Hey everybody^^

so, here it is! It's not the last chapter, but as the title says, it's the day, Zoro leaves, after two long and yet short years. I hope you will enjoy.
(And thank you for all the PMs I received after the last chapter, didn't expect that. I will try to answer them all in time, but please be patient^^)

Have a great week and see you friday!


Chapter 56 - Departure

-Zoro-

Deeply sighing, he stopped and turned around one last time; he regarded the bed in the pale daylight and let his gaze glide over the empty shelves and the tidy room.

This was his last day on Kuraigana, today he would leave and who knew if and when he would ever return to this room again. It was hard for him to admit it, but somehow he didn't really want to leave.

Well, of course he wanted to leave, he could hardly wait to finally see his friends again. He could hardly wait to finally set sail again with the others and see this brave new world. Like a small child, he was looking forward to moving back to the Thousand Sunny.

But at the same time, he looked at this space melancholy. This room here had been his room for two years.

Zoro had never had a real home. He had spent his first years at some temple he could never return to. He couldn't even recall the village where he and his mother had lived for a short time and he didn't regret leaving it.

Most of his life Zoro had spent at the dojo of his master Koshiro in the East Blue, and as soon as he would fulfill his promise, he would visit the village Shimotsuki and Kuina's grave, but in the end it was her home, not his.

No, unlike most of his crew, Zoro had never a home where he could have return to, where someone was waiting for him, he had no family, no friends waiting for him, just a generous teacher who was probably not thrilled that Zoro had become a pirate. A generous teacher who had probably mourned him when the news of Zoro's death had been spread throughout the world.

Zoro owed a lot to master Koshiro, and he hoped that he would smile when he would find out that Zoro was still alive, and Zoro wanted to face him with pride one day, and yet...

This here will be your room from now on. This is not a temporary room, no guest room. This room now belongs to you with everything that it offers. This here is your room.

Kuraigana had become Zoro's home, this plain room had been his room and only now he understood what the others must have felt when they had decided to follow Luffy.

Zoro did not know if he would ever come back to this room here, but only that the possibility existed filled him with a strange feeling that he could not describe in the least.

Shaking his head, he turned around and threw the duffle bag over his shoulder. All things meant for Lady Loreen were already in the entry hall and would be loaded by the soldiers as soon as the Marine ship would arrive. All these things would come back to Kuraigana.

What Zoro would take with him on his journey, all that was in this bag on his shoulder. He didn't need much in his life, never had, and the lavish way the Shichibukai lived hadn't changed that much.

Closing the door behind him, Zoro walked down the hallway, the three swords on his hip vibrated excitedly, they knew that real fights were awaiting them, and even his otherwise gentle Wado-Ichi-Monji seemed to happily await the future. More joyful than Zoro himself, as it seemed to him.

Of course, he would not be able to leave the island in this form, Zoro would have to transform into Lady Loreen beforehand, whether he wanted to or not, and he would do so, later. Before that, Zoro had one more thing to do that he didn't want to do as Loreen, he had to take care of that as himself.

As he walked through the entry hall, Perona walked by, still dirty from her gardening work, and wiped the dirt from her apron.

"There you are," she said hastily, not even stopping. "I'm done with the garden now and will take a quick shower and change, afterwards I can help you to get ready. The warship should arrive within two hours. Is all your stuff here?"

She stopped at the door and looked at him seriously.

"Yes," he replied briefly, annoyed that she acted like she had to look out for him. "Where is Mihawk?"

"No idea, how am I supposed to know? I was outside all morning." She rolled her eyes and folded her arms. "If he's not here, he's probably still in the library, right? Or in the fireplace room or in his rooms..."

"He's not there," Zoro murmured, "I just checked his rooms."

"Then probably in the library or in the fireplace room," Perona replied with a shrug of her shoulders and hurried on.

Zoro did the same and walked over to the library. There he knocked briefly before stepping in and dropping the bag to the ground.

The Shichibukai stood on the other side of the large round table, on which he had just placed Josei. Next to it were the necessary utensils needed for cleaning a sword and for half a second Zoro felt how his stomach clenched. He had liked those evenings when they had cleaned and nurtured their swords together and had discussed the advantages and disadvantages of the various tools. Such evenings would no longer exist from now on.

"Oh, Roronoa, there you are. Have you packed everything you need?" Mihawk showed off his subtle smile as he closed the small oil bottle.

"Please tell me this is not all you take with you," he remarked with his eyebrow raised and nodded over to Zoro's bag. "It is impossible to fit all your belongings into that."

"It's more than I need," Zoro replied simply. "Are you sure you don't want to accompany me?"

For a moment, the Shichibukai's eyes grew large and he looked at Zoro with his mouth slightly open, before calmly shaking his head and turning his gaze away.

"But Roronoa, are you getting sentimental at the end of your stay?"

"Tze, nonsense," Zoro denied. "It's just common sense. I think it would seem odd for Lady Loreen to travel without Hawk Eyes and because of the meeting with Eizen I will arrive more than ten days before the others. Ten days we could still use if you..."

"Use for what, Roronoa?" Once again, the elder showed this annoying smile. "For some lastminute practice? Do not be ridiculous. Even if you try to conceal it, I can see that the broken bones are not completely healed yet and I am not going to risk anything before they are."

"But..."

"Roronoa, we are not going to spontaneously change the plan that has been settled on for weeks. Farewell is always hard, believe me, I know that."

"Oh, just shut..."

He fell silent when Mihawk held his sister's sword towards him and interrupted their banter with a quiet sigh.

"I never thought I would actually ever give it to somebody else," Mihawk whispered, just looking at him.

"Are you sure I should take it?" Zoro asked, putting a hand on his swords. "I have mine."

"Oh no, I told you it is yours if you can master it." The Shichibukai walked around the table and handed him his sister's sword. "And you have, even excelled in doing so. It would be unfair to use Josei for two years for training purposes and then deny it a real fight."

Zoro took the disobedient sword.

"Furthermore, none of your swords are currently able to adequately protect you as Loreen. Only Josei is strong enough to compensate for your lack of strength."

Mihawk laughed quietly as Kitetsu on Zoro's hip started to clamor.

"Given how badly it yearns for your death it is quite jealous," he smiled while Zoro carefully stowed the given sword in his duffle bag.

"Let me give you one last piece of advice on your journey, Roronoa." Now Mihawk sounded like the annoying teacher Zoro over time had learned to appreciate. "Over the past few months, I have prepared you to meet opponents who are superior or difficult to estimate. But especially of the former not many are in the world that you need to be wary of."

Zoro did not respond. Even if the other sounded quite snobby and arrogant, somehow it was also pretty cool to hear such praise from his soon-to-be opponent. Zoro didn't want to think too much of himself, but oh yes, he was kind of proud right now.

"Most of the enemies you will face, will be obviously inferior to you. Hardly any of them will be stronger than Jiroushin, and if they are, not much."

This statement surprised Zoro a bit. It had been a long time since he had surpassed the Vice Admiral, and yet he had great respect for Mihawk's best friend. Still, he couldn't prevent from being a bit disappointed.

"What do you mean by that?" He muttered. The Shichibukai could not seriously believe that...

"While Jiroushin and I were traveling together, there were rarely moments when I actually had to intervene. Few people are willing to go as far as we do, Roronoa, and accordingly few are as strong as we are."

"What's your point?" Yes, Zoro was quite proud of what he had achieved, and yes, he was damn proud of the other saying something like that, but at the same time it sounded pretty vain and he didn't need a lesson in arrogance. If the elder wanted to teach him something, at least it should be something useful.

"Tze, Roronoa," Mihawk complained at once. "What I want to say is that for the last two years you have been preparing to meet stronger enemies, but now you should prepare for most of your enemies to be weaker, and even if you do not underestimate them, it would be more than negligent not to hold back if necessary. You could do great damage with your present strength."

In fact, the Shichibukai sounded almost anxious, almost more serious than usual, but that was actually impossible.

"Your talent, to be able to quickly assess the skills of your opponents, will certainly be of use in this regard. But be aware that you must always..."

"... Control myself, when I fight against weaker ones, I know," he interrupted the other. "You forget that I'm not like you. I ca fight well against weaker enemies and still have my fun. So don't worry about such nonsense."

The Shichibukai snorted quietly: "Well, if you say so, but remember that I have warned you. You have changed a lot during the last few months, Roronoa, but the world is still spinning as slowly as before; do not expect it to keep up with you."

Zoro raised only an eyebrow, but did not respond, and so they looked at each other for a moment, before Zoro shrugged his shoulders and slowly exhaled.

"Well, then I have to get ready now and then I'll get going," he remarked, bowing sharply. "I am indebted to you, more than I can or will put into words. So, see you."

"Wait, Roronoa!" The other put a hand on his shoulder when he was about to throw the bag over his shoulder again. "Is this your way of saying farewell? You cannot be serious."

Sighing, Zoro threw the bag back to the ground and turned around.

"Farewell? Seriously? Don't make such a big thing out of this. As if we would never see each other again. Tze, idiot. We both know that in a few months, at the latest in a year's time, I will be back and challenge you."

The other took a deep breath.

"One year, you say? Do you really think that will be enough time for you?"

Now Zoro grinned.

"Oh, you've always underestimated me. Surely it will be enough, rather less, if I have it my way."

He could see the elder being relieved.

"So, one year, I think I can wait that long. Even if it saddens me not to hear anything from you for a year. Well... ", Mihawk shrugged his shoulders,"... I will probably follow your adventures in the newspaper."

"What are you talking about?" Zoro murmured – rolling his eye over so much theatricality - and burying his hands in the depths of his coat's pockets. "I know what a control freak you are. You're unlikely to endure the next two weeks here without updates. Besides, I really can do without you chasing me like some overly caring madman all over the world."

The face of the other told him that he had hit the mark. He decisively pulled out the white twin transponder snail the other had given him more than two years ago.

"We will stay in touch, understand? So that you don't go crazy and make Perona suffer. But don't you dare call me every day, because I don't have time for that. I will get in touch if I have time and otherwise I won't, got it?"

The surprise, which had just nominated the other's facial features, was replaced by the calculating glance of a trading partner within a heartbeat.

"So you want to forbid me to call you? You expect me to wait quietly here, even if neither you nor the newspaper will bring me updates about the whereabouts of you and your crew for weeks? Oh Roronoa, I will not agree to that."

Damn it! He had forgotten how relentless the other could be when it came to negotiations. Zoro should never have mentioned this with the transponder snail, but he really feared that this obsessed bastard of a teacher would one day simply show up at the Sunny and cause chaos.

"Na, for all I care. If you don't hear anything for a month, you can..."

"Once a week!"

"What?" He looked at the other in dismay.

"If you do not call every seven days, I will, and if you do not pick up, I will take the liberty to pursue you, after all, I still have your Vivre Card."

"You're crazy," Zoro whispered. "Once a week? As if I had time for stuff like that when I..."

"Oh, please, Roronoa. As you told to me, your everyday life at sea consists of training and sleeping. In between you will probably find two minutes to inform me about your whereabouts. I do not demand a weekly report, I just want to know that you are safe. It would be a terrible disappointment if you died so close to the finish line and I would have wasted the last two years completely in vain training you."

"Tze, as if the past two years would have been a waste of time for you." Zoro took one step forward and grinned at the other. "Or were they?"

He enjoyed how the other hesitated over that challenging question. Zoro knew that the other hated nothing more than a useless waste of time, and he also knew that Mihawk, rated everything that was not of use for his goal as pointless, and his goal was that Zoro would defeat him.

But Zoro also knew...

"They were not," the other finally admitted coolly, "but that does not mean I would deviate from my conditions."

Groaning, Zoro turned away.

"Fine!" He growled, fetching his back. "Fine, we do it your way, but that's it, no further conditions."

The other slowly nodded with a victorious grin on his thin lips, closing his eyes as he was enjoying a fine wine.

Zoro just raised a hand for goodbye.

"Well, since we clarified this, I will go now. Don't bother Perona too much, okay? She's still scared of you and I don't want to hear any complaints. So, see you."

He was already at the door when the other still did not answer him. Zoro knew that it would be wiser to go, that it would be easier not to think about the other's motives and just start his journey. Zoro knew that any enquiries, every hesitation, would now only lead to problems he could avoid, should avoid, which were actually not his and for which he didn't care.

Sighing, he turned around.

Mihawk was still standing at the table, now looking at the floor where Zoro had stood a few seconds ago, a hand supported on the table.

It was obvious that he was carrying out some highly complicated thought processes in his second to none mind, his jaw trembled slightly as he moved it back and forward, concentrated furrows stretched over his forehead and his eyes fixed at the ground in front of him as if he was trying to burn a hole into the stone just with the power of his thoughts.

He was probably aware of Zoro's presence, but he didn't seem to have decided whether to say what he thought, and Zoro hadn't decided whether he really wanted to hear it.

Some seconds passed until Zoro finally decided that he was neither good-natured nor patient enough to wait until the other had arranged his thoughts. If the other man didn't spit out what his problem was, it couldn't be that important and Zoro wouldn't deal with other people's problems if the other couldn't even open up his mouth. Moreover, Zoro did not want the other to open his mouth and speak out his thoughts aloud.

He shrugged and turned to the door again.

"Roronoa."

Damn it! He should have left. Why didn't he just go?

"There is something else... what I need to tell you." The Shichibukai sounded unusually constrained, but Zoro didn't want to know about what was to come. "I admit that it is not easy for me to talk about it, but I do not think it would be fair towards you if I would not tell you."

Mihawk behind him took a deep breath before quietly huffing.

"Seriously, this is not as easy as I hoped," the elder muttered. "Maybe it would be better to leave you ignorant, but now I have already addressed it, so I should just..."

"Hey!" Unnerved, Zoro groaned and turned around. Mihawk met his eyes, both hands clenched to fists and somehow, he seemed even paler than usual. "So first of all, you gabble too much. If you want to say something, spit it out and don't make such a fuss. And secondly, how stupid do you think I am?"

The other opened his mouth slightly, as if he really wanted to answer.

"That was a rhetorical question, you bastard. I know exactly what this is all about and why you're beating around the bush like that."

"You know...?" If somehow possible, the elder became even paler.

"Of course, after all, I'm not a complete moron and you're not exactly discreet. Moreover, it's not as if Perona, Jiroushin, or Kanan were subtle in their remarks. I may not be a genius, but even I can add two and two together."

Oh, if he had known that the other could make such a face, Zoro would have raised the subject much earlier. The mixture of absolute panic and nervousness made Mihawk look years younger and not half as arrogant as usual, at the same time Zoro was only too aware that the upcoming conversation would be a pain in the ass and he had avoided the topic for this very reason.

"Then... then you know how I feel?" Mihawk sounded stunned and he shook his head slightly. "You know that I..."

"Don't say it," Zoro coolly interrupted him. "I don't wanna hear it."

"But..."

"No, now I'm talking, and you shut up. So, Jiroushin once told me that I have to take the feelings of my friends into account, because otherwise I don't appreciate or respect them, and even though I couldn't care less about others' problems, I do respect my friends."

He folded his arms and did not let the other speak at all.

"But to make this clear: I have dedicated my life to my dream and my crew and that means I can and will not take anything or anyone else into account, so you will not say anything now. Because if you say what we both know now, then I have to take that into account, then I have to give you an answer, and I cannot do that, understand? I don't want to have to take your feelings into account and I can't give you an answer, because there is no place in my life for such a thing, neither for you nor for anyone else. It's one thing to choose between the life of my friends and my own dream, but this either-or-question can't include another life that I don't want to put at risk."

Meanwhile, the Shichibukai looked at him almost without expression, analyzing each of his words like a move on the chessboard.

"Therefore, you will not say anything, not today and not in the future. Not because you don't deserve an answer, but because I don't even have one for you, and as unfair as you may find it to deny me the truth, I think it's unfair not to even give you an answer. But that's the truth, I can't take you into consideration, so please don't say anything so I don't have to treat you disrespectfully."

For a long time, the other looked at him, also folded his arms, and then thoughtfully placed a finger on his lips.

Zoro, meanwhile, did not move at all. He had decided to stay and to open this can of worms. He meant every word he had just said absolutely seriously, and he had deliberately used many words so that even a stubborn head like the Shichibukai could understand him. He did not want Mihawk to confess his feelings, but he could not more than warn him. If it was more important for the Shichibukai to tell the truth, no matter the consequences, Zoro would not run away like a coward, but would face him, even if he had no answer.

Because it was exactly as he had said it. He didn't want to and couldn't worry about such things, he didn't care about such things, and he wouldn't risk any words or enticements distracting him from his promise and from his duty.

As always, he withstood the stinging gaze of the hawk eyes, could hardly guess what the other was thinking, and for the first time he wished to know what the other was thinking, so that he would know what to prepare for.

Surely he had not expected the quiet smile that the other gave him, still leaning his index finger against the corner of his mouth.

"These were unusually many words from you, Roronoa," Mihawk said mildly smiling and in the most annoying Hawk Eyes manner.

"Well, you know, the more words I need, the more stupid you usually behave," he answered, replying with a nasty grin.

For a moment they looked at each other in silence, then the Shichibukai sighed and started pacing up and down the table.

"Well," he said with a deep breath. "I do not want to force you into a difficult situation, so I will stay silent."

Inside, Zoro breathed a sigh of relief, but he didn't show any of that.

"Of course, this is nothing but a farce, but you know that. Finally, I know now that you know what I know and..."

"Get to the point."

"Do not be so impatient, Roronoa, you wanted to remain respectful."

"No, I just said I don't want to get disrespectful."

Quietly, the Shichibukai chuckled and then looked over at him from the corner of his eye.

"I bow to your will, Roronoa. But let me ask you one thing: If you ask me in all clarity not to demand an answer from you, since you cannot give me one and do not want to hurt me, do you not already take my feelings into account?"

He had guessed that the other would ask something like this, and yet he was almost surprised.

"To make that clear," Zoro grumbled angry. "This here right now is a pain in the ass and you're an incredibly annoying bastard and I can't wait to wipe that arrogant grin off your face."

He took a deep breath and continued to speak as the other tried to reply: "But as you know, I would never do anything that I would regret later, so even if you're an annoying bastard and all of this really pisses me off - because you're once again really making things more complicated than they are - I'm holding on to the fact that I don't regret anything from the past two years, nothing, got it?!"

The Shichibukai stopped and looked at him seriously.

"You do not regret anything?"

Now it was up to Zoro to laugh quietly before he fetched his bag and threw it over his shoulder, shaking his head.

"Absolutely nothing," he said clearly, leaving Mihawk behind.

-Mihawk-

As the door fell close, he thought he could feel his heartbeat again for the first time. Heavily he rested both hands on the table in front of him and took deep breaths before finally settling down on a chair and rubbing his face.

Roronoa knew. Mihawk did not know since when, but obviously was he neither as subtle as he had suspected nor Roronoa as dull as he always pretended to be. But what was even more astonishing – even more frightening – for him was that Roronoa had accepted it as it was. The younger one had neither made fun of him, nor pitied him, nor rejected him in disgust.

Deeply inhaling, Mihawk leaned back and rubbed through his face again as he gradually realized what had just happened. Then he hit the table.

Again! Again he had underestimated Roronoa, even with something as trivial as Mihawk's own feelings, he had underestimated the other, and he was annoyed that Roronoa seemed to be able to see through him that easily and that he hadn't even noticed it, and Mihawk called himself a tactician and strategist!

At the same time, he could hardly believe the happiness that rushed through him, like an unstoppable tidal wave. The one thing he had lied about to Roronoa all this time, he could now be honest with. Roronoa did not seem more annoyed by the recent developments than usual. No, if Mihawk thought about what had happened, the younger one seemed to have almost waited for him to address it.

If Roronoa really did not want Mihawk to talk about his feelings, he would have just left after taking Josei, right? So, if he had willingly waited, what could...?

"What did I tell you about doors and privacy?" He did not even look up when the projection of Perona slid halfway through the wall behind him. "In addition, this technique loses its validity when you are so easily noticed."

She clicked her tongue quietly – something she had clearly copied from him – and floated into his field of vision.

"This way is just faster, okay? The Marine ship has just arrived, and I still have my hands full with Zoro. You have to open the door."

"Excuse me?"

He could hardly believe what she was saying, and as her projection blurred for a second, he knew that she was trembling with fear.

"It's not my fault, okay?" She justified herself now, her voice higher than seconds before. "I'm still taking care of Zoro's hair and we need a few more minutes. It was agreed that he would come directly to me after packing, what can I do if you keep him from... oh... "

He covered his face with both hands and rolled his eyes as she put two and two together.

"Oh! You talked about it? Finally?!"

It was quite pathetic that his behavior had been so obvious that even the ghost girl had seen through him, yet Mihawk had actually believed he had been behaving inconspicuously.

"And?" She had to hover right in front of him, so loud and close was her voice. "What did you say? What did he say? How..."

"I would advise you now to remain silent, Perona. Ask Roronoa if you are that curious, but do not test my patience, especially today."

His good mood had faded within a split second. For now, he realized that Jiroushin had been right from the beginning. He had only been able to take Roronoa's own thoughts and feelings into account to the extent that he had suspected them. But he had been mistaken, and if he had found the courage earlier and had told Roronoa the truth earlier, he could have enjoyed this new feeling of harmony and confidence for so much longer.

But now Roronoa's departure overshadowed this little happiness. Yes, the younger one had not rejected him and had even allowed him to keep in touch, but one way or another things turned out just as Mihawk had feared from the beginning, Roronoa was about to leave him behind, as determined and discussed from the very beginning.

He stood up and ignored the wobbling projection of his beneficiary as he left the room. He wished Roronoa would stay, even though he knew full well that the younger one had to go to be happy.

But again, he was the one left behind, as by all the few people who had ever been important to him. Of course, it was not Roronoa's intention, not even his responsibility, but it still hurt.

On the way to the grand entrance door of the castle, he took cloak and hat with him, showing himself as the Shichibukai that the soldiers feared when he opened the doors.

The soldiers came, intimidated and insecure, followed his cold orders without even being able to look at him, took the luggage of the honorable Lady Loreen as quickly as they could, and rushed back to the ship.

The Rear Admiral, who came up the steps to him a little later, hardly seemed less impressed, even if he tried to hide it much better. Mihawk did not know him, even if, he was not interested, but he asked for the name and looked at the young man dismissive.

"I will only say this once," he explained coolly, pointing to the soldier, who seemed barely older than Roronoa, "should something happen to my associate on the way to the Sabaody Archipelago, I will eliminate you and the whole crew of your ship, have I made myself clear?"

Now the soldier's lost his poker face.

It was not surprising that someone like him had been sent, it was not an exciting or even dangerous mission, at the same time the more experienced soldiers were not stupid enough to expose themselves to his wrath, so they had sent a novice, as a kind of test of courage or even just for general amusement.

He did not care, no matter why this boy had come, Mihawk hated to entrust those dear to him to the Marine and everyone should know that.

"And once again you exaggerate excessively."

He forgot to breathe for a second as the door opened to the entrance hall and Roronoa came out. Perona had once again outdone herself and he wondered why she had done this. For traveling Lady Loreen needed rather practical clothes and there was no one Roronoa needed to impress today.

So, it was obvious that she had done it only because of him, and although he disliked it, she had not failed.

The training of the past years showed its fruits also in this figure, Mihawk thought, elegant physical tension and every step as light as a feather; whether Roronoa wanted to or not, at least in high heels and in this body he moved like a dancer and Perona had made sure that he looked that way as well.

But the gaze Roronoa placed on him was, as always, the same. No matter what fine dresses Perona put him in, no matter how magnificently she painted his lips and no matter how perfect she put his green curls in position, Roronoa and his stinging eyes were still threatening.

Then Roronoa turned to the Rear Admiral and, as so often, he seemed to merge perfectly with his role.

"Please don't let his words trouble you. It gives him security to threaten other men."

Mihawk coughed. He was used to Roronoa mocking him and especially as Loreen he sometimes said things that Mihawk would never have expected of the youngster, but that just now...

The Rear Admiral bowed swiftly and rushed to the pier.

"What was that supposed to mean, Roronoa?" He grumbled dissatisfiedly as the soldier was far enough away. "I know it was my idea to let Lady Loreen be Hawk Eyes' weakness, but..."

"It had nothing to do with Lady Loreen or Hawk Eyes," Roronoa coolly interrupted him, but his eyes sparkled evil, telling Mihawk to be careful, "it was the simple truth, bastard."

Before Mihawk could reply, Perona came out of the castle with two oversized suitcases, and even though he had hoped that meaningful words would accompany this heavy farewell, he was not surprised that Roronoa just nodded at him and then walked down the stairs with Perona.

It did not suit Roronoa to postpone a farewell through grand speeches and it was always easier for the one leaving, not for the one left behind.

So Mihawk stood there, watched the great Marine ship in the distance, and felt this empty feeling settle in him. The rational voice in the back of his mind questioned all the decisions and discussions in which he had spoken out against accompanying Roronoa to the Sabaody Archipelago, but he knew full well that this decision had been the correct one.

Two years ago, it had been a torment for him to bring Roronoa back to his crew; he was aware that this time he would not be able to simply be the silent observer, so he stayed behind.

As he stood there, he watched the Humandrills gradually come out of the shadows of the trees, some of them running to the shore and waving after the ship, apparently mourning the departure of their master.

Unlike Mihawk, they showed their feelings quite unashamed, some of them even seemed to cry, others rushed to the garden tools and began to continue their work tirelessly but blindly.

They were always like this, when Perona left, even if she would come back after a few days, each time the primates behaved as if their world were about to collapse and this time Mihawk could not even blame them.

Suddenly one of the primates came up to him and offered an almost clean handkerchief.

"Oh please," he dismissed the primate. "I am not like you."

He turned around and walked back into the castle, pushing the doors shut behind him. For the first time in a long time he was alone in his home, he could now do whatever he wanted, no longer had to argue with annoying residents or care about early training hours.

It should be a relief. Mihawk had never liked the position as a teacher – mainly because of the bothersome work and his lack of patience – and now he should be grateful that this phase of his life was completed.

Slowly, he walked through the castle until he reached his room, where Yuro was already gently humming. He pulled up a drawer underneath and took out a small white transponder snail, which he put in his pockets, before taking his sword and leaving the room, constantly haunted by the cold stone walls.

Arriving in the garden, he settled next to the cherry tree seedling in the grass and placed the black sword next to him.

"I was supposed to call Jiroushin," he muttered, knowing full well that his childhood friend would forever mock him for having been right once.

Quietly he sighed and lay back, trying to enjoy the rare rays of sunshine, but it hurt, and it cost all his willpower not to jump up and rush after Roronoa.

"Hopefully, they won't be attacked by pirates."