𝓒𝓸𝓶𝓯𝓸𝓻𝓽 (one piece x reader)

Chapter 71: Pleasure

The air was cold but bearable. The only light available to us was the moon and the candles he had lit on each side of the boat. Mihawk sat in his chair that was stationed in the middle of the small boat and I sat in front of him on the floor since the boat was designed for only one person.

I shifted my gaze from the water onto the man in front of me. He had his eyes closed and he leaned back in the chair. The man's presence made me think about Shanks and what he was up to.

I wonder if I'll see him anytime soon.

"What is your purpose in going?"

I turn to the older male, "Pardon?"

"What do you wish to accomplish?" Mihawk's eyes were open now as they were cast down at me, observing my body language and facial expression. The tone of his voice felt as if he was testing me rather than asking out of curiosity, "Do you really think you'll be able to save him?"

The waves of the ocean calmed my heart as I removed my gaze from him and onto the beautiful, dark sea, "No."

"Then why go?"

My eyebrows furrowed at the question, my chin resting on my arm that was supported by the wood of the boat. The wood felt nice and cold underneath my skin, making me realize how real all of this was. How a few months ago I would've never guessed that I would be where I am today. "I have to try. I can't give up on him. I can't just leave it to someone else. It doesn't matter if I'm still injured or I'm not strong enough to face an admiral or even a Warlord of the Sea," At this point, I had sat up from my slumped position and I had turned to face Mihawk, "He doesn't deserve execution. He's a good person and he would've done the same for me if the roles were switched." 

***

Your eyes. Mihawk had noticed the difference in your eyes since you two had first met. He didn't know what had happened before you landed on his island, though he could make an educated guess, but he knew it had changed you. 

You were born into tribulations, that much he knew when his eyes first landed on you. The way you carried yourself, the energy you gave off, the way you interacted with people, and the way your guard went up when you two had locked eyes that night. He had heard from a few sources that you were the offspring of two powerful individuals, but even if he didn't he could tell that you were going to be trouble for the Navy. 

He was fine with that. 

Mihawk doesn't have a ton of care for things that most pirates or marines do. In all honesty, he thinks they all care about really trivial matters. Money and fame, none of it mattered in the end. That's why he preferred to go about life on his own. People these days couldn't understand the actual important things in life, they held no understanding of what life was really about. 

When he did find someone who understood this concept, he always held them to a higher standard than the rest of the world. It's why he could tolerate Shanks and his crew, why he always found himself drinking with the redhead, and why he would inform him on certain matters. People like Shanks made it more bearable to be around others. 

He was impressed to see that you were the same. Mihawk had never met your parents and he only ever heard very little about them given that he didn't care about what everyone else was buzzing about. What interested him though wasn't your bloodline or how you were similar to Shanks, it was the fact that you were more complicated. He could tell, for some damned reason, he knew that there was more to you than a kind-hearted woman. 

You were tainted. There was a darker side to you that was waiting to be unleashed. A monster, a powerful being that could wreak havoc on this world if you let it. Mihawk could recognize potential and he saw it in you just as he had seen it in your crew-mate, Zoro. Only you were destined to evolve faster than the swordsman. He didn't know what would motivate you, what in your life would push you harder than anything in Zoro's, but it was inevitable.