Usopp walks further away from the ship while ignoring the pleas of his former crew mates.

"USOPP! LET'S TALK ABOUT THIS!" Nami yells.

"COME BACK USOPP!" Sanji yells

"DON'T LEAVE USOPP!" Chopper cries while Rose, Zoro and Luffy stay quiet.

He stops 10 feet away from the ship before turning back and glaring at Luffy. "I can't be with you guys anymore. The ship belongs to the captain, so fight me Luffy! If I win I'm taking the Merry with me! I CHALLENGE YOU TO A DUEL AT 10:00 TONIGHT! AFTER THE FIGHT IT'S OVER BETWEEN US!"

Usopp runs back to the city to get preparations done while Chopper leaves the ship to go after him. Luffy heads to the Men's quarters with Nami trying to convince him to stop the fight while Sanji and Zoro head into the kitchen. Rose stays outside and flies up to the crow's nest.

"What the hell am I doing?" Rose mutters as she sits down on the crow's nest and holds the crystal in her necklace. (DAMNIT! Not only couldn't I stop Robin, but Usopp still left the crew! I know things work out but can't I do anything to help?! …Maybe, I shouldn't mess with the story line… But, if that's the case then what about the battle of- I'll cross THAT bridge when I get there... *sigh* At least for now I'll try not to mess with the story line too much. I need to talk to Robin to at least get some doubt in her head. If I talk to her now she'll just put me in a hold maybe tomorrow I can-)

"IT'S YOUR FAULT USOPP LEFT MOSS HEAD!"

"WHAT WERE YOU DOING WHEN I WAS TAKING CARE OF THEM LOVE COOK?!"

Rose was dragged out of her thoughts by Sanji and Zoro's argument. "At least I can stop these idiots from arguing." she mutters as she flies into the kitchen. "I'M NOT AFRAID TO SEPARATE YOU GUYS LIKE I DID USOPP AND LUFFY BUT I PROMISE I WON'T BE GENTLE!" Both guys freeze when they hear Rose.

"But Rose-chan, it's all moss head's fault!" Sanji says

"She's right Sanji, there's no point in arguing about it." Nami says as she and Chopper walk in.

"I thought you went after Usopp?" Zoro says to Chopper

" … I tried to finish his treatment, but he sent me back and said 'you and me are finished!'" Tears are streaming down Choppers face causing Rose to get on her knees to hug him.

"Things are going to be alright Chopper. I promise everything will work out in the end we just need to endure tonight. Can you do that with me?" Rose whispers to him while rubbing circles in his back. He nods and hugs her back.

"Everyone was so happy this morning… And we still don't know where Robin is…" Nami says while the others remain silent.

(I'm sorry everyone… If I told you about Robin now you would spring into action, but I can't mess things up again.) Rose looks down in guilt.

"Its 10:00 Usopp's coming." Zoro says as he and the others walk outside to see Luffy ready to face Usopp.

"None of you come down!" Luffy says to the crew then turns to Usopp. "I hope you don't regret your decision Usopp!"

"Don't think I'm like your previous enemies! I know you inside and out! And I have 8000 followers ready to fight! Surrender or die!"

"I know you're lying Usopp!"

"THEN EAT THIS!" The fight commenced with Usopp pulling every trick in the book from pretending to be vulnerable to catch him off guard to shooting shuriken, all the while spreading smoke onto the battle field in order to power up his exploding star.

"Usopp is… so fast" Chopper says as he watches the fight.

"I don't like this." Nami says

"You and me both Nami…" Rose pats the head of the Merry. (I know you don't like this either Merry, I'm sorry…)

"GUM GUM PISTOL!" Luffy delivers the final blow to the fight by punching Usopp and knocking him down.

"It's over." Zoro says

(Luffy… Usopp…) Tears start streaming down Roses face as she watches the end of the fight.

"Do what you want with the Merry. We're going on ahead… Goodbye Usopp, it's been fun." Luffy starts walking to the crew with his straw hat hiding his face "Everyone, grab your things. We're leaving tonight!"

Everyone was quiet when they packed allowing most of the crew members tears to fall freely for the loss of their nakamas.


"What are you doing Rosie?" 12 year old Laura asks her 11 year old foster sister Rose who's doing research on the computer.

"I'm studying up on some comets along with the Timore comet."

"You mean that made up comet that your parents were trying to prove real?"

"It's not made up! It can go to other dimensions, so it's hard to trace."

"HA! Man, are you sure your parents were really college professors?" Marie adds in as she walks in the room with Rose glaring at her.

"What was that?"

"I mean come on, a comet that can go to other worlds not to mention could take you to one sounds as believable as those Chinese cartoons you watch existing."

"Anime is Japanese! Anyway, I know it's hard to swallow but it's the truth! One day, I'm going to prove that it's real!"

"HAHA! Why don't you just quit that weird stuff and focus on more important things? Like making yourself look like a girl." Laura says

"If looking like a girl means dressing like a hooker then no thanks." Rose turns her attention back to her research not seeing the anger on the twins' faces.

Both girls pulled her out of her chair and threw her onto the floor. "If that's how you feel why not let us take this then?" Marie grabbed Roses necklace which earned her a punch in the nose from Rose as she took the necklace back.

"NEVER TOUCH THIS NECKLACE!" Rose yells as the three of them started fighting. Both twins clawed at her arms while Rose whacked them in the nose and gave them a fair amount of hits.

"BREAK IT UP!" Rick yelled causing all three girls to stop. "Marie, Laura are you girls alright?"

"WAAH! Our noses hurt!" Laura cries as she and Marie cling onto their father.

"We were just giving Rosie beauty tips, but she attacked us!" Marie says

"Rose, why can't you get along?" Rick asks

Rose glares at the twins for making up lies. "SHE'S LYING! I was minding my own business when they started insulting my family's research!"

"Do you mean that nonsense about a comet?" Rick gives an exasperated sigh, lets go of the girls then walks up to her and smacks her across the face. "Listen you brat, I don't care if you believe in fake comets or whatever, but you're not allowed to put those ridiculous ideas into my angels' heads. Now, go to your room and don't come out for the rest of the day!"

Rose went to her room while holding onto her necklace. (I don't care what they say, I'm not giving up until I leave this world!) She sat down hugging her knees while tears streamed down her face.


Rose woke up from the bad memory in the middle of the night at the inn the crew checked into after leaving the ship. (I can't get a break tonight... Of all the things I could forget why couldn't I forget about them?)

She got up and started to walk up to the roof where Zoro and Chopper are fast asleep. (Poor guys… Where's Luffy?)

She looks to see Luffy sitting on the roof of another building depressed. (Luffy… I can't mope anymore! I gotta do something to make him feel better.)

Rose looks around for an idea until one hits her. She flies over to Luffy's side with a smile on her face and turns to the city. "Now let's see, if I jump from there I could, or those rooftops could be more fun or maybe-"

"What are you doing Rose?" Luffy doesn't move from his spot nor turns to her when he spoke up.

"Oh, hi Luffy! Sorry if I was bothering you. I was just figuring out the best way to go roof jumping."

Luffy turns to her with curiosity. "Roof jumping?"

"Yea, you see I'm from a large city. Not as cool as this one but, anyway one of the things I've always wanted to do was roof jump as a way to travel. Since I have devil fruit powers now tonight is the perfect opportunity to fulfill that dream. You're welcome to join me if you want."

Excitement starts to show in his eyes but he starts to look down again. "I don't know…"

"How about this? We race to the top of Water Seven and the winner gets the last piece of Water Seven meat I've saved up."

"I'M IN!" Luffy jumps up with excitement and gets ready.

(Perfect!) "Alright, we're free to use any route we want as long as it gets to the top. Of course, devil fruit powers are allowed as well but I have to hold back on flying. You understand the rules?"

"YOSH! LET'S GO! GUM GUM ROCKET!" He pulls his arms and sends himself flying from one roof to another with Rose in pursuit.

"I DIDN'T SAY IT WAS ALRIGHT TO START YET CHEATER!" Rose uses her wind to jump from building to building while Luffy uses his arms to catapult himself across the city.

"ALL'S FAIR IN MEAT AND FISH!"

"DO YOU ONLY HAVE FOOD AND FIGHTING IN THAT BRAIN OF YOURS?! I SAID ALL'S FAIR IN LOVE AND WAR!"

"OH! WELL THAT TOO!" Luffy yells as he sticks his tongue out at her but collides with a wall and starts falling off the building. Rose sends him flying up in the air as she passes him then puts him down to go after her.

"THAT'S CHEATING!" Luffy jumps from roof to roof in a rush to catch up with Rose as she jumps from roof to roof with ease.

"ALL'S FAIR IN MEAT AND FISH RIGHT?!" Rose sticks her tongue at him and gives him a mock salute as she jumps from roof to roof with Luffy in pursuit. (This is so fun! So this is what it's like to roof jump like a leaf ninja. I'm so glad this idea is working!)

The top of the city was getting closer for the two crewmembers. They're coming to the top from different sides of the city and at each other full speed causing them to not be able to stop when they reached the goal point and ended up colliding with each other. Rose landed on top of Luffy and accidentally landed her lips onto his causing her eyes to be as wide as plates. She immediately gets off of him and turns away from him with her face as red as a tomato while Luffy sat up confused while touching his lips where she kissed him.

She looked at the ground while trying to reduce the blush. (WHAT THE HELL?! WHAT IS THIS, OURAN HOST CLUB?!)

"What was that?" Luffy asked still confused.

She still doesn't look at him while answering. "You know what a kiss is right?"

"Was that what we just did?"

She calmed down and turned to look at him "Yea, that was it… I'm sorry about that, it was an accident."

"Don't be. I had fun!"

(I doubt he meant the kiss was fun.) "You're right; the roof jumping was pretty awesome."

"The kiss was pretty fun too! Anyway, who won?"

Rose looks at him with shock (HE LIKED IT?! I admit it was a good kiss but- Wait, I liked it too?!)

"Rose, wake up!" She snaps out of it to the sound of Luffy's voice.

"Sorry for spacing out. Anyway I think you won. You can have it."

"AWESOME! We should get back. The sun is starting to come out."

"Yea, you're right. We should do this again sometime." Rose freezes and starts blushing again. "I mean, we should race again! Not that I didn't like the kiss. I really did, I mean-"

"SHISHISHI! You're pretty funny Rose! We'll do it again before leaving. Thanks for convincing me to join you, I needed this." He gives her one of his toothy grins but there was still some sadness in it.

Her face softens when she sees his expression. "Luffy...*sigh* Anytime. You know, I've seen a lot of friendships that are just as strong as yours and Usopp's who went through even worse fights than that and still kept their friendships alive. I feel no, I know that once Usopp calms down he'll start reconsidering his choice. He'll come back, we just gotta be patient." She pats him on the shoulder with a assuring smile that shocks him then he looks down and hides his eyes with his hat.

"I hope so… Thank you…" He grabs her arm and locks her in an embrace.

"L-luffy?" She freezes when she starts to feel tears hitting her shirt. (Luffy…) She returns the hug and pats him on his back while letting him cry in peace.


Sanji walks up to the roof of the inn to find Zoro and Chopper awake. "I guess you guys couldn't sleep either… Where's Luffy?"

"He went on a date with Rose." Zoro said with a mischievous smirk.

"Haha, very funny moss head, but really where is he?"

"Last night we woke up and saw Luffy and Rose go roof jumping." Chopper says

"WHAT?!" Sanji yells with his face in complete shock.

"Morning guys, are you ok Sanji?" Rose says as she and Luffy land on the roof.

"So Rose, how did the date go?" Zoro said keeping his smirk on causing Roses eyes to widen.

"There was no date, we just raced! How did you know about it anyway?! You were sleeping!"

"Zoro and I woke up to you guys talking and saw you convince him to go out with you." Chopper says while Sanji starts crying comical tears and Luffy looks at the scene with confusion.

Rose rubs the bridge of her nose and gives an exasperated sigh "Like I said, it wasn't a date. We just raced."

"I don't know what a date is, but the race was pretty awesome! We even ki-" Rose covered Luffy's mouth before he could finish while a blush crept on her face.

"They don't need to know about that Luffy!" Roses reaction causes Zoro to become curious while Chopper looks to the scene with confusion and Sanji starts flaming up.

"LUFFY! WHAT DID YOU DO TO-"

"DID YOU GO TO THE PENINSULA SANJI?" Rose yells eager to change the subject as she lets go of Luffy.

"How did you-? Yea, I went there to see if Robin would come back but she didn't. I'm going to the streets to find her."

"I wanna go too." Chopper says

Rose looks at the city in thought. (Hmm… If I go with them Robin would just stop me. I need to be alone when I talk to her, so maybe for now I'll check out CP9.)

"GUYS!" Nami yells as she runs up to the roof. "LAST NIGHT ICEBERG WAS SHOT!"

"WHAT?!" Luffy yells in surprise.

"Who's Iceberg?" Sanji asks

"He's the head of Galley-La and the Mayor of Water Seven." Nami responds

"I'll go look!" Luffy says as he jumps down from the roof.

"I'm coming too!" Nami says

"I'll go with you guys." Rose says as she uses her wind to take Nami and herself from the roof to where Luffy is. Nami and Luffy take the yagara to Galley-La while Rose flies after them. They get over to Galley-La where the place is swarming with concerned citizens.

"Whoa, there's so many people. Hey Rose, can you fly us over to the shipyard?" Nami asks

"Not a prob-" Before Rose can finish Franky's theme song starts playing. (Time for Franky to come huh?)

"What's going on?" Luffy says as he looks up to see Franky with his sisters dancing behind a curtain.

Rose sighs as she puts her hair up. "Luffy, I hope you're ready to fight because Franky's here."

"WHAT?!"

"Did someone just say my name? I know you're there Straw Hat! Get ready to face the most SUUUPEER man in Water Seven. FRANKY!" Franky makes his signature pose as he reveals himself.

"OI, PANTY GUY! I'M LUFFY!" He yells out to Franky getting his attention.

"You're Luffy? I see you brought freckles along too. While I was away you kids made a real mess at my place. You even beat up my men! I'm SUPER pissed off right now."

"WHERE'S THE MONEY?!" Nami yells out

"I SPENT IT! PIRATES SHOULDN'T BE DEMANDING MONEY BACK AFTER IT'S BEEN STOLEN!"

"THAT DOESN'T MATTER! I'M NOT GOING TO BE HAPPY UNTIL I KICK YOUR ASS!" Luffy yells in fury.

"I'M THE ONE WHO'S GONNA KICK YOUR ASS STRAW HAT!" Franky takes in a deep breath while the crowd starts running away.

(Uh oh!) Rose uses her wind to pick up Nami and Luffy to get them out of the way from Franky's fire breath.

"WHOA, HE BREATHES FIRE?!" Luffy yells completely surprised

"Is he a devil fruit user?!" Nami asks

"No, he's a cyborg!" Rose says as she lands the three of them on the street.

"RIGHT YOU ARE FRECKLES!" Franky yells as he lands in front of them. "NOW, TASTE MY STRONG RIGHT!" he launches his attack at Luffy but Rose pulls him out of the way on time.

"Thanks Rose, I'll take it from here." Luffy says as he faces Franky. Rose nods in agreement and steps back.

"SEND THAT PERVERT FLYING LUFFY!" Nami yells in the sidelines while Rose stays quiet to watch the fight. The guys fight with one blow after another both wearing each other out until a member of Galley-La attacks Franky.

"What are you doing here Straw Hat?" Paulie says as he, and the Galley-La guys walk into the scene with completely pissed off expressions on their faces.

(So, Lucci and Kaku are here. I better get ready.) Rose brings out her bo staff as she watches the scene unfold.

"HOW DARE YOU SHOW YOUR FACE HERE AFTER WHAT YOU DID?!" Paulie yells out in fury.

"I DIDN'T DO ANYTHING!" Luffy yells

"If you're gonna bluff then I might as well tie you down! ROPE ACTION HALF KNOT"

"WIND BLADE!" The Galley-La guys look to Rose with shock as she cuts the rope with her wind before it could hit Luffy. "You shouldn't be ganging up on people Paulie." She heads to Luffy's side and helps him to dodge their attacks while sending them flying away from them.

Kaku tries to throw his chisels at her, but they went through her. "So, they have a logia devil fruit user on their side."

"YOU ASSHOLES! DON'T MESS WITH OUR FIGHT!" Franky yells as he gets his arm out "WEAPONS LEFT!" He shoots bullets out of his arm at the shipwrights but they dodge and knock him out.

Lucci comes at Rose and Luffy with one of his six powers but Rose barely managed to block the attack with a wind blast and send him flying at the other shipwrights. (So Lucci is this strong…) "You alright Luffy?"

"Yea, thanks for the help. WHAT THE HELL'S GOING ON?! AT LEAST GIVE ME A REASON!" Luffy yells over to Paulie.

"WE'RE THE ONE'S WHO SHOULD BE ASKING THAT! WHY DID YOU SHOOT ICEBERG LAST NIGHT?!" Paulies declaration startled the citizens around them.

Luffy and Nami are shocked at the accusation. "WE DIDN'T SHOOT ICE-POPS!"

"DON'T LIE! ICEBERG RECOGNIZED ONE OF THE SHOOTERS TO BE ONE OF YOUR CREWMEMBERS: NICO ROBIN!" The declaration shocks Luffy and Nami.

Rose made Luffy duck as Kaku threw more chisels at them. "Pirates aren't going to be protected by the law. Whatever punishment you receive you can't complain." Kaku says as he draws more of his tools out.

"I know the law can't protect us. BUT, ROBIN'S NOT LIKE THAT! DON'T TALK ABOUT HER LIKE YOU KNOW HER! LET ME TALK TO ICE-POPS, ROBIN COULDN'T HAVE DONE THIS!" Luffy yells as he and Rose get up.

"There's no way we're letting you get close to Iceberg!" Lulu says as he and the others get his saws out and the crowd starts surrounding the three of them.

"ROBIN DOESN'T HAVE ANY REASON TO ATTACK HIM!" Nami yells

"I don't care how much you complain you three are finished. Messing with Iceberg means messing with the entire city." Paulie says as he gets his ropes ready.

"JUST LET ME TALK TO ICE-POPS!" Luffy yells

"Not a chance!" Paulie tries to use his rope again but Rose redirects the rope with her wind.

"Impressive devil fruit power kid. Why aren't you going on the offense?" Paulie asks

"There's no reason to be fighting you. We weren't the ones that shot him. Luffy, I'm getting us out of here." Rose starts flying with Luffy and Nami but Lucci jumps in the air and punches her to the ground causing all three of them out of the air. "ROSE!" Nami and Luffy yell in worry while she staggers back up.

"Coo~ Don't think it's that easy to get away from us." Hattori chirps for Lucci as he and the other shipwrights continually attack her and Luffy while Nami was being held back by the citizens.

(So, Lucci and Kaku are this strong. This is nuts…) Rose dodges Lulu and Tilestone's attack when Kaku threw his chisels again but this time they hit Luffy and pin him to the wall. "Hang on Luffy!" Rose tries to pull the tools out but there wasn't enough time as Tilestone shot a cannon at them. "WIND BARRIER!" Rose uses her barrier in order to protect herself and Luffy when Franky steps in.

"I'VE HAD ENOUGH OF THIS CRAP! QUIT TAKING MY PREY GALLEY-LA! I'LL SHOW YOU WHAT IT MEANS TO MESS WITH FRANKY!" Franky puts his arms together and aims his arms at the shipwrights. "COUP DE VENT!" he launched his Coup De Vent causing plenty of damage to the shipyard as well as an opening for Rose to get the three of them out of there and safely seated on one of the rooftops.

"Are you two alright?" Rose asks

"Better question would be are you alright? Lucci hit you pretty hard." Nami says

"Don't worry about me it's just a scratch." Rose says with a smile as the wind gets rougher.

"Then why is your wind acting up?! We should get you to Chopper!" Luffy says with worry.

"This wind isn't mine, it's Aqua Laguna's."

"Aqua what?" Luffy asks

"Aqua Laguna. It's a typhoon that comes here once a year. Anyway, Iceberg's mansion is up ahead if you want to talk to him Luffy now's the best time." Rose says as she stands up.

"Good idea, you two stay here I'm going in." Luffy says as he breaks into the mansion alone.

(So that was a fraction of CP9's power... Enies Lobby is going to be some fight. Now's the time to go talk to Robin. ) Rose turns away from Nami and starts flying. "Nami, I need to go out for a bit. Tell Luffy I'll be back later."

"ROSE, WAIT!" Rose doesn't listen to Nami's yells as she flies away.

"Geez, neither of those two can stay still…" Nami says as she stays on the rooftop.


"WHAT DO YOU MEAN YOU'RE LEAVING ROBIN-CHAN?! IF IT'S ABOUT THE ACCUSATIONS DON'T WORRY WE DON'T BELIEVE IT!" Sanji yells as he and Chopper are at the other side of the canal from where Robin is and is trying to make sense of what she's saying.

"You guys are innocent, but for me it's the truth. I'm the one that shot Iceberg. You guys are going to be my scapegoats for the incident." Robin says with a cold face.

"WHAT ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT ROBIN?! PLEASE, LET'S GO BACK TOGETHER!" Chopper yells

"Thanks for letting me stay with you guys. Goodbye." Robin says as she walks away with Sanji trying to swim after her.

Robin walks a fair distance away from Sanji and Chopper knowing that they can't catch up to her.

"You're really leaving without saying goodbye Robin?" Robin turns around in shock to see Rose walking out of the alleyway she passed.

Robin quickly regains her composure and glares at her. "I take it you're going to try to convince me as well?"

"Correct. Please don't do this to yourself Robin, CP9 can't-" Before Rose could finish she was pinned to the wall with Robins arms to the point where the only part of her body that's free was her head.

"I'm surprised you didn't try to pluck me with your wind again."

"It would've just resulted in this happening again, so there wouldn't be a point in trying. I just want to talk."

"Good, because I want to talk to you as well."

"I take it you're not gonna let me out of this hold for our conversation?"

"Correct. Now, for my question: how much do you know about me?"

(This is a gamble, but I'll try it…) "*Sigh* I know about Ohara…" Rose felt the arms tighten when she mentioned Robin's home island. "I know the truth about why they destroyed the island. I KNOW YOU'RE NOT A CURSE LIKE EVERYONE THINKS YOU ARE!"

"THAT'S WHERE YOU'RE WRONG!" Robin starts breaking her composure as she tightens her hold on Rose. "Who are you really Rose? Are you a part of the World Government or the Revolutionary Army?!"

"I'M NEITHER ROBIN! I'm the Straw Hat Pirates' astronomer, nothing more. UGH!" The pain gets worse under Robin's hold.

"If you want to keep quiet about who you are that's fine. I have time to force it out of you before leaving."

"If you're gonna kill me, fine! But at least let me say my last words!" Rose says with a fierce look in her eye, Robin's eyes widen but she nods and loosens the hold a little.

"You can't leave the crew without Luffy's permission. The others are going to know about your true intentions for leaving one way or another. And once they do they're going to stop at nothing to bring you back with them. Please, keep your promise Robin. You're no curse to the world, you're a Straw Hat Pirate." Rose finishes with a smile but that smile was short lived as the grip starts to crush her, she screams in pain while fighting back the tears. She uses her wind to slam Robin to a pillar making her lose her grip on her and drops to the ground as she releases her wind hold on Robin.

"WHO'S OVER THERE?!" One of the members of Galley La yelled out in the distance. Both girls can hear them coming this way. Robin regains her composure and pins Rose to the wall again while she's recovering and forces her to face her.

"I'll leave you to the mob Rose, but I have something to say as well. If you so much as harm one of the Straw Hats I'll be sure to send CP9 to tear you limb from limb in sea stone cuffs!" Robin releases her hold on Rose to let her fall to the ground again while running away before the mob starts approaching. Rose tries to get up while catching her breath when some of the shipwrights approach her.

"IT'S THE WIND GIRL!" The shipwrights try to grab her but she pushes them away with a wind blast then flies onto the roof and tries to roof jump with as little wind as possible in order to lose them. She lands in an alleyway while the shipwrights run in a different direction thinking she went that way.

"Well, that could have gone better…" Rose mutters as she slumps down from exhaustion. (I can't believe she forced the air out of a person that's made of wind… I need to work on my logia abilities... The talk worked though.) Rose remembers Robin's threat. ("If you harm one of the Straw Hats I'll send CP9 after you!" She's starting to show her true colors, I gotta get to the others.)

She staggers up, checks to see if the coast is clear then flies up to the roof and lightly roof jumps in search of the others.

TO BE CONTINUED