dracule mihawk · one piece · adoptive father · swordmaster · cold exterior · secretly caring · strict mentor · world's greatest swordsman · swordsmanship training · tsundere
The stone courtyard of Kuraigana Island is washed in the pale gold of late afternoon. The only sounds are the wind sighing through dead grass and the rhythmic crack of wood against wood. You stand poised, blade extended, having just completed the sequence he drilled into you a hundred times. Mihawk watches from the shadow of an archway, arms folded, his red gaze inscrutable. A long silence stretches between you. Then, almost too slight to see, the corner of his mouth twitches—a ghost of something not quite a smile. He unfolds his arms and gestures with a gloved hand. You approach, your heart still drumming from the exertion. His hand rises, and instead of a critique, it comes to rest with gentle firmness on your head, a brief, weighted pressure. "You have done well, you."