So I want to start by saying sorry for the slight delay in posting this chapter. I had a really chaotic week. I have planned out the chapters ahead so they should be coming out a bit sooner. Also if someone would like to have Rose meet certain characters (they can be real characters or your guys OCs if you so wish) just leave it in the reviews. You guys can also suggest like chapter ideas or themes if you want.

Chapter 6 Dai the Horrible Babysitter

Rose stood tall facing her enemy. She knew there was no backing down now or she would lose everything she cared for. Fear gripped her tiny little heart yet she did not back away, in fact, the fear made her stand taller. Watching her enemy rush forward ready to attack.

Rose let out a small squeak when the water washed up onto the shore and reached her feet. The water had barely brushed the sandcastle behind her. When the water receded she turned around and smiled at Izo.

"I protected your castle prince Izo!" Rose shouted happily well-running towards Izo.

"My brave knight. How can I ever thank you?" Izo asked.

"CANDY!" Rose demanded holding her hands out eagerly.

Izo chuckled slightly before he reached down and picked up Rose resting her on his hip.

"How about we go get breakfast first? Thatch and the others should be just about finished with it by now," Izo said, already headed to the ship.

Rose nodded excitedly and held tight to Izo, making sure to tell everyone on their way good morning.

They swiftly reached the gallery where it was already full of hungover pirates trying to nurse their pounding headaches. Izo walked over to the commander's table where a few of the commanders were already enjoying their breakfast.

"Hey short stack!" Dai shouted, much to the dismay of the others.

"DAI!" Rose responded by jumping out of Izo's grasp to Dai's arms.

Dai caught her with ease even swinging her a bit. Rose giggled happily and demanded a piggyback ride. Dai compiled and put Rose on his back before jogging around the gallery making sure not to drop her. The whole while Rose laughed happily and shouted for him to go faster.

Dai finally stopped after a few laps around the gallery and walked back towards the commander's table. Rose began to complain until Dai sat her down in front of a plate of food. She soon forgot all about the ride and started to devour the food.

"I'm still amazed about how much she eats," Jiru mumbled watching Rose finish off her plate.

"I'm just curious where she stores it all," Haruta handed Rose the rest of his breakfast and watched it rapidly disappear before his eyes

"The way she eats you think she would be as big as Teach…." Dai thought out loud.

"If only I could eat as much as her and stay just as skinny…but alas I have to stick to many diets to lose more weight," Izo sighed.

"It would be unhealthy for you to be any thinner than you already are, yoi," Marco stated as he sipped his coffee and read the morning newspaper.

"Good morning killjoy. Any orders for this morning?" Dai gave a cheeky smile to Marco.

"None from Oyaji but I want you to take Rose around the island for the day. I have a lot of paperwork to do and I want her to burn off most of her energy before we set off later today," Marco ordered Dai.

"Hmmmm…..Sure can do," Dai said excitedly, already picking up Rose.

She gave the commanders a wave goodbye before she and Dai left headed back to the beach.

Dai jumped off the deck and landed on the sand before setting Rose down. She ran slightly ahead of him but being careful not to wander too far. Dai followed her looking around the beach. The Red-Haired pirates had long since left and thankfully had been nice enough to clean up from the party last night. Dai glanced over to Rose just to see her go running into the forest.

o0o

A butterfly with black wings and vivid blue spots had flown in front of Rose's face before flying off into the woods. She let out a small gasp.

'It is so pretty! I have to catch it to show to Mama!' Rose thought happily giving chase to the butterfly. She ran as fast as she could into the forest, not caring that she was leaving Dai behind.

Throughout her little chase, she had come close to catching the butterfly but it was always able to fly away. It paused to flutter in the air right in front of Rose as if teasing her. She waited a few seconds before pouncing on a butterfly like a cat. Unlike a cat though she missed her target completely and instead was sent face-first into a rather large tree.

She had slammed herself hard enough into the tree to knock something out of it. The object had hit her on the head before bouncing to the floor and rolled a bit before coming to a stop. Forgetting all about the butterfly she had after earlier she looked up into the tree rubbing the top of her head before looking at the thing that hit her. Rose bent down and picked up the object which turned out to be a white fruit in the shape of an apple. She turned it around in her hand looking it over to see it was covered in strange swirls around it.

"Well, now I have a little snack," Rose happily told herself.

She started to head off in a random direction well taking a bite of the fruit. She frowned, staring at the nasty tasting fruit. It had to be one of the worst things she had ever eaten. She thought about spitting it out but remembered how angry Thatch can get when she didn't eat all she took. So she swallowed the bite and finished the rest of the fruit. She quickly finished off the last bite and looked around to see if she could see Dai or the ship.

Out of the corner of her eye, she could see the form of someone. She turned around to get a better look at the person to see a man as tall as Kingdew and just as round as Teach. But unlike either of them, this man was completely bald. He also hasn't seemed to have noticed her yet.

"Hello, sir. I'm a bit lost and I can't find my way back. Do you know the way?" Rose asked as she slowly approached him.

The man did not seem to hear her and kept staring off into the forest. A bit confused Rose looked where he was looking but saw nothing. She reached over and gently tugged on his shirt. He was caught off guard by her and jumped back startled staring at her.

"Did you just touch me?" The man asked in a nervous voice.

"Sorry, I know I shouldn't touch people without their permission but you seemed too lost in thought to hear me. I didn't mean to scare you, sir," Rose told him, smiling at him apologetically.

He surveyed her silently before glancing around the forest. He gently patted himself and seemed lost in thought. The man looked at Rose with saddening and sorrowful eyes before kneeling to her level and offering her a kind smile.

"Sorry, I'm not used to others being here. What are you doing here little one?" The man asked.

"I was playing with my older brother when I chased after a pretty butterfly. I had followed into the woods where I tried to catch it. But when I jumped on it I had missed! I had jumped too high and I landed on a tree and I even knocked it over! And then this awful tasting fruit fell from the tree and hit me on the head, it really hurt! But I'm strong so I didn't even cry a bit! Anyways, I tried to find the way back but I have gotten even more lost ..." Rose told him exaggerating a bit more than needed.

He let out a soft chuckle and rubbed her head before he stood up. He glanced around once again before looking back to Rose.

"How about I help you get back to your brother? I can even tell you some stories about the great Roger Pirates," He asked her well offering his hand.

"I love stories about the Roger Pirates! Oyaji always tells me stories about them!" Rose yelled excitedly, grabbing his hand.

"Well, I bet I know quite a few your dad probably has never heard," The man boasted as he started to lead Rose back towards the beach.

o0o

Dai stared at the edge of the forest and the panic quickly set in. He had been tasked to watch their youngest and yet within the first twenty minutes of being with her he had lost sight of Rose. He grabbed his head knowing full well he would have to get help from Marco. He could already feel the flaming bird's wrath. A shiver went down his spine but shook his head to clear his thoughts. He could worry about punishment later he had to get help before Rose got herself hurt.

He dashed onto the deck where he quickly spotted a few of the commanders relaxing. He ran into the middle of their circle.

"I need help finding Rose! She ran into the forest!" Dai yelled at them.

They quickly understood what they must do. Haruta ran off to tell the other Division Commanders of the missing child. Izo and Atmos called out to their divisions telling them to spread out and start searching the forest. Kingdew had walked over to Pops to inform him of the mistake Dai had just made. With that cleared up, Dai followed Izo's and Atmos' example and ordered his division to start looking with him taking the lead.

Divisions second, thirteen, and sixteen had already run into the forest. Dai had finally sent the last of his division off and was about to run into the forest himself before he came to a halting stop. In front of him stood Rose staring up at him.

"Big brother!" Rose shouted happily as she tackled him into a hug.

Dai hugged her tightly, happy that she had been found. After a moment he held her at arm's length and looked her over for wounds. Finding none he let out a sigh of relief before glaring down at Rose.

"Rose! You can't just go and run off like that! You gave everyone on the ship a heart attack! What if you had been fatally hurt and we couldn't find you?!" Dai scolded her sternly, staring into her eyes.

She lowered her gaze heavily heartedly feeling the disappointment she had caused the crew.

"I'm sorry Dai...I saw this pretty butterfly I wanted to show everyone and I went after it not thinking about staying with you…." Rose said her voice was shaky as she tried not to cry.

Dai sighed and pulled Rose back into a hug but this time gently rubbed her back. He waited until she was calm before continuing.

"It's okay. Just remember for the future not to run off on your own. I'm just glad you were able to find your way back without too much trouble…" Dai said more to himself than Rose.

"I had gotten help from my new friend! He is super nice and told me lots of stories about the Roger pirates!" Rose told Dai.

Rose had turned around in Dai's grip to look at the tree line as if someone was supposed to be there. But there was no one there, not even a single sign of anyone ever being there. Rose looked around a bit more before giving up.

"Thank you, sir, for helping me find my way back to my family! I hope I get to see you again one day!" Rose shouted into the forest and waved her hands in the air hoping the man could see her.

Dai raised an eyebrow but kept silent. Of course, he was curious to know who the man was but he couldn't remember seeing her with anybody when she had walked out. He chalked it up to her imagination and held her hand.

"Now let's go tell mama bird you are okay before he roasts me alive," Dai headed back to the ship with Rose in tow.

"I won't let mama hurt brother!" Rose declared hugging Dai tightly as he laughed ruffling her hair.