#makihawk

[inaweofdiana]

Happy Valentine’s Day @justm3h​!! You said you wanted Makino and Mihawk so here you go! Shanks doesn’t make an appearance this time bc I was having so much fun with just these two. :3c I hope you like it and I hope you have a lovely day! <3

Mihawk couldn’t believe that this small island was Shanks’ getaway from the world. How could such a tiny island in East Blue captivate one of the most powerful pirates in the world? There had to be some hidden secret to the island. Something that would draw him back here time after time. He was determined to find it. He docked his boat in a discreet inlet. He took great care to draging his small ship up the beach into the treeline, camouflaging it. He debated with himself at some length before deciding to leave his executioner’s blade on his ship, selecting a long, thin rapier to hook to his belt instead. The handle was gilded gold, with a garnet set into the hilt. The gold matched the brocade lining the inside of his greatcoat, and the garnet set off the red silk of his shirt beautifully. He checked himself over carefully before entering the city. His rapier was well concealed under his coat and his clothes were clean, well pressed. He straightened his hat before deciding that it, along with his sword, was far too distinctive. He hung it carefully on the boat and ran a hand through his hair, ensuring it hadn’t tangled. He was ready.

He entered Goa Kingdom through a side entrance, not calling undue attention to himself. He casually passed through the entire city but found nothing to his interest. He exited just as inconspicuously as he’d arrived, and found himself passing through what appeared to be a garbage dump. It was a stark contrast to the cleanliness of the city he’d just left, but no more interesting. He was hoping there would be something of interest in the forest ahead. He was disappointed. The whole island seemed terribly mundane, boring and ordinary. The giant tigers in the forest were somewhat of a novelty for him, but still only so interesting. He debated skinning it for its pelt for a brief moment, but decided against it when he realized there was someone close by. Several someones in fact. He made no move to conceal himself, though he was less than twenty feet from the path. It was a group of several men, dressed similarly in dark jackets with matching patches that identified them as a part of the same gang of bandits. They were laughing and carousing their way down the mountain path, boisterous enough that none of them noticed him. Curious, he let his haki flare brightly in his chest to observe the island intently in its entirety. He was surprised to discover that his map had been wrong and that there was a second village on the island, due south-east from his current position. Interesting. He found that it was a small village, likely why it hadn’t been included on his charts. It housed a good number of people, though nowhere near the size of Goa Kingdom. A general store, a small marketplace, a boat shop, and a tavern made up the center of town. Nothing here seemed terribly interesting either, but Mihawk decided that all of his investigative work today called for a reward. A liquid reward. He slipped into the tavern and up to the bar. It wasn’t very busy, though it was only about three in the afternoon. The first thing that he noticed was the smell. It was rich and savory, probably some kind of stew. It smelled gamey and homey, and invited Mihawk to relax. It was well lit, windows open to let in the natural light stream in. The wood of the floor and bar shone richly, speaking of hours of care. Behind the bar, bottles were lined up neatly, as inviting to the eye as the smell of stew was to his nose. He slipped into a seat at the bar and examined the bottles behind the bar, hoping for something more than he was likely to find. “Hello! I’ll be right with you!” A barmaid emerged from the kitchen holding a full tray of food. He inhaled deeply as she passed, trying to pinpoint the spices. Plenty of garlic and cumin, it smelled like. He was also picking up a number of floral notes, likely from the woman holding the tray. He eyed her as she flitted around the room. She looked to be only a few years younger than Mihawk himself, with dark hair and a bright smile. He watched her circle the room and finally slip behind the bar. She smiled sweetly at him. “Welcome to Foosha village, Mr. Dracule.” He resisted the urge to raise an eyebrow. Now this sounded interesting. “Good afternoon.” Doubtless she recognized him from either his wanted posters or his current warlord posters. Either way she knew his face well enough to greet him immediately and wasn’t threatened by him. “You’re from West Blue, right?” She asked casually. Now he did raise an eyebrow. “That’s correct.” He said carefully. She disappeared from view as she crouched and rummaged underneath the bar for a moment, coming back up with a bottle. She dusted it off, though she had no need to. Her cleaning under the bar was as immaculate as the rest of the building, but it seemed to be a practiced motion. “There now! I have a bottle of white Rioja from the West! Does this look suitable?” She proffered the bottle. His other eyebrow rose as he took the bottle carefully. This particular wine wasn’t very well known, as Riojas were typically red, but the winery it was from was very close to Mihawk’s home town. He had grown up drinking this particular wine, and was very fond of it. “This will do wonderfully.” He set the bottle down carefully between them, turning a keen eye on the barmaid. “I’m glad!” She produced a corkscrew from her apron and set about opening it. “You have me at somewhat of a disadvantage, madam.” She glanced up at him, looking surprised herself now. “You seem to know quite a bit about me, but I lack for even your name.” “Oh.” She paused, seeming startled. Her smile returned, brighter than ever. “I’m Makino! I run the place here! It’s very nice to meet you!” She extended a hand to shake. Mihawk took it and resisted the urge to smirk as he brought it to his lips to brush a kiss over her knuckles. “The pleasure is mine.” Makino blushed a very pretty shade of pink and ducked her head. He suspected that had she not been holding a bottle of wine, she would have hidden her face. He knew for a fact that the glow of her blush just made her more beautiful, brought her features to life in a way nothing else could. “Shanks always says you’re a charmer.” She said. Her tone said she was trying for admonishing but it was just coming across as charmed. “Shanks talks about me often, does he?” Mihawk tried for nonchalant, but could tell it was coming across as dry. Makino giggled as she popped the cork. “Only all the time. He loves to brag about his famous rival.” She poured him a generous measure of the Rioja in a thinly stemmed glass and set it in front of him. She poured herself a small measure in a much smaller, much sturdier looking cup. “Drinking on the job?” he asked. His eyebrows felt permanently quirked. “Only with friends!” She winked. He felt his own traitorous cheeks trying to blush and squashed it down immediately. “Friends, you say?” He raised his glass in front of his face, just in case, and swirled his wine, watching Makino through the distortion of the glass. “Shanks has told me so much about you I feel like I know you. It’s so nice to finally meet you in person, instead of just secondhand.” “Shanks doesn’t do me justice, I have no doubt.” Mihawk scoffed, sipping at the wine finally. It was just like he remembered. Makino’s next smile was sly. “Oh he does you lots of justice, Mr. Dracule.” The barest flutter of eyelashes. Mihawk rested his chin on the back of his hand, allowing himself a small smile in return. “Please, call me Mihawk. As friends should.” Makino cradled her drink in front of her face, unconsciously mirroring Mihawk from a moment before. “Alright.” “But here we are and we speak only of another man. Tell me about yourself instead.” Mihawk beseeched. She blushed again. “I’m not terribly interesting.” “I disagree. And so does Shanks.” And here he was talking about Shanks again. Damn the man. She giggled, seeming to pick up on his irritation. “Well thank you.” She was beautiful with that color of pink. He wondered how she’d look in a dress of it. “You know you actually just missed him. He just left yesterday.” That explained why he could faintly sense Shanks’ energy in the periphery of his observation. He sipped his wine instead of answering as he focused on it. After knowing him for this long, honing in on it was easy. He paused and set his glass down to devote his full focus to his observational haki. He raised an eyebrow, looking up at Makino. “What?” She tilted her head. “He’s coming back.” He picked up his glass and sipped at it petulantly. “He must have sensed me.” He was definitely within sight of the island, if not closer. Makino brightened, almost clapping her hands but for the cup she was holding. “Is he? He was just saying how he hasn’t seen you in ages!” Mihawk would have grumbled if that wasn’t beneath him, and instead downed the rest of his wine. He had to meditate to prepare himself for Shanks’ rambunctious energy if he didn’t want to cut his other arm off. “How much?” He asked. “It’s on Shanks’ tab.” She grinned. Mihawk snorted at her cavalier answer. “I will not be debted to him. How much?” He repeated. Makino considered him for a moment, tapping her cup pensively against her chin before she smiled that sly smile again. “It’s on me then. Does that sound okay?” being debted to me? was the unspoken tail on the question. Mihawk smiled again. “I would like nothing better.”