Rose and Zira walk into the nearest inn/bar close to sunset then walk up to the innkeeper.

(*Sigh* this is the 5th place we've checked…) "Hi, I'm looking a room for me and my friend to stay in."

The innkeeper nods. "You're in luck. We have one room left. It will cost about 30,000 beli a night."

Rose sweat drops at the offer. (Hmm, it would be tough to stay here for long… It should be fine for at least the night…) She nods. "That will be-"

*SLAM* Everyone turns in shock to see a 10 year old boy with messy black hair, brown eyes, freckles, a pipe in his hand and a scowl on his face walking inside.

(OH CRAP IT'S ACE!) Rose and Zira stare at him in shock as he walks over to the bar while mumbling profanities.

"Damnit, that rubber brat never leaves me alone. He's giving me a headache! I need a break!" He keeps grumbling when a barkeep walks up to him.

"This isn't a playground kid. Go home. I'm not giving you any drinks."

"I just want some food." He slams some money on the counter causing him to nod.

"Fine then."

Zira whispers to Rose in shock. "Did he just say 'rubber brat'?! Does he mean Luffy?"

She nods. (So we're past Luffy getting his devil fruit and moving in with Dadan. By the looks of it Ace, Sabo and Luffy didn't become brothers yet… I don't get it, what kind of glitch is this?)

"Miss, do you still want the room?" The barkeep asks causing her to snap out of it.

She nods. "Yup, at least for-"

"A TOAST TO THE DEATH OF ANOTHER PIRATE FROM ROGER'S CREW! MAY HE ROT IN HELL WITH THE KING OF DEVILS HIMSELF GOLD ROGER!"

They turn in shock to see a drunk ranting to the bar filled with his crew who are cheering in agreement. "Honestly, Gold Roger was just a monster! Anyone who thinks otherwise as well as was associated with him should go die in a ditch!"

Rose quickly looks to see Ace gripping his pipe and ready to pounce on him at any second. (*Sigh* So much for my room tonight…) She cracks her knuckles. "Zira, fly outside will you? I'd rather you didn't get caught in this."

(Oh crap!) She gulps then slowly nods as she flies out the open window.

She turns to the innkeeper while making sure her mask is completely secured. "Hold onto that room for me please. I have to take care of something."

She starts walking to the group before Ace could get to him while the drunk keeps going.

"Hahaha! Oh man, good thing his family and his crew are dying off one by one! Less menaces I say! If he was alive today I'd-" Rose punches him in the nose causing him to fall off his chair and everyone in the bar to look at her in shock including Ace.

She smirks behind the mask as she faces the group. "Gold Roger, the king of devils?! Ha! Don't make me laugh. Gold Roger is a man just like any of you drunks. The only difference is that he had the balls to do what he wanted in life."

The group glares at her along with most of the other patrons as they stand up and get their swords and guns ready.

"What was that?! Do you know who we are?! We're the Blood pirates!"

"We've battled that man before! He's a monster!"

"You probably never met the asshole that caused so much trouble!"

Rose shrugs her shoulders. "No, but I know enough about him to know he's worthy of being called a king unlike you losers."

"OI GUYS! WE GOTTA TEACH HER SOME MANNERS!"

The crew members started surrounding her while the civilian patrons except Ace ran out of the bar.

Rose looks around nonchalantly then raises a finger up. "If you want to get your asses kicked that's fine by me, but just give me one second. There's something I gotta do." She walks over to Ace, picks him up by the back of his shirt then walks to the open window while he's flailing his limbs.

"OI! What the hell are you doing you creepy mask girl?! Put me down!"

She chuckles as she gets ready to throw him. "Sorry to interrupt your dinner kid, but I'd rather not see you get caught in the crossfire over this." She uses her wind to help her throw him out the window about 10 feet from the inn then lands in a bush.

She closes the window then grabs her staff and turns to them. (First the nobles now these guys. Man, I needed this after the day I had.) "Ready when you are boys."


Ace brushes himself off from the bushes then glares at the bar. "What the hell was that?!" He runs back to the bar but jumps out of the way when three guys were sent flying out the door.

"What the-?" He jumps out of the way for half of the guys to make a run for it while screaming in terror.

"SHE'S A REAL DEMON!"

"RUN FOR YOUR LIVES!"

"IS SHE GOLD ROGERS KID OR SOMETHING?! SHE'S A MONSTER!"

Ace widens his eyes in shock as he runs back inside to see knocked out pirates everywhere on broken tables, broken glasses everywhere and Rose brushing herself off with Zira flying inside. "You ok Zira?"

She nods.

"Glad to hear." She goes into the pirates' stuff then hands their money to the barkeep. "I apologize for the mess. Will this cover it?"

He slowly nods as he takes the money from her. "What are you?"

"Just a pirate." (Hehe, this must be how it feels for Sebastian Michaelis.) She freezes when she senses Ace then picks up his pipe and turns to him. "Hi kid, sorry about throwing you. Here's your pipe back." She tosses it back to him.

He stares at her in shock. "Why did you defend Gold Roger?"

She shrugs her shoulders. "That talk about anyone associated with him should die pissed me off. You don't choose who you're related to, so why pay for it? Besides, just because he achieved something amazing like traveling the world doesn't make him a demon. Why do you ask?"

"N-nothing!" He runs away causing Rose to lightly giggle.

(That kid really is a tsundere.) She walks back to the innkeeper who's quivering in fear.

"U-um, I'm sorry but I realize we ran out of rooms!" (I can't have her staying here or those pirates could come back and destroy the place!)

She softly sighs. (I figured this would happen… Oh well, it was worth it to defend Ace.) "I understand. I apologize for the scare. Do you know of any open places?"

He quickly shakes his head. "No. I'm sorry!"

"Thanks anyway. Come on Zira." She walks out of the inn with Zira following.

Zira sighs. "Did you really have to beat them up?"

"It was either a beating from me or him. I think they would've preferred it from me."

"So what now?"

"Looks like we're camping tonight." They make it to the woods where they find a soft spot to sleep at.

"There's never a peaceful day with you around is there?" Zira says as she lands on a tree.

She starts chuckling while using her bag as a makeshift pillow. "Hehe, I guess not. Consider this a warmup for when the crew gets back together. Once that happens you're never gonna have a boring day again."

She nods with a smile. "Glad to hear. So, any idea what this glitch is?"

"I honestly have no idea… I know what part of the past we're in at least. We're in the part where Luffy-"

"WAAH!"

They look out in shock in the direction of the scream. "Speak of the rubber devil." Rose runs to the direction of the scream and watches from afar to see a 7 year old Luffy crying while running for his life from an angry bear.

Zira stares at the bear in shock. "Are you sure we should be sleeping in the woods Rose?"

"We can talk about that later!" Rose creates a wind cannon and fires it at the bear to knock him out.

Luffy blinks in confusion as he stops crying then turns around to see the bear knocked out. "Huh?" He looks around but doesn't find anyone then shrugs his shoulders and keeps walking.

(Luffy…) Rose follows Luffy as he makes the journey to Dadan's hut and keeps firing wind cannons at the animals about to attack Luffy from behind until he makes it home.

After he's safe they start walking down the mountain.

Zira lands onto her shoulder. "I'm impressed Rose. I thought you'd run over to greet him after not seeing him all this time."

"Cut me some slack. I still don't know what I need to do here… If saving Ace caused this glitch then it has to have something to do with those three… *Sigh* I'll figure it out tomorrow… Let's just get some sleep."

"What if the bear attacks us?!"

"Relax; we'll stay in the woods close to Fushia Village. The animals don't bother anyone there." They make it to a safe part in the woods then get ready to sleep.

"So what part of the past are we in?" Zira asks as she gets ready to sleep.

"We're in the part where Luffy is trying to get Ace to accept him as a friend. He doesn't accept him until after he and Sabo save Luffy from Porchemy." (I have to hold myself back from beating them up if I see them…)

Zira nods in understanding. "We can figure it out tomorrow. Night."

"Good night."


10 year old Rose is walking into her foster home for the first time with her foster father Rick: a skinny 45 year old tan man with messy short black hair, and blue eyes wearing a black stained t-shirt and blue jeans.

"The rules are simple. You can do whatever you want, but you have to take care of yourself and don't embarrass me got it?" Rick asks as he shows her around the house.

She slowly nods while showing a blank expression. (I just have to endure this until either I find a way out of this world or I turn 18… I can do this…)

"Here's your room." He shows her a dull brown bedroom about 9 feet by 10 feet consisting of only a bed and an old dresser. "I don't want to hear any complaining."

"Ok."

"Good, come with me." He leads her to the living room where 11 year old Marie and Laura are watching tv on the couch.

"Marie, Laura, please come here."

Marie pauses the show then walks up to her with Laura.

"So this is her?" Marie asks

Rick nods. "Go introduce yourself."

"H-hi there, I'm Rose. Let's get along." She extends her hands for them to shake.

Both of them take it with a grin.

"Hi. I'm Marie, and this is Laura. So, what do you do for fun?"

Rose starts to relax a little. (Maybe they're not so bad.) "I like stargazing, anime, I also like regular movies involving fighting, fantasy, and adventures. What about you guys?"

"None of that stuff. I prefer more things in the real life." Laura says.

"Isn't anime Chinese? That's weird. Does she have to stay dad?" Marie asks.

Rose twitches an eyebrow in irritation. (I take it back. These people stink.)

Rick sighs. "Sorry, we're getting paid a good sum by the government to keep her so she's staying. I agree that she's a weird one… Those crazy astronomers just had to leave her behind…"

Rose grits her teeth in rage. "Don't insult my parents! They're not crazy!"

He smacks her across the face in irritation. "Did they prove that other worlds exist?"

She rubs the red mark on her pale cheek while glaring at him."No, but that's what I'm here for!"

"Ha! The day you do that is when dogs fly!" He picks her up under his arm before she takes a swing at him and takes her to her room. "Here's a lesson for you. Unless you take a dose of reality you won't get anywhere in life!" He throws her into the room and crashes her back onto the opposite wall. She lands onto the bed after he slams the door shut.

She sits up, rubs her aching back, punches her pillow to calm herself down then goes into her bag to read one of her mangas to cheer herself up while holding back from crying. (The sooner I leave this world the better...)


Rose slowly wakes up then sighs as she rubs her eyes. (Man, even my dream sucked… *Sigh* At least it's behind me now. Hehe, I wonder what happened to those jerks after I left? Oh well.)

She gets up when Zira wakes up. "Morning Rose."

"Morning Zira, wanna get some breakfast before we head out?"

She nods as they head to Fushia village and they walk into the party bar to find some food.

A green haired barkeeper walks over to them with a friendly smile. "Hello there, my name's Makino. What can I get you?"

Rose smiles behind her mask. "Hi Makino. I'll get some eggs for me and my friend to go." She points to Zira who's nodding.

She nods with a grin as she gets them ready. "That's one smart bird you have there. Are you new here?"

"Yup, we're pirates."

"I see, how long do you plan on staying?"

"I'm not entirely sure… We kind of wound up here by accident. I gotta say though, it's really nice here."

She giggles as she finishes the food and packs them up. "I'm glad you like it here. I hope you come back to visit before leaving."

She nods as she pays for the food. "We will. Thank you Makino."

They head out in order to eat in the forest. When she senses that no one is around she takes off the mask and eats with Zira.

"Shouldn't we be close to the guys Rose?" Zira asks.

Rose nods as she finishes her food. "Don't worry we will be. I need to come up with a fake name in case I have to introduce myself to Luffy and Ace…"

Zira nods in agreement. "Yea, even though they think you're dead at your time they could get suspicious when they first meet you. I got one! How about Sally?"

"No way! How about Rukia?" (I've always liked Rukia Kuchiki.)

Zira tilts her head in thought then nods. "That works. Ready to go?"

"Yup." She puts her mask back on then closes her eyes to practice her observation haki to sense them. She picks her bag up and heads out with Zira to find the boys.


Ace rushes over to the tree that he and Sabo are hiding their money in with a bag of loot. He searches the area to see Luffy gone then calls up to Sabo. "Sabo, are you there?"

Sabo looks down from the tree while grinning. "Hi Ace."

Ace widens his eyes in shock at Sabo's missing tooth as he climbs up. "What the hell happened to your tooth?!"

"Just a steal gone wrong. I'm ok though, I managed to get a job done."

"If you're ok then it's fine. I got a big haul today." He grins as he shows off his loot causing Sabo to look at it in shock.

"Whoa! You got more than me! How did you do it?!"

"I stole it from a bunch of traders near the gate."

"Looks like you beat me again."

"Who cares about winning? It's our pirate savings after all."

He nods in agreement while grinning as he places the money in the hidden spot. "I wonder how much we need for a pirate ship?"

Ace shrugs. "Who knows? We still have ways to go. Hurry and close it before someone sees."

"PIRATE SHIP?! YOU GUYS WANT TO BE PIRATES TOO?!" Ace and Sabo look down in shock to see Luffy looking at them with excitement.

They quickly rush down from the tree then grab Luffy and tie him to the tree.

Sabo crosses his arms over his chest and glares at Luffy. "So this is the Luffy you were telling me about."

Luffy nods "Ace talks about me?!"

"He tells me you're an idiot!"

"Shishishi! He's funny!"

"That's not a compliment!"

Ace groans in irritation. "I can't believe he managed to follow me all the way up here now."

Sabo shakes his head. "This is why I said to come live with me Ace! That training of yours bit us in the ass!"

Ace glares at him. "Shut up! Now he knows our secret! If we leave him alone then he'll tell someone!"

Luffy keeps grinning like nothing bad is happening while Ace and Sabo look at him darkly.

"Let's kill him." Ace says.

Sabo nods in agreement. "Let's do it."

Luffy freezes in shock before screaming. "EEEEEEHHHH?! DON'T KILL ME! I DON'T WANNA DIE! SOMEBODY SAVE ME!"

Sabo pushes his mouth shut to shut him up. "Shut up you idiot!"

Ace turns to Sabo in irritation. "Sabo! Go ahead and do it!"

"Why do I have to do it?! You do it!"

"I never killed anyone before!"

"I never did either! I don't know how to do it!"

"Don't drop me in the water!" Luffy cries out.

Ace looks at him in realization. "Right the river!"

"Why did he tell us that?!" Sabo asks.

"Because he's an idiot!"

Rose and Zira watch the scene from the trees.

"Wow, Ace is completely different compared to when he's older." Zira says causing Rose to nod as she clenches her fists.

"Yup, a part of me wants to go down there and whack them but this event is too important…" They keep watching the scene when they hear shouting.

"WHO'S OVER THERE?!" Porchemy yells causing Ace and Sabo to freeze, untie Luffy and hide in the bushes as Porchemy and his henchmen walk into the area.

"Are you sure it's Ace that stole the money?" Porchemy asks.

The henchman nods. "Yes it was. I'm ashamed of it, but he took me by surprise…"

(Damnit, I stole from Porchemy?!) Ace looks at them in frustration as they search the area when Luffy runs in and gets caught by Porchemy.

Luffy struggles to get out of his grasp. "Hey! Let me go! Help me Ace!"

Porchemy looks at him in shock. "You just said Ace right? Do you know him?"

"He's my friend. Though he did try to kill me."

"That friend of yours took our money and ran away. Do you know where it is?"

Ace and Sabo stay hidden in the bushes in frustration.

"They'll find our treasure!" Sabo says.

"That idiot had better not say a word!" Ace says.

Luffy purses his lips to the side while whistling and shifting his eyes everywhere. "I… I don't know where the treasure is…."

Zira stares at him in utter shock. "Oh my god, he's an even worse liar than you are!"

"Don't remind me…" Roses knuckles turn white from clenching them so hard as they keep watching the scene.

Porchemy chuckles as he starts walking away with Luffy. "It looks like you leave us no choice then. Don't worry, I'll make you tell us."

Luffy flails his limbs to try to escape. "Let me go! Where are you taking me?! Help me!"

(…) Rose does everything she can to hold herself back from going after them as they left the scene and Ace and Sabo leave the bushes.

Ace grits his teeth in frustration. "Damnit, he's gonna tell them where it is as soon as they hit him. Come on! We gotta move the treasure!" He and Sabo rush to the spot and start taking their loot from the hideaway.

"What the hell?! Shouldn't they be going after Luffy?!" Zira asks.

Rose sighs. "They only go to save him after they found out he didn't tell them about the treasure. Until then, Porchemy will torture Luffy to try to get it out of him…"

"WHAT?! Then what do we do?!"

"We can't save Luffy outright or their brotherhood might get ruined… We could lower the damage from afar though. Come on!"

Rose and Zira start heading to Grey Terminal.


"COUGH IT UP! TELL US WHERE THE TREASURE IS!" Porchemy yells as he tries to get the information out of Luffy by punching him with spiked gloves.

Luffy shakes his head as he's dangling on the rope. "I WON'T SAY ANYTHING!"

Porchemy grits his teeth in frustration when they hear Ace's voice from outside. "IF YOU WANT THE TREASURE COME AND GET ME! I HAVE IT OUT HERE!"

The guys jolt in shock.

"Ace…" Luffy starts tearing up again.

"Half of you go get him and bring him here! The rest of you stay with me to watch the kid! We can use him as leverage!" Porchemy says as half of them run outside to go after Ace but he wasn't outside.

"Huh? Where is he?"

"THIS WAY, YOU MORONS!" They freeze as they hear Ace's voice in the woods.

"LET'S GET HIM!" The men charge into the woods but still can't find him.

"Thanks for falling for the trick." The guys look up in shock to see Zira smirking at him while Rose jumps off the tree behind them.

"So you guys like beating up kids? Come at me then!"

They look at her in shock before glaring at her.

"You're friends with Ace aren't you?! We'll make you pay for stealing our money!"

Rose shuts her eyes to practice her observation haki as she dodges their swords then grabs her staff and uses her wind to zip through the group and knock them out.

Rose nods in satisfaction then looks up at Zira. "Did I ever mention how awesome your devil fruit is Zira?"

"You can say it more often. Are those two going to save Luffy yet?"

Rose uses her observation haki to sense Ace and Sabo rushing over to the hideout. "It looks like they're on their way. Wanna watch them kick some butt?"

Zira nods as they make it back to Porchemy's hideout.


Porchemy is waiting impatiently for the others to come back. "What the hell is taking those guys so long?! We're running out of time!" He turns back to Luffy. "Tell us where the treasure is right now!"

"I won't say!"

Porchemy grits his teeth in frustration as he grabs his sword. "Fine, then! Go die!"

He raises his sword to attack when Ace and Sabo scream while break through the wall. "STOP IT!"

All the pirates except Porchemy flinch at the sight as the boys charge at them. "THAT'S HIM BOSS! THAT'S ACE!"

"What happened to those other guys?! Did he take them out?!"

Porchemy grabs Ace by the neck. "So you decided to come out of hiding! About time! I was starting to get worried!"

Sabo jumps from behind and hits him on the back of the head with his pipe to let him go.

While Ace is attacking some of the pirates Sabo swipes one of the pirates' knives and cuts Luffy's ropes and grabs onto him. "Come on Ace, let's get out of here!"

Ace shakes his head as he glares at Porchemy. "Go ahead of me!"

Sabo turns to him in shock. "What are you doing you idiot?!"

"Once I face an enemy I never run."

"He has a sword dumbass!"

Porchemy gets his sword ready. "Aren't you giving into your urges too much? Just give up the money."

"I can use it for better things than you can."

"ENOUGH!" Porchemy slashes through Ace's pipe and goes to attack him but Sabo puts Luffy down and hits Porchemy to back him up.

Sabo and Ace face Porchemy head on while some of his henchmen surround them.

Luffy watches in awe as Ace and Sabo defeat Porchemy and his men before passing out.

Ace punches Porchemy in the face and knocks him out while Sabo took care of the henchmen.

Sabo picks Luffy up and carries him on his back as they walk out of the hideout while Rose and Zira watched the show from a distance.

"Wow, they're not so bad huh?" Zira asks causing her to nod while grinning behind her mask.

"Yea, they're rough around the edges but they're good brothers." (I'd rather have lived with them growing up than Marie and Laur-) Rose snaps out her thoughts when she sees one of the pirates staggering out with a gun in his hand and aims it at the guys.

(Oh crap!) Rose rushes to the scene and before he can shoot Rose punches him in the nose and knocks him down.

Both boys turn in shock to see her knock him down then freeze as she sensed them staring at her.

(Shit, now I've done it…) She turns to them and then endured the painfully awkward silence with them for a minute.

"Umm…" She flashes the peace sign with her right hand then starts running when Ace runs in front of her with Sabo's pipe and points it at her.

"Hold it mask girl! Who the hell are you?! What are you doing here?!"

(Should I tell him about Rose? She told me not to tell anyone… I'll see where this goes…) Sabo nervously watches the exchange.

She waves her hands defensively. "Take it easy kid. I'm not with these guys. I'm-"

"PORCHEMY! WHERE'S THE MONEY?!" They freeze when they hear Bluejam yelling.

"I'm getting you out of here before you get us killed!" Rose picks Ace up over her shoulder while she and Sabo make a run for it before Bluejam shows up.

Zira sighs as she follows them (Like I said not a peaceful day with her around…) She stares at them blankly before chuckling. (Oh well, it's pretty fun being her friend.)


After the group makes it to safety Ace jumps out of Roses hold and glares at her and Zira while Sabo patches Luffy up after he woke up.

"Who the hell are you?! And what's with the bird?!"

(Here goes nothing… Good thing I'm wearing a mask right now…) She nervously grins. "You can call me Rukia. This is my friend Zira. We're travelling pirates."

"Nice to meet you." Zira says

Ace and Luffy's eyes bug out in shock. "A TALKING BIRD?!"

"Yup, I ate a devil fruit that allows me to copy voices." Zira changes her voice to sound like Luffy's. "Hi guys!"

"WHOA! THAT'S AWESOME! What other voices can you do?!" Luffy asks as Zira keeps imitating other voices.

Sabo stares at Rose in confusion. (She's not gonna tell them her real name? She told them Zira's though…)

Ace recovers from the shock then glares at her. "Where's your crew?"

Rose rubs the back of her neck sheepishly. "That's kind of hard to explain. You see, my crew got separated then a lot of strange things happened and we kind of wound up here."

He keeps glaring at her as he gets ready to fight. "Why should I believe you? You could be working under Bluejam!"

Sabo runs in front of him. "She's not working under Bluejam Ace! I think we can trust her!"

"Why should we?"

"Remember how I told you I lost my tooth from a steal gone wrong yesterday? It was a bunch of nobles that attacked me and she stopped them from hitting me even though they were from the royal family."

Ace widens his eyes at this then scoffs. "Whatever, I'm still gonna keep an eye on you got it?!"

She nods. "Whatever you want. As long as you don't mess with those pirates anymore."

Luffy stops playing with Zira as he remembers what happened then starts tearing up. "I thought I was gonna die…"

(Luffy…) Rose looks at him softly while Ace glares at him.

"Shut up! I hate crybabies!"

Luffy sucks it up then bows to them. "Thank you… For saving me… Waah!" Luffy starts crying again causing Ace to glare at him

"Why you!"

Sabo puts a hand in front of him. "Easy Ace, he's trying to thank us."

Rose goes over to ruffle Luffy's hair. "It's ok kid."

Luffy looks up at her in shock when Ace glares at him. "WHY DIDN'T YOU JUST SPILL THE SECRET?!"

"If I did then you wouldn't let me be your friend…"

"It'd still be better than dying wouldn't it?! Why do you want to be friends with me so badly?!"

"BECAUSE THERE'S NO ONE ELSE!"

Rose, Zira, Ace and Sabo stare at him in shock as he keeps going while weeping. "I can't go back to Fushia Village, and I hate the mountain bandits! If I didn't follow you then I'd be alone! That's worse than getting beaten up!"

Ace keeps staring at him. "What about your parents?"

"I don't have any. It's just grandpa."

"… So it hurts when I'm not here and if I'm here you're happy?"

He nods. "Yup."

"Then you want me to live?"

"Of course!"

Ace looks at him in shock then rubs the back of his head. "I hate spoiled kids like you though."

Luffy looks at him angrily. "I'm not a spoiled kid! I'm strong!"

"What kind of strong kid cries like a little girl?!"

"You try getting punched by spikes! I'm only 7! When I'm older I'll get stronger!"

"I didn't even cry when I was 7! Don't compare me to you!"

Rose holds back from laughing as Sabo breaks up the fight.

"Is this supposed to happen?" Zira asks in a whisper.

She nods as she whispers back. "So far everything's ok."

"Guys, we have a problem." Sabo says causing everyone to look at him. "I live in Grey Terminal, but now our lives are gonna get targeted by Bluejam."

"In that case stay with us." Luffy says with a grin.

Ace nods in agreement. "It's better if we stay together."

Sabo nods but freezes when he sees Rose and Zira leaving. "Hey, wait Ro- I mean Rukia! Where are you going?"

Rose stops and turns to them. "It's been a long day. We're gonna go hit the hay."

"Won't hitting hay make you more tired though?" Luffy asks causing Ace to hit him.

"No you idiot! It's an expression. You're heading to that inn from last night?"

Zira shakes her head. "Nope, it turns out the place had no more rooms so we're camping out."

Ace looks at them in shock. (Before that fight it sounded like they had a room set up though… Did they get kicked out because of that bar fight to defend Roger?)

"Why not stay with us?" Luffy asks causing them to look at him in shock.

Rose shakes her head. "Sorry Luffy, I don't wanna im-" She's cut off as Luffy and Sabo each grab a leg.

"They'll be after you too right? So we should stay together. Come on Rukia." Sabo says with a grin. (I want to know why she's in hiding too.)

"Plleeeaaaassseeee?" Luffy begs with puppy dog eyes.

Rose sweat drops at their persistence. (Oh man, these kids… What the hell do I do here?!) "Help me out Zira."

She sits on her shoulder and whispers to her. "You said it'll help us if we stay close to them, so why not?"

"Quit being stubborn and come on already!" Ace says as he walks ahead.

Rose blinks in surprise then nods. (I guess it can't hurt if I don't interfere too much... But when Bluejam takes Sabo… *Sigh* I'll see what happens.) "Thanks. Let's go."

"By the way, why are you wearing a mask?" Luffy asks as she picks him and Sabo up.

"I've gotten used to wearing it. It gets fun after a while and I feel pretty mysterious with it."

"How about showing us your face?" Ace asks

"Don't wanna."

Ace glares at her when Zira flies up to him and whispers to him. "She's got this really bad burn on her face that she's ashamed to show people. Don't press her."

Ace widens his eyes at this then nods. "Ok."

"It's really cool!" Luffy says with a grin as they make it to Dadans hut and sneak into the bedroom.

"Much better than the woods." Zira says as she makes herself comfortable.

Rose nods in agreement as she puts Luffy and Sabo down and gets ready for bed. (It's ok to sleep with the mask on as long as it's secured… I'd better be careful though…)

"Rukia." Sabo motions his hand for her while Ace and Luffy fall asleep.

She sits next to him and he starts whispering. "Why didn't you tell them your real name? Your name really is Rose right?"

She nods and whispers back. "It's hard to explain. Remember how I said that I can't have people recognizing me?"

He nods.

"Well, Ace and Luffy are some of the people I can't have recognizing me."

He looks at her in confusion. "What do you mean? This is their first time meeting you right? Why can't you have them recognizing you?"

"You wouldn't believe me if I told you."

"Try me."

"I'm from the future."

He stares at her blankly. "… You're right, I don't believe you… But, I'll keep quiet for you on one condition. Tell me one of your adventures before going to bed."

She nods. (I did promise… I shouldn't go into my adventures with Luffy… As long as I don't mention the war the Talon Mines should be ok.) "Ok, I'll tell you about how I met Zira."

He nods in excitement as she quietly tells him her adventure in the Talon Mines before falling asleep.


The next morning Magra walks into the bedroom in shock of to see the boys sprawled on the floor and using Rose as a pillow while she's sleeping soundly with her mask on and Zira sleeping in a corner.

"DADAN! LOOK AT THIS!"

Dadan and the other mountain bandits run in to find them asleep.

Dadan looks at them in utter confusion. (What the hell?! A masked girl, another boy and a bird?!) "ACE! LUFFY! WHO ARE THESE GUYS?! I'M NOT RUNNING AN INN HERE!"

"I'M AWAKE!" Rose jolts up causing the boys to roll off of her.

Rose looks around to see the boys still asleep then freezes when she sees Dadan.

(So this is Luffy and Ace's foster mother. Hehe, this'll be funny.) She gets up then politely bows to her. "I apologize for the intrusion Dadan. My name is Ro- Rukia... The bird is my friend Zira."

Dadan quirks an eyebrow in confusion. (She's more polite than I thought. What's with the mask?)

"What are you doing here? And what's with the mask?"

She rubs the back of her head while the boys and Zira start getting up. "The boys got into a fight with some pirates and I helped them out. Afterwards, they kind of invited me to stay over. About the mask, I'd rather not talk about it."

Before Dadan can ask any more questions Sabo walks up to her with a grin and shakes her hand. "Nice to meet you Dadan. I'm Sabo."

She looks at him in shock. "I've heard of you! You're a real shit!"

He chuckles. "And I heard that you're a real bitch."

"WHAT WAS THAT?! COME HERE YOU LITTLE PIPSQUEAK!" The boys, Rose and Zira start laughing as they run out of the hut with Dadan yelling at them. "IF YOU'RE STAYING HERE THEN YOU'D BETTER CATCH SOMETHING GOOD! I WON'T HAVE ANY FREELOADERS HERE!"

Rose nods. "DON'T WORRY, I'LL KEEP THEM SAFE FOR YOU DADAN!"

They head out into the woods to start their new daily lives.

TO BE CONTINUED