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!

22. Chapter 22: A Little Slice of Life

Descent

Chapter 22: A Little Slice of Life

"Isn't it funny? The moment the Celestial Dragon leaves, the trash has come right back to refill the place."

Rosan glanced down at Gray Terminal. It didn't look any different then before the fire because all the junk had piled back up and given the dirty place its original appearance.

People had even repopulated the area once more.

It was disgusting.

"To go to such extents for a group of people…" Mod frowned in disappointment. She never understood just why the World Nobles were worshiped to the degree that they were and she wasn't sure she'd ever understand.

She loved Rosan unconditionally but she would never let him get away with the things that the World Nobles did. The way they operated and the things they did... Nobody should be allowed to do that, no matter their accolades.

The redhead looked from his vantage point and merely shook his head, before vanishing from his spot.

If a World Noble ever chose to visit this place again, Gray Terminal would be reduced to ashes once again and the moment they left, it would be filled to the brim with junk. It would be an endless cycle, doomed to be repeated over and over again until something broke.

Whatever. He didn't care what they did to this place. As long as his brothers remained safe, they could burn this place as often as they wanted.

He wasn't going to be the one to break the cycle. Leave that to someone like Dragon.

---

"Gomu Gomu no Pistol!"

Ace's eyes widened, as he was actually forced to dodge the rubbery punch from Luffy. If he hadn't moved, he would definitely have gotten hit by the attack and that was a vast improvement from how proficient Luffy used to be.

He was almost impressed… until the recoil from the extended attack sent Luffy flying and the seven year old promptly knocked himself out of the fight.

Ace threw his head back and roared in laughter at the sight.

"The idea is solid... but you need to actually hit your target, Luffy," Rosan informed him from his seat, watching the two brothers fight their last battle of the day. He'd need to work on Luffy's accuracy a bit more tomorrow... The move had a lot of potential but he needed to be able to aim it at moving targets.

The brothers were currently sparring in the arena he had erected when he fought Maro a while ago.

"He can't help it!" Ace cackled, pointing at the defenseless rubber boy. "It's like I said, rubber is useless in a fight!"

"Shut up!" Luffy roared childishly and Ace gained a tick mark on his head.

"What?! I'm telling you the truth! All you can do is bounce back attacks and sink like a rock!" The freckled boy yelled and the two collided heads with each other.

"Stop making fun of the Gomu Gomu no mi! I'll make you cry someday! I've been creating new attacks stronger than the pistol!"

But Luffy couldn't even properly connect attacks with his original attack... Why was he already moving on to new ones? Rosan was an enjoyer of new techniques, but he at least wanted his previous one to be usable before making another one. It didn't have to be perfect, it just couldn't blow up in your face.

"Luffy, that was great!" Sabo's voice called out cheerfully. "Your arm stretched further than yesterday!"

Rosan paused at the sound of his blonde brothers voice, reverberating through his ears. Arguments like this happened so often between the three, that he had automatically slotted Sabo into the conversation.

His brothers had clearly done the same.

"Sabo! You're too easy on Luffy!" Ace exclaimed and Luffy smiled brightly.

"I knew I was stronger than yesterday!" The seven year old cheered.

"Don't you think so Sabo?!" They both asked before realization hit them.

"It's going to take some getting used to," Rosan sighed quietly.

Luffy sighed as well and stepped away from Ace with a forlorn expression. "Sabo was a good brother…"

Ace immediately turned defensive in outrage. "What?! You mean it'd be better if me or Rosan had died?!"

"I didn't say that!"

"SO YOU JUST WANT ME TO DIE?!"

"I DIDN'T SAY THAT EITHER!"

Rosan hummed in contemplation. Sabo probably was the best brother for Luffy. He was nicer than both the redhead and Ace. Rosan was also largely hands off as well, so it was natural for the seven year old to favor the blonde.

"I think you're a pretty good brother," Mod beamed and Ram nodded immediately.

"Yeah! You can kick ass, steal, and you have me!"

"That… I don't think that's what qualifies him as a good brother."

"Of course it does!"

"How exactly does it?!"

Rosan sighed again and raked a hand through his hair not trapped by its bun. Two arguments were about to start right now and it was up to him to stop them both.

It was far too troubling.

---

He had only been successful in stopping one argument and that was the one in his head. Mod and Ram were still sulking after his intervention and he decided to treat them tonight, spoiled little kids that they were.

After their argument had escalated to blows, that Rosan had also intervened in and stopped, Luffy and Ace had come to the very intelligent decision to establish their own kingdoms.

Luffy was the ruler of Luffy's Kingdom and Ace was the ruler of Ace's Kingdom...

Rosan stared at the pitiful little huts that they called their kingdoms and hummed.

"You two are being dumb," the redhead said and they humph'd in indignation, as a response.

"We need to be strong enough to live on our own," Luffy declared. "That means you too, Rosan!"

"I'm already strong enough to live on my own," Rosan said slowly but they were clearly not listening to him.

He let out a tiny sigh. He had been sighing a lot lately. This must have been what it felt like to deal with unruly little siblings. Angel and Demon were so much nicer to him.

"Beat their childishness with your own!" Ram beamed and Mod snorted at that.

"Honestly Ram, you are such a bad influence."

"Okay," Rosan replied and he took out the White Rose. The oldest brother moved a little away from them and placed his silver ship on the floor.

His brothers watched in curiosity (and jealousy) as it grew to its full size and Rosan jumped up on the deck.

"This will be Rosan's Kingdom," Rosan said simply. "Feel free to enter if you want baths or food… or better shelter or actual living conditions. Though, I do need to restock."

Dadan looked between the three with a bead of sweat. She expected this out of Ace and Luffy, but Rosan joining really threw her for a loop. She guess she couldn't really blame him since it looked like he was trying to prove a point and the two younger brothers were being quite stupid.

"I don't need your help!" Ace roared childishly at the teen.

"Yeah! I don't need either of you to help me!" Luffy scowled.

"DON'T AGREE WITH ME!" Ace barked with razor sharp teeth and the two immediately got into another argument.

"I think you two should make it more secure, in case of rain," Rosan called out helpfully. "Maybe you should combine forces. I think separately, it will be hard."

"SHUT UP!" They roared.

Ram cackled. "Yes, just like that!"

Mod put a palm to her head and groaned in exasperation.

Everyone was completely hopeless.

---

Rosan hummed a quiet tune, that had Makino bobbing her head, as he washed his own dish.

"You have a nice voice," Makino complimented with a small smile on her face. "Even with your voice cracking so often!" She teased.

"That's the life of someone going through puberty," Rosan said blandly. Puberty was actually pretty terrible once he ignored the benefit of added height.

"So even your getting affected by it?" The bartender asked in amusement. Seems even someone as infallible as Rosan, was subjected to the torment of growing up. That made her feel better, considering puberty had been hell for her too.

"Yes. Despite not having emotions, my hormones are seemingly not exempt from that. Luckily I don't have the urges to act out on them but that could possibly change with time so you should be careful," Rosan told the 19 year old.

She blinked at his bluntness and flushed at the warning. "You know, some boys would keep that information to themselves."

"I see no reason to."

Makino laughed at the tall teen. "I'll have to keep that in mind in case one of these woman manage to successfully seduce you!" She teased.

"I can't until I'm an adult so I won't," Rosan told her. Angel and Mod-chan had both threatened him with action and he didn't want to earn their ire so he acquiesced.

By the way Makino shuddered, Angel had somehow managed to speak to her too. His little sister could be quite scary when it came to protecting their chastity and nobody was spared... which was funny considering she was the only one dating somebody.

"I love Angel, but she's scarily protective of you," the green haired woman sighed in fear. The female clone of Rosan, had given her a thorough one on one talking to about her older brother and she would not be forgetting it anytime soon.

"We've been through a lot so it's somewhat justified," Rosan told her. "I will still apologize on her behalf though. She is very headstrong and isn't afraid to speak her mind, regardless of the person's feelings."

"She really is your little sister!" Makino teased happily and the redhead hummed.

"That she is."

The two continued to chat about unimportant things and Rosan paused as a sensation washed over him.

"Ah, Makino I have to go," Rosan informed her suddenly, causing the bartender to tilt her head at him.

"What's the matter?" She asked curiously. It was still relatively early in the day and Rosan didn't normally leave until dusk.

"Luffy is calling me; He might be hungry," the redhead answered. The Save Point that he had placed on Luffy's straw hat had been pulled.

They never pulled it.

He had told Makino something that wouldn't cause her to worry, but something was likely wrong.

"Oh alright! Should I fix up a plate for him?" Makino asked and Rosan shook his head.

"That's fine, I have food on my ship that I can give him."

With that, he vanished from his spot and Makino blinked.

"Rosan has a ship?"

---

The stench of blood wafted through the air and it gave Rosan pause, as it immediately assaulted his senses.

That wasn't good.

Rosan looked at his brothers and was surprised to see that Ace of all people was the one holding the straw hat. It was clear that he had called him and that thought was rather unexpected.

The reasoning soon became clear though because Luffy was bleeding a tremendous amount of blood.

"Rosan!" Ace called with panic stricken eyes. "Please! We have to help Luffy!"

He was quickly connecting the dots about what happened but that could wait for later. For now, he needed to make sure his youngest brother didn't die.

Rosan tore one of the sleeves to his shirt off and modified its size so that it could work as a makeshift bandage. He wrapped it tightly around Luffy's wound to put pressure on the bleeding and hoisted the, too light, boy up.

"Hold on to me and close your eyes," Rosan instructed and Ace did so without hesitation. His freckled brother looked like he was about to burst into tears at any moment now and it reaffirmed what had likely happened.

"Oh dear, that is too much blood," Mod frowned worriedly. It was a good thing Ace had called on them, that wound was deep and Luffy was young but he would be able to survive if given proper medical attention.

Not wanting to waste any time, Rosan activated Save Point and the three vanished from Dawn Island.

---

"Master! How are — WHAT HAPPENED TO LUFFY?!" Maro asked in terror at the sight of the seven year old. There was a large wound being covered up with, what was probably (based on the tear), Master's shirt. The rubber boy was sleeping in the redhead's grasp and seeing how small he was, invoked a protective feeling out of the Dokkaebi.

Ace flinched harshly and the princess didn't miss it.

"Maro, is Demon here?" Rosan asked calmly. "We need his assistance at the moment."

"H-He's here. Hold on, just follow me!" she instructed and the Dokkaebi was off with Rosan and Ace directly behind her.

They reached Demon's room in record time and the purple haired teen's door was already open. He regarded them with a surprised expression, lazing about with Rin, before nodding respectfully with a small smile.

"H-Hello, Rosan-sama," Rin said quietly, surprise clear on his features. Rosan simply nodded as a greeting and focused back on Demon.

"I wasn't expecting to see you guys so randomly! What's the occasion?" Demon began, before noticing the package that Rosan was carrying and the scent of blood that came with it.

"Ah, Luffy's hurt," he said in a measured tone, head already running through what to do. "Come in, I'll tend to his wounds right away. Rin, go get the supplies ready."

Demon's assistant saluted and dashed off without hesitation.

The younger twin's tone managed to instinctively make the two panicking people calm down. To hear how undisturbed he was, did wonders for them.

"It's very convenient to have an infirmary connected to my room. I had Master add one some time ago in case a spar went bad between him and Maro," Demon said conversationally, before carefully extracting Luffy from Rosan's grasp and bringing him into the room.

"Please stay out here while I work on him."

With that, he softly shut the door and Ace collapsed onto the floor. Tears immediately began flowing from the boys eyes and Maro stared at him in sympathy, rubbing his shoulder soothingly.

"Ace, what happened?" Rosan asked softly, taking a seat next to his brother. Maro had instructed Kanna to make them snacks and her assistant saluted, before dashing off.

"It's my fault," Ace gasped out and the tears fell to the floor harshly. "It's always my fault…!"

Rosan didn't say anything, content to let Ace vent.

"Luffy he… he asked me for help while fighting a bear and I ignored him even though he really did need it! Then the bear… the bear caught him off guard and hit him and then there was so much blood!"

Their childish spat had gone too far and Luffy had paid the price because Ace wanted to prove a point. Why did he always want to prove a point?! Rosan had warned him of this and still he didn't change! Why couldn't he change?!

"I'm not good enough!" The freckled boy sobbed. Sabo was the better brother. Hell, even Rosan was a better brother! He wasn't cut out to be one and he had learned that the harsh way. He just hoped Luffy didn't pay the price because of it —

"So become good enough."

Ace froze at those words and he hesitantly glanced at Rosan.

"I don't think I'm good enough either," Rosan admitted softly. "That's why I'm trying to get better. You can do the same until you are good enough."

"That's impossible," Ace whispered softly. "Twice. It's been my fault twice now. I can't change."

Rosan flicked him on the head and he winced at the pain.

"Don't be stupid. You're already changing," the redhead commented bluntly. "Just you acknowledging it, means that you are actively trying to change it."

"Don't you realize Ace? You actually called me," Rosan told the ten year old and his little brother's eyes widened at that truthful statement.

"You made it a point to never call on me and yet, when Luffy got hurt, you didn't hesitate. Last time it happened, you still didn't call me but now you did. It's not impossible for you to change because you already have. Everyone makes mistakes, you just have to be conscious of that fact and try to not make the same one again."

Maro clapped as Rosan finished and she smiled brightly at him. "I love hearing your speeches, Master! Do you like, practice them? Can you give me more tips please?! I totally steal your techniques when I give my own speeches and they work really well. The people love me!"

"I just speak the truth, Maro and I don't think they love you for your speeches," Rosan said softly.

Ace wiped his eyes and looked at his older brother in awe because he was right. Ace was capable of changing!

In his panic, he didn't even think twice about calling onto Rosan. He just wanted to save Luffy as badly as possible. Now that his brother had extended his hand, he only felt relief, not annoyance like he thought he would.

Maybe… maybe getting a helping hand from the teen wasn't so bad after all. Maybe... maybe he had been making a big deal out of nothing...

Rosan smiled at the look in Ace's eyes and left him to muse.

His ears were alerted to the sound of footsteps and Angel stomped into the room with a scowl on her face. Kanna was right behind her with a plate full of snacks and the child looked fearful for their lives.

"Why didn't you tell me you were visiting?!" Angel growled in fury. She patted the black haired assistant on her head at a job well done, before rounding on Rosan with a glare.

Rosan stood up and immediately grabbed the angry girl into a hug before she could get violent.

"Such a dirty trick," Mod smiled faintly.

"It's the best way to get out of trouble with all of you."

"I'm sorry Angel, I was in a rush. Luffy was injured badly and we needed Demon's help," he explained.

The clone, predictably, melted in his grasp before her eyes went wide at the news. "Luffy was hurt?! What happened?"

They explained what happened to the seven year old and her eyes narrowed in worry. She joined the sitting trio and soon, they were all munching on snacks and exchanging tales while Demon worked on Luffy.

"You actually fought a man with a bear Devil Fruit?" Maro asked in awe. Ace looked just as interested and Rosan nodded his head.

"His name was Maverick, he wasn't too strong but at the time, I didn't have experience fighting Zoan Devil fruits and it gave him some key hits. The injury was rather gruesome and Meiko scolded me harshly."

"It was so funny watching her baby Master despite him being so much stronger than her!" Angel cackled. "He wasn't allowed to do anything and there was nothing he could say about it because he was whipped!"

They laughed at the lack of refusal coming out of Rosan and began teasing the redhead who simply ignored them.

"You two invaded an army?" Ace asked in bewilderment, looking rapidly between the princess and his older brother.

"It was so fun!" Maro giggled in glee. "We stole so much stuff and probably set them back by years! We're definitely on their shit list and I guarantee Judge wants our head on a platter! Ah Grim and Reaper was such fun times!"

"One day we can adventure as Maro and Rosan," the redhead informed her and she tackled him in glee.

"That's a promise and not even my princess duties will hold me back. I just have to be careful not to get caught!"

Ace watched the two interact with amusement. Though they were complete opposites in personality, Maro and Rosan had quite similar thought processes which probably stemmed from the fact that they were a master and student duo.

Observing them served as a very good distraction from the fact that Luffy was in the other room.

Speaking of which…

Conversations stopped, as the door opened to reveal Demon and Rin. The clone patted his assistant on the head and the boy smiled brightly at the action.

"...Luffy would have very close to dying if you didn't bring him to me so quickly," the purple haired clone admitted. "If the wound had been any deeper, he would be gone but it wasn't so he'll be fine."

They let out a collective sigh of reliefs and the Doctor smiled. "Let him rest for a few days and he'll be good as new. We'll monitor him in the meantime but there's nothing to worry about."

"Thank you, Demon and Rin," Rosan said and the youngest triplet smiled brighter. Rin hadn't expected to be addressed directly and he stammered out a, "Y-You're welcome!" while straightening up.

"Oh! While he rests, we can show Ace around the island!" Maro exclaimed excitedly. "You get to see how much better my island is compared to Goa!" The princess preened. They weren't as rude as the nobles and didn't go out of their way to separate themselves like the snobby kingdom did! This place would be one big family with no one left alone if she had anything to say about it!

Angel snorted loudly at her girlfriend's antics. "We can all go together. It'll be fun... Why are you guys looking at me like that?"

Every single person in the room stared at her with blatant warriness on their features and she scratched her head in confusion as well as outrage.

"You only leave the castle to go to our garden," Maro said slowly.

"Every citizen is terrified of you," Demon joined.

"For good reason, you went to Gray Terminal once and someone ended up with their head in a wall because you demanded it," Ace pointed out.

"You're just as bad as me," Ram giggled.

"Don't worry Angel! It's apart of your charm!" Mod soothed.

"We can spend time here? Just the two of us while they explore?" Rosan suggested in a placating manner.

"Fuck all of you," Angel growled. "And I'm taking you up on that offer, Master. Just not right now!"

"That wasn't really an offer that extended to multiple day —"

"Don't care! You offered and I'm taking it!"

"...Okay."

Honestly, everyone was so demanding.

---

"So this island looks like this because of you and Rosan?" Ace asked in wonder. They had been touring it with Maro at the lead and he had to admit, he was really impressed.

"Yeah! He worked on the buildings and I worked on the nature!" Maro beamed, waving at everyone she walked past. They had been stopped multiple times to accept free gifts from the citizens of Celadon (surprisingly because of Demon of all people) and both the doctor and princess cheerfully regarded them with a familiarity.

Maro and Demon were incredibly popular with the people of Celadon due to how hands on and kind they were with everything and they loved the two's friendly disposition.

"Princess Maro! You and your friends should come try our new recipe out and tell us what you think!" A middle aged chef said, waving them all over with a grin on his face.

"Oh sure! I won't turn down free food!" Maro beamed, dragging the group there.

"Demon~! The recent shipment sent us too much supplies so I figured you would appreciate the extra!" A mature beauty called, offering up a supply of goods to the group.

"I'm flattered. I won't turn down a free gift," Demon smiled, preventing the woman from seeing Angel by standing directly in front of his glaring sister.

The island was bustling with an energy that wasn't there when they first landed on it and it was all thanks to the efforts of the Goblin Princess and the twin clones. Even Angel had been helping out in a plethora of things (though she didn't let the people know) and Maro had never been prouder.

That didn't stop them from being utterly terrified of the haughty redhead, though.

"So many people have been visiting us and we're reaping all the benefits! We've already traded tons of resources with Fregate and with how much crops we can grow, we're shooting up in value!" Maro gushed to Rosan and he hummed.

"You're doing much better than I anticipated. I thought I'd have to interfere much more," the redhead praised. It was good that she was taking everything he and Angel had taught her and applying it to her queenly duties.

"I was thinking of building a hotel and construction has already started! So many wealthy people are visiting so I figure we milk them for their money while giving them a place to stay!"

"Ever the opportunist huh, Maro?" Demon sweatdropped. The Dokkaebi girl was rather greedy in nature and she especially loved getting money from annoying rich people.

"Good," Rosan nodded. "Whatever you need me to do, I'll do it."

"Ah, I love your Devil Fruit so much," Maro sighed in bliss. The Mod Mod no Mi was awesome.

"Please don't flirt with me in front of Angel," Mod suddenly admonished and the princess froze. The bluenette's face turned red and she began to stammer uncontrollably.

"T-that's not… I didn't mean it like that," Maro squeaked. Sure she had a crush on Mod-chan before but she couldn't help that! The woman was like a supermodel and she was one of the first to show her kindness. Could you blame her?! Anyone would be head over heels in love with the Devil Fruit based on just looks alone!

"Aw, I'm just teasing," Mod giggled. She liked to mess with the others from time to time! Teasing was a habit she had picked up from Rosan and she could admit that it was quite fun to do on others besides him.

Angel laughed at the embarrassment on her face. "Don't worry I'm not upset! Master Mod and Ram would never give you the time of day so I'm not stressed about an old crush."

"You are so mean!" Maro whined and she pathetically flung herself in Rosan's arms so that he could comfort her. "Maybe I should just go for Master instead. He's much nicer to me than you are and his female form is way more blessed! I'm sure he would have said yes too!"

"Please don't drag me into this... and you mentioned my female form like I'll just randomly enter it for your pleasure," Rosan said bluntly, causing Ace to laugh at his older brother's misfortune.

Angel growled at her. "You think you have a chance in hell with Master?! Dream on little shorty! I have a better chance and I look exactly like him!"

"I'm glad you think I'm so valuable but please keep me out of this," Rosan tried once again. Getting in between a lover's spat was a bad idea. Demon had told him all the time it was suicide to interfere between him and Meiko's little spats and he had taken that to heart.

Maro gawked at her audacity. "I-I'm only two inches shorter than you, you tall, cocky… Ugh I can't with you sometimes!"

"Deal with it!" Angel taunted, sticking out her tongue childishly.

Maro was about to retort until she made a disturbing realization, lying in the arms of her teacher. "MASTER, DID YOU GET TALLER AGAIN?!"

"Ah, Yes. I grew another inch."

The bluenette made a dramatic show of collapsing on the floor, completely forgetting about the argument she was in, and she whined pitifully. "There's no way I'm done growing, right? Surely everyone else won't eclipse me... right?!"

"I think you are," Rosan said, not realizing that his words would only drive her further into despair.

The onlookers sweatdropped at their Princess' antics. Even in public she still acted the same.

Maro was truly… unique. Most could say that.

"At least you're the tallest in your full zoan?" Rosan offered, realizing he made her even more upset.

"S-Shut up for a second, Master! I'm trying to be miserable here."

---

"Happy birthday, Ace!" The crowd called to the eleven year old and Rosan brought out an absolutely massive cake for the boy.

The freckled boy stammered in shock before his face turned an interesting shade of red at the chorus. Remembering his lessons of kindness from Makino, the birthday boy slowly bowed his head and said, "T-thank you."

It was the first time they had ever celebrated his birthday and it left the boy feeling overwhelmed.

"Ah, I remember when I was eleven," Maro sighed wistfully, stroking her chin like she were some type of grandma. "Master used to call that torture training." Good times. Torture it may have been, he sure was effective and did well on his goal to make her stronger.

"You didn't die," Rosan hummed and he began slicing the white and red cake into multiple pieces. He had made it himself and it had turned out pretty well after taste testing a small part. Hopefully they all liked it.

"I didn't know you could cook, Rosan," Makino said, looking at the size of the cake in awe. It was massive! He had managed to make something that large by himself?!

Luffy wasn't even trying to hide the fact that he was salivating.

"Master did all the cooking on the ship," Demon said proudly. "He used to be very terrible! There was one time he actually nearly burned the entire ship down and he didn't even try to take blame for it! Luckily, he's a genius so he learned quickly and spared the White Rose from anymore damage."

They listened to the story with varied expressions and burst out laughing at the detail of him refusing to take blame.

"He also doesn't talk about how well he can cook because Master doesn't want anyone to know that he has a sweet tooth," Angel smiled mischievously.

"That's so cute!" Makino gushed.

Rosan stopped cutting into the cake for a moment, to walk over and pinch Angel's cheek for revealing that. She whined apologetically and unsuccessfully tried to slap his hand away, much to the amusement of everyone there. Finally, he released her and went back to the pastry.

"Asshole," Angel mumbled, rubbing her cheek. How did it even hurt? He was such a jerk sometimes.

The redhead distributed a plate to everyone there, before standing in front of Ace himself.

Ace watched in confusion as Rosan reached into his pocket for something and he pulled out a paper. The redhead placed it in his hands and the freckled boy felt his throat lock at the contents.

It was a picture of his mother and she was flashing him a gentle smile.

"I made a copy of the one in my possession and took myself out of it," Rosan informed his brother. "I was always planning on giving you a picture of Mom but, I wanted to wait until the right time and figured it would be a good present for your birthday."

Ace held the photograph almost fervently and glanced at his older brother in appreciation. He didn't have any type of connection to his mother so to finally get one, meant the world to him.

"Thank you, Rosan. This... this means a lot to me," Ace said and his brother patted him on the head.

"Think nothing of it. You deserve to have something that reminds you of Mama," he said simply and the others smiled at the heartfelt scene.

Something that reminds him of Mama huh?

"How does Portgas D. Ace sound?" The freckled boy asked with a grin on his face. "I think that's the name I'll take."

Rosan smiled.

"I think it's perfect."

---

"I don't see why this is such a big deal."

16 year old Rosan looked at everyone there, with a blank expression on his face. There was entirely too much people watching him at the moment with varying looks of anticipation.

Luffy, Ace, Angel, Demon, Maro, Aiko, Akemi and Makino were looking at the tall teen eagerly. This day had been a long time coming and they had missed it last year because no one mentioned it!

"You guys are never this excited to see my Dragon," Rosan almost sounded like he was annoyed but his face remained as stony as ever.

"You can turn into a Dragon?!" Aiko asked in surprise.

"Yes I can. It's called Ragnarok and I've been trying to do so since I was four. I achieved it when I was nine —," Rosan tried but Angel stamped her feet in annoyance.

"Nope! Nuh uh, no stalling!" The haughty teen scowled and Rosan sighed.

"I agree with Angel," Maro sighed dreamily, locking eyes onto Rosan the whole time.

"You have no shame, Maro. I'm right here," Angel said flatly, glaring at the 15 year old princess who just shrugged helplessly.

"I barely get to see Master's female form, gotta enjoy it whenever you can!" The teen grinned shamelessly. She had not changed much over the 2 years besides having her body fill out more and her face was maturing too!

Her dreamy stare turned into a glare as she stared at the 6'2 frame of Rosan. His face was sharpening as well with age and he was well on his way to adulthood.

Asshole and his good genes. Maro had resigned herself to the fate of staying 5'9.

"I've waited way too long to see your female form," Akemi beamed and Makino nodded eagerly. The green haired woman had heard from Maro what was going to happen and she just had to be here to see it! This had the added benefit of having her meet Aiko and Akemi and the three had gotten along amazingly.

"This feels like a form of harassment," Rosan muttered quietly. He hadn't expected so much people to want to see this. He had only done this to help Angel and now he was being treated like some type of attraction.

Was he really that attractive as the opposite gender?

"Yep! Total hottie," Ram beamed teasingly.

"You already know you are. You always used to abuse your good looks as a child and Raisa is... not hideous," Mod scowled.

"Should I call you Mother when you transform?" His weapon asked curiously.

"You all are so lucky I have no emotions, else none of you but Angel would be seeing this," Rosan drawled, eyes glowing in preparation to activate the technique.

Ace just wanted to see his older brother get embarrassed. Luffy wasn't even paying attention to what was happening.

"Modification: Swap," the teen muttered and they watched with fascination, as his body began changing before their very eyes.

The figure lost a few inches to their height and the onlookers eyes bugged as their proportions flared. Hips widened, breasts expanded and their spiky hair unraveled from it's bun due to the added length, reaching to just above their butt. Eyelashes lengthened and features softened as their face became rounder and more feminine in nature, causing all who hadn't seen the transformation yet, jaws to drop.

"Dear Kami," Aiko choked on her spit at the sight. She began coughing in spades due to the surprise and the leader of Fregate, gripped her shirt in disbelief.

"Wha — wow," Akemi gasped in surprise. She looked at the figure and then she looked down at herself and she repeated the process multiple times before giving up on understanding.

Makino couldn't even say anything as she regarded the person with a shell shocked expression on her face. Her mouth was left open in her surprise and Demon helpfully closed it for her.

Maro whistled in glee and Angel smacked her on the head immediately after.

The shock and awe was broken up by the most unexpected person.

"ROSAN'S A GIRL?!" Luffy screamed in shock and the nine year old shot up to his oldest brother in surprise. "Wow! Why didn't you tell me?!" He demanded.

They sweatdropped at the idiot and Ace held his head in fond exasperation.

"No, Luffy. I told you already that I'm a boy and that I do this to help Angel," Rosan explained patiently. Unlike Angel, whose voice was higher pitched, Rosan's was a much deeper octave, despite how soft it was. It would no doubt entice anyone that had the pleasure of listening to it.

"Holy shit," Aiko said with wide eyes. "This is how you look?!"

"That's right," her smooth voice came out like butter. "I try to keep Angel's appearance faithful to this one while giving her differences that make her distinct. With her input of course."

"Like not wanting those things on my chest!" Angel chirped cheerfully. "Though, I didn't expect your voice to get so husky! It's a good thing you don't always look like this, I'd have committed murder a long time ago!"

"Is it really that deep?" Rosan asked curiously. As a male, his voice had become quite a bit deeper over the years and this one had already been reaching the deeper territory when he first did the transformation. Guess it made sense that it sounded so different from Angel's.

"Wow you look amazing!" Akemi gushed in awe, quickly closing the distance between the two. The short woman had to look up at the towering teen and she realized that Angel's height had not been amplified.

Angel hadn't been kidding, Rosan managed to make wild look good. That much was apparent as a male but it even translated to this form!

Makino wasn't sure what she had been expecting, but it was definitely not this. The differences between Rosan and Angel were very apparent.

Angel, despite her personality and height, was rather dainty in appearance. Her red hair lacked the same amount of spikes that her older brother had and her features were delicate and soft.

Rosan's appearance matched Angel's personality and vice versa. Her hair was more untamed then her sister's and it had much more spikes, reminiscent of her male form. The transformation's features were also slightly sharper than the redhead clone.

"There's not much for me to change this time around," Rosan hummed as he moved over to Angel. They were still the same height and that probably would not be changing with age.

All Rosan really had to change, were features that were changing with age.

"Thank you, Master!" Angel beamed and she hugged the teen gratefully.

Maro watched without an ounce of shame in her body as the two hugged and Demon had to whisper a warning into her ear about what Angel would do to her.

Rosan watched with a neutral gaze as they all hounded his new form and sighed at the seething woman inside of him.

It appeared Mod was not happy with all the attention he was receiving.

"Honestly, is it that big of a deal? Angel is right there," Rosan said softly. He really didn't understand the big idea.

"Yes it is! Angel looks more like your twin sister than a clone of you!" Makino gushed in awe. The teen was absolutely stunning! It seems both genders of Rosan had been blessed in the genetic department!

"You look... better than I expected," Aiko agreed. She had honestly been expecting a mostly carbon copy of Angel not… this. Seriously, there was no way she could have predicted this.

"I need to see you like this more often!" Akemi beamed.

"No. I only take this form to help Angel," Rosan said, actually refusing someone. "Now, please back away from me, all of you. Maro is looking at me in ways that would probably strike discomfort in another person."

"Can you blame me?!" Maro protested but she froze as the recently changed Angel glared at her. It seemed her girlfriend had finally run out of patience with her and the bluenette took that as her cue to flee from the scene.

"Gotta go bye!" She said, sprinting off at amazing speeds.

"Please transform back," Mod said through grit teeth and Rosan obeyed her wishes. Soon, his male form stood before them all again and he tied the back of his hair back into a bun.

"I hope you're all satisfied. You will not be seeing that form often unless you are somehow attached to the hip with Angel."

They all nodded eagerly and Rosan nearly sighed.

Something told him, they would be at every one of these now.

---

"Angel, I want a tattoo," Rosan said calmly and the clone looked over at her former leader in surprise.

The 16 year old clone blinked. "Y-You do?"

He nodded. "Ram wanted me to get one and she finally thought of something," the teen explained and Angel nodded.

"Why are you telling me this then?" She asked the oldest triplet and he blinked at her.

"Isn't it obvious? I want you to be the one to give it to me. You're the only person I know and trust who can design it and I won't let anyone else touch me."

That made Angel happier then she would like to admit. Her face turned rosy at his blunt admittance and she began swooning at how adorable her older brother acted sometimes.

"Alright, Master! I'll do it but let me practice before I work on you. My designs aren't normally for things like tattoos so I want to be the best I can."

Rosan nodded at her. "Of course and thank you in advance. Here, I've already written and drawn a rough idea of it."

He handed her the reference sheet and the teen glanced at it with appraising eyes. It only took her a moment to rove over the paper and she nodded at it. Master's artistic abilities were surprisingly great!

"It's due to Modification," Rosan said softly. He wasn't good at drawing because of talent but because he could abuse Modification. It's why his penmanship was so neat now. Perks of being a computer man, he was practically copy and pasting things from his head.

"This shouldn't be difficult! I'll call you when I'm done practicing," Angel beamed and the redhead patted her thankfully.

Rosan received a call 1 week later from the middle clone and, along with his two other brothers, they made their way to Celadon.

The redhead was glad that they enjoyed the place (though they claimed it was far too tame compared to Mt. Colubo, which Maro agreed with) because his former traveling companions were quite fond of the boys.

"You're getting a tattoo?" Demon asked in surprise. That seemed more in line with Maro or Ram then Master.

"Yeah, Ram wanted me to get one and Mod-chan didn't have a problem with it so I'm getting one," Rosan replied curtly.

The doctor snorted. Yep, he knew it.

"You never struck me as a tattoo person so I'm surprised you agreed," Maro pointed out. Her Master was almost always covered up and it was rare to see any skin that wasn't his face.

"I used to want one as a kid because I thought they were cool," Rosan admitted. "But it's not been a priority of mine and now that I have free time and Ram wants me to have one, I may as well."

Maro's mouth opened in an o at that. It was a small conversation between her and Ram they had a while ago and the bluenette had ultimately decided not to get one due to not having any ideas.

Clearly, Ram thought otherwise.

Angel walked into the room with all the necessary equipment in hand. "Alright Master, I'm ready to do this! I've been practicing a lot and it's gonna be perfect!"

Rosan sat in a comfy chair and said, "I'm in your care."

She shot him a confident grin and immediately set to work. Skin was a lot different then paper but it wasn't all that difficult and Rosan was a fantastic client.

The boy didn't move a muscle as she worked on him and she marveled at the fact that it had been a few hours and he was still frozen in spot.

It was seriously impressive. He was like a robot!

Maro had gone out with Ace and Luffy after about 30 minutes after the nine year old got bored and they were currently sparring 2 on 1 with the Dokkaebi.

That meant it was just the twins and their creator. The silence was comfortable but Angel wanted to talk to her Master.

"How have you been, Master? Are you doing well?" She asked like a concerned mother.

"...I haven't been well for a long time," Rosan admitted quietly and she frowned. "But, I've been getting better and it's thanks to all of you."

She smiled brightly at that and nearly hugged him, before remembering she was working on him.

Demon grinned fondly at what he said. He was currently reading a book but he had bookmarked and shut it after hearing the two begin conversing.

"How about you Master Mod and Ram?" The purple haired clone jumped in.

"I must admit, it's nice being able to relax but I'm so used to being on the move with Rosan that I'm a bit restless," the Devil Fruit said sheepishly.

"Yup! I'm the same as Auntie! I haven't killed anyone in way too long!"

"That is not the same as me at all! What are you even talking about?!"

"Eh? Maybe I misheard you since you're so short!" The silver haired teen said smugly. Angel wasn't even surprised to hear a cry of fear moments later.

"You exist to annoy me, child."

"F-Father help! Auntie is trying to hurt me because she's not tall!"

"How many times do we have to do this, you spoiled brat?!"

Rosan expertly ignored her call for help and Angel couldn't resist laughing.

"Ram, maybe you should stop provoking Master Mod so much! We don't see it very often, but she can be quite terrifying," Angel tried and Demon nodded sagely, hiding his chuckles.

"I see it everyday Auntie Angel and Uncle Demon!" Ram yelped and the teens sweatdropped.

She would never get used to being called Auntie.

They listened in amusement as Ram kept trying to flee but she never got far. The silver haired ring's cries of fear only got progressively more desperate and it was clear Mod was enjoying this a little too much. The woman must have clearly gained a sadistic streak from being around someone like Rosan for so long.

"Oh wait! I can just do this!" Ram cackled in victory.

Rosan let out a sigh and made Angel pause what she was doing. The girl obeyed in slight confusion but her jaw dropped at what happened next.

Ram (the ring) began violently shuddering until it morphed into a tall, silver haired girl. The twins jaws dropped in confusion at the surprise appearance and their eyes went wide.

"Ta-da!" Ram cheered excitedly.

"We just recently figured this out and already you're abusing it," Rosan hummed, gazing at his weapon with an unimpressed gaze.

"It's the only way I could survive! I don't wanna die young!" Ram beamed.

"That won't save you!" Mod said in a warning tone and she patiently sat back down to wait for Ram. She could take over Rosan's body but luckily for her, he was in the middle of getting a tattoo.

Angel and Demon had never actually seen Ram before. They could not enter Rosan's mindscape so they only had a general appearance of the weapon and the unhinged teen absolutely refused to possess Rosan's body.

All they really knew was that Ram bore a striking resemblance to Meiko with silver and purple hair instead of blonde, while having Rosan's complexion.

That was a very accurate assessment.

The first thing the twins noted was that Ram was tall. It wasn't often that the redhead clone found another girl taller than her but Ram barely inched her out at a solid 6'0, standing at the same height as Demon.

Secondly, she sounded like an older version of Meiko and that took their breath away. Her calling Meiko mother, was a very accurate assessment.

Those were the only similarities she shared with the blonde however. Ram clearly inherited everything else from Rosan, including her body. She looked every bit as unhinged as she acted and the girl had a wild grin on her bronze face.

Ram had on her signature double breasted black and purple coat, that was doing a bad job at hiding her figure, and her long silver hair was tied into its usual twintails.

"R-Ram?!" Angel called in disbelief and her fellow 16 year old rushed up to her to grab her. "How are you and Master out at the same time?!"

The ring cackled loudly. "It's my job as a weapon to be able to transform into any weapon and that includes the most obvious one! A human!"

"It was rather difficult and she can't stay out for too long but just the fact that we were able to do it was a huge success," Rosan said. He managed this for Ram, now he just needed to find a way to get Mod-chan out too. There had to be a way...

"I can't go too far from Father and I much prefer being with Auntie Mod in the mindscape but this is nice too!" The teen gushed and Angel's mouth just opened in surprise at her sheer energy.

"You sure are a fiery ball of energy," Demon pointed out, getting an excited nod out of the ring.

"C'mon Angel! I wanna watch you finish the tattoo! It's a great distraction from what's going to happen to me when I go back in the mindscape," Ram cackled and Angel realized that she did need to finish Master's tattoo.

She sweatdropped at how accepting Ram was of her punishment. No one managed to irritate Master Mod like she did but it was all in good faith and the two still loved each other.

The clone got back to working on a patient Rosan's tattoo and Ram watched her all the while. The four teens talked about a lot of things and Angel really liked how expressive the ring was!

Maro quietly entered the room and her jaw dropped at the sight of Ram resting her head in Rosan's lap with a content smile on her face. Angel was finishing up the tattoo and had a look of deep concentration, not noticing their arrival.

"R-R-Ram?!" The princess gaped and Ace and Luffy peaked their heads in after hearing that.

"Shhhh!" Ram shushed, holding a finger to her lips as Angel focused on Rosan's tattoo. She glared at them and made it very clear that if they messed up the redhead, there would be hell to pay.

Maro saluted instinctively and went to go sit. Luffy was about to launch himself at the silver haired girl in glee but the princess instantly caught the boy and dragged him with her.

Ace snorted and followed, though he eyed Rosan's tattoo with interest.

"Done!" Angel exclaimed with an excited gaze as she stepped back to admire her handiwork. "Tell me what you think, Master! If you want me to change anything I'm sure we could use Modification to remove it and I can get right on it."

"No, it's perfect," Rosan smiled softly and Ram shot up to look at it as well.

On his left arm, right on his bicep and ending at his shoulder, in all black, the name ROSAN was sprawled neatly.

Cutting through his name, was a long rose whose thorny stem repeatedly wrapped around his muscular arm. A part of the stem cut neatly through the S of the tattoo, crossing it out (it had been Ace's idea), and the red petals of the rose bloomed in front of the letter R in a magnificent display.

"It's beautiful," Mod smiled softly at the sight of the tattoo. It had been approved by all three of the inhabitants of Rosan's body so she had no complaints.

"Yes! It turned out perfect!" Ram grinned excitedly. This was exactly how she envisioned it and Angel had done an incredible job at capturing it.

"That's a cool tattoo!" Ace grinned. "Angel, wanna give me one too? I planned on getting one in the future but since you're an expert, I can trust you to do it," the freckled boy questioned.

"O-Oh! Sure! I can give you one, just show me a picture and I'll be able to replicate it on your skin," the redhead blushed bashfully, scratching her cheek in embarrassment at being trusted with another tattoo.

It was kind of a nice feeling...

"Awesome!" Luffy beamed, rocketing himself forward to inspect Rosan's tattoo. "That's so cool! I want a tattoo too! Of meat!"

"No," everyone said in unison, shutting down the rubber boy instantly.

"I gotta say, this looks incredible! It's hard to believe that this is your first job, Angel," Maro praised and her girlfriend blushed in appreciation.

"I couldn't fail Master so I had to do it as if I had years of experience!" Angel muttered, staring a hole into the floor. She felt like she was about to overheat with all the praise right now.

"You did good," Rosan said simply and he hugged the beet red teen. "Thank you. I knew I could rely on you."

"O-Oh you!" She gushed.

"Okay now that we've got that out the way," Maro began cheerfully, expression immediately shifting into outrage. "HOW IS RAM OUT HERE?!"

Ram gave a peace sign to the shorter girl and remained silent, smirking in that familiar infuriating manner that Maro had seen many times from her best friend.

"Do you remember that time we were dragging the former king of Celadon to his execution?" Rosan asked suddenly, causing the princess to nod her head at the memory.

"Before he interrupted my thoughts, I was going to mention how I could just use RAM to turn Ram into a human," Rosan explained and her mouth opened in surprise at that. "In theory, it should work because humans are considered weapons too but it was a lot harder to do in practice since our buildup is so much more complicated. We were only able to achieve it because Ram is so gifted."

"I prefer being a ring," Ram shrugged truthfully. She wasn't human and she wasn't going to pretend like she was. She much preferred being wrapped around her Father's finger.

"That's amazing, Master!" Maro exclaimed in awe. She didn't know she'd ever be able to meet Ram in person! Now there was so much she'd be able to do with her best friend and the terror they would cause would be awesome!

"You never cease to amaze me," Demon laughed.

"Now I just need to find a way to get Mod-chan a body," the redhead mused. He wasn't sure how he was going to do that but he'd figure out a way.

"You really don't have to. I like being here and I can just take over your body when I do want to be out," Mod said in amusement.

"No. I owe you a hug," Rosan said and that was that.

She blushed in happiness and rolled her eyes at that.

Rosan would always be Rosan.

---

"Greetings, Outlook," 17 year old Rosan waved and his target screeched in surprise, falling on his ass at the random appearance.

The redhead had decided to pay the noble a visit since he was 17 now. Sabo had wanted to leave the island at that age but that was out of the window now because of this man right here.

"W-who are… It's you. I don't know what you want but you can't have it! G-GUARDS! QUICKLY, THERE'S AN INTRUDER IN THE HOUSE THAT YOU MUST DISPOSE OF!" The man screamed and the redhead stared at him.

"They won't be coming. It's just you and I," Rosan hummed and the man steadily paled as, true to his words, no one came. He stared at the stone faced redhead and began looking left and right for anything to defend himself with.

There was nothing.

"Tell me, do you regret what you pushed Sabo to do?"

Outlook blinked in confusion at the abrupt question before a look of annoyance crossed his features, fear forgotten for disappointment in his biological child.

"If Sabo had just listened to his parents, he wouldn't have met that fate. It's a child's job to follow the will of the ones who birthed them," he said cruelly. His son had to just heed his words, then he'd have married a higher class noble woman while guaranteeing their status but look at where not listening had gotten him.

"Is that so? Even at the risk of their happiness?"

"Listening to me would have made him happy, eventually. I only wanted what was best for that useless boy!"

"Alright. That makes sense," Rosan nodded at his words, before vanishing from his spot and slamming the man into a wall by his neck.

The noble let out a choked gasp of fear at the strength behind the 17 year old's blow and he tried to reach for the strong arm. He desperately tried to claw the hand away but Rosan's grip was unforgiving.

"You shouldn't talk so badly about your son. After all, he's the only reason you're still breathing right now," Rosan told him gently and his tone completely contrasted how violent his action was. "Did you know I offered Sabo the chance to be free by killing you so that you couldn't interfere anymore?"

Outlook's eyes widened in fear, as Rosan subtly tightened his grip, constricting his air flow completely. His face began turning blue at the lack of oxygen and tears began falling as he felt his life flash before his eyes.

"But your kind son, the one who you abused so cruelly, actually refused the offer. Can you believe that? Sabo hated every single moment in this town and you are the main reason but he didn't think you deserved to die because of his good heart that you wished to twist. I respected his wishes, even to this day and that's why you can cling on to your miserable existence, blinded by stupid things such as social status."

The teen dropped him and gently dusted off the nobles shoulder, ignoring the erratic coughing Outlook did at being unable to breathe for so long. "I just wanted you to know that at any moment, if I wanted to, you'd be dead and there's nothing anyone here can do about it but me. So instead of cursing your son, you should be thanking him for allowing you to keep on living."

Tears of fear welled up in his eyes as he stared at the tall redhead before him and he collapsed on the floor. He held his neck as if that was going to protect him if the teen decided to attack him again.

"Oh and if you know what's good for you, you won't tell anyone I visited you. If I can get in this easily, no one can protect you so don't give me a reason to come see you again. I better not hear about any sort of group looking for me or I'm automatically going to pin it on you," Rosan whispered before he waltzed right through Outlook's door.

Sabo's father gaped at the audacity of the redhead exiting through his front door but stamped that away in favor of relief at still being alive.

The noble contemplated calling the officers and reporting this, but that monster's words remained fresh in his mind.

How had he gotten in here without anyone noticing? Could he do that whenever he wanted? H-how long had he been watching Outlook?! Was he safe anywhere he went?

What would happen if he fell asleep...?!

"Good job Father! Let him know who's in charge!"

"Hm. I'm going to just randomly appear in his line of sight whenever I feel like it. Until he's afraid to even sleep."

"You are a sadistic person, Rosan."

"It's been like this since I was four. This is nothing new."

"...Please don't say that like it's supposed to be normal."

"Being normal is boring, isn't it?"

"I agree!"

Mod sighed at the two.

---

"Ace, I'm going to visit Mom's grave. Would you like to come with me?"

The 14 year old blinked in surprise at the question before nodding without hesitation. His mother was located all the way in the South Blue and it was unlikely he would ever be visiting it, no matter how bad he wanted too until much later in his piracy.

But his brother was giving him the chance to do so with no issue. It was a no brainer what his answer was going to be.

"What?! I wanna come too!" Maro and Luffy demanded at the same time.

"I wanna go too," Angel interjected and Demon nodded along.

The 18 year old looked at everyone and hummed in contemplation. "Okay. We'll be flying there on my Dragon, so get everything you need."

"Let's have a picnic on his back!" Maro beamed and the 17 year old shook in excitement at the thought of journeying with her Master. "I can have our chefs cook us a lot for the trip! Oh, but we can't eat all of it without giving Master some! That would be really rude!"

Luffy began salivating at the prospect of food and he soon joined Maro in her jumping.

"KANNA!" The princess screamed and her assistant soon entered the room. The 12 year old smiled at the bluenette's antics but she was used to it by now.

Maro left the island quite frequently and that meant Kanna dealt with her stuff a lot. It had the added benefit of making her incredibly reliable and the Dokkaebi could trust her with practically anything.

Honestly, what an irresponsible princess!

"Going out, Princess?"

"Yep! Tell our chefs to prepare a lot of snacks for an extended picnic involving the usual group. You and Rin are in charge and I'll leave my tiara here in case of emergency!" She beamed and the 12 year old nodded immediately.

"Right away!" She bowed and exited, making her way to Rin first to inform him of what was happening.

"It's a good thing you have someone as loyal as Kanna doing your bidding," Angel remarked with a roll of her eyes. "I know for a fact I would have had enough of your shit if I was working for you."

"I wouldn't make her do anything she doesn't want to do," Maro beamed excitedly. Age had done nothing to dampen her nature and at 17, the only thing that changed was the maturity of her body and her mind at being princess for so long.

Well, barely for the mind part.

"What made you want to visit Rouge's grave, Rosan? You haven't been there since you were 10."

They watched Rosan curiously at that information and he sighed.

"I didn't feel like I deserved to visit her these past few years because of how spectacularly I failed at all aspects," he admitted. "It would have been a dishonor in my eyes to go visit her."

They flinched at his honesty but they knew Rosan was beginning to have a more positive outlook on himself. They had made sure of it, rather forcefully sometimes.

"But I'm 18 now and that means I'm an adult. I want mom to at least know how much I've grown since I last saw her and that I'm… doing better."

"Besides, Ace probably won't have a chance to ever visit her and I can easily make that happen."

Mod smiled gently at her little boy (man now) and nodded her head. "I'm so proud of you Rosan. You have nothing to be ashamed of."

"Yeah!" They all chorused in agreement and Rosan paused at their unhesitant unison.

It was 7 vs 1. If he refused to believe their words here, then he was just being stupid. Even if he was unnaturally stubborn, he wasn't that stubborn.

Rosan flashed a small, true, smile and said, "I appreciate that. Thank you, all of you."

"Now, let's go visit her," he said and they all cheered in agreement.

They all got prepared (Ace and Angel had the liberty of manhandling Luffy into not eating all the food already) and followed Rosan to a largely empty area.

"Don't stand too close and throw up an illusion," Rosan instructed.

Maro beamed and summoned her club. She waved it around Rosan and the surrounding area, before giving the redhead a thumbs up when he vanished from everyone's view.

"Modification: Ragnarok."

They couldn't see it but they could feel Rosan transforming into a dragon and they watched with bated breaths as the ground shook beneath them. They were rather surprised to not hear his signature roar and Maro snorted.

"I knew he did that just to show off," she muttered.

Something scaly snaked around all of them and they yelled in shock as they were lifted up and deposited onto, what had to be, his scaly back.

They heard the flap of a gigantic pair of wings and they were suddenly in the sky. Luffy whooped in joy as his head reached the clouds and Demon had to make sure the 11 year old didn't throw himself off the dragon.

After they were safely out of vision, Maro waved off the illusion and Rosan's dragon was revealed in all of its glory.

The obsidian reptile with red streaks soared through the air at amazing speeds and Ace couldn't keep the wild grin off his face. He had secretly wanted to go flying with Ragnarok for a while now and it was as fun as he imagined.

Maro loved riding on Ragnarok. She had asked him many times to transform into one while they traveled just so she could fly on his back, despite having the ability to do so herself.

"Remember you all, be on your best behavior," Mod informed them and they nodded at her words.

"Luffy. Maro. I'm talking mostly to you two."

"P-please don't imply that I'm as bad as Luffy," Maro whined, as the youngest boy there grinned cheerfully.

They talked about random things as they snacked on food and enjoyed each other's presence (Angel was sure that Demon was seeing someone).

"Just tell me the truth Demon!" She demanded, glaring at her exasperated brother. "Who is she? Why haven't you introduced me? Is she good enough for you?!"

"Even if I did have a girlfriend, you are the last person I'd have her meet! I'd even let Reaper meet her before you!" Demon said. Because of the fact that he was becoming more independent from his sister, she was absolutely certain that another person had stolen him away and was hellbent on figuring out who.

She gaped in disbelief at his words. The nerve of this little rebellious piece of —

"He has a point, Angel," Maro said slowly, hoping not to incite her wrath. "It's… very hard to warm up to you and you are very… passionate," she finished lamely.

"If she can't handle me, then she doesn't deserve you!" Angel retorted after silencing Maro with a heavy glare. "We're twins! She's gonna be seeing me often and I'm not going to change the way I act for anyone so she has to get used to it!"

"I told you, I don't have a girlfriend!" Demon groaned.

"...Boyfriend? Is it Rin" Angel asked instead and he grabbed his head in both hands.

"Rin is strictly my assistant, Angel. I would rather not get into a relationship with someone I'm working with," Demon stressed. It could end up being disastrous in the long run and besides, Rin still didn't know about the true fate of his father.

"And?! I see the way he stares at my adorable twin brother's face!" she barked but the purple haired adult stopped responding.

Angel scoffed angrily and crossed her arms. "I'm just trying to do my duties as sister and somehow I'm the bad guy… What about you, Ace?" The redhead suddenly shifted, interrogating her freckled brother instead.

She didn't even bother asking Luffy.

"You're at the age where puberty starts really kicking in right?" The 18 year old clone asked the freckled boy. "Any girls catching your eyes? Your turning pretty good looking, don't you think?"

Ace blushed at the sudden attention and began protesting. "N-No! What are you even asking?!"

Maro and Angel's eyes gleamed.

"It was definitely that one brown haired girl in Foosha Village the time we visited," Mod told them shamelessly. She was a pretty little thing and she had also been eyeing Ace so it wasn't a surprise that he noticed her.

"I knew you were eyeing her a little too hard!" Ram cackled and Ace swore he was going to get his revenge on them the next time he entered the mindscape.

For now though, he needed to avoid getting embarrassed in front of Luffy and Rosan. Those two were very annoying when it came to the middle brother. Rosan would start and Luffy would join and then there'd be a brawl between the three that always ended up with the redhead patting his head while sitting on his back.

Annoying asshole...

Wait a minute…

"What about Rosan?!" Ace demanded and it worked just as intended. He managed to throw suspicion onto his older brother by not going into detail (not that he had any detail to go into).

"Master?!" Maro gaped. "Have you been fooling around?! You've hit that age now and everytime we watch you work at the bar, someone has put their hands on you!"

Rosan, who had been content to listen to their talk, blinked at suddenly being the center of attention.

Clever Ace… he was proud that the blunt boy used such a sly tactic but he'd have to get his revenge later.

"Yes," Rosan replied bluntly and everyone (barring Luffy and the two inside of him) froze.

"WHAT?!"

"N-no way," Angel gaped in despair, holding her heart in pain. She fucking knew Master was too popular with the woman on that island and one of them would get their grabby hands on him eventually. The moment he turned 18, she should have kidnapped him and forced him to live on Celadon until it was time for them to set sail...

"Master Mod, why didn't you stop him?!" She demanded. Angel and Mod were the founders of the "Protect Rosan's Chastity!" committee and the Devil Fruit was even more protective of him then she was! They were both aware of the man's general compliance so it was up to them to ward off threats!

"It was Auntie Mod's idea," Ram chimed with a wide grin. She didn't care that Rosan was fooling around, as long as he still paid attention to them! Since it was clear he was, she supported all his endeavors because he was the best!

Their eyes bugged at the revelation.

"...The stress of Rosan potentially doing the deed was affecting me more than I'd like to admit so I just had him be the initiator," Mod admitted miserably, sulking in a corner.

It was true. The moment Rosan hit 18, the Devil Fruit had practically been gnawing her nails at the idea that someone would successfully seduce the redhead.

She desperately needed to rid herself of this feeling, in order to focus, so she made the tough decision to just have Rosan get it over with. It was better this way and since she told him to do it, she could mentally prepare herself!

Besides, she couldn't just take advantage of his emotional state and tell him to say no to everyone! These things were natural and she wouldn't stop natural things from happening... no matter how much she hated it.

"W-who was it?" Maro asked, voice a near whisper. The princess was in open mouthed disbelief. She never expected Rosan of all people to have sex! Seriously, he was like a robot and she was pretty sure that was the last thing on his mind!

"Ah, it was Makino. I just asked her and she agreed since we spent so much time together and I figured she was a better choice then one of the random patrons."

"I'm gonna kill her," Angel said calmly, only to yelp as Luffy jumped on her. "L-Luffy! Get off of me you little shit! She's not even here for me to kill yet!"

"No! You can't kill Makino!" The child said stubbornly and Maro cackled at the sight of the two struggling. She scooted over to make sure they didn't fall off and watched the exchange in amusement.

"I have too! She corrupted my dear Master so she has to pay," Angel argued childishly, throttling the little boy without hesitation.

"I agree with Angel," Mod said in complete monotone and Ram gaped at her.

"Auntie, both of you, you're being ridiculous! You can't just kill her because Father asked her and she agreed! She was the most natural choice, no?!"

"Who says I can't?"

"You can't be mad because Father is having sex! It's natural and he's a hot looking dude! You should just be glad that we have a choice on whether or not we want to see it because I really don't! Can't you already tell how popular he is! I know I can!"

Rosan sighed. There goes Ram.

The weapon squealed in fear, as predicted, and bolted from the angry Devil Fruit.

"Is it really that big of a deal?" the dragon asked. "You told me to get it over with and I did."

"B-but it still hurts my soul," she whined, while tugging Ram's cheeks.

"You'll get used to it! There's no way this is going to be the only time!" the silver haired girl chimed, despite the pain and she let out another squeal as Mod pinched her harder.

Ace hadn't expected it to turn out like this but he wasn't complaining. As long as they didn't have fuel to tease him, he'd take it and he even made Rosan a target in the process.

Heh.

Maro wanted to congratulate her Master at managing to do it with a hottie like Makino but Angel would no doubt attack her for doing so (it wasn't worth it), so she settled for breaking up the two tangling people before Luffy's recklessness threw them overboard.

Demon was just glad that the attention was off of him. He knew it was a good idea to not reveal anything to Angel. She was crazy.

They were all crazy.

---

Rosan placed a pure white rose next to another, perfectly healthy, one and stared with his ever blank gaze at the grave.

"It's been a long time, Mom. As you can see, I'm 18 now and things have been... hard but I'm not here to talk about me today besides telling you that I'm doing fine now. I brought someone you might recognize."

Ace stared at the grave and felt his throat lock up. On the grave was the name Portgas D. Rouge and he had no more illusions to who this belonged to.

He felt a rush of emotions and it was making his head spin. Finally, it calmed down and Ace knew what he needed to say.

"Mom… Thank you for doing everything you could to let me live. I won't let you down and I'll live a life with no regrets," Ace promised.

"Rosan and I had a rocky start to our relationship but... he's my actual brother now along with Luffy and I wouldn't want it to be any other way. I'm sure you'd be happy to hear that we found a family who loves us both," the freckled boy smiled softly.

Rosan's lips curled upwards at that and he mussed up his brother's hair. "That makes me happier then I'd imagine," he replied, going out of his way to ruin the teen's hair.

Ace slapped his hand off with an embarrassed expression. "Asshole," he muttered good naturedly.

The two remained there for a moment (his other companions were exploring his home and the forest around it) and basked in the comfort of the silence.

"Rosan?" A soft, alluring, voice called and the two brothers glanced back at the source.

"Ah, Shizuka. You look well," Rosan greeted and her jaw dropped at the sight of the 18 year old.

Even sitting down, she could see how much taller he was then her busty, 5'3 frame.

"It's been so long! You look so different and so…" She trailed off embarrassingly, blushing red as she checked him out. Last time she had seen him, the boy was as short and adorable as ever. Right now, short and adorable were not what she'd classify him as.

To distract herself, she focused on the new presence. "Who is this?"

"It's nice to meet you, I'm Ace," the freckled teen greeted politely and he bowed his head. "I'm Rosan's brother."

"Wow! You're so much more polite then Rosan!" She gushed, shaking the taller teens hand.

Ace raised a brow in incredulity at that. Him? More polite then Rosan? He nearly snorted at that but accepted the compliment. In a way, it was kind of right, considering Rosan said the rudest of things in a polite tone. She also probably knew him as a kid and he was even more of a menace then his brothers!

"It's been 8 years," Rosan said and he stood up from his position to regard his former friend. He wasn't really interested in having a conversation with her but she probably wanted to have one with him so he'd indulge the woman.

She hadn't gotten much taller and he towered over her now. Her body had filled out plenty with age and she grew her brown hair to mid back levels.

His fellow 18 year old was wearing a sleeveless black blouse with white shorts on and it gave him an eyeful of cleavage due to the height difference and the fact that he had to look down at her.

"When you said you wouldn't visit often...," Shizuka began with narrowed eyes. "...I didn't think you meant 8 entire years."

"Things happened and I don't like this island enough to constantly visit it," Rosan said dismissively, not willing to tell her. She wasn't privy to his life.

The woman didn't seem to mind his secretive streak and she began glancing around curiously. "Where's Meiko? Did you two break up? I hope you two are at least still friends! She's a real sweetheart, you know? Wait, does that mean you're available?! Let's go on a date right now!"

Ace held his breath as the temperature subtly dropped. He didn't blame the woman, but mentioning Rosan's previous lover like this was never a great idea.

"Meiko is dead," he said bluntly and Shizuka froze up, as those words washed over her.

"S-she is?" The gray eyed woman asked and she finally made eye contact with Rosan's lifeless gaze. Those dual eyes of his lacked the glow that she had always been mesmerized with and the glacial orbs, felt as if they were trapping her in a deep and endless abyss. It was highly unsettling and she forced herself to avert her own gaze, lest she get sucked in.

Guilt welled up inside her and the woman said, "I-I'm so sorry… I was being thoughtless…" Shizuka hadn't meant to bring up any unwanted memories, she was just joking around. There was no way those two would have ever broken up because even through her jealousy, she could tell that they were made for each other.

"You didn't know. You were just trying to make a joke," Rosan dismissed and his other companions chose that time to show up.

"Maaaaaaster, your house was so quaint and comfy! I saw your room and it was the most adorable thing ever! I keeled over at the cuteness of it all! Your handwriting used to be so awful!" Maro gushed and Angel nodded happily.

"It really was so cute imagining 4 year old you running around the whole house! Rouge must have had such a hard... time… Who is this?" Angel asked with a narrowed gaze as she noticed Shizuka. The girl was already on edge after hearing about what happened with Rosan and the last thing she needed, was for some other broad to seduce him right in front of her.

Shizuka's eyes widened at seeing the twins. Did Rosan have siblings?! Since when was that a thing?! As far as she knew, the boy had lived alone with his mother but these two looked the exact same age as him!

Maro immediately grabbed Angel with a strained smile. "Rosan, do you know this person?" She asked in a friendly manner, keeping her girlfriend away from the short beauty. She opted to call him Rosan in case the person got the wrong ideas and he was trying to score.

"Yes, her name is Shizuka," Rosan said calmly. "We were friends when I was 4 and due to a misunderstanding… I thought she didn't like me so we stopped talking but that was my fault."

"Misunderstanding?" Demon asked.

"Like?" Angel growled.

Maro glanced pleadingly at him and Rosan immediately understood what she was asking him. For everyone's sake, he would not elaborate on their relationship (it didn't matter if he didn't like her, Angel would still retaliate).

"We've done what we needed. Do you guys want to buy snacks before we head back?" Rosan said calmly and Luffy nodded ecstatically.

"Right, let's buy a lot for the trip back. We can also get some exclusives, like the Elephant Trunk Tuna. It's really good."

"That sounds amazing right now," Demon sighed happily.

"You've gotten quite the group of friends, Rosan! They're all really impressive and very attractive too!" Shizuka smiled at the sight of the group. It was a far cry from the little 4 year old who spent most of his time alone in the forest or with his mother.

"Yes they are," Rosan agreed readily. "I'm more proud of each and every one of them then they realize."

Angel squealed in joy and immediately slammed into Rosan. He easily caught the tall girl in his arms but stumbled a bit as Luffy and Maro followed suit.

Ace snorted in amusement at the sight of his older brother getting surrounded and Demon chuckled softly next to him.

"They're all idiots," the freckled boy sighed fondly.

"I couldn't agree more," Demon nodded sagely.

"You make me so happy," Angel gushed, nuzzling Rosan's left cheek.

"Your words of approval mean so much!" Maro agreed, nuzzling his right cheek.

Shizuka watched the two rather attractive woman surrounding Rosan and came to the realization that she'd probably never be able to gain his affections.

It hurt but deep down, after seeing his interactions with Meiko, she knew it was never going to be and it honestly didn't hurt that much considering she hadn't seen him for so long.

"Ah, I know what you're thinking," Rosan said suddenly. "Angel and Maro are dating each other, not me. Angel is my little sister and Maro is practically my daughter."

Shizuka blinked at his words before a beaming smile made its way onto her face. "So I still have a chance?"

"No, you should move on."

She should have felt depressed but instead, she laughed. "I figured you'd say that and honestly, I think your right."

"Good, you deserve someone who will appreciate you. You're a beautiful woman and any guy would be lucky to have you," Rosan said kindly, getting a rosy blush out of the woman.

"Stop saying stuff like that or I'll fall in love all over again," the woman complained.

Seriously this guy was unbelievable. Don't tell her to move on while complimenting her.

"Oh!" Shizuka said, as a memory came to her. "Rosan, I just remembered! Around 4 years ago, a woman came to the island. She was really covered up and seemed to be looking for something."

Rosan glanced at her and tilted his head. "Why are you telling me this?"

"Well, I happened to run into her and noticed that she had glowing purple eyes and they reminded me of yours! I think she might have been looking for you," The gray eyed woman told him.

"...Raisa visited this island?" Mod asked in confusion. Was it to make sure Rosan was dead? Or was it to make sure he was doing fine?

"I was under the impression that she hated me but if she visited this island… it must have been out of some twisted concern. If she hated me that much and wanted to see if I died, she'd probably just kill me herself," Rosan explained. She was his biological mother and Rosan himself would never go out of his way to abandon family. Perhaps a small part of her was the same way.

"...Is she searching for you? For what reason?" The Devil Fruit pondered. Mod hoped she wasn't going out of her way to find Rosan. If it was to make amends, she'd never accept it. Even if her charge felt nothing for the woman and would likely allow her to prove it, Mod would never forgive her.

"It's best not to dwell on it. We can't even be sure that it's her so we should take this with a grain of salt," Rosan said but he didn't sound convinced himself. He wasn't sure what his birth mother's goal was but he didn't care about it or her.

"I'm not sure what her relation to me could be but thank you for telling me, Shizuka," the redhead said and she smiled at him.

"D-Daughter?!" Maro whispered before tears started forming in her eyes. To the princess who had no parents or anyone that wanted her, Rosan's words meant everything to her and she began happily bawling on his chest.

"Wait," Ram said. "Doesn't that mean Maro is basically my sister…?" The silver haired woman whispered in horror and Maro cackled in victory.

"Should I start calling you Ram-nee, now?" Maro purred to her best friend.

"Fuck off!" Ram barked.

"Language."

"I hate you, Maro."

"Love you too~."

"Wouldn't that make you my niece?" Angel hummed in curiosity, causing the Dokkaebi to suddenly freeze at the truth of the statement. "I don't wanna date my niece."

"H-He said like a daughter!" She protested immediately, rounding on Angel in shock. "You... You wouldn't break up with me over something like that, right?! RIGHT?!"

Angel merely looked away from her, inspecting her nails awkwardly. Maro began whining like the spoiled brat she was at the refusal to answer and started tugging the woman's sleeve insistently.

"I'm just kidding!" The redheaded clone laughed, hugging the shorter girl to appease her and planting a gentle kiss on her cheek, making her beam happily with a rosy blush.

The princess immediately grabbed Luffy by the cheeks when he laughed and said, "Maro is stupid!"

"I DON'T WANNA HEAR THAT FROM YOU!" She roared indignantly, shaking the 11 year old back and forth rapidly.

Ace watched everything unfold with a fond exasperation and shook his head. "How did a trip to visit my birth island turn into this?" He muttered in disbelief.

"I wish I could answer you but I can't," Demon laughed.

Shizuka sweatdropped at all the chaos.

"Your friends sure are... unique," she said to her childhood friend.

"...Yes, my family is full of eccentric people," Rosan corrected and he smiled a small smile.

Angel and Maro squealed again and tackled him to the floor.

"Please stop doing this," Rosan muttered and Shizuka laughed at his plight.

---

Today was finally the day.

It had been 7 years and now, he was finally taking one step towards his dream.

Yes, Ace would become a pirate that the whole world knew about. Hate him or love him, he'd live his life without a single regret until he finally found the answer to his lifelong question!

He was currently on his temporary ship (he'd get a bigger one eventually) and he was looking back at all the people seeing him off.

The bandits, the mayor, Makino, Angel, Demon, Maro, Rosan and Luffy. They were all here to see the 17 year old depart.

Ace grinned happily at them all. Dadan wasn't here but that was because she was a big sap and she didn't want anyone to see her bawling her eyes out so he didn't mind.

"Take care, Ace!" Luffy beamed.

"I hope you find what you're looking for," Rosan waved and Ace grinned wider at the two.

His brothers were precious to him and to have them see him off made the boy giddy with excitement. He wouldn't trade their bond for anything in the world and he hoped they (especially his stupid older brother) knew that.

"Luffy, Rosan, I'll see you out in the sea! I'm heading out now!" The freckled teen grinned.

"Yeah! I'll be way stronger when I leave here in three years," Luffy grinned in return.

"I'll make sure he doesn't die until he gets to that point," Rosan assured and Ace laughed heartily at the look of outrage on Luffy's face.

"Bye Ace! If you somehow ever end up in the North Blue, you'll be welcomed on Celadon any time," Maro waved ecstatically. She was going to miss that freckled boy dearly.

"Be careful out there! Don't die because of your narcolepsy!" Demon warned with a kind smile. The day they found out Ace had narcolepsy had been the day where he had immediately sought out Demon for a way to lessen the attacks.

Why? Because Rosan painted his face the moment he figured out his brother hadn't just fainted. The fury on Ace's face, while Luffy laughed hysterically, was well worth fleeing for the better part of an hour. Afterwards, he had demanded to see the doctor and Demon had prescribed him the necessary medicine for his condition.

"Don't just give it up to anybody, you're better than that!" Angel beamed and Ace flushed with a scowl at his protective redheaded sister.

The scowl was quickly wiped off his face and was replaced by a fond smile. This was his family and he'd do everything to protect them. They accepted him for all his qualities and without them, he'd be such a different person.

He was going to miss them but he couldn't stay any longer.

They all waved the sailing ship off and Ace finally turned away when they vanished from his sight.

Almost as soon as he did that, the air distorted around a corner of the ship and he stared in disbelief, at the large pile of treasure lying there. He picked up the note lying there and it read, in impossibly neat letters, "It would make your older brother sad if you threw away his gift to you so please accept it. This should be more than enough for you to get what you want so have fun. Signed - Rosan."

Oh that son of a…

"I dropped the illusion, Master," Maro said and Rosan nodded. Good that meant that Ace would probably see the treasure right about —

"ROSAN!" A voice roared in the distance and everyone who knew of his plan, burst out laughing.

"I knew he wouldn't appreciate it," Rosan sighed with a tiny smile. "No matter, he has at minimum three years to get over it."

"What if he throws it away?" Mod giggled.

"He wouldn't throw away a gift from his dear older brother," Rosan hummed. "Don't you remember the time I bought him that Mama's Boy shirt? Despite trying to choke me to death, he never did throw it out."

Ram cackled at the memory. Rosan loved teasing Ace and his reactions were always worth it.

"Besides, Ace is a terrible liar. I'll just interrogate him when we do see him again."

"You can be really playful, Master!" Maro laughed with a large grin. Over the years, he had been tormenting them all and it was as annoying as it was refreshing.

"I was rather playful when I was younger," the 21 year old told her.

"It's true!" Angel cackled before an angry expression crossed her features. "But me and Demon were subject to this the most! You were a complete asshole!" she scowled, glaring at Rosan, who completely ignored her gaze by inspecting his nails.

"Three more years, Luffy and we'll also be setting sail," Rosan commented, dodging Angel's dive and grabbing her to appease the outraged woman.

Luffy grinned excitedly.

"We'll get even stronger before that!" The future captain said, brimming with confidence.

"Ah! We won't be able to see you two off the way we want too," Maro frowned sadly. Rosan was the one who transported them between the islands and since he was setting sail, it would be stupid to have him leave the ship just to bring them back.

"We'll visit you all before that," Rosan promised. He would be visiting everyone he knew before setting sail. Even if he could visit them whenever he wanted, it would be rude not to do so.

"You better!" Maro threatened with a large grin. "On the exact day too! I don't care how long it takes or else I'm hunting you two down."

Luffy saluted and Rosan nodded. "Of course, you three are precious to me and I wouldn't feel right leaving without letting you know."

"Yeah! We'll definitely visit!" The future captain grinned like it was a given. "Now let's throw a party! I want food!"

"We already threw one last night," Rosan pointed out but his youngest brother was no longer listening.

"PARTY!" Maro cheered and the two rushed off excitedly.

Angel sighed fondly. "Those two enable each other's bad behavior so much," she said flatly, watching them go with a shake of her head.

"I can buy drinks," Demon suggested. "I want some wine."

"Fucking alcoholic," Angel muttered under her breath. Demon was the triplet who enjoyed alcoholic beverages the most. The female redhead wasn't very fond of them and Rosan tolerated it.

They'd both still drink it though, especially in a party environment.

"I'll help with food," Makino offered with a smile on her face.

"Then I'll help with food too," Angel jumped in, glaring daggers at the bartender.

"You don't have to look at me with such dangerous eyes," the green haired woman placated but Angel didn't let up. In fact, her glare only deepened.

The redhead squealed in surprise, as Rosan easily lifted her up and began walking off after slinging her over his shoulder.

"Stop harassing people, Angel."

"B-but I have to protect you!" She protested, not struggling at all in his grasp.

"You can protect me over here, then," Rosan hummed.

Makino watched them go with a sweatdrop. Maybe it had been a bad idea to occasionally hook up with the redhead. She really did feel like Angel was going to kill her sometimes.

"Don't worry," Demon assured, patting her on the shoulder. "Angel likes you so she won't kill you… Maybe."

"That... makes me feel so much better," she replied dryly.

Demon smiled apologetically.

---

"Happy birthday, Meiko."

Rosan placed a white rose next to her and bowed deeply. "You would be 26 today... I wonder how our life would have been right now. Would we have children? Would I have become the strongest? I'm not sure, but I'm sure we would have been happy regardless."

"Luffy's birthday was 5 days ago. He turned 17 so that means we'll be heading out soon as pirates. You two would have gotten along really well. Knowing you guys, you'd want to celebrate your birthdays together and we'd throw a huge party for you both."

Meiko and Luffy would love each other. He was sure of it. They were both good people and the blonde would absolutely adore his captain. She would approve of him and the two would give him headaches every single day with how clingy they were.

"I wonder how you'd look when you found out that not only am I becoming a pirate, but I'm not the captain of the crew. I imagine circumstances would be different if I still had all my emotions... but even without them, I doubt I'd allow just anyone to lead me."

"The castle has barely made any progress but… I'm feeling bursts of emotions much more frequently so I think there is a lot of progress being made. Though, I've figured out that there is an intruder in there, doing something with my emotions. I expect to meet them soon considering how much more often my feelings leak," he explained to her before a thought came to him.

"I realized I never formally introduced you two but this is Ram," Rosan said softly and his weapon transformed into her silver haired human form.

"I wasn't kidding when I said you two look remarkably similar… If this was how you would look at 24, then I'm a lucky man," Rosan said honestly and Ram blushed at the praise.

"I'm glad that I managed to inherit Mother's appearance," the 6'0 woman said somberly. "She is such a beautiful person and I would have loved to see how she would have aged."

"We all would have," Mod said quietly and the three stayed there to pay their respects.

"I'm sorry for always dragging you guys here," Rosan said softly.

"Never apologize for this, Father. We will always be with you, no matter what," Ram said strongly, hugging him tightly.

"We want to be here with you so you aren't dragging us anywhere," Mod agreed firmly.

"I appreciate that more then you could imagine," Rosan whispered and they went silent.

It was a sobering atmosphere but the 3 found comfort in each other.

They always would.

---

"I can't believe it's been 15 years since we met," Aiko muttered in disbelief, glancing up at the redhead before her.

When they had first met, Rosan had been 9 and Aiko 20 and she had towered over the boy (even despite the fact that he was floating).

Now, she had to strain her neck to look at him. Oh how time flew, puberty had hit him like a sea train and everyone was aware of it. Not a day went by when someone wasn't making an advance on him and he just accepted it all with that same stony demeanor, little heartbreaker that he was.

At 24 years old, Rosan stood at the tall height of 6'5. He had come a long way from the tiny boy he had been before and his patience (and boasts) finally paid off.

His hair remained shoulder length when it was not in its bun and he had lost all of his baby fat, showing off a chiseled, handsome face that garnered plenty of looks.

His tattoo was being hidden (as usual) by a long sleeved purple shirt, with a black rose on his left breast area, that barely hid his muscular figure and long, baggy, black cargo pants. He had on all his usual accessories and purple sneakers streaked with black.

"Keep staring at me like that and your girlfriend will get jealous," Rosan's deep voice snapped her out of her musing.

Aiko rolled her eyes. "I couldn't help it, you've really grown up… Also how do you know I have a girlfriend?"

Rosan merely pointed at his neck and she flushed red, before pulling up her collar to cover her bruised body.

Akemi laughed at her sister's embarrassment and decided to steer the direction for the sake of Fregate's leader. "She's right. You've grown a lot and it's honestly crazy to see how much more handsome and mature you've become! You used to be such a cute little boy and now look at you!"

Rosan looked at his longtime partners and hummed. "Thank you. My mother used to always tell me she was going to have to beat people off with a stick when I'm older and I guess she was right."

The sisters laughed at that before turning serious. "I don't care if you're becoming a pirate, I still want you to visit us," Aiko said firmly, glaring at him to get her point across. "We're partners for life and you're like an annoying little brother to me."

Akemi cooed at her older sister's words and nodded in agreement. "You've done so much for us at such a young age and to see you so grown now… It almost makes me want to cry."

The younger sister was actually tearing up and Rosan grabbed the both of them into a hug.

"Of course I'll still visit. You guys have done so much for me and have become some of my most loyal friends to this day," he said softly. "I reward loyalty with my own loyalty and you two deserve nothing but loyalty. I'll do anything you guys ask me to do because you both deserve it."

It was true. In all 15 years of knowing her, Aiko had never once let him down. Despite her complaints, the woman always did her job perfectly and never gave him a reason to step in, sending the money on time (despite him telling her she didn't have to pay him anymore) and turning Fregate into a monster of an island. She was a perfect partner.

"Stop trying to make me tear up," Aiko grumbled in his chest but she readily returned the hug. "We love you, Rosan so be careful out there. I know how strong you are but you never know."

"Mm!" Akemi agreed. The younger sister made no attempt to hide her tears at Rosan's words and she was soaking his silk shirt, not that he minded. "You're the best thing to happen to us and though many people may hate Reaper, we are the complete opposite!"

Rosan flashed them a tiny smile before squeezing them a little tighter.

"I love you guys too," he said simply and even Aiko teared up at that.

Rosan hummed in contemplation. "It's been 10 years since Reaper has vanished off the map. I'm sure people are surprised that I haven't done anything since getting a bounty."

"Hell, I'm still surprised you so willingly abandoned that persona," Aiko interjected. Reaper was incredibly famous and carried quite the presence around him. To give up someone of such fame, even with a bounty, was insane. Most people could use that reputation to do whatever they wanted.

To be honest, there is nothing the Marines would be willing to do with a person who has a 500 million beri bounty in the Blue Seas. Any Marine capable of dealing with that, was in the Grand Line and resources were spread too thin for them to send that person to deal with the Shinigami who could just escape whenever they wanted.

If Rosan wanted to, he could have likely conquered at least one of the seas before someone tried to interfere and they would likely fail to even capture him.

"At the end of the day, Reaper is a bounty hunter and since I have a bounty, there's no point in keeping him. They were a means to an end and allowed me to act much more freely, despite all the restrictions I placed on myself," the man explained to them.

The sister's nodded at his explanation before Aiko scowled. "To think just one bounty hunter would be the one to save us first and not the people whose job it is to do it," the 35 year old scowled.

If only the World Government knew what she actually thought about them. That's why she gave them the worst (still pretty good) quality goods she could hand over.

Speaking of which…

"Ram was consulting me with this and I figure we could finally try it out," Aiko said suddenly. She had met the weapon and honestly the shock of seeing a silver haired Meiko had shaken her to the core and dredged up the lingering sadness inside of her.

Appearance and their attachment to Rosan was all they shared though. Ram was a terror to deal with and she relished in that fact. It reminded her of how playful Reaper used to be before she was aware of his identity as Rosan.

The leader of Fregate pulled out some seastone handcuffs and presented them to Rosan.

"Here, I managed to get my hands on some seastone so that you could absorb it."

"She is such a useful partner," Ram beamed and she urged her Father to grab it.

The redhead did just that and didn't even flinch at the feeling of getting all his energy sapped out. He had been under the effects of seastone for a prolonged period of time before so this was nothing new.

What was new though, was the fact that the seastone had not been absorbed instantly by his weapon.

"I'm not going to absorb it," Ram said seriously as she inspected the material. "I can do it, but the negatives outweigh the positives by too much to make adding this to my arsenal worth it."

Rosan hummed and his partners raised a brow at him. They no doubt knew how quickly Ram absorbed materials and weapons so for the seastone to still be in his hand, was concerning.

"Explain to all of us," Rosan instructed and she nodded before morphing into her human form.

Aiko and Akemi waved at the woman and she waved back but there was a frown on her face.

"Father, you and I are bonded to an extreme level. It's why you can so effortlessly use Germa's energy and I have some degree of Modification. Whatever I absorb, by proxy you absorb."

Rosan immediately nodded in understanding. "So if you absorb Seastone, which negates my abilities, it could be disastrous for us. I wouldn't be able to use my abilities until you manage to get it out of my body."

"Yes, it would take me some time to find and get rid of it. But, that would take too long for my liking and it would be an absolute failure on my part."

"Don't beat yourself up," the redhead assured, stroking her hair gently. "I somewhat expected this outcome. It's my fault that I'm a Devil Fruit user."

"Of course it's not!" Ram violently protested. "You wouldn't even be able to create me without it so none of that, dummy."

Rosan pat the tall woman on her head and surrendered with a nod. "That means we will have to find another way to attack Logias. I was hoping we could do it like this but alas, it was never going to be that easy."

"We'll just hit them until they get hit!" Ram grinned psychotically, morphing back into a ring and nestling snugly on Rosan's left ring finger.

"Logias have natural counters. With Modification it's possible to exploit that," Mod explained and Rosan nodded.

For something like Ice, a natural counter would be easy to find but what if he found one of the more elusive elements...

That would be troubling.

He'd need to find a more decisive method. He could get his hands on a seastone weapon quite easily with Aiko's assistance, but he would not disrespect Ram like that. She was his one and only weapon. Any other weapon he used, normally belonged to the enemy and was trashed immediately after.

"This is why I love you~," Ram gushed.

"I thought it was because he spoiled you rotten," Mod said, voice full of amusement.

The ring blew a raspberry as a response.

"Thank you for supplying me with the seastone, Aiko. Unfortunately it wasn't of much use to us," Rosan nodded and she waved him off.

"It's fine. We managed to secure quite a bit and they'll be useful in the long run so I don't mind," the gray haired woman said dismissively.

"Will you be going now?" Akemi asked.

"Yes, it's about time for me to leave. I'll be sure to visit whenever," Rosan promised and they nodded eagerly.

With a single wave, the man vanished.

"Man, puberty hit him hard. He's fucking hot," Aiko muttered and Akemi nodded in agreement.

"Seriously, I didn't expect that cute little boy to become so handsome," the younger sister sighed.

"Oh? Are you crushing?" Aiko teased and Akemi rolled her eyes.

"Nope, maybe I used to but he's like a little brother to me," she replied. "Besides, I saw you getting an eyeful of him. Want me to tell your girlfriend what you're up to? She might not bruise your neck again if I do."

"You're so lucky I love you" Aiko growled, stomping away from her younger sister.

"I love you too!" Akemi laughed, following after her.

---

"So you two are finally leaving," Maro sighed fondly, looking at the two sadly. Damn it, she was gonna miss the hell outta them.

Rosan and Luffy regarded the inhabitants in the room with a blank and excited expression respectively.

"Yep!" Luffy chirped happily. "Me and Rosan are gonna go on the best adventure ever and I'm gonna become Pirate King!"

"It just occurred to me, that technically I have to take orders from Luffy now," Rosan mused, looking at his captain in contemplation.

Luffy grinned at Rosan and said, "Yep but I won't tell you what to do unless I have to!"

"You remember that?" Rosan asked in surprise and his youngest brother nodded eagerly, looking proud of himself.

That sounded fair enough. Luffy was far from unreasonable and he didn't care about giving out orders. He would scarcely tell Rosan to do anything and the redhead would be free to make his own decisions most of the time. If he had joined Ace, his freckled brother would absolutely take advantage of his sudden leadership over the oldest brother and make him do everything with malicious glee.

Ah, it was a good thing Luffy found him first.

A figure crashed into the two and it was revealed to be the middle triplet herself, Angel. She was clutching them both with crushing force and her eyes were brimming with tears as she determinedly glared at them.

"You two go out there and become the best damn pirates on the planet!" Angel's muffled voice commanded. "I expect nothing less from my brothers!"

"Of course!" The 17 year old beamed, happily returning the hug. "I'm gonna become the Pirate King so I have to be the best!"

"I won't let you down," Rosan hummed, stroking her long hair to soothe her.

At 24, Angel had fully matured and remained as gorgeous as ever. Her long hair was flowing free now instead of being in a ponytail and there was a blue daisy resting neatly in it that she scarcely removed. On her left ring finger, a beautiful silver ring, with a sapphire gemstone gleamed.

She remained 5'11 and her curvy body had finished developing so there was not much reason for him to assist her.

She still made him though.

Demon had opted to not keep Rosan's height and let himself be 6'0 instead of 6'5. His purple hair remained as long as ever though and he had taken to tying it up in a high ponytail so that it didn't interfere with his work.

Maro had gone through the most changes. The 23 year old queen had gained a bigger bust then her girlfriend and she had grown one extra inch, standing at 5'10 now. Her azure blue hair, that she dutifully kept at chin level, had an increased amount of white streaks (it was due to her Devil Fruit, not stress) and she had begun wearing more regal kimonos that hid her, rather curvy and strong, figure. On her right ring finger, a gorgeous white ring, with a ruby gemstone, glowed.

Rosan was impressed. To think she had gone from that malnourished, homeless girl to this healthy, beautiful queen before him. Her progress had been a sight to behold and it made him proud of her. If not for how loyal she was to Angel (and how scary the redhead was), he was positive she'd have multiple suitors trying their luck at winning her heart.

He had even once listened to her complaining about how other island's wanted to ally themselves with her through marriage, despite her sheer disinterest in them.

Maro, being Rosan's partner, could tell what he was thinking (when he let her) and she flushed with a large grin at the attention she was receiving.

"I'm happy you approve, Master!" The queen stated, preening all the while.

"Do you guys have food? Plans? Money? Of course you have money… but will Luffy use your money?!" Angel asked rapidly in concern.

"Nope!" Luffy beamed shamelessly and Angel sweatdropped.

"As long as I don't give him the money directly, it'll be fine," Rosan said calmly. He wasn't planning on doing that regardless. Luffy could not be trusted with money at all and he'd spend all their funds on food. It would be best if he dealt with the money.

"You won't be using the White Rose either…" Demon mused. It was Rosan's ship, not Luffy's and since Luffy was the captain, it was out of question to use it as their primary source of travel.

They would be hard pressed to find a better ship then the White Rose but Luffy was right to want to start at 0. He would need to build himself up completely and he couldn't do that with Rosan's ship.

He was the captain after all. Rosan was just a humble scout.

"I still can't believe Rosan of all people is allowing someone else to lead him," Mod sighed fondly. The little boy who had no intention of being a leader, but also had no intention of letting anyone else lead him... A free spirit who only wanted to live for himself and his loved ones.

He may not have his emotions, but he was still growing up in his own ways.

"I wouldn't allow it normally but since it's Luffy, I can concede!" Angel smiled brightly and her youngest brother laughed happily.

"He's gotten quite strong! We've made sure of it!" Ram grinned eagerly. They had been quite ruthless when training the boy over the 3 years and it was paying off.

Rosan doubted much of anything would be of trouble to Luffy in the East Blue.

Good, his brother couldn't die here. If he had to interfere, he'd begin training him in earnest again.

"Ah it's really hitting me that you guys are about to go…" Maro sighed miserably. "I know I'll see Master but as Captain, I probably won't see Luffy as much."

The Queen and Luffy were two idiots that enabled each other and it made them get along famously. It also gave Angel a headache when the two were left alone to their own devices and Ram decided to join them on the fun. The amount of chaos they caused, had made Mod take over many times to discipline the three.

Maro had no idea how getting her cheek pinched could possibly hurt that much.

If not for her duties as queen, Luffy would have relentlessly pursued her to join his crew and she would have readily agreed, along with the twins. Those two were no doubt going to have a crazy fun adventure if Luffy was the one making the decisions and Maro would have supported every single one of them!

"Don't worry Maro! When I start missing you, I'll just have Rosan bring you on our ship!" The Captain said like it were the most obvious thing in the world. "Then you can meet our crew and see our ship! Then we can throw a party!"

"Alright! When that happens, you better make a name for yourself! Give those Marine's hell!" Maro grinned savagely.

"Oh you can believe that I will." That was Rosan and everyone's grin widened at his assurance.

"You'll hear about us in no time!" Luffy promised.

"Maybe not me," Rosan hummed. "I would rather prolong anyone knowing of my existence for as long as possible so I'll let Luffy cause all the chaos."

They nodded at that before settling into a comfortable silence.

"We should probably head out now," Rosan mused and he stood up. He wasn't even able to take a step as he was tackled by all of his companions.

There we go.

Angel and Maro were sobbing freely into his chest and they clutched him like their life depended on it. Demon hugged him just as fiercely and let his tears fall freely. Rosan smiled softly at them and hugged all.

Honestly, the three of them acted like his children sometimes. It was... endearing and he didn't mind it much at all. He had basically given life to all of them so it wasn't that far-fetched anyways. As their leader, it had been his job to look over them and that meant listening to their problems and making sure that they were okay.

"I know you can visit us whenever you want but this is still too much for me! I can't believe you're actually going now! I never thought I'd see this day!" Angel cried. "I want you to go out there and explore the world in full! No matter what, I want you to say that you enjoy this a-and I want you to get all your emotions back!"

"Alright, Angel. I'll do my best," Rosan assured.

"You two have to be careful. I know you won't rely on me so please get a doctor for the ship as soon as possible. If things get bad, don't hesitate to come to me. I'll have anyone you bring patched up in an instant," Demon requested quietly and Luffy shot him a thumbs up.

"We'll get a doctor right after we find a musician," the captain said seriously and Demon sweatdropped.

Maro, ever the sap, cried into him and soaked his shirt the most. "You managed to help me find what I was looking for so... I-I hope you find what you're looking for! W-When you get your emotions back, we're gonna throw a party so big everyone's gonna hear about it!"

"Still as attached to me as ever, Maro. Like I said, I can visit you guys whenever, my Save Point is still on your tiara. Don't worry, I'm not going anywhere," Rosan soothed and she eventually calmed down to just whimpering.

They released him and Rosan was about to go before he paused.

"Mod-chan wants to hug you guys as well," Rosan suddenly said and Angel cheered happily.

Demon and Maro were not as excited.

"I'm not mentally ready for this," Maro swooned, grabbing her cheeks. Mod was too much for the queen and the regal woman had an untouchable air about her. It was like she was a queen in her own right! Maro sometimes found herself mimicking the woman in meetings so that they could be intimidated by her stone cold demeanor!

There was also that crush she harbored on the woman from long ago. Mod-chan sure had it going on. Master was lucky to be able to see her whenever he wanted. Maro could only wish.

"You and me both," Demon muttered. He was of the same opinion as Maro in that Mod was an untouchable presence. She was scarcely seen as well and that added to her already powerful aura.

"Oh none of that you two," Mod said with a roll of her eyes and they watched as Rosan's body became slimmer and shorter. His blood red hair turned royal purple and it completely smoothed out, growing much longer.

"Rosan's too tall," the woman complained, looking down at his, now oversized, clothing.

This was another reason Mod seemed untouchable to them. The woman was practically eternal. Time had done nothing to change her appearance and she was content to remain this way. She still physically appeared the exact same as the day she had met Rosan.

"Stop that you two!" The Devil Fruit scowled. She held her hands open and Angel was already happily in them, squeezing the woman in happiness. "Just come give me a hug. I don't bite!"

"Modi!" Luffy cheered and he immediately pounced on the woman. The two embraced and Mod smiled gently at the 17 year old.

"We might hurt you?" Demon tried and the woman's crimson eyes narrowed.

"I'm happy to show you how proficient I am in battle if you want. I'm not as strong as Rosan now, but I've been watching him for all these years and I've naturally picked some things up," she stated and the two immediately waved their hands in surrender.

"Nope, I'm okay," Maro said fearfully and she, a little to eagerly, launched herself into the woman, easily picking her, Luffy and Angel up in the process.

"Could you have a little more shame!" Angel scowled at the queen who had the decency to look sheepish.

"I'd rather not test Master Mod's patience," Demon whispered and eventually joined the group hug.

They remained that way for a moment until Mod stepped back to assess them.

"You don't have to worry about Rosan, I'll keep him safe like I've been doing these past 20 years," Mod assured them and it really did dawn on them all that the two had been together for 20 years.

She would not have wanted it to be any other way. Rosan was her most precious person in the world and she cherished him above all things.

The residents of Celadon were immediately calmed down by Mod's voice and they nodded resolutely, finally allowing the two to leave without any setbacks.

"Alright! Let's go!" Luffy said and Mod nodded her head before transforming back into Rosan.

"Bye you two! Don't die or else I'll kill you!" Angel promised.

"Make sure you recruit trustworthy people whose hands you can put your life into! Master has no tolerance for traitors too," Demon advised.

"I totally want to join you guys for one adventure one day! Maybe when you guys go to the Grand Line," Maro mused. There was no way she wasn't going to travel with them one day but she had learned the art of patience and so she'd wait.

"As long as Luffy doesn't mind," Rosan said and the boy nodded rapidly.

"Of course, all three of you can come! It's gonna be awesome!" Luffy laughed and they grinned at his infectious cheer.

"C'mon Rosan, let's go!"

Rosan grabbed his youngest brother and shot them a wave before the two vanished.

"I still can't believe Master forced me to be a queen and then decided to go on such a fun adventure," Maro sighed despondently but she didn't regret it. She loved her citizens and she loved this island dearly.

She would never tell the twins but Rosan had made them settle down, so that the clones could be protected from the harshness of the world. The fact that he wanted to keep those two safe, made her all warm inside and she vowed to protect them in his stead. They had helped her stabilize and turn this island into something glorious and she loved them both so damn much! It was her duty as queen, to keep all her citizens safe!

It would undoubtedly piss Angel off though, if she figured out the reasoning he wanted them to stay behind.

Yeah… she would keep that information to herself.

"If Master ever unlocks his emotions… those two are gonna turn the world upside down," Demon mused.

"I trust Luffy," Angel said confidently. "He's a surprisingly perceptive kid and I think he's one of the few who can actually help Master."

"Yeah, Luffy's awesome!" Maro nodded in agreement.

A knock on the door cut them off and Kanna quietly walked in. The 18 year old bowed with a smile and said, "My queen, your meeting is about to begin in ten minutes."

Maro groaned in annoyance. "I'm on my way… Is it possible that I can —"

"No, I already do everything for you so you have to be here for the meetings."

The bluenette pouted as Angel laughed at her.

There was way too much responsibilities involved in this.

Maro cursed Master for making her a queen.

---

"Not gonna see us off?" Rosan asked calmly.

"Yeah, we're leaving now!" Luffy exclaimed, barely able to contain himself.

The source of their prodding sighed in annoyance. "The mayor and Makino won't mind, but the villagers will be afraid of us," Dadan said finally.

"But…" Luffy's disappointment was clear.

"She's right Luffy, they will cause a ruckus if they show up," Rosan said calmly. "It's not because she's going to cry herself silly at the sight of us sailing off," he explained.

"Eh?! I thought that's exactly what she was going to do!" The 17 year old replied dumbly.

Dadan gained a tick at the man's words and gnashed her teeth. "Can't you two just go already?!" She barked. Kami, the redhead had gotten so annoying over the years.

The bandit leader hid her happiness at the fact that he was comfortable enough to annoy her. Despite their terrible start, Dadan was pretty sure that the redhead actually liked her.

"Okay," Rosan said obediently, but he made no move to leave.

"Alright! Thank you guys for everything," Luffy beamed with a megawatt grin.

Rosan merely walked up to the bandit's and Dadan gained another vein of annoyance.

"What?!" She asked angrily, standing up to face the redhead. "You've still got something to say —"

Rosan wrapped two arms around the bandit leader.

"I was wrong about you. I thought you didn't care, but you care as much as a mother does," Rosan said softly. "I'm sorry for judging you so soon and thank you for raising Ace and us. You're an amazing person, Dadan. I know how bad you wanted a comfortable bed so I left one in your room as well as some money so you can spoil yourself."

"Yeah! I hate bandits, but I like you guys," Luffy beamed.

Dadan had never been hugged by Rosan before. She had always secretly wanted one but she would never ask for one out loud.

Now he was willingly giving her one and coupled with both the boys words, as well as his gifts, they successfully broke Dadan.

The woman pulled out a napkin and began wiping her tears away, as she cried in spades. Without any hesitation, she wrapped her arms around the redhead and returned the tender hug.

"S-Stop talking nonsense and go away already, you bastards!" she sobbed and everyone laughed.

"You're hugging me to tightly and I don't think you want to let go," the redhead hummed.

"S-Shut up!" She cried, not releasing him.

Rosan patted her on the back and finally broke the hug before making his way over to Luffy.

"See! I knew she was gonna cry!" Luffy pointed out to his brother and Rosan pat his head to congratulate him.

"You proved me wrong," the redhead praised. The boy didn't but there was no point explaining it to him.

"I'm not crying!" Dadan cried. She was gonna miss all her boys. She knew they were gonna impact the world and the bandit leader would be rooting for them the whole time.

The bandit's laughed harder.

---

"Luffy... this boat is too small," Rosan said slowly. He had yet to step in it but he was not sure how the two of them could properly fit on it and move around.

Rosan was not small anymore and Luffy had grown too. It would be really cramped for the both of them (just Rosan, it seemed impossible for Luffy to be put in an uncomfortable position).

"Why don't you take my fishing boat?" A villager offered. "That thing won't last a minute with you two in it."

"This is fine! This is what I wanna start with!" The captain, laughing in glee as patted the ship.

"Two Devil Fruit users… and this is what he wants to use?" Mod wanted to sound surprised but she was far too used to Luffy's antics.

"If the ship breaks, please fly away and let him drown," Ram decided after taking one glance at the sorry excuse of a ship.

There was so much issues with this ship. For one, neither him or Luffy ate light at all. There wouldn't be nearly enough food to satisfy the both of them, if not for his pocket dimension, and his brother would finish it off by himself in a day.

Rosan sighed. He should have just become the captain of his own ship.

"Alright," was all he said before stepping onto the dinghy.

Luffy grinned in satisfaction and didn't even seem bothered by how much space his, much taller, brother was taking.

The captain looked towards the sky in excitement and screamed, "Sabo! Watch over us! We're heading out to sea now!"

Rosan wondered how Sabo would be faring as a pirate. The boy was just as talented as Ace but he didn't approach things with as much fervor as his freckled brother.

No, Sabo was a lot more calculating. He wouldn't be surprised if the boy was just as dangerous as Ace but in a more subtle way.

Well, there was no point in thinking about what ifs.

For now, he'd just observe Luffy on his journey to be the Pirate King and help if he deemed it necessary.

Maybe he'd find something helpful along the way. He wasn't holding out any hope but it would be nice if it happened. His emotions were coming out much more frequently so maybe he just needed an extra push and what better way then to go on a journey through the world's most dangerous sea?

"Take care, Luffy!"

"Bye, Rosan!"

Mod groaned in annoyance at the numerous voices of the woman sadly waving the man off. "I hate them all," she said flatly, getting a sympathetic rub on the shoulder from Ram.

Rosan waved at them in return and soothed Mod at the same time. He was certainly… popular with the female population on Goa and that had only increased since becoming a full fledged adult. It was annoying but he could put up with it and he didn't really care at the end of the day.

The same could not be said for his dear Mod-chan.

"Alright, we're going now!" Luffy said and he loosened the rope holding the ship. '

"They're finally leaving…" Makino sighed fondly, glancing sadly at the moving boat. "I'm gonna miss the two of them."

Since arriving, Rosan had kept her company many times and he was rather enjoyable to hang around with, once she quickly got used to his odd mannerisms.

When she told him that, his reply was, "Your life really is boring, if you find joy in interacting with me."

He had no emotions but he was so rude! Despite how he viewed himself as boring, behind his stony expressions and emotionless tone, was a very entertaining person and she'd die on that hill! He should give himself more credit where credit was due!

Makino could confidently say that he had become one of her closest friends despite how much she had feared him before. He was the only one she could regularly talk to that was close to her in age range and it had the benefit of leaving the two of them isolated together a various amount of times.

It was no surprise that she had agreed to take his virginity when he was of age. Makino would be lying if she said she wasn't attracted to him and they both agreed that there were no strings attached when doing it. One thing had led to another and they began to occasionally hook up.

She probably should have said no though, Angel was terrifying. Makino didn't know how someone could get so creative with threats but she feared the haughty clone might actually follow through with them one day.

Ah, she probably wasn't going to see the twins or Maro for a really long time either.

She really was going to miss them all.

Her musings were cut short as the Lord of the Coast made its appearance right in front of Rosan and Luffy and she gasped in worry. Would they be alright? It was quite close to them so maybe they didn't have enough time to react... Oh no, she didn't want them to die so soon! Hopefully Rosan would deal with it before it sunk their ship.

The redhead in question, looked utterly unbothered and Luffy smiled eagerly at the fish that nearly killed him 10 years ago.

"So this is the Sea King that took Shanks' arm?" Rosan mused, making no move to attack it and eyeing it boredly. As long as Luffy could handle it, the redhead saw no need to interfere.

"Yeah and he has no clue who he's messing with," the rubber boy grinned. He clenched his fist and launched it back. His hand began stretching to an insane degree and the rubber boy brought the fist back to let his attack fly.

"Gomu Gomu no Pistol!" Luffy bellowed and he connected squarely with the Sea Kings cheek. The powerful punch knocked it out in one blow and it collided with the water in a loud thud.

"I wonder how edible Sea King is," Rosan idly said, as the monster sunk into the Sea. The people seeing them off were cheering at the display and his sharp vision could pick up relief on Makino's face.

Did they really think one measly Sea King was going to take them out? How insulting.

"First, we gotta get a crew," Luffy decided. "I want at least 10 of them. Sound good to you?"

"Yeah," Rosan nodded. 10 was fine, he wouldn't have wanted a massive crew like some other ships because that would be far too much people for his liking.

"I'm the scout so we'll at least need a cook and a navigator," Rosan hummed.

"And a musician and a black flag!" Luffy grinned, shaking in anticipation.

"Alright, let's go!" The pirate captain grinned and the scout smiled a tiny smile.

"I'm gonna become… THE KING OF PIRATES!"

---

Bonus

Rosan and the twins are 19

Maro is 18

Ace is 15

Luffy is 12

Turmoil between the leaders of Celadon - Part 1.

---

"M-Master?"

Rosan paused in the middle of his spar with Luffy and idly grabbed the rubbery hand out of midair, dangling his little brother as he felt his connection with the clones randomly flare.

"What's the matter?" Ace asked from his seat, noticing the pause in his brother.

"It's Angel. She activated my connection and she doesn't really do that ever," the redhead replied. He stopped his duel with Luffy and decided not to leave his little sister waiting any longer.

"Angel, what's the matter?" Rosan asked softly. She was trying to mask it but the light stammer in her voice, let him know that something was wrong with her. He knew his clones as well as they thought they knew him.

The woman was barely keeping it together.

"C-Could you come pick me up... p-please? A-And don't tell anyone here that you're coming either."

Rosan raised a single brow but said, "Okay. Wait in your room; I'll teleport right there to pick you up."

"I'll be right back with Angel," Rosan informed them, getting nods of curiosity out of his brother.

"Only Angel? What about Demon and Maro?" Luffy asked curiously.

"She didn't want me to tell them I was getting her so it'll be just her."

Activating his Save Point to Maro's tiara, Rosan vanished from their site.

---

It was a good thing Maro had opted to keep her tiara in the castle. It didn't seem like the queen or Demon was here so that made getting Angel without alerting them, much easier.

The clone was already waiting for him and Rosan mercifully didn't mention how terrible she looked. His little sister was barely keeping herself together right now but she was trying and he'd spare her for now.

"Come, let's go," he said, holding his hand out for her to grab. Angel stared at Rosan with a strong expression before her expression immediately wavered at the sound of her older brother's voice.

Instead of grabbing his arm, she crashed into his chest and began sobbing, blabbering all the while and clutching him desperately. He quickly recovered and began rubbing her back, activating Save Point in the process and going back to Dawn Island.

Luffy and Ace's surprise, turned into worry at the sight of the crying redhead on their oldest brother's chest and they quickly closed the distance between her.

"Angel, are you alright?!" Luffy asked.

"What's the matter?" Ace prodded gently.

Her sobbing only got worse and the freckled boy cringed back, not knowing how to deal with a crying woman.

Luffy was no good at this either so he'd let Rosan handle it!

"I-I'm so stupid! I... I don't know why I act like such a bitch all the time b-but I do a-and it only hurts the people I love at the worst times," Angel wailed, soaking Rosan's shirt and trying to bury herself deeper into him.

"Oh, Angel," Mod sighed, sadly staring at the mess of a woman.

"Angel, what happened? Talk to me," Rosan soothed, trying to calm her down. It was a testament to her current mental state because he was actually failing to do so. Nothing they were saying was getting through to her and so, he just let her cry until her sobs turned into hiccups, those hiccups turned into whimpers and the whimpers turned into soft snoring.

"I wonder what happened to Auntie Angel..." Ram pondered.

"The only things on Celadon that would ever make her break down, would be involving Demon or Maro. Seeing how sad she is, it probably involved both."

Rosan sighed and adjusted her in his grip. "We'll just ask her when she wakes up. I'll talk to Demon and Maro afterwards to get a bigger picture on just what happened though because it seems like even Angel agrees that it's her fault."

He couldn't say he was surprised that Angel's personality got the best of her. Demon had been becoming so much more independent lately and didn't rely on him or his older sister nearly as much as he used too. Maro had always been emotional and the Dokkaebi sometimes let it get the best of her when it came to her loved ones.

"Let's call it here today?" Rosan asked his brothers and they readily nodded. "Go hunt some food while I bring her to our hideout. I'll cook us all something to eat."

Ace and Luffy nodded in unison and quickly took off. Rosan walked in the opposite direction and brought the woman to their hideout to rest.

The redhead sighed. Seems like he still had problems to clean up with his old crew.

---

Angel awoke to the smell of food and slowly pushed herself up. She blearily wiped her own eyes and was met with three sets of eyes gazing at her, concern on both of them and a familiar neutrality on the other.

"Angel, we made food for you. Eat up," Rosan instructed, pushing a plate of meat and a glass of water towards her. She saw that they all had their own hefty portions of food and accepted her own.

She felt exhausted but that didn't stop her from digging into her own food and the group of 4 ate in silence... Well, as much silence as ravenous eaters such as Luffy and Ace could participate in.

"What happened?" Rosan asked bluntly, seeing everyone finish their meals. He had never been one for subtlety outside of missions and that remained true even without his emotions.

His sister regarded him with a confused expression, before her eyes wavered at the memories crashing back into her. Tears formed in her eyes again and she let out a choked out sob.

"M-Maro broke up with me," she whimpered, curling into herself.

Everyone blinked in disbelief.

"Huh?/What?/The hell?" Every single person said in confusion. Were they hearing that right?

Even Rosan couldn't quite believe it. He tilted his head to the side and stared a hole through her. "Maro is head over heels in love with you and it's been that way since she was 12. What exactly did you do to make her break up with you?"

It may have been harsh for Rosan to immediately pin the blame on her, but he knew all of his allies well. Maro genuinely loved the haughty redhead and would never be the one to break up with her. Angel had done something that had pushed the recently turned 18 year old to her limit.

Angel flinched back at his accusing question and he saw her tears grow but the Mod Mod no mi user wanted answers right now. If he had to be a little ruthless, then so be it.

"She... she just wanted to tell me something and it seemed so important to her b-but I just finished messing something up in my workshop and... I took my anger out on her. At first she was hurt, but then she got mad and she started screaming back about how I didn't care about her! I realized how much of an ass I was being because she started crying a-and before I could make amends, s-she broke up with me. I didn't even get to apologize before she stormed out of... of the roo —"

Angel shuddered in the middle of her story and she began sobbing again in earnest, clutching herself and letting loose ear shattering wails.

Rosan sighed in understanding. When Maro had been 17, she had pulled him and Demon aside one day to talk to them.

"I... When I turn 18, I want to propose to Angel!" Maro said in determination, staring up at her teacher with a pleading gaze. "Do I... Do I have the both of you guys approval?" She asked softly.

"What a stupid question," Rosan replied, flicking her on the head and getting a yelp out of her. "You shouldn't even have to ask me, Maro. I'm the one who urged Angel to pursue you so of course you have my blessing."

"You're already family, Maro," Demon said kindly, grinning fondly at the girl. "If I didn't think you were good for Angel, you two wouldn't be dating!"

She grinned blindingly at the two and crushed them in a hug.

His student wanted to propose to Angel and it was likely that she had tried to do just that and got rebuffed before even opening her mouth. He wasn't surprised that she got angry and lashed out.

"Demon caught wind of our argument a-and he was so mad at me. I-I never saw that look on his face and he blew up on me, telling me that I never take consideration of other people when I act the way I act before running off to console Maro..." Angel whimpered.

"I don't wanna lose her, Master! I-I know I'm mean and rude a-and I insult her all the time b-but I love her and I want to spend everyday around her!" Angel begged, closing the distance between them and grabbing him desperately.

"Angel..." Rosan sighed. "Your personality has finally come and bite you. You know how emotionally vulnerable Maro can be and yet you refused to hear her out. Now she's finally fed up with you and you don't know what to do about it."

"Rosan?" Mod whispered in surprise. Besides Ram, Angel was quite possibly the one person Rosan spoiled the most. He treated her like a princess! To see him tearing into her like this, was quite the surprise.

"Maro is a complete sweetheart. I don't doubt she'll forgive you but you need to understand that it's not okay to continue to hurt her feelings whenever you want. Don't take advantage of the love she has for you, Angel. Demon and Maro were completely correct to be upset with you."

"I-I know and I just want her to know that I'm sorry!" She whimpered. "Please Master, I'm begging you to just give us a chance to talk! I know she'll listen to you so please! I just want to make this right..."

Ace had never seen his confident sister so distraught and it was quite jarring. He sympathetically stared at her and patted the woman on the shoulder in hopes of making her feel better.

"You really love Maro huh, Angel?" Luffy said somberly.

"I-I do and I just want her to know that," Angel told them.

"Okay, I'll talk to Maro and try to set up a meeting between the two of you. You two are good for each other and one bad argument shouldn't be the end of it all," Rosan said, standing up. "I'll bring her here so just wait."

"T-Thank you so much, Master!" His sister bowed deeply and he waved her off.

"Think nothing of it," he said, vanishing from their sight.

---

Demon sat next to a gloomy Maro without making a sound, though he knew she was aware of his presence the moment he showed up. They were currently at her personal garden, staring at all the beautiful vegetation and fruits.

"...Hey," he said softly.

"...Hey," she repeated quietly. "Here to tell me how disappointed you are in me? No offense, but I really don't need that right now."

Demon sighed sadly at her tone. "Just because Angel is my twin, doesn't mean I'll take her side for everything, Maro. After you stormed off, I got mad and let her know that it wasn't okay what she did."

The queen looked up in surprise at that, frosty features melting away in favor of shock. "You got mad at her... on my behalf?" She asked softly, not believing him.

To her surprise, Demon scooted over and embraced the bluenette in a hug. His long purple hair brushed against her and her expression wavered.

"You were trying to propose weren't you?" He asked quietly. "And she just snapped on you without even hearing you out, right? You don't deserve that, Maro. Angel's personality has never really bothered us but that's because she doesn't go out of her way to make our life harder. You're a sweetheart, Maro and you didn't deserve that treatment."

The queen sniffed a bit and the floodgates came crashing down after that one small mistake. With a sharp wail, she crashed into Demon and began sobbing in full force.

"I don't know why she hates me!" Maro cried, desperately trying to make herself smaller. "I-I don't know what I did wrong! She's so mean to me a-and I got fed up because this was so important to me a-and she didn't even want to hear me out! I... I didn't want to break up with her but she made me so upset!"

"I know," Demon soothed, patting her gently in hopes of calming her down. "No one will blame you for reacting the way you did so don't blame yourself. But, I will say that... Angel doesn't hate you. Not even a little."

Maro whimpered. "S-She doesn't?"

"Of course not. You two have a genuine love for each other but Angel's personality makes that difficult to see," he assured. "You should see her when she's talking to me about you. That girl is a woman in love and is so glad that you can put up with her... less then stellar temper."

Despite herself, Maro let out a watery laugh. "I guess I may have overreacted..."

"You didn't. I think your reaction was completely normal but I don't think you guys should let it end like this. At the very least, have one more conversation?" Demon suggested.

The Dokkaebi nodded in his chest and pulled back to wipe her tears. "Okay! I'll talk to her and we'll figure this out."

The two stood up and dusted themselves off.

"Demon...?" Maro called quietly.

"Yes, Maro?" Demon replied.

The bluenette engulfed him in a hug and he smiled softly, as she said, "Thank you so much for making me feel better. You're the best."

He returned the hug and replied, "Of course, little goblin. You are our queen after all and the whole island would cause an uproar if they knew their beloved majesty was miserable and crying. Even Angel's wrath wouldn't stop them from trying to protect you."

"Stop teasing me!" She whined, before they both laughed.

Maro loved Demon. He had never given her a reason not to dislike him and always supported the queen when he could! He even snapped on his older sister for her sake! Whereas Rosan was like her father, Demon was her protective older brother and she deeply cherished their bond.

"It seems like you two have already resolved things on your side," Rosan said softly, making them jump in surprise. Maro glared at him for scaring her before realizing that her Master was here.

"Master! How did you know something was wrong?" The queen asked.

"Angel called me to come get her. She's on Dawn Island right now. I get the gist of what happened and I made sure to let her know that what she did to you was not okay," he informed them.

Maro's eyes widened at that. It was no secret that Rosan let Angel get away with practically anything, so to hear that he went out of his way to scold her on the Dokkaebi's behalf, made her warm and tender inside.

"I don't blame you for what you did, but can you two talk it out?" Rosan requested. "Angel's a mess right now and she begged me to at least get an audience with you."

His student's eyes narrowing in worry, was all he needed to know that things would be okay. Nodding without hesitation at his request, the two grabbed onto Rosan and they promptly vanished from Celadon.

---

Maro really hadn't been expecting someone to crash into her literal moments after appearing on Dawn Island, but the shock of red hair attached to the person desperately clutching her, proved otherwise.

Angel was at least planning on trying to apologize normally to Maro when she saw her, but all of that flew out of the window when she saw the somber queen appear in front of her. The beautiful blue haired goblin that was too good for her sometimes.

It was natural that she overreacted.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry!" Angel sobbed, clutching Maro like her life depended on it. "P-Please don't leave me! I know I can be a bitch and I'm super rude a-and I make your life more difficult when we got out on dates and I'm rude to the people serving us b-but please don't break up with me! I love you, Maro!" The woman begged, locking teary purple eyes onto wide orange ones.

The 4 boys were watching from a distance, not saying a word and just observing in curiosity.

Hearing Angel so desperately say she loved her, made Maro's heart clench and despite their argument, the queen was sad to see the state her girlfriend had been reduced to.

"I don't wanna break up, Angel. I just... I got really upset and blurted out the first thing I could think of," Maro sighed, hugging the woman in her strong arms. "I overreacted, I'm sorry for causing you to become like this!"

"Don't apologize!" Angel barked, making the Dokkaebi reel back in surprise. "It's not your fault so just don't! I-I won't let you forgive me so easily and try to take blame in the process. I'm so glad you don't wanna break up with me, even though I deserve it, b-but I'm still the one who pushed you to that point. I'll be better, I promise!"

The redhead took a deep breath and stepped back, much to Maro's confusion. That confusion turned into shock, as Angel pulled something out from her back pocket and presented it to her.

"I was planning on asking Master to make us a fancy dinner so I could do this but... I think now's as good as time as any," Angel said, taking a deep breath before staring directly into Maro's eyes. "Maro, will you marry me?"

She opened up the case to reveal a beautiful white ring, with a ruby gemstone and smaller red gems adorned on it. It gleamed and reflected the shock on the queen's face.

"I'm so sorry for letting my anger get the best of me and blowing up on you. Despite how bad I am to you sometimes, you're so patient and caring a-and you always hear me out, no matter how tired your duties make you. B-But when it was time for me to be a good girlfriend, I shut you down completely and even started screaming at you." Angel nervously glanced downward and bit her lip in misery but continued.

"I shouldn't have done that and I really want you to understand how much I love you, Maro. I... want to spend the rest of my life with you and the thought of you not being there for me... it terrifies me. You keep me safe and you love me despite all my problems a-and you're so beautiful but you still think I'm so much better looking then you when that's just not true and —"

Maro put a finger to her lip to silence her and sighed fondly. "You know Angel, that's the second time you've done this to me."

"S-Second time?" Angel muttered in confusion. Did she mean the second time she had hurt her? I-It was true...

"Yep. The first time was when I psyched myself up for a whole day to confess to you and then you suddenly blurted it out, causing me to faint," Maro laughed, pulling the slightly taller woman into a tender hug. "The second time, I was super stoked to show my rude and beautiful girlfriend this awesome ring so that I could ask her to marry me, when you suddenly decided to blurt it out instead."

Angel took a sharp breath at that and shakily said, "You... You were going to ask..."

Watching Maro dig into her kimono to pull out a beautiful sapphire ring of her own, suddenly made Angel aware of why she had gotten so upset, why Demon had gotten so upset and why Rosan had reprimanded her. The queen had been so excited because she wanted to propose.

"To answer your question, I do," Maro grinned, grabbing Angel's bronze hand and delicately sliding the ring on it. Then, she demurely held out her own hand for Angel to return the favor.

"You want to... with me?!" Angel asked softly, staring at the Dokkaebi's fair hand with a wavering gaze.

"Of course I do! I love you," Maro declared without hesitation.

The redhead sniffed and took her own ring, before sliding it on her girlfriends finger. When she finished, she immediately crashed into her arms and began crying in earnest.

Maro, ever the sap, began tearing up as well and smiled blindingly, holding her fiancée tightly.

"It seems they managed to figure things out," Demon smiled, pleased to hear that they were getting married.

"I had no idea Angel was planning on proposing as well," Rosan nodded. He was happy for them.

"You didn't? She told me and Makino about it," Ace raised a brow, glancing at Rosan and Demon in confusion.

The purple haired clone blinked, scratching the back of his head. "When did you and Angel get so close...? She told you and not us?"

Ace grinned smugly.

"I don't know what's going on but everything's better no so let's throw a party!" Luffy beamed, jumping in the group hug between Maro and Angel without hesitation and making them fall to the floor.

"Luffy, you little shit! We're having a touching moment here!" Maro roared, bonking the 12 year old on his head

Demon, Ace, and Ram burst out laughing watching the three collapse, while Rosan and Mod smiled softly.

"Good for you guys," Rosan whispered.

To be continued

---

Character Sheet: Rosan

Full Name: Portgas D. Rosan (Iris D. Rosan) (?)

Age: 24

Birthday: March 12

Summary: Found and raised by Portgas D. Rouge as a newborn, Portgas D. Rosan is the scout and older brother of Monkey D. Luffy, captain of their newly founded pirate crew. . Not much is known about his origins but, he has the D initial in his name and his birth mother is the queen of an unknown island in the South Blue.

Currently devoid of any emotion due to the death of his lover, Suzuki Meiko, all of his ambition has vanished though some sparks can occasionally be seen. At 24 years old, his current goal is to fulfill the wish of his deceased love and find a new reason to live by observing the unique boy known as Monkey D. Luffy, while keeping his family safe and restoring his emotions, which are locked in a castle with a strange entity known as the Virus.

Devil Fruit: Mod Mod no Mi

Type: Paramecia

Description: Turns Rosan into a computer man. With this Devil Fruit, Rosan is allowed to modify whatever he sees fit. This fruit is currently the reason Rosan is devoid of emotion, due to the boy not being able to handle the overload but occasionally an emotion is capable of seeping out. Currently, there are two parts of this Devil Fruit, Modification herself and the Virus, which has played a part in keeping Rosan's emotions jailed.

Appearance: Bronze skin. Outfit changes often but normally he is seen wearing a combination of black and red, black and purple, or red and purple. It goes mostly unseen, but he has a tattoo of his name on his left arm that has a rose cutting through the letters. The thorny stem wraps around his arm and cuts through the letter S before it blossoms into a red rose right by the R.

Accessories: Ruby red earrings in his ears, amethyst ring on his left hands ring finger, black armband on his left hand and white pendant that stops right at his chest with a shrunken picture of him and his mother.

Height: 6'5 (195 cm)

Hair: Spiky long red hair that's soft to touch. Keeps it in a messy bun that left the spikes in the front of his head free.. Reaches just above his back when he lets it fall freely.

Eyes: His right eye is a royal purple and his left one is a blood red. Both have lost the glow in them and subsequently give Rosan a rather lifeless appearance.

Likes: His family

Dislikes: N/A

---

Hello all! It's finally time and it only took 22 chapters! We're beginning Episode 1 and I'm so excited! I'll be combining elements from both the Manga and the Anime based on personal preference and how they affect the story!

This chapter was just a nice little break to show the little moments of the 10 years so I hope you enjoyed it. My bonuses will probably focus on Maro now so we can see how she's handling things while Rosan sails with the straw hats.

Hope you enjoy!

Chapter 23: The Captain and the Scout