Descent

by JustAProblem

Scars are a sign of pride and strength. A sign of survival. Naturally, this only applies to the physical scars and not the mental scars. No, mental scars are almost universally agreed to be negative and for good reason. Physical scars merely change how your body looks. Mental scars change how a person thinks. Rosan just wants to enjoy life. He didn't ask for all this. OC! Not-Si!

9. Chapter 9: Serenity

Chapter 9 is here! We're slowing the pace down a bit for the next few chapters as we develop our characters, before we pick up again so enjoy! Not much else to say so let's get straight into the chapter!

"Modification!" - Normal Speech

"Modification!" - Thoughts

"Modification!" - Mod

"Modification!" - Techniques

---

Descent

Chapter 9: Serenity

The warm summer air brushed gently against his skin and he almost let out a relaxing sigh. In the distance, he could see the largest of the trees gently swaying in time with the wind.

It was a beautiful and peaceful day...

So why the hell did he feel so agitated?

10 year old Rosan sat on the edge of the White Rose as he watched his destination, a summer island, get closer and closer. The summer island, for all intents and purposes, looked like the ideal vacation spot yet, Rosan didn't feel like he was going on one. His lips were pursed in discomfort as the island neared.

Maybe this was a bad idea —

He felt a warm hand clutch his own and he was sent a reassuring squeeze. Craning his head slightly, red and purple met electric blue. The redhead flashed a small smile and allowed himself to relax a little.

"So this is Baterilla, the island where you were raised?"

12 year old Meiko looked at the island with a hint of awe mixed with trepidation. On one hand this was Rosan's former home… on the other hand, this was Rosan's former home and the bad memories seemed to outweigh the good tremendously.

Meiko knew why Rosan was hesitant to come here but he really needed this. She just hoped that the boy got some form of closure by coming here.

After what he had told her… well how could she not insist he come here? It had been 6 years since he had last been on this island!

Remembering the conversation they had months ago left the blonde thinking. She blushed scarlet as she remembered the entire scope of the conversation they had 5 months ago.

---

1 month after the events of Fregate

A 9 year old Rosan sat cross legged, in the clearing of his mindscape, idly observing Meiko and Mod-chan laughing about who knows what.

He was currently practicing the speed of activating Save Point so he allowed himself to get lost in his thoughts. He had been practicing this technique for a while now, so his body knew the motions without him having to put much thought into it.

Later, he would try and see if he could increase the limit.

Rosan stared longer then he would have liked at Meiko's elated expression and felt his face heat up. The child looked away before they noticed him staring and let out a grunt as he lost focus of his technique.

He had poured too much power into it.

That couldn't be goo —

The resulting boom made a deep scowl form on his face.

Look at him… messing up techniques because of his silly little crush. This wasn't like him at all and he felt embarrassed that of all things, his feelings for Meiko would throw him so off balance.

He was alerted to their presence by the sound of rapidly approaching footsteps. Glancing at Mod-chan and Meiko, Rosan swiftly wiped away his scowl and regarded them both with a neutral expression.

"Rosan, what was that loud noise? Are you okay? Are you hurt anywhere? Should I get the medical supplies?"

Meiko's doting used to annoy him but now, it caused Rosan to flush in appreciation. He liked being the sole focus of her attention more then he liked to admit.

"That won't be necessary Meiko, this is my mindscape," he replied and her mouth formed an O in realization. She looked adorable with her face set like that but then again she looked adorable any —

Goddammit.

Rosan wanted to slam his head into a wall until something broke at the thoughts invading him.

How did this even happen? Rosan prided himself in knowing about himself but his feelings for Meiko came completely out of left field.

The redhead blamed it on his suppressed emotions so really, it was his fault. His feelings for her had most likely been slowly building up the more time he spent with her but he had never payed attention to it. It made sense, the blonde was the only one who showed him positive attention on Daybreak, his crush had probably unknowingly developed there...

Seeing Meiko in that dress, so pleased with him, wearing something that he bought her, made all his latent feelings burst forth like a veritable freight train.

His emotions for her had steadily been building up but it was blocked by a wall and cnce the wall crumbled, all of it slammed into him and caught him completely off guard, which reduced him to his current, pathetic, state.

Now, the Mod Mod no Mi user was scrambling to get a grasp of himself and making terrible progress. At least he had stopped stuttering just by being near her. It didn't help that even before suppressing his emotions, Rosan had never quite felt something like this before.

Goddammit.

Rosan cleared his throat and said "I'm fine Meiko, really. I just... put a bit too much power in my technique is all."

She nodded at his explanation and instead of going back to where she was sitting, she plopped herself right next to the younger boy.

Rosan resisted the urge to put his head in his hands. This idiot didn't seem to understand the effect she was having on him.

Mod smiled knowingly and Rosan nearly scowled at her.

The damn traitor was having too much fun watching Rosan struggle like a newborn to get a grasp of this feeling. When Rosan had tried to modify his feelings to make them go away, Mod-chan had denied it.

He didn't even know she could do that!

The woman had told him to stop being a coward and to deal with his feelings head on. He reluctantly agreed with her and instead of forcefully using Modification, he had stopped attempting to do it.

Instead, he had tried to get advice from the woman on what to do but she simply shrugged, just as lost as him. He frowned as he recalled their conversation.

"Everything you feel for the first time Rosan, I'm likely feeling too," she said helpfully and Rosan huffed in response.

"Thanks Mod-chan! That's exactly the answer I was looking for from an ancient Devil Fruit with, who knows how many, years of memory," he replied sarcastically.

"Well sorry I couldn't be of more assistance Mr. I'm in love but don't wanna tell her," she bit back and the redhead scowled at her.

He was not in love.

"You and I both know telling her is not an option Mod-chan."

"Why not Rosan?" the purple haired woman had dropped all playful tense, as she stared seriously at the shorter boy.

Rosan sighed. He already knew where this conversation was headed.

"Meiko is a good person, Mod-chan," he began, exhaling fondly as he thought about her. "She's better off finding someone that's actually good for her, instead of a person like me. I'm just hoping that her crush eventually wears off so she can find that right person."

Mod shook her head in annoyance. Her charge still thought it was just a harmless crush. "Don't be such an idiot," she thought to herself "You can't just expect someone to stop loving you after some time." She wanted to rip her hair at his stubbornness but instead let out a deep sigh.

"Rosan why don't you want yourself to be happy?" Mod asked sadly and Rosan blinked in surprise.

"I'm not trying to stop myself from being —."

"Yes you are Rosan," Mod cut him off. She was glaring at him now and Rosan went quiet.

"You always talk as if you don't deserve to be. First, you refuse to forgive yourself because you had no choice but to leave Ace behind and now, you clearly have feelings for this girl and you're saying you don't deserve her! You keep torturing yourself Rosan and it's hurting everyone who cares about you!" She shouted.

Rosan was shocked silent. The sheer frustration in her tone was enough to keep him rooted to his spot. The boy had a stunned expression on his face from actually being yelled at by her.

"I just don't get it, Rosan! You're normally such a selfish boy, yet lately, it seems you never want to do anything that benefits you unless it's getting stronger!"

"Rosan, for everyone's sake… Meiko, Ace, Rouge, me, please stop being so stubborn and harsh on yourself! I know you want to be the strongest to keep us safe, but this is not the way. You have to enjoy your life as well," Mod finished and Rosan felt his heart twist as he saw the tears brimming in her eyes.

Mod panted as she finished berating the child. A part of her felt bad, but a larger part felt nothing but satisfaction.

She didn't like going against Rosan often but she had to admit, seeing the utter surprise on his face as she tore into him was more gratifying then she thought.

Everything the Devil Fruit did, she did for his sake so it balanced out how horrible she felt for shouting at him.

The deep contemplation on his face, gave her pause. The boy looked as if he never realized his unhealthy habit and he was just now evaluating them.

Did he… did Rosan not realize how self destructive his thinking process was? Did all Mod have to do was point out his issues…? Was the boy really that unaware?!

Her look of satisfaction turned into one of disbelief.

Right... he was only 9.

Meanwhile, Rosan was deep in thought as he digested the words of his Devil Fruit. Her words and emotions resonated deeply inside his core, as he contemplated the validity of her statements.

Was he really being so hard on himself…?

The redhead thought back to both the situations Mod-chan had mentioned and tried to view them in another perspective.

He had made the choice to leave Ace behind of his own volition… right? The more Rosan thought about it the more he realized it was either leave Ace behind, or go with Garp.

Being taken somewhere by the Marines when Rosan had the Devil Fruit he did… that was just not an option. Rosan stood no chance against the marine so taking Ace from him was also ruled out.

Rosan… he really couldn't have taken Ace with him could he? He had no option but to leave him in the old man's care. He didn't have a choice.

But that made him a coward.

He — no. Rosan had said he would view it in another perspective and he had already come to the conclusion that he couldn't have taken Ace. The only options he had were to go with the marine… or leave Ace behind. The choice was obvious

The Mod Mod no mi user forced himself to think about his second situation.

Rosan was not a liar, much less to himself. He was an honest person at heart and he only lied if he had no other option. That's why he could say with confidence that he had a massive crush on Meiko. He knew the girl had a light crush on him so why didn't he want to pursue it?

Because he was a monster and monsters couldn't do what normal people did.

Rosan had taken everything from Meiko. Her parents died by his hand. Her island reduced to nothing because of him. Just the fact that she didn't hate him spoke miles about her character.

If anyone on the planet was justified in their hatred for him, it was her.

What gave him the right to have feelings for her? Rosan didn't pursue her because Rosan didn't deserve her. He was a cold blooded monster and Meiko was the sun. He was tainted and she was pure.

"Rosan…," the snarl snapped him out of his musings and Rosan was surprised to see rage in Mod's crimson eyes. She picked him up by the collar of his shirt and his dual eyes narrowed into slits. The two eyed each other and the tension rising was obvious.

"I'm sick and tired of how you view yourself," Mod-chan growled at him and Rosan had to force himself to calm down, lest he lash out.

"Mod-chan, I love you, but get your hands off of me," Rosan said in a dangerously low tone but Mod refused to back down. His long time partner was showing that she could be just as stubborn as him when she wanted to be.

The redhead would have applauded her if he wasn't close to assaulting her for the grip she had on him. Only the knowledge that she was doing this for his sake, kept him from attacking her right then and there.

Not even Mod-chan could get away with treating him like this.

"Just listen to me Rosan," she said and the boy let out an aggravated sigh that Mod reciprocated in equal capacity.

They stared at each other in a tense silence before Rosan tersely nodded his head at her, tiny pupils still set into slits but fangs no longer bared. Mod-chan let out a relieved sigh and took this as her sign to go.

She did not disappoint.

"Rosan, you are the most amazing little boy I've ever met! Your empathy, your consideration, how you always try to make sure those you care for are happy, you are so incredible and you don't even seem to realize it! Y-you are the first person to ever accept me as more then a Devil Fruit and because of you I… I-I feel like a person."

Mod began choking up and Rosan felt all of his anger wash away at the sight.

"Everything you do… you do it with my best interests in mind Rosan," Mod whispered and her grip on him loosened.

"You left your brother behind because of me for Kami's sake! Never in my years has anyone cared for me on the scale that you do. You'll do anything to make sure I'm happy but you just don't get it Rosan! I can't be happy unless you're happy because you are my life!" she exclaimed, tears finally falling and the purple haired woman looked at the boy in nothing but despair.

Rosan looked at the woman pouring her heart out in wonder.

He did not know much of anything about her past and truthfully, he didn't care. Her past was her past and what mattered was that she was with him now. She had alluded to having previous wielders and being a weapon for the marines but Rosan had never pried deeper. It was not a topic she liked talking about, so he never pressured her to talk about it.

What he did know was that before they had met, Mod-chan had no emotions, had little to no social interactions and she didn't even have a gender nor appearance!

Yet here she was; crying, laughing, teasing, with such a beautiful face and she was just so alive because he had extended an arm of friendship to the Devil Fruit.

Mod-chan was able to feel these things because of him and that made his eyes soften. The two of them trusted each other more then anything in the world and so Rosan knew she truly meant everything she said.

If Mod-chan could say this with such confidence… maybe he did need to take a better look at himself.

If Mod-chan believed with her heart that he wasn't what he thought he was… maybe he could try for her.

Maybe he was being a bit too hard on himself. If that really were the case...

"Mod-chan I'm going to tell Meiko everything and make my decision based on what she says," Rosan informed her and he softly clutched her in reassurance.

He still had his doubts so… he'd see what Meiko thought. He would kill two birds with one stone by telling Meiko about Baterilla and his feelings for her.

If what Mod-chan was saying was true… who better to tell him then the one whose life he ruined?

Mod felt nothing but relief as she heard Rosan's intentions. The Devil Fruit sagged onto the floor, with Rosan in tow, and let out a breath she hadn't known she'd been holding.

She looked at Rosan with unwavering confidence in her crimson eyes. Mod fully believed in Meiko's abilities and knew there was nothing to worry about if Rosan was relying on her to disappoint him.

He fully thought the blonde was going to reinforce the idea that he was a monster but Mod knew better.

Meiko would show Rosan how stupid he was being.

Rosan saw said confidence and for the first time in a long time, he doubted himself. What would cause Mod-chan to be so confident. The woman had unwavering faith in what Meiko was going to say and it confused him.

Did she know something he didn't? Surely Meiko's answer wasn't set in stone…

Suddenly, Rosan wasn't so confident that he was going to hear what he thought he was.

---

He looked directly into Meiko's eyes as his memory ended and the girl flushed, looking away. Rosan sighed at how cute she was.

He felt his resolve waver a bit. God he really was a coward — no this is exactly what Mod-chan had been talking about. Until Meiko told him her thoughts, Rosan would refrain from degrading himself.

"Meiko, I have something to tell you," Rosan said in a serious tone.

Mod widened her eyes and Meiko shot him a concerned look at the graveness in his tone.

"What's the matter Rosan?" Meiko asked and the fact she sounded so worried for him, made his heart flutter.

Kami, he had it bad.

Rosan decided he would tell her everything now before he got cold feet.

"The Marines killed my mother when I was 4 years old," Rosan told her bluntly and Meiko's eyes widened in horror at the rather abrupt influx of information.

What had he just said?!

"W-what?" She stammered in confusion and the redhead hesitantly continued.

Rosan told her everything that transpired on Baterilla. How his name was Portgas D. Rosan, how his mother had found him when he was a newborn and raised him like her actual son, how she was married to the pirate king Gol D. Roger (that had gotten a pale, wide eyed look from the girl), how she had been pregnant with his little brother Ace, how she was forced to withhold giving birth for nearly 20 months due to being the child of the pirate king, how he ate the Mod Mod no mi met Mod-chan and the target that was put on his back in doing so, how his mother had died giving birth to Ace, how… how he had seen her die.

Meiko had to excuse herself after she heard that specific detail. The 9 year old was sure he heard retching and it spoke volumes about her character that just hearing his experience would cause her to react like this.

Rosan told her how, at just 4 years old, he had made the hard decision to leave his brother behind in the care of the Marine who had witnessed his birth. How he had been sailing the seas for most of his life in the pursuit of getting strong enough to keep Mod-chan and himself safe. How he had traveled with Nico Robin for 4 years… and how he eventually ended up in Doc's grasp after a trap was laid for him. Rosan tried to avoid omitting any details and honestly, it felt liberating, talking to someone else about it.

He had not shed a single tear as he regaled the blonde and the redhead began to idly wonder when the last time he cried was?

Probably when he realized Robin wasn't coming to save him. That had been his breaking point after all. After that moment, Rosan had not shed a single tear again.

Good.

Meiko on the other hand, was an absolute mess. The blonde girl had tear streaks running down her cheeks and she let out choked sobs as Rosan told his life story. More then once, he had to pause his tale due to the 10 year old excusing herself and the 9 year old heard a keening wail every single time she walked out of sight. Every time she walked off, Mod-chan followed after her, presumably to soothe her, and Rosan sat there to keep himself composed.

It made him happy that Meiko and Mod-chan got along so well.

It never got easier telling this story, but Rosan had been thinking about it for 5 years now, at some point, you just became numb to it and that's exactly how he felt.

He had to constantly ground himself back to reality, as he nearly detached himself from the conversation. Only the knowledge that he needed to gauge Meiko's reaction, kept him invested in his tale.

When he finished, he sagged a bit, only to let out an uncharacteristic yelp as something crashed into him. The tanned boy fell, back first, as a crying Meiko hugged him for dear life.

Despite the situation, Rosan was distinctively aware of just how close she was to him!

"R-Rosan, I-I'm s-s-so so s-sorry," she sobbed into his chest and he instinctively wrapped his arms around her. Rosan wanted to say something but, he was more mentally drained then he thought. He couldn't think of anything to say, so he just let her speak.

Meiko sniffed uncontrollably as she tried to compose herself. "Everything you've gone through… My Kami, Rosan you're so brave," she eventually said and the words she chose, made Rosan open his mouth slightly.

She thought…he was brave?

"H-having to watch the person who raised you, cared for you, loved you, die... You don't understand how strong you are, Rosan," she sounded choked up as she spoke. "Nobody would have been able to bounce back and yet, at only 4 years old, you focused enough to find the best way to keep you and Mod-chan safe. That's incredible Rosan," Meiko sounded so proud of him, as she repeated what Mod-chan had been trying to tell him.

The dual eyed boy was reeling from her words so Meiko took that as her chance to continue.

"I know you Rosan. You probably blame yourself for having to leave your brother behind."

His wide eyed gaze, only confirmed her suspicions and she shook her head furiously. "Listen to me Rosan. You. Were. 4. You can't be blamed for not wanting to take your little brother out to sea with you! It's already dangerous for you by yourself, what do you think would happen if you add a baby to the mix! You have nothing to blame yourself about. Do you understand me?!"

Rosan felt like he was getting scolded by Mama and he could only nod at her firm tone.

Maybe, just maybe... he really wasn't to blame for abandoning Ace? He really didn't have a choice in the matter and hearing Meiko repeat it, was really making it drive home in Rosan's head.

He felt a bit silly for disregarding what Mod-chan had been saying. He valued her words so much, but when it came to his own character, he just couldn't see reason…

Meiko's gaze softened as she wrapped her arms around Rosan delicately. "I wish I was there for you sooner, Rosan. You must have been so lonely and afraid…" she said it so soft, so compassionately and Rosan felt his heart stop as he registered one word in particular.

Afraid? He was... afraid?

Previously, Rosan would have dismissed that thought completely. He was Rosan! Anything he feared, he would deal with accordingly because the strongest couldn't fear. Now, as he looked at it from a different perspective, he looked back at all of his actions and attributed them to fear.

They fit surprisingly well.

He was afraid of acknowledging how powerless he was to save his mother.

He was afraid of acknowledging that he just wasn't ready to raise Ace.

He was afraid of acknowledging the gap in strength between him and the Marine who took his little brother.

He was afraid of acknowledging his fear of being hurt and betrayed again and that's why he closed himself off.

That's why he suppressed his emotions.

He didn't suppress them because they got in the way… he suppressed them because of what they did to him. Rosan had always been an emotional boy after all.

He was afraid.

Rosan was afraid.

The thought was so surreal, that Rosan threw his head back and let out an honest to god laugh.

"Kahahahahahahahaha!" The redhead laughed the most genuine laugh he let out in a long time because, no matter how you looked at it, Rosan was a coward.

Yet, here was this amazing and incredible person saying the exact opposite. She didn't think he was a coward for his actions. No, she thought all of his decisions made him brave. Worst of all, she genuinely believed everything she was saying. He could see it in her eyes, hear it in her words.

Meiko was really an earnest idiot!

The boy laughed so hard, tears began forming in his eyes.

Mod and Meiko watched with equal amounts of surprise for various reasons. The purple haired woman hadn't seen Rosan laugh like this since before he had been taken by Doc. If not for how out of place it was in this conversation, the Devil Fruit would have broken down crying seeing Rosan laugh so freely.

Instead, she just watched with a hand over her open mouth at the hysterical boy.

Meiko on the other hand, had never seen Rosan laughing like this ever.

Sure, she had seen the boy chuckling and even laughing in a reserved manner, but she had never seen him laugh so freely. Rosan's boyish laughter and hearing the genuine joy in his voice, made her heart slam into her chest repeatedly.

He sounded so happy and so carefree…

She didn't think it was possible to like him anymore but it seems she was proven wrong.

The tanned boy finally regained his composure after a few minutes. The boy felt breathless as he wiped away his tears and eventually, he managed to settled down.

Rosan was done running away from his fears. He would find Ace (eventually instead of never), explain the whole situation to him and whether his baby brother hated him or not, he'd take it to the chin. He would acknowledge when he feared something but instead of showing cowardice, he would try and deal with it head on.

Which is why he wanted to address this now.

"Meiko I think — no, I have a massive crush on you," Rosan said suddenly, locking his red and purple eyes onto the teary eyed girl. He had closed his heart off for fear of being hurt again because he couldn't handle the emotional pain of being hurt. His emotions were his biggest weakness because he was an emotional person. You could throw any sort of physical pain at him, but if it was mental the

Not anymore. He liked Meiko, so he wouldn't deny himself any longer.

Who cared if she was probably going to reject him? At least he managed to actually say it!

Mod felt her jaw drop at how blunt Rosan always was. C-couldn't he have been a bit more subtle?

Meiko felt her brain shut off at Rosan's sudden statement. It only took a matter of minutes, before she rebooted and her face turned the deepest shade of red he had seen yet.

Sachie would be proud.

"I-I-I. W-w-what. Y-y-you. Huh?" Meiko's eyes turned into swirls at the overwhelming emotions. She started swooning backwards and a small set of hands grabbed her to keep her upright. Focusing a bit revealed that the one holding her was Rosan himself. He looked a bit apprehensive, but the concern in his eyes made her stammer uncontrollably.

All that care just for her?

The girl was lightheaded and she felt as if her heart was about to burst out of her chest.

Rosan was close. Too close. This close, she was able to smell the scent of flowers on the boy and it caused her to nearly revert back to her previous state.

The genius really didn't seem to understand the effect he had on her.

She just needed to take some deep breaths. In and out. In and out. In… and out.

The blonde glanced at Rosan and the worry in his heterochromatic eyes made her flush.

Inandout. Inandout. Inandout.

She needed to gather her thoughts or else she'd might combust on the spot!

Rosan had just admitted that he had a crush on her. Rosan had just admitted that he had a crush on her! Meiko felt like she could die on the spot with how happy she felt! She just couldn't believe that the aloof Rosan harbored feelings for her of all people! He liked her back!

Meiko resisted the urge to squeal.

The boy had never once expressed attraction of any capacity, barring the love he felt for Mod-chan. She thought he was far too focused and closed off to ever think about something like this so to hear him confess to her first, put her over the moon!

Honestly, she didn't think her feelings were ever gonna be recuperated!

But no, here he was, with a shy blush blooming on his face, as he realized the implications of what he had just said. It dusted lightly over his bronze skin and Meiko had to try her hardest to not squeal.

Rosan was just too adorable for his own good!

She was a bit nervous though. Did she really deserve Rosan? He was so special and she was so… normal. The boy had a goal that would shoot him to the top of the world if he succeeded. In comparison, she just wanted to be a doctor…

Did she deserve to stand by the side of someone with so much ambition? The redhead had to have been the most ambitious person she ever met...

She shot Mod-chan a look. The older woman gave her a reassuring nod and a warm smile. It filled Meiko with a lot of confidence, until her crimson gaze turned mischievous and the purple haired woman mouthed out a "Go get him," before shooting her a thumbs up.

Meiko should not have looked towards the Devil Fruit. The beautiful woman was a horrible tease.

Looking back at Rosan, the blonde saw that the boy was getting more and more doubtful. She was seeing a lot of firsts because the boy was fidgeting now. This must have been hard for him and her prolonged silence, was probably not doing him any favors.

She remembered the words of Mod-chan about how he didn't think he deserved to be loved and she felt her resolve strengthen.

Rosan did deserve to be loved. He deserved it more then he realized and she'd show him!

"Rosan… I really like you," Meiko eventually said and the way Rosan's eyes widened with hope filled her with as much satisfaction as it did sadness.

He…really had expected her to deny him? Even after she told him long ago that she had a crush on him…

She wanted to hug the traumatized boy and so, that's what she did. The 9 year old had been through so much already at such a young age and getting captured by her parents, was the nail in the coffin.

She now understood why he had changed so drastically. He had already been teetering on the edge.

6 months of getting tortured, had finally pushed him over it and this was the result.

Rosan was a good person who had been forced to change, lest he be devoured by the bad people around him. The boy was an unwilling victim to this cruel world and she wanted to cry at the thought.

"I'm so sorry Rosan! You had to go through so much a-and my parents only made it worse!" She began, tearing up at the thought.

"You're such a good person and you deserve to be happy!" Meiko exclaimed passionately. She was so upset that Rosan had gone through such an awful ordeal because he didn't deserve it. The child deserved to be with his mother, helping raise his little brother and yet he couldn't.

Instead, he had been forced to become a weapon by the hands of her parents! Meiko was surprised by just how much resentment she was feeling for them at the moment.

How dare they do this to an innocent child? How could they treat him so harshly when he was so young?! Not only did he believe he was a terrible older brother, they made him believe he was nothing more then a monster, a weapon of destruction meant to hurt and kill. Her parents were just awful! Their actions were inexcusable, even from their own daughter. There was no way anyone with morals could excuse what they had been doing —

Rosan rubbed her arm soothingly and she found herself calming down instantly.

The blonde couldn't help but blink in shock at the pure anger she had been feeling. Was that really her own anger? She... she wasn't used to being angry!

It was jarring...

"Meiko, it's not like you to harbor such resentment. I'm grateful that you feel so upset on my behalf but it would do you no good to go down the same path as me," Rosan told her, voice soft. She nodded shakily, grateful that he had been there to snap her out of her anger.

Tentatively, Rosan asked Meiko "So you really like me too?" and the girl blushed beet red before flashing him a nervous smile.

"Rosan, I've liked you since we were still on Daybreak Island… I even told you," she accused.

"Well, I knew that but at the time, I thought it was just a small crush no?" Rosan wondered in curiosity. He had known Meiko harbored feelings towards him but not to this extent!

He had thought it was just a silly crush that would go away in time.

Her mouth formed an O as she fully understood his question. "It was the day you told me about Save Point! When you told me that my safety was one of your priorities... it made me feel something new for you," she confessed, suddenly turning shy as she looked towards the floor.

Rosan nodded at her response with a slightly surprised expression. "I realized I liked you after I gave you the earrings… seeing you in that dress made me look at you in a new light and I started thinking about who you are as a person... the results are this," he explained to her .

Meiko looked equally surprised. "Oh. We realized we liked each other only a day apart," she pointed out and Rosan nodded in amusement. That was a funny coincidence!

After a comfortable silence digesting what they said, Meiko asked Rosan a question.

"Did… did I really look good in that dress?"

"...Yes you did."

"Rosan…"

"Yes, Meiko?"

"You're kind of a pervert."

"...I don't wanna hear that from you Meiko."

Meiko flushed at the deadpan expression on the redheads face. She was not a pervert!

She looked at Mod-chan for support, but the purple haired woman was pointedly looking away from her and inspecting her always perfect nails for mistakes.

Traitor!

She pouted in defeat and Rosan grinned in victory, before she became serious.

"Rosan I want to help you get better if you'll let me," Meiko grabbed his small hands and looked at him with nothing but compassion in her gaze.

Seeing Rosan so vulnerable, reminded her of just how young he was. Meiko wasn't very tall, but Rosan was so small and, though he was fit, underneath his clothing was a slim figure.

His time at Daybreak had made the redhead somewhat malnourished but Modification and his diet was already helping in spades in keeping his body well.

"Help me how?" Rosan was genuinely curious and the child watched the blonde take his hands into her own. He would normally dismiss any and all help unless it was from Mod-chan but he hadn't even been accepting help from her. He prided himself on being receptive to change yet, here he was doing the complete opposite.

Pathetic.

"Whatever you need help with of course!" Meiko replied cheerfully. Rosan hummed in contemplation at her words and he cupped his chin.

"I'll always be there for you Rosan so please…promise me that you'll never leave me," Meiko requested and she sounded so earnest, so desperate, that Rosan felt a small pang.

He was hesitant to make promises. Promises were something that held so much value to him yet they could be so easily broken and it always ended up hurting him in the process.

He loved and missed her but, a part of him resented his Mama for making a promise that they'd be together. Rouge had to have known about the problems of holding Ace for that long, yet she still promised him.

She had lied in the worst way to him and now he would never see her again.

He resented himself for breaking his promise to Mod-chan and allowing his anger to get the best of him. Sure, it was out of his power, but he hadn't made much attempts until recently to get it under control. He tried to keep his smile for the Devil Fruit but he had failed and that was unforgivable.

Most of all, he resented Robin for tricking him so thoroughly. They had promised to keep each other safe and Rosan had fully believed in it like he did every promise but, like the others, it had been broken and he had been on the receiving end of it, resulting in him turning into this.

Needless to say, Rosan had his reservations about making an oath. It was pretty clear that he was bad at keeping promises, even if they were mostly out of his control.

The look in Meiko's blue eyes though… Rosan knew no other answer would be acceptable. He was starkly reminded that Meiko had developed abandonment issues due to his actions on Daybreak. The girl was terrified of being left behind and it played a part in why she was traveling with him currently. He was all she had left and she had attached to that knowledge like a lifeline.

He could understand where she was coming from.

She was as afraid of being left behind, as he was of being betrayed.

"Meiko I promise I won't ever leave you if you promise to always be by my side, no matter what I do," Rosan said softly.

Any sane person would understand the unfairness of what Rosan was asking but that's why he was asking it. The redhead wouldn't put a promise on anything else. If Meiko was serious about this then he'd see right here —

"I promise!" She said without hesitation.

Rosan and Mod-chan (who had just been watching the entire exchange with warm eyes) blinked owlishly at her rather abrupt answer. He had expected her to at least think a little on it…

"You really don't find an issue with what I'm asking?" Rosan was confused. What he was asking was completely unreasonable so why would she so readily agree? The 9 year old had intended to stay with her regardless but he just used this as an excuse so he didn't need to make a promise. But, here she was, puffed up like she had just scammed him thoroughly.

"Of course not silly!" She said, making it seem like what he was asking was a given. "I want to stay by your side anyways so you're asking a pretty stupid question!" The blonde chastised with a large grin.

Everything Meiko said sounded so genuine, that Rosan found himself blown away.

"You… you won't betray me? You won't leave me...?" The boy whispered and he sounded so exposed that it broke her heart. It took everything for Meiko to hold back her tears. The boy, because he was just a boy, just wanted people he could trust.

Rosan didn't want to be alone, but he was too scarred to let anyone in.

What a torturous way to live...

Meiko and Mod both engulfed the boy in a bone-crushing hug. They held onto him like a lifeline just so he could know that they were there for him.

"Rosan, I would never betray you because honestly, I think I love you," Meiko confessed and Rosan felt his heart stop at her admittance. Feeling particularly bold, Meiko planted a reassuring kiss on his cheek and Rosan's brain froze as emotion began to overwhelm him.

"Rosan, listen to me. Meiko wants nothing but the best for you," Mod said and the woman soothingly rubbed his crimson hair. "She's a wonderful person and she cares about you… I think, no I know you can trust her," she finished.

Rosan felt himself warm as he heard the reassuring words coming from them. They were full of love and care and he just… he had forgotten how nice it all felt.

Unaware to both Mod and Rosan, deep inside of his body, the castle of ice made when Rosan was on Daybreak loomed high.

It's crystalline surface reflected the minimal light granting it an ethereal glow. It looked exactly the same, save for the chains. Where before they were secured firmly around the castle, now the death grip had loosened slightly. The entrance was ajar and inside the only resident of the castle began to sleep easier.

Back with Rosan, the boy was confused to feel something wet rolling down his cheeks.

Strange, the rain didn't reach here.

He looked at Meiko and though she was crying, her tears couldn't magically roll down his cheek. A look at Mod-chan, confirmed the exact same thing.

Rosan touched his face and was shocked to find that he was crying. Tears were rolling down his cheeks and it left him reeling in astonishment.

Why was he crying? Surely their words hadn't affected him that much... Right?

But here he was, shedding tears as a surge of relief coursed it's way through his body.

The last time he had cried, was when he realized Robin was not coming for him. His Mama had always told him big boys don't cry when he got hurt and he had taken that to heart. Rosan saw crying as a sign of weakness and, when his goal was to become the strongest, there was no time to be weak.

He would never cry from pain. Never again.

But... was it okay to cry if the tears weren't from pain? It was fine if he was crying tears of relief, right?

If his tears were positive?

Yes it was. He decided it was okay, because he was happy that he had such wonderful people to rely on.

So Rosan clutched them back, surprising them greatly, and allowed his tears to fall freely. He held onto them for dear life, as if they could disappear at any moment.

Meiko and Mod heard the 9 year old let out a desperate whimper and the dams broke. To see the boy in such a raw state, it was too much for the two and they could no longer hold back their emotion.

Meiko had never even seen Rosan show any sign of weakness before today and it felt riveting. Knowing that the boy was still capable of tears, of feeling such emotions filled her with an undeniable sense of relief.

He was no emotionless monster. Rosan was a child. A child who desperately needed help that the world wasn't willing to give him.

Well she would be the one to help him!

No matter what it took.

Mod was just as bad as Rosan was, when it came to blaming oneself.

She blamed herself for forcing Rosan's hand in making the agonizing decision to abandon his little brother. If she had not told him about the dangers of what came with eating the Mod Mod no mi, the boy would be raising little Ace right now.

She blamed herself for making Rosan put such high expectations onto himself. The boy did everything for her, he didn't allow himself to fail because it could potentially jeopardize her safety.

She blamed herself for Rosan thinking he betrayed the Devil Fruit by breaking his promise when he had no say in the matter. She would never have had him make that promise if she knew he would have taken it to heart for something he couldn't control.

She blamed herself for not being there when Rosan was ruthlessly toyed with on Daybreak island by that disgusting man who morphed him into a cold blooded killer. While he had been suffering nonstop, she had been sleeping. Seastone or not, she should never have allowed her child to be alone.

She blamed herself for not being able to convince him that Robin was innocent. There was no world where Robin would ever betray Rosan. She truly did love the boy with all her heart but her charge was too angry to see that.

But most of all, she blamed herself for lacking the ability to change Rosan back to how he used to be.

How could she convince Rosan that he wasn't what he said he was? The two had been together forever. She had an undeniable bias when it came to the boy and they both knew it.

Even if that bias played no part in what she honestly believed, it would never be able to convince Rosan that what he said was not true.

Yet Meiko, bless her beautiful soul, had none of that bias. In fact, she had all the tools necessary to hate Rosan and they all knew it.

After everything Rosan had done to her, any person would have wholeheartedly agreed with his own sentiments. The redhead fully expected the blonde to hate him and it would have only reaffirmed his own beliefs.

But no, in a shock to both of them, The 11 year old had instead confessed that she was likely in love with the boy. The sheer shock value of what she said, was enough to make Rosan seriously reconsider his own values because what bias would she have against him? He had taken everything from her except for her life after all. There should be no bias.

Her parents had been killed by his hands, her island had been destroyed, everyone she knew and love was gone and it was all because of Rosan.

Yet she said she loved him.

It was fitting that the two liked each other. They were both very clearly insane.

Mod knew it was selfish and immoral to think, but she didn't care. She was glad Rosan had done what he did and that they had Meiko now.

Because of Meiko, Rosan could get better and Rosan would always be the Devil Fruit's number one priority.

Mod would be eternally grateful for what Meiko had done.

The three cried as they held onto each other yet none of it was sadness.

No, there was only relief in those tears.

---

Meiko's eyes went soft at the memory and she put a hand over her heart from the lingering emotions.

Over the months, Rosan had been making an earnest effort to be more open with her and it was showing!

He was much more expressive now and though he was still a bit standoffish, the boy didn't try to put walls up between them anymore. The redhead was open with how he was feeling and due to his inexperience with emotions, she would help him out in any way that he could.

Meiko had slight regrets though.

Rosan was… well to put it in simple terms, Rosan was chaotic…to an extreme degree. The boy did whatever he felt like and the consequences didn't bother him at all!

The redhead had once asked her to teach him how to cook and she had agreed readily, happy that he wanted to learn and said he could watch her prepare dinner. The boy had insisted she just tell him what to do and, seeing no harm in it, she agreed.

She was a bit worried when Angel, Demon, and even Mod-chan commented on how bad of an idea it was but love made a girl do stupid things.

Next time, she would heed their warnings. If not for how well modified the White Rose was, Rosan would certainly have burned down the entire ship. The sleek, advanced ship had taken the beating it like a champ because Rosan's cooking was horrendous.

Worst of all, the child had the gall to say her teaching was terrible and that's why he failed so spectacularly. The disbelief she shot the boy, due to his sheer audacity, made him laugh at her.

Wanting to prove a point, Rosan had told her to make dinner and he'd standby and watch her the entire time. She didn't know where he was going with this so she did exactly as he said and prepared an actually edible meal for them to eat.

She watched with her jaw dropped as, the very next day, Rosan made the exact same meal she had made the night previously with absolutely no differences.

Somehow, the redhead had perfectly replicated their dinner!

Meiko spluttered as she took a bite and saw that it even tasted the same!

"So how does it taste?" The smugness in his voice almost made her lie to him right then and there. She refrained from it because he'd be able to tell anyways.

"How were you able to perfectly replicate my dish?!" She asked in return refusing to answer the question.

The boy shrugged in superiority and Meiko wanted to strangle him, as he smugly said "I just watched you cook it and did everything you did. It's actually pretty easy and I even noticed that you made some mistakes! Next time I can make an even better dish."

He deftly moved out of the way of her lunge and sat right on her back. She kicked her legs fruitlessly and the asshole just laughed at her.

"Thanks for teaching me how to cook, Mei," Rosan teased her and she flushed in anger.

She didn't teach him anything!

"I hate you Rosy," she grumbled and he patted her head gently. The ass was still sitting on her back and he made no move to get up.

Meiko really hated geniuses.

Something about the whole process confused her though.

"Rosan you watch me cook all the time so how did you even manage to mess up your first time that badly?"

"Well that's because most of the time I'm not actually watching you cook, I'm watching you," he replied easily and she blushed darkly, all anger forgotten.

That was another thing, Rosan had no shame whatsoever. He didn't realize the implications of some of his statements until you pointed it out. Then when he did realize, he would start teasing you relentlessly.

Maybe she should have just left him without emotion. It was easier for her that way.

Meiko didn't regret it though. She never would because seeing Rosan defer to her like this, made her feel glad she offered her assistance. The boy was opening up and it warmed her to the core. It was why they were currently visiting Baterilla!

Rosan was afraid to visit his mother's grave because he thought he had failed the late woman by leaving Ace behind. The boy had not visited her in 6 years! That just wasn't fair to the woman at all!

Meiko had put her foot down and told him they'd visit her grave the first chance they got. He looked pensive at that but the blonde reassured him that she would be his moral support. The Modification user agreed reluctantly but the grateful smile he shot her, told the girl all she needed to know.

The only issue, was that they were in the North Blue currently and Rosan was raised in the South Blue.

Getting from the North Blue to the South Blue was not an easy task. The Blue Sea was separated by the imposing Red Line, the world's sole continent and as such, travel was extremely difficult without being connected to the World Government.

Rosan had told her that he had traveled through the South Blue before making the decision to go to the North Blue when he was 6. The West Blue was out of the question for him because he had been traveling with Nico Robin and he heard that the Hero of the Marines loved to frequent the East Blue so that was also not an option.

She had questioned how he could have possibly gotten to the North Blue from the South and he said he used the Calm Belt. Her jaw dropped as he casually mentioned going through the notoriously treacherous strip of ocean (the one full of Sea Kings). She had voiced her worries and Rosan had smiled reassuringly.

"I had Mod-chan guiding me and the White Rose is an advanced ship, it can move without wind because of my abilities and it's really fast! We might have had a run in with some Sea Kings but we just ran," he said with utmost confidence and she had no choice but to believe him.

"You don't have to worry though, we won't need to take the Calm Belt this time," Rosan said and at her curious gaze, he simply said "We'll just fly over the Red Line."

...Fly?

"Fly?" Meiko repeated and Rosan nodded.

"It will be less dangerous if we just fly over the Red Line. I have a lot of stamina so it won't be an issue," he shrugged.

She furrowed her brow a bit and frowned. "You're gonna carry me the entire time? Won't that be hard on you? I have been putting some weight on…"

Rosan lightly chopped her on the head and he said "Shut up Mei. You're just going through puberty and you know that. Don't be so critical of yourself when you're telling me not to do that."

He grabbed her and pulled her into an embrace. "You're so helpful to me, but you also have problems of your own," Rosan hummed and she flushed in shame at how blunt his accurate assessment of her was.

"There's no need to be self conscious Mei. You're perfect just the way you are," Rosan said as he rubbed her back.

"You're only saying that to make me feel better…" Meiko mumbled into his red spikes. Rosan had taken it out of its bun, since she loved it when it was down, and now, the spikes were running freely on his head again. They reached just above his back and were much less disheveled then when he was a kid.

"Mei, you've been training in medicine for a while, I'm sure you know what's happening to you is natural and that you're over exaggerating. There's no need to get upset about it because you still look great," Rosan calmly explained to her.

The blonde nodded glumly. "Having self esteem issues mixed with hormones is hard, Rosy," and he just laughed that laugh she loved to hear.

"You're cute Mei and you're gonna end up beautiful when all is said and done," he spoke with absolute confidence and Meiko felt a blush forming on her face. She blushed way too much around Rosan... but she couldn't help it!

"Meiko, I like everything about you and that's all that matters. Forget what anyone else thinks because they don't matter. As long as I think you're fine, then you're fine," the 10 year old said firmly and the 12 year old could feel the possessiveness in his tone.

She hoped no one ever showed interest in her when Rosan was around. The blonde would never reciprocate them, but something told her Rosan could be quite unreasonable.

The blue eyed girl found his possessive streak cute, but when she thought about what it could mean for other people… it suddenly looked really scary.

"So what will you do with Angel, Demon, and the White Rose while flying to the North Blue?" Meiko suddenly asked, as the thought came to her.

"I'm shrinking the ship since we won't need it and I'll be carrying all 3 of you of course," was his response and Meiko's brow furrowed once again.

"Rosan I know you're strong but you're um… you're not the biggest of people," she tried to explain without triggering the boy. "I don't see how you'll be able to carry all of us in your arms," she eventually finished and was relieved to see the boy only looked mildly annoyed.

His annoyance was quickly wiped away by realization. "You think Shinigami is my only transformation." It wasn't a question but she nodded anyways.

Rosan smiled.

---

Meiko, sitting next to the far too calm duo of Demon and Angel, screamed in joy as she rode on the back of the massive dragon that was Rosan. The black dragon with red highlights sped through the clouds at a rapid pace with the current passengers on his back.

She had no idea the Mod Mod no mi user could transform into a Dragon of all things!

When he had first transformed, Meiko had been quivering in a primal sort of terror at the sight of the winged reptile. But after letting out a terrifyingly loud roar, the obsidian Dragon had immediately rested its head onto its claws and stared at her with a familiar intelligent gaze.

"R-Rosan? Are you there?" the blonde asked tentatively, stepping closer to those large, familiar, heterochromatic eyes. They were on an uninhabited island (Rosan had mentioned invading this island before when he was younger) and so no one but the residents of the White Rose were here.

The dragon rumbled deeply in confirmation and though it rattled her bones, she stepped forward in awe and began to pet his scales. The rumbles began to sound more like purring and Meiko couldn't resist the urge to giggle.

He raised a claw carefully, so as to not hurt her, and gently pressed it against her head. Meiko felt the familiar sensation of linking and after blinking she experimentally said "Rosan?"

"Meiko this is Ragnarok," she heard his high pitched voice greet her. Hearing Rosan's childish voice on the form of such a magnificent creature made Meiko laugh way harder then she would have liked.

Her laughing turned into a terrified squeak as a massive tail wrapped around her and firmly placed her on the Dragon's back. Rosan's amusement was palpable and she heard the dragon let out a deep snort.

She pouted at him. "That was mean Rosan," she chastised him.

"Nobody told you to laugh at me," He chastised the girl and she scowled at him.

"I wasn't expecting to hear your voice from the dragon," she reasoned and she got the sense that the boy was rolling his eyes.

"Do you prefer this then?" Rosan's voice suddenly deepened harshly, into a low, aggressive growl.

Meiko paled dramatically and shook her head in a negative. "N-no thank you I'd rather not. Your voice is much better anyways." He sounded as terrifying as he looked and if she had to hear that in her head for the entire ride, she wouldn't be sleeping.

"Funny, I thought the same thing," Rosan agreed snidely, voice back to normal.

"Rosan's voice is pretty adorable," Mod chimed in and Meiko smiled in joy at hearing the Devil Fruit.

"Isn't it?! Rosan's just the cutest wouldn't you agree?" Meiko grinned as she felt Rosan's annoyance spike.

"He's cute and he knows it! You should have seen him when he was younger! He would liberally abuse how adorable he was to get his way! Even his mother fell victim to it," she gushed.

"Wow, how crafty of you Rosan!" Meiko teased.

"We're leaving now," Rosan said blandly, avoiding the conversation like a plague. They both laughed at his misfortune and he expertly ignored it.

Angel and Demon both leapt onto the resting Dragon's back and the three got into a comfortable position. His scaly back was not nearly as rough as they thought and they attributed it to the fact that he most likely modified it with them in mind.

"It's normally rough but I've modified it for comfort this time," Rosan explained confirming their thoughts. "The ride will take a while and I wouldn't want you 3 to be uncomfortable the entire time."

It was small things such as this, that made Meiko really love Rosan.

The black dragon stood up after everyone was prepared and, with a flap of his massive wings, Rosan was airborne. Another flap and the boy was soaring high above the clouds.

Meiko's screams of elation rang through the sky as the draconian flew off.

They had been flying for a few hours now at a leisurely pace due to Rosan wanting her to enjoy the ride and Meiko had calmed down from her initial high. Angel and Demon were content to just speak to each other so that left Meiko to talk with Rosan and Mod-chan.

The fly over to South Blue brought another issue to her mind.

"Rosan, I want to talk to you about something" Meiko said a bit hesitant to bring this up. The blonde just knew that if she asked him wrong, Rosan would shut down completely.

Rosan sensed her trepidation and replied, in a serious tone, "What is it Meiko? There's no need to be hesitant."

"Can you tell me about your relationship with… Nico Robin maybe?" she tentatively asked him. After a long silence, she hastily added "S-sorry I shouldn't have asked that please just ignore my question!"

She messed up, she shouldn't have asked him that. Oh no, what if they went back to square one now?! Speaking about Nico Robin was a sore spot for Rosan.

Mod-chan had told Meiko that she had to walk on eggshells when bringing up the Devil Child but she had thought they were making such good progress… She just hoped Rosan wouldn't put his walls back up —

"Nico Robin was my companion of 4 years," Rosan began and Meiko blinked in shock. "She was someone that I thought I could trust with my life. But when I chose to trust her with my life, she showed me the harsh reality that the only person I can trust is myself."

Meiko frowned, as Mod-chan let out a tired "Oh Rosan…"

Did the Devil Fruit not agree with Rosan? She hadn't told her much about Robin, but the purple haired beauty didn't seem to resent the girl like Rosan did. On the contrary, Mod-chan seemed quite fond of the Devil Child.

She wondered if the two had gotten into an argument about the fugitive. Mod-chan scarcely mentioned her around Rosan. When the woman had told her to refrain from mentioning Robin, she sounded almost afraid of what could happen.

"We were very close but she left me to rot at that place."

Rosan's voice hadn't gotten this cold in a long time.

"That place… do you mean Daybreak?" Talking about her island when his tone was this grave, was never good for either of them but her curiosity for Robin and concern for Rosan, outweighed her fear.

"Yes. For 4 years we were together up until I messed up and got captured… for one month I clung on to that silly promise Robin and I made to each other and I suffered because of it. While I was getting tortured within an inch of my life, hoping and praying she'd come help me, she was joining up with other organizations and doing what we did alone," Rosan delivered in a stony tone, voice not betraying anything.

"I was under the impression that we relied on each other. I was foolish to think that I could rely on anyone but myself."

Meiko felt tears well up as he spoke. Rosan's voice was without emotion, but he could never hide the raw pain in it. His entire personality shift, when she had seen him again on Daybreak, suddenly made sense. She thought her father had finally gotten his wish but the stress from all the pain and the realization that someone you trusted with your life was not coming for you, was too much for anyone to handle.

Whether it was her fault or not, Nico Robin was the catalyst that caused Rosan to reach his breaking point. Even if Robin was innocent, in the child's eyes, what she did was unforgivable.

"…" Mod wanted so badly to defend Robin but she couldn't justify her actions in the eyes of Rosan. The redhead had made a promise with Robin and despite how impossible it was, the Hana Hana no mi user had not been able to keep said promise.

The Devil Fruit didn't blame Robin for being unable to find them. She loved that girl, of course she could never blame her!

But Rosan did and because he did, there was not much she could do about it. She could only hope that as Rosan aged and spent time around Meiko, he'd become more reasonable.

"Rosan… why do you value promises so much?" Meiko asked in genuine curiosity. Promises were important to her but the extent that Rosan valued them, was scary.

She wasn't sure anyone valued promises as much as the redhead. He treated them like they were sacred and that made her realize why he asked her that question in their mindscape.

"Mama told me when you make a promise you should do everything in your power to keep it," Rosan sighed forlornly, as he reminisced on a time long ago. "Even though she lied to me and couldn't keep her promise… I still love her and I value everything she has told me."

"I couldn't raise Ace like she wanted, so I can at least keep her lessons close to my heart."

"Broke your promise?" Meiko asked him.

"She promised that after she gave birth to Ace we'd be together… just the 3 of us but, she died giving birth to him instead and left me."

Rosan's voice cracked a bit as he spoke about his mother. "I told her that holding the baby for so long would only be detrimental to her health and I was right, but I wish I wasn't. The stress of childbirth killed my mother."

Meiko's eyes went soft and she wanted nothing more then to hug Rosan and tell him it's alright. He sounded so hollow. The 10 year old had been living with this for so long and the mental strain, just kept piling on top of each other.

She admired Rosan for not breaking. He was one of the strongest people she knew mentally.

"Rosan, I understand your frustrations, but I don't think Robin willingly abandoned you," Meiko said in a near whisper. The blonde knew she was playing with fire right now, but Rosan trusted her to set him straight and that's what she would do!

"Meiko," his voice came out low and the warning in it was obvious. She flinched a bit at his tone and second guessed her actions.

"M-maybe we should talk about something else?"

Mod sounded nervous. Really nervous. They had talked about this before then. Judging by how anxious the Devil Fruit sounded… the conversation had not ended well.

The clones shared her sentiment, if the way they were shuddering was an indication.

Right, they were naturally connected to Rosan. They just revered him too much to actively use the connection.

Well, Meiko would not back down from this.

"Rosan… Dad was very meticulous," Meiko began hesitantly, making sure to use the right wording. "It's very likely that he's been planning your capture for…a long time and he'd made the steps necessary to ensure Nico Robin couldn't find you."

"Also… I remember him mentioning to Mom, that he informed the Marines about her whereabouts. Can you imagine trying to look for someone and having no clue where to start and on top of that, the Marines are hunting you in spades… I think she had no choice but to join an organization…"

Meiko got nervous at the absolute silence. Not even Mod was saying anything but the purple haired woman's fear was tangible.

The clones had long since stopped whispering to each other and they were nervously glancing around. Angel was clutching Demon's hand in reassurance as the male clone looked to her for safety.

Meiko frowned sadly. How was Rosan able to cause such a reaction? It was sad to see how touchy of a subject this was.

"What do you want me to do then Meiko?" Rosan's voice came out in a near whisper.

"Should I chase her around the world just so I can have closure? What will that achieve? Do you honestly think any answer she gives me will satisfy me? Nico Robin emotionally destroyed me Meiko. I trusted her to save me but nobody came. I don't care if she didn't have a choice and maybe that makes me selfish but I can't just rationalize the pain and suffering I endured away. What I'm feeling right now... it's not based on logic Meiko."

Rosan's speech was bitter and resigned and Meiko just wanted to stop right there.

But she couldn't do that. The 12 year old knew that Rosan was hurt that no one had saved him. He needed an outlet and he chose Nico Robin. But that wasn't fair to the girl that had been with him for 4 years!

She didn't deserve to be hated by someone who she still very likely loved.

"How do you think Robin will feel when you meet her one day and you want nothing more then to strike her down?" Meiko asked Rosan seriously. "She probably thinks your dead, Rosan! How will she react if you two suddenly see each other again and you harbor nothing but hatred for her?!"

"…" Rosan said nothing.

"You need an outlet Rosan I understand… Please, you can use me if you want. I am the daughter of the two who made your life hell…" Meiko sounded sad, but accepting, as she said that.

"Don't even suggest something so stupid Meiko," Rosan snarled out and he sounded so angry that Meiko actually leaned back in surprise. "I would never hate you because of who your parents are. It's just… I don't know what this feeling is." The boy sounded lost and her eyes became understanding.

"I know it's hard Rosan. To feel such powerful emotions and not knowing what to do," Meiko whispered to him "It's okay to feel like this Rosan… that's what makes us human."

"That's what makes us…human," Rosan said to himself in wonder. He had always fancied himself a monster but maybe… maybe he wasn't as far gone as he thought?

Robin had left him behind, that much was true. But, maybe Rosan never considered the circumstances that led to that.

No, that wasn't quite right. Rosan refused to acknowledge the possible circumstances.

Rosan knew Doc. They had spent far too much time in each others presence, for him to not pick up on the craftiness of the Doctor. Knowing him, he had probably left a corpse behind that matched his figure to ensure no one would look too hard for him.

It was very likely, that Robin had begun searching for him with the knowledge that he may very well be dead.

Coupled with the fact the Marines were probably searching for her…

Had she been forced to give up her search?

Yes, most likely. The Marines would swarm every island in pursuit of the Devil Child. There was a very real possibility that Robin had to accept the fact that Rosan was probably dead; and with a heavy heart, she was forced to leave.

He wouldn't be surprised if she went to the Grand Line... Travelling to the other Seas was difficult.

Rosan also had possession of the White Rose, so Robin would have needed to find a way to get off the island safely… which probably meant she joined up with an organization...

It was obviously clear that she had not abandoned him by choice.

So why?

Why did he still feel such rage?

He understood now, so why? Why?! WHY?!

"You're only 10 Rosan," Mod-chan spoke up softly. "You feel hurt and you feel betrayal. You aren't used to feeling such overwhelming emotions and that's okay. As you grow older, you'll better learn how to control them."

"Mm!" Meiko agreed "I'll be there to help you the whole time Rosan so make sure you talk to Robin because she must have been worried sick about you!" The girl demanded and Rosan let out a small chuckle as he finally conceded.

What would he do without them?

"Like I told Mod-chan, I will talk to Robin if I ever see her. Looking for her is not my priority though. If we find each other, we find each other but for now, I simply want to get stronger," Rosan told her and she nodded.

That would be for the best, as Rosan got older he'd be able to sort out his errant emotions easier so his meeting with Robin wouldn't go south.

Mod was elated at how smoothly the conversation had went! Watching Rosan make an earnest attempt for them, warmed her to the core. The woman feared that Rosan would have lashed out harshly on Meiko but, he seemed to have remembered their argument so long ago.

If that made this conversation go smoother, Mod was glad they had it in the first place.

Even without near eidetic memory it would have been hard to forget.

Meiko was so glad that Rosan was being receptive to criticism. It made helping him that much easier and they were making real progress because of it. It filled her with more joy then she could imagine, that someone valued her words so much.

Angel and Demon were thankful that their Master hadn't lost his temper. They knew exactly what Rosan was capable of doing as a Dragon. Daybreak Island being burned into nothing was a very vivid reminder.

They shuddered at the utter mayhem a Draconic Rosan would cause. He had managed to destroy an island with a power he wielded for the first time. The destruction he could cause after training so much… They didn't even want to think about it!

"My clones have such little faith in me," Rosan said in a vexed tone causing their eyes to widen.

"N-no it's nothing like that, Master!" Angel hastily assured him. She was waving her hands frantically in an attempt to persuade him.

"We were just wary of the possibility that it could happen," Demon agreed with just as much panic.

A snort cut them both off, as Rosan said "You two are so easy."

The amusement in his tone was noticeable and the two scowled at his teasing tone.

Master was much less of a jerk before, Angel decided.

Demon nodded sagely.

Mod laughed at their misfortune.

Meiko giggled at Rosan's ever growing confusion.

"… I'm not that bad right?"

"…"

"…"

"…"

"You're an agent of chaos, Rosan," Meiko, bless her soul, finally spoke for the rest of them when it became clear that no one else was going to speak up.

"I hate you all."

---

Rosan was nervous.

Something about visiting his old home, filled him with a dread he couldn't explain. Deep down though, he knew the reason.

He had failed his mother. Quite spectacularly at that. Her last wish had been for Rosan to take care of his little brother and he had done everything but that.

It had been 6 years and he had never even met the boy...

Rosan didn't even know what Ace looked like! He had not seen his little brother in 6 years and he never even got a good look at him as a baby. The only thing he had seen, was a tuft of black hair. It wasn't even strawberry blonde like his mother's...

Finding him could prove to be slightly difficult.

He hoped Ace was happy wherever he was. Rosan wasn't quite ready to visit his younger brother, but hopefully the 6 year old had friends and was enjoying his life.

If he figured out anything happened to his little brother, not even the massive gap in strength between him and Garp would stop him from ripping that man to shreds. When he eventually sought out his brother, Rosan just hoped Ace didn't hate him too much.

He wouldn't blame him if he did though.

Rosan was, surprisingly, undisguised for this trip. He would never dare to disrespect his mother by hiding his appearance. His red hair spiked out freely and he had opted into wearing a long sleeved black shirt with red roses decorated all over the sleeves. On the back was one large rose. He had opted to wear baggy black pants that were tucked into equally black boots.

"Your always wearing something black… Is it your favorite color?" Meiko's bell like voice chimed.

"My favorite colors are red and purple. Black comes right after them," Rosan began, turning to face the blonde. "I wear black more because it's less noticeable then the two I mentioned. When I was younger, I used to wear red a lot more," Rosan explained to her, getting a nod out of the blonde.

Meiko was in her signature sailor outfit. This one was colored white, with hints of red, and it had a red tie to match. She had on thigh high socks tucked neatly into some white sneakers. Her golden blonde hair was out of its twintails in favor of flowing freely down her back and stopping just above her butt.

"You look good with your hair down," Rosan commented offhandedly, after appraising her appearance.

Meiko blushed red and she stammered out a "Y-you think so?"

Her blush deepened as Rosan nodded without hesitation. She blushed deeper and bashfully thanked him, before touching her hair in thought.

Rosan knew he would be attracting looks without his disguise, but if he were dressed as Reaper, he'd be attracting an equal, if not more, amount.

Reaper's popularity had exploded in the months since he had adopted it's persona. It seemed that everywhere in the Blue Sea, people were talking about the mysterious black clad figure and Rosan wasn't really sure why people loved talking about the Shinigami.

Well, he had been capturing and turning in bounties over the Blue Seas at an abnormally quick rate. Maybe that was why? Coupled with the fact that you couldn't see an ounce of his skin, and his very noticeable wings, and his gigantic scythe —

Okay never mind, he knew why Reaper was attracting so much attention.

There was something about mysterious figures that attracted humans. The ethereal air that he gave off, his dismissive attitude, the fact that he had begun floating because it was easier then walking, but they thought he was too transcendent to walk the same earth as them…

Really people were so annoying. They took the most insignificant details and spun them into something so much more.

They spoke of him like he was some type of boogeyman though and it was more annoying then he'd like to admit. He was nothing but polite whenever he interacted with someone so why did everyone panic when they saw him?

He even heard parents warning their children that if they stayed out too late, Reaper would come get them!

Really?!

Rosan had yet to attack anyone who didn't have a bounty unprovoked! His sheer outrage at that one made Mod and Meiko laugh for 30 minutes straight. Even the clones couldn't help but join in.

He didn't even have a bounty yet! Though, he suspected the Marines were just looking for a reason to give him one. They had asked him to join the World Government and his rather rude reply of "I'd rather pluck every single feather off of my wings, one by one, with a rusty spoon" probably didn't sit right with them.

The fact remained though, Reaper was popular and their infamy was only rising higher and higher.

Rosan didn't want any connections between himself and Reaper. If the people saw his other persona paying his respects to a woman who had been dead for over 6 years… well it would be suspicious to say the least. Besides Rosan wanted to visit her as Rosan, not as Reaper.

The redhead had modified his ship as well. He didn't outwardly change its appearance, but he had changed the black to a more standard brown. The White Rose was an all black ship and apparently there weren't much black ships, or any ships really that looked like his did. People didn't know Reaper had a ship due to his penchant of flying everywhere, but it never hurt to be careful.

Maybe Meiko had a point about him being too flashy…

Eh, Too late to change things now. Any appearance change to Reaper would be detrimental in the long run. It would make him appear more human and people were less likely to believe it was him. Besides, Rosan was quite vain when it came to his appearance and the 10 year old prided himself in looking good.

Reaper looked good so Reaper would stay that way.

The duo of Meiko and Rosan descended from the ship at the same time. It was clear though, that Meiko was much more willing to go then he was. She sensed his trepidation and gave him a gentle squeeze of reassurance. He let out a small sigh and flashed her a thankful smile.

Over the months, relying on Meiko had made his life so much easier. The blonde always knew how to calm him down and now that he was willing to listen, he benefited from it greatly.

As they walked through Baterilla, Meiko took the chance to observe her surroundings.

It really was a beautiful island that was immersed in nature. The wind blew gently and her long hair swayed in time with the breeze. Chirping birds were located in a dense amount of trees and the chatter of people meshed perfectly with it all.

She could see what Rosan's mindscape was based off of now. Living here made one really appreciate nature. The summer island was beautiful and it embraced nature much like Rosan's mindscape did.

The Modification user's mindscape was a lot more wet though.

What really caught her attention though, were the looks. In particular, the amount of eyes on Rosan, varying in degrees of shock. The boy seemingly didn't realize but she knew nothing evaded his gaze.

"Rosy, I think they notice you," Meiko pointed out through their connection.

"It's been 6 years, but my appearance has barely changed… it's probably not hard at all for them to notice me. I was the type of kid who everyone knew," Rosan replied offhandedly.

She nodded after remembering the stories Mod-chan told her. Rosan was probably a notable shining presence on Baterilla during his time here with how wild he acted.

The inhabitants looked like they had seen a ghost.

That wasn't a surprise. To them, Rosan might as well have been a ghost. They probably weren't even aware that Rouge, Rosan's mother, was pregnant so news of her death would have caught them all surprise. Coupled with the fact that no news of Rosan's fate had reached their ears... Well, they probably thought the boy had died along with his mother.

The only one who would have known that Rosan left on his own accord… would be the Marine that took Ace.

Rosan had a rather distinct appearance. If you knew who he was, it wouldn't be hard to identify him, no matter how he aged. It's why he wore his Reaper disguise so frequently, so that people couldn't immediately recognize him public.

Spiky, untamed, brilliant crimson locks that reached the shoulder. Bronze skin that looked too natural to be a tan. Large eyes with near invisible pupils that each shined a different color, one blood red, the other royal purple. Coupled with the fact that he was considered attractive...

"Exotic" is what Sachie liked to describe him as.

Meiko was inclined to agree. She doubted anybody looked quite like Rosan so the fact that everyone on the island recognized him was no surprise.

A blush dusted her cheeks at the fact that someone like Rosan would be attracted to her. She was glad. As he grew older, Rosan would garner quite a bit of attention from males and females alike.

She scowled at the thought of other people fawning over him.

Rosan was hers.

"Here I was thinking Rosan was the only possessive one," Mod spoke up causing her to turn an interesting shade of red.

"I am not possessive," Rosan and Meiko said at the exact same time.

"Maybe one day Meiko can convince me but Rosan, that ship has sailed long ago for you," Mod-chan said in a deadpan.

Meiko couldn't wipe the smile off her face as Rosan scowled.

She had to agree with the Devil Fruit, Rosan was possessive. Meiko recalled how one time, an older boy had tried to flirt with her. She had embarrassingly rejected his advances, but he had been insistent.

The blonde was flattered, but she only had eyes for one person… and that one person managed to catch the boy getting progressively more demanding. Meiko urged him to stop but he refused to listen and she shook her head in sympathy.

Rosan (dressed as Reaper) had walked up to the suddenly paralyzed offender, whispered something into his ear, squeezed his shoulder gently, and walked away. The kid had progressively paled as Rosan spoke and by the time he was done, he had been shaking like a leaf. The masked boy had patted him one last time before allowing him to run off.

The boy had shot off without glancing back even once.

And he wondered why Reaper was getting so famous. The rumors spread about the Angel of Death were not being helped by Rosan whatsoever.

Some people looked like they wanted to approach, but Rosan's aura dissuaded most forms of curiosity. The boy's tiny pupils had narrowed into slits and his mouth was set into a straight line. He looked like the picture perfect "Approach me and die" and everyone too notice.

That didn't stop people from trying though.

"R-Rosan," A mature voice called out, causing them both to pause "Is t-that really you?" The voice asked skeptically.

They looked to see a short, fair woman at about 30 years of age looking at the boy with wide disbelieving eyes. She was of average weight with a pretty, yet aging face that indicated her age. She had shoulder length, glossy black hair tied into a ponytail and brown eyes with slight crows feet. She was currently holding a baby in her arms that was peacefully asleep.

Rosan sent the woman an uninterested glance and she flinched at the look in his eyes. "Hello Megumi," he began, remembering the woman from his time here. "Congratulations on the child," he said, nodding towards the infant.

Meiko sighed at how curt he was. Rosan clearly did not want to continue this conversation, but something told her this wasn't the end of it.

"I — thank you, but what happened to you?! When we heard Rouge-san died and we didn't hear about you we just…" Megumi froze at the frigid stare Rosan shot her. The older woman cursed her lack of tact and tried to sway the conversation in another direction. "W-What happened to your eyes dear?" she asked instead.

Rosan had a brilliant pair of purple eyes that were talked about frequently between the civilians because of the fact that they seemed to glow. He had not been heterochromatic, so to see a burning red eye in his left eye was quite off putting and only raised more questions.

"You sure are asking a lot of questions, Megumi," Rosan pointed out idly and she frowned at him.

"You should show some respect to your elders little Rosan," She chastised gently. He was saying her name far too casually for the age difference between them.

It was quite rude!

Rosan's eyes narrowed.

"The very first thing you do when seeing me, is mention my dead mother to me and you have the nerve to call me rude?" Rosan asked incredulously and he raised a single brow. He got the desired reaction out of the woman, because she immediately reeled back and turned defensive.

"N-no I-I w-wasn't trying t-to—,"

"Not only that, your commenting on my appearance with such an unpleasant expression on your face? What exactly have you done to deserve my respect because you've been nothing but disrespectful?" The boy cut her off with a confused expression.

She stammered as she looked down into those intimidating eyes of his.

"Um…pardon me," The woman excused herself hastily. "I h-have to get home now, the baby gets in q-quite a fuss if she doesn't get her meal," she stuttered out. Rosan opted to continue staring condescendingly at the mother.

"You do that. While you're at it, I think you should learn how to have a conversation, Megumi," Rosan suggested and those dual eyes stared at her, daring her to continue challenging him.

She didn't.

Megumi turned hastily and fled the scene, promising herself to never have a conversation with the redhead again. Little Rosan had always had a presence but never had it felt so dangerous. He was such a cheerful boy and he was willing to have a conversation with everyone around him!

She couldn't help but wonder what happened to him to cause such a drastic shift from the happy go lucky boy to…that.

Everyone who witnessed the conversation, wondered the same thing.

"You're really good at that," Meiko eventually told Rosan, as the shock wore off. He was ruthless!

"Good at what?" He asked knowingly.

"Controlling the conversation," the blonde said still a little surprised at the way he handled it.

"Oh?"

"That lady… she didn't even get an answer out of you. You immediately found a problem with her statement and made that the main topic."

The boy snorted through their connection. "It's a handy skill to have. I didn't want to tell that lady anything anyways so I figured I could teach her a thing or two for being so nosy," was his cheeky response. "Now let's go. That little display should have been good enough for everyone to get the message."

Meiko giggled and obediently followed after the shorter boy. It was good to know he wasn't too badly affected by being here and was still capable of making jokes.

True to his word, no one else tried to bother them. Anyone who did, was quickly assuaged as Rosan released some of his pressure.

Despite how long it had been since Rosan was last home, he guided her like he had never left. He deftly moved through the people (they went out of their way to avoid him) and it didn't take long before they arrived to his home.

It was a simple white house with a red roof adorning its top. It looked as if it hadn't been attended to for a while and there was a plentiful amount of overgrowth.

Rosan froze as he regarded the house. His face cracked a bit as memories from so long ago came rushing back.

How could he ever forget them? The redhead thought that he had grown numb to it all, but thinking about it and actually being there in person were two very different things.

He couldn't do this. H-he wasn't ready to confront this part of his past. He couldn't face anything that reminded him of Mama. He just couldn't do it —

"It's okay Rosan, I'm here." A increasingly familiar comfort washed over him as Meiko spoke up. She always knew how to calm him down.

Rosan really loved that amazing blonde. The blonde in question, blushed scarlet and began swooning.

Steeling himself, Rosan and Meiko made their way to his old home. Despite the burst of confidence, Rosan's feet felt like lead and every step was harder than the last.

As they got closer, Rosan nearly broke as he saw a lone grave on the side. His exceptional vision read out Portgas D. Rouge in bold letters and his throat locked up.

The only thing keeping him composed was his improved self control and the girl standing next to him.

Without realizing it, Rosan had stopped directly in front of the grave and he promptly collapsed onto his knees. There was so much he wanted to say but his throat felt so, so restricted.

So he just sat there cross legged and stared.

Meiko rubbed his back soothingly. She asked Rosan if she could explore his home and at his hollow nod, the blonde entered with a soft squeeze of his shoulder.

Rosan just continued staring with those bright eyes of his.

Meiko never wanted to see that look in his eyes again.

The blonde hated when he looked like this because this was exactly how he looked when he was still imprisoned on Daybreak.

The less said about those times, the better. The blonde let out a tired sigh and she tugged at her long hair.

He needed this though. The 10 year old, if he could, would have put this meeting off for as long as he could. And that was a really long time.

You really just had to look at the fact that he had yet to visit Ace.

Meiko let out another sigh. Just what was she going to do with Rosan?

---

The door creaked from neglect and Meiko hesitantly stepped inside Rosan's former home. She coughed from the large amount of dust and her eyes began to water. She didn't take another step, as the air outside slowly helped clear the dust.

Blinking the tears away, Meiko glanced around as she finally gained the ability to see.

Despite its condition, the house had a homey feeling to it. Furniture was laid out neatly in what she assumed was the living room and there were three doors. One was shut tightly with a sign that said the word "ROSAN" scribbled messily on it.

Meiko chuckled at how cute his handwriting looked. It was a far cry from his impossibly penmanship one now.

The other two had nothing similar but she assumed one was his mother's room and the other was probably the bathroom.

It looked perfectly suitable for a mother and her child. There was nothing out of the ordinary except for the fact that it looked as if it had been deserted for years.

Considering the situation, it likely had been.

"You're finding it hard to compare this home to Rosan aren't you," Mod stated. Her voice was amused with a hint of melancholy.

Meiko nodded at her correct assessment. It was hard to imagine Rosan living in such a quaint and simple home.

"Is it just you and I Mod-chan?" Meiko asked the purple haired woman in curiosity.

"Yes, I wanted to leave Rosan be and figured we could spend time together."

Meiko smiled happily at being kept company by the Devil Fruit. She loved spending time with Mod-chan so she had no complaints.

She stopped as she came across a shattered frame. She bent down to pick it up and her eyes widened as she saw that it was a picture of Rosan and, presumably, Rouge.

Rouge was beautiful. She was a slender woman with long, wavy pink-blonde hair. She wore a pink hibiscus flower in her hair on the left side of her head, and had freckles dusted on her face. She also wore a long, short-sleeved, light blue dress that reached down to her feet, and sandals. Honey brown eyes were warm even through the picture.

Rosan looked utterly adorable! He had a lot more baby fat and his eyes shone in happiness.

Meiko didn't know Rosan was even capable of smiling so brightly!

The mother and son held each other and the love they had for each other was obvious. Knowing that all of it was ripped away from Rosan without his consent, suddenly tore at her heart.

He looked so young and so vulnerable. His gaze was filled with nothing but innocence and curiosity and seeing how he acted now made tears brim in her eyes.

Why did he have to be the one who suffered?

"You two would have been the best of friends," Mod mused and Meiko sighed at what could have been.

"I'm sad that I never got to meet this Rosan, but I'm glad that I got to meet Rosan at all… He's helped me more then I could ever imagine."

Mod smiled gently at Meiko's love for the 10 year old. "He's helped me so much as well. Thanks to him, I'm an entirely new person. It wouldn't be an exaggeration to say Rosan gave me life and for that, he will always have my undying loyalty."

Meiko gaped a little at the Devil Fruits words. She knew that the two were close but to hear just how close they were… it warmed her heart! The boy and his partner had such a pure relationship.

"Don't think you're excluded young lady," Mod admonished, causing her eyes to widen in surprise. "Did you actually think we would leave you out?! We love you Meiko, you've changed our life for the better after I thought all hope was lost for Rosan."

"Rosan...was going down a dangerous path, full of hatred and rage, but you've taught him that he can still love and trust another person. That boy values you more then you could imagine because like how he gave me a new chance at life, you've given him one too," Mod's voice was full of love and appreciation, as she praised the 12 year old.

"From the bottom of my heart Meiko, thank you so much."

Oh.

Meiko hadn't felt love like this since before her parents had changed for the worse. The sheer appreciation Mod-chan poured into her words threatened to overwhelm the neglected girl.

For so long, Meiko just wanted things to go back to the way things were with her parents, when she was showered in unconditional love by the two of them. She just wanted someone to show that they cared for her. The lack of that, coupled with how demeaning and cold they were to her, had lowered her own self esteem tremendously.

To hear Mod reassure the girl that there were people in the world who loved her... Well, it was too much for the little girl.

"Meiko?! W-wait I'm sorry I didn't mean to make you cry! Was there something wrong with what I said?" Mod tried to frantically reassure the crying girl but Meiko just shook her head.

"I'm sorry Mod-chan it's just I-I'm so happy," she sobbed at the pure relief flooding her body. She just wanted anyone to show that they cared for her and to hear someone say it directly, lifted a weight off her shoulder that had been holding her down for so long.

Mod's eyes went soft. Rosan wasn't the only one with internal issues it seemed. She knew the girl had severe confidence issues and she was glad that her words had been able to help.

Honestly, what was with all these children and their issues. This world was a seriously messed up place!

Meiko continued crying as Mod soothed her. Eventually the girl settled down and wiped her red eyes.

"Thank you Mod-chan I… I really needed that. I didn't realize but I've been waiting for someone to say for a long time," Meiko sniffed and a watery smile appeared on her face.

Mod smiled in return at the blonde. She didn't deserve to be neglected the way she was by her awful parents. The girl was a sweetheart who wanted to see the best in everyone and she deserved the world.

"I swear, there's always a therapy session going on between us," the purple haired woman joked and they both devolved into laughter.

The two eventually settled down and Meiko clutched the photo frame. She wanted to give this to Rosan because she was sure the boy had no photos of his mother.

She entered Rosan's room and laughed at all the red and purple. The boy had not been lying when he said those were his favorite colors! His entire room was decorated with the two colors. He had the cutest little bed too! It was like a messier, brighter, more childish version of his room on the White Rose.

Her mood went a bit somber as she entered Rouge's room. The late mother's room was immaculate and there was not a single thing out of place. It contrasted greatly from Rosan's room. Hers was far more elegant and much neater and a lot more pink too.

After exploring much of the house, Meiko decided there was nothing left for her here. She wanted to get back to Rosan to give him the photo of his mother. He would love it!

Her eyes lingered on the rocking chair for a moment before she exited Rosan's former home.

"Rosan! I found something you might…like?" Meiko paused as she drank in the sight.

The redhead was staring at her but he wasn't alone. No there was someone else there with the boy. A girl with brown hair and gray eyes was hugging Rosan tightly and she was rubbing him.

She was rubbing him.

She was rubbing him.

"Rosan, who is this?" Meiko asked politely, staring daggers at the girl.

"Who is this Rosan?" The brunette asked at the same time, returning the glare.

"Oh dear," Mod giggled at the sparks flying between the two. Meiko really was possessive. The girl was not one for violence but she looked as if she wanted to yank the child off of her wielder.

By her hair.

Rosan sighed. "Meiko, Shizuka. Shizuka, Meiko."

"It's nice to meet you Shizuka," Meiko said with a smile on her face that Rosan immediately identified as fake.

"Pleasure is all mine Meiko," Shizuka responded in an equally fake tone.

Rosan looked at them both and shook his head.

Why did this have to happen to him?

"The price of being "exotic" I guess," Mod mocked him and Rosan groaned.

He hated this damn fruit.

---

Some time ago

Rosan had not said a single word since he had sat in front of the grave but somehow, he felt as if he had spoken a thousand to his mother.

He really did need this. The longer he stayed, the more he realized how understanding his mom would have been. If anyone would understand why he did what he did, it would be his Mama.

The redhead could practically envision their conversation.

Mama would ask him why he had made the decision to leave Ace behind and he'd tell her it was to protect Mod-chan. She would shake her head in faux disappointment, before scooping him up and whispering how she knew of his protective streak. She would rub him on his head, on his favorite spot, and tell Rosan how she wasn't mad at him.

Rouge would tell him that whatever decision he made, she would support it, as long as he was careful.

That was just who Rouge was, so caring and understanding. That's what he loved so much about her. Even if Rosan messed up she would always be there, guiding him gently.

How he wished she were actually here. Rosan had been denied even the chance to speak to her one last time and it tore him apart at the seams. She had gotten to say her last words to him, but he couldn't say them to her. It left him incomplete. Hollow.

He missed her so much.

Rosan needed to accept that she was gone though and staring at the grave with her name on it was a good way to hammer it in.

He would never forget his Mama, how could he? Despite resenting her for her decisions, Rouge's decision to die was one made out of love and Rosan loved her. As much as it pained him, Ace was her biological son so her decision was natural. He loved his little brother too and he would never die him his right to be born.

He fully understood why she made that decision, but, even with that knowledge, he couldn't get rid of the pain.

Why couldn't she just give birth a little sooner…? Maybe the strain wouldn't have been as overwhelming. Maybe if he had been there, he could have even helped with Modification?

So many maybes but the definitive truth, was that she was gone now. It was no use dwelling on the what ifs.

The boy chose to focus on another matter. Namely that of Gol D Roger. His and Ace's father…and Mama's lover.

The Pirate King was lucky that he was dead, else Rosan would have hunted him down with his dying breath.

How fucking dare he knock up Mama and just die? He showed up to the island, with no regards for secrecy, alert the whole world that he was madly in love and had the World Government zero in on the island, costing Mama her life. He didn't even leave any type of protection outside of Garp raising Ace. Did he ever even care that he was jeopardizing Rouge's life?

That was unforgivable. If he were still alive, Rosan would have taken great joy out of killing the man himself.

Is what he would have like to do but truthfully, he knew he couldn't. Mama would be heartbroken if she knew he wanted to kill Roger. Forcing her to make such a difficult decision… he could never do that.

The redhead knew if it really came down to it, his Mama would always choose her children, but Rosan didn't want her to leave behind the man that she loved.

Rosan never wanted to be the cause of his mother's anguish. She loved Roger with all her heart so the redhead could never hate the man with all of his.

The 10 year old sighed despondently. "Mama, why did you have to fall in love with such an idiot?" He asked no one in particular.

"R-Rosan?" A voice called out in disbelief, causing him to raise his head. He focused his sharp gaze on the source and saw them flinch. His eyes shone in recognition, as he looked at the new person.

Chin length, wavy brown hair framed a young feminine face with a fair complexion, that was slightly tanned by the summer weather. They wore a white tank top that exposed their navel and some blue shorts covered partially by an equally blue skirt. Stormy gray eyes sparked in apprehension, fear, and…hope?

He recognized this person. It had been 6 years but his memory served him well.

"Greetings, Shizuka," Rosan greeted the only person he could call a friend when he had lived on Baterilla.

Calling her a friend though was a bit of a stretch. She largely avoided making eye contact with him and hardly spoke to him when they hung out. It was jarring because she used to be so interactive with him! Rosan had quite enjoyed her presence despite the fact she used to talk about the weirdest things.

Rosan figured Shizuka's parents were forcing the girl to hang out with him, so he stopped talking to her. It didn't matter if the boy was lacking friends, he didn't need anyone's pity at all.

"Y-you're alive?"

The girl looked like she had seen a ghost. Everyone else on the island had that same look but Rosan wasn't close to any of them. Outside of using his charm to get things for free, he rarely spoke to them about much. He was content to stay with his Mama or by himself in the forest.

That's why he didn't deign to give any of them an explanation on his whereabouts. Who were they to him? Nothing but people he used to live on the island with.

He wasn't here for them. He was here for his mother.

This girl was no different. Just another person he lived on the island with.

"It appears that I am," Rosan told her, polite and stiff, as he regarded her with curiosity. Rumors of his return had no doubt spread around the island and though news of him being alive could be detrimental, that was for future him to worry about. That didn't help explain why Shizuka of all people came to visit him though.

Imagine his surprise, when the girl jumped on him with a squeal. Rosan was too shocked to react and the girl began nuzzling his soft cheek in glee. His fellow 10 year old was talking a mile a minute as he sat there, rooted to his spot.

"Where have you been?! Are you okay?! You're still as cute as ever! Oh but your eyes!" she gasped as she looked at his left eye. By now, Rosan had finally gotten his wits together and pushed the girl off of him so he could sit back up. That didn't deter her whatsoever and she took one of his arms and crushed it against her.

Rosan sighed and just let her be. She had been like this before she had stopped talking to him but time away, seemed to have made her revert back into it.

It was annoying.

He didn't care enough to stop it though so he just let it happen.

"Rosan! I found something you might… like?" Meiko's voice caught his attention and for some reason, Rosan felt an extreme amount of danger.

In hindsight, maybe he should have cared more.

---

Meiko sized up the new arrival with a placid smile on her face.

Her wavy brown hair parted into bangs on the side of her head and she had striking gray eyes. She was cute. Too cute. Her outfit nearly made the blonde scowl. Rubbing her bare skin on Rosan! At least the boy wore outfits that covered most of his skin.

The way this Shizuka was holding Rosan set off blaring alarms in the back of her head. They were far too close for her liking and Meiko had to resist the urge to bare her teeth at the girl.

Just who did she think she was?!

Shizuka looked at the 12 year old with a threatening gaze. Golden blonde hair hung freely down her and electric blue eyes, which lacked pupils, stared gently but firmly at her. Her sailor outfit rested neatly on her growing slim figure and she seemed to have a small, permanent, blush on her cheeks. She scowled at the girl.

She was cute. Too cute.

Who did this bimbo think she was?!

The dual eyed boy stared at them both with tired eyes. The two had met each other for 2 minutes and they already held such animosity for each other? How did that even work?

"Rosan, how do you still not get it?" Mod blinked at him in genuine confusion and Rosan regarded her with curiosity.

"I don't understand, what am I not getting?" Rosan closed his eyes in thought as he contemplated what could possibly cause them to be at odds. His mouth opened in a small o, as realization hit him.

"Meiko, are you jealous of Shizuka?"Rosan asked, as the epiphany struck him.

That had to be it! They were just talking about how possessive the duo was and now a girl was touching him!

Rosan would obliterate anyone that put their hands on Meiko, even if it wasn't suggestive like how Shizuka was. The girl was just happy to see him, for whatever reason.

Both girls looked at him with shock at his sudden statement.

"Why are you like this Rosan…" Mod-chan sounded equally as tired as he felt. She didn't expect the boy to be that blunt about it but then again Rosan wasn't one to hold back on his words...

"?"

Meiko blushed and said in outrage, "J-jealous? Why would I be jealous of someone like her?" She pointed at the brunette in indignation who simply gasped in offense.

"Someone like me? What do you mean by that you blonde haired bimbo?!"

"B-bimbo?! That's rich coming from you! Look at how close you're holding him!"

Mod giggled as Rosan watched the two bicker in growing confusion. Why was Shizuka egging this argument on? She knew that Meiko was jealous, yet here she was getting into it with the blonde, quite heatedly.

Why?

"Bimbo!" Shizuka growled.

"Tramp!" Meiko retorted.

"Wench!"

"Broad!"

"Hussy!"

"Wannabe Prostitute!"

Rosan didn't even know Meiko could get this vulgar! His mouth was open in shock at her choice of words. Even Mod gaped at the blue eyed girl.

The blonde did have some bite!

Shizuka reeled back in offense. "Oh that is it! When I get my hands on you, you're so done," the 10 year old raged in fury.

Meiko, the same girl who despised violence, looked as if she was about to actually engage the girl. "Bring it on harlot! And get your hands off Rosan! I won't say it again!" The blonde bared her fangs.

The entire exchange was so surreal for Rosan, that the boy decided he needed some semblance of normality.

"That's enough you two."

The two straightened at the authority in his voice and immediately stopped arguing. They looked at the boy's neutral but firm expression with wide eyes, as he pursed his lips at them.

Meiko was caught off guard. Rosan never took this tone with her and seeing the exasperation in his eyes made her sheepishly snap out of her rage.

Shizuka was caught off guard for a different reason. It was unnerving seeing the energetic ball of energy named Rosan so calm and serious. The brunette had tried to ignore it but Rosan was different. Seeing him without a permanent grin, was unsettling and hearing that tone of voice was… strange.

He had always had a presence to him. It's what made his personality so magnetic but now, it was so daunting.

Seeing that he had their undivided attention, Rosan let out a sigh for the umpteenth time and allowed himself to relax. "You two are being ridiculous right now," he finally said after a moment.

"Meiko, you're getting worked up over nothing," Rosan told his companion and she flushed at his tone. "We've already talked about this, I like you and only you. I am yours and you are mine."

The girl blushed deeply at his bold proclamation. Rosan could have sworn he saw steam coming out of the girl, as she looked everywhere but at him.

"D-dummy. I d-didn't think y-you would say s-something like that in public," she stuttered and though she tried to sound reprimanding, the happiness she radiated could be felt from a mile away.

Shizuka looked crushed. Rosan did not notice.

"There's nothing to worry about, Shizuka was just egging you on. She doesn't like me. Honestly, I'm surprised she's here… What?" He stopped what he was saying as he regarded the girls.

They were looking at him like he'd grown a second head. Rosan tilted his head at the incredulity on their faces.

"Rosan… I get why, I really do but, you are seriously so stupid sometimes," Meiko said in a tired voice eerily similar to Mod-chan.

"Sometimes Rosan, you even shock me," Mod-chan agreed.

Rosan furrowed his brow in confusion and recalled what he said. They had adopted that look when he mentioned Shizuka not liking him. Something was wrong with that statement then. Hm. The only thing that could be wrong with that though was that he incorrectly guessed that —

The redhead finally noticed the crushed look on the brunette's face and paused as he digested the new information. The boy blinked and asked "Shizuka, you like me?"

She looked incredulous at his realization. "Wait. Y-you never realized?"

Meiko felt a bit of sympathy for the poor girl. Surely Rosan was not this clueless?

"Realize? What? You suddenly stopped speaking to me," he accused the girl and her jaw dropped at the sheer audacity of the boy before her.

"Y-you're personality was really overwhelming and you talked a mile a minute! By the time I was ready to say something, you were already moving on to the next topic! I was struggling to keep up with what you said so I just stayed silent and listened!" she explained with an open mouth of disbelief.

...That made sense. He did talk a lot.

"You constantly avoided eye contact with me," he pointed out.

"You're cute and I got lost in your eyes too often so I sometimes didn't catch what you were saying! You have a very mesmerizing pair of purple eyes," she countered, crossing her arms in exasperation.

...That also made sense. He was damn good looking.

"Ego maniac."

"Shut up."

"You never gave any obvious signs?" Rosan tried one last thing and Shizuka was finally glaring at him like he was an idiot.

"I used to literally say we would get married when we got older!"

"I was four! I didn't know what you were talking about and when Mama told me I decided that I wasn't ready."

"I haven't seen you since you were 4! This is the first meeting we've had in 6 years and you've already claimed someone else! Have you seen your appearance?! I knew this was gonna happen!" She raged and Rosan winced.

…That made a lot of sense. His mom had said she'd have to beat off potential suitors with a stick.

"There is never a moment where you aren't complimenting yourself."

"Kami, I hate you so much sometimes."

"I love you too!"

Rosan digested this new information and realized that maybe he was lacking when it came to the love aspect of life. He was good at discerning lust because of his prolonged exposure to that depraved pervert Sachie but identifying things like this was hard. How was he supposed to tell the difference between someone being friendly or not?

The redhead sheepishly rubbed the back of his head and said "My bad," to the gray eyed girl.

Meiko put her head in both hands. Could she even count this as a victory?

Shizuka held her head in exasperated defeat, before shaking it back and forth. Determinedly, she looked up and dramatically pointed a finger at the blonde.

"You may have won Rosan's heart for now but that doesn't mean I've given up! From now on, we'll both be fighting over Rosan's love!" She declared.

Meiko blinked and said "You know we travel together right. Don't you think I have a pretty big advantage already?"

The brunette faltered a bit at that. "Wait, you're not staying Rosan?"

The 10 year old shook his head in a negative. "No, I just came to visit my mother's grave. I've done what I needed to do so I'm leaving soon."

Shizuka looked a little downcast before curiosity overtook her. "Rosan… news of Rouge-san dying was shocking enough and then you disappeared without a trace. What happened to you?" Rosan was so unlike the boy she used to know that it was kind of scary.

It had been 6 years, but the change was so drastic.

Rosan pursed his lips and his demeanor instantly turned frosty. "None of your business," he frigidly said. He exhaled as he saw her flinch with a hurtful expression and toned it down. He was getting too defensive when it was just childish curiosity.

"Apologies, I didn't mean to come off so rude but, I don't quite feel comfortable talking about it."

Shizuka nodded in understanding at her fellow 10 year old before asking "Will… will you visit maybe?"

"Not often," Rosan said truthfully and she nodded knowingly. She had expected that much, Rosan was a hard person to hold down. Only Rouge had been able to do it successfully, but even she couldn't contain the hyperactive child for long.

The boy was a free spirit that did whatever he pleased

A tap on her shoulder brought her face to face with Meiko. Her electric blue eyes looked remorseful and she bowed deeply. "I'm sorry for calling you such mean words," she apologized, shocking the brunette. "I don't know what got over me but I hope you can forgive me."

Shizuka was surprised at how genuine the blonde sounded. She giggled a bit and said "I can see why Rosan likes you now," earning a bashful look from the girl. "It's no problem at all. I already forgave you!"

The two smiled genuinely at each other before Meiko took Rosan's side. Rosan looked as if he didn't want to be here any longer so they were probably going to leave soon.

"Goodbye you two! See you next time you come back," Shizuka waved at the two as they got ready to walk off. "Don't forget Meiko, if you mess up with Rosan, I'll be right there to take him!"

"He's MINE," she said possessively grabbing onto Rosan who just shook his head.

"Please don't talk about me as if I'm some trophy," Rosan requested which earned him a raspberry from the both of them.

The redhead shook his head in exasperation and prepared to walk off before stopping. He had almost forgot one last thing in the chaos.

Walking back to his mother's grave, Rosan pulled out a pristine white Rose and placed it gently in front of her grave. He stared at her grave and then suddenly, his throat didn't feel so constricted.

"I'm sorry for taking so long to visit you, Mom," Rosan finally spoke to the grave and the two girls watched the exchange with solemn eyes at his somber tone. They backed away a bit to avoid hearing the private conversation.

"I'm sorry for not being able to take care of Ace like you wanted. I hope you can forgive me…" he ran a hand through his soft spikes.

"So much has happened since…since you passed and I don't even know how to explain some things to you. No doubt you'd be bawling your eyes out after hearing what's happened to me but I'm fine, really! Lately, I've been feeling like life is getting better." Rosan exhaled as all the words came flooding out.

"I was in a really dark place when I left Baterilla. I… I hated you and Ace for a bit Mom, I won't lie," he confessed sadly. It tore at him just thinking about it, the amount of rage he had momentarily felt.

"I just couldn't believe that you left me so soon. Mod-chan helped me snap out of it and I thought I was getting better but… but I got captured and all those dark thoughts came rushing back and filled me with nothing but hate. I've done some terrible things, I'm going to do some terrible things but I hope you don't condemn me."

He allowed himself a small smile as he continued to speak.

"Even though I was filled with such hate, someone saw through all of that and they gave me hope… hope that I can still feel something positive," Rosan looked back and made eye contact with Meiko for a bit before flashing her a smile full of love. The girl turned beet red but she shyly returned the smile and he was satisfied to see it filled with an equal amount of love.

"I have to go now. I'll be back to visit you and I'll tell you more. I… I miss you more then you could imagine, but I know you're watching me and I have just one request. Please keep watching over me Mama."

Rosan held his forehead to the grave for a moment, before he stood back up.

The warm wind embraced him as if forming a hug. He had always loved the way the wind felt against his skin.

"Forever and always my little Rose."

---

"Alone this time Reaper?"

Rosan regarded Aiko as he pocketed his bi-weekly stipend. The young adult looked largely the same though her outfit was no longer the rags she wore when they had first met. Instead, she wore an all black suit that did a good job at hiding her feminine curves.

"I could say the same to you, Aiko. You and Akemi are normally attached to the hip," he pointed out and the woman snorted in annoyance.

In the past couple months, Fregate Island had boomed in commerce without Arata actively sabotaging them. It had only taken a few weeks for trades to open up again with the island and Aiko had been kept quite busy as the newly delegated leader of the island, much to the girls protest.

Rosan knew she secretly enjoyed having such authority over the people. He nearly snorted at the thought of the angry woman giving out demands.

At least she was fair.

Like he had predicted, no one (the few people who knew about their deal) had a problem with her being in charge. In fact, because Reaper himself had hand picked her to be the leader of Fregate, they revered her as if she was the Angel of Death's messenger herself.

They probably thought crossing her would be crossing him, which was true. Aiko was the only person Rosan trusted to not mess things up completely. If anyone tried to undermine her…

Well, they would have to deal with him.

"We're going through… girl stuff currently and unlike me, she is allowed to make the decision to not be here when you arrive for the money," she glared at his hooded face. It didn't quite have the desired effect considering she couldn't see anything but she liked to think he was quivering!

Yeah, he definitely was!

"Hm. My apologies, I'll get out of your sight immediately then," he said, purposely not giving her a chance to protest his decision. Without wasting time, he activated Save Point and disappeared.

Aiko blinked as he vanished before a scowl formed on her face. "That asshole is really good at switching the subject off of himself." With that she got up and headed to where Akemi was. The girl would be upset at not being able to see her winged savior but she would get over it.

---

The best word to describe the, Pocket Dimension was alien.

It was an expanse of darkness and yet, Rosan could see perfectly. It felt as if something was there and yet, there was nothing. There was no sound and yet Rosan could hear. Time flowed but every second felt eternal. Space was seemingly infinite yet he felt as if he had no room. He moved but it felt as if he took no steps.

Everything about the Pocket Dimension was wrong in a way that he couldn't describe. He located the door that would lead to his ship and moved in it's directions. It felt as if he was making no progress, yet his destination got closer.

Stepping through, Rosan allowed himself some time to catch his breath as the wrongness of the Pocket Dimension vanished. He didn't mind being in there for prolonged periods of time, but he always felt disoriented when he stepped into reality again.

Pulling back his hoodie and taking off his mask, Rosan stepped out of the room of the ship directly connected to the alternate dimension.

The salty air brushed against his features as the pale glow of the moon disoriented him slightly. Rosan learned quickly that going through his Pocket Dimension while it was day time, was not worth the migraine he got. Sure he could modify the headache, but he'd rather not deal with it at all.

"The Pocket Dimension is quite unnerving," Mod whispered. She hated when he entered that place and typically cut off their connection whenever he went in there.

Rosan didn't blame her. The redhead had purposely stayed in there for a long period of time so he could get used to the feel of it. Despite that, it was still an uncomfortable experience for the boy.

It was a miracle Meiko had been able to enter that place more then once. She hated it even more then Mod-chan but her desire to be with him prevailed.

The blonde could be even more stubborn then him sometimes.

When she learned that he forced himself to stay in there for a prolonged period of time, the blonde had demanded to join him. The 12 year old had not released him not even once.

Not that he minded. He quite liked being close to the blonde.

She was sick though so Rosan forbade her from coming with him. The blue eyed girl tried to protest but he was firm in his decision.

Rosan was reminded that she was in fact Sachie's daughter with the tantrum she had thrown. It was quite the sight to see the blonde throw such a fit and the redhead would have laughed if it wasn't directed towards him.

Angel was, as normal, manning the helm of the ship. She smiled as she saw him and gave him a bow. He smiled back and waved at her.

"I trust Demon is ensuring Meiko does nothing dumb?" His female clone snorted at his question and shook her head.

"She's quite rebellious when she wants to be. Who knew that girl couldn't take no for an answer?" Angel cackled at how upset Meiko had been when Rosan refused to take her with him.

"Funny, I knew a person like that… They even look quite similar," Rosan said dryly and they both snorted in amusement.

She was normally so reserved, so to see her throwing a tantrum at being denied was quite a surprise.

Like mother like daughter he supposed. At least she wasn't as violent as Sachie. The blonde would never forgive herself if she hurt him… Not that she could.

"She's tired herself out with all her antics. I think she's just waiting for you so she can sleep," Angel called to his retreating back.

"Duly noted."

Rosan thanked his clone and made his way back to his room.

Ever since first entering his mindscape, Meiko had refused to sleep in Robin's room and instead opted to sleep on his comfy bed. Rosan had offered to modify his former companions room to her liking but she had denied it instantly.

Robin's old room was now used as a closet for the blonde and his room had become theirs. Rosan didn't see a problem with it, so he accepted it without issue. His bed was big enough for 2 adults so the two children could sleep on it without issue.

Meiko was incredibly clingy though… not that he minded. Rosan used to be the same way and a small part of him enjoyed finding someone that was equally touchy.

The redhead came across a mentally exhausted Demon and glanced in sympathy at his male clone.

"You doing alright?" Rosan asked his clone and winced at the tired glare he got back. "Right… Not the greatest question to ask. My bad."

"I was this close to tying her up, Master," was all Demon said, before he excused himself. His long haired clone left with haste and didn't look back even once.

Rosan chuckled a bit at his antics and opened the door to his room.

His chuckles died as a pillow immediately collided with his face. The soft bag rolled down his face slowly and landed on the floor with a tiny thud. He glanced, annoyed, at the perpetrator and was met with an angry, but tired, blue glare.

Red and purple clashed with pupilless blue, as the two stared each other down challengingly.

"You're acting like a child," Rosan pointed out.

"It's almost like I am a child," Meiko retorted sarcastically.

"You know that's not what I meant." He was glaring at her now.

"What could you possibly mean then?" She glared back.

"You're that mad that I didn't bring you with me?" He asked in exasperation.

"Yes I am! I said I wanted to go and you left without me!" She snarled. The girl sounded furious.

"Mei, you're sick!"

"I don't care. I wanted to go!"

Rosan sighed and picked up the pillow. He made his way over to his vexed companion and paused as his ears picked up a sound from the girl.

Was she growling at him?!

Huh. She really was upset with him. Fortunately, Rosan knew just how to appease her.

Cautiously approaching the wild girl, Rosan eventually reached his bed and by proxy, Meiko as well. She was glaring at him with indignant fury and Rosan did the smartest thing he could think of.

He planted a kiss right on her cheek.

"Yes! We won!" Mod cheered and Rosan wondered just who we was.

Honestly, it was comical how quickly Meiko's expression changed. Her anger melted away immediately and even in the darkness, Rosan could see her glow an interesting shade of red. She touched the part where he kissed her and her mouth open and closed repeatedly.

"Y-you… w-what… huh?" Meiko stammered as she tried to comprehend what he just did. Rosan was not affectionate…right? (He was very affectionate)

Rosan decided to add the finishing touch. His abnormally sharp fangs were in full show as he flashed a genuine grin. He scarcely smiled like this ever since his capture but being around Meiko made him feel happier.

It worked like a charm.

Meiko felt her heart pounding as she looked at Rosan's tan face. His eyes were shining and he felt genuinely happy. She felt blessed that he was comfortable enough to be this open with her.

She was so lucky.

"Y-you big dummy," she grumbled in elation. "Mod-chan and I are dressing you up so let's go to sleep," she demanded, refusing to look at his face any longer. Not waiting for a response, the girl laid down and waited for him to join.

"Yay!" The thought of dressing Rosan up filled Mod with glee.

Rosan rolled his eyes and decided that it was best if he just let it happen. Clambering on the bed, the redhead hummed as Meiko squeezed him and they both quickly fell asleep to enter his mindscape.

---

Meiko loved watching Rosan do even the simplest of things.

Currently, she was watching the boy run through his exercises. The boy had extracted himself from her sleeping grasp and was currently doing his stretches.

How she never managed to wake up as soon as he did, she would never know, especially considering how tightly she held him.

Rosan had a daily routine that he followed to a T. He would wake up, stretch, use the bathroom, grab water for the both of them, and workout. Meiko would normally wake up in the middle of his workout and she would just lay there, content to watch him.

Meiko learned a few things watching him.

The redhead was way too strong for his age. She knew what he was capable of but watching him casually lift things twice his weight was always a humbling experience.

It was the same with his workouts!

He went through them with minimal effort, hardly breaking a sweat. Meiko would sometimes join him and the girl would be left a panting mess after the whole thing was over, unlike him.

The boy had an unnatural amount of stamina!

It wasn't all bad though. Rosan would carry her whenever she was too tired to move without complaints and then personally help her drink water.

Still at his age and with his build… Rosan calling himself a monster wasn't a stretch. He had begun using the term in a more positive light so she had no problem agreeing with it because that's what he was.

Speaking of which…

"Rosan?" She called the boy who was currently in the plank position.

She hated planks.

Rosan grunted in acknowledgment and she took that as her cue to continue. "I wanna do your weekly checkup if that's okay," she told him and got a nod in return.

"Since you're awake, come join me. You need the exercise," Rosan said making her whine.

Why did she have to join him she was a doctor not a fighter!

"Stop complaining and come," he smirked and she begrudgingly made her way over to him.

Rosan sucked.

---

"Rosy, I forgot to tell you!" Meiko suddenly exclaimed catching the boys attention. They were currently lounging on the deck of the White Rose, next to each other, basking in the warmth of the sun.

Rosan glanced up from the book he was reading, something about rubies, to regard her. He tilted his head to the side and it caused his hair to cover his eyes slightly. "What is it Mei?" he asked, eyes glinting in curiosity.

Meiko resisted the urge to squeal at the sight. Instead, she dug around her outfit with a concentrated look. The blonde triumphantly pulled out her prize and handed it over to the Mod Mod no Mi user.

"Here you go! I found it back in your old home and thought you'd like it!" She beamed at the boy who took the gift. It was the picture she had found of Rosan and Rouge back at Baterilla. Meiko had removed the glass from it and now it was just the photo of the two.

"…" Rosan scrutinized the picture with an unreadable look in his eyes. He held it almost tenderly, as he instantly recognized the photo. After a moment, he closed his eyes and let out a deep breath.

"Meiko I — thank you," he eventually said, causing her to smile softly at him. "I'm glad I have this picture now… this way I will never forget how Mama looked."

His voice was barely above a whisper but she heard him all the same.

"I will be sure to cherish this. Now I have to make it up to you."

Meiko waved him off bashfully. "It's nothing Rosan! You two looked so cute together in the photo and I don't think you have any pictures of her so I got you this one!"

"I'm glad you did," Rosan smiled at her and she returned it. "You're a good person. Way too good for me sometimes."

"Sometimes? Rosan isn't your ego getting a little too big," Meiko teased.

"You've been spending too much time with Mod-chan. I need to cut your visiting time," he said bluntly, crossing his arms in annoyance.

"You would never/You would never," They spoke at the same time, causing Rosan to sigh in aggravation.

"See? You two are even speaking in sync! This is getting out of hand!"

Meiko blew a raspberry at him and Mod followed suit. Rosan shook his head fondly at how immature they were and ended the conversation there before a headache started forming.

He looked at the picture one last time before deciding what to do with it.

The next day, Meiko and Mod cooed over the white pendant that stopped right on his chest with the very same picture, shrunk down to fit better, he had just gotten.

---

"Mei, I got stabbed."

Her head snapped up as she heard Rosan say what she think she heard. The boy was out of his Reaper persona and was handing off money to Demon.

He had gotten what?!

"You got what?!" The blonde repeated aloud in clear concern.

"Are you okay? I said pretty loud and clear that I got stabbed," Rosan's brow furrowed and he looked at her in equal amounts of concern.

"S-should you really be the one asking that, Rosan?" Meiko asked in a baffled tone as he removed his cloak, showing his toned body off, and the long cut on his torso. It was shallow, but the cut was long enough that there was still a decent amount of blood being lost.

Meiko snapped to attention after seeing his injury and quickly ushered him off to the medical room. Rosan didn't resist and in no time at all the blonde was patching him up.

"Does it hurt?" Meiko asked prodding the wound and Rosan just shook his head.

"Nah, I've felt worse. I'm very used to pain so this is nothing," was his easy reply. She nodded, still upset that he was injured, and began applying cream to the injury. It wouldn't need stitches, a cut like this would be gone in no time with the redhead's enhanced body.

The blonde couldn't resist the smile as Rosan let out a relieved sigh and she asked him "I haven't seen you injured in so long Rosan… you're normally really careful. How did you get this?" She had taken out a gauze and began wrapping it around the cut.

The 10 year old laughed and she groaned, already exasperated. "Well it happened like this," he began and she got comfortable after fully wrapping his waist.

Something told her he had done something very dumb.

---

"Rosan are you sure this is a good idea?" Mod warily asked the boy.

"I need to test it for combat don't I?" He asked in return.

"Well yes, but shouldn't we give it a test run in a more controlled environment… this is a bit crazy for our first time no?"

The this in question was where Rosan was currently located. That place being the middle of another ship, surrounded by a band of pirates all leering at him in apprehension.

"Of course. If I get the desired results in an environment like this then I'll know it works fine," The 10 year old said confidently.

Mod just shook her head in resignation. She just hoped Rosan didn't get them too hurt. This was bound to be messy.

At least the boy was a prodigy.

Satisfied that Mod-chan wouldn't be saying anything else, Rosan set his plan into motion. He had been practicing a lot but it was always better to test in a real situation.

Currently the boy was Reaper which explained why the pirates had yet to attack him. The Shinigami's reputation was growing explosively and he was becoming increasingly easy to notice now due to his signature black and white outfit and his obsidian wings.

It didn't take a genius to figure out it was him and these pirates knew that.

"I'm surprised. Normally, this is the part where you all recklessly charge me and die," Reaper remarked conversationally. His voice was, as always, soft and neutral and he displayed no obvious emotion.

No one had ever seen the mysterious Reaper act any other way. Most people came to the conclusion that the enigmatic figure couldn't actually feel emotion. That had become the general consensus and it wasn't like Reaper entertained any rumors about himself, so it had practically become a fact.

That's how his reputation had spread so quickly honestly. Rumors started, others caught wind of it, Reaper never commented on them, and they spread like wildfire with no one to deny if it were true or not.

It was up to them to decide what they chose to believe. At the end of the day, Rosan didn't really care.

As long as his guise was not compromised, they could say whatever they wanted about him.

At least the rumors hadn't given him a bounty yet. It would be annoying if the World Government gave him a wanted poster so soon. Traveling would be more difficult and he wouldn't be able to turn in bounties of his own.

How fortunate that he was doing their job better then they were. They were hesitant to give a bounty to the person gathering criminals in all 4 of the Blue Seas.

The speed at which he traveled between the Blue Seas, had made them rightfully wary of him. They were intimidated by what he could achieve and it was smart of them.

He was not their allies after all. On the contrary, Rosan despised anything involving the World Government and this was only a means to an end to him.

But at the end of the day, he was a bounty hunter and the Marines benefited heavily from him. They were reluctant to slap a wanted poster onto the Shinigami and that was good for him.

It also helped that he didn't do anything (as far as they knew) to actually warrant a bounty.

They were still afraid of him though. Everybody was. He had a presence to him, a daunting pressure, to anyone who saw him in person and to everyone who knew of him, it only solidified those rumors.

Rosan really didn't care. It helped that no one bothered him though.

Sucked that everyone thought he was going to kill them for something as simple as speaking out of term.

He glanced at the pirates. They seemed to be of the same opinion and Rosan was nearly offended. He was going to kill them of course, but not for speaking out of term!

Rosan was polite after all, he had manners.

Well, no matter. This wasn't an important pirate crew. If he remembered correctly, only their captain had a bounty so he didn't have to care about the conditions of these bodies.

Perfect!

"Modification: Auto Mode, Form: Exterminate."

Something washed over him, as he felt all his muscles relax.

Suddenly, they tensed up and in a moment, his signature scythe was in his grasp. The blade gleamed at the prospect of bloodshed.

Rosan himself, had absolutely no control over what was about to happen. The boy was currently in his mindscape, sat next to Mod-chan, watching the test run with glinting eyes.

The purple haired woman just shook her head in defeat. Leave it to Rosan to test a technique like this right here, in the middle of hostile enemies.

At least they knew he could do it.

Auto Mode, in the simplest of terms, was subconscious muscle memory. Rosan gave his body a set of orders and as long as the Mod Mod no Mi user himself was capable of doing it, his body should in theory be able to replicate it without him needing to be in control.

Which is why he was here on this ship.

He wanted to see how effective Auto Mode was in such a different situation. The last time he had used it was on Fregate Island when he was clearing out Arata's men. When he had been using it there, he was still partially in control.

Not this time though. This time Rosan and Mod-chan would be taking a step backwards.

The reason Rosan made Auto Mode was simple.

Battles were unpredictable.

Something could happen that could throw the entire flow of the fight out of order and a winning party could find themselves losing at the shock of it. It was impossible to fully anticipate how a battle would turn out.

In the event something like that were to happen, well the whole tides of a fight could turn if one party was sufficiently distracted.

Rosan would not be that party. Not again.

That's where Auto Mode: Exterminate came in.

It was a variation of his Auto Mode focused solely on battle. There were no distractions because there was nothing to distract. No one was conscious of the details that didn't pertain to battle.

While like this, nothing would get in the way of him completing his objective. Unless Rosan or Mod forcefully took over, his mission was to win the battle at all costs.

A plentiful amount of enemies could overwhelm not only a person's body, but a person's mind. Thoughts on who to attack, where to dodge, how many you need to worry about... Such thoughts would lead to mistakes.

It would cause one to hastily make decisions that would best help thin the number of people while conserving power. Such decisions would make a person sloppy, more prone to error. Such decisions would lead to imminent death or capture.

He would know.

Auto Mode was made to fight multiple opponents without having to worry about the arbitrary details. Efficient targeting, lack of distracting thoughts, precise attacks meant for maximum damage...

It practically turned him into a robot. The amount of people, as long as they were not overwhelmingly stronger then him, would not be a hindrance. When things got uncertain, Rosan would fall back to Auto Mode.

It was Rosan's killing machine and right now, he was displaying that in full.

Rosan wanted to be a force of nature, but he treated every battle like a performance. His preferred way of fighting was with nonstop aggression, but he prided himself on how good he looked doing it. Due to the fact that he had a tendency of showing off, he also preferred to give his opponents a chance to attack.

He was like a maelstrom.

If Rosan was a maelstrom, Auto Mode(AM) was a tsunami.

The killing machine didn't care about any of the things Rosan did in battle. AM went for the most lethal blow in every strike. He did not throw out an attack unless he was sure it would hit. He would move on to his next target, with no regards for the one he just struck down, because he was sure that they were dead.

Not a single movement was wasted. Every step was calculated, every strike connected, every hit killed.

He was done in a matter of minutes.

Effective… but there was no style. Rosan was not a fan but then again, AM was not meant for that.

AM was not meant to battle like him. He would do the flashy stuff and his exterminator could do whatever it wanted.

Mission completed, AM immediately deactivated, giving control back to Reaper. The masked boy wasn't expecting this and being given control so suddenly, disoriented him heavily.

So caught off guard was he, that Reaper didn't notice the captain charging at him, gleaming blade in hand, until it was too late to fully avoid the blow.

Reaper leapt back but the sword still grazed him. He felt a warm liquid and pursed his lips at the tear in his cloak.

He liked this cloak. He liked this cloak a lot.

The captain, realizing that his sneak attack had been only partially successful, took a step back as the implications of what he had done settled into his core. He had just struck Reaper, The Angel of Death, after said Angel brutalized his entire crew.

With no effort.

"Honestly, it went smoother then I expected," Mod-chan tried.

Reaper growled.

The captain paled.

"We can just modify the tear away Rosan it's not that — and he's off. Wow Rosan, you can be quite sadistic when you want to be. I didn't even know the human body could make that noise!"

---

"What did you learn from this Rosan?" Meiko asked, hands on her hip, as she stared firmly at the redhead.

"Ensure that AM has a built in Scan before it shoehorns me into my body again," Rosan replied easily.

She glared at him.

"…" Rosan pretended not to notice.

She glared harder.

"… Figure out all the issues with my technique before deciding to go into a dangerous environment," he eventually said and she nodded in satisfaction. As long as he knew what he did was a mistake, she was satisfied.

"You've got him on quite the firm leash Meiko," Mod said cheekily. "Why don't you listen to me like this Rosan?" She asked in indignation and the boy smiled, equally as cheeky.

"I'm not on a leash and I actually like Meiko," he laughed before grunting at the sudden headache he got.

Rosan hated when she did this to him.

"Brat," Mod grumbled at the boy.

"Ironic," Rosan replied, still holding his head. He was very tempted to revoke her access to his body.

Mod-chan was lucky that he loved her.

"You're ridiculously spoiled," Rosan groaned as the headache vanished as quick as it came. He let out a sigh of relief as it disappeared.

"Ironic."

Both their attention was grabbed as Meiko's laughter rang through the air. At least someone found their exchange funny.

"Shehehehe," the girl laughed genuinely at their antics and Rosan felt his face go slightly red. Her eyes were full of mirth and she smiled happily, as her face glowed red. Her golden blonde hair shook in time with her amusement as her small body shuddered in glee.

He decided that he quite liked her laugh.

"Whipped."

"There's no way you got this annoying from me."

"You keep fooling yourself into thinking that."

"I am not whipped."

"And I'm not a voice inside your head. We can both lie, you see?"

"..."

"It's okay Rosy, I don't think you're that whipped."

"You are not helping Mei."

"She's just too nice to admit it."

"That's not true Mod-chan! I think he's whipped but he's not that whipped!"

"… Alright, I'll show you whipped."

"Wait Rosy what are you doing — s-stop I'm ticklish! Mod-chan h-help me — shehehehe!"

"… I'm ticklish too unfortunately and I don't want to become Rosan's target. You've made an honorable sacrifice Meiko."

"Traitor!"

"Don't worry Meiko, she's next."

"Wait Rosan we can talk about this!"

"Absolutely not."

"Please Rosy have mercy on me!"

"No, I don't think I will~"

The helpless laughter of the girl rang out through the ship.

Chapter End

---

The Misadventures of Robin and Rosan – 5

Robin and Rosan are 10 and 6 respectively.

Summary: Rosan gets injured, Robin blames herself.

---

Robin messed up and Rosan had paid the price because of it.

Because of her incompetence, her favorite person in the world was injured.

Looking at the unconscious boy, made Robin feel utterly worthless in that moment.

He looked so small and vulnerable, his red hair splayed haphazardly over a resting face and his customary grin was gone. Instead, he donned a small, if not slightly pained, expression on his bronze face.

At least his breathing was steady. She didn't know what she would do if Rosan just… she didn't even want to think about it.

To make matters worse, the boy hadn't even been the one to make a mistake, she had. They had been in a fight together and she had let her guard down, thinking the battle was over. There were unconscious bodies lying everywhere in wake of their battle, groaning from the duos onslaught.

Rosan had been humming a jaunty tune as he stole everything of value from them. The boy looked a little worse for wear but he was relatively unharmed, which made her relieved.

The thought of the redhead getting injured by one of these excursions always terrified her but the boy was a natural at fighting, even at his terribly young age.

The girl didn't notice one of the unconscious bodies sneaking up on her before it was too late. With a furious yell, the offender tried to strike down the traitorous Nico Robin.

She turned around in surprise but there wouldn't be enough time to react.

Then Rosan, always so protective of her, shouted out "Robin-nee!" shoved her out of the way and took the slash meant for her. Robin wasted no time sprouting arms all over the attacker and she broke every single bone in his body.

He did not get back up.

She watched in horror as Rosan's body collapsed like a puppet with its strings cut. The 10 year old rushed over to her younger companion in panic and tears sprung up at the sight.

Rosan was not moving. A pool of blood was forming under his tiny body.

There was so much blood. A child his size should not be bleeding this much. "R-Rosan?" Robin called, afraid to touch him. In that moment, he looked so small and he was bleeding a copious amount.

There was no response from the redhead.

The pool of blood grew larger.

No no no no no no! This couldn't be happening. This just couldn't. R-Rosan he…he had saved her life and now he was paying the price.

Just like everyone on Ohara. Just like her mom. Just like Saul.

Yet here she was doing nothing as Rosan laid motionless in a puddle of his own blood. She was worthless. How did it always end up like this? Why was she the one who always survived? Why couldn't she just be happy —

"Robin now's not the time!" A frantic voice snapped her out of her self destructive thoughts. Robin's eyes went wide at the familiar voice.

"M-Mod-chan?" Robin called hesitantly. Hearing the purple haired woman's voice snapped her out of her daze and filled her with an undeniable relief.

What was she doing? Rosan was bleeding out and she was taking the time to wallow in misery?

She needed to help him immediately because that's what he would do for her! The brunette looked at Rosan's lying body with nothing but determination.

With the others, she couldn't do anything but, she could help save Rosan.

No, she would absolutely save Rosan.

Whatever it took. Robin would keep Rosan safe.

"I'm glad you're better," Mod said softly, relieved that Robin snapped out of it.

"I'm directing everything onto his injury so I just need you to apply pressure to the wound and to bandage him up. In the meantime, please bring him to a safe area."

Mod was focusing intently on ensuring that Rosan's body prioritized the wound, first and foremost over everything else. With Modification, it was child's play.

No person had access to their body quite like Rosan did with the Devil Fruit, but that didn't stop her from worrying. The wound was deep and he was losing a lot of blood.

Robin nodded and stripped one of the unconscious bodies of their shirt. She used said shirt to wrap it firmly around the wound that covered the middle of his back. She made sure not to aggravate the injury while tightening the cloth.

Picking the boy up, she placed him firmly on her back and, utilizing the Hana Hana no mi, she summoned an extra set of hands to keep him steady.

Rosan was so light… The boy ate a lot, but...maybe she should spend more of their funds on food.

She began the trip back to the White Rose, little Rosan in tow, and that's what brought her to the current situation. The Hana Hana no mi user was looking at Rosan's sleeping figure, absentmindedly prodding her food.

She didn't know how long she had been here. Mod-chan had told her to get some food and the black haired girl had initially refused, but the woman had reminded her that Rosan would be furious if she willingly hurt herself for him and so, she reluctantly went to make something to eat.

Robin sighed and decided to at least finish off the rest of her food.

Mod was right, Rosan would be livid with her if she neglected herself because of him. She quickly polished off her plate of rice and rushed off to place it in the sink.

The Hana Hana no mi user made her way back to the room with a fresh set of bandages and a wet rag. Robin unwrapped his previous set and she gained a relieved expression, as she looked at the injury. It wasn't nearly as bad as when she had first brought him here.

When she first looked at the gaping injury, she had thrown up and her sobs shook her growing frame.

Mod had spent the better part of an hour soothing the girl all while working on Rosan's body.

Honestly, the Devil Fruit was too good for them sometimes.

Now though, the wound had healed immensely and it looked worse then it actually was due to the dried blood staining it.

The 10 year old diligently wiped the rag across his naked back and gently dabbed at his wound, being careful not to aggravate it. After she had thoroughly cleaned him, she proceeded to wrap the bandage around him. It was as she was doing this that the boy began to stir.

"Mm." Robin's head snapped up, as she heard the boy utter a noise. Her face morphed into hope as he slowly but surely began to wake up. The redhead shifted his body, and his bleary eyes were glowing red, a sign of him utilizing Modification. He groaned tiredly and turned so that he wasn't face down on the bed.

"Robin-nee?" The redhead asked, as he took notice of Robin immediately.

Unable to hold herself back, Robin crashed into the boy and wrapped him in a hug. She hugged him for dear life, like he was going to disappear at any moment.

Rosan squeaked in surprise, before rebounding like a champ and returning the hug.

What was going on? His brows furrowed as he felt tears landing on his body. Was Robin-nee okay? What happened?

"I'm sorry I'm sorry I'm sorry," the girl sobbed into him and Rosan's purple eyes went soft.

"Why are you apologizing to me, Robin-nee?" The 6 year old asked her softly and he patted her hair in hopes of calming her down. He was largely successful and eventually, the girl stopped shaking uncontrollably.

"B-because of me, you got hurt so badly!" She wailed and Rosan decided he didn't like seeing his calm and collected Robin-nee so shaken up. The female devil fruit user was normally so composed and it balanced out well with his wild personality.

"I-I was so scared Rosan… there was so much blood and you weren't moving a-and I thought I was gonna lose you like I lost everyone else a-and waaa!" Robin's sobs renewed, as she recalled what happened and she clutched onto Rosan in fear of him disappearing at any given moment.

"W-why would y-you risk your life f-for someone like me…?" Robin whispered and Rosan's eyes narrowed dangerously.

He knew Robin. Like him, she suffered from PTSD due to the events that happened on Ohara. They were both suffering and they dealt with it in their own ways. Rosan accepted that part of her wholeheartedly because he was the same.

"Robin, look at me."

What Rosan would not accept, was Robin needlessly putting herself down.

He would not accept that at all.

"Don't you dare talk about yourself like that again or you'll make me really mad. You're an incredible person and I won't allow anyone, even yourself, to tell you otherwise." Rosan's anger was palpable and Robin reeled back in surprise.

"Was I supposed to just stand there and watch you get hit?" Rosan asked her and her eyes widened in guilt. "H-how do you think I would feel if I saw you bleeding out Robin? I have the luxury of having Mod-chan so I can heal faster than normal… You don't have Mod-chan."

He remembered it perfectly of course. He had finished defeating his last opponent and was looting them for all that they had. He turned towards Robin to cheer at a job well done and he saw someone charging her, weapon in hand, with intent to kill. So hasty was Rosan, he didn't even reinforce himself before launching Robin out of the way.

All he felt was pain, as the saber struck him and then, he blacked out.

"You could rewind 100 times and I'd do the same thing again and again. No matter what, I'd make sure you stayed safe Robin-nee because… because I can't lose someone again," Rosan's anger tapered off and he sounded so tiny, so vulnerable, so tired, so young.

He should not have to worry about life and death at such an age.

"Y-you would go to such lengths for me?" Robin asked in disbelief and… hope? Rosan nodded resolutely and she couldn't help but ask "Why?"

"Because I love you." His answer was short, simple, and in hindsight, quite obvious. Yet, it felt as if he had spoken a thousand words to her. Rosan sounded so sure of what he just said and though it was easy for him to say… it was so so hard for Robin to believe.

The 10 year old looked stun as she digested his words. Rosan… he loved her? Robin had heard the words before but no one had ever said them to her… Not even her mother.

How could anyone love her? How could anyone love the Devil Child. It was inconceivable. No one should be capable of loving someone like her.

Everyone hated or feared her...

But, here was this boy saying the complete opposite. This wholesome, amazing little boy, telling her that he loved her with all his heart. There was no room for doubt in his tone so why should she not believe him? Why should she not believe that someone did love her. S-she…she deserved that much right. She deserved to be loved by even one person right?

Robin looked into Rosan's deep royal purple eyes and recoiled at the look in them.

His gaze was honest, full of so much love and the redhead was directing it towards her and she could tell he truly meant everything he said. The raw emotion he exhibited threatened to overwhelm her like all the other times and it was just so much.

No one should be able to show her such blatant affection. Especially not someone like Rosan who had his own heavy baggage to carry.

So why?

Since they had met, Rosan had been a shining light in her, otherwise, dark life. The longer they spent with each other, the closer they got and she could confidently say that the bronze boy was the only person in the world who cared for her. Robin didn't know why Rosan was so amazing to her but without him… she'd still be running, unable to sleep well, always with one eye open, not trusting anything or anyone around her.

But he granted her the safety she had been craving for so long. Because he loved her.

Of course he loved her. Wasn't it obvious? She would be stupid to realize that he didn't.

Tears welled into her eye as she broke down. Robin didn't realize that she just wanted someone, anyone to say those words and mean it.

For as long as she could remember, Robin had been an outcast. None of the kids wanted to associate with her, her aunt despised her, her mother had abandoned her, and her only solace was in the Tree of Knowledge and the scholars in there who treated her like an equal.

But she was still only 10. She was a child and children needed some form of affection. Affection that she seldom got.

Yet, here was another child, with his own problems, happily willing to show her the affection she so desperately needed.

It was too much for the scarred girl and she broke down.

"I-I love you too, Rosan," Robin sobbed in happiness as she buried her head into his smaller frame. "I promise Rosan I won't let something like this happen again! I-I'll keep you safe! I swear! I never wanna feel this sadness again!"

Rosan hugged her with equal fervor. His hold was tight but soothing and Robin felt herself instinctively relaxing in his embrace.

After a moment, she hesitantly looked up just to see those same caring eyes again. She feared that maybe it was all a trick and Rosan's eyes would be replaced by a cruel gaze replicated by so many others in her life. Just to prove that she had fallen for another trap.

But no, his eyes were still the same. Full of love and care, reserved for her. Nobody ever reserved such emotion for her...

Robin blushed.

---

Robin was doing a good job at keeping her promise.

She was doing too good of a job.

The girl was afraid to let Rosan out of her sight and as a result, he was being suffocated.

It started off simple enough. Robin had decided promptly, that she would be sleeping in the same room as him and Rosan was ecstatic to hear the news! The older girl slept in his room often, but she decided that, for the sake of his injury, she'd be a more permanent resident.

They both ignored the fact that Rosan was mostly healed.

The Hana Hana no Mi user also began making the Mod Mod no Mi user more food to eat, which was also great! Rosan burned through a lot of energy due to Modification so he consumed plenty of food! Robin had said that maybe they were using to low of funds on food (they weren't) and that they should spend a bit more.

She was in charge of stuff like that, so Rosan accepted without complaint.

Besides, he loved food! Who didn't? It tasted really good!

The boy noticed very quickly that Robin was hovering him, clearly afraid at the prospect of potentially losing him and the girl followed him wherever he went. They hadn't even been doing their infiltration missions because the brunette admitted that she would miss him! That was crazy! He was the one that normally missed her so it threw him for a loop.

Rosan understood what she was going through and he liked the attention so he didn't have an issue with it.

Now though, it was getting a bit ridiculous. Robin wasn't letting him outta her sight and he was beginning to feel the effects. He loved Robin but this… this was too much!

Rosan tried to consult Mod-chan about it, but the purple haired woman laughed at him and said that Robin was acting a lot like him.

Like him?! The audacity! Rosan had promptly stuck his nose up at her and told the Devil Fruit he'd deal with it himself. She laughed even harder at him and the boy decided he was mad at her!

That didn't last for very long though...

But, he needed to talk to her about this, he couldn't breathe!

Currently, Robin was washing his red locks in the bath and Rosan hummed in bliss at the feeling. He loved getting his hair rubbed and Robin knew all the right spots by heart now. The boy melted into her grasp and practically turned into a puppy.

...Wait, don't get distracted Rosan!

"Robin-nee, we need to talk," Rosan said, fighting through the bliss to address the girl.

"Hm? What is it Rosan?" The brunette asked cheerfully as she rubbed a specific spot on his head that had him purring. She giggled as the boy acted like putty in her hands.

Rosan snapped out of his reverie and focused on the main topic at hand. "You're becoming a bit much, Robin-nee," he said bluntly, as he leaned his head back to look at her.

Robin raised a brow at him in confusion but she wasn't fooling anyone. Rosan knew how much of a genius the brunette was, so the girl was acting dumb. That meant the female Devil Fruit user noticed how she was acting…

"Robin-nee, you're suffocating me. You aren't letting me out of your sight and you are kind of overly protective of me," he muttered to her soothingly. "I know why you're doing it so I really don't mind, but you're going a bit far don't you think…?"

The 10 year old frowned at his words. "I-I'm not that bad!" She protested and went silent at the deadpan glare Rosan shot her.

"Someone accidentally bumped into me and I'm pretty sure you scarred the poor lady when you summoned all those arms on her… We had to leave the island immediately and it wasn't because of me this time!" Rosan exclaimed to her and she flushed in embarrassment.

"You could have gotten hurt!" She tried reasoning with him but Rosan remained wholly unimpressed. Eventually she held her head in defeat.

"I'm just so scared…" Robin mumbled and Rosan's gaze softened at the tone of her voice. "I'm scared that I'll lose you if I let you out of my sight! I-If I lose you, I don't know what I'll do, Rosan."

"That day when you got injured, it made me realize that you and Mod-chan are all I have… I was so terrified at the thought of you dying Rosan, I don't know how I'd be able to continue," the brunette confessed quietly.

Rosan's eyes widened in dread as he heard her admittance and the boy almost chopped her on the head.

Th redhead desperately wanted to tell her that, in the event of something happening to him, she would need to be strong for the both of them but…he would be a hypocrite if he did tell her that.

The redhead didn't know what he would do if Robin died. Just the mere thought of it, had him shuddering in fear.

No, he could not bear to witness that.

"Robin," Rosan called the downcast girl. "I… I won't die until I become the strongest and when I become the strongest, no one will be able to kill me so you don't have to worry about that. I promise," Rosan told her with the utmost confidence. He had no intentions of kicking the dust until he became the strongest

"If anything happens to me… you have to try and be strong for the both of us okay Robin? I… I don't want to be the reason you give up, so please keep fighting until we see each other again because I won't die," he begged the older girl, looking directly in her blue eyes.

Robin couldn't believe what she was hearing from him right now. He wanted her to just move on?! H-how could he expect her to just do that? It wasn't possible, she would be too devastated!

"It's okay to take time and mourn," Mod spoke up, voice soft and understanding. "What's not okay, is allowing such emotions to weigh you down permanently. Everyone needs time to mourn but you cannot mourn forever."

Royal purple, with small, nearly invisible pupils, stared into sky blue, with wide dark pupils, and eventually, purple won out.

"Okay, Rosan," Robin conceded with a small sigh. Arguing with the boy was impossible sometimes.

He was right though. Robin would never be able to forgive herself, if she inadvertently blamed Rosan for giving up on life. No matter what the reasoning was. If she disappointed the boy even further then… well she'd hate herself.

"Awesome Robin-nee, I'm glad we could talk this out!" Rosan smiled wide and Robin was surprised that he hadn't jumped to hug her yet. Bathing or not, the 6 year old had no clue what boundaries were and Robin had eventually come to accept it.

At least Rosan was not a pervert. She was sure he didn't even know much about things like that. She'd probably have to teach him… that would be fun.

Robin noticed that his eyes were closed despite him looking at her and she stifled a laugh as realization hit her.

"Rosan?" Robin called the 6 year old.

"Yes Robin-nee?" He asked.

"You have soap in your eyes don't you."

"...Yes Robin-nee."

Robin let out a small giggle and fondly said "Oh Rosan, what would you do without me?"

"Drown probably," Mod supplied helpfully.

"Burn the ship down," Robin joined her in the teasing.

"Subjugate an entire island."

"Piss off the entire world with his personality."

"I think he's doing a good job at that already."

"You two are so mean," he said glumly, interrupting their completely unnecessary bashing! They laughed at the youngest ships inhabitant.

The boy shook his head in misery. They were ridiculous! Absolutely ridiculous! The worst kind of ridiculous!

"… Robin it's starting to burn. Please help me."

"Yes of course Rosan. Hold still please."

"It's not funny."

"It's pretty funny."

"I have to agree with Mod-chan it is pretty funny."

"I'm gonna beat the both of you up."

"You would never/You would never."

"… I hate you guys."

Bonus End.

---

Modification Techniques: Auto Mode(AM)

Modification: Auto Mode – Using Modification on himself, Rosan plants a set of orders into his body to carry out without conscious thought. As long as Rosan can perform the set of orders, AM can replicate it. Rosan does this, so he can focus on the internal parts of his body such as training during the day inside of his mindscape without negative impact on his body.

Auto Mode, Form: Exterminate: Rosan plants a set of orders into his body to kill any person labeled an enemy in its vicinity. Unfortunately...it will automatically shut off if it does not detect anyone. As such, Rosan plans to plant additional orders to Scan the area in intervals and to make sure the battle is absolutely over.

Fun Fact: Rosan wanted AM so that he could multitask his mind and body freely. His original desire as a child was to have the mode so he could spend all the time in the world with Mod-chan.

---

AN: Big development chapter! Like I said, I'll be slowing it down a bit for a few chapters but I'll still make em interesting!

Not much to say except thank you for the continued support and here's the title for the next chapter!

Chapter 10: Life of Reaper