Unorthodox Collaboration

Ch.5

-X+O+X-

A single deep crimson leaf was caressed over the ocean on a tepid breeze. Both the deceased foliage and the change of air temperature spoke of the fall island that appeared as a fuzzy gray mass on the horizon. A pale hand reached up to pluck the leaf out of the air. Its stem was twisted between a thumb and forefinger, as the hawk-eyed man they belonged to gazed at it contemplatively.

'The trademark of the city of red autumn- Madrid.' Dracule 'Hawkeye' Mihawk stared at the leaf for a moment longer, before releasing it once more into the breeze. He watched as the tiny bit of red was instantly snatched by the wind. It rose into the bright cerulean sky stretching overhead, which was smeared with white wispy clouds. The little bit of red was free to roam the world. Somehow it reminded him of someone.

Mihawk sighed through his nose heavily, trying to clear his mind before he could dwell any further on past memories. Solitude was the way of life he had lived for a long time, at least until that annoying cotton candy brain had appeared at his castle, along with his new green-haired student. God knows he had to have patience dealing with their company. Only one of them had actually verbally claimed the desire to defeat him, but Mihawk was pretty sure that both of them were trying to kill him.

Now there was this young doctor to deal with. In all honesty, Mihawk wasn't sure what to think of him, at least not yet. He studied the sleeping face, noting the dark marks underneath each eye. 'Either he does not sleep enough, or it is a side effect of drugs. After our forced time together, I am sure the answer will make itself clear.' Doctors usually knew better than to abuse their own products; they knew the devastating side effects painfully well. They were the ones to see to effects firsthand.

-X+O+X-

"Doctor Trafalgar. Wake up."

Along with a deep velvet voice sounding in his ears, something gentle poked the side of his rips, nudging him into full wakefulness. Law flinched, eyelids fluttered open, filling his vision with the bright blue of the heavens. Quickly rubbing the sleep from his eyes with his hands, Law gingerly sat up, his back groaning a dull protest. Blinking back the intense light, which meant he must have slept the entire night, the tattooed warlord squinted at Mihawk irritably. "Why didn't you wake me?"

Mihawk chose to avoid answering the doctor's question, and stood up from his chair. He wasn't about so say, 'because you looked too peaceful,' or, 'you looked like you needed the sleep.' Instead, he announced, "We are here." With a sure step, the master swordsman got off the vessel and onto a wooden pier he had docked his coffin-like vessel at. Thick ropes coiled around the worn out pillars and the occasional crab and dead fish littered the dock. Several hand woven fishing nets lay drying out in the sun along the planks. Fallen leafs saturated in numerous shades of red danced across the aged pier.

Law blinked once, and turned his head towards the city, his gray eyes widening at the impressive sight.

From the glistening expanse of clear cyan water, its smooth glass-like surface sprinkled with bright red autumn leaves, a beach of grayish white sand rose up to wrap around the base of the island. The side they had docked on was obviously some sort of fishing area. There were hundreds of small, ancient, looking fishing boats made from golden oak and adorned with ribbed scarlet sails. Compared to the aged and abandoned area they were standing at, the town was lively. Sprawling further up from the beach, and half shadowed by a mountain, terracotta and brick buildings were splayed outward in a complex network of streets, shops, and houses. Clothes lines, hanging colorful fabrics on their strings, stretched over the cobble stone paths like bright flags.

Thanks to the steady incline of the land, the town forum could be seen, even from this great distance. It was a broad circle, the heart of the town, and the center for trade. All of the main roadways seemed to lead away from it. A particularly large one headed into the direction of the sea towards a busier and well-kept harbor. Several vendors had set up their carts, shops, and stalls along this roadway. If there wasn't a building or a shop set along the roads, there were great big maple trees, all with deep red leaves.

Looking further up, there were a few terraces stretching across the farmlands near the base of the mountain. Water in these farmland patches reflected the bright noon light, hinting that they were most likely rice patties. A brown path could be seen winding through all of the farm land, leading up to one massive church erupting out of the mountainside. It was a faded red, almost a warm pink, with hints of green at its sides, and adorned with several spires, the tallest bearing a church bell and a large cross on the tip of its spire. Above it all was the white capped mountain, its peak sharply sloping up to pierce the heavens. Only a god could dream of climbing such a perilously steep summit.

Mihawk watched as Trafalgar Law's mouth slightly gaped open, gray iris' sparkling with a sense of awe that the older man found amusing. When he had first set eyes on Madrid, he too had been impressed. He probably had made a green faced expression not to different from his younger counterpart. That was a long time ago; around a time when he had admittedly been younger, and far more unworldly.

"Come along."

The deep voice of the master swordsman pulled the doctor from his sightseeing. Law quickly scrambled onto the pier, the ancient boards creaking underneath of his booted feet. His back ache was long forgotten. Just the thought of adventuring into a new territory with 'Hawkeye' Mihawk put energy behind his steps and quickened his pulse.

-X+O+X-

Two warlord's trekking through the streets of any public place of course turned some heads, but the people of Madrid were a lively bunch and quickly continued with their own business. Still, some of the more adventuress outlaws and pirates hanging around edged their hands near their blades at the thought of taking down a warlord or two. The wiser of the troublemakers made the decision to stay away from the darkly cloaked men, each with two giant swords on their backs. Needless to say, the pair was acquiring quite a bit of attention that day.

'We will have to do something about that,' Mihawk mused as he navigated through the crowds. He could feel the doctor sticking close to his back, because the shear amount of people prevented them from walking side by side. That and he was the more experienced one here. Hopefully having the younger warlord stick close to him would prevent Trafalgar from getting lost. His involvement with losing a certain haramaki-wearing fool on the frequent occasion made him wary.

Trafalgar Law was noticing they were getting much unwanted attention as well. It would be bad if their target took notice of them before they found them, or even identified the supposed cult. 'Perhaps a disguise is in order.' They always seemed to work so well. Also, the both of them had been made to sign an agreement form. It would assure they would not unnecessarily, or deliberately, scare the living shit out of any civilians or residents, in Admiral Kizaru's own words of course.

They continued to walk down a quieter cobble stone path, following a quiet aqueduct of glittering clear water with only the occasional crimson leaf disturbing its smooth surface. A cool breeze blew over the water, rustling the leaves of the maple trees and the occasional grand oak mixed in. The sun sat directly overhead, filling the autumn climate with a pleasurable level of warmth. Vendors and the shopping crowd kept to the main streets, allowing the two warlords to walk side by side comfortably.

"Hawkeye-ya, where are we going?"

"A Hotel."

'H-hotel…?' Law nearly tripped over a jutting cobblestone that stuck a bit too far away from the others, but he was light enough on his feet that he swiftly recovered. 'No… it makes sense, he wouldn't want a hotel for that kind of reason…right? It isn't like he is a pervert like Doflamingo.' They probably would be forced to stay for a long time considering the nature of their mission, so having somewhere to sleep was necessary.

Mihawk noticed the surgeon's slight misstep, but he chose to ignore it. However, he was not able to ignore the low gurgle that sounded from the young warlord. Trafalgar flinched at the sound, but other than that made no comment. Several moments passed in silence, only the consistent intervals of gurgling that seemed so out of place disturbed the peace. Was it just the hawkeyed man's imagination, or were they getting louder? Even the doctor was starting emit low wavelengths of discomfort from the noises.

Finally Mihawk stopped in the middle of the path, sighing through his nose as he placed a hand over his face. Trafalgar came to a halt a second later. The master swordsman watched as the younger man's expression briefly flickered over into one of surprise before reigning back in into his passive stare. Resisting the urge to grimace, Mihawk uttered as casual as possible, "Are you…hungry?"

Law immediately looked towards the ground. The bill of his spotted hat shaded his reddening face. Did he make the greatest swordsman on the Grand Line stop because of him? That thought alone was purely maddening. Goddamn the basic human needs!

"…no."

*gurgle*

'Fucking hell -dammit- goddamned - traitorous- intestinal noises!'

"…when is the last time you ate."

'When is the last time I…what?!' Law looked up at the older man in surprise. A pair of golden eyes was narrowed at him, giving him a stern look. Suddenly he felt like he was being scolded. 'Awkward…' Actually, Law had to think about that question. Raising a tattooed hand, Law slowly unfolded his fingers as he counted the days. "Ehhhh… four days ago… It was lunch… or maybe dinner?" He couldn't really recall. Some days Law got so caught up in his medical work that he lost sight of things like eating.

Oh god if looks could kill. Mihawk's face had instantly turned darkly serious. If Boa Hancock was famous for kicking small rabbits aside, then 'Hawkeye' Mihawk would be famous for killing adorable baby bunnies that practiced world peace with one angry look.

"You…" Something like annoyance flashed over the master swordsman's face, the harbinger to the torrent that was sure to unfold. "We are stopping for lunch."

'I am so dead and….say wha?' Law stood rooted in dumbstruck shock for a good ten seconds, so he had to run to catch up the older man, who was already moving towards their unknown destination.

-X+O+X-

The two warlords had found a quiet bistro near a residential area that was out of the way of the shopping crowd. Only a few small children were playing on the cobblestone path curving around the buildings. They had stopped at a small family owned restaurant and it was relatively empty thanks to the odd time of day; too late for lunch, but too early for dinner. Just a few ancient looking fishermen sat reading the newspaper and enjoying their spiced drinks, occasionally laughing and giving advice to the boys playing a game in the street. The two warlords, sitting across from each other at one of the many round wire tables dotting the outdoor patio, went vastly ignored.

Trafalgar Law frowned at the menu in his hands, glaring at the swirling letters than formed hardly legible words due to the overly fancy scripture. Not that he would have been able to read the menu anyway. All of the food items appeared to be in some strange language. There was also the pressing issue that this restaurant only appeared to serve alcoholic beverages. Law admittedly may have a bit of a problem when it came to alcohol, but he wouldn't risk looking like a lightweight punk in front of his hero. He briefly looked up from the folded piece of paper at Mihawk, who was placing his hat in the empty chair at their tiny outdoor table. Law caught himself ogling at the hawkeyed man's spikey raven hair a moment before he remembered to remove his own hat.

Mihawk inwardly smirked in amusement as he watched the doctor mimic him yet again. The doctor leaned over to the side, placing his spotted hat into the remaining empty chair. One of Law's tattooed hands quickly ruffled the ebony locks to rid himself of any hat hair. Clicking of heels had the older man's attention redirected to the waitress making her way over to them.

Her long tan legs slinked through the patio furniture with cat like elegance despite her wide set hips. A short skirt, white blouse, auburn hair pulled back in a long braided ponytail, and dark apron completed her look. She came to halt before them, popping a piece of lime green bubble gum with a loud snap as she flipped open a notebook to take their order. "Heya huns, I'm Trisha and I'll be taking yah order today," she said silky, pushing back her bangs as she directed her green hued gaze at Mihawk. She leaned forward as if to hear his order, but it was obvious she was displaying the dark space between her large breasts in blatant flirtation. "What would yah like sir?"

Law hid his face of disgust behind his menu. 'Does she realize he is like, twice her age? And put those boobs back in your shirt. Would it kill you to use more than two buttons, damned skank. I hope you develop severe scoliosis from the weight of your ridiculous mammary tissues.'

Mihawk, completely ignoring the teenager practically overflowing out of her loosely buttoned blouse, voiced, "I'll have your locally made spiced wine and a steak, well-done, if you please." Without so much as glancing at the waitress, he held the menu out to her expectantly while staring at the street with a bored expression.

The brunette waitress's chest puffed up a little in indignation, but she calmly took the menu from him and redirected her efforts on the other gorgeous man sitting at the table. Pursing her red painted lips in anticipation, Trisha sidled up close to Law, nearly leaning over the table, and looked at the tattooed man through her lashes as she practically purred, "And how about you sweetie? See anything…you like?"

With a completely stone faced expression in place, Law decided to just screw trying to read the damned menu and get this harlot out of his face. He could just smell the Trichomoniasis on her- and no, it wasn't just a doctor thing that led him to that conclusion. Somehow the named Trisha suited her oh so very well. Holding up the menu to their eye level, Law settled for pointing at a random item instead of trying to pronounce the damned name. Hopefully whatever he ordered would not have any bread. Oh how Law hated bread…

Trisha blinked once, her neatly groomed eyebrows elevating slightly as a small smile curled the corners of her mouth. Humming a sharp note to herself, she quickly scrawled the order down and then asked, "And what wouldja' like ta drink?"

'Fuck my life.' Law sighed. He was hoping the dumb skank would forget and leave without bringing him a drink. At least then the doctor would have an excuse for not drinking. Adverting his gaze to the street, he voiced, "The same as him," while gesturing at Mihawk.

Not enjoying the lack of attention, Trisha snapped her gum one last time and said, "Yer orders will be out shortly." Both of the warlords didn't so much as spare her a parting glance, much to her increasing annoyance. She disappeared into the kitchen without another word. Deep laughter from the men cooking in the kitchen could be heard behind the swinging doors along with the waitress's angry hisses.

Eventually a young man with curly ginger hair came over balancing a tray. Once he was at their table, he promptly sat the two drinks and a pitcher down in front of the warlords. Both of the glasses had a couple of cinnamon sticks standing in the red wine, and slices of freshly cut citrus pressing against the clear sides. The waiter nervously wiped his hands on his beige apron, giving the two men a halfhearted smile. Dipping his head in farewell, he quickly left for the kitchen, tripping over several chairs before he finally made it.

Law stared at the drink skeptically, eyes lingering on the slices of colorful citrus in the drink. It certainly looked appealing. Mihawk had grabbed an abandoned newspaper from an adjacent table and was drinking his like it was water. Only when the hawkeyed man was refilling his glass did the doctor realize he was staring. 'Dammit.'

To keep himself busy, and not stare at his fellow warlord any more, Law also picked up one of the local newspapers, looking at the front page headline with mild interest.

"Regular Disappearances Continue, no end in sight to the local mystery. Local authorities have turned to the World Government for aid regarding the mysterious disappearances, so far all being local women and one male foreigner. No further connections have been made, baffling the town authorities. Madrid continues to wait for aid regarding the terrible tragedy, and eagerly pray for the safe return of their beloved townswomen."

-X+O+X-

A darkly cloaked figure lurked in the shadows of an always, blending in with the ease of another brick in the wall. From the poorly lit space, he watched the two warlords sitting at the café table unnoticed by the rest of the world. Slowly he raised his mini transponder snail that was mounted on his wrist to his mouth. "Sir. Two warlords have arrived. How would you like me to proceed?"

The poor signal on the other side of the transponder signal took a moment to adjust before a monotone voice manage to come through."…*crackle* *hiss* …Continue to observe. But do not be seen…"

A low groan from the speaker, and grinding screech, sounded in the background, followed my many men shouting at each other. There was also the echoing sound of metal banging against metal. The mini transponder snail gave a brief expression of pain before settling into a blank expression. "Watch their activities and report back to me."

"Yes sir."

-X+O+X-

"Yah orders are ready sirs," Trisha suddenly announced, setting their meals in front of them with a loud clatter. She snapped her bubble gum loudly and gave the two dark haired warlords one last lust filled look. "If yah need anythin' jus lemme know," she purred over her shoulder, slinking her way back through the patio tables to another customer.

Folding his newspaper back up, and placing it to the side, Mihawk drank in the sight of a charbroiled, thickly cut, slab of meat adorning his plate. Dark sauce dribbled off the sides and onto the bed of grilled onions the steak was lying on. 'This looks half decent.' Satisfied with the quality of his own meal, the master swordsman looked up to see what the doctor had ordered.

'…'

'…'

Both of the men stared down at the strange object on Law's plate. It was a rich brown, circular object. Gooey trails of darker brown flowed down what was visible of the sides and onto the white plate. On top of it all was a thick layer of white cream with a cherry placed strategically on top and in the direct center of the object.

'Is that…fucking…pie!? It was actually chocolate pie drizzled with hot fudge and of course the layer of cream to top it off. Law could of course feel the spasm beginning in his eye, but that didn't mean he could do anything to stop it. Oda's burning explosive diarrhea level of shit was he pissed. 'Wait, maybe mentioning shit while looking directly at a dark, brown, chocolate pie wasn't such a good idea…'

Mihawk watched as the doctor's face went from one of appalled fixation to a pale sickened expression of disgust. All of the tan was rapidly replaced by a lack of color and then a undertone of sea green. Law's slate gray eyes were locked on the pie in an overly tense glare. 'Apparently that is not what Trafalgar ordered…' Any normal sane person wouldn't order something that disgusted them that much right? Unless the waitress had it out for him…that or the doctor couldn't read the menu.

The children playing in the street cried out suddenly, the only warning before a black and white blur hurtled directly for the two warlords table. Mihawk and Law just had enough time to see the spherical object before it was directly among them. They both flinched back as the strange object landed in the middle of their table, right on Law's pie, sending an explosion of creamy white splattering the two dark-haired men.

All of the kids, who had been running up to go retrieve their soccer ball, skidded to a halt before the pair of warlords.

Slowly blinking his eyes open, the hawkeyed man thumbed away a bit of the small splatters from his pale face and golden eyes. When Mihawk looked around to evaluate the damage, it was evident that the doctor had taken the worst of the hit. The ball had flown in such an angle that most of the cream had been sent in Law's direction.

To the children who had been playing soccer, the screeching of the patio chair as the tattooed man stood up sounded like a death sentence. Trembling, their eyes remained riveted on the surgeon as large dollops of cream slip down his shadowed face and off his goateed jaw. They gulped as their soccer ball was seized from the pie and taken in between each of the man's two tattooed hands.

Mihawk watched the doctor with a raised eyebrow. White splattered cream dripped off his tan features and onto the table and floors, the sound of cream hitting the surfaces loud in the deathly silence. 'Has Trafalgar finally lost it?' Would their suddenly be three or four less children in the world, or would he just scare them shitless? The master swordsman hoped not, or else the government and Akainu would be sure to get on their ass about it.

Muscles in his hand twitched with barely contained rage as Law robotically made his way to the children. The tap of his boots on the cobble stone emitted a deliberate rhythm equal to that of a funeral procession.

The children's eyes slowly tore themselves away from the cream covered soccer ball, and up into the steel irises of the man towering over them. One of the smaller boys in the back of the group whimpered as he suddenly found himself loosing bladder control. This tattooed man looked holy fucking pissed, no seriously deranged, or at least like a murderous psychopath!

Even the old man sitting at the tables had gone quiet, setting aside their drinks and morning papers. All eyes were on Law. What would become of these poor children?

Extending the soccer ball in his hands towards the largest child in the front, a little girl with bright green eyes, Law slowly ground out, "You seemed to have misplaced this."

All of the children nearly had nearly fainted when the gray-eyed man had spoken, and now they watch in wide eyed shock, their jaws hanging open in disbelief, as the deranged man simply returned their ball! The green eyed girl nervously took the cream covered ball from him, the surface sticking to her hands, and stuttered, "T-Thank you m-mister." Slowly smiles crept back onto the children's faces. They were still alive and their ball had been returned to them!

Law turned and walked back to his table, as he neared his seat, he raised his hand and uttered, "Room …Mes," and sat back down in his chair as a loud bang filled the air, followed by wet splatters hitting the pavement.

All of the old man flinched, utterly appalled at the mess in the street.

Mihawk looked at the street with disbelief, although it hardly showed on his blank face. '…Isn't that going a little too far?'

At first when a blue film had overtaken the group of children, they had been too stunned to react, but now they all yelped as a mini explosion occurred at the front of their group.

"Eeek!" The green-eyed girl yelped as the soccer ball exploded in her hands, sending cream splattering all over their group. For a moment all of the children, now decorated in cream, stared at the tattered remains of their ball. When they got over their shock they slowly raised their eyes, only to see the doctor with the biggest smirk on his face.

'What a troll.' All of the children narrowed their eyes at the doctor, deep frowns dominating their faces, before they all turned away in unison, dragging their feet home in disappointment.

Law took his napkin from his chair, and proceeded to wipe all the cream from his face and the small splatters on his bare chest and jacket. 'The government better not complain. It's not like I killed any of those brats. Dear Oda dealing with children is a pain…' Looking up as Mihawk stood from his char, the doctor flinched when the older man roughly scrubbed a napkin over his hair.

Pulling away, Mihawk sat back down and tossed the soiled napkin on the table when he was done. When he saw the subtle blush running over the younger mans shocked face, he innocently shrugged and deadpanned, "There was cream in your hair."

Law frowned and adverted his gaze down to the table, where there was still his shitty pie. Sighing, he propped his elbow on the table and looked out at the street with annoyance. There was a low gurgle in his stomach that needlessly reminded him that he was still hungry. 'This is going to be a long trip isn't it?'

The older warlord stared at his counterpart at first with amusement. Having the wrong item delivered, which the doctor was obviously disgusted by, and only for it to blow up in his face, was hilarious. That and the cream splatted all over his blushing face was…hilariously suggestive. But then the master swordsman started to feel… sorry for the young man. Pitiful grumbling from Laws stomach solidified Mihawk's decision to act. Though he would later say it was just so that they could get their work done without having to listen to that noise.

"Trafalgar."

Looking over to the hawkeyed man, Law was stunned when Mihawk was holding out a piece of cut up steak to him on a fork. A frown pulled his mouth down as the doctor concentrated on the little piece of offered meat. Was Dracule Hawkeye Mihawk offering to share his steak with him? 'That pie must have had something weird in it…'

"Eat," Mihawk commanded, extending the steak speared on the fork towards his young companion.

For a moment Law was left speechless. His childhood hero was really going to share food with him? It was like a dream come true. "…Thanks Hawkeye ya," Law said, trying not to look directly into those hawk eyes as he took the fork from the older man. When his hand brushed the paler one in the exchange, the doctor thought his heart would explode due to the erratic pulse thundering through his entire body.

Taking Law's fork, which was not currently being used, Mihawk cut up his own piece of steak. As he chewed on the delicious morsel he couldn't help but notice the doctor's sudden bashfulness. 'Weird.' He also couldn't help but notice the doctor had not taken a single sip of his wine during the entire meal. Now that was really weird in the master swordsman's book. Wine was something special that should be enjoyed.

-X+O+X-

"DAAAMMMIIIIITTTT !"

Meanwhile, in the dark recesses of the kitchen basement, Trisha the waitress screamed with unholy fury! Her masterfully constructed plot had been utterly ruined! When that pie had been destroyed by those damned kids, the tattooed man hadn't gotten the chance to eat the pie. She had gone to special lengths to ensure that that chocolate desert would have a very special ingredient. A very special ingredient indeed… good thing it had been a chocolate cake or he might have noticed.

Too bad shit had hit the fan with her plan - or soccer ball in this case.

Sub Authors Note:

Hey guys I am VERY sorry for the late update. But apparently two part time jobs strangled my muse. Now that all the air is rushing back to my head it's spitting out my crazy ideas again. I Hope you guys enjoyed this chapter :). To be continued xD…
I had to cut this one off since it was getting long.

-Love Echo