Chapter Text
The Oro Jackson had just been boarded by a pirate crew whose captain probably already imagined sending Roger's head to the Navy to take his place. It wasn't the first nor the last time that a captain and his crew would try to take the place of Roger and his companions. Except for this time, Rayleigh had to admit that this captain wasn't all just show and talk. He even possessed the powers of a devil fruit, that of a Zoan allowing him to transform into a bear. The rest of his companions were strong too.
Nevertheless, as always, Roger's crew had won. Even though the scars of the fight were visible everywhere on the Oro Jackson which was going to require repair work very soon.
Rayleigh huffed, thinking of the money they'd have to spend to fix up the ship. The damage could have been worse if the enemy pirates had continued their boarding a little longer. But as always, their enemies had fled, realizing they could not defeat Roger and his companions.
He looked around to see the crew members regroup to celebrate their new victory now that the tension was gradually easing. Crocus was tending to the minor injuries on deck since there had been no major injuries. On the other side of the bridge, a barrel of rum had just been opened by revelers under Roger's order. While the sailors on duty had recovered brooms and buckets of water to clean the dust and traces of blood from the boat. Although the two younger ship's boys, Shanks and Buggy were having more fun than cleaning up. Shanks was wielding his broom like an imaginary sword as Buggy tried to avoid getting inadvertently struck.
Rayleigh laughed seeing the youngest having fun while during the attack he had to protect them to prevent them from being injured. The two six-year-olds weren't strong enough to defend themselves yet against those kinds of opponents. He stopped laughing when a heavy arm went around his shoulders and a warm body slammed into his.
"Oi, Rayleigh, come party with us," exclaimed Roger who already had a mug in his hand and not a single scratch on him. "You could tell your little one to relax and join us."
"He's ten," he gently reminded his friend with a laugh, "and you know he prefers wine."
But Roger was already not listening to him since he was already looking from right to left, "speaking of him, where is he?"
Startled, Rayleigh looked around too. He knew exactly who was on deck and who wasn't and his "little one" as Roger called him wasn't there. There could be several innocuous reasons behind this. First, the young boy didn't like to party with the other pirates whom he didn't like much since he preferred to be left alone to read. The only times the youngster was seen with other people were during Rayleigh's trainings and occasionally at meals. Currently, the boy should be cleaning the ship with the others ship's boys but as always he must have managed to convince Shanks to do his part at the same time while he was training alone. Shanks was too gullible for his own good.
Rayleigh used his observation haki to find where the boy was on the ship but his efforts were in vain. Which could, again, be normal. The kid knew the basics of observation haki since he was a child and knew how to hide his presence. Such strength was widely expected of the Dark King's son. That was why Rayleigh hadn't bothered to protect his son during the boarding because the boy could fend for himself. Normally, it was his mission to stay close to Shanks and Buggy and ensure their protection, but Rayleigh's son hated having to play babysitter and stay behind.
"Oi, Crocus! Have you seen Mihawk?" Rayleigh asked the ship's doctor, hoping he had treated Mihawk first and sent him to rest in his room. But Crocus would have already warned him that his son had been injured in the attack.
The doctor replied that he had not seen the young rascal. Rayleigh began to regret not paying more attention to Mihawk during the boarding. His son could hold his own and defeat enemies older than him, but he was still a child who still needed to learn. He approached the two younger ones and asked them the same question. Shanks and Buggy stopped having fun and bickering, looked at each other for a few seconds before shaking their heads in the same time.
"Mihawk disappeared?" Shanks asked him but Rayleigh didn't answer him. He thought back to the fight that had taken place a few minutes ago, hoping to understand when Mihawk could have disappeared but nothing came to mind. It was as if Mihawk had slipped away.
And okay, Rayleigh knew that Mihawk hated having to stay on the Oro Jackson but the boy was creating too many problems and Shakky had thought it would be a good idea to send Mihawk to his father. It was a decision they made a very long time ago and neither Shakky or Rayleigh regretted it. For the sake of their child, they had decided that Shakky would raise him out of sight. Rayleigh wanted her son to have a normal childhood without having to be chased by the Navy or the other pirates because of his name, even though Roger had told him a good two hundred times that Mihawk and Shakky would have been safe on the Oro Jackson. Rayleigh knew they had made the right decision, even though he could count the number of times he had seen his son in ten years on the fingers of both hands.
Thus, Mihawk had the most normal childhood possible before boarding the Oro Jackson for the first time to stay and live with his father.
Nevertheless, there was a slight tension since the kid joined them four months ago. When he was a child, Mihawk had always been happy to see his father, but since he was 10, things had changed. Rayleigh suspected that his son was angry at him for abandoning him and his mother to remain a pirate. This was probably why Mihawk didn't get along with Shanks and Buggy or even the rest of the crew.
Lately, Rayleigh had caught himself counting the days until Mihawk asked him if he could travel alone.
But he knew his son well enough to know that Mihawk wasn't fearless or crazy enough to sneak aboard an enemy ship.
Roger was no longer on deck when Rayleigh finally realized that the pirates had fled not because they knew they were going to lose, but because they had kidnapped his son. Rage rose in Rayleigh along with fear. Mihawk was alone with an enemy crew. His captain must have come to the same conclusion since he was standing at the helm to make a big announcement to his crew.
"The Koda Bearson Pirates have kidnapped Mihawk, Rayleigh's son. We will hunt them by land and sea without rest or drink until those accursed pirates are buried six feet under and Rayleigh and Mihawk are reunited !"
There was a whoop of cheers with swords pointed skyward as the entire crew was willing to do whatever it took to retrieve one of their mates.
Rayleigh was still lost in thoughts of hatred and destruction when Roger approached him, the captain had a determined and deadly expression on his face. "Don't worry Ray, we'll find your son. The shipping guys are already looking for the nearest islands."
Ray nodded as he looked at the horizon ahead of them. The pirate ship had not been visible for several minutes now as they had quickly fled. The Oro Jackson might have caught up with them if Rayleigh had noticed right away that his own son was missing.
"I promise the world will tremble with fear until I find Mihawk," Rayleigh's voice was more menacing than what Roger was used to. His aura was even darker than the darkest of nights and his Haki was shaking the Oro Jackson violently.
"Hold on, Mihawk, I'm coming."