Hey everybody,

so I know, I'm a little bit late (like a day, but who's counting, right? o.o), but I come bearing gifts, and not just any gifts, no! The amazing LucioL has drawn some amazing pictures of our two favorite idiots and allowed me to share them with you, so I picked some of them (and it really was hard to chose) and put them on tumblr, because I can't share links here, just look up Lady Loreen and you will find them ;-)). The scene of the first one you will all immediatly recognize I believe so, and maybe the others as well (tell me, if you do!)
post/641120137905389568/so-what-to-say-i-havent-been-present-here-a-lot . post/641120137905389568/so-what-to-say-i-havent-been-present-here-a-lot
I really can't say how much these drawings mean to me. Don't get me wrong, I love writing just for what it is, it is part of my very being and I probably wouldn't stop, even if I wanted to, but it does take a lot of work, dedication and just simply time, time I have to cut off from other things, especially right now, next to working and preparing for the probably toughest exam in my life, it actually take sup whatever little free time I have left, so for most of us fanfic writers there is no greater joy than receiving feedback in any kind of form (some of us jokingly compare it to payment, because most of us are writing and posting as a hobby), to see that all this time we put into something actually pays off by bringing joy to other people. Especially if it becomes that important to them, that they are actually taking the time on leaving a favo or even a comment, not even mentioning some kind of amazing storylong PMs or these stunning drawings, it just makes me really happy and grateful.
To be honest, when posting a story, I never expect a review or feedback and I would never judge somebody for not commenting, because just loving a story enough to be willing to share it with the world, even though maybe nobody might like it, is enough for me.
But as some of you know I've been having some stressfull months and when I read your guys comments or take a look at these drawings I just wanna cry from gratefulness.
The story is slowly coming to an end, but I really want to take this moment to thank all of you, who stuck with me until now (and will hopefully hold on for the last few chapters as well^^'). Thank you! To the silent readers, to those following, to those waiting until a few chapters are up before binge-reading them, and especially to those, who take the time to comment, to critizise, to gush or just to say 'hi'. Just know that all you guys really helped me through some bad times, so thank you^^

and now I have babbled enough (by now you should really know that it takes me some time to get to the point, seriously), so enjoy those beautiful drawings and have fun with the next chapter.

See you monday^^

Chapter 55 - Joy

-Zoro-

Warm rays of sunshine woke him, but the cool wind forewarned that the night would come soon. Tired, Zoro tried to open his unharmed eye. He was still sitting in the garden and the red-colored sky above the castle he had called his home in recent months confirmed his presumption.

It might have been a mistake to fall asleep here; the broken ribs and bruised hip complained clearly about the uncomfortable sleeping position. Nevertheless, Zoro was as relaxed as seldom. On Kuraigana he had barely had the time to take a little nap during the afternoons, thus he had slept much more during most nights – except for the time during Mihawk's ultimate training, when the Shichibukai had tortured him with sleep deprivation – but hardly anything was as liberating as a short slumber in the fresh air.

Especially because he was always better off after napping for some time. His body was still hurting, and every movement was exhausting, but at the same time he enjoyed every throbbing and pinching. These wounds filled Zoro with arrogant satisfaction.

When he had faced Mihawk for the very first time and lost terribly evidently against him more than two years ago, it had not been an easy time for him. The Shichibukai had spurred him on to grow and the adventures of his crew had prevented Zoro from brooding too much, but the desperate urge to get better had always been there. During their journey, Zoro's desire to become stronger had grown, just as much as the certainty that they would not be able survive in their current state of that time, and in the end this foreboding had come true.

In the end, Zoro had not been able to protect his captain from the Shichibukai Kuma and his crew from the commander of the G-6 Hakkai, no, Zoro had not even been able to protect himself from the cold blade of justice Homura.

All this had gnawed at his pride, had made him doubt his determination. Back then, after losing his crew and then himself and his own body, Zoro had doubted for a brief moment, almost giving up.

If he had not landed on Sasaki, if it would not have been Mihawk himself who had found Zoro, then he would have given up, at least for a brief moment and at that moment he would have lost a bit of himself, which he could never have found again and would never have forgiven himself for.

If he was quite honest, Zoro had wondered many times when – and if – he would ever manage to keep up with the Shichibukai. In a conversation, he would probably have always confidently asserted that it could only be a few months, but after his sobering defeat he had quietly doubted, had become unsure whether he could actually realize his dream.

But things had come as they had come and Zoro had given up his pride to learn from the best of the best, and now, after two long years, Zoro was neither insecure nor in doubt.

Just right now, with an aching body, still half asleep on this chair, right now Zoro knew that he would soon be strong enough to defeat even Mihawk, and already now he was strong enough to protect himself, his crew, and especially his captain, and this certainty filled him with pride and satisfaction.

He had stumbled and had fought himself – in several ways – but now he had finally reached the final lap. In a few days Zoro would finally see his friends again and in the near future he would finally realize his dream and fulfill his promise to Kuina.

Whether it was this certainty or the rare rays of the sun, Zoro felt warm and happy, but if he was honest, as much as he was looking forward to the future, he did not want the present to become the past.

From the corner of his eye, he noticed the Shichibukai, squatting on the ground just a few meters away and apparently weeding some field. At first Zoro almost did not recognize him; with the huge straw hat on his head and his shorts, he almost looked like a too tall, too serious, and too pale version of his captain.

Rarely did the other walk around in such casual clothes. One time or another Mihawk had worn simple shirts and Zoro had rarely seen his stupid hat with the feather lately, but the shorts were new.

Once again, Zoro's gaze fell on the other's left upper arm, as so often in recent days. Soon it would fade, but there, half covered by the older man's dark T-shirt, a green-yellow bruise stood out from the otherwise pale skin.

The sight alone filled Zoro with satisfaction, it wasn't much, just a little discolored spot, and yet it had been a small victory, at least after Mihawk had explained to him in his annoying, calm, and know-it-all way that it had been his first injury from a fight in almost fifteen years; even now Zoro was still annoyed about the smug face of the other, when Mihawk had pushed up his sleeve and had explained into detail how this injury had happened, as if Zoro had not been present.

However, he had to admit that he could hardly remember the hits he had apparently landed. In fact, he could remember almost nothing from their first real fight, everything was a blurry mix of colors, sounds, and touches, all but those eyes.

Even now, they burned in the darkness whenever Zoro closed his eye. Mihawk's gaze had frightened and aroused him at the same time, taking his breath away and inspiring him, and he feared and yet also wanted the other to look at him like that again.

But since that fight, Mihawk had not done so; just like now, his face showed nothing but this usual cool and annoying composure. The Shichibukai calmly looked at the flowering weeds in his hands for a moment before throwing them to the side and continuing to dig his fingers through the ground. Zoro watched him with a smile.

That idiot had changed as well. In the beginning Zoro had hardly been able to stand him with his snobby attitude, his annoying manners, and his vain arrogance. In the beginning they had not understood each other at all and yet the Shichibukai had agreed to help him and in time they had become friends.

Yes, if Zoro recalled how he had thrown himself on his knees in front of the other, if he recalled how he had burst into tears in front of the other, at that time he could not have imagined even in his worst nightmare that things would develop like this. He could never have imagined that he would enjoy the hard training under the cold eyes of the Shichibukai and never thought that he would like the evening conversations close to the fire or in front of the chessboard.

On the other hand, he also could never have imagined that he would care about legal gimmicks or historical realities, just as he would never have envisioned his teacher to dig through dirt. They had both changed quite a bit.

Had the others changed in the last two years?

You do not want them to treat you differently. But Roronoa, you have changed, whether you like it or not.

He did not want things to change and at the same time he knew that this was beyond his control.

Mihawk was right, whether Zoro wanted it or not, he had changed during his time here, just as all his friends had probably changed, and now he had no choice but to hope that everything would be the same as back then while being not the same. He never wanted to have to go through the same thing again. This time he would protect everyone and return to defeat Mihawk.

"Oh, good evening, Roronoa. Slept long enough?"

The yellow eyes flashed at him mockingly as the Shichibukai looked over and straightened up with a slight grin. The elder slowly brushed earth off his knees before taking off his gloves and coming over to Zoro.

"You really sleep a lot. Even more if you are wounded," he remarked, squatting on the ground in front of Zoro. "How are you feeling?"

Zoro shrugged and looked down at the other.

"Tired," he muttered with a dry grin, which the other mirrored as he took off the straw hat and rubbed over his forehead with his forearm.

"You slept all day."

Once again, Zoro shrugged his shoulders and looked over the other at the future flower field.

"Looks good," he said.

"As if it was a lot of work to throw some seeds on a field," the Shichibukai commented in his usual dismissive manner and stood up again. "The air is getting colder. We should go inside and eat something. I want to change and you should also cover yourself a bit. Now that the sun is setting, it is not advisable for you to walk around half-naked."

"Tze, I'm looking like a mummy, if anything at all I'm sweating to death here."

The Shichibukai did not respond, but only looked at him with a raised eyebrow and a slight grin.

"Well, mummy, can you walk on your own or should I carry you?"

"Oh, just shut up," Zoro grumbled, but allowed the other to help him get up.

Slowly they walked through the garden. Even if Zoro wouldn't allow the other to carry him – and he wasn't sure whether that had been a joke – he couldn't walk as fast as he would like to. But the Shichibukai did not remark anything about this, but ambled through the garden, apparently fascinated by their surroundings, hands folded behind his back.

"Where is Jiroushin?" Zoro asked casually as his own panting annoyed him.

"He went inside to pack his stuff," Mihawk said, looking at him from the corner of his eyes. "Contrary to my suggestion, he wants to leave tomorrow to organize some things. Of course, I would prefer him to wait those few days to accompany you, but... well, at the end of the day, it is probably his decision, even if I disapprove."

Zoro did not respond, and so they went on in silence. In front of him, the other stopped and sighed quietly.

"Although I do not like to admit it, Perona has done a good job - she and the Humandrills - the garden has developed well. I never thought that this island could have a certain charm."

So much praise was highly unusual for the Shichibukai, but he was always a little bit more peaceful when Jiroushin was around, besides...

"Say," Zoro muttered as he reached the other one, "do you like working in the garden?"

With big eyes, the elder turned to him, and together they continued their journey back to the castle. The other stroke his beard and looked up to the sky thoughtfully.

"There is something relaxing about it and at the end you see what you have done. Though you do get pretty dirty and it is work for..." The Shichibukai remained silent for a moment before shaking his head. "No, it is good work and even if it is not as interesting as swordfighting, it is not a waste of time."

Zoro knew that there was nothing worse for the other than wasting time uselessly, so this statement was more than just recognition.

"But do you like doing it?" Zoro remained on topic and met the questioning gaze of the elder curiously. "I mean, is it something you would like to repeat even without Perona asking for help, something that gives you joy and not just something meaningful you can kill time with?"

They had reached the back door to the castle and Mihawk opened it for Zoro.

"It certainly gives me satisfaction, I assume. But whether I like it, I do not know. Do you like gardening?"

"Not really." Behind them, the door slammed shut. "It's like you said, it's satisfying to dig through dirt and get something done, it's good work. But it also annoys me, to be honest, feels dull most of the time and somehow it reminds me of patching sails."

Slowly they walked down the aisle and Zoro was glad to know that it was only a few more steps to the fireplace room and his sofa.

"Then, what do you like, Roronoa?"

"Except fighting?"

The elder laughed quietly.

"Of course, what do you like besides the obvious?"

"Hmmm... a good party with a lot of alcohol," he smiled, "and in a good mood. I like to watch the others dance and like having good conversations."

He thoughtfully recalled the many celebrations he had initiated with his friends, recalled the one they had wanted to but had never been able to celebrate, but decided not to drown in thoughts, but to answer Mihawk's question.

"Heated discussions rather annoy me – as you should know! - but sometimes they can also be quite interesting. I enjoy the training, both alone and with others. Being taught by you was often really exhausting, but most of the time I really liked it and I like to teach others. I'm not as good at explaining as you are, I'm aware of that, but it makes me proud to see how quickly Choppers got better in the few things I've shown him."

Arriving in the fireplace room, he fell on his sofa and looked over to the other, who also settled on his armchair.

"Actually, it mostly depends whether I am in the right mood or with the right people. Even the best rice wine has a hard time saving a shitty mood."

Mihawk tilted his head slightly.

"It is hard for me to believe that a noisy gathering of rude and ill-mannered people can create a pleasant atmosphere, no matter what alcohol is served. My personal experience taught me to avoid such celebrations."

"We're going to change that," Zoro remarked with a slight grin, "at least after I've defeated you, we'll probably throw a huge party and you're not going to get around it. Then I'll show you how real pirates celebrate and believe me, you'll have your fun."

Now the Shichibukai also showed a soft smile and leaned back.

"For all I care, I will be prepared, Roronoa."

Yawning, Zoro threw his legs on the sofa and lay down.

"You should cover yourself a little bit."

"Stop nagging. I'd rather hear you telling me what else you enjoy doing," he tried to distract his teacher's worry.

The other was silent. After a while Zoro closed his eye and was already about to fall asleep again when he finally spoke.

"I think a real fight gives me the most pleasure." Mihawk sounded very calm, as if he were evaluating each word. "I would say that the art of the sword really stimulates and inspires me like nothing else. I truly enjoyed our little fight to be honest, I think..."

"And what else?" Zoro muttered, without looking up, after the other became silent again. "What else do you enjoy besides the obvious?"

Once again, the elder remained silent before quietly sighing.

"What about all these questions, Roronoa? For what it is worth, I have never thought about that before. Of course I like to enjoy a good wine, but I doubt that is what you mean. Both the war and the smaller skirmishes of the last decade helped against my consistent boredom, but I did like neither and certainly I did not enjoy them."

Steps told Zoro that the other had gotten up and walked towards the door.

"With a good dance partner I might enjoy dancing, but only if I am in the mood. An exciting book or a good game of chess can inspire me, but my standards on all three are quite high."

The steps fell silent.

"Our conversations and small arguments are sometimes quite invigorating. As long as they do not degenerate into dispute, I could almost say that I almost like them more than some training sessions. Although not in sword fighting, you have always been on a par with me in terms of willpower. Yes, I would say I even enjoy pitting my will against yours. But you probably did not mean that either."

Now it was Zoro, who was silent when the door opened and closed.

It had been a simple question.

What do you like?

But of course nothing was easy when it came to the Shichibukai. Why didn't he just say that he liked to read books and to play chess as long as he didn't have a worthy opponent in sword fighting? And what the hell did the other mean with his last remark?

Zoro had no idea what Mihawk meant by that.

Mihawk was probably talking about those moments, when the two of them eagerly discussed things they were both interested in. Especially in the field of sword art they did not always share the same opinion when it came to details and they had spent whole nights debating about little things.

Considering those arguments, Zoro knew exactly what the other meant. Zoro himself had never known anyone who had dealt with the sword as intensively as he did. Maybe Kuina, but at that time Zoro had been a child and naive, at that time he had not known enough to be able to discuss it.

Needless to say, Mihawk had been better educated than Zoro – especially at the beginning – and had known names and terms that Zoro had not even been able to pronounce, but that had not changed the fact that Zoro as well had owned an opinion and he had been able to express and support it with good arguments.

Yes, these conversations had been a lot of fun for him and he understood what the Shichibukai meant by that.

But pitting ones will against each other? Did he mean all those annoying quarrels or something else?

They had often argued during the last two years and Zoro would have preferred they had not, it was such a bother. Yes, he too, had sometimes lost patience and he had sometimes overreacted a bit - although he also had struggled with some physical changes - but compared to him, Mihawk often acted out of his mind, got easily overly upset and dramatic about every little thing and didn't want to admit if he was wrong.

No, these disputes had only been annoying and exhausting and Zoro would have loved to avoid them.

But perhaps Mihawk had been talking about those other conversations. Those apart from the art of the sword, apart from politics, strategy, history, and general education. These quiet conversations, which neither of them really sought, but also did not avoid.

Such moments were the most complicated for Zoro. He was no one to speak lightly about things that occupied his mind – which, admittedly, weren't many things – and if so, only with Robin, who had never needed many words to understand him.

Mihawk was different. Sometimes Zoro had the feeling that this bastard intentionally misunderstood him and always needed far too many words, only to twist their meaning in the end.

Nevertheless, Zoro could not say that these conversations were simply unpleasant, sometimes yes, sometimes he felt as if the other was circling a problem or a topic instead of just asking his question or stating his opinion and that was exhausting. But sometimes these moments had something that Zoro couldn't really put into words.

He didn't like these conversations, thought of them as annoying and threatening at the same time, and yet he was curious nonetheless where they would lead him this time.

Zoro wasn't a great debater, and most conversations were usually too bothersome for him, but the longer he thought about it, the more he realized that he liked to talk to the Shichibukai and that he almost didn't care about the topic they were talking about.

Whether they talked about something ridiculous like hobbies and interests or about the things Zoro didn't even want to think about, in the end he stayed and talked to the other, even if he didn't want to.

Even if he didn't want to, Mihawk managed to make him talk at the end, with his demanding, annoying, theatrical manner. He managed to make Zoro say things he hadn't even thought about before. He managed to get Zoro to open up about things he hadn't known about before.

Perhaps Mihawk had meant those conversations when he had talked about pitting their wills against each other. Zoro had a hard time remembering any other person as difficult as the Shichibukai he ever had to deal with and him actually putting up with it.

Luffy was more of the type of person who solved problems through physical negotiations, and that was just fine with Zoro. Of the other crewmembers, Nami or Franky might have dared to drop a comment, but usually one glance on his part had been enough to silence them if he really wanted to.

Robin had mostly been too smart to let their conversations degenerate. Zoro may have been far more stupid than her, but he had noticed that she had steered their conversations in a different direction whenever she worried that the current issue might lead to disagreements they wouldn't be able to deal with at that moment.

No, the only one of their crew who had stood up to Zoro from time to time had probably been the damn cook, who was never too shy to challenge Zoro. But even he had never been able to really push Zoro to his limits, either physically or mentally. Their little skirmishes were good to let off some steam or to get some exercise. Their little quarrels could be quite entertaining, but mostly they were annoying.

Although Zoro did not doubt for a second that everyone of his crew had a strong will, he had never put it to test.

But it was very different with the Shichibukai. Zoro was not surprised for a second that Mihawk had pushed him to his limits physically and also in terms of education, but Mihawk was right. Their conversations had never only been superficial small talk, never just polite chitchat, no, they had debated, also and especially concerning topics that at least one of them might have preferred to avoid.

"Tze, what a bastard," Zoro grumbled, putting his uninjured arm over his closed eyes.

"I hope you are not talking about me."

Of course, Mihawk had to choose that moment to come back.

"Who else would I mean?" Zoro replied, without moving.

"As rude as ever. Here."

A soft fabric fell silently on Zoro's chest, and as he opened his eye, he recognized the green coat he had chosen from all the things Kanan had offered him.

"You should really put something on. You might even catch a cold in your weakened state."

Zoro closed his eye again and did not move.

"I don't get sick," he said calmly. "But I do get hungry..."

"Perona only needs a few more minutes. Maybe you should sleep until dinner if you want. You still look pale."

"Hmm...", Zoro grumbled only approvingly and decided to put this proposal into practice.

Half asleep, he heard porcelain and glass clattering quietly in the background, the Shichibukai probably set up the table. Maybe he would allow Zoro to drink a glass of wine again today, it was sad that he actually let the older one ban him from drinking.

"Say," he muttered as he decided that his hunger was greater than his fatigue, but still without making the slightest attempt to move. "What do you actually plan on doing after I leave?"

"What do you mean by that?"

"Well, I don't really know what your everyday life looks like. I mean, the last two years your life was all about my training and my problems. Must be a great relief to finally be able to return to everyday life, right?"

He received no reply. Did he imagine or was the Shichibukai unusually slow to answer today?

With a quiet grunt, Zoro sat up and looked over to the other, who stared back expressionlessly and finally shrugged his shoulders.

"You overestimate my life, Roronoa. I only took care of you because my life had been incredibly dull and you were the one thing unpredictable. As soon as you leave, my life will return to old monotony, because my everyday life consists of nothing but boring things. The boring newspaper, boring orders from the World Government, boring commitments to the five elders and now I got a boring garden and a boring foundling. Not to mention the whole, incredibly loud, but at least only in parts boring, family Cho. So no, I have nothing special planned to do after you will leave. I will return to my boring everyday life and wait for the day you will challenge me."

Zoro had no idea if the other wanted to mock him, but somehow... it sounded rather disappointing, almost pitifully.

For a moment, the elder looked at him before continuing to set the table.

Many words came to Zoro's mind when he thought of the other – the majority of them not charming – but boring was probably not one of them. Mihawk was an annoying, condescending, and spoiled bastard, lazy and vain and arrogant, but he certainly wasn't boring.

No matter which place Zoro had mentioned during the past years, the other had known it and had often been there before. He wasn't good at telling stories, and yet Zoro had mostly liked to listen to his reports.

The other had an opinion on almost everything and did not hesitate to express it out loud, but he usually seemed to know what he was talking about. He was a know-it-all and snobbish, yet most of the time he had patiently taught Zoro, no matter the subject.

Zoro didn't know much about the other's past, but what he knew sounded like a life, adventures and dangers, loss and joy, experiences and longings.

But what the other had just described sounded...

"You should change something." Zoro got up. "If your life is as shitty as you say, then you should really change something."

The other looked over to him briefly.

"But I have, after all, you are standing here."

"Oh, shut up. If I'm the only thing in your life that's kind of interesting, it's pretty pathetic, quite honestly. No one should play a greater role in your own life than you do. So if your life bores you to death - and it sounds to me like it does - then change it and not just wait for me to make it interesting for you, I don't have the time nor the patience to do so."

Reaching the table, he dropped on his chair. He was really tired and was already longing for his bed, but the worst was the broken bones, which in fact still groaned with every movement, even in this form.

"You scold me?" Mihawk sounded almost threatening, but Zoro was used to that kind of tone. "What could make my life more interesting than my future opponent?"

"No idea, look for a hobby or whatever. Perona seems to be getting caught up in gardening and Jiroushin in his family and his work. No clue, learn how to play an instrument or how to knit or whatever. Look for something that isn't boring and do it."

The other laughed quietly and sat down at the end of the table.

"The only thing that really interests me is the art of the sword, Roronoa. Everything else is boring."

"How do you want to know?"

The other looked at him with raised eyebrows.

"Chess, you know, I thought it was pretty boring. Or reading or discussing any topics, everything was pretty boring for me. But just because I didn't deal with it. How do you want to know that there is nothing in this world that might interest you if you don't even seriously try it? No idea if it's going to be as great as swordfighting, but damn it, have you just been bored for the last 15 years? You could have tried hundreds of things but..."

Zoro was far from finished with his lecture, but at that moment Jiroushin and Perona came in and, to his surprise, the Shichibukai elegantly changed the topic as they began to eat.

Seriously, Mihawk discussed how Zoro's departure and arrival on the Sabaody Archipelago was supposed to happen and acknowledged every funny comment and casual reaction of another with a disapproving glare.

Several times the Shichibukai mentioned how disappointed he was by Jiroushin because he would leave earlier and thus would not accompany Zoro on his travel. Neither Jiroushin's objection that he would need the time to make arrangements for Lady Loreen's supposed return to Kuraigana, nor Zoro's opinion that he would cope quite well without a babysitter, appeased the lord of the castle.

The main reason, of course, was that the Shichibukai himself would not travel with Zoro. They wanted to avoid any reconnection between Mihawk and the straw hats – at least according to the other – and Mihawk feared that his presence at the Sabaody Archipelago could lead to conflict. Only he knew what he meant by that.

But Zoro would not travel alone. He didn't really know whose idea it had been and who must had been convinced, but Perona would accompany him as chaperon to make sure that no one would notice Zoro's disappearance.

Zoro did not know how exactly Jiroushin intended to fool the entire crew of his warship about Lady Loreen's absence while returning to Kuraigana, but he decided that this was not his concern.

As soon as he was back with his crew and would take part in life as Roronoa Zoro again, it was only a matter of time before the world would find out that he was also Lady Loreen, and at the latest Eizen would probably lose interest in him and leave him alone, should he even manage to reach him beforehand.

But Zoro did not plan to drop the masquerade directly. Maybe it would be wiser, could be, but if he were to face his friends after two long years, he wanted it as Roronoa Zoro – only as Roronoa Zoro – and their departure from the Sabaody Archipelago would be risky one way or another, they didn't need more problems that would inevitably follow if the world found out the truth.

Soon he would leave, but he couldn't be quite happy, because he knew that he would have one last trial before he would finally see his crew again. After all, he had to arrive a few days earlier to meet Eizen.

He was concerned that the politician wanted to meet with him on the archipelago, not at the Marine Headquarters or Mary Joa. On the other hand, what could Eizen actually know? Only the crew knew when and where they would meet again and so Zoro didn't have to worry, at least not about that...

Suspiciously, he tried to follow the theories of the Shichibukai, but fatigue seemed to win against him, and after he had dozed off twice, the elder strictly urged him to go to bed.

"You're no one to order me around," Zoro grumbled, though he could barely keep his eye open, well aware that Jiroushin giggled softly.

"I am still your teacher, Roronoa. So go or I will bring you into your room personally."

Zoro wanted to counter, but then the Vice Admiral rose and stretched lightly.

"Oh, I'm also pretty tired and I'll be picked up very early tomorrow, so I think I'll accompany you, Zoro. If you don't mind."

Shrugging his shoulders, Zoro surrendered to his fate and followed the other out of the room, the hawk eyes constantly pinned to his back. He was tired, and his injured body rebuked him for sitting on uncomfortable chairs for so long that he barely listened to the cheerfully chatting soldier.

"I will have to leave in the middle of the night, so we probably won't see each other. Perhaps we will not have a chance to talk to each other in peace on the Sabaody Archipelago."

Zoro noted that the other suddenly spoke much more seriously than just seconds before, when Jiroushin had babbled about his child and woman and had made fun of Mihawk's exaggerated worries.

"Is there anything we would have to talk to each other in peace about?" Zoro asked with a yawn, looking up to the blond who had lost his usual grin and remained silent.

They eventually stopped in front of Zoro's room and the other scratched the back of his head.

"I can't deny that I like you, Zoro, and Hawky is really wrapped around your little finger, but you know that." Zoro did not respond. "But you have to be aware that no matter what happened on Kuraigana, none of this changes our two roles in the world. I'm proud to be part of the Marine and for Hawky's sake I've ignored what you've done for the last two years, but once Roronoa Zoro returns..."

"We are enemies," Zoro interrupted the other with ease, "I know. I don't expect any compassion from you, Jiroushin. On the contrary, you should follow your principles and if that means that one day we will face each other in a real fight, then we will fight and I will show my respect for your consideration during the last few months."

The blond looked at him suspiciously, but Zoro just grinned.

"You are not the first Marine I befriended. Because of our roles in the world, we may be enemies, Jiroushin, but I hope we are friends aside from it."

"Of course," Jiroushin muttered directly.

Again, Zoro shrugged his shoulders and turned to the door.

"Then there's nothing more to talk about."

"I'd still have one thing," the elder remarked when Zoro had already half disappeared into his room and turned around wondering.

Embarrassed, the other rubbed his neck before looking at Zoro seriously.

"I don't know how to say it, but... Mihawk is my best friend, I would do anything for him and I have been looking after him all my life. I know you never asked for it, but... he listens to you more than to me and therefore... Mihawk can be very selfish, but in his selfishness he is sometimes very selfless when it comes to the people who are important to him and you are one of them."

Now he seemed almost as serious as the Shichibukai, and Zoro decided not to degrade the determination of the other with some snarky comment.

"You know, Zoro, there is a saying in the Dracule family that you have to bear every responsibility you once took, whether you like it or not. It is one of the few rules that Mihawk takes seriously, and even though I know that it does not apply to you, I hope..."

"What's your point, Jiroushin?"

Surprised, the other's green eyes widened before he smiled slightly.

"Wow, the two of you really are similar. Mihawk as well always interrupts me when I start babbling. What I want to say is that every friendship also entails obligations and I know you didn't ask for that. You are not responsible for Mihawk, but I would like to ask you to take care of him, especially if I can't. Hawky listens to you when he doesn't listen to anyone anymore, so I ask you..." Suddenly, the soldier bowed to Zoro. "... even if it's not your responsibility, you're the only one who can protect Mihawk from himself and I can't lose my best friend, so please - please - don't let something happen to him if you can prevent it."

Zoro looked at the other for a long second. He didn't like people bowing to him, there was the impression that he was standing above them, and he didn't like picking orders.

"Mihawk is a grown man and absolutely able to make his own decisions," Zoro said clearly as the other straightened up. "His decisions only concern him and even if you may ask me to do so, I'm not going to meddle with his decisions, even if they're absolutely idiotic."

He could see the other one getting pale.

"However, I would like to assure you that I owe Mihawk my life several times and insist on paying back this debt. I will not allow him to die until I have paid my debt. That means no matter how shitty his idea should be, I'll make sure he won't die over it."

Then Zoro reached for the small cross of his necklace. He would soon have to hide it somewhere where nobody would notice it.

"In addition, I have already lost too many friends to risk another one. So you can be reassured. You know, he's not the only one who has had to wait more than 15 years to meet an equal. So don't you think I'm willing to wait another 15 years for someone else to show up."

He looked resolutely at the other.

"I do not allow Mihawk to die until I have defeated him, and after that it will be my job as the stronger one of the two of us to protect him as my friend, just as I would protect all my friends with my life. This has nothing to do with responsibility and duty, Jiroushin, that is quite simply my decision. Good night."

He went in and closed the door in front of the Vice Admiral.