me at all what he's up to and I'm..."
"Definitely not!" Jiroushin continued his way. "Are you mad? Hawky would go crazy if anything went wrong."
Zoro hurried to follow the soldier.
"But..."
"No buts! What an insane idea."
"Jiroushin…"
At the gate, the Vice Admiral suddenly stopped and Zoro almost ran into him.
"I don't think you've yet understood what's at stake here." Jiroushin turned to him, he seemed far too serious for his otherwise friendly face. "Are you aware of what kind of situation we are in here? I commit treason because of you and Mihawk has entrusted your life to me."
"What the..."
"My honor requires me to kill you right here and now, but at the same time I have to use my life to prevent something from happening to you. I'm not going to do experiments with you that could put you at risk, only to then blame me of destroying my best friend's life. We will never be friends because you have taken the lives of countless of my comrades and you should be my nemesis."
The Vice Admiral sighed deeply, and when he looked at Zoro, a gentle smile almost crept over his lips.
"From the depths of my heart, I really, really want to hate you. I wish I couldn't care what happens to you. Then we could try out my idea, then I wouldn't care if you would fail. But the fact is..."
"That this bastard of a Shichibukai has taken a fancy at me and that you are friends, so you have to care if I bite the dust or not," Zoro concluded the other's sentence, unsure what this situation was about, but even more annoyed that the soldier used the arduous care of his dramatic teacher as an excuse.
Nodding, Jiroushin opened the door and stepped in.
"Exactly, that and..." The soldier laughed quietly. "And the little thing that I just cannot not stand you, no matter how much I try."
"What?" Double negative was not Zoro's strength.
"But as I said, we are not friends, understood, Zoro?"
Eye-rolling, he followed the elder.
"Oh man, you're really too complicated for me. Almost worse than Mihawk."
"Well, welcome to the adult world. Not all of us can do what we want. We have commitments and sometimes they conflict with our personal desires."
In the meantime, they walked down the stairs to a long hallway of chambers.
"Whatever you want to say with that." Zoro grumbled slightly and wiped his sweaty shoulders with his tattered shirt as he reached his room. "My only desire right now is a hot shower."
Jiroushin gave him a thumbs up as he walked down the hallway.
"Good idea. Mine is already calling. But hey, wait." The soldier swirled towards Zoro while already pulling his own shirt down. "You might want to take a bath, so your muscles don't tense up too much and think about eating something healthy. By that I don't just mean rice and seaweed, understood?"
"How do you think I survived the last twenty years?"
The blond shrugged his shoulders, a neat grin on his face. Then he did the same as Zoro and rubbed the sweat from his body with his shirt.
"Go to sleep early. You've got to run a few laps tomorrow, so we'll start two hours before sunrise, this way we'll have enough time for the real fight after that."
"As you command, Master." Zoro bowed excessively and then said goodbye with a wink.
But as soon as the door closed in his back, his grin disappeared.
It is not my body that is covered in scars.
Apparently, he had misunderstood Mihawk's words back then.
I've never seen him leave an opponent alive.
Suddenly, Zoro understood the background of the fighting shadow, why Mihawk had almost never fought against opponents himself as a pirate back then but had left Jiroushin to take care of them.
Slowly Zoro got quite hot. What kind of opponent had he found?
