Chapter 61: Chapter 30: Robin and Rosan 4
Miss Goldenweek woke up rather abruptly, the memory of two different eyes squeezing her heart until she couldn't breathe. Despite her inherent laziness, she shot up and glanced around wildly. There was a clear panic set on her features as she assessed the situation at hand.
Mr. 3 wasn't here and neither was Mr. 5. It was Miss Valentine, Miss All Sunday, two tiny dinosaurs and the redhead who had choked her out.
The three humans (well, two humans and a monster) were drinking a cup of tea and the little dinosaurs were chewing on their own specially prepared vegetation.
Wait a second…
"Miss All Sunday?!" Miss Goldenweek gawked. What was she doing here?! Why wasn't she at Alabasta? Why were they drinking tea with the enemy?! What were those ridiculously small dinosaurs doing here?
"Miss Goldenweek," The cardigan wearing woman greeted, assessing the young girl with a cool gaze.
"You're awake," Rosan greeted, glancing at her. "Do you want some Green Tea? It's your favorite, correct?"
Miss Valentine said nothing, refusing to make eye contact with her superior.
"What's going on? Why aren't we attacking him right now… it's 3 to 1!" Miss Goldenweek said, fearfully making distance between her and the man so he didn't grip her neck again.
"It is 3 to 1, but are you really strong enough to take the three of us out?" Rosan questioned, making her jump in surprise. "I don't know how you can do it but the Grand Line has been full of surprises so it's possible."
The girl went pale at the lack of response from both her supposed allies and realized that she was the one outnumbered, completely trapped and alone with all enemies.
That blank gaze stared into her and she began trembling due to what the creature who owned those eyes had done to her.
"You're scaring her," Robin admonished, feeling bad for the child.
"Rosan-sama is quite intimidating," Mikita added quietly.
The scout of the Straw Hats tilted his head. Fine, he wouldn't use his tactics on this one then.
"Is that so? Then Mikita and Robin, you can explain her situation," Rosan replied. The redhead moved over to the triceratops and began petting them on their heads, much to both creature's delight.
Robin raised a brow but conceded, turning towards the terrified painter.
"I'm going to be blunt, you've lost and have no way to get off this island, Miss Goldenweek," she began. It was best to just be brutally honest and it was a habit she had picked up from Rosan himself.
"Miss Valentine and Mr. 5 have been recruited by Rosan here and as for me… well, I've been his ally for years so it was easy for me to join his side again."
Mikita and Miss Goldenweek's eyes widened at that last bit of information. Miss All Sunday was always an ally to the redhead? Just who was he to know the woman before even Mr. 0?! She had been one of the first members in Baroque Works and played a part in recruiting the rest of them!
"Rosan-sama wants to offer you a chance to join his side," Mikita said, much to her surprise. "While you were unconscious, I've been talking to him and I think where he's going to send us is much better than being his enemy or staying with Mr. 0…"
While a majority (all) of Mikita was still terrified of Rosan, he had been talking to her about Maro and she'd be lying if staying on the queen's island didn't sound far more appealing then working as an agent.
Compared to Mr. 0 and Rosan, Queen Maro sounded like a godsend and she was eager to meet the compassionate woman.
"What if I refuse…?" Miss Goldenweek asked.
"The ship you brought here has been destroyed, all your allies are defeated and Mr. 0 doesn't tolerate failures… he will never let you live so a new ship is out of the window," Robin informed her. "But if you insist on refusing, we have no more obligation to help you and will leave you on this island. You are our enemy after all."
There was no way she could survive on this island alone… and even if she contacted Mr. 0, he'd absolutely kill her for failing the mission.
At least these people were giving her a choice…
Their conversation was cut short, by the arrival of Miss Friday and Mr. 13. The two animal agents assessed all the occupants in the room, gaze lingering on Robin for a while, before freezing at the sight of Rosan.
Mikita and Miss Goldenweek froze at the arrivals and even Robin gained a slightly worried expression. The Devil Child prepared to quickly subdue them before they could think to fly off but Rosan held a hand up to stop her.
"Mr. 13. Miss Friday," he greeted. "I see that you've brought the Eternal Pose. Give it to me."
They gawked at his demand and gaped even further when the two animals hastily followed through with his order, dropping the Eternal Pose to Alabasta in his hand as if they feared what he'd do if they refused to.
W-What? He couldn't possibly…
"Thank you," Rosan said kindly as he rubbed both the animals on their head at a job well done. "Now, I need you to relay this information to Mr. 0, okay?"
They nodded eagerly and stilled to listen to the redhead's order.
He already had Mr. 13 and Miss Friday on his side?!
"When did this happen?" Robin asked in shock. Even she wasn't aware that they were on his side.
"When I showed up to the ship the first time we saw each other again. I was chasing these two," Rosan replied. "I managed to recruit them first of all the agents. Too useful for animals so I figured I could use them."
Her little companion had grown up into a real threat. To already have moles inside of Crocodile's carefully crafted agency… and not only moles, the most information filled ones too.
Miss Friday, Mr. 13… and Miss All Sunday.
It was at this moment Mikita knew she made the right choice following the redhead. If he somehow managed to already recruit the Unluckies then he was even more dangerous then she already thought he was.
Miss Goldenweek was coming to the same conclusion if the look of worry on her face meant anything. Now it was 5 on 1 and somehow, the lone redhead was the one with all the allies.
"Tell Mr. 0 that Mr. 5 and Miss Valentine are dead and that Mr. 3 has received the Eternal Pose," Rosan began. "When he asks how, you may pin the blame on me. As for Miss Goldenweek…"
The redhead tilted his head at her curiously. "Tell him that she's dead too."
Miss Goldenweek understood that gaze. It meant two things. Join him and her death would be faked or refuse and remain on this island, dying anyways.
It was a no brainer.
"I'll join you," she decided hesitantly, getting a satisfied nod out of the redhead.
It was better to join him then to risk dying here and Miss Valentine vouched for him… despite being visibly terrified, there was hope in her words and it had to be better than working for Mr. 0.
"A wise decision," he praised. "Now, did Mr. 0 ask about Miss All Sunday's whereabouts? Did he ask you to find out what happened to her?" Rosan asked the animals.
They both nodded, a nervous expression on their faces. They weren't sure what to tell Crocodile so hopefully Rosan had an order for them.
"...Inform him that she was captured by a World Government group known as Cipher Pol on her way back to Alabasta. Lead him to thinking they are still transporting her. Maybe he'll be inclined to send units after them but I doubt it," Rosan eventually said, getting a nod of acknowledgment out of them.
The animals didn't know who they were, but someone like Crocodile should be at least aware of them.
"This will be your last mission from me and your last report to him. If I'm correct, Mr. 0 will realize that you two misled him somewhere along the lines and you will die. Come to me before that," he said and they nodded hastily.
With that, he dismissed the two and finished his tea off. The animal duo flew off to report to the, undoubtedly furious, Mr. 0.
They already betrayed him and that fear would ensure that they'd seek safety from Rosan. He had been purposely vague on what information Crocodile would catch as a lie, so the ones they had told previously had a very real possibility of being found out.
"Cipher Pol?" Robin asked with a small shudder.
She didn't think Rosan remembered them… Robin had informed them of the group long ago when she mustered up the courage to tell him things about Ohara... about how strong of a hand they had to play.
The redhead gazed at her and immediately placed a reassuring hand on her shoulder. "Don't be afraid of them. I'm here."
She relaxed minutely at that and nodded at his confidence.
"If I said we had you, he wouldn't believe it. After all, he thinks Mr. 3 eliminated us and Sanji said he had no clue where you were," Rosan muttered, standing up and stretching.
"Crocodile should know what Cipher Pol is and based on what you told me, he'll think twice about causing direct conflict with them. At best, this should thin the number of agents on Alabasta when we land there, giving us more freedom," the redhead assured.
Each former agent stared at the redhead in disbelief at his quick thinking.
W-What type of monster was he? This man… he had just entered the Grand Line? How unlucky were they to have stumbled upon such a creature?!
Just who was he? Monster seemed to be too nice of a word… they were staring at an actual Demon. A cunning Demon made all the more dangerous by his rational and emotionless mind.
Robin never expected Rosan to think this far ahead in a way that didn't make things the most amount of fun for him. She was proud of him despite how scary a place his mind was.
"It's about time we go," Rosan muttered.
A little fly flew on his hand and he tapped it idly, modifying it into his trusty bird instead. Placing the Eternal Pose on its figure and securing it, Rosan shooed it off and had it fly to his crew.
It chirped, rubbed its cheek against his own and flew off.
"Grab onto me, we're leaving this island," Rosan ordered and they hastily moved to follow his order.
Once everything was in order, Rosan activated Save Point and the entire group vanished.
"Master!" Maro squealed, tackling him excitedly and nuzzling him.
Huh… was he hotter than normal? Maybe he just used his Dragon recently? Actually, maybe it was because his arms were out! Mama mia!
"You're sweaty," Rosan said flatly, wrapping an arm around the woman's exposed midriff and squeezing her gently. She was dressed in a sports bra with leggings and the girl had clearly been working up a sweat that she was wiping on his undershirt with glee.
She was lucky he loved her.
"I was training with Kaori when you showed up!" She gushed, nearly lifting him off the floor in her excitement. "Thanks for bringing someone actually tolerable this time instead of that stupid Jango! She's smarter, more awesome, better looking, wayyyy stronger and awesome!"
"You already said that," Rosan pointed out.
"That just means I really mean it!" She beamed.
"You're embarrassing me, your majesty," Kaori muttered, blushing red at the praise. The princess was incredibly powerful and despite her own formidable strength, she stood no chance of defeating her.
The fishwoman nodded at Rosan as greeting and he nodded back. "Rosan, who are these people?"
Maro removed her head from his chest and peeked over his shoulder, regarding the new arrivals with curiosity.
A flash of horror suddenly appeared on her face. Without warning, she picked Rosan up and summarily tossed him far through the air.
He landed perfectly on his feet and tilted his head at her. "You have been so violent lately. Should I start disciplining you, little Goblin?"
"I just knew you were gonna keep throwing people my way so I threw you away!" Maro bellowed, glaring at the redhead furiously.
Quick as a dime, she turned towards the onlookers and grinned brightly at them.
"Hiya, nice to meetcha all. I'm Queen Maro of Celadon but you can just call me Maro! I'm sorry for whatever my Master did to you all and I'll be sure to give him a piece of my mind!"
They sweatdropped at her antics.
Marching up to the redhead with a purpose, Maro was about to do just that, when Rosan reached out a hand and began gripping her vulnerable cheek.
"O-Ow! Shtop you asshole!" She whined and he did just that, before pulling her into another hug.
Underhanded ass. He was such a dick for knowing exactly how to calm her down.
"At least hear me out?" Rosan hummed, petting a specific spot on her white and blue hair and getting a sigh of bliss out of her.
"Fine — wait a second... YOUR EYES!" Maro gaped, looking into his eyes and seeing the faint glow in them.
"OH MY KAMI, I CAN SEE A GLOW! OH WAIT, I GOTTA TELL ANGEL AND DEMON ABOUT THIS THEN YOU CAN EXPLAI — WAIT, I RECOGNIZE YOU NOW! AREN'T YOU NICO ROBIN?! HOLY SHIT MASTER, WHAT'S GOING ON? WAIT, DON'T TELL ME YET!"
Not waiting for a response, the queen sprinted out of the room to go retrieve the twins and Rosan, completely unfazed by her speaking a mile a minute, followed after her.
Kaori bowed apologetically to the confused crowd. "I'm sorry about her. Your majesty is… hyper."
Robin, the only one utterly unfazed, giggled and said, "Her excitable nature reminds me of someone and it's rather endearing."
She was going to like Maro just fine.
"Oh so you just don't want me to have only the clone army to defend our island?" Maro said in realization, a happy flush dusting her fair cheeks.
"Yes, that's right. I figured if I met some interesting people, I'd send them your way. These three are agents from an organization I'm currently at odds with and I managed to recruit them."
"You're so fucking sweet, Master!" Maro gushed, making the agents gasp a bit at her crude language. "It's nice to meet you all. I hope Master didn't make your lives too hard. He can be a bit… cold," she finished lamely.
"That's an understatement," Demon snorted.
"Master is an asshole," Angel nodded.
The three former agents nodded in unison, Miss Valentine especially and they found themselves very much liking the energy exuded by the cheerful queen.
The redhead shrugged helplessly. "How rude, after I went to the trouble of getting Maro such a rare gift too. Figured I could give you something nice since you are so willingly accepting new allies," Rosan hummed.
Maro's eyes widened excitedly at that. "Gift? For me?! Show me!" She demanded.
A reward for accepting interesting people?! Master was too kind!
With a wave of his hand, Rosan revealed his gift and Maro's eyes bugged.
"Master you didn't," Angel groaned in disbelief. Was he serious? Of all the fucking —
"MASTER YOU DID!" Maro let out the loudest squeal yet.
The queen jumped around in excitement, before tackling Rosan to the floor and kissing him directly on the cheek repeatedly in her happiness. "Y-YOU GOT ME TWO PET DINOSAURS?!"
"Anything for my spoiled little student," Rosan hummed, accepting her thanks with a slight smile. It was always nice to see his family in good spirits.
The little things raised their head at the volume and Maro squealed again, picking both up and nuzzling them into her large chest with gusto.
Angel's glare deepened at that. How dare those stupid little ancient reptiles steal her boobs!
"We were on an island full of them so I figured you'd like one. They're triceratops. Herbivore. One Male. One Female. Babies who I made puppy sized. No name," he informed her.
"I can't believe you got her not one, but two dinosaurs," Angel said flatly, staring at her older brother with a deadpan expression.
"She's always wanted them and she deserved them. It's not often you run into wild dinosaurs so I just took the opportunity granted to me," Rosan shrugged.
"Don't worry, Master! I'll take good care of Gladiolus and Anemone!" Maro beamed, sitting back down and petting the pleased reptiles on her lap.
Gladiolus was the boy and Anemone would be the girl!
"Gladiolus? Anemone?" Angel mouthed to herself, glaring at the creatures sitting on her goddamn perfect thighs! Those belonged to her dammit! Who did they think they were?!
She was about to direct her ire towards Rosan for allowing this to happen but restrained herself at the genuine joy on Maro's face.
She guessed the queen deserved it… maybe.
"They're adorable," Demon said, patting Anemone on her skull and picking her up. "I'll have to do a checkup on them and give you a proper diet to feed the two."
The queen nodded happily and finally focused on the three agents.
"So these three are agents you want me to take in… I suspect you're gonna get more?" Maro prodded.
"Depends on if they are interesting or not," Rosan replied, indicating with his head for them to introduce themselves.
"I'm Gem," Mr. 5 said immediately, bowing lowly to the queen. "I ate the Bomu Bomu no mi and became an explosion man. I hope to live up to your expectations as a bodyguard, Maro-sama."
"Master overhauled him," Maro thought to herself immediately, glancing at the bomb man with a curious gaze. Outwardly though, she beamed in excitement.
"You ate such an awesome fruit! Awesome Gem, you'll be a great addition!"
He nodded with a proud smile on his face.
Her very own terrorist. How exciting!
"I'm Mikita…" Miss Valentine introduced quietly, bowing her head and refusing to make eye contact. "I ate the Kiro Kiro no mi and I'll do anything to prove I'm useful to you… Please give me a chance," the woman begged.
"Master scarred this one," the Dokkaebi thought. They were his enemies after all so it was no surprise that some force probably went into recruiting them. If this one's sense of self worth was shattered, he probably wanted her to…
"Hey, you don't gotta be afraid around me! I may have really sharp fangs but I don't bite!" Maro beamed encouragingly, showing her abnormally sharp fangs in question. "As long as you're loyal to this island, that's all I can ask for! You're one of us now and you can trust me."
She finished her speech with a gentle rub on the woman's shoulder and relied on Demon to make Angel to stand down (he did).
Mikita's head shot up at that and she regarded the queen with a shocked expression, before tears formed in her eyes and she nodded determinedly.
The Queen… she really was as amazing as Rosan said she was. Someone like this… Someone so kind and gentle, willing to accept former enemies despite their uselessness, deserved 100% of her loyalty and that's exactly what she was going to get.
Robin shot Rosan a glance at that and he simply hummed in return.
Maro focused on the last one of the three and that prompted Miss Goldenweek to speak up.
She had watched the queen's interaction with Mikita and seeing how kind she was, decided it was good that she chose to come here. With the queen, she doubted she'd be forced to do anything she didn't want to.
"I'm… Marianne," the child introduced. "I use my painting abilities to hypnotize people based on the color."
Maro's eyes sparkled at that and the queen nodded enthusiastically. "So not only are you an awesome painter… you can hypnotize people too! You're incredible! Are you interested in being a professional artist?! I'd love to have you work on some things around the castle!"
Marianne blinked at that question. Not only were her artistic abilities prioritized… She wanted to use her paint… for more than just combat purposes? That sounded…
"That sounds nice," she smiled brightly, happy to be working under the queen now.
The Queen clapped and laughed in joy, infectious energy reaching them all.
"Alright! I've got a nice little building complex that you and your future agent allies can live in while you're off duty! It has no inhabitants so it'll be you guys only and you're free to change it how you want as long as Master agrees to help. Kaori, do you mind showing them where it is?" Maro fired off.
She actually had quite a bit of empty complexes just in case of emergency. Sometimes they were rented out for visitors when the hotels were packed for an ever greater price! It was a great way to milk them of their money!
Kaori nodded easily at her request and beckoned the agents to follow her. She didn't mind going outside because the citizens had very quickly warmed up to her after seeing how friendly the fishwoman was with the popular queen.
They really did love Maro. Anything she liked, they did and though they were a tad fearful at first... Maro (much to her embarrassment) made an entire speech to her people about how they would not tolerate any sort of prejudice to anyone at all. Everyone deserved to be treated fairly unless they proved otherwise.
That moment managed to solidify Kaori's loyalty and she realized that she had no intention of leaving Celadon because she was just as bad as the citizens when it came to loving the Queen.
Soon it was just Rosan, Robin and the rulers of Celadon.
"Alright, now that we've dealt with them…" Maro began, placing a sleeping Gladiolus on a comfy looking chair. Anemone was still awake and curiously prodded Demon's hand with her horn, much to the doctor's amusement.
"...Let's get down to the serious serious business!" She beamed, closing the distance between her and Robin with an eager grin. "Are you actually Nico Robin?! I've heard so much about you and I've seen Master's memories too! I'm so happy to see you guys reunited and I've wanted to meet you for the longest!"
Robin accepted the queen's eager rambling and offered a kind smile. "It's nice to meet you, Maro. I've heard much about you as well and I haven't even gotten to your part of Rosan's memories! He really cherishes you three," she replied.
Maro squealed with a rosy blush at that admittance and tackled Rosan for the umpteenth time. This must have been a normal occurrence because the redhead didn't look remotely bothered, just wrapping.
"I KNEW YOU THOUGHT I WAS HOT!" Maro beamed.
"I never once mentioned your looks to Robin," Rosan replied calmly.
"Liar liar! Just admit it!"
"I have nothing to admit. I've called you beautiful on multiple occasions."
"Say I'm hot! Hot, Master!"
"No."
The twins effortlessly ignored the two and turned to face the sweatdropping Devil Child instead.
"To finally meet you in the flesh… I'm honored. We can't view his memories but we know almost everything about Master's past. You've been a huge influence to him," Demon bowed, introducing himself and kindly shaking her hand.
Robin smiled at the purple haired clone of Rosan and shook the elegant looking clone's hand.
His features were all around softer than Rosan's own, lacking the sharpness the oldest triplet had, and that extended to his smooth purple hair, tied into a high ponytail. He was currently wearing a loose black kimono that, combined with his general appearance, gave him a rather pretty look.
His genuine kindness was nothing like Rosan's rude and confident demeanor. The man exuded a gentle aura that would put anyone at ease.
"Angel and Demon, I was surprised to see that Rosan made clones! To see that you both have such different personalities from him… I'm glad to meet you," Robin greeted, before turning towards a fidgeting Angel.
"Rosan I don't know why you're so reluctant to transform into your female form," Robin joked with an amused smile, remembering the first time they had forced the boy to do it. "Though, I'm a bit glad because she's a little too gorgeous don't you think?"
The female clone (Robin laughed heartily at the memory of Angel's gender revelation and Rosan discovering the beauty of female puberty) had the same red hair as her creator, that was not nearly as spiky and much longer, reaching her back and having a blue daisy resting in it.
Like her brother, Angel's features were much softer than Rosan's and she was surprisingly dainty in appearance... barring the fact that was only a little shorter then Robin.
The woman wore a short, white and blue dress and thigh high combo that hugged her curves (she was significantly less curvy then female Rosan it looked) and showed off the beautiful sapphire ring on her finger.
Angel blushed beet red and squeaked at the compliment. "N-Nico Robin! You have no idea how long I w-wanted to meet you! I'm Angel, Master's younger sister and Maro's wife!"
She wanted to be on her very best behavior because this was Master's best friend! Nico Robin had been everything to Rosan and played a huge part in shaping him into who he was.
"Oh, you and Maro are married?" Robin asked curiously, glancing back and forth between the two. "You two seem like an amazing fit, I'm happy for you!"
"O-Oh you!" Angel gushed, switching on a dime and hugging the noticeably taller woman happily with tears in her eyes. "I'm so glad to finally be able to see Master's first companion. Just off of meeting each other, I can see Master's eyes glowing slightly! I… I normally only see brief glimpses of it but to see it for so long… Just… thank you."
Robin's eyes softened at the looks of gratefulness on all three of their faces.
It seems Rosan's emotions were important to all of them and the relief that they displayed at making genuine progress made her as happy as it did sad.
She had an inkling as to why they weren't traveling with Rosan anymore but she'd have to see it in his memories to confirm.
"I'm just happy to be reunited with him… I thought he was dead for so long but because he told me to be strong for the both of us, I had to do it and it payed off," Robin said sincerely, hugging the crying redhead back.
Funnily enough, those words Rosan told her, were eerily similar to the ones that Meiko had told him. Those two really were more alike then they assumed.
A small part of Robin wondered if she'd be just like him if she had to witness the boy die in her arms.
Based on the brief sadness in Demon and Angel's eyes, they too realized that those words were painfully familiar.
"I'm happy you guys are getting along so well," Rosan's muffled voice came out. He was still being glomped by Maro but the two were watching with fond smiles on their face.
"Robin needs a new wardrobe and I doubt her clothes at Baroque Works is better then anything you guys have," the redhead said, pulling himself up with the leech known as Maro.
"Already letting her wear your clothes? I knew that was your cardigan," Maro leered, grinning like the pervert she was. "Though, I don't really mind that you aren't wearing long clothes right now. Look at those free arms!"
The Queen shamelessly squeezed his arm with a pleased noise.
"Nice," she nodded.
Angel extracted herself from Robin's grasp and marched over to her drooling wife in order to grip her by the cheek and drag her off of Rosan.
"Stop giving Robin such a bad impression of you, idiot!" She reprimanded, tugging the whining queen's cheek.
"F-Fine! I'll stop being who I am because you want me to be like the rest of them!" Maro said with large teary eyes.
"WHO IS THEM?!" Angel roared, calling her out on her bullshit immediately.
Demon and Robin watched with a serene smile on their faces while Rosan sighed, walking over to pet Gladiolus' head.
"I'd say I'm surprised, but somehow I'm not," the Devil Child said.
"Perfect, you'll see this very often," Demon replied.
"Somehow it's always my fault too," Rosan grunted.
"Of course it is, you're you!" Mod laughed.
"Father's greed coming to bite him in the ass," Ram tutted. This was why she was only greedy for Father, Mother and Auntie Mod.
Rosan scratched his head. Surely he wasn't actually the problem…
Right?
"So you want to buy a new wardrobe for Robin, right?" Maro beamed, nodding her head. "Okay! Let's go, I wanna show her around the island that we all worked so hard on. Celadon is amazing!"
"Thank you, Maro," Robin smiled at the energetic queen. "Rosan, I didn't bring any beri with me. Will you be paying?"
"Yeah, I have more than enough to get you what you want," Rosan nodded before Maro interrupted them both.
"P-Pay?!" She gawked. "Are you two nuts?! You think my dear citizens would ever make Master pay for anything?! Even without me there, they'd still give you things for free! You're super popular here!"
Rosan was incredibly popular with the citizens of Celadon. After all, a majority of the buildings that they lived and worked in had been refined by him and it was no secret that Maro looked up to him.
He was also one half of the duo that had freed their island from the tyrant king! Of course they'd offer him free stuff. Coupled with the fact that he didn't live here, he was practically a celebrity to their people!
He wasn't popular as Demon but Maro was beginning to think Demon was the most popular person on this island… Seriously, even the tourists wanted to see him. According to a list that the more gossipy people of her island piloted, the Doctor was considered the best looking person on the island...
Good, he deserved it. Demon was awesome. Also, Maro was considered the second best and that left her beaming in joy.
"I'll show you guys our best clothing stores! You'll come out looking even hotter than you already are," Maro grinned, getting a slight embarrassed flush out of Robin.
Getting compliments from people she didn't care about left her mostly unfazed but she liked everyone in this room and... she wasn't used to being complimented earnestly.
"Ah I love clothes shopping!" Angel gushed. "Master, do you need more clothes?!"
"No, you and Akemi have given me entirely too much clothes. If I brought it all on the ship, we'd sink," Rosan replied.
"I think you need more too!" His sister beamed, completely ignoring him.
They sweatdropped at her but Rosan conceded with a small sigh.
The redhead blinked for a second and extended his hand, watching as the ring on his finger shuddered and transformed into Ram.
"Father, Mother! I'd like to talk to Auntie Angel, Maro and Uncle Demon for a second about something important!" Ram beamed, hugging the two woman excitedly.
The three in question raised a curious brow at what the ring called Robin but neither her or Rosan seemed to mind it very much.
"Right, we'll wait outside."
Robin and Rosan both went outside, leaving 4 left.
"Ram," Demon greeted with a small smile, hugging the ring warmly and getting a happy sigh out of her when he began to stroke her hair.
"What's the occasion? I don't think you've ever wanted to talk to us without Master unless its to cause problems... which you dont talk to Angel about either," Maro prodded, knowing her best friend was plotting something.
Ram nodded at her astute observation.
"I've decided that I want Nico Robin to be my mother!" she declared bluntly. "To make that happen, we need her and Father to get together but I can tell that they're both really stupid when it comes to what they want and I can't get them together alone."
...
Maro's jaw dropped to the floor at that blunt statement and her eyes bugged in disbelief. "W-W-What the hell did you just say?!" She spluttered.
Ram, her best friend… was playing matchmaker?! HER?! The ring who only craved violence… The same ring who had more then a few screws loose, was trying to set her Father up with someone?! The same Father whose attention she wanted nonstop?!
Maro could say with confidence, that Ram didn't have a single romantic bone in her body. But all of a sudden, she was cupid?!
No way...
"I'm in," Angel said without hesitation, making Maro's jaw drop further.
The redhead looked offended that her wife was so shocked. "What?! I think they're really cute and look at them! Since coming here, they've barely been away from each other!"
"Master Mod mentioned that they both had a crush on each other as kids but Master didn't notice because he wasn't in tuned with that side of his emotions," Demon interjected calmly. "I think they deserve a little happiness that they seem to find in each other."
"You too?!" Maro gaped. The Dokkaebi didn't think they'd be so willing to pair Rosan with anyone! They were all jealously protective of the redhead (Demon less so) and tried hard to protect his chasity when they could.
Angel especially, seemed to want to kill whoever it was her teacher hooked up with. The girl would scream murder if someone even sent him a suggestive glance in her presence!
Maro was the only one who genuinely didn't mind seeing Master get together with the various women interested in him.
She was rather proud that he was so popular!
"So, we're all in agreement?!" Ram asked excitedly. "You don't have to ask Auntie, she's already in!"
Maro snorted but smiled at the little schemers. "Alright, I'm in! Operation: Robin and Rosan is a go!"
"Yeah!" They chorused.
...
"What do you think they're talking about in there?" Rosan muttered.
"I'm not sure," Robin admitted. "Mod-chan?"
"...I have no clue," Mod lied.
There was no way she was going to be the one to ruin this plan… that was Rosan's thing.
"Thank you again for this, Maro… I do still feel a little guilty for not paying for all of these."
"Haha! Don't sweat it, you're Master's precious friend so you're my precious friend too! Besides, my island's super rich and we have tons of resources! Some clothes won't hurt and Mai was happy to accomodate!"
Robin smiled at the friendly woman and the two exchanged hugs.
"You would have made me pay for everything anyways," Rosan muttered, perfectly balancing all the bags in his arms. He even had his draconic tail out, balancing even more of the clothing on it.
"You sure you didn't want to go without buying anything for a little longer?" Angel said suggestively, raising a brow in amusement. "You look really good in Master's clothes."
"Do I?" Robin mused, looking down at the purple cardigan. "This is a nice cardigan… It smells like Rosan and I do love the color purple… maybe I'll keep this," she decided, nodding her head at that decision.
Rosan raised a brow incredulously at her. "I don't have a decision in whether you get to keep my clothing? I like that cardigan too you know and we just bought you an entire wardrobe," Rosan muttered.
"Yes, but I already got comfortable wearing this one and I quite like it," Robin retorted. Sure it was a bit big on her but she wasn't that much shorter then Rosan... she was just much slimmer.
Rosan snorted at the protective hold she had on his purple cardigan and conceded without much difficulty. "Fine, keep it."
If she wanted it, she could keep it. At least she looked good in it... even if it was a bit big on her but that honestly made it look better.
Maro and Angel grinned at each other at their interactions.
"I say you let her keep it… you two even have matching pendants now!" Angel gushed, looking at the tiny black pendant around Robin's neck that had a picture of a younger her and Rosan inside of it.
The redhead had gone out and bought it himself while they were out shopping for clothes. He had gotten it in black because his was white and when he verified that Robin liked it (she loved it), he applied his Save Point to it.
The limit of his points had increased to seven over the years. The locations were Aiko's castle, Maro's tiara, Luffy's straw hat, Rosan's earrings and Robin's pendant (it used to be on the White Rose).
That left two and he wasn't sure what to place them on but it never hurt to have spares.
"Alright you two! Be sure to visit us again," Maro beamed, pulling the both of them into a hug. "Master, you're not allowed to show up without Robin, okay?!"
"I second this!" Angel beamed, joining the group hug.
"Right. That works for me since I don't want her out of my sight," Rosan hummed.
Robin rolled her eyes at his words.
"You're lucky I'm the same way currently or else I'd reprimand your possessive streak," she admonished, grabbing onto the man so they could vanish.
"Bye you three, I really enjoyed meeting you and can't wait to see you all again," Robin smiled at Rosan's old travel companions. She really did like all of them and their oddities.
She was glad that despite blowing up on them so long ago, Rosan still cherished the clones.
With a short wave, Rosan activated his Save Point and they vanished.
"That girl's a keeper," Angel sighed.
"I agree," Demon nodded sagely.
Maro didn't say anything, prompting the twins to look at the queen in confusion, considering she always had something to say.
Her eyes were furrowed and she looked at the spot Rosan had just been in with a contemplative expression.
"Maro, what's wrong?" Angel asked her wife in concern.
"Master… he's hot," the Dokkaebi replied after a short pause.
They sighed at her stupidity.
Seriously?
"Yes, Maro… We've established that Master was hot like 10 years ago," Demon said, not seeing the point of stating old news.
"It's why I want to commit murder so often. His hotness gives me stress," Angel added.
"No! Not like that!" She retorted, brows furrowing deeper. "His body… it's really hot. I thought it was because he recently transformed into his Dragon but he's somehow gotten even warmer."
The clones froze at that and they began seriously thinking about her concerns.
"Not only that but… I've been around Master a lot and I've never seen him activate Save Point that slowly," Maro finished gravely, a worried look dominating her now.
It wasn't terribly slow, but it was off by a couple of seconds that she noticed immediately.
Damn it she should have mentioned his body temperature sooner but her fears had only been confirmed after watching him activate his traveling technique.
"Are you saying Master's sick?" Angel asked with her own confused look, raising a brow incredulously.
Demon was just as confused, shaking his head in denial. "That's not possible. Without Modification I think it's impossible for him to get sick but with it and the Philosopher's Stone? There's absolutely zero chance it happens."
Master's immune system was incredible. If anything even remotely dangerous entered him, his body would instantly attack it and purge him of it. The stone he consumed amplified what Modification already fortified. His body was near invincible to anything normal and if it was new, it'd only affect him once and not for long.
Demon marveled at it whenever he did checkups and if he were greedier, he'd inspect the man's blood samples to see if they could do anything more with it.
Getting sick was not an option for him and they all knew that.
Master Mod especially would make sure of it…
"I know but it's just… they were on an ancient island right? Who knows what type of diseases they could have?" Maro frowned, idly petting Anemone in her concern.
Demon began thinking deeper before a flash of horror crossed his features.
"What if he is sick but he's not supposed to be?" Angel chimed in, gnawing her nails. How did she not notice?! She should know everything about Master no matter what!
"Modification… it might have gotten him sick on purpose," Demon finally said. "Master's body is almost always passively being worked on by Modification in hopes of improving anything. It keeps him in peak condition, ensures that he's healthy and… builds up his immunities when it sees the opportunity."
They all paled.
A sickness that Modification willingly let enter Rosan's immune system? And it actually affected him?
"Ah shit," Maro concluded for all of them.
"Hm… is it just me or was that Save Point slower than normal... No. It was definitely slower than normal," Rosan mused as he appeared on the deck of the Going Merry.
"STOP JUST APPEARING LIKE THAT!" Usopp roared, clutching his chest in fear.
"I-I agree," Vivi wheezed. The moment Rosan appeared, she jumped high into the air and collapsed on the floor.
Rosan ignored them for the moment in favor of inspecting his body with an almost confused expression.
Robin, who had been about to formally introduce herself to the crew, paused at the silence from the redhead and turned to face him. "Rosan? What's the matter?" she asked, tilting her head at his furrowed brows…
Was... was he hotter then normal? He had been pretty hot before but she just attributed that to the fact that he radiated an unreal body heat already which must have been because of Ragnarok.
Upon closer inspection, Robin saw that the redhead's cheeks were a little flushed and she immediately closed the short distance between them. The woman placed a hand against his forehead and immediately drew it back due to the burning heat.
"What in the world," Robin muttered, gazing at her hand in shock.
Any greeting on the Straw Hats lips, died down at seeing the concern on Robin's face.
"Robin? Did I just burn you? But how? I haven't activated any technique." Rosan tilted his head in confusion.
"Mod-chan?"
"One second…" Mod frowned, noticing the same things Robin noticed. It couldn't possibly be...
Activating Modification, the woman searched for any recent changes in his body and immediately froze at what she saw.
Almost at the same time, a wave of vertigo hit Rosan and he abruptly collapsed on his knees, much to the shock of everyone watching.
"ROSAN?! ARE YOU OKAY?!" Luffy shouted, rocketing forward towards his brother and immediately grabbing onto him. "W-Woah?! You're so hot!" He gaped, watching as the redhead's skin actually began steaming.
"That must be… because of the Philosopher's Stone," Rosan grunted, gazing at the smoke with half lidded eyes. "It's healing something right now but its going into overdrive and I'm not exactly —"
The redhead's statement was cut short by a harsh cough and they noticed that his cheeks were flushed a deep red, reminiscent of his own hair.
"It can't be… am I sick?" Rosan asked Mod-chan.
"...Yes," Mod said. "Modification saw a chance to improve your immune system drastically and allowed a virus on that island to successfully invade your body."
"What?!" Robin whispered in horror, much to the confusion of everyone there. "But Rosan's immune system is already amazing! If there's something that can get him sick then…"
"Then it's a good thing I'm the one who got it," Rosan interrupted, panting from exertion. The Philosopher's Stone constant healing was quickly draining him of his energy. "If anyone else here did, they'd be dead within hours."
"Rosan's sick?!" Luffy repeated in disbelief. "He's never gotten sick before! Ever!"
"What do we do?" Nami asked in concern. If Rosan was actually sick, even with Modification and his bodies natural strength, they'd need an actual doctor to heal him which was something no one here was equipped to do.
"I'll be fine… I just need to go to… Demon. He'll be able to patch me up," Rosan said, forcing himself up. "Modification: Save Poi —,"
The technique never activated because the redhead suddenly collapsed on the floor in a heap, body thudding unceremoniously.
"ROSAN!" Robin and Luffy screamed, quickly moving over to the redhead and hoisting him up.
Mod had gone radio silent but she was no doubt trying to ensure that her user was in no life threatening situation.
"SANJI, GO GET SOME WATER AND ANYTHING TO REPLENISH HIS ENERGY!" Nami barked, mind moving a mile a minute.
They needed to find a doctor and quick. Alabasta was too far right now and there was no telling what would happen to the redhead's condition in the time it got there.
Sanji saluted, worry on his face and he darted off to do that.
"It's fine…" Rosan strained. He looked up and everyone saw two bright glowing orbs in his eyes. "I'll be fine. My body will heal me in time and I'll be stronger than ever. I just need to rest and I will Purge it eventually…"
He shut his eyes and collapsed again. Thankfully, Robin and Luffy held the taller redhead up and they quickly moved him over to a bed to lie in. They went to the more neat Nami's room and after her approval, lied him down.
The Straw Hats, sans Sanji, quickly followed after and looked at the flushed face of the, for once, vulnerable redhead. His body was actively steaming and his eyes were shut tight as he panted harshly.
"So this is how it feels to get sick?" Rosan grunted, a wry smile crossing his features despite the situation. "I knew I was right to get you a doctor that time, Robin."
"Now's not the time for jokes, Rosan! If something's strong enough to get you sick, that's a serious issue!" Robin said, hastily removing his shirt so he could get some cool air on his body. He was burning up right now... a human should not be steaming like that.
"We need to find him a doctor!" Vivi decided resolutely. Alabasta could wait, the redhead needed help urgently.
The heat in the air seemed to amplify at that statement and they paused.
"No doctor is allowed to touch me besides Demon," Rosan suddenly said seriously, face set into a cold visage. "I don't trust them with my body. I will never trust them with my body."
They shuddered at that statement. Did something happen between Rosan and a Doctor...?
Nami and Robin knew exactly what he meant by that statement and their gazes turned soft.
"You need medical attention, Rosan!" Robin stressed, not willing to wield. "You need to see a doctor, I'll be there to watch you the whole time. Nothing will happen to you. You don't need to trust them. Trust me."
Rosan listened to her plea and hummed, before coughing again. Eventually he nodded his head. "Of course I trust you... I'll never doubt you again."
They sighed in relief at how easily he conceded and Sanji burst into the room with a glass of water. Handing it over to Robin, he said, "I'll go make some soup for him. Let him drink that slowly."
Robin pushed the glass to his lips and the redhead accepted it greedily, downing it quickly despite Sanji's warning.
She was too worried to chastise him so she didn't.
Rosan let out a sigh at the cool water and placed his head back on the pillow. "You guys... need to focus on not getting our ship sunk. Don't forget where we are."
"Don't worry, I'll take care of him," Robin assured them all and they nodded, reluctantly leaving the room.
"Don't die!" Luffy demanded, glancing worriedly at his oldest brother and closing the door behind him.
"It seems like no matter how much time passes, I'll always end up overly relying on you," Rosan coughed, smiling despite his current conditions.
Robin sighed in exasperation. "Getting sick sure has made your emotions flare up a lot."
"It's true…" Mod said tiredly. "I can't believe Modification saw it fit to let this virus enter your body. On the bright side, when you do heal from this you'll be immune to just about anything and if not, your body will quickly nullify it."
That meant his life wasn't in immediate danger.
"I guess this is good preparation for when the actual virus makes an appearance," Rosan mused, making Mod flinch back.
The sickly redhead regarded Robin with a heavy pant before coming to a decision. "Here, it should be easier to care for me if I'm like this."
"Hm?" Robin asked in confusion.
What was he planning now? Sick Rosan was already looking like he was as unpredictable as his days of being a child.
"Modify, Age: 4."
The Devil Child watched with shocked eyes, as the flushed redhead transformed into a near carbon copy of how he looked as a child. The only difference, were the heterochromatic eyes that little Rosan didn't have until he was nine.
"There you go," Rosan said, voice squeaky. He looked down and saw how large his baggy black pants were, before modifying it to make them fit.
"Stop overexerting yourself!" Robin demanded, grabbing a cool rag and placing it on his head. "You don't get to use Modification while sick, we both know how taxing it can be when your out of energy so just rest. I'll take care of you," she assured.
"Yes boss," he squeaked and Robin nearly cooed.
She forgot just how adorable Rosan was as a child.
"It's not transmittable so your fine to take care of him without catching anything," Mod said quietly.
She felt a little guilty, considering it was Modification that had gotten him sick. She would need to keep a closer eye on things like this in the future so that she could consult with Rosan.
While checking what was wrong, Mod had also been busy making sure Ram didn't have a full blown panic attack.
The ring was full blown sobbing at seeing her father actually get sick and the sight was so surreal, that Mod swiftly put her to sleep.
Hopefully she'd be calm after waking up. The girl was downright hysterical.
Nami quietly opened the door to her room with a plate of soup in her hand and made her way over to the duo.
She nearly dropped the plate at the sight of the tiny redhead. "R-Rosan?! What happened to you?"
H...He was so adorable!
"Oh, Nami," Rosan's childish voice rang out raspily. "I modified my age so that it would be easier to care for me. I was much smaller as a four year old compared to how I am at 24."
She resisted the urge to squeal at the Chibi Rosan and handed the soup over to Robin.
"We'll have to find an island soon and get you medical attention so hang tight, okay?" Nami requested, making her way back out to the deck.
The door shut, leaving just the two alone and Rosan let out a miserable sigh.
"I don't even think I can enter my mindscape right now," he grunted, pushing himself up to accept the food, only for Robin to gently lie him back down.
"I'm going to restrain you with my Devil Fruit if you keep moving," she warned, feeding him the soup.
"You know how restless I am… it was a nightmare for you and Mod-chan trying to get me to sleep because of how much energy I had," Rosan reminded them, getting fond smiles out of them.
"Such terrible times. You were such an annoying child but that's why we loved you," Robin teased.
"Oh the good days, I wish you had the energy to enter your mindscape, I want to sleep with all of you again," Mod giggled.
"Well, that's just a you issue. I don't suffer such things," Rosan taunted, opening his arms up. "Robin, come."
"You are so lucky you're sick or else you'd be suffering a headache," Mod deadpanned.
Robin rolled her eyes but acquiesced, getting in the bed with a quiet giggle and hugging the incredibly warm child.
"You're really hot," she muttered. It was a good thing she had spent years in the desert. Such heat was the norm.
"I've been told that many times over the years, so it's nothing new," Rosan coughed, wrapping his arms around her and almost instantly falling asleep.
Getting the last word in then going to sleep? He really was a piece of work…
...She missed him. She really missed him.
Clutching his tiny body closer to her, Robin decided she had been awake long enough and got herself ready for sleep.
"Goodnight, Robin," Mod said warmly, elation filling her body at the fact that she was here.
"Goodnight, Mod-chan," Robin replied happily.
The sick redhead snored quietly and idly buried his hot body deeper into Robin, getting a smile out of her and causing her to clutch him like a teddy bear.
Rosan was sick but he'd get better as long as they got him medical attention. He was actually here with her and that made her feel lighter then she felt in a very long time.
For the first time in 16 years, Robin fell asleep with a smile on her face.
Crocodile could admit that he was pretty easily annoyed.
He was not the most rational man around, but he prided himself on being able to keep some of his cool in situations. At least to the point where it didn't affect his battle sense.
Right now, when everything was finally coming together, was not one of those times.
Why?
Because Cipher Pol had Miss All Sunday, a woman who was necessary for his plans.
Of course someone as information heavy as him, knew about the secret agency. Crocodile had been a Warlord for years. It was an oversight on his part to not think that Cipher Pol was not hunting down Nico Robin of all people.
But that begged the question… if they knew to capture her, did that mean they would soon converge upon him? He would know if he was being watched beyond the appearances he made when saving the country from pirates and he was confident nobody but Nico Robin knew he was Mr. 0 now that those pirates were dead.
They would be suspicious if reports stated she was on Alabasta… but she had been evading the World Government for 20 years. He could play dumb when questioned and they'd believe it, lest they openly admit a pirate was better than them.
The only hiccup in that, would be if Nico Robin herself told them of his identity.
He wasn't foolish enough to think she'd keep that information to herself. There was no loyalty between the two. Their relationship was mutually beneficial, strictly hinging on what they could provide to each other.
Coupled with the fact that he needed her to read the Poneglyph…
"Mr. 13. Miss Friday. Send a message to Mr. 2 to sail out to Little Garden and intercept any ship that he sees for clues on Miss All Sunday's whereabouts… Even Mr. 3's. And have the millions keep an eye out for any Marine vessel," he ordered the attentive animals. He had been forced to reveal his identity to them due to Miss All Sunday not being here but that was fine.
Nico Robin was essential to him more than ever now. If the Marines interfered in his business before he discovered Pluton's location… he'd be in trouble.
Unfortunately, Nico Robin was the only one who could tell him where it was.
Just how long had Cipher Pol been watching her? Crocodile felt his paranoia rising at the thought that they could potentially come after him.
Perhaps he should shake some rust off… he wasn't as strong as he had been the days he had been sailing but with his current annoyance, he needed to let off some steam.
The animal agents, sensing his irritation, saluted and hastily went to give the letter to Mr. 2.
Unknown to Crocodile, once they finished that mission, they'd go and find Rosan immediately to get away from the man who, in his irritation, completely dehydrated the massive Banawani next to him.
It didn't even have time to scream and Crocodile glared dispassionately, eventually throwing the animal in the water so that it could hydrate again.
In his anger, he was attacking things around him and that just wouldn't do. It was about time he released some of his building anger so that he could commence Utopia without anymore hitches.
If Cipher Pol did decide to come after him… well Crocodile would show them a glimpse of the pirate he had been before settling down in this country.
Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone