This is it guys! The final Chapter to Flower in the dark. I will say that maybe just maybe, you should read the last bit of this chapter very carefully. This is short and to be real honest, I lost touch with how to write Mihawk well in this chapter. I tried my best and that's all that matters.

I hope you all have enjoyed this story as much as I had writing it! Thank you for all the follows and the reviews, Ya'll are wonderful!

The more her belly swelled—the sicker she became. That much was clear to Mihawk. How he dreamed of just ripping her stomach open and killing the filthy abomination growing inside of her stomach. The abomination he put there.

But then he'd find himself staring at Lily's swelling stomach, the way she rubbed it and the softness in her face as she did so, the soft smile on her lips as she talked out loud to baby that she'd never get to see grow. It was during those moments that the ache in his chest grew, a longing for something he didn't know he wanted. A longing for something he knew he would never see.

How he desperately wanted to see her holding his child.

The realization nearly brought him to his knees. How badly he wanted to see it. But he knew it wouldn't matter. Her body grew worse as the baby's grew bigger and stronger inside of her, and yet Lily's smile and happiness never faltered. She hadn't cried since that day on her home island. Instead she focused her time fussing over him and the baby—that she insisted was a little girl.

Lily would giggle every time she envisioned the future child. Every time, changing some small detail. It's eye and hair color, it's personality, it's abilities but never its gender and never the fact that it would have both of their qualities. And every time she talked about it, Mihawk couldn't calm the thunderous thumping of his heart in his chest. She would look up at him with her bright blue eyes, a wide smile on her face as she guessed on what characteristics the baby would have.

In the months that passed, Mihawk could feel himself grow more and more anxious. A feeling he was not used too.

Even Shanks who had arrived and stayed until he returned with Lily, had noticed this annoyingly knew trait. Shanks the red haired bastard, Mihawk knew he was just being a decent person but the fact that the man had continued to travel to the island every few weeks, coming back almost every other month hadn't gone unnoticed by Mihawk. The man was showing concern, for Lily or for his sanity, he wasn't sure.

It was when the snow began to fall and the flowers disappeared did the baby come. Lily made it seem so easy, giving birth.

It was a girl just like Lily said it would be.

She was small. So very tiny, Mihawk feared picking her up and so he avoided it, instead he opted for gently brushing his hand against her soft rosy cheeks. Her hair as blonde as Lily's but it was her eye's that startled him the most. When Lily saw, her eyes lit up like sky on the brightest day. She laughed and grinned at him.

"I guess she couldn't decide whose eyes she wanted most!" Mihawk nearly wept as Lily curled her worn out, dying body around the baby. She had grabbed his hand and pulled him close—so they both could watch their child's sleeping face. "She's beautiful, Mihawk." Mihawk gripped the bed and held tightly onto Lily's hand as her breathing became slightly labored.

Lily had pressed her lips against his hand before giving the baby a small kiss on her sleeping head. Mohawk could see the clear signs, Lily's life was fading. Her ocean blue eyes were dimming, He could see that. Her skin more ashen, her breathing slowing down. The way her skin sunk into itself and the way he could clearly see the knowing in her eyes. And yet she continued to smile at him. Her eyes flicking from the baby to him.

"How about Astor?" Her voice was barely above a whisper as her eyes unfocused. Her grip on his hand slackened. The smile never leaving her face.

She was gone.

Slowly Mihawk brought her limp hand to lips and pressed a kiss to it. As he lowered her hand to the bed, her body dissipated into a painfully, beautiful flurry of white Lily petals. His throat constricted and his body shook at the sight.

Little white lily petals, gathered and floated as they slowly formed what could only be described as a light embrace around the small blonde haired bundle. Mihawk found himself leaning over the cooing baby. She reached out, grasping the falling white petals, but even more so, with the baby's hands full of the white petals it continued to reach out, flailing its little limbs as it continued to make little noises, her eyes, one blue, one golden, stared up at him.

Such a pure being.

Mihawk flinched away from the baby. Standing up, straightening his back he closed his eyes, he turned and walked away from the cooing baby. The further he moved away from the small blonde bundle, the louder it became until he could hear it screeching and crying from down the hall.

All at once the weight of what had happened—what was happening came crashing down on to him. Clasping one hand over his face, the other reached out violently to strike the wall. His resolve hardening as he listening to the screams from the new born.

Such an innocent creature.

The thought was overwhelming as he walked even slower—and further away from the screaming baby. His resolve was hardening. Slowly he continued his walking, moving farther and farther away, until he could barely hear the faint screams from the baby.

He found himself in the dining area. His body heavy and numb. His darkness swirled around him as he sat there in the darkness of the room, he strained his ears, trying to catch a faint sound from the baby that he knew continued to scream out for comfort.

For him.

For her.

Mihawk was sure it wasn't long, maybe a couple hours but then again it could've been days when Shanks showed up at his door. There was no smile on his face, just pure unadulterated rage as he slammed open the door. Mihawk didn't react. He didn't move, he didn't even bother to blink an eye as the red haired man's fist connected with his face.

"Shanks." Ben, Shank's right hand man stood in the doorway. His voice halting Shank's fist from connecting with Mihawk's face again.

"Did you intend to let that baby-" "Astor." Mihawk could clearly hear the soft cooing from the baby as Ben held it, tucked in his arm close to his chest. The way She should have been held.

The way he couldn't hold her.

"What?-" "It's name is Astor." Mihawk paused as his eyes locked with dark onyx eyes of Shanks. "Take it." He reached up and grabbed onto Shanks white shirt, jerking the man closer. "Take it from here Shanks. Take it far away from here. From the grand Line. From the ocean. From me."

It was then that Shanks could see the torment. Every sound the baby made, the man flinched. His eyes flickered painfully to the small bundled baby being held and comforted by Ben. It was then that Shank's anger softened. The hurt within the mans eyes was clear. The redness there in his eyes—was even more heart wrenching than Shanks could bear.

Shank's ripped himself away from Mihawk's grasp, turning himself away from him. As Shank's reached the door way, he stopped. "Do you want to say goodbye to her?"

"No." Mihawk sank himself back into his chair, filled his cup and downed the burning liquid. The loud thunderous thumping in his chest, deafened his world as Shanks shut the door behind him and his crew.

The baby let out one last cry as the door shut.

Mihawk hardened his resolve.

Too pure.

And then he was left alone. A single white Lily petal flitted onto the table from somewhere, perhaps by the force of the door shutting, caused it. Pure and raw emotion filled Mihawk to his brim, he erupted. Silently, he grabbed a hold of the table in front of him and with one swift motion he flung it across the room and then, he too, left.

The Silence was unbearable.

Mihawk nearly set the paper in front of him on fire with his stare. It was clear as day as to why it had been placed there. The red haired Pirate was leaving a clear message. The mismatched eyes that stared mockingly back up at him. The wide grin that was spread across the girls face set a sense of dread in his stomach. It wasn't a carefree smile, it wasn't an innocent smile.

It was a predatory smile.

And the bounty on her head—it simply assured him that she was just that. A deadly Predator. Not an innocent, kind flower like Lily. But a deadly predator just like him. He hadn't even touched her, and yet he still managed to infect her.

Mihawk couldn't stop the crazed laughter that bubbled out of his chest as he crumpled the bounty paper in his hand. How long had it been since he heard any news of her? He could recall the painful expression Shanks wore when he came to him when She had disappeared. Taken by Pirates, is what Shanks had told him. The town decimated, the people slaughtered, and Astor, gone. He couldn't stop himself from trying to seek her out, even he came up empty handed in his search.

There was no sign of the girl anywhere. No bragging from any pirates he came across for the carnage in the village—instead he was met with hushed whispers of a demon that had risen and chose to destroy everything and anything—starting with the small inland town. But that wasn't what had put the unease in his stomach, or sent his heart into a wild thunder.

It was the thought that possibly—just maybe, someone knew. Someone knew who she was and chose to target her for it.

Mihawk gathered up his things and with a grim look on his face, he set out into the open sea.

Now that ya'll've read the final Chapter I will let you in on a small tiny little secret, Maybe not such a good secret, BUT this story was supposed to be just a prologue for another story. Now here's the tricky part, I'm planning on re-reading One Piece to re-acquaint myself with the characters well. So I hope you guys keep an eye out for the next installment of this story!