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[ When the Marines had shown up with an armada to surround Kuraigana Island, it had been the first time in a while that Mihawk had been excited. Reading the newspaper this morning had been a first time in a while that he'd felt well and truly angry.

In a way, Mihawk was glad for Buggy's outburst. As someone who took self-discipline very seriously, it wasn't the sort of thing Mihawk would have done, but it doesn't mean he doesn't want to. In a way he sort of lived vicariously through the clown's vocal frustrations. It was notable how he stood up to Crocodile as well - when they began this whole thing, Buggy seemed like he probably would have rolled over and shown his belly. Either he's gaining some confidence being among his handlers or he's just too angry to be afraid of Crocodile.

And Crocodile... Mihawk can see why he wants to jump on the clown. It's been their way, their stress reliever since the Cross Guild's inception. If Mihawk hadn't been on a few missions with Buggy and seen his competence for himself, this very well could have been him making accusations. Truth be told, his eyes do flicker briefly over as the clown insists he left everyone alive. It might be pride, but Mihawk feels certain that Buggy followed his orders because it would have been far too easy for the former warlord to go and catch him in a lie at the time. No, this is just Crocodile looking for an easy explanation, for his paranoia to finally be proved correct, and Mihawk understands that as well. It doesn't mean it doesn't piss him off. The reason Crocodile doesn't know anything about what's happening with Buggy or the missions is because he won't stop riding the fucking desk.

As is his way, when he's given an in by his counterparts, the swordmaster cuts through all the bullshit. Hawk Eyes respects Crocodile - he wouldn't have thrown his hat into this ring if he didn't - and he is normally respectful, but tensions are high and he is angry. He also knows you don't reason with a predator that's coming at you with teeth bared; you stand your ground and show it you're a force to be reckoned with too. In this instance, he proverbially smacks the crocodile right on the snout and watches the older man reel back mentally, coming to his senses. He stands there and participates in the natural stare-down that comes with a clash of ego. Mihawk is a man who cannot be bought or bullied - Crocodile has met his match, for better or for worse.

When he departs, Hawk Eyes essentially takes flight to the unoccupied portion of the island, needing his solitude more than ever. Going through the motions of training never fails to help center him, but he also finds he needs to feel the control that comes with destroying in the most calculated way. He's also overflowing with haki thanks to his mood, so the Emptee Bluffs are now even more empty.

And he feels a bit better, but only enough that he wants to be tucked away in his tent without tearing up anything else. When Buggy's voice filters through, he debates letting silence be his answer. But then he realizes talking is probably a good idea, and if the clown emperor is here, then he's not getting himself into trouble anywhere else. ]

Enter.

[ Hawk Eyes is currently in a pair of waist-high, black trousers that hugs his waist, contrasting with the more billowy white shirt he's wearing tucked into them. His sleeves have been rolled up to the elbow and he tosses a rag into a bucket on the counter of the kitchenette; he'd been scrubbing down the stove, which now does appear spotless save for where a bit of rust has formed on the old technology's handle on the oven. ]

Edited 2023-12-29 03:11 (UTC)

[buggy has left his costume behind for the evening, turning up in a red-and-white striped t-shirt and sea green shorts - and, of course, his identically striped stockings. he can't complain to his own subordinates the way he wants to about the situation, not without having to dance around his own status in the cross guild. only mihawk seems like he can appreciate buggy's passion about the situation, even if the clown doesn't really grasp why.

when granted entrance, he sweeps the curtain aside and marches in, only to pause when he sees the older man standing in the kitchenette. although he definitely has other things on his mind, there's a distinct moment where his eyes follow the v of mihawk's bare chest downward, and he thinks about how much he'd like to wrap his arms around that narrow waist. or hist legs. then his gaze darts sideways to the bucket.]

If you're gonna make me pick up a rag, I'll just go back the way I came.

[ Mihawk rolls his eyes. It's not a particularly elegant gesture, but in some respects he lets a few of his pretenses slip in front of his subordinate. His hand settle atop the stove. There's a sheen to his dark hair, which is down a hat and slicked back from his forehead into a something almost tufted, that suggests he might be fresh from some sort of bathing. ]

What did you wish to discuss?

[ His eyes naturally skate over Buggy, then over to the bottle. ]

What's that?

[bathing, huh. bet he smells nice. buggy joins him in the kitchenette, only as close as needed to be able to lean one hip against the counter.]

It's rum. Try it, it's the good stuff.

[does mihawk only drink wine? well, whether he tries it or not, it's still the good stuff. buggy looks irritable, though it's not directed at mihawk. he just needs something strong to ease the nervous energy under his skin, trying not to dwell exclusively on worst-case scenarios.]

I wanna know if you believe people are gonna see that bullshit for what it is.

[ Mihawk answers Buggy's question by nudging a cabinet open with his foot, which is bare; apparently he had expected to settle down in the tent, perhaps for the rest of the day. Bending down, he retrieves on two fingers two short glasses that would be perfect for the rum, setting them down on the counter between them. He then makes an elegant gesture of the same hand that invites the clown to pour for them both. It is his liquor, after all. ]

"People"?

Ooh, glasses -- yes, your majesty.

[he pours very generously for both of them, but the bottle itself is quite large and would take a substantial combined effort to empty in one sitting. a floating hand extends one glass to mihawk, and buggy takes the other, leaving the bottle on the counter and turning to wander restlessly across the wine carpet, making irritable gestures.]

People. You know! Not the idiots who'll believe anything the media tells them. I mean people who would actually do something about it.

[there's not many of those in the world that aren't, in the case of the world government, already involved, but there aren't a lot of things that would make buggy stand up to crocodile, either. the emperor swallows a mouthful of rum and looks sharply back to the swordsman.]

How bad is it really?

[ Mihawk turns to lean back against the oven, one arm across his belly, the other holding the glass of rum. He watches the clown pace while he expounds on the concern and takes a generous swig, enough that could be considered a shot. His nose wrinkles delicately - it's not his drink of choice, but he's not really drinking to enjoy it.

He can't help but think about whose tastes do favor rum, however, especially given the question. ]

That depends. Most people believe what they want. I'm certain there were plenty of people waiting to have their suspicions confirmed in just this sort of way. They won't look any further for the truth.

[ If he sounds bitter, it's because he is. It's better than admitting to being worried. No, that's a vice that should be projected. ]

Worried one of the other emperors are going to seek reprisals?

[buggy gives this some real consideration, since he'd more or less come in here to seek comfort and mihawk isn't likely to provide it in direct fashion. but he doesn't get to decide if that makes him feel better or worse before the question snaps his attention back up to mihawk again. instead of taking the question at face value, which would have made perfect sense on its own, buggy immediately gets defensive.]

What? Like you're not??

[he folds his arms across his chest, clutching the glass close like he expects it to be ripped away from him and might throw it first.]

You and Croc both made it clear you don't want to fight the other emperors. And you know exactly who's most likely to ask questions.

[ Mihawk isn't really a man who offers comfort intentionally, that much is for certain. He's much better at upsetting people unintentionally, which is what this moment looks like it might be shaping into. He and Buggy have made progress together, but that reminder does make him roll his eyes to the side with a sigh. ]

There's a difference between picking fights over the One Piece and defending ourselves. If all we have to be concerned about are questions from Red Hair or Straw Hat, then there isn't a concern.

[ Sure is another healthy sip coming off that glass, though. ]

[buggy was hoping for unintentional comfort, really, but that was a long shot to begin with. mihawk doesn't have the same reason to care - or any reason that buggy can easily perceive, other than not wanting to start a fight without a good reason. buggy is of the same opinion, except instead of "start a fight" he means "have to see, hear, or be around any of his fellow emperors (but especially one in particular)". and instead of "without a good reason", it's "at all".

quite boldly, buggy jabs a finger at him.]

It's a concern to me!

[he's not trying to be tough; if anything, he probably sounds like a flight risk. the absolute last thing in the world he wants to do right now is answer shanks' questions.]

Our business isn't their business. We don't answer to them!

Edited 2024-01-01 01:15 (UTC)

I would agree.

[ Except it if were between answering a snail call or two fleets turning up at their island, the choice is an easy one and he's pretty sure his would be the same as Crocodile's. Now why would Buggy be so belligerent about it? ]

But then what are you suggesting, hm? Go to war over a misunderstanding should anyone come calling? I'm certain the World Government would love that.

[ It does make him wonder if that was an intentional play on their part, but he doubts it. These are the same people who have been fooled into thinking Buggy is in charge. ]

No, I don't want to go to war!

[his proposed course of action has always been just to beat the other emperors to the one piece. as long as buggy can keep the reins on his overzealous followers and keep mihawk and crocodile invested, the cross guild will bring competitive means and muscle to bear. shanks won't want to fight. neither will luffy, he thinks, given the choice. blackbeard is the only emperor who would willingly turn the contest bloody... although crocodile did say something about that, during a private meeting, something buggy hasn't been able to stop thinking about since.

the point is, the cross guild infrastructure itself is too new to bear the weight of scrutiny. and the idea of having to explain himself to shanks - even over a simple misunderstanding! - at a time like this strikes him as a fate worse than death. probably.]

I'm saying we need to send a message somehow. I know there's plans for a printing press, but we need to make a point sooner. [another shot of rum.] Don't you want to fuck up some Marines?

Have I not made it abundantly clear how willing I am to "fuck up some Marines"?

[ The bottom of the sea is littered with countless ships, both pirate and Marine alike, cleaved by Yoru's blade. With their forces, storming the beach of the marine fort had really been more of a stroll for the former warlord, but he hadn't left with his hands clean of blood. ]

A threat to our reputation cannot go unanswered. Of that there's no doubt. But moving in anger is rarely a good idea.

[ That's not... pointed shade or anything. Mihawk stares off over at his desk, upon which several stacks of daily newspapers currently live. ]

Rather than building more of our own means of printing and distribution, we could take one of theirs...

Yeah, yeah....

[buggy is just taking another stressed-out drink when mihawk makes that suggestion; he immediately points a finger at the swordsman again, this time much more enthusiastic.]

YES! Yes. That's the kind of action we need! How soon can we do that?

[clearly he's hoping mihawk will say something similar to immediately.]

[ Despite being a pretty decent hype man, Buggy is about to be disappointed by Mihawk's nigh unfailing pragmatism. ]

That depends. Our forces just returned; most people need time to recover from that sort of thing.

[ Not him, is the implication there. He takes a thoughtful sip as he eases off of the oven and walks over to the desk. ]

And we'd need some sort of a plan for Crocodile to approve. [ A beat. ] We should convince him to come with us.

[he knows that mihawk is right about the rest period, but buggy still grumbles with impatience for the reality of it. the glass of rum is becoming a fidget toy for him, the way he takes little compulsive mouthfuls as he paces around the carpet.

as mihawk drifts out of the kitchen, buggy's hands dart to the bottle to refill his glass, but they pause with both in midair when mihawk suggests bringing crocodile along. so far, handling the two of them individually has been more or less manageable for him; having both of them within torture distance during a battle would be... stressful.

how would it feel for the world government, though?]

That would send a really strong message...

[one the other emperors would be sure to read loud and clear.]

[ Both one of those feathered brows and the edge of that sharp mustache tick up a little, almost devilishly. ]

Precisely. [ He drawls. ] A unified front for a serious slight. And besides, it wouldn't do for that hook to go getting rusty.

[ Now, that is some shade. Mihawk is still irritated about the accusations from earlier, even if the main suspicion had undoubtedly been cast onto Buggy.

The bright eyes drop to his glass, considering a moment before he holds it out for the hand to top off. ]

[mihawk talking shit is extremely funny, but the idea of crocodile hearing it does give him chills a little bit. buggy's grin is crooked, a little queasy.]

Hahah.... yeah... United front. That's what I was thinking.

[he finishes pouring rum into his own glass before the hand with the bottle in it floats toward mihawk and does the same.]

That does mean me too, right?

[ The question earns a couple of blinks; it seems Buggy's bemused him. ]

Obviously.

[ Not just because he's the emperor and their figurehead, but the clown has been on every other mission out in the field before. Overall he's been an asset. ]

Did you not want to go?

No! No, of course I want to go.

[surprising himself to realize that's true, in spite of the danger presented by the world government's naval forces; even when mihawk is at his most intimidating, buggy can't deny that the raids and skirmishes have been a lot of fun. it's a fucking rush to be supported by powerful allies... he'd forgotten what that was like.]

Croc seemed pretty mad tonight, that's all. [another drink; he wanders idly over to touch one of the wooden bedposts, to see if it's as smooth as it looks.] I just wanna make sure he doesn't forget that I'm useful.

[ Mihawk gives a dismissive little wave of his hand, turning towards his desk. ]

He has a temper, as do you. It will pass. You must know he didn't run his last plan for Utopia on rash decisions.

[ He is fairly confident when Crocodile will try to betray him at least, and it's too early yet. He suspects that is true for Buggy, mostly because pushing him out as a scapegoat at this point would just mean one of them having to take his place. And for what? A civilian cruise ship? Crocodile tried to make an entire country eat itself alive. ]

[that is, at least, exactly the sort of level-headed thinking that buggy needs to smack right up against in order to calm down - the unintentional comfort he was hoping for. neither crocodile nor mihawk would be as tripped up by this play as buggy would. is, clearly.

then again, that does remind him.]

What about you? You're not mad anymore?

[ Mihawk has picked a couple of newspapers off of the stack, but now he glances over to Buggy. Evidently he hadn't seemed to think anything of the impact his words might have had even if they proved, nonetheless, helpful. ]

About what, exactly?

About the frame job!

[maybe mihawk's anger at the time was due entirely to being blindsided, exacerbated by crocodile's suspicions. but it had seemed worse. maybe buggy just can't conceptualize how people can let go of their anger that easily.]

You were pissed off too, I saw you. Heard you carved off a chunk of my island about it. Where'd that go?

Into the sea, obviously.

[ Oh, but Buggy probably meant the anger, not the island, right? ]

Of course I'm still angry.

[ Mihawk reaches to turn the chair at the desk to face to the side, towards the bed. Despite his claim, the motions are graceful, measured. He picks up a few of the papers while he sips his drink, then moves to go and sit on his own bed, passing Buggy on the way. ]

Anger can be honed like molten iron. It belongs to me and I will wield it, not the other way around.

[ With that, he tosses the papers onto the bed and sits on the edge, folding one leg over the other. He only adjusts a little once he has. ]

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