Chapter 13

"Then from today onwards you are part of my team. I am the team leader. You will be expected to follow my orders once I hand them out. Even if they make you uncomfortable. I will try my best not to give such orders but if I do, you must execute them without question. You are expected to keep team matters absolutely confidential, even if that means you lose your life or have to bear unspeakable hardship. The team must be able to rely on you, on your loyalty and confidence. From now on you don't only live for yourself and your child, you live for the team. If you cannot do that, say so now."

Itachi laid down the law harshly. She had to know what was expected of her. They would not accept betrayal. They would treat her as their own, but they had to be able to put their faith in her in turn.

Rouge gulped at the sudden change in atmosphere, but her determination never wavered.

"I accept."

She had planned to do that anyway. She knew how good pirate crews operated, had seen the example of Roger's crew's loyalty. She had always admired that, yearning for it even, to an extent. Now, what Itachi said sounded almost like the relationship they had shared if you ignored the harsh tone he used.

"Good." Itachi smiled. He had expected nothing else.

"Now that you're part of my team, it's only fair you get to know some things", Itachi started to say but was unexpectedly interrupted by Rouge.

"Right! Your cover! I always thought you were super wise and mature for a 20-year old! How old are you really then?", Rouge suddenly asked in excited triumph as the atmosphere relaxed once again.

"16"

Silence

"…huh? …Could you... repeat that?"

Itachi rolled his eyes "...16"

"NO WAY...!?", Rouge couldn't help but sputter. He was still legally a minor! Oh my god! She was going to pretend to have a child with a guy a decade her junior who was legally a minor.

"Hn", Itachi definitely sounded amused at her slightly hysterical self right then.

"You… but how… what?"

Itachi decided that that was an excellent time to drop the Genjutsu on himself. He stretched experimentally and relished in the comfort of not feeling the constant hum of chakra over his skin for once. It had been way too long.

Rouge suddenly quieted down and looked at Itachi with wide eyes.

"That… that's how you really look? Wait, when did you even remove…"

Rouge was rambling. Her mind still reeling from the revelation earlier now trying to associate the teen before her with the man she had spent the last month with, the man she had employed and worked like a horse.

Wait, wasn't this child abuse? This totally counted as child labor didn't it!?

While Rouge was still reconsidering all her life choices up to this moment, Itachi silently watched her, quietly amused. This was the only good part about being considered a genius. Ok, there were a few other good ones, but they were usually outweighed by the bad, by the expectations, pressure, and by responsibility.

He finally decided to distract her after watching her internal battle for a solid minute or two.

"So, before I brief you on important information you need to know, I'll use the technique I told you about."

Rouge's eyes snapped back to him so fast she got dizzy for a second. Eager and slightly apprehensive, she looked at him questioningly.

"You don't need to do anything. Just let me touch your stomach for a moment."

That was… surprisingly simple.

"Okay", she agreed and promptly shifted to allow him better access.

Itachi stood up and kneeled down before her, before performing the necessary hand seals. His right hand started glowing green, to signal a medical jutsu being performed.

He reached out his hand for her stomach and gently placed it above the growing fetus inside.

Rouge gasped.

She had watched all this with wide, curious eyes, unwilling to make a sound and disturb her new leader with questions. It wouldn't do if she caused him to fail after all.

She couldn't help herself now though. The palm on her stomach radiated warmth, a warmth that spread to her whole body before concentrating back into her stomach, where it seemed to form a ball.

It felt weird. Not painful or bad, just strange.

The feeling slowly faded into a constant thrum at the back of her mind and Itachi removed his hand.

"Is… Did it work?"

Itachi's black eyes flashed red for a moment - she was sure she hadn't imagined it -before he nodded in confirmation.

"What was that?", she asked, giving in to her curiosity now she felt reassured, "you said more people use it where you're from, so it can't be a devil fruit, right?"

"Hn. My people learn to use a form of internal energy to aid us."

"Can anyone learn it?", she asked eagerly.

"… if they start early enough"

She tilted her head in confusion.

"Between the ages of 2 at the earliest and 10 at the latest. You could still try but the learning process would be incredibly painful if it works at all. If not, you'd die.", Itachi explained bluntly.

That sounded quite dangerous.

Rouge was disappointed for a brief moment before bouncing back. She was about to continue questioning him but…

"For now, let me just brief you about some basics. The technique I used can make you a little tired on the first day, so let's keep it brief. Afterward, you should rest. We will refine the plan to get you and your child out of danger tomorrow. The whole month leading up to the time we decide to pull this off, you'll have plenty of time to ask me about things."

Itachi had to curb this now, or she'd fall asleep on him without even knowing the basics of their team or their purpose.

Reluctantly but pacified, Rouge nodded.

"Good, first of all, what we're looking for is a specific island. Our home. We got transported to the East Blue on accident and have no idea where exactly in the Blues or on the Grand Line it is located so we can get back. That's our goal."

Rouge sighed in quiet relief at that. She had half expected him to be after the One piece or Roger's hideout or something. Whatever doubts she may have still had, eased considerably at the revelation that wasn't the case, at the revelation she hadn't truly misjudged the character and motivations of the teen before her as much as she'd feared.

"Right, you said 'we' a few times now. You mean our team, right? How many are we?"

Itachi inwardly smiled at the fact she already addressed herself as part of the team. She had truly decided to stick to her words, or so it appeared. Good.

"Including you, there's 6 of us."

That was way fewer than she'd expected.

"Most likely", Itachi continued, "it will take a long time to find the place. One of us has been here, searching for years, and hasn't found any clues at all. That being said, I should mention we have the means to care for a toddler while we search. It may not be the best environment, to grow up on the move, but the conditions will still be more than acceptable."

Another burden lifted from Rouge's shoulders. She had been worried about that. After all, the crew had disbanded, and the members were now spread all over the place. Locating any of them could take months if they were unlucky. That he was prepared to make arrangements for her child spoke highly of him.

Her thoughts were interrupted by a yawn. It seemed Itachi had been right to warn her. The adrenaline or whatever other energy had kept her going had seemingly run out now. She had gone through several emotional rollercoasters already and it wasn't even close to lunchtime.

She couldn't hold back another yawn.

"Hn", without a comment Itachi stood up and scooped her up into his arms.

"Wha-", she started to protest, "I can walk… on…"

She never got to finish her sentence as she drifted off to sleep.

Itachi simply continued carrying her back upstairs and gently placed her down onto the bed. He removed her shoes and covered her with only the sheets. The days were truly hot, and he didn't want her to get heatstroke after all.

Now, he had the rest of the day to himself. Maybe he could work on that jutsu he wanted to master while leaving one of his clones to look out for his newest protégé…

Rouge ended up sleeping most of the day away. She only woke up around dinner time but when she did, she felt better than she had in ages.

She had missed this, not waking up ready to sprint for the bathroom. Though she suspected it'd be extra awful once the stasis technique was canceled in return.

Speaking of which, she really had to find a chance to study it. The energy her new leader could use and everything it could potentially do was just so fascinating she couldn't help but be excited.

No, even after sleeping on it, Rouge couldn't get herself to regret her decision. Roger's thirst for action and adventure had long since infected her, what with the stories he told with that infectious grin of his. She would have, if not for her pregnancy, joined a group of mercenaries as a doctor herself. She had always wanted to see the wondrous places Roger gushed about, meet all kinds of people, and experience that sense of freedom her love had adored for herself.

Oh, she wasn't under any illusion that It'd be easy or that everything would go smoothly. Yet, from the expression on his face, he thought it was worth it.

She missed him.

Oh god, how much she missed him, regardless of the fact they hadn't known each other for long, hadn't been able to spend much time together, and even less of that alone. They had never been able to date openly. Yet, love was irrational that way.

Now that he had left her, left them… she would make sure to experience it for herself, the sea he loved. She felt like she'd be closer to him if she did, as if she may get to know him better that way, even if he couldn't be around in person. She could introduce the greatest love of Roger's life to their child personally.

She had known about the pirate king's illness, of course. That was the only reason she had accepted that plan of his, cruel as it was.

She had looked for a cure for a long time, of course. Yet, she had never succeeded. The crew's doctor and Rouge had only been able to find a way to prolong the time he'd had left, nothing more.

That's why she once vowed to continue amassing medical knowledge until she became the best doctor in the world. With the circumstances being what they were, she had been prepared to give up on that goal. Now that she had hope for survival, she could once more work towards that dream. She would find a cure to the illness that had robbed Roger from her side. In fact, she would become the best doctor there was and never allow anyone else she cared about to leave her the same way. Especially her child.

But first… first she needed to make sure that hope turned into reality. If her new leader could pull off what he had suggested, could completely remove her and her child from the Marines' radar, she swore to never betray him, to use all her skills and knowledge to assist him and their team. She didn't really know much about the team yet but even if they were murderers or killers she would keep to her word. She wouldn't forgive herself if she did anything less.

Author's Note:

So here we are, I finally found some time to edit this chapter since I became sick.

Sickness and vacations are probably going to be the only times I'll be able to write anymore. So I can't promise to show any signs of life on a regular basis. Sorry guys!