"A travelling music group?" Shanks repeats. "That's amazing!" A smile spreads on his face. The fire crackles in front of them. Most of Shanks' crew have fallen asleep or passed out by now. "Didn't know you were such a gentleman." He nudges him with an elbow playfully.
Mihawk does not look up from his empty mug but Shanks could have sworn that the corners of his lips curled up slightly.
━ 25 years ago
"You're awake," Mihawk stated.
She slowly opened her eyes and blinked a few times, adjusting her eyes to the darkness. Her gaze fell on him and she grimaced. "What are you doing here?" she spoke. "If you weren't there, I would've taught that guy a lesson. We're not doing this for free."
"It was good," he remarked. "Your performance."
She raised an eyebrow at his answer and smirked slightly. When she tried to sit up, she felt a stinging pain in her stomach. "I'm at my limit..." she groaned while clutching her sides.
After hearing that, Mihawk held out his hand with an open palm. "Your leader told me to give you these." On the surface of his hand laid three sugar cubes.
"Only three this time?" She tried to laugh it off but instead she broke out into a coughing fit. "If this keeps up I won't survive for long."
'This time...?' he repeated in his mind. 'Don't tell me...'
"Yeah," she said before he could have thought any further. "I've been living off of sugar for weeks. Nobody seems to be interested in hiring us and they're even less willing to pay." The girl grabbed the sugar cubes out of his hand and chewed them up eagerly. She then peered at Mihawk.
"No need to pity me. I chose this job myself so I'll take the responsibility."
His eyes widened at her statement.
"Even with that mask on I can see right through you," she giggled. "I'm going to sleep. If you're still here the next morning... I'll give you back your coat."
That night Mihawk didn't get a second of rest. He just couldn't fall asleep with all the thoughts swirling inside his head. He had his doubts about this feeble girl being the one wanted by the World Government but the signs were all right in front of his eyes. He read over the letter again. She fit the description perfectly.
To everyone's surprise, he was still there in the morning. He stayed right there on their old ship the morning after as well the morning after that one.
"Umm... I'm not giving you your coat back as long as you stay here, you know?" she said, pretending to be annoyed by his presence.
"That's fine with me," he replied and stifled a laugh. "It's funny how small you look in it."
"Huh?" she retorted, "As if it isn't way too big for you too!"
"I'll grow into it."
"Sure you will," she said as sarcastically as possible.
ஐ
Along with the sunset, she laid down on the wooden planks of the ship, the coat covering her and giving her warmth. Mihawk sat down next to her, leaning back on the railing. He noticed how early she would get tired. Her energy would only last so long before her eyes kept falling shut every second.
"Why don't you go inside and sleep? It gets cold at night," he asked.
She shuffled a bit so she could face him. "The cabin is stored with instruments. We worked hard to get them. If something happens we wouldn't be able to replace them, so it's safer if we lock them up every night." She turned over, closing her eyes and smiling softly. "I'll show you in the morning."
Mihawk watched her silent figure sleep peacefully. After a while, he stood up and walked over to the other side of the ship where the leader was fishing. He took a fishing rod which laid by the side between his hands and joined him.
"Quite calm when she's asleep, eh?" the leader commented. Mihawk glanced at him out of the corner of his eye. He looked exhausted. "Thanks for keeping her company. It's been a while since she was this energetic... Well, as energetic as one could be without any real food." He let out a long sigh and went back to staring at the motionless tackle, hoping something would take the bite.
"How long are you going to keep this up?" Mihawk asked. The leader lifted his head slightly and looked at him questioning. "You should stop before she starves to death."
"Oh?" He raised one eyebrow. "Taken a liking to her? It's nice to be young..."
"It's nothing like that," Mihawk replied a little too quickly.
"Alright, alright." He snickered and retrieved the fishing line from the water. "But it's no use if I tell her to quit. She insisted on joining, saying she's searching for something out on the sea."
ஐ
The next morning she gulped down three sugar cubes she received with water and lead Mihawk to the cabin where the instruments were safely stored. She eagerly unlocked the door with a key the leader gave her and swung it open, presenting a room filled with various types of instruments ranging from a flute to a piano.
Mihawk was astonished by their collection. If someone saw this room they would not believe that the owners were barely scraping by. "This is quite amazing."
"Right? I'm really proud," she replied and squeezed her way over to the piano. "This beauty here is mine," she beamed. After rearranging some of the things, she pulled out a seat, sat down and patted the empty space beside her.
Without bumping into anything, he managed to gracefully walk to her. He took her offer and sat down on the seat next to her. She stared at him gleefully.
"Now what?" he asked.
"We're going to play, of course!"
She flipped open the cover and glided her fingers over the smoothly crafted keys. She began with the basics, showing him how to position his hands and where the main notes were. Soon, Mihawk could play a few simple tunes, all the while with her accompanying him.
He kept glancing at her as he moved his fingers. The way she beamed with joy as she created music with her delicate hands and the smile she wore on her face whilst humming the melody to the song, stirred a new feeling inside him.
A strange, flustering and overwhelming feeling.
✘