Chapter 5
…
VanillaMilkshake18: Rouge truly is a strong woman, that's why I chose her
Conan in love: I'm really glad you enjoyed it! Hope this week wasn't as terrible for you.
ShikiUploadz: Heheh, I read my own story and realized there was a huge transaction between chapter 3 and 4. Sorry for taking so long to update! Hope I didn't lose you mid way through.
That Mysterious Reader: Weeeell, Rouge's power is the Blood Blood fruit, but for Ann, it's something else. What do you think it is? Lol
MisukiTheOtaku: This chapter is an answer to most of your questions! As for why Rouge hates red, it is indeed because of her past life occupation. As a surgeon doctor, she drowns in her work, which is often shelved as plain depressing, because her patients die, or indifference, since she rarely sees the patients who survived (being as good as she is, she's constantly trapped in the ER). That's why she's sick of her work, which manifests in her hatred of red. I'm really glad you love my stories, and I hope it continues to please you. I will try to make my stories neater and more comprehensible, though I'm not sure if this chapter is clear enough for you to understand. If there are any queries though, feel free to PM me! I'd be glad to reply!
XxFire-PhoenixxX: Indeed, newborn babies are unable to see clearly when they are born but I made sure to emphasize on the blur vision using words such as 'squinting', so I reckon my story does not deserve a 'wth' off the bat. As to why a baby is able to think like this, it is obvious just from my summary that it is an OC being reborn into this world, so logically, a teenager in the infant's body would be able to think as such unless they are mentally stunted or you skipped right past the very first scene and failed to realize that. Pardon my bluntness with you, one of my precious audience, and please excuse my rudeness if I am misunderstanding, but I hope such troll comments will not be posted in the future as I will not feel obligated to entertain them.
…
"Life is like a pencil that will surely run out,
but will leave the beautiful writings of life."
- Nami, One Piece
…
The Story of Portgas D. Rouge
The Story of Gol D. Ann
…
In the distance, as her tears continued to fall onto the tiny wriggling infant, Rouge heard a voice. It was a weird voice which was as smooth as the silk, yet oddly enough, still as highly pitched as her childish voice. It was the voice of a child carrying the maturity of an adult, and it was gradually approaching, accompanied by the shrinking shadow that loomed over her.
"In the end…I was still too late." The voice spoke.
Her eyes shifted numbly to land on black leather boots, rising to find the unforgiving face of a stern young boy peering down at her. The boy was young, no older than herself. But with his short side burns and menacing sharp yellow eyes tearing through her soul, she knew somehow that this boy was just like her –
- An anomaly, an adult in a child's body, a world traveler. Whatever they call people like them.
"I…" She shut herself up, noticing the tremendous quaking in her voice.
Yellow daggers softened and closed, turning to appraise the carnage around them. Despite the limpid bodies littered all around, his chin remained lifted, face as blank as paper and as impassive as ever. Never once did he flinch at the blood; He only took it all in before turning back to her.
"I am Dracule Mihawk. What is your name, woman?" He questioned.
Her lips quivered, taking far too long a moment to process his question.
"…Rouge." She answered, dropping her head and squeezing tears out as she continued. "Portgas D. Rouge." Her arms curled around the sleepy infant, brushing against his cheek gently – It was soft, fluffy, and so entirely unlike the flesh she always had to cut through in the surgical rooms – The baby yawned. "And this…This is all my fault." She admitted.
He paused and some shifting was heard as he leaned in.
"Half of it is." He corrected, not meeting her gaze. "The other half is mine because I failed to find you in time."
She paused, looking at him with tear-filled eyes.
"…What?" Her voice was barely audible over the sounds of the rain.
"It will all be explained in due time, Portgas D. Rouge." He shrugged off his coat, dragging it over her shoulders in a gentlemanly manner. She couldn't help but notice how he glanced down at the infant in concern, taking care to avoid touching it. "For now, I reckon you would like to return to our home and calm your senses."
"Home." The word tasted weird in her mouth. "Where is that?"
He offered her a gloved hand and she took it. The simple action of cuddling the needy little life in her arms gave her the strength needed to stand from the sea of blood, and like how she always did in her past, she shoved aside that pile of messy treads into a treasure chest, locked it, and rebooted her mechanical systems with a 'click'.
"It is on a sky island connected to this land currently." Mihawk replied, taking lead in some direction towards somewhere. "It's Utopia, and it is home."
…
When she opened her eyes and found herself staring at a black ceiling, Rouge was grateful that the emotions still remained detached. They were always an obstacle and never an aid, and with the memories now flooding into her mind, emotions were much unneeded voices.
She recalled that they were walking for hours until Mihawk tired of it, deciding to pick her up and power walk through a forest. Eventually, they reached their destination and there was the island 'Utopia', a mess of clouds camouflaging with the clouds off a cliff. She could hardly believe her eyes when he stepped onto the clouds and the outer world disappeared in a blur. There, hidden in the midst of some white plants growing on the clouds, was a village, painted in brilliant gold, blue, and red. And when they entered, there were…
It was then that she noticed a suffocating heat behind her.
"Rouge-chan…What are you doing awake so early in the morning? Stop moving and be a good human bolster for me." The woman with long strawberry blond hair and glowing green eyes groaned, throwing a hand around the displeased girl.
She twitched at the whine and planted a firm kick in the woman's tummy.
"What am I doing in your bed?!" She yelled, narrowing avoiding a hug. She wasn't a fan of yuri, damn it!
"There weren't enough beds." The woman said simply, smiling sleepily up at her. "And now, don't be like that. Come into my bosom, dearie~" Rouge cringed when she was pulled in by a muscled arm and struggled with all her might.
"S-Stop it-"
She didn't manage to get an eyeful of it, but if One Piece's fame for their well-endowed women was any indication, she was certain that a hug here would be synonymous with temporary suffocation.
"Come here, my beloved body warmer-"
"Who the hell is your body warmer, you perverted woman?" Her vein pulsed.
"Why silly~ It's you, of course!"
The door slid open without either of them noticing and Mihawk sweatdropped at the scene.
"What are you doing?"
Rouge glared at him as she struggled some more.
"Help me!"
…
The woman was left with three bumps on her head. Somehow, Rouge got the feeling she would be seeing more of that, so she aptly named it the triple-scoop ice cream.
"Her name is Julia, and she's the one in charge of the navigation of this island."
Rouge deadpanned at the woman's well endowed chest and then the bottle of beer in her hands. Even if she was never a fan of One Piece, the irony of this was not lost on her.
"Why am I not surprised?" She mumbled sarcastically.
"And this is Portgas D. Rouge, newcomer and the fiftieth and final member of the Clan."
She blinked at the title, cocking her head at them. Fiftieth…That means there are another forty-seven of them, excluding those who are present? Well, Mihawk said he would explain, so that wasn't important. More crucially…
"What happened to the baby?" She asked.
The duo exchanged looks before Mihawk folded his arms and answered her question.
"He is currently under the care of one of our second-class members, just like he ought to be. The same treatment you received is given to him though, so you need not worry." He added quickly.
Rouge sweatdropped and glared darkly at the cheerful woman – Julia, was it? If the same treatment was given to him, then by all means, there were sufficient reasons to be worried. But for now, since his safety was somewhat assured, she decided to forgo that.
"What do you mean second-class? And you said you would explain, so do so now."
Julia blinked and turned to the other clan member.
"You mean you still haven't explained it to her yet, Mihawk?!" She yelled, outraged.
Said boy only sighed and folded his arms, petulantly looking away.
"The tragedy happened, so there wasn't enough time."
"Still, you should have at least filled her in before you arrived here! Now, I would have to do my job, wouldn't I?!" She yelled. Rouge sweatdropped.
"You lazy shit." Mihawk rolled his eyes.
"Why thank you. I hate you." Julia beamed, kicking the boy out of her room. "And never come back!"
"Erm." Rouge tried hard to stare at anywhere other than the beer bottle. Really, she did. But fear for her life and her chastity still took priority when she questioned the crazy woman in a soft voice. "Are you sure you can brief me when you're as drunk as you are?"
"Oh, I certainly can! I'm the one who came up with the theory afterall!" Julia said flippantly.
"…Theory?"
In response, the woman hiccupped and plopped herself down on the bed. Under her glowing green eyes, Rouge was unnerved despite herself and she tried to stare back, glaring when needed if only to not lose the sudden staring contest.
"Have you ever thought, Rouge-chan, about how people like us came over to this world from all diverse worlds and times?" The woman started, narrowing her eyes. "Have you ever wondered about why we came over here and are reborn in these bodies even though many others do not?"
"…Yes to the first, but no to the second." Rouge replied when she realized she was waiting for a response. "We were able to come over because of some connection between the worlds, like a wormhole, per say, or something of that sort, right?"
"Wormholes are a possible answer, I guess. But then they're just not specific enough, because in that case, there would be no need for us to go through the processes of dying and rebirth." Julia snorted. She leaned in. "But there is, indeed, a connection. My theory states that all the worlds are connected in terms of the energy of living creatures – humans, animals, plants, and even the Earth itself. And these worlds are linked for the sole purpose of stabilizing the energy; to ensure that no world has too much or too little energy, which could jeopardize the state of things."
"…Energy?" Rouge stated dubiously.
"You doubt me, don't you?" Julia furrowed her brows.
"Of course I don't. My world has been increasing in population size over the years, and that is expected to continue for the next few centuries until the second Ice Age comes. How do you expect me to believe you?" Rouge laughed, overwhelmed.
"Just hear me out, Rouge-chan, and before that, I think you need to keep in mind that the energy per person is not always constant, or represented by numbers."
She could, she supposes, not that she would believe it.
"As I said, our worlds are interconnected for the sake of energy stability. This means that when one world destabilizes, more energy are passed on or drawn from other worlds, which could then trigger a massive destabilization amongst all worlds. This suggests that for the stabilization process to work, there must be some worlds which can stabilize by itself, be it by releasing pulses of energy or producing its own energy. And I believe that this world here is one of such worlds."
Julia paused, eyes wide with childish fascination as she talked, and Rouge gestured for her to continue.
"This world has the ability to release energy in the forms of a superpower unseen on some of our planets – devil fruits, in other words – but I believe that it also only has limited ability to regenerate by itself. So what this means is that on occasions when energy is released above certain levels, this world has to absorb energy from other worlds, which explains why death and rebirth is a necessary process. For us to be 'absorbed', our energy must leave the other world, but without bringing our physical forms along. That's why when we come, we get reborn into a different body. On the other hand, there are times when this world bites off more than it can chew, leading to spikes in its energy levels, causing-"
"-the energy to be released as devil fruits, alongside the source of that energy, us, right?" Rouge blinked as she continued slowly, encouraged by the nods Julia gave. "That's why we are born with devil fruit powers and why these powers eventually release when pent up – because they are just regenerative energy, and in the end, we are just their vessels."
Her mood was dampened by her own words and she looked down at her fists in thought.
Julia gave the girl her silence, deciding to cool down from her theory-induced excitement instead. Even though she was always happy to explain her theory to fellow reincarnates, Mihawk did tell her once that she tends to go over the top, becoming borderline inconsiderate of their feelings. It was the one thing she has never been able to fix even after being reborn.
When the silence dragged on for a little too long though, Julia got just a bit uncomfortable.
"…Rouge-chan?"
She was startled when the first drop of tears broke through.
"R-Rouge-chan-?!" She yelped. If there was one similarity she shared with Mihawk, it was their weakness for crying girls. "Why are you cryin-…"
Rouge sniffled and wiped away the tears, looking back up with the same impassive expression she had since she woke up.
"How did you even come up with this theory, you perverted navigator?" Julia smiled, relieved at the same deadpan tone all this time. Rouge seems like a strong girl, so if she wants, the navigator would happily pretend that it had not happened.
"My eyes, Rouge-chan." She tapped her head. "You notice how my eyes are constantly glowing? I have the permanent power of being able to view the flow of energy, or something like that. In the end, it's not a single help in anything but navigating and theorizing."
"Good. That means you'll die early."
"How cruel a girl you are." Julia fake sniffed. "You're almost on the same level of sadism as Mihawk."
"You're on the same level of masochism as us."
"Thank you for the compliment, darling." She replied, sounding sickeningly sweet.
"It's not one." Rouge smiled. "And Julia?"
"Yeah?"
"Thanks."
"Anytime." The woman smiled back.
…
"Carrying on with what that indecent woman has been saying, there has always been one place which contains special magnetic waves attracting the energy, and that is here."
The hallways were decorated with numerous paintings, some displaying abnormal images, others futuristic yet real in a way which led her to believe that they were artistic interpretations of other worlds.
They passed by some dozens of people, a handful of which had the same permanently glowing eyes of Mihawk and Julia whereas some others gave her the same feeling as Mihawk and herself did, and more others, who lacked that same distinct aura. With polite nods towards Mihawk being returned and curious but warm smiles directed towards her, she felt at home despite the foreignness of it all.
"Due to that special attribute, many of the reincarnates have been reborn on this island. That said, every now and then when the coupling rates are less than desired, there will be anomalies like us born outside the island." Rouge blinked at his words, gazing at Mihawk in a different light.
"You are an anomaly as well?" She questioned softly.
"Born on Grand Line, in an island directly under the passing Utopia. The woman likes to call it the result of an off-the-mark energy spark." Mihawk's lips curled down slightly as he continued. "I suffered the same tragedy you did, albeit to a lesser degree of damage."
She pursued her lips, looking out of the glass windows guiltily.
"Does it…vary according to our powers?" She questioned.
"It does. Mine is the power to identify people's potential. Naturally, a mental ability causes lesser carnage than a physical one." He answered bluntly.
"I see."
"On Utopia, the children are trained from young to never suffocate their powers in order to avoid an outburst. That said, there would be occasional victims, and the survivors would always be brought onto the island to be treated as one of our own. As…pension, so you could say." His gaze flickered to one of the passing men. "And they are known as the second-class members, members who lack the same powers we do but are trained to make up for it in various fields."
So the infant she saved would have that same result as well. Her eyes became downcast.
"I…see."
She wrestled her emotions back into that tiny box and took a deep breath. The sudden influx of information was almost too much, so much that she was beginning to wish she was back in that enclosed world of hers, not having to learn, speak, or walk. But then again, that world has been destroyed, hasn't it?
As if noticing the sudden plunge in her mood, Mihawk spoke up suddenly.
"You will be taught to control your powers here. And like any other of the Clan members, you will be educated so that you are able to make use of the economic powers our Clan has – so your powers would be a last resort." He paused, capturing her attention, and his lips curled up into something that vaguely resembled a smile. "Trained by others like us, of course."
The words took too long a moment to absorb, but by the time it finally finished processing, she found a smile on her lips. Rouge cocked her head at the first thread of hope she was offered, and she grabbed it readily.
"Mihawk, you are more gentlemanly than I thought you would be." She smirked.
The boy twitched and narrowed his eyes at her.
"And you are sassier than I expected, too."
…
When brown eyes parted, she saw numerous coloured blobs within her hazy vision. Her entire frame felt tremendously hot. Her head was spinning with the memories she was getting from Rouge, accompanied by the low drone of her own memories of her tragedy. In the midst of all the heat flooding her senses, there was just one cool object wrapped around her right ankle. It felt cold, and the sense of weakness was originating from there.
Ah...It must be seastone. What else could people like her be weak to? She didn't know it would feel this debilitating being in contact with that.
It hurts, yet…she was simply too tired to even move a finger…
It took a while to remember who she was.
She wasn't Rouge. She was Ann, the same Ann Rouge would give birth to in the future, the Ann who is mute and tactful, unlike the blunt, mechanical Rouge.
She was Ann.
Someone was speaking, and he was close to her.
Peach closed forward, and red filled her vision as the tan man took a single look at her and yelled at his crewmates, pointing to the chain on her leg accusingly. The blobs rushed out at once, almost tripping in their haze to get whatever it is the captain wanted.
"Are you alright?" It was a desperate question, one that reminded her of a separate one in her last moments before her consciousness faded out.
"No! Stay with me!" But still, through the echoes of the doctor's quaking voice, the abyss had dragged her into its embrace.
"…don't die…Don't you dare die on me…Hotaru…"
Coolness spread across her head as the man kindly replaced the towel.
She gazed at him, confused, and simply tried her hardest to recall his name.
Sha…
…
Ten years later, the stability of her life was ruined when her eight year old student suddenly stated.
"There's an idiot trying to catch up to Utopia."
"Huh, really. How did you know?" She questioned.
Another stitch or two and the wound would be fixed. If only Leon would just stop fidgeting around on the bed, this work would have been finished an hour ago.
"Stop moving!" She shouted up at her patient.
Leon, a spiky haired blonde with brown eyes framed by green glasses, only glared down at her with teary eyes.
"Do you know how distraught I am to see that piece of metal entering and leaving my body over a dozen times?!" He screamed.
Her eye twitched. To think that this is her insane combat tutor years ago – the very same one who tossed knives at her on a whim and laughed at her pain…How humiliating!
"If you're scared, then you shouldn't have gotten this wound to begin with!" She yelled back in his face. "Now shut up and stop being a baby before I give you more stitches!"
Leon whimpered in the medical bed, covering his eyes in pain.
Meanwhile, Oscar, the one she termed fondly as her little rascal, was efficiently put himself to use by washing blood off some medical equipment. He was a tiny Asian boy, with dark eyes that glowed indigo when his powers were activated.
"I was on a mission the other day off the island, and I met him." He said offhandedly. "Had to remove all information of us from his head, though I believe he is somehow still searching for us. Mihawk-sensei mentioned yesterday that there was another idiot by the same appearance asking around for Utopia. I'm not sure if my powers were faulty, or that idiot is the same guy whom I met."
The air got stiffer with his explanation and Rouge's eyes narrowed as she finished the last stitch.
If Oscar was right, then there is someone who has the ability to resist their powers. And to pass through Utopia's first wall of barrier – the power to take and transfer memories – suggests that said 'idiot' is likely able to bypass the half of them who have mental powers.
"Heh~ It sounds like a troublesome person." Leon commented offhandedly, but the way his brown eyes flickered orange showed the same tension she felt.
"Did you report this to the committee?" She questioned, giving a light pat to Leon's stitch and earning a mock glare.
The committee was a team of ten of the first-class members and five of the second-class members. These members were usually the ones staying on the island permanently, manning it while the others move around to enforce their economic, technological, and informative powers below the skies. They were also the ones keeping the other members in check, ensuring the security and wellbeing of the clan as a whole.
"I transferred his memories to them, if that's what you mean." Oscar held his chin thoughtfully. "Apparently, according to the clan's information…The idiot is someone called 'Gol D. Roger' or something along those lines."
Rouge stoned.
"The future pirate king?" Leon whistled from his porch on the bed. "Hey, isn't he one of the influential giants of this world? Why isn't someone there to keep an eye on him, like all the others?"
"It's weird? Isn't it? According to the past world knowledge, not much information on Roger is known, other than his crewmates, but even then, none of them are Hotaru."
"The only other accompany he has was…I think…"
The two males turned to look at her at once, realization dawning on their features.
"Yes, me." She bit out dryly, dropping her head in her palms. "I'm supposed to marry that idiot."
…
While most reincarnates and affiliates choose to stay on Utopia unless there was a mission, there are at times those odd ones who would just choose to drift between islands, straying back to Utopia every now and then if only to receive some compulsory missions.
They are called Strays, strays as in the stray cats.
People like the rising star Dracule Mihawk is one of them. At age sixteen, the chick finally decided it was time to leave home and took to the seas to grow up – or so Julia so eloquently put it.
And all of a sudden, Rouge found herself included in that bracket as well.
She was kicked out from Utopia onto a South Blue island, given some money alongside all her belongings, and told to "fall in love with Gol D. Roger with the long term goal of marriage". She was also only able to return to Utopia should there be a mission, meaning she was basically told to become a Stray.
Three words to that.
…What the fuck?
…
Like anyone could expect from two D's, their first meeting was anything but romantic.
After buying a house, she spent half a year waiting for Utopia to lead the bumbling fool towards her island. She wormed her way into the villagers' hearts in the mean time, determined to at least get along with this village this time round. She set up a clinic, offered her services, and even made friends with the local bar owner for preparations to welcome a gang of pirates.
And what did the idiot first do when he set foot on the docks?
He tripped.
He tripped on plain water, and found his arm sliced by some fisherman's knife.
How utterly stupid is that?
From the frontlines of the crowd, she deadpanned at his mistake and glanced at the future pirate king's crew, trying to find someone who even looks remotely like a doctor.
"Don't you have a doctor?" She asked, stepping forward like a 'brave civilian'.
The crowd glanced up at her and panicked.
"R-Rouge-sensei, you really shouldn't help the pirates! The marines would…!" A worried housewife murmured.
"Our crew was split and the doctor's with another team. Who are you, missy?" Silvers Rayleigh narrowed his eyes at her, his posture tensing in a manner that allows him to move to protect his injured captain at any moment.
"Someone who could help your captain, depending on your mannerisms." She rolled her eyes and stepped forward.
"Aaaah…Rouge-sensei, you really shouldn't-"
"Mayor-san, this man here is the captain of the Rogers Pirates. If we do not do as they say, we will be injured. On the other hand, it is because the marines are not here to protect us, that's why we are forced to help them." She offered the lie with a lazy smirk, looking down at the tiny white haired man.
"Indeed. Just look at their shiny swords. They could cut us down cleanly if we refuse." The mayor smiled. "And besides, this could be a good lesson to the marines to provide more security to us as an international seaport."
The two of them chuckled deviously and looked at the pirates.
"Ne, you will kill us if we do not help, won't you?" Rouge pressured, smirking at how a bead of sweat went down Rayleigh's face.
"Wha…"
"Oh, what a terribly scary confirmation you are making, Rouge-kun. But you will maim us if we refuse, right, Pirate-san?" The mayor joined in.
"We…" Rayleigh coughed, hiding a laugh, and nodded. "We will do even more terrible things if you refuse."
"EEEEEEEEHHH?!" The innocent and naïve villagers cried.
"With that, I leave these pirates in your hands, Rouge-kun." The mayor patted her lightly on the shoulder before diffusing the frightened crowd. "I look forward to a nice game of Chess the next time you visit the bar."
"Of course." She smiled.
With the crowd leaving and no one watching, she took out her handy medical kit and leaned over the injured man.
"You're a weird woman, aren't you?" Roger still had the gall to laugh. Thankfully, the laughter caused a sharp pinch of pain down his arm, saving him from a slap on the wound.
"This is why you should never be so careless, Roger!" Rayleigh smirked, sitting down. Like any proper first mate, he looked up at the rest of the crew and commanded them with ease. "The rest of you should go on and fix the ship. We need to go on and meet up with the others quickly before chasing after Utopia!"
"YEAH!" The crew shouted back in turn.
Rouge rolled her eyes.
"There's no need to search for it any longer, you idiots!" She yelled. "Utopia will never be caught up to by you guys! At least – not when you are sailing on sea!"
"What do you mean?!" Roger flinched in pain when his arm ached again. Still, acting just as irrationally as she was told, the man looked up at her with widened eyes, processing her words. "Wait – You believe that Utopia exists?!"
She heaved a sigh.
While they were practically kings above ground, below skies, even though the Hotaru clan is renowned for the way they handled their money, technology and information, it was not common knowledge that they had an island/ship known as Utopia. Some like to say that they travel by an underwater ship, whereas others pointed out that they could simply be a gang of pirates. A sky island was the rarest of the rumours, even though it is the truth.
Setting that matter aside, she hovered her hand over his wound, willing his blood to return.
The red liquid floated up before returning back to their owner's body, leaving a thoroughly grossed out Roger and Rayleigh. The rest of the crew, having been too far to see the sight, did not have the same reaction, but despite that, they were still able to at least see the weird woman's chocolate brown eyes glow red.
Grabbing her needle, she stitched the wound back together finished the job with a light pat on it.
"I am Portgas D. Rouge, a member of the Hotaru Clan. And I'm here to tell you to stop chasing after Utopia."
"E…EEEEEEEEEHHHH?!"
It was comical how their eyes bulged out and their jaws fell to the ground.
Rouge would have been amused if their reaction hadn't mean drawling out this conversation.
"H-How?! W-What?!" Roger stuttered.
Rouge was beginning to wish that Oscar never erased memories of Utopia from Roger's mind, if he did at all. If he didn't, it simply means that Roger is really that much of an idiot.
"Utopia has been immensely displeased with your actions, Gol D. Roger. Your presence on the islands we visited have impacted our economic relations, and we wish for you to stop. As a result, I was pulled onto this mission and had to stay on this island for a year to wait for you…" Her face darkened the more she said, glaring at the source of her problems.
Roger bowed his head, much to her surprise.
"Sorry. Seems like I caused much trouble for you. And also…" He beamed. "Thanks for healing my hand, Rouge!"
It was at times like this that the job hazard of her previous occupation took over. As a doctor who worked only in surgical rooms, the patients she had have either become corpses, or healed, but without ever seeing her. Corpses can't thank, so she was never able to get accustomed to being thanked even in this life.
She looked away, face flushing slightly.
"Y-You're welcome, you bastard."
"Isn't calling me a bastard a bit too harsh? Also, you look like a peach, Rouge! What's with that pink face and hair of yours…" Roger laughed.
Behind him, the crew exchanged knowing looks and sighed. The captain has yet again charmed another lady.
…
Two weeks later found her sitting in her medical room, sticking on a princess themed sticker onto Roger's head. Rouge sighed, leaning back in her seat. The future Pirate King only grinned happily, barking a loud thanks that had her flushing again.
"Sometimes, I really wonder about you, Roger. How can you be so careless as to get a scratch every single day?" Her eyes narrowed slightly in suspicion, wondering if he was even doing it on purpose. No pirate king, future or past, should be that clumsy. Unless, of course, he was doing it for the sake of seeing her…But she doubted that.
"Your sweets are just nice, Rouge." Roger grinned, sticking a hand out again. "Strawberry today too, please."
Rouge rolled her eyes and grabbed the container of her homemade sweets off the shelf. Normally, she would only give the sweets to her younger patients, but knowing Roger, it would save her some trouble just to shut up about that.
Another thanks had her turning pink again and looking away.
"If I find out that you're purposely hurting yourself daily, Roger, you'll not look forward to your punishment." She glowered.
Roger gulped down his candy and grinned.
"I just wanted to talk to you, Rouge! Tell me what Utopia's like today as well!"
"Today is impossible. I have to do some deliveries for the immobile patients today!" She sighed.
"Eeeh~ That's unfair~ You're the one who promised to tell me about Utopia if I said I wouldn't try to catch it anymore."
She sighed. The things she did for those bastards back at Utopia…And they repay her by kicking her off the island. Hopefully, the chance would come for her to teach them a lesson one day.
"What if I help you deliver those things?! Then will you have more time to tell me about Utopia?!" Roger suddenly proposed, face scrunched up in thought. Rouge wouldn't admit it, but she thought the man looked adorable with that expression in spite of his age.
"I will, but you don't even know where the houses are, so-"
His only response was to carry her bridal style and grab the sack of medicine in one hand.
"I'll carry you, so tell me the directions!"
"Eeeeeh?!"
…
Their conversations moved gradually from Utopia to his adventures, and she begun to learn about the things he loved.
"There was that one time when we ended up on some tropical island that was also a flower and we almost ended up getting eaten by the flower." He said in a single breath, leaving her both amused and partially confused. For some reason, that island sounds familiar.
"So what happened to make you guys lose your guard there?" She asked.
"Well, that island there had a lot of food – ranging from fruits to meat. So the crew went off the ship and we ended up feasting three days without stopping. As a result, most of us became fat – even Rayleigh!" Her lips twitched upward at the thought of a plump Rayleigh. "And then one day, the entire island just begun moving, and we realized that it was a gigantic flower that was closing up and trying to eat us!"
Moving flowers, it must be a carnivorous plant, she thought, fascinated by his stories.
"Ironically, that was also where Buggy got his powers. He chomped into one of the larger fruits, which miraculously, as a devil fruit in disguise!" He paused. "Ah, but his nose has always been that red and round though. The devil fruit did not change it at all."
She laughed.
…
"Hello? Is this Oscar?"
"I am. Why are you calling, Rouge-sensei?"
"I just wanted to inform you your powers weren't faulty. There wasn't any idiotic man who's immune to the mental powers yet."
"Eh? You spoke with him?"
"Apparently, Roger kept a note plastered to his wall the third time you've erased his memories. This way, he continuously reminded himself of Utopia each time you did your job."
"…That fucking troublesome bastard."
"Don't worry. I got him to swear that he wouldn't chase Utopia again, so you can tell the committee to stop worrying about it."
"…You sound gleeful, Rouge-sensei."
"I am. I look forward to the committee's reactions to that, even if I can't see it."
"Sadistic sensei."
"Adorable student."
"Stop that. You're starting to sound like Julia."
"Thanks for the compliment."
"Geh."
"You shuddered, didn't you, Student?"
"I did."
"Take care of yourself, Oscar. Tell the others I'm doing fine and there's no need to worry about me."
"M'kay. I will."
…
"The captain's in love with you, Rouge-sensei."
The statement had her tripping over her toes, but luckily, the childish red headed teen caught her with ease. Shanks grinned, wriggling his brows at her face.
"So, do you love him as well?"
Her face flushed in turn and she whacked him over the head.
"Shanks, your captain is a huge, powerful pirate with the mentality of someone your mental age. What makes you think he might like me in that non-platonic sense?" She ranted.
"Well, the fact that he always thinks about your sweets when eating our cook's desserts…The fact that he's been bringing flowers to you almost every day…the fact that he's been scratching himself with a knife in order to see you…Oh, and that he's given up on Utopia for you. Captain never gives up on anything, especially not on an adventure." Shanks grinned widely, looking up at her. "See? Captain's clearly in love with you!"
"This is bullshit. And you know that it is, Shanks." She replied in a deadpan.
"Or so you think, Rouge-sensei. You're clearly in love with him as well." Shanks sang as he left, waving at her.
"As if I am." She huffed.
She tried to dismiss the fact that she's been making more of those strawberry sweets he likes so much…and trying to learn how to make pressed flowers to preserve the ones he gave her…or keeping in stock various cartoon patterned Band-Aids in preparation for him to come everyday…or dreading the day he would come up to her and tell her that the crew is leaving.
Rouge wondered why Shanks would even think that Roger likes her, when clearly, she's not the kind or strong Rouge that was originally in the show.
She wasn't worth loving, not when she's just an imposter in this body.
Her eyes turned downcast as she dug up some medical herbs from her shelf and grinded them mechanically.
The button in her went 'click' and she tried to shove all her overblown feelings into that tiny treasure chest.
…
Rouge recalls that long ago, in one of her Spartan training with Leon, Leon taught her one of the major weaknesses of the Hotaru clan:
"Never, ever approach a sea stone and see, touch, or even simply lie on it." Why? She had asked, intrigued by the gleam of fear which entered Leon's usually fearless eyes. "Because we are like devil fruits, and have you ever heard of a devil fruit growing near the ocean or sea stones?"
In short, sea stones could kill them, and she was now learning that.
Lying weakly against the sea stone cell she was trapped in, Rouge wondered if this was how she would be dying. She had been in here for near three days, and in those three days, despite the food and water they had tried to give her, her body just wasn't able to take in any of that. Two days ago, a fever had broken out, and it was rising even now. Just yesterday, in fact, her vision had blanked out and she woke up to a gang of pirates, panicking for their lives.
Sea stone is a huge no-no from here on, if she survives this ordeal.
There was the sound of clanking metals as her cell was opened.
"So this is the Hotaru you've caught?" The disgustingly fat woman snorted, sounding like a pig.
"Yes, indeed it is. May I ask how much you are willing to pay for her?"
From her position on the ground, Rouge glared at the woman with all her might.
"Twenty-five million beris." The woman grinned.
"T-Twenty-five million?!" The pirate echoed, astonished. Evidently, even though he knew how desirable the Hotaru clan was, he was not aware of their exact amount if he is willing to accept only twenty-five million.
Rouge would have rolled her eyes if she could, but given her condition, she could barely keep her eyes open.
"Rouge's not for sale, you bastard!"
And the door was slammed opened yet again, the man's squeal cut off by a punch, the woman knocked unconscious.
The view on the ground was different from that on top. She could see shoes approaching, shadows looming, but what gave away his identity was still that voice of his – however violent or uncharacteristically possessive it sounded.
"Roger…?" She called out in a whisper.
"Yup, it's me!" The shaggy-beard man chuckled weakly as he righted her into a sitting position. Though his hat shadowed his eyes, it was obvious he was appraising her state when he dipped and lifted his head. The calloused hand on her arm tightened ever slightly, but not tightly enough to cause pain. "What the hell did they do to you, Rouge?"
It was the first time she heard him curse. His voice was taut, like a string on the brink of snapping – Or has he already snapped?
Rouge wanted to reply. Really, she did. But the sea stone sapped her of her strength and she found it hard to keep conscious.
It was then that Roger recalled her stories of Utopia and he swiftly lifted her off the sea stone ground, carrying her in a comforting bridal style. Much to her pleasure, they left the dark cabin, entering a world doused by sunlight and the sounds of swords against swords.
"Rouge…!" Rayleigh was the first to notice them, and his jaw tightened in the same manner Roger's had done. "Those guys…"
"Rouge-sensei…!" Shanks was next, but he seemed more worried than angry. "Are you okay?"
Just like that, with the added weight of his crewmates' worry, the string snapped.
"They hurt Rouge. Kill them al-"
"D-Don't." She wheezed. He looked down at her, silenced at once. "No killing. Please."
Anything but red again.
She was a doctor, and for others to kill for her, for her to be killing others…
Roger nodded and looked at his crewmates again.
"Don't kill them! But make them hurt enough to regret that they touched Rouge!"
"YEAH!" The roar she was becoming fond of hearing resounded before things faded to black.
It was strange. Red has still been spilled, but for the first time in forever, she felt like she managed to stop that red.
…
It was ironic, really. The roles of the doctor and the patient have switched for the first time.
"It was my fault. We've stayed for too long, that's why that crew came after you." Roger bowed his head apologetically. The weight of his feelings was obvious; he wasn't just saying that one worded 'sorry' anymore.
"It was also my fault for letting my guard down. I'm a Hotaru, I should know how to protect myself." She rolled her eyes and smiled fondly up at him.
"I…I love you, Rouge." He blurted the words out, and by his expression, he was equally surprised as she was. "When you got caught, I just couldn't stop worrying and thinking…But even though that is normal for any of my crewmates, it was different for you…I couldn't stop thinking about your sweets and the medicine and…"
"In other words, you're in love with my sweets?" She smiled, amused.
"No!" He shouted suddenly. "I…I'm in love with you."
She couldn't help it.
Rouge laughed and she lifted a quaking hand, pulling Roger into a warm hug. He was so foolish, so painfully foolish. She could never believe there was someone idiotic enough as to chase after Utopia, even after his memories were deleted, or that there is someone who is stupid enough to cut himself daily so as to visit her, or that there is someone as huge and burly and strong as he is, but still that childish and adorable and endearing.
"I love you too, Roger." She whispered into his ears, a secret that could break her sarcastic demeanor should it be announced to the world.
He halted, smiled, and his calloused hands wrapped around her back, dragging her into a hug.
…
She was twenty-one when he left.
Amidst the bright colours of the blues against the red and gold of the skies, their departure reminded her of her first time entering Utopia – Just as happy, sad, moving, and every bit as heartwarming as it was back then.
She smiled as he waved, and she waved back.
The button in her had activated that morning with a 'click', and no sooner had they left, she returned to her clinic, turning it off. She slumped on the bed, and burying her face in her knees, she cried.
That was the last time she would ever see him again.
And she was right.
…
"…Julia?"
"Rouge-chan! Oh my god, I'm so sorry for…"
"It's fine. But…I need Utopia's help one last time."
"…One last time?"
"…Please."
"Whatever you need, say it. We will be there immediately."
…
Twins, just as she expected. In her, there was a life that was never supposed to be born, a reincarnate, just like herself.
When she heard the news, there was only eerie calmness. No storm or tears or smiles. It was another reincarnate, and she would never know if he or she grows up to be happy or sad, old or young, because according to the past world knowledge, Rouge was going to die.
And she was fine with it, despite the looks her clan gave her.
"It's fine, Oscar. It's fine." She smoothed the boy's dark hair when he broke the news and hugged her tightly. Sometimes, she forgets that the boy was still a teen when he died.
"But you're going to die." He sniffed.
"Dying and living, we should be used to those things by now." She smirked at his confused look. "Afterall, we're reincarnates, aren't we?"
"We are, but…" It was simply too cruel for someone to get used to those processes, he wanted to say, but looking at her face, he never said it. Her hand tightened slightly on his shoulder as she pulled him away to stare into his dark eyes.
"Listen, Oscar, I need your help. This is something that no one but you can do."
…
There was now a constant sense of emptiness, but through the letters given by Utopia, she understood the situation.
It appears that her memories have been wiped.
Nevertheless, she continued living, carrying out Utopia's orders – orders, which were oddly enough written in her own handwriting: To survive. To give birth to her children. To die.
The days passed endlessly until a man knocked on her doors one day and asked for her.
"I am Monkey D. Garp, rival to the late Gol D. Roger."
She invited him in, and she gave him tea. Apparently, Roger had called him over to help her.
It was a bitter sweet feeling. The sound of his name spread a numbing sweetness into her heart, leaving with the sound of vacant chiming bells in its wake. The flowers she find in her book was reminisce of that same feeling, and occasionally, to soothe that feeling, she would pluck one of those flowers and put it behind her ears.
It was a motion that somehow worked.
When her children came, without her permission, the dam broke and the water flooded out. She heard something akin to a 'click' and a torrent of something swept out like the furious, unforgiving ocean, overwhelming her.
One memory fluttered out, and it was the single memory she recalls spending with him. She quoted him without thinking.
"If it's a girl, it's Ann. If it's a boy, it's Ace. …That's what he decided." She smiled, cuddling the children. "Ace and Ann…Their names are Gol D. Ace and Gol D. Ann..."
How weird. Tears were tumbling out. She knew she was dying, and she has long accepted it, so why was she crying at this point of time?
The girl giggled and they pushed themselves into her neck, as if showing appreciation for their names.
"Ace…Ann…"
She sobbed as she looked at them. Why is it, she wondered. For some reason, they just seem so beautiful to her. The girl smiled while the boy looked up at her curiously.
"Thank you…" She didn't know why, but amidst the spots that begun to decorate her vision, she felt the need to thank them. For living. For surviving. For loving. "Thank you…"
Her vision begun to fade to black and she found herself wondering for just one moment before she died –
- Even though she was giving her best already…was everything she did…enoug-?
Her eyes closed before she could finish that thought.
…
When the petals dropped and fluttered away, all he could think about was fulfilling his mission.
"Oscar, you have the power to transfer information between items, don't you? So I want-"
Mission? No, it was a friend's last wish.
"-Transfer all my memories into my blood and pass it on to the reincarnate within me-"
Sometimes, he thinks that Rouge is cruel for leaving it to him, for leaving the safety of her son in the hands of that poor reincarnate she gave birth to. But then again, Rouge is in the end, just human. It was only expected.
"-make it such that she will never have to go through my tragedy, and she can remember my memories-"
When he took her memories, he went through everything she did. And Rouge was wrong.
"-Tell them that I love them both, no matter what worlds they came from."
Rouge is kind to everyone but herself, even if she never notices it. She is strong because she knows that she is weak. And more than anybody thinks, Rouge is emotional, not at all the emotionless robot she wanted to be.
Oscar wonders if he should be putting this memory in, but even then, he did so because he wanted the reincarnate to know his view of it. Of Rouge's existence.
A voice begun to speak. It was Oscar's voice, his inner thoughts as he worked.
"Rouge may not be the perfect mother to you, but to me, she has always been the perfect friend. As someone from both the D and the Hotaru clans, she left her mark on the world in the most subtle, beautiful way that held both the clans' traits: She gave birth to you and Ace. She loved you guys despite everything. You are the product of two D's love. So please…No matter what happens, continue to live on happily, knowing that your parents love you despite everything."
…
"Thank you for loving me."
- Gol D. Ace
…
A/N: This is the second and edited draft, in case anyone wants to know. I am adding explanations for this draft:
Firstly, Rouge. I did not manage to convert Rouge from a sarcastic cruel woman to a kind hearted one in the end, but I think I have done a fairly good job of bringing out the desired characteristics – strength and kindness – from the sarcastic Rouge. I won't lie. I didn't plan to bring them out, but in the end, I realized that the same characteristics defining cannon Rouge was present in sarcastic Rouge, so it just coincidentally works out.
I also breezed through a fair bit of the two D's romance story, as most will have noticed, because that is the not the primary idea for this chapter, but instead, it is the existence of the clan, the life of a clan member, and how Rouge acted out that her death scene that are more important. To Ann, who has never known of the clan, those would be the most impactful to her decisions henceforth, so that explains why the clan is shown so much here. Of course, Rouge's entire life was shown to Ann, but for the sake of word count and your time, such trifty details are irrelevant here.
In the process though, I brought in far too many OCs – Julia, Leon, Oscar, did I miss anybody else? – for my liking, but I think my audience would prefer this to crossovers. I have always been disgusted with crossovers since it causes unequal information and some audience to be left out. It also wouldn't make sense in this chapter, since Rouge is not an anime fan and would, in no way, recognize such characters even if they were crossovers.
Finally, the reason why Rouge did not defy her death was because it was a clan law. The past world information was pieced together by everyone's memories of it, and should she defied it, it would have meant that the clan would take a plunge down to hell. There was also no possible way to survive after carrying twins for 20 months, and in the state of grief and her induced amnesia and her still present hatred of herself for 'stealing the actual Rouge's body and happiness', she wouldn't have been able to bear survival anyways. Hence, without a will or potential to survive, she died.
For inquiries on other unmentioned details, please PM me. I would really appreciate it if you could REVIEW or FAVOURITE or FOLLOW, because I'm really depressed about receiving total silence after my draft 1. Just give me a smiley face even if you have nothing to say. I'll appreciate it tremendously.