Masquerade Starter for @goshiikkuburcdo

Most women wouldn't be bold enough to walk up to the World's Greatest Swordsman, drink in hand and an exasperated look on her face. But then again, Ikkaku wasn't a normal woman. Or at least, her relationship with Mihawk wasn't that of most women. An odd companionship that had started during Law's shichibukai days had grown familiar and almost familial, with the engineer earning far more tolerance and even some affection than most others could even dream.

"I know you're not the party type, but are you really planning on standing in the corner all night, glaring at everyone? Isn't this supposed to be your party?" she asked, raising an eyebrow at Mihawk. Though, it was mostly in jest. If she had to guess, this whole shindig wasn't Mihawk's idea, even if it was being hosted in his castle by the organization he was surely leading, because there was no way the likes of Buggy the Clown was actually calling the shots, right?

Shaking her head, she knocked back the rest of her drink. The clown was actually part of why she came over in the first place. "And let me guess; you're going to glare at everyone who asks you to dance, right?" Ikkaku continued, rolling her eyes. "I hate to tell you this, but your clever plan isn't working the way you're hoping. Mostly because your 'boss' is making claims that you can't dance. And for reasons I'm still not convinced aren't eldritch powers, people seem to believe the words that come out of his mouth."

An idea popped into the engineer's head, and a smirk pulled at her lips as she held out her hand. "I think you should prove him wrong, and wouldn't you know it? My dance card has an opening." Ikkaku's voice dropped low to ensure only Mihawk would hear. "You'd be doing me a solid, too; Hawkins is here, and you're one of maybe five men he won't try to kill for being near me. And the only one of those five that I actually like. So, may I have this dance? Please?"