CHAPTER 5
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Diary of Dracule Mihawk, entry #955:
I shall need to take them both out to Notson Ear to get more food and some new clothes. I am certain that Roronoa has been wearing the same outfit since he arrived. And he smells funny.
Ghost Girl appears to have found some musty old clothes in the castle somewhere – they look really ancient – and she wears them on the days she washes her usual clothes. They look terrible on her.
… … …
Zoro tapped his foot impatiently and mumbled something under his breath.
Mihawk looked at the clock. "Go fetch her, Roronoa. I'll meet you at the boat."
"Why me?"
"Because," said Mihawk, taking his hat off the hat rack and placing it carefully on his head, "I am Hawkeye, the Warlord Dracule Mihawk of the Ouka Shichibukai. And you are just Roronoa Zoro, miserable pirate hunter."
"Miserable?!"
But Mihawk merely walked away, his cloak billowing behind him.
Grumbling, Zoro mounted the stairs. He yelled, "Oi, Perona! Get down here! We're leaving!"
Her door swung open just as he arrived there (thus depriving him of a perfectly good, loud banging-on-the-door moment). She held what looked like a long piece of paper rolled up in her hand.
"Oh, stop your shouting!" she said, starting down the stairs with him. "It's not my fault that Mihawk suddenly decided this morning that he wants to go to Notson Ear! I need time to write out a shopping list!"
"Women!" said Zoro, rolling his eyes. He received a smack on the back of the head for that. "Ow! I could have fallen down the stairs, you know!"
A hollow floated round him, giggling. He wished it was solid so he could strangle it.
"I'll have you know that most of this list is stuff for you two men!" She loosened her hold on the piece of paper and it unrolled itself.
He took the list from her. Perona had written it in kanji and kana but he could recognise some of the words now.
"Bread. Meat." He squinted. The hollow hovered over his shoulder, as though it was trying to read the list as well. "Something-or-other oil. Fish. Fruits. Onions. Carrots. Soap stock."
"Soup stock," she corrected him. "What is soap stock in the first place? Soap itself is further down the list. The other one was cooking oil."
He skimmed the rest of the list. "Don't know what this is… Or that… No idea. No idea. Whatever. Bandages."
"Of course you'd mostly recognise the food. Medication and simple household items? Not important to you. Still, at least you can read more than just 'sake' and 'katana' and those other few words now. Your vocabulary was bizarre…"
Zoro ignored her comments and went on reading. As far as he could tell, it was mostly food, first aid supplies, and new clothes – and household items too, since she said so. The last item on the list was books.
"Books?" he asked. "What books do you even need? Doesn't Mihawk have enough for you?"
"I am not as obsessed with swords and fighting as you two are," said Perona, unfurling her umbrella.
Zoro didn't understand her frequent use of the umbrella – it wasn't as though it was very sunny or very rainy in Shikkearu, or indeed the whole of Kuraigana. It was usually just… Cloudy.
Perona went on: "I should much prefer to have some other reading materials. Perhaps some romantic tragedy or a good, chilling horror story! I wish I'd brought my books from Thriller Bark with me." She sighed. "We also need to find you some easier books to read. The ones Mihawk gave you are full of difficult kanji! And you're probably sick of reading out of Ghouls of the Grand Line. Don't give me that look – I know you're sick of it because your expression every time you see the book tells me as much. Maybe there'll be some children's books – stories with sword fights and stuff like that."
That last remark was unexpected. An odd feeling crept up on him. Perona really wasn't that bad once one got used to her… Even if she did get screechy when she was mad.
The hollow looked at him and giggled again.
They had left the castle grounds now and were approaching the forest. He might have defeated all the humandrills once before, but they still inhabited the forest and it was always unwise to assume perfect safety in the wilderness. Zoro's left hand came up to rest on the hilt of Wado Ichimonji.
Perona must have seen the motion because she asked, "Where are the other two swords today?"
Zoro replied, "Mihawk's instructions. I am to focus on using one sword only for now."
"I see."
They walked on for a little while before she said, "So why that one?"
"This one?"
"You seem to like it a lot."
He glanced down at Wado Ichimonji. Was it that noticeable that he had a special preference for this particular sword? He ran his thumb over the material at the hilt and thought of Kuina.
A sharp tug on his shirt sleeve startled him out of his reverie.
"This way, silly!" Perona dragged him back onto the path. "Are you not even able to follow a path? If I wasn't here, how would you find your way to the boat? Then again, Mihawk probably wouldn't let you wander around alone…"
… … …
Mihawk sighed. He had resigned himself to playing the role of financial benefactor, but that didn't mean he particularly liked it. Zoro had arrived on Kuraigana without a penny on him, and Perona had only had a purse containing a few hundred beris. Those meagre funds of hers had been depleted on their first trip out of Kuraigana, which had taken place a week after Mihawk had returned from Marineford, and after he'd agreed to train Zoro.
This time, on his second trip out with them, he doled out three thousand beris to Perona, and one thousand to Zoro. His student objected vehemently to this apparent unfairness. Mihawk responded by saying that Perona had a whole list of necessities to buy for them all, and that he expected her to spend no more than a thousand or so on herself.
"If I gave you the same amount," he said, giving Zoro a cool but hard look, "you would spend half of it on alcohol and then spend another lot of money on some sort of bulky bag in which to carry your alcohol, leaving you with maybe only fifty beris for important things – like clothes."
Zoro bit his lip, unable to deny the truth of it. Perona placed the money carefully in her bag, gloating silently.
"I insist that you get yourself new clothing, Roronoa. There is no need for you to walk around looking like a beggar, with worn old clothes that reek."
Zoro looked outraged. "I do not 'reek'!"
"You do," said Perona. Mihawk fought the urge to burst out laughing at her matter-of-fact manner.
Zoro rounded on her. "What did you say?"
"That reminds me. I need to add perfume and deodorant to the list." She whipped out a pencil and scribbled on her shopping list. "It was better when you were laid up in bed and couldn't do anything much. You didn't sweat as much then, and so you smelled much better. You should shower more often."
Mihawk allowed himself a half-smile. "Well, Ghost Girl, I leave him in your charge. Make sure he gets all the things he needs. And make sure he doesn't get lost. No arguments, Roronoa. It's obvious that your sense of direction is abysmal. Go with her, and stay with her. Don't make me chain you two together."
They both looked horrified at the idea of being chained together. Mihawk rather enjoyed their expressions.
"You can help her carry all the things she needs to get. I will meet you two at seven at The Drunken Squirrel." He jerked a finger towards the bar nearest the dock.
Then he added, "Remember – Marines rarely come here but it would be wise to not go flaunting your abilities about. Especially you, Roronoa. Your face is unfortunately getting to be rather well-known. There'll be no need to call attention to yourself."
As he walked away, he heard Zoro grumble, "I do not smell!"
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A/N: A bit short, I know! ^^; But the original chapter felt too lengthy so I split it in two...
Shoutout to my guest reviewers whom I can't thank personally: I really really appreciate your leaving a comment(s)!
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