M-RATED!

SERIOUSLY, I MEAN IT

SAVE ME

The message had pierced him. It was one of the last times that he was ever afraid, before Mihawk learned to separate himself from such a pointless notion, when there was nothing that would ever scare him.

But then it did.

Then, when he read about the capture of the pirate king and the disappearance of his crew. He checked the small piece of paper he had received from the redhead a few months ago and found it had changed to a weird grey color. He knew little about vivre cards or what there were capable of, but one thing he was certain of. He needed to go see her immediately. Shanks was missing and he had the means to find her. And he had to find her.

He got up and left some coins on the table he had previously sat before boarding a ship that was in better shape than the one he had previously claimed and set sail.

He had no idea where he was heading, all he knew was that he had to hope she was in the same blue as he was right now. Her captain was, so maybe he was in luck this time.

Mihawk sailed for days following a small piece of paper. Checking the chart of the East Blue he came to a conclusion that was both worrying and elating. Following a straight line from where the card was pointing was Loguetown. So he was in fact lucky that she was most likely in his reach, but then why had the report said she was missing along with the rest of her crew? Was she really captive as well or maybe planning to free her captain?

Both of these options seemed like she might not make it out alive. And that was enough to put Mihawk on edge, robbing him of the sleep he so much desired and needed.

On the day of the execution he reached the island but had to make his way on foot to the town. Too many ships were anchored in the port and close by. Walking past these he wondered how many were cheering for his death and who was here to honor his legacy. The closer he got to the town the more the commotion grew. The vivre card had changed color over the last few hours slowly turning black and now Mihawk was truly alarmed.

He fasten his steps, sprinting through the cheering crowd. No matter the amount of boats he had hurried past, he would have never imagined the whole town being this full. He wouldn't find her, even with a vivre card, the most accurate and the only reliable compass in the world; he couldn't possibly find her here. Not in time.

Because even from afar he spotted the proud and tall figure of the pirate king walking on a high up platform. His shoulders straight, a grin on his face. Mihawk couldn't help but pause for a second to admire his stance. He could see why Shanks looked up to him; he really was a king, even in his death.

But then he hurried on. If she was the next one to be executed then he had to go rescue her. Because, while Roger was the king now, something in Mihawk told him that Shanks could be a queen one day. The Queen, the only one, he would ever follow. She just couldn't die.

They people around him called out, shouted after him as he relentlessly pushed passed them. But at one point there was no getting any further. And he was speaking; the king gave his last audience to his people. Because Mihawk could see, there were more pirates around than marines and it damped the fierce dread in his chest that people were here to honor the man that held pride even when he was pushed down on his knees.

And when the king was talking, his people would listen; and Mihawk was one of them. His pulse quickened learning of the One Piece but he would exchange that treasure within a second for the treasure he was trying to find right now.

They pierced his chest and the crowd roared, but that wasn't a cheerful rumbling. It was full of anger and Mihawk was ready to defend himself should a riot break out right now.

The crowd grew more restless and while at first that had helped Mihawk to get closer to the platform where the card was pointing him, suddenly he had to steady his stance so that the masses wouldn't drag him back where he had come from. People were leaving, almost fleeing the scene. But Mihawk could see no fear in their eyes but greed.

They were after the One Piece and rushing back to their ships to leave port as quickly as possible. So he drew his sword and suddenly they were gladly letting him pass through them. He did cut a few unfortunate souls that couldn't evade his blade quickly enough, but Mihawk deemed them unworthy of the Grand Line anyways. If they couldn't even save themselves from a defending opponent then he had spared them a gruesome death at least.

The square was clear now, the execution platform cleared as well. Even the blood had been removed quickly. At least they hadn't promptly ended Shanks' life right after her captain, so Mihawk had the hope that maybe she was not captured, not lost out in the ocean but here because she had chosen to be.

And if that was the case then Mihawk had a good idea where she was now. There were many bars near the square but with the card he had found her quickly.

But how careless was Shanks? She was sitting in a bar surrounded by marines, hugging a bottle while a surprisingly amount of empty bottles lay to her feet. So far they were only eying her, unaware of who she really was. But it was only a matter of time before someone would recognize the straw hat on her head and her scarlet hair abd make the connection.

"Mademoiselle?" Calling her by her real name was too dangerous in this environment. And she didn't even look up when he called her. Well. Shanks wasn't really the lady-type of girl so maybe that was why. So he tapped her shoulder.

"Hawky!" She rose and wrapped her arms around him tightly. Mihawk was unsure what to do next. He had thought this was a rescue mission, that her life was in danger. But she was just wasted in a terrible spot. Had that been why the vivre card had changed colors? Had it perceived the latent danger she was in?

"Come, kitten, we are leaving. I have some nice booze on my ship for you." He really hadn't, but Shanks had had enough anyways. She would certainly disagree, but he could be tenaciously convincing when he really tried.

"Oy, let that woman down, boy."

Mihawk glared at them. He had his arm wrapped around her to steady Shanks so he was limited to Kogatana. Not that this crowd needed anything else. But his reasoning urged him to keep a low profile.

"You were the ones leering at my girlfriend, yes? You better keep your dirty hands off her before my knife gets some blood. It's thirsty you see."

Finally Shanks grabbed his shoulder so dragging her away was easier now. But still too much to get her all the way to his ship. A room would be better but he didn't want to linger around. There were too many highly alerted marines nearby and with his luck the rooms would be booked anyways. So he threw her on his shoulder with little delicacy, still irritated that he had come here for nothing. She wasn't even in any kind of shape to spare with him.

At first Shanks struggled against him carrying her this way, then she whined that she was feeling sick just before she got very quiet and vomited all over his back.

"Dammit woman!" His coat might be ruined. And it had been so expensive too!

"I told you I felt sick, you never listen…" She was a bit more sober now and they were out of town so Mihawk kept her on her own two feet while making sure she didn't trip or stop walking altogether.

It was almost dawn when they reached his ship and they both where beyond exhaustion.

"Stupid vivre card, it's still black. Shanks, I think I need another one, this here is broken." He put it on his nightstand regardless. Shanks walked over and eyed it with little interest. She seemed unfazed by it; maybe it told her more than him, Mihawk mused. He put up a quick meal for them but Shanks just stared at the plate in front of her.

"Eat, you look terrible. And then you go to bed right afterwards, and no, that is not open for general discussion. We stay anchored here for the night, I need to sleep. Chasing after you took a bit too much sleep from my schedule." Indeed, Shanks slowly ate after mumbling a shy apology and Mihawk returned to his food as well.

As Mihawk was preparing another bed for her she grabbed his arm, that was about to put some more sheets on.

"Can I sleep in your bed tonight, please?" At any other night this would have been out of the question, but he had yet to see one of these big grins or hear her chatter away over something insignificant like she always did. In general, Shanks had been way too quiet the whole day. So today she would get a free pass.

"Yes, yes you can. Go ahead." She jumped right in, clearly she was exhausted too. The playfulness with which she hid behind the pillow brought a small smile to his lips. Maybe she was just more resilient than he had thought. He had always known how strong of a person she was, so maybe he was worrying for no reason.

And he was plain exhausted so he followed after her. To his surprise she snuggled up to him. Or maybe it wasn't such a surprising thing after all. Countless times had he seen her snuggle with a big pillow in her sleep and tonight he would be her pillow.

The lights were out and he was almost off to sleep when Shanks decided it was the perfect time for a conversation.

"So… I'm your girlfriend now?" Mihawk's eyes shot open. That was what she was concerning herself right now?

"What? No, of course not. I was just trying to get these gawking idiots off your back." He closed his eyes once more, hoping the issue was off the table again.

"Oh. Of course… Goodnight. And thank you, for everything."

"Sure, show your gratitude by letting me sleep, will you?" She didn't say anything else after that anymore and finally Mihawk found the rest he desperately needed.

He woke up. There was light in his cabin, and heat. But not the warmth of a body pressing against him. Shanks was gone and her vivre card burning. He ran, screaming her name. Yes, then he had not conquered fear. Then it was burning in his veins, searing his guts and blinding his eyes.

He reached the deck of the small ship and there was still no sign of her. He was about to search on land when he saw a straw hat drifting in the waves. And he jumped, dived deep.

It was night, so there was little light down there. But her white blouse stood out from the darkness that hugged her before Mihawk pulled her back to the surface.

She was heavy, so much heavier than when he had carried her earlier that day and when they were back on deck, Mihawk saw why. And if he hadn't been busy reanimating her, it would have drained all his strength.

Then Shanks coughed, rolled to her side and Mihawk just fell down next to her. He couldn't believe it. There were weights tied to her legs; she had tried to drown herself.

"You bloody idiot! How… How dare you! I came here to save you and you pull a stunt like this?!" But he regretted he harsh words, because Shanks was curled up, wailing and crying and the sight was twisting his heart. It was so much worse than Roger dying. He had left with pride and confidence, but all he could see in Shanks was despair. And he had made it worse all day, had just assumed she would be fine on herself.

He was too exhausted to get up, change into dry clothes and drag them both back to bed. Everything seemed impossible, like his strength was not enough for even one of that tasks. But he could lay down next to her, wrap his arm around her and pull a dirty, rough blanket over them, that had previously covered a bunch of ropes on deck. And by doing so he did what he had come to do; he saved her.