Capítulo 5: Chapter 4: Mischief
"Boss! T-there's an i-intruder in the a-area! They're chasing me right now!" A nervous voice yelled barging hesitantly into a room. "I saw them! It was like a moving shadow was out there and they saw me a-and n-now I d-don't know where anyone else is!". Instinctively, he cringed back and shielded his face after realizing what he had just done. The Boss could be pretty unforgiving when you disrespected him and he had just barged into his room without knocking.
After a pregnant pause, he slowly lowered his arms when he realized that it was quiet. Unnervingly quiet. He nervously glanced around the boss' room and noticed that it was devoid of human presence. This…this wasn't normal. Something was off and the feeling of dread in his stomach was only growing stronger.
Where had the Boss gone?
Maybe...he had occupied himself with one of the many ladies of their crew and went to a more remote part of their island? The boss frequently busied himself with that and it wouldn't be the first time he decided to do so on a whim.
Whatever the case, he needed to find him now before it was too late. Before that...thing he saw reached them all.
Juro was one of the newer members of the crew. He hadn't been apart of it for very long and he was treated quite unfairly due to his meek nature. This would be the third night in a row where he was on watch duty and the bruises, that he would inevitably get, were never worth the complaints. The man had practically resigned himself to permanent watchman and so, he decided not to think too much about it.
He had been lazily watching for signs of anything at sea, when suddenly, a dark silhouette had shown up in his line of sight. After concentrating in that direction, Juro was quickly able to identify it as a ship and a look of confusion made it's way onto his face.
That should have been his first warning sign. The boss hadn't said anything about a ship arriving to their island nor did he hear anything about one of their ships leaving previously. Seeing as he was the only one currently on watch duty, he prepared to go alert someone of the ship just in case they were hostile.
Before he could get down from his watchtower, the ship vanished before his eyes. One second it was there, the next it was gone.
Blinking to make sure his eyes weren't playing tricks on him, Juro confirmed that yes, the ship actually was gone. He nervously he grabbed a scope lying down to get a closer look at the area. Large ships didn't just vanish from sight. Had...had he been hallucinating? He didn't see anything at the shore, so maybe his eyes had been playing tricks...? Assured that there was nothing there and that he simply needed some sleep, Juro once again paused as he saw something move in his peripheral.
Juro's anxiety spiked and the man slowly raised the telescope to his eyes again. He was desperately praying that his eyes had been deceiving him and that there really was nothing there. As he looked through the scope, his breath hitched.
There was somebody there and they were looking right at him.
Juro screamed in shock and dropped the telescope. His eyes couldn't have been deceiving him, there was someone on shore and they noticed each other in the darkness of the night. He scrambled to find anybody to help decide what to do about the obvious intruder because he refused to deal with them alone.
W-what was that thing?!
He hadn't been able to get a good look but it was...something clad in all back, blending almost perfectly in the night. Juro kept looking back in fear as he sprinted to their main base at speeds he didn't even know he could achieve.
Good, there was nobody there. He was safe for now and that meant he would be able to reach someone in time.
He had taken a detour into the forest to try and lose whatever it was he had seen and it seemed as if it were working. At this rate he'd be able to alert someone of what he had seen!
He failed to notice the glowing purple eyes staring at him on the branch of one of the trees above.
That had been nearly 10 minutes ago.
In his mad scramble, he hadn't found a single person yet. They were probably partying on a part of the island he didn't frequent often and failed to notify him. It wouldn't be the first time. But, where would that even be? Should he really risk going out there and running into...maybe he'd wait here for Captain to show up.
Juro, in his delirious state, failed to realize that there was no noise whatsoever on the island. Or, maybe he did realize and just refused to accept it.
Still, he wasn't even slightly less worried. It made him feel worse actually, he was alone with a mysterious monster out there who was probably waiting for him. M-maybe the monster had already gotten his crew? But how...? Their ship had just arrived onto the island and he had only been running for 10 minutes. Was that thing really that fast? If that were the case, what could he even do? Maybe he could beg for his life? Would he be spared if he prostrated himself and pleaded?
Something clattered audibly onto the floor.
Juro whirled around in fear as he heard approaching footsteps headed straight for him. His anxiety reached an all time high and, panicking, he tripped on his feet before hastily crawling into the furthest corner.
Tears welled into his eyes as impending doom walked through the door and the man began praying for his life to be spared, words already on the cusp of his lips.
When the figure finally walked through the door, Juro opened his mouth, only to pause in confusion.
Huh, that…didn't really look like a monster.
10 year old Nico Robin, and the newest addition to their crew, shot him the most unimpressed stare he had ever received from a 10 year old. Despite the embarrassment he felt at the position she had seen him in, he was happier then he could imagine knowing that he would survive another minute.
He felt so relieved that he could cry. Wait, Never mind, he was already crying.
"Juro," Robin greeted with a kind smile causing him to shakily smile back, as relief flooded his entire being.
Oh thank Kami, it was just the Devil Child. She had just joined the crew and based on her bounty, she was definitely one of the strongest ones here. He just had to tell her what he had seen and she would protect him!
Standing up on wobbly legs, Juro exclaimed gratefully "T-thank Kami you're here Robin, t-there's a monster out there and we need to stop it!"
The man missed the way Robin's eyes narrowed slightly at that and if he had caught it, maybe he'd have been a bit more cautious.
But he didn't.
"Do y-you know where the other crew members are?!" Robin nodded in confirmation and he said "Great! Let's go quickly tell them about whatever that was. Make sure you protect me from it alright?!"
Smile back on her face, Robin said "Of course. Follow me this way and I'll keep you safe." With that, she turned around and promptly left.
Juro was surprised at how seemingly unfazed she was at the whole situation. But then again she was the "Devil Child". Something like this must have been right up her alley.
Truthfully, he found her unsettling to be around but he wouldn't look a gift horse in the mouth. Hastily following after her, he muttered under his breath "Maybe the 2 freaks will take each other out," and exited the room.
They had been walking for a while now and not once had the monster shown itself.
Juro nearly facepalmed in shame if not for the fact that he didn't want to appear dumber then he already felt. Robin must have thought he was a complete idiot now.
Just great. He wasn't even sure if the monster existed now.
But, the chill he felt when they made eye contact felt so real! It couldn't have been fake. No, that monster had to be real. He was sure of it. Juro was willing to bet his life that he had not been hallucinating.
Which begged the question…what was it doing now? Juro was sure it would follow him but, ever since he had entered the forest, he hadn't seen it even once.
That was it! It was afraid of Nico Robin! The monster probably didn't want to have a face off against the little child with a bounty of 79,000,000 Beri. Juro couldn't blame him, someone with a bounty that high in the Blue Seas was unprecedented and not much people wanted to face the Devil Child due to that knowledge.
Heh. Guess even monsters feared devils. He was safe from that monster as long as he stayed with the brunette. His confidence renewed tenfold when Robin suddenly said "We're here."
Smiling in victory, he quickly ran to stand next to Robin. Juro's victorious feeling was abruptly cut short. Instead, it turned into confusion, and then horror as he soaked in what he was currently seeing. The man instinctively took a step back at the sight before him.
Bodies were littered everywhere. Their crew's bodies.
In the dark, he couldn't tell whether they were breathing or not but that didn't matter right now. What mattered, was the dark clad figure sitting on the bosses seat, with the bosses unconscious body under its lazily put up feet. It was the monster right there and it was staring at them both with its head tilted. Almost like it was curious.
From it's seated position he could make out that true to what he had seen, the figure was dressed in all black. A long cloak dominated its tiny frame stopping at just above their boot covered feet. A hoodie sat snugly on their head, showing only an endless black where their face was supposed to be. They were idly flipping a small dagger as they regarded them both with interest.
Juro began to panic as he hastily hid behind Robin. "Nico Robin, that's them! That's the m-monster that I saw on the ship!" Juro exclaimed in fear. "They must have gotten to everyone else in the crew as well. We gotta save them!" He said shaking her rapidly in the process.
Slowly removing his hands from her shoulder, Robin regarded him coolly. Juro began to fidget from that unknown look in her eyes but, eventually she said, smile back on her face, "Yes that's definitely the "monster" you saw on the ship. Though, I must correct you on something."
Looking down at her Juro was confused. "What's wrong? You can't fight it? Is that it?" He asked, puzzled and more then a little annoyed. "Just hold it back while I wake up the others in that case," he said as he prepared to go awaken all the other members.
Robin sighed as she shook her head.
He was truly an idiot.
"That won't be necessary." At his questioning glance, she continued "You're right that he was the one on the ship. However he wasn't the one who took out the crew members. That honor, lies with me," She ended with a smile. If he had stopped to think with even a slightly normal mind he would have noticed something amiss but alas, not everyone wanted to see the truth.
Slowly, realization dawned onto Juro as he digested her words. His face morphed into one of fury as he raged. "You traitorous bitch! How could you turn against us? Now, we're all gonna die to the monster because you chose the worst time to do so!" He tried to approach her but his body crashed into the ground. Looking up he saw that same black clad figure crushing his head into the dirt. Upon closer inspection he could see a faint purple glow under the hood.
"What did you just call her?" They asked softly and Juro began quaking at the threatening tone. T-these two were in cahoots with each other? S-since when?
Utterly undisturbed Robin simply shook her head in exasperation. "Wrong again Juro. I was never on your side to begin with so I haven't betrayed anyone," She said simply.
With a confident smile on her face, she said "A Monster and a Devil, working together. Quite terrifying don't you think?" And after that simple statement, Juro felt a palm rest softly against the back of his head.
This had been a setup he realized. Nico Robin had infiltrated them and sold them out to whatever this thing was with 0 remorse. She really was a Devil and no one could control a Devil. W-why did the boss have to recruit her-
"Modification: Jam," was the last thing he heard before his mind went blank.
6 year old Rosan removed his hoodie and surveyed the work they had done with a wild grin on his face.
In the 2 years that they had been traveling together, Rosan had gained few changes. He had gotten taller, standing at a healthy 4'4 (132cm), and his hair spiked down even more wildly. Underneath his black cloak was an entirely new outfit as well. A long sleeved black shirt with a red rose in the middle of it and black cargo pants lined with red tucked neatly into his black and white shoes.
All in all he looked much similar to his 4 year old counterpart with the exception of having less baby fat, a new outfit, and messier hair. His unique purple eyes still shone brilliantly and Robin often asked him if he modified the glow into his eyes with how bright they were (he didn't!)!
Truthfully, he didn't know why they glowed! It was like this even before he had Mod-chan and Mama liked to tease him by saying he ate a lamp as a baby (the tears of panic in his eyes had made her fall from laughter)!
Robin, similarly to Rosan, had not changed too much over the 2 years, but it was more than Rosan did. Her hair had stayed the same shoulder length that she preferred and she stood at a height of 4'10 (147cm). She had opted against wearing her long purple dress and now donned a purple jacket over a simple black blouse. To finish, she had long dark blue pants and matching boots.
"Mm! Robin-nee, you sure ya needed me? You seemed to handle this just fine without me," Rosan exclaimed looking at the littered bodies in a little bit of awe. She had managed to get every single one of them but one and that dude was barely worth mentioning!
Robin-nee was pretty scary when she wanted to be.
Blushing at the praise, Robin rolled her eyes and said "It was dumb of them to trust me so easily, I just took advantage of it and poisoned every one of them." "Anyone who resisted, I promptly broke their bones and incapacitated them," she explained like it was no big deal at all. Worse, Rosan nodded along as if there was no problem at all with what she stated.
Monstrous little children.
Their plan was rather simple. All matters of crews and organizations wanted the service of the "Devil Child" Nico Robin for one reason or another. So over the years the 2 of them abused that plan to a wild degree. Robin would join the crew while Rosan would secretly tail them. The brunette stayed with them for as long as the redhead was willing to not see her, which hardly ever lasted more than a few days.
Then, with their shared connection through Modification, Rosan, guided by Robin, would show up and they would destroy them from the inside-out.
It was a surprisingly good plan considering Rosan came up with it, though, like all his other schemes, it was risky.
The first few times they had done it, Rosan hadn't even given her a day to settle in before barging in and taking everyone out. The look of surprise on her face as she saw the bodies taken out single-handedly would have made her laugh, if she weren't the one being subject to it.
To her utter disbelief, when asked why he was here so early, his only reasoning was "I missed you Robin-nee" and he shot her the most adorable puppy dog eyes. Robin had feigned anger but immediately, the deadly eyes managed to blow past all her preparation. The brat was too smart for his own good, she had melted immediately and let the topic drop.
But why go through the trouble of attacking multiple organizations?
Well it began soon after they first met.
2 Years Ago
"We're going to run out of money eventually," Robin mused.
The funds they had borrowed from the Saber pirates, were good for 2 people but, they would still need to buy necessities and that meant they'd need a source of income.
Robin had recently woken up from her, rather embarrassing, nap (she had been sleeping soundly in Mod's breasts). After apologizing profusely to the amused woman, who had just waved her off, She had left Rosan's mindscape, along with the little boy himself, and now they were discussing how they were going to approach traveling together.
They had both agreed that it would likely be just the 2 of them traveling with each other on this ship. The likelihood of them recruiting any other member was very low due to a various amount of reasons. Neither of them wanted to be the leader, Rosan didn't want anyone leading them and it would be difficult to find trustworthy people.
While it was concerning at first, Mod-chan had assured the 8 year old that she and Rosan would make up for the lack of members on their ship and that there was nothing to worry about. She would have been hard pressed to believe them but, she saw what Rosan's Devil Fruit was capable of and knew that it was incredibly versatile.
The fear on Rosan's face at Mod's confident statement made her giggle.
Worries assuaged, Robin began thinking about anything else they would need. If Mod-chan said she had it handled then Robin trusted her. The Devil Fruit seemed much more reliable then Rosan so her statements were believable. In her musing, it didn't take her long to find their next, and perhaps biggest, issue.
Money.
Getting money was going to be a bit of a problem. Robin being a wanted girl made it quite difficult for her to get a steady source of income. She couldn't imagine how someone as young as Rosan would be able to get one as well.
Voicing her concerns to the two, caused Rosan to adopt a thinking pose. It was even accompanied by the boy cupping his chin!
Robin suddenly grew nervous at that look on his face. If the boy's invasion of his newly acquired ship was any indication, then when Rosan had a plan, things were bound to get bad.
Rosan slammed a fist against his palm as an idea came to him!
"We can just steal the money! When we get to a new island, I can just sneak around and take their stuff! I'm pretty good at sneaking around!" He beamed.
Robin blinked at that. It wasn't a dangerous, or even bad, idea at all which surprised her. Maybe his ship idea was an outlier and she could expect more normal plans from him?
Yeah, there was absolutely no way.
Narrowing her eyes at him and crossing her arms, Robin simply said "You're leaving some key details out aren't you."
Rosan regarded her in slight confusion before saying "I didn't think it was that important but okay! Basically, I was thinking we could use your bounty on people to bait them, then we can take them out AND take their money! That way, it's one less group trying to sabotage you AND we have income!"
He thought that wasn't important?!
"He's only 4. He's only 4. He's only 4," Robin repeated the mantra to herself as she felt her blood pressure rise. No one had ever managed to get her to feel such a way and she felt pretty proud that it took an actually psychotic boy to be the first.
She let out a deep breath to compose herself and regarded the 4 year with patience. "Rosan, next time you think of a plan please tell me in full so that we can talk about it in detail more," She said slowly to the redhead. At Rosan's enthusiastic nod, the 8 year old allowed herself to think of the plan more.
It…wasn't a bad idea but, it was potentially dangerous if things went wrong but she had already been hopping between organizations and crews that wanted her. That wouldn't change. The only difference now, is that instead of the world government eventually finding and crushing said organizations, a combined effort of her and Rosan would be the one to do it.
Well, it certainly gave her more control so that was a plus.
After mulling it over a bit more, Robin came to a decision. "Alright we can go with your plan," The girl decided eventually. Quick to curb Rosan's excitement, Robin said "But! We need to set up some ground rules. First, we can't go after anyone too dangerous yet. Second, please don't be so reckless. Third, we need some way to communicate so that we know when to enact our plans okay?"
"I'm happy to know that you're so reliable," Mod said, sounding pleased. Robin blushed in happiness at the woman's praise.
"Alright, it'll be easy!" Rosan exclaimed and Robin smiled at his enthusiasm. Rosan was talented so she didn't doubt his claims. As long as they followed the plan it would be easy.
Present
It had not been easy.
Robin sighed fondly at the memories of when they first started doing this. It was a disaster. It wasn't that it was dangerous. In fact, it was pretty easy. The problem remained in another key issue.
Rosan was possessive. Really possessive.
The very first time she had infiltrated someones crew, she had been out of Rosan's sight for, not even a day, before he came barging into their base. Her only warning, had been Mod-chan who, along with Rosan, was linked to her through their shared connection.
Robin had watched Rosan rampage in their base with a look of pure disbelief that eventually turned into acceptance. She finally realized that trying to think of the redhead in a normal light would only degrade her sanity because the boy had long since lost his.
He had been done in a matter of minutes.
Groaning bodies littered the floor as Rosan excitedly approached her. Robin looked at him in pure defeat as Rosan threw their entire plan out of the window without a second thought. Mod offered up an apology and said "Really you should have expected this."
"Rosan..." She began.
"Yes Robin-nee?" Was his innocent response.
"What are you doing here?"
"Doing the plan Robin-nee."
"Don't you think...it's a bit too early to enact the plan? It hasn't even been a day yet."
"I missed you Robin-nee," he said bluntly. "I didn't want you staying with them, I wanted you to stay with me."
She looked at him like he were a complete idiot at his statement.
"Rosan…this was your plan. Why did you even think of this, if you couldn't handle me leaving?"
"I didn't think you were gonna leave for that long!" He protested with his cheeks puffed. "I started missing you after 1 hour and decided it would be fine if I got here early!"
"…"
"...You look pretty today Robin-nee."
"…"
"...Robin-nee?"
Robin walked away and Rosan hastily followed after, calling her name the entire time. She couldn't deal with him. Rosan was unbelievable. Completely unbelievable.
Mod-chan laughed the entire time.
"Whatcha thinking about Robin-nee?" Rosan asked curiously, snapping her out of her daze. He was currently in her personal space but she was used to it by now.
Looking down at the boy in her face, Robin smiled mischievously and said "Just thinking about the first time we did this and how you refused to let me out of your sight for even a day."
Rosan blushed in embarrassment as he remembered exactly what she was talking about. The boy pouted at her, practically whining and said "I can't help it! I was lonely so I went to get you!" Continuing he said "At least I got better though!"
Robin snorted at that. "You sure did. Now you can last 3 whole days before you come get me. Really impressive." As she spoke, a dark cloud hung over Rosan's head.
Robin could be so cruel sometimes! He was just praising her and now she was harassing him?!
"Mod-chan! Robin's bullying me! Do something!" Rosan demanded as he spoke to his Devil Fruit.
Mod-chan giggled and she said "It's not Robins fault that your so needy Rosan. Honestly, you're lucky we're so fond of you, I'm sure anyone else would be fed up with your possessive streak!"
Mod-chan was just as cruel as Robin, Rosan decided.
They were both big bullies who ganged up on him because he was the youngest and he didn't have to put up with this at all! No, he wouldn't put up with this at all! He was an independent young boy who could make his own decisions and he decided that he didn't wanna be here anymore!
He stalked away from Robin "I'm going back to the ship you jerk! Don't follow me!" and with that, he vanished into the forest.
Robin stared, amused, at the boys retreating figure. Any second now and he would-
A smaller figure crashed into her dropping her to the ground.
Snuggling her happily, Rosan said "I missed you," and continued cuddling his best friend.
Robin couldn't hold it back anymore and started laughing uncontrollably. She fondly said "I missed you too Rosan," and returned his hug. The boy's happiness was infectious and the brunette couldn't help feeling glad to see him herself.
Even if he was here too early.
Reunion finished, they both got up and patted themselves. Glancing around at the still fallen crew members, Rosan said "They're stuck here. I destroyed all their ships while that dude was running from me and took everything. If they do wake up, they won't be able to make it off and the Marines will probably find em sooner or later cuz I tipped them off."
Robin nodded with a smile at how efficient the boy was. Rosan understood exactly what to do and it swelled her and Mod-chan with pride. The brunette said "Great job Rosan, let's get off this island then and see what we can do with the loot."
With that, they began walking back to the shore.
As they arrived Rosan dug in his pocket and pulled out a tiny black ship. "Modify: Increase" and he tossed it into the sea. After a 3 second delay, it grew fully into the White Rose, their ship, and swayed gently in the sea, awaiting them to board.
Robin stretched as she made it back onto the soft grass of the ship. Over their 2 years together, Rosan continuously made changes to the ship. Outwardly, not much had changed except for the addition of grass on top of the wood of the deck.
The ship was sleeker, built for speed, and Rosan modified it to the point where he was the only one that could fully utilize the ship. While the ship could sail, said sails were often furled up due to being powered by Rosan's Devil Fruit. It did not really need the wind to keep moving and that was great because it meant they would always be able to escape.
All in all, while it was still the same ship, it definitely looked and felt much more comfortable.
"Rosan I'm going to take a bath first if you don't mind? I'll make dinner after I finish," Robin told him. Rosan nodded at her, removing a tiny bag from his pockets in the process. After a quick use of modification, the bag expanded and he began taking out and organizing everything that they stole.
He was surprisingly diligent!
Robin let him be and made her way to the shower. She began thinking about her redhead companion as she got ready.
Rosan's growth in power was downright explosive. Mod-chan admitted that Rosan's use of Modification was better then even she had anticipated and he was already surpassing her in terms of creativity with the Devil Fruit.
His versatility with it had become a sight to see and he was still scratching the surface.
The 6 year old had even managed to make a variation of Link that did not knock her unconscious and drag her into the mindscape! Now, she could speak to Mod-chan whenever she wanted and Robin really did love talking to her. The older woman was very pleasant to be around and she spoke to Robin like an equal instead of a child, which the girl appreciated.
Rosan was a genius that was growing faster than either of them expected. The Mod Mod no mi user still lamented at the fact that he couldn't transform into a dragon though. The prodigy was used to getting everything on either his first or second try with minimal effort. The fact that he couldn't achieve his #1 goal as easily as everything else left him quite annoyed.
This was good for him though. Rosan was more stubborn than anyone she had ever met! Whether he reached his goal or not of transforming into a dragon, would be a valuable lesson either way.
He would either learn that anything was achievable as long as he put his mind to it. Or, it would teach him early on some things were just not worth pursuing.
She had faith in him though. The 6 year old was going to grow into a real monster.
Finished with her shower, Robin dried herself and dressed in a lavender nightgown that Rosan had bought for her. The redhead had seen her eyeing it last year and decided to gift it to her as a present. She had kissed the boy on the cheek when he said he actually bought it for her birthday instead of stealing it!
Seeing him blush in embarrassment was worth it. It was adorable!
Well whatever the case, she was glad Rosan was on her side. He was very unpredictable and he absolutely hated listening to people. The boy truly believed that his course of action was the best sometimes and would sometimes completely disregard a plan if he thought his was better.
The redhead had such an ego!
He marched to the beat of his own drums and it fit perfectly with his chaotic nature. Luckily, the 6 year old adored her so much that, barring Mod-chan, she was the only other person he listened to.
Exiting the bathroom, Robin crossed paths with Rosan on the way to the kitchen. "I'm done bathing Rosan. I'm gonna make pasta now so you should go shower."
The boys eyes lit up as he nodded vigorously. He absolutely loved pasta, and though Robin wasn't the greatest of cooks the way he ate her food and praised her never failed to make her blush.
Robin headed to the kitchen as Rosan went to go bathe in order to prepare for the meal. Rosan took fairly long baths (Mama had taught him that hygiene was important) and the boy was surprisingly vain so she was in no rush.
The 10 year old began removing everything necessary to make the meal and began humming a tune that she heard Rosan sing on multiple occasions.
The boy could really sing!
"When you walk away. You don't hear me say. Please, oh baby don't go~"
Rosan was in the shower, soaping his hair, as he happily sang to himself. Steam rose, as hot water splashed against his body. A hot shower, after a job well done, with pasta on the way, was a great way to put Rosan in a fantastic mood!
He loved how Robin-nee cooked! She always talked about how she wasn't that good at cooking but Rosan didn't care because the effort she put into the food made it taste like one of the best meals to him.
2 years traveling with Robin-nee had been great! They had gotten incredibly close due to finding comfort in each other with their trauma and Rosan could trust the older girl with anything. Their bond had increased tremendously and they were so in sync, that they could easily read each other now.
The near constant link they had with each other helped too!
Mod-chan and Robin-nee both said he was too possessive, to which he stubbornly disagreed to. He wasn't possessive for missing Robin! The 10 year old never let him forget the first mission they went on, but they had still completed it with no issues!
He simply hadn't calculated on how much he would miss her presence the moment she disappeared! So, to stop feeling bad, he went to get her. Perfectly reasonable!
Pfft yeah right. He wasn't possessive, just reasonably worried!
"Whatever you say, Rosan," Mod's mirthful voice said. Over the 2 years, her appearance had changed very little, she still retained the appearance of an 18 year old and her signature black dress had minor changes. She had opted to decorate it with more white streaks near the edges and on the back of her dress, was a white rose similar to the one that donned their ship. On her breast area of the dress, was the white cube that was her Devil Fruit.
Her time around Rosan much like Robin, had mellowed the purple haired woman out considerably. It was impossible not to get affected by the redhead's constant cheer and sunny personality.
The 6 year old had greatly affected them both and the, once slightly frigid, Mod had turned into a warm person that only wanted the best for both Robin and Rosan. She had practically adopted the both of them as her own and she was much more playful, constantly teasing and embarrassing the both of them to great effect.
It was as funny as it was sad. Robin especially, was not used to getting much praise at all so Mod-chan made sure to shower the little girl in them. Rosan, the empathetic soul that he was, quickly caught on to her motives and the 2 of them constantly bombarded the Hana Hana no mi user with compliments whenever the opportunity arose. The poor girl had no clue how to react to the praise, but her confidence had been steadily increasing in response to it.
Good, the girl needed it.
Finishing his shower, Rosan shut the water off with a mental command (he had modified the shower as well! It used to be only a bath but he had modified a shower head onto it). The redhead wiped his soft spikes and let out a content sigh.
He loved showering! Him and Robin were both Devil Fruit users, so bathing could be potentially dangerous if one of them got submerged (they had sent pointed glances at him much to his chagrin) so Rosan had permanently borrowed a book from a store about the structure of various appliances. Learning it had been easy enough and, prepped with the new knowledge, Rosan had done some much deserved quality of life in, not only the bathroom, but all the other rooms as well!
Man, he loved Mod-chan! Her abilities were really useful and they made Robin and his lives so much easier. What he was capable of doing with Modification, was nothing short of incredible! If not for her, he wouldn't have made it so far so fast! Especially at his age too? He was probably the strongest 6 year old out there! Was there a 6 year old alive right now who was stronger than him? Nope!
If that were the case, they might as well hand him the title of strongest right now!
"That's not how it works Rosan," a blushing Mod-chan said. Rosan laughed, as he dressed in a simple black tee and shorts, at how easily flustered she was! Her and Robin were really unused to getting compliments, a fact that he abused religiously whenever he got the chance.
Though he meant everything he said, using it to get away with things was an added bonus that he wouldn't say no to.
Making his way to the kitchen, Rosan hummed to himself. Mama used to sing to him all the time and as a result, he loved music! He never failed to hum a tune to himself and now was no different. Maybe he should learn an instrument? The guitar sounded fun but he also liked the piano! He would look into that some other time.
Why wouldn't he be humming right now? Robin was making pasta and Rosan loved pasta! The 10 year old should be done anytime now and she wouldn't begin eating until he arrived. He didn't want to keep her waiting because that was rude and Rosan was not rude!
With that thought, Rosan rushed to the dining area. His damp hair sprayed water around as it shook in time with his movements. Turning instinctively and taking the shortest route, Rosan appeared to the dining room in record time. He knew the White Rose like the back of his hand!
He had worked on it after all and the advanced ship was a product of his progress.
Robin had already prepared a plate for him as he entered the room to which he gratefully smiled at. The girl in question, was sitting in the plush seat next to him, absentmindedly reading a book, with steaming pasta in front of her.
Noticing him immediately, she took once glance and went back to reading. "Dry your hair Rosan, I don't want water in my pasta," was all she said.
Rolling his eyes, Rosan stepped back a bit a put a hand in his hair, eyes glowing in the telltale sign of Modification. He didn't feel like finding a towel so he would just modify the moisture out!
Slowly but surely, he guided his hand through his full head of hair. Every part he touched, drained the excessive moisture out of his hair. In a matter of seconds, Rosan's spikes were free of water. Rosan grinned ear to ear and promptly sat right next to Robin.
Shutting her book, Robin muttered a "cheater" under her breath and dug into her plate. Rosan laughed and began eating away at the pasta. The 6 year old beamed as he showered Robin in praise at the food. It was so good!
The girl lightly shoved him, blushing all the while. Mod joined in on the teasing and the poor girl was subject to the double team of boy and fruit.
"You two, that's not fair!" Robin whined. She had been getting used to their teasing but it still flustered her when they bombarded her with compliments like this.
Rosan just laughed at her embarrassment and continued singing her praises between bites.
Pouting, Robin turned back to her food and tried to tune him out unsuccessfully. It was difficult to ignore the redheads presence. He was like a loud, shining sun and he knew it.
For such a sweet kid, Rosan sure was a jerk.
The plaza was filled with people.
They were chatting about whatever mundane thing they thought of, others were trying to purchase items and some just wanted to get home and had the misfortune of needing to go this way. All in all, it was a bustling area. There was something being done at every corner but all of that something was so… lackluster.
So boring.
Perfect for what he wanted to do.
Reaching into his pocket, 8 year old Rosan pulled out the object of the hour with a wild look in his eye. In his palm rested a toy figure. Upon closer inspection, it could be easily identified as a robot. The robot was dominantly white with a blue dome on the top of its head. The same shade of blue covered a majority of its arms and appeared as tiny marks on its legs.
Finished with his inspection, Rosan grinned mischievously. He and Robin had split up the moment they landed on this island. The preteen said she had "girl" business to do, whatever that meant, and when Rosan asked, she said she would tell him when he was older.
Mod-chan had seemingly understood what the 12 year old was doing and urged Rosan to give her a good sum of their Beri. Without much fuss, they had went their own ways, promising to meet up on a remote part of the island.
Now, here he was on the roof of one of the buildings in the plaza.
Wearing his standard disguise in broad daylight, was quite counterproductive to a disguise. Due to that, he had opted to wear a simple white and red hoodie and long black pants. His hair was tied up in a messy spiked ponytail so that he could put up his hoodie without his hair showing.
In the odd chance someone took his hoodie off, they wouldn't even see him! He had modified his hair and turned it pitch black and his eyes were of a similar shade with practically invisible irises.
Not much had outwardly changed with Rosan (which he raged at) but his hair had grown longer. The 8 year old had meant to cut it to shoulder length again but it kept slipping his mind. Right now the redheads ponytail reached his upper back, which was too long in his opinion, and he would probably cut it shorter after this trip. But besides that, he looked the exact same.
Unlike Robin who had suddenly begun growing in spades…she towered over him now and made sure to lord that fact over him constantly. She had informed him that she had begun going through puberty, which was why she was so much taller than him now but seriously, she was too tall right now. The girl was over a foot taller than him right now!
The 8 year old needed to go through puberty now as well!
Well no matter, right now Robin was somewhere doing something and he was bored and this was how he would stave his boredom off. Was it a good idea? Probably not. Would it be fun?
Absolutely.
They were currently located on some island in the North Blue. He hadn't bothered to learn the name of it since they hadn't planned on staying too long on it. That meant he could play a little prank on these people! That would be fun.
Smiling mischievously, Rosan set his plans in motion. "Modify: Increase, x10" He whispered as he threw the toy robot onto a largely empty zone of the plaza. He didn't wanna kill anyone after all!
That would be pretty bad, not to mention attention grabbing.
The passing people screamed as a giant something suddenly appeared from thin air. It didn't move at all but that didn't register to the people. In seconds, the idle, boring, nature had turned into a mad scramble as people tried to get out of there. People struggled to push past each other as they rushed to leave the area. The giant stayed stationary all the while not making a single move.
It made sense, he hadn't given it the ability to move after all. Although...he wondered how effective the Robot could be when it could move. Could Rosan make it fight for him? He would need to look into that later.
Within moments, the plaza was barren and Rosan laughed at his handiwork. Leaping off the roof, Rosan landed gently on the floor next to his toy robot who remained stationary. Patting it happily on the leg, Rosan reverted the changes he had done and stuck the, now shrunken, toy back in his pocket. Another glance showed that no one had even been injured, so it was a huge success for him!
"I fail to realize what part of this qualifies as a prank Rosan," a deadpan Mod spoke.
Shaking his head, as if dealing with a child, Rosan said "You wouldn't understand Mod-chan! Things like this, just aren't your cup of tea!"
"Then please enlighten me on how this is not an act of terrorism."
"Nobody got hurt of course!"
"That's not how it works Rosan."
"Haha! You're too old Mod-chan, that's why you don't understand!"
Rosan recognized his mistake a second too late and his eyes widened in dread.
"I'm sorry may you please repeat that? You said I'm too what?"
"…"
"I'm waiting Rosan."
"…Has anyone ever told you how amazing you look?"
"Only 2 people know how I look Rosan. Now stop avoiding my question."
"Sorry Mod-chan! I can't hear you over the sound of me not listening. Ow! Okay okay! I'm sorry Mod-chan please stop making my head hurt! Please! I said please!"
After Rosan learned the important lesson of not messing with Mod-chan(for the 100th time), he had looted the plaza for things they needed ("This is terrorism Rosan,"). He was now headed to the designated spot where him and Robin were supposed to meet up.
He rubbed his head to get rid of the lingering effects of his Devil Fruits unnecessary assault, as he walked into the empty clearing where he and Robin agreed to meet.
Returning to his original crimson locks and royal purple eyes, Rosan sat down against a random tree and prepared to enter the mindscape. The boy wanted to give Mod-chan a piece of his mind before Robin got back about respecting his head! The 8 year old closed his eyes and right before he entered...
He felt something.
A clear gas slowly seeped into the clearing and Rosan's eyes snapped open in sudden alertness. Rosan hastily donned his mask, but it was too late. He had already inhaled some of the gas, which must have been sleeping gas, and it was quickly taking effect.
The boy felt his body get sluggish and he cursed.
"Rosan focus! I'm currently purging the poison from your body so stay alert," Mod's urgent voice came out. Rosan swooned a bit but shrugged it off as another problem quickly arose.
They were surrounded.
A group of people came out and soon, there was no exit available to the clearing. They had all donned masks on, giving away the fact that they were the likely perpetrators of the gas. They all leaked a malicious aura and Rosan had no illusion who the target of their ire was.
A trap. Meant just for him.
Well shit.
He had always assumed Robin would be the one targeted by all sorts of people. Rosan never thought that someone besides the World Government would have eyes on him of all people. Especially not so soon.
It wasn't looking good for him… he could barely stay upright and there looked to be at least 10 full grown adults. Was this a setup? He had done well to hide his tracks on this island. Had he slipped up somewhere? It couldn't have been due to his robot shenanigan, these people had clearly been waiting for him to show up.
Had he been set up? That was impossible. The only person who knew where the meetup spot was located was…was…
No, no time to think about where it went wrong. These people were clearly hostile and Rosan needed to deal with them fast so they could focus their full attention on the poison.
These men needed to go by any means necessary.
With that thought, Rosan braced himself.
Amplifying himself like it was 2nd nature, the 8 year old launched himself at the nearest foe, hand balled into a fist that he quickly slammed into the offenders face. He offered himself a small sense of satisfaction at the mans agonized screams as he clenched his now broken nose. His screams were silenced as a swift kick to the skull knocked him unconscious.
These men were far quicker to react however and soon, they all charged him at once.
"This seems fair," was his only thought before he was forced to duck under a heavy blow from a large man. In this crouched position, Rosan slammed his left foot on the man's legs and entered a handstand. Keeling over from the surprising amount of pain, he was greeted by two boot clad feet crashing into his face that sent him into the realm of unconsciousness.
Flipping himself upright, Rosan watched with slightly bleary eyes as the other men charged him. The first one who reached him swung a meaty fist down at him but the 8 year old grabbed onto the side of his arm and flew with the punch. Using the momentum against him, Rosan harshly pulled and the fat man crashed into the floor. 3 vicious stomps on his head meant he was down for the count as well.
Rosan got up, but yelped as a kick crashed into his sides and he collapsed momentarily. He quickly shook himself awake as the effects of the poison seemed to get even stronger.
Looking up at the offender in fury, Rosan dodged the second kick and delivered an elbow on the underside of the still extended leg.
The resounding crunch was music to his ears. Everyone still fighting, barring Rosan, momentarily winced at the noise it made.
It took the man a second to realize that his leg had been broken but, before he could even clutch it, Rosan had already moved onto his still healthy (for now) leg.
Getting behind the now screaming man, Rosan delivered a roundhouse kick to his calf and watched in sadistic glee as the man fell over. Not finished yet, the redhead stomped on the man's legs over and over again. Repeatedly he stamped on the same spot until he grew tired of it. The bone in that area was more akin to dust after he finished.
Rosan wanted to admire his handiwork but he couldn't, not yet. The 8 year old got up as the other men paused to apprehensively look at him. No one seemed to be in a rush to fight the boy who had dispatched 4 of their own that easily.
Good, they feared him. That would help him in the long run if he wanted to get out of this with minimal injuries.
Taking a step forward, Rosan contemplated on who to go for next. Most likely he would target the one on the farthest left, he looked the most afraid and he'd likely be able to take him out quickly. Mind made up Rosan took another step forward —
And stumbled.
The poison had finally caused him to slip up and it seemed like the men were waiting for this exact moment. Like sharks smelling blood, they converged on him immediately.
He had fortified himself with Modification, but he was still only 8 and he was going up against grown adults. There was no way he'd be able to handle an onslaught from these men for longer. Panicking slightly, Rosan realized he wouldn't be able to hide Modification from these men because he needed to use it.
It was the only way out of this situation. The only problem was that, Mod was forcing a lot of the power into keeping him awake and counteracting the poison. No matter, he would just —
A blunt object smashed into the back of his head, interrupting his thought process and, without so much as a peep, Rosan blacked out.
"Man what an annoyingly strong brat. I can see why the Doc wanted him now." Person #1 said
"Yeah lets hope he was worth the trouble." Said Person #2
"Doesn't matter if he isn't, Doc gets what he wants. Now cuff him and lets go." Person 1 demanded.
"What about the others?" Asked Person 3.
"Burn the bodies and hide them. They aren't useful anymore." Person 1 responded bluntly.
"But-" Person 3 tried to protest.
"But?" Person 1 said in a threatening manner.
"…Nothing," was 3's only response.
"Good, since you care about these bodies so much I'll leave the job to you." Was all 1 said before hauling up the child's body and walking off.
The others quickly followed after him leaving 3 alone to do the task.
This island was quickly becoming unsafe to stay on.
Normally that would be fine for Robin as she would just leave with Rosan, with a new disguise on, but there was a major problem that could not be ignored.
Rosan was nowhere to be found.
He had been missing for the better part of 3 days now and the 12 year old was terribly worried. They rarely separated for this long and, though she liked to tease him about how possessive he was, she was nearly as clingy of the boy as he was of her.
She was just much better at hiding it.
But now, she couldn't find him and the signs were pointing at the worst.
It all started, when she was headed back to the clearing that they agreed to meet up on. Robin had begun noticing changes within her body, which she knew was puberty, and, with the guidance of some books and Mod-chan, she was quickly off to buy the proper things needed.
She separated from Rosan with that goal in mind. The girl had contemplated taking him with her, but the boy's penchant for chaos would undoubtedly be a hindrance so she firmly told him to do something else.
She already regret making that decision.
After buying herself the essentials, the budding Robin had made the long trek back to the clearing. She was on the opposite side of the island so Rosan would definitely whine at her for taking so long. Rubbing a certain spot on his head, always caused him to forgive her immediately though.
Finally arriving to the meeting spot they had agreed on, Robin braced herself for the inevitable tackle and the complaints about how late she was.
Silence greeted her and Robin glanced around the clearing in confusion.
Something wasn't right and she suddenly felt nervous. Rosan should have been here by now so where was he?
Upon closer inspection, Robin noticed just what was so off with the area. There had been an intense scuffle here. Marks littered the floors and there was blood in various spots. Worry started seeping into her frame as she used her devil fruit to sprout eyes all across the field.
It only confirmed her fears. Based on what she was seeing, Rosan had likely been attacked and she hadn't been there to help him. From the looks of it, he had lost too. Rosan was strong, Robin knew this first hand and for him to be defeated here…was he ambushed?
This blood…was it his?
Frantically, Robin began searching all over for the young boy. Her search of the island was a negative though. No matter how hard she looked, Rosan was nowhere to be seen. The boy had disappeared completely and Robin began to fear the worst.
Worst of all, the Marines had begun flocking to this island, almost as if someone had alerted them. She had to stay hidden in her approach for Rosan, but it was getting difficult and she had made a few close calls already. Unless she risked being captured, she'd have to leave the island soon.
It had been 3 days since she began looking for him and, as the days went by, she was beginning to lose hope. She had tried to use the connection between the two of them and it brought nothing but radio silence.
The final nail in the coffin had been during her search for him. She had stumbled upon the burnt figure of a body with Rosan's clothes. Tears pricked her eyes as she lost her breath.
No! This wasn't possible…he couldn't be dead!
Robin ruthlessly composed herself and started thinking rationally. Panicking was not going to help her figure out what actually happened to Rosan. It was obvious that he was ambushed and the redhead had done nothing to warrant getting killed.
No, it was unlikely that Rosan had been killed, by the looks of it he had been captured. Mod-chan would ensure that he survived and, in the likelihood that he were being defeated, the entire island would know he's fighting.
She would know he was fighting.
Wiping her tears away, they would do her no good, Robin gained a determined look on her face. She would find Rosan but first, she had to get off this island.
The redhead normally shrunk the White Rose and put it in his pocket, so she'd have to find a new ship. The Mod Mod no mi user really was reliable and now that he was missing, Robin's life would be much harder.
Without Rosan, she'd probably have to resort to joining organizations again, but that was okay. She'd do it if it brought her closer to her best friend.
He would be fine. Thinking otherwise just wasn't a possibility. He was fine, he had to be.
So why? Why wouldn't her tears stop. Why was she sobbing so pathetically when Rosan needed her? The redhead would hate to see her crying like this but Rosan wasn't here to see her tears. He wasn't here and there was a chance that he was dea —
Robin sobbed and sobbed to herself, hoping dearly that Rosan or Mod-chan would comfort her.
Nobody answered her calls.
Chapter End
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