Capítulo 35: Chapter 20: Family 2
The blue kimono was short and it showed off her strong, yet feminine, arms and legs. The other pretty girl had azure blue hair that was streaked with white, a tiara on top of it, and sapphire earrings that reminded her of Rosan's own set.
"I'm sorry for Angel," she told the two, with a strained smile on her face. "She takes a while to warm up to people and can come off as... difficult due to that. I'll be sure to talk to her about her bad manners later."
She held out a hand and said, "I'm Maro! You're here for Rosan, right? I'm his student!"
Makino smiled and took the offered hand in her own. "I'm Makino and this is Mayor Woop Slap! We met Rosan a while ago when he first came to our village!" She explained to the beaming bluenette.
"Woop Slap is a stupid name," Angel muttered and Maro put a hand over her mouth, only to yelp at the feeling of being licked. She rounded on the redhead with a glare and the middle triplet stuck her tongue out childishly.
The Mayor looked like he was about to burst a blood vessel and Makino had to stop herself from laughing.
"Makino!" A voice called excitedly and she held out her hands to catch the hyper Luffy. The boy crashed into her in glee and a much calmer Rosan followed suit.
"Greetings, Makino," Rosan nodded to the woman and she moved over to hug him, much to Angel's outrage. "I see you've met Angel and Maro."
"I have! You didn't tell me you knew such pretty people," Makino commented idly. "Is Angel your sister?"
"She is my clone but yes, I do like to refer to her as my little sister," Rosan commented and Angel couldn't help but glomp him in joy. He deftly caught her and she began snuggling him.
"Clone…?" Makino wondered.
"Yes. She is a clone of me. I have another one named Demon but he is not here due to having to attend to urgent matters back home."
"Maro's a Princess!" Luffy exclaimed. "That's why she can't join my crew!"
Maro sweatdropped at that but nodded her head. "Luffy please don't tell everyone that the first time you introduce me. It could get me in trouble in the future when you become a pirate."
Now she understood why Rosan didn't want him to know he was Reaper.
"You're a princess?!" Makino gasped in awe, appraising the girl before her. "Is that why you said you don't have to worry about money? Is Maro-san funding you?" Getting money from a princess would probably stop anyone from worrying about running out of it.
Maro and Angel both snorted in unison. "Hell no," the princess replied rather crudely.
"Master has had a ton of money long before we met!" The bluenette beamed. "Though, do you want me to give you money in the future? We're already pretty wealthy now, you know!"
Makino eyed Rosan in curiosity. Just who was the mysterious boy really?
"That won't be necessary, Maro. I want you guys to develop as much as possible in the coming years. Anything you want to give me, spend it on Angel or your island," the redhead responded, making his fellow redhead blush bashfully.
"Hmm. Alright but this isn't over! I will be useful to you in anyway possible and that includes collecting any money I want to give you!"
"Oh you!" Angel gushed to her face triplet and the green haired woman couldn't help but gawk at the complete 180 in personality.
"Master has her completely whipped," Maro whispered into her ear, shaking her head in confusion. "I don't get it! I'm her girlfriend but I can never get her under control like he does. She'll fight tooth and nail with me but once Master says something it's all "Yes, Master!" and I'm just grumbling in my corner about how unfair it is..."
"You two are dating?!" Makino whispered back in shock, looking between them. "That's so adorable!" She gushed and Maro blushed bashfully.
"We have to talk more about it later but for now..." the bartender tapered off, pulling out an array of clothing.
"I figured Garp didn't think about things like this so, I brought new clothes!" Makino beamed and Luffy laughed in excitement at the prospect of clothing.
"I got some for all four of you," the green haired lady said, looking at Ace and Sabo as well.
The two hidden boys looked confused for a moment but Sabo eventually grinned and made his way out, shooting a teasing grin at Ace all the while.
Ace eventually followed after Makino beckoned him and Rosan eyed the woman.
"I don't need clothes," the redhead said blandly and he pointed at his long sleeved red shirt as if to prove his point. "I have more than enough. Angel and Akemi made sure of it."
"But I went to the trouble to get you some…" Makino mock frowned at the tall teen. "You might as well add some more to your wardrobe!"
Rosan tilted his head at her and nodded. "Okay. Since you already have it, I'll accept it."
Makino and Maro both beamed, though the bluenette had a rather unsavory gleam in her eyes.
A few minutes later, a now shirtless, Rosan asked, "Is this part really necessary? Even if the clothing doesn't fit, I can make it without having to do unnecessary parts like this."
"No, I think this is perfectly fine," Maro said shamelessly, staring at Rosan without a care in the world. She idly checked around her mouth to make sure she wasn't drooling and gave herself a thumbs up at a job well done.
"I agree with Maro," Angel joined simply, also staring shamelessly. What? She could appreciate her master's good looks! He looked like her after all and she was damn good looking!
"You two are dating," Rosan pointed out flatly. "Mod-chan if you take over my body, everyone is gonna see you half naked," he informed the fuming woman. She had been rather inactive lately, but leave it to her to always want to protect his chastity.
"I don't have to transform."
"Down girl," Ram cackled, successfully holding the woman back.
Mod grumbled in annoyance but conceded.
"Exactly! We can both comfortably appreciate the sight because we're dating," Maro finished smugly and Angel nodded again. It was a win-win in their books.
"Can you blame them?" Makino giggled. She was personally giving him the clothing so that gave her the benefit of being the closest, a gift she didn't mind taking advantage of.
Years of harsh training, that Mod-chan reinforced, had ended up benefiting Rosan greatly. His body was honed from exercise and it translated into a muscular swimmer's build that Maro and Angel seemingly appreciated. Even Makino could admit that she was going a little slow on purpose.
"You're always wearing long sleeved clothing," Maro sighed sadly. "You should just go full shirtless some days. Reveal some skin!"
"We used to shower together."
"That was before your growth spurt! You were adorable then, not hot like now!" She complained. Damn it, she should have pretended to still be afraid of bathing alone...
"You two bathed together?" Makino asked in surprise.
"Yes. Maro was afraid of being left alone and she didn't know how to bathe properly so I bathed with her until Angel took my place. Then when she got her Devil Fruit, she began showering instead so she had to do it alone," Rosan explained and the green haired woman blinked at that information.
"Those days were chaotic," Maro mused fondly. "Angel remember when you hated me because you thought Master wanted to date me?! Look at us now!" she snorted and Angel had the decency to blush in embarrassment.
"I was angry and stressed and thought that Master could do way better," she said flatly and the bluenette laughed loudly.
"Well, it turned out for the best!" She gushed, hugging the taller girl and Angel rolled her eyes but returned it. That was until Maro registered the second part.
"WHAT DO YOU MEAN YOU THINK MASTER COULD HAVE DONE WAY BETTER?!" She gaped.
"Exactly what I said," Angel grinned mockingly.
"You are so full of it! How can you say that so confidently when we're dating?!" Maro glared at the redhead.
"I was just showing you pity!" Angel glared back.
"YOU'RE THE ONE WHO CONFESSED!"
Their lover's spat was broken up by Ace assaulting Luffy and Sabo for making fun of him being so embarrassed at the ordeal.
The two offenders were laughing as they ran away from the infuriated 10 year old and the watching girls giggled at their antics.
"...Why haven't you put a shirt on me yet?" Rosan asked.
"Just a second," Makino reassured.
"Just be some eye candy for a little longer! The only times I see you shirtless are when I "accidentally" walk in on you changing," Maro demanded.
"I decide his outfits most of the time so I don't have that problem," Angel shrugged before pausing. "Wait. Why did you put so much emphasis on accidentally?! Maro you're such a shameless pervert goddammit!"
"Pervert?! Me?! I'm just a person who can appreciate clear beauty!"
Rosan nearly sighed. They were so ridiculous.
Makino cooked everyone a meal that night and all was going well. Rosan had offered to help her cook, but she had insisted that she could do it on her own and for him to just relax. The redhead had simply nodded and went to go do just that.
Luffy, Ace and Sabo were talking about becoming pirates, when Rosan suddenly tensed up.
The redhead's gaze snapped up to the entrance and Ram let loose a snarl.
"You again," she growled. The silver haired teen remembered vividly how effortlessly he had dealt with Rosan and her glare deepened.
No one toyed with her Father like that.
"Master…? What's wrong?" Angel asked, noticing his shift immediately and getting everyone's attention.
Rosan's only response was for Ram to transform into his gloves. That action put everyone who knew about his gloves, on edge. They knew just what he was capable of doing with the black combat gloves and Dadan dearly hoped he didn't destroy the entire hideout this time.
"You're still talking about crap like that?!" A gruff voice called out.
Luffy and Ace paled.
Rosan stared but didn't move. Angel moved over to make sure he was alright, as the teen watched everything that was happening.
"Outside," The 14 year old said suddenly, standing up and making his fellow redhead pause in worry. "Go outside so we can continue from last time or else this whole building will be caught in the crossfire."
The onlookers gaped at the insanity displayed by the redhead. Did he have no fear?! Garp had taken him out in two hits last time and he was still this hellbent on fighting him?
Garp looked at the redhead with an unreadable look in his eyes. "You're still trying to kill me, brat?"
"Of course. I will never forgive you for what you did until your name is written on a tombstone, or mine is," Rosan replied but he wasn't displaying any obvious anger this time.
The teen stepped past the giant man and made his way outside.
Makino was confused. Last time she saw the two, Rosan displayed no interest in fighting the old man… He was only interested in seeing his… brother, who lived with mountain bandits, for 10 years.
Ah, now she understood.
Garp grumbled something about being 10 years too early and unruly brats before he lumbered outside.
Everyone else followed suit. They would not want to miss this.
"Save us Rosan!" Luffy begged with tears in his eyes.
"Rosan's strong but the old man is a monster…" Ace muttered. He didn't think Rosan was going to win this.
"Do you need help, Master?" Maro asked, already prepared to summon Daisy. Monkey D. Garp was a monster of a Marine, even if the two of them teamed up and fought him with everything they had, it wouldn't be nearly enough but that didn't mean anything. If her Master wanted to fight, then she'd join him no matter what.
"No. Stay out of this. I'm the one Garp offended me so I'm the one who will deal with it," Rosan said blankly. Maro hesitantly nodded and anxiously spectated the upcoming fight. She hated seeing him get hurt while she could potentially help but it was his orders and she would obey.
"He lost so decisively yet he's talking like he doesn't care at all about that fact," Dadan thought in surprise. There was something wrong with her oldest brat and she hoped Garp didn't hurt him too badly... not that she cared about him or anything.
Ace explained the situation to a confused Makino and her mouth opened in surprise.
"Rosan… was trying to kill him?" The 19 year old asked in shock.
"Yeah, he was out for blood but he lost pretty one-sidedly," Ace muttered, staring intently. Rosan was fighting Garp because of him and he didn't know how he felt about that.
On one hand, Rosan was justifiably angry at the fact that Garp didn't properly take care of him. On the other, Ace didn't need anyone to defend him and despite his living conditions, he was fine.
But this was of Rosan's own volition and it was clear that he barely did things on his own accord now.
Ace would let him have this then.
"I'm not going to let this training drag out for long this time, brat," Garp grunted. "I've still got to train the other brats."
"Duly noted," Rosan said and a massive pair of reptilian wings burst from his back.
Without signal, Rosan took to the skies and his whole form began changing.
"Modification: Ragnarok."
"Seriously?!" Maro gawked at the sight of Rosan activating his draconic transformation. There was so much shrubbery and grass around! Was he trying to start a fire?!
"W-What's happening?!" Makino panicked, stepping back, despite the paralyzing fear trying to restrain her, at the sight of Rosan transforming into something overwhelmingly menacing.
Ace, Sabo and Luffy grinned eagerly. Rosan had told them he could transform into a dragon and now it looked like they'd finally be able to see it!
Garp only looked confused.
Just what exactly was this brat's Devil Fruit? What type of fruit allowed him to do all of this? Did he have a Mythical Zoan? That's what it looked like to the Vice Admiral. It's not like Kaido was the only Dragon in existence... perhaps this was just another type of mythical zoan that granted a different array of abilities...
Wouldn't Sengoku have mentioned a fruit like this though...? Ugh, he should have payed more attention to what he had to say.
A massive black dragon loomed above them all and a primal sort of terror ran through all but Garp's body.
Makino began to shake, as she instinctively tried to look for an area to run to, desperate to hide from that massive monster. He was huge, blocking their vision of the night sky and his obsidian black scales were streaked with red. Glowing, heterochromatic, eyes were focused on Garp but it felt like he was watching them all.
The 3 brothers stared at the dragon with wide eyes. This was nothing like the giant tiger in the jungle.
Rosan reared his head back and let loose a terrifyingly loud roar that they were sure all of Dawn Island could hear. There would probably not be anyone lingering outside for much longer.
"RAOGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"
"It's smaller than normal," Angel muttered and their gaze snapped to her in surprise.
"It's probably so he can maneuver easier," Maro reasoned and she nodded in agreement.
"He can get bigger?!" They screeched and the couple nodded.
"I think his max is like 40 meters," the redheaded clone said and they gaped at that information.
Rosan opened his maw and let loose a condensed amount of flames, solely wanting to target Garp. It wasn't his intention to burn down the forest so he'd need to exercise control of his flames while increasing the power behind them.
As the fire began to form, he concentrated on focusing the power into one precise point. This would reduce its area of effect but it would do much more damage to a target. Once he gathered the required energy, the dragon let the attack fly.
His laserlike flame shot out at massive speed towards the Vice Admiral like it had been shot out of a cannon. It seemed like the old man didn't have enough time to dodge the attack and it connected squarely with him causing an explosion of dust to shoot up.
Once the smoke settled, Rosan could only stare blankly at the utterly unharmed form of Garp. It's not that he had been too slow... he just decided to completely tank his attack with barely a grunt.
"What the fuck?" Ram said eloquently, staring at that monster with wide eyes. His outfit hadn't even been affected! What was this guy?! Was he... was he really this out of their league?
"That attack could pierce through steel and he just took it?" Rosan hummed. This was going to be bad. Unless he wanted to burn the forest down (this island was so lucky his brothers resided here), Ragnarok wouldn't be very useful right now.
As if to prove that he was more than fast enough, Garp vanished from his spot and appeared right on top of the Dragon. He was about to punch the flying reptile but the swipe of a tail momentarily distracted him.
Rosan tried to turn so that he could attempt to gouge Garp with his claws, but the old man prevented that by grabbing his swinging tail and, in a monstrous display of strength, the Vice Admiral jumped off the Dragon, appendage still in hand, and launched the creature into the ground with bruising force.
"Hm, so Ragnarok is a no go too," Rosan thought as he crashed into the unforgiving floor. It cracked beneath his weight immediately and the dragon instinctively snarled.
"Would the fight have been different if we weren't in the forest?" Ram mused. A lot of Ragnarok's options were limited due to watching out for the surrounding area and not wanting to cause a forest fire but she doubted a change of scenery would close the gap between the two of them.
"It would grant us more freedom to fly, but he can fly too and I'm sure he can keep up with us before we get out of his reach," Rosan replied, looking at the old man rocketing towards him. He experimentally tried to shoot a massive wave of flames upward but the man literally batted it aside and continued his course unimpeded.
Luffy's grandpa was a real monster.
Rosan could just accept his defeat here but that went against his character. He would never accept defeat until he was truly incapacitated or someone whose life he care about, was in danger.
Garp crashed onto nothing due to Rosan reverting back into his human form and the redhead launched himself backwards. Mid leap, Ram transformed into two double barrel pistols and he began firing a burst of bullets at the man.
The Vice Admiral looked impressed that Rosan was able to react so quickly and he began to tilt his body side to side to dodge every shot from the teens gun.
"You don't have to attack me every time you see me, brat," Garp commented in annoyance. He still had to train the other three brats and this one was taking up a lot of his time.
Rosan's response was to let loose a salvo of enhanced bullets on him. The old man dodged every single one and he tutted.
"How is he able to consistently do that?" Rosan did not have bad aim. On the contrary, he was quite adept at hitting things with his various artillery weapons, so it made no sense at all for Garp to have dodged every single one of his bullets.
The Vice Admiral sighed as the bullets stopped so that the redhead could transform it into a double barrel shotgun in order to continue his assault in a different way. Fighting this brat wouldn't get anything done. Garp could knock him out hundreds of times but he would continue to attack him until he was dead or stronger than him.
"Why didn't you come with us that day?" The Vice Admiral asked because this wouldn't be happening if Rosan didn't run away in the first place. The redhead was upset at him for not properly raising Ace but he was the one who chose to run away from that responsibility.
"I would rather die then put my trust in a group of people who would condemn a newborn for the sins of their parent. I was 4 and I had to watch my innocent mother die because of your organization. You think I don't know the cause of my mother's death? You think I don't know who caused it?" Rosan berated him quietly.
The ones who didn't know about Rosan's past, froze in shock at the revelation. They looked to Garp, hoping that what the boy said was not true, but the man was uncharacteristically silent.
Maro stepped back in surprise and tears brimmed in her eyes at the depressing information. Angel grabbed her shoulders and hugged the Princess as grief flooded the two. The middle triplet knew everything about her Master's past but it never stopped hurting when she had to think about his mother's fate.
Makino felt tears falling at the words Rosan said and how empty he sounded saying them. At only 4… he watched his mother die? She couldn't even fathom how much pain the boy must have been in and she wanted nothing more than to give him soothing words.
Sabo didn't have a good relationship with his parents but that looked to be the complete opposite with Rosan. He looked at the 14 year old in sympathy at the trials he probably had to go through and felt his determination to help him, deepen.
Ace had been told this already but that didn't make it easier to hear. His mother was a fantastic person who his older brother loved dearly and there didn't seem to be day where he wasn't thinking about her. The knowledge that he had failed her so completely, really didn't make his feelings to gramps more positive.
"Gramps, is that true?" Luffy asked sadly and the question seemed to take all of the fight out of the man. To hear his grandson ask that question... it was too much for even Garp.
Garp understood why Rosan felt that way perfectly and it made filled him with a weariness that truly showed his age.
He needed to approach this differently. If he didn't nothing would ever get done until Rosan achieved his goal or died trying. The redhead was surprisingly vengeful and it seemed like he was bad at letting things go.
Rosan watched as the old man got on his knees and bowed his head until it touched the floor.
Everyone witnessing had their mouths open in disbelief at the sight of Garp groveling near the teen.
"I'm sorry," Garp said gravely, not raising his head off the floor.
"You're... sorry?" Rosan asked softly and he tilted his head. Did he think... an apology was going to make up for what he had done? For what the Marines had done to him? Was he supposed to forgive all of them now for this one man's apology?
"Monkey D. Garp," the redhead called coldly. "All I ever wanted, was to spend my days with my loving mother and my baby brother in peace. All I wanted, was to be a big brother and to have the safety of my mother."
No one else said anything, afraid of interrupting the redhead, but emotions were high at the moment.
"But for 20 months, my mother, Portgas D. Rouge, was forced to endure the hellish process of pregnancy. Through sheer will. All because of you morally inept Marines. All because you wanted to kill my little brother. All because my little brother's birth was considered a sin to the entire world. My same little brother who was condemned to death the very moment he was born."
"I never wanted it to be like this," Garp said quietly.
"Bullshit," he snarled in a burst of anger and everyone reeled back in surprise, not expecting to hear genuine anger in his, normally neutral, tone. "You only knew about Ace because he told you right? Before he got killed, he must have asked you to save him and that's how you knew. But you only came 20 months after his death," Rosan said and his pressure began unintentionally leaking.
Mod's eyes widened in a staggering amount of dread, as a realization hit her like a freight train.
"Why didn't you come earlier? I was two when the Marines announced their presence and you came on the day Mom was giving birth. How did you know she'd be giving birth that day? You knew about our existence, Garp. You are one of the strongest and most respected Marines in the world, yet you condemned my mother to death when you could have saved her."
"...I couldn't. This was a direct order from the Fleet Admiral and not even I could do anything about it," Garp replied truthfully and the redhead stared at him. "I never agreed with the idea that they should be killing newborns on that island but my hands were tied so all I could do was sneak over when she was finally ready to give birth."
"I had no idea you watched your mother die that day," the Hero of the Marines told him gravely.
"Of course I did. How do you think I knew to run away from you?" The redhead asked rhetorically. "While my mom suffered, I could only think "Why do the Marines want my little brother dead so bad?" and that made me realize I couldn't ever trust them. After all, how could I ever put my trust in the same group of people that played such a strong hand in my mother dying?"
"But despite my hatred for you all, Ace didn't have any of that hatred," he said softly, getting a gasp out of his freckled brother. "Ace was a newborn and I was four years old. I had the knowledge of who caused Mama to die, but he didn't. Not only that, I would never be able to properly take care of him while sailing the dangerous seas because truthfully, I couldn't even properly take care of myself. But, I would never go with you."
Garp understood that and so, he said nothing. What could he say? There was nothing that could come out of his mouth, that would make the situation more favorable for him and honestly, he deserved this because the corruption of some Marines was something he could only watch as a reluctant bystander.
"Mama's last wish for me, was to help Ace grow into an amazing person," Rosan reminisced. He would never forget her last words. He had vivid dreams about them, he replayed it in his mind every time he laid his eyes on his younger brother, and the guilt of failing her, made sure they would remain with him forever.
"I couldn't do that in the condition I was in. I was four and I just lost my mother. I would never have been able to properly raise Ace into the man she wanted him to be," he concluded. It would have been impossible. A little baby was not meant to sail the seas with someone completely unfitting for it. Rosan's life was already dangerous without the child but with him? They'd both have died and not even Mod would have been able to prevent it.
Hearing it like that, Ace understood Rosan's points completely now. He couldn't find it in himself to blame his older brother for doing what he did because the freckled boy would surely react the same way. The only difference is that he'd have taken his little brother and gotten them both killed... something Rosan wanted to avoid at all costs.
"So against all my better judgment, I chose to trust you despite what you were apart of. Trust that you could raise Ace better than I could because Mom trusted you. I trusted that you could honor Mama's words better than I could because I already failed to remain with him."
Rosan spoke quietly but everyone could hear every word he said. They hadn't missed a single word he had said and some couldn't even hold back their silent tears.
"But you failed."
They winced at that statement. Rosan's voice was flat and to the point and it conveyed none of the suffering he had been through. The burst of anger that had momentarily appeared, vanished without a trace.
"My mother spent 20 months of agony making sure Ace was able to live, but my ten year old brother is questioning whether he should be alive or not."
Dadan flinched in guilt at that, remembering vividly all the times she had spoken so cruelly about the freckled boy. Of course he was a troubled child, every single day someone was telling him the son of Roger was better off dead but she still went out of her way to say those things. It was a small miracle that Rosan had chosen not to kill them when he had caught them that day.
"Whatever happened to me, I deserve because this is the life I chose. But Ace never chose this life and you're the one to blame for forcing him to live like this," Rosan finished and the pressure suddenly vanished.
"I'm a failure and that's why I trusted you with him. I just never expected you to be a bigger failure than me."
The teen was done talking and he stared at the unmoving Garp. The Vice Admiral still had his head connected to the floor and it had remained that way throughout his entire speech.
"I thought just guaranteeing his safety would have been enough," Garp suddenly said and he truly did sound his age at that moment. "As long as he's safe and away from the World Government's eyes, he can have a semi normal childhood. That's what I thought but it wasn't enough."
"You're right, Ace deserved to live his own life, free of his Father's sin but he wasn't able to escape it." The Vice Admiral sounded grave and there was no mistaking the guilt. "If I could do something different, I would but it's too late to change what's already done."
"But that doesn't mean you aren't right. I spit in you and your mother's face and I truly am sorry for that. I know that's not enough for you to forgive me so if you want to attack me, do it. I won't try and stop you or resist. It's the least you deserve," the old man said and that was that.
Rosan stared at him with a tilted head, as he digested that information. Then, he pointed his gun at the man.
"If I shoot you here, you'll just accept your death?" The redhead asked quietly and he heard a few gasps in the background.
"That's right."
A truth. Garp was fully prepared to die right here at his hands.
He truly did regret his actions. Perhaps he always had and the redhead was the only one willing to call him out on it. Rosan closed his eyes and took a deep breath. His grip never loosened and some of the onlookers were already getting prepared to look away from the no doubt gruesome sight.
Meiko would have given him another chance without any hesitation. If he truly did regret his actions, then the blonde would have let him prove it. She was incredible like that, always willing to allow a person to become the best version of themselves.
He would know that best.
Besides, Ace was getting better now and he was seeing the value in his own life.
Makino let out a breath she didn't know she was holding at the sight of Rosan's double barrel shotgun transforming back into that beautiful amethyst ring that he never took off. At least she knew the reason he always had it on now.
"I won't try and kill you anymore," Rosan spoke softly, turning away from the groveling Vice Admiral. "There's no point. You understand the gravity of what you've done and you have a proper amount of regret. Besides, despite everything, you're still two of my little brothers grandpa and I wouldn't want to execute you in front of them. No one deserves to watch family die."
They flinched at that last statement, knowing that he was speaking from experience.
"I'm going to sleep. The events of today have left me drained," Rosan said blandly and he walked off to where he kept his ship. He hadn't spoken for that long in a while and on top of that, he had spilled his heart to them.
Angel and Maro quickly chased after the teen, but not before the bluenette left him some words.
"Master has given you an opportunity to earn his forgiveness! I've never seen him spare anybody!" Maro whispered encouragingly and she patted him on his back. "He's actually pretty understanding so just don't screw up like this again and he'll eventually warm up to you!"
With that, the bluenette rushed off to catch up to the other redheads.
"Are you okay, Garp-san?" Makino asked, rushing over to the groveling man and forcing him to stand up.
Garp remained silent for a moment and then stuck a finger in his nose and simply said, "Man, I really thought I was gonna die!"
They face planted at his nonchalance but just chalked it up as Garp being Garp.
The old man looked at where Rosan disappeared and let loose a sigh.
He doubted their relationship would ever get better than that but at least he was past the homicidal part. That was probably the best the Hero of the Marines could ask for.
That was one brat dealt with at least.
"What were you three saying about being pirates?" Garp rumbled threateningly to the remaining brothers. They looked like they were about to go pursue the oldest boy but Garp's voice, froze them in their tracks.
"RUN!" Ace said and they took off.
"GET BACK HERE SO I CAN TEACH YOU A LESSON, BRATS!" Garp roared and he pursued after them.
"Rosan, how do you feel?" Mod asked seriously.
"Nothing," Rosan responded. "I felt a burst of anger but it vanished quickly."
"At least we're making some progress," she smiled softly.
"You're speaking again. You've been quite silent these past few days," Rosan pointed out. She could speak to him about anything and his partner knew that. If she didn't talk to him about it yet, that meant she wasn't in the mood to do so and he'd leave her be.
"I... I was just preparing my thoughts. There's something that I want to talk to you about and I'm almost ready so be patient with me until then," the woman explained quietly. She had wanted to discuss something with him, but there was new information that was far more urgent.
"Of course. Take your time."
The redhead didn't miss the nervousness in her tone but he wouldn't point it out.
"Master!" He heard Angel call and the clone crashed into him in worry. He steadied her easily and glanced at the jogging Maro behind her.
"I… I didn't know you went through that," the princess said quietly. She realized that she didn't know a lot about her Master's past besides some information about his deceased lover, Meiko.
It didn't feel good.
"My past is not one I'm proud speaking of," the redhead told his student truthfully. Him and Maro were very close but she didn't know much at all about what he had been doing before meeting his future right hand. It wasn't necessary for her to know and she had never prodded him, probably due to Demon telling her how sensitive it was.
"I-I can understand why," the bluenette said, but she still looked upset. "No one should ever have to go through what you did, Master," Maro whispered and she joined the hug.
"I appreciate your words and I agree. What I went through would break many people but I had Mod-chan to worry about that kept me steady enough and then I met Robin and she really helped me," he explained.
"Robin? You mean Nico Robin?" Maro asked, recalling the highest priced bounty poster of the Blue Seas. She had always wondered why the two had never hunted her down considering how much she was worth but her Master had just mentioned that it was very likely she had already relocated to the Grand Line and they would not be going there yet.
"Yes, we traveled for 4 years together before getting separated. Sometime after that, I created Angel and Demon and traveled with Meiko."
She really didn't know anything about her Master.
"Master, could you tell me more about yourself?" She asked curiously.
Rosan hummed and nodded. "You deserve to know more about me. Let's go talk on the ship."
Maro grinned happily at that.
She loved her Master!
Rosan had to wonder how he always ended up at the bottom of these sleep piles.
"It's getting cold and you radiate a lot of body heat," Mod supplied helpfully. She would know best, Rosan was a fantastic teddy bear in their always freezing mindscape (even if she regulated her own temperature like him).
"You're comfortable to cuddle and you're tall," Ram added.
It had started since the four brothers began sleeping on the same bed. Ace, Sabo, and Luffy were horrendous bed partners and it almost looked intentional the positions they ended up in while they slept.
Rosan always got the short end of the stick due to it too. It was probably because he was the tallest.
Now Angel and Maro were added to the mix and the teen once again suffered for it.
Maro had always been clingy since the moment he took her aboard the ship. She slept in his room near nonstop and used the excuse of wanting to enter his mindscape, for more training, to get away with it.
Not like Rosan would have denied her anyways.
Though, with her Devil Fruit it became a lot harder to break out of her grasp when she got particularly hug happy in her sleep. Due to Dokkaebi's being fantastic wrestlers, the bluenette had acquired quite the grip.
Angel never slept with him but apparently, she was just as clingy. Rosan's left arm was completely trapped due to his face triplet and he thought to himself that her and Maro really were perfect for each other.
She didn't even need sleep.
Coupled with the fact that his brothers were laid haphazardly on his body, Rosan found that he wouldn't be moving anytime soon.
If he did, he'd wake all of them up and he didn't want to do that.
"Come in the mindscape so we can cuddle you instead!" Mod beamed.
"Yeah! Auntie and I are way better!" Ram grinned.
"You are not better, Ram. You nearly suffocated him one time."
"He lived!"
"He can't die in the mindscape!"
"So I can do what I please!"
"No!"
"Yes!"
This repeated back and forth until Mod grabbed Ram's cheeks and Rosan simply closed his eyes.
He was going back to sleep.
"We should use this tree to make our hideout," Sabo mused, looking at the massive tree in awe. It was easily the biggest tree in the forest and it would suit their needs perfectly.
"Good choice!" Angel praised and she looked it up and down. "Do you have materials? I know you don't want Master using his Devil Fruit because that would take the effort out of it and I agree! There's nothing like crafting something with your two hands."
The redhead clone was the only one still here due to Maro having to attend to her royal duties. The bluenette had complained nonstop about it but one kiss on the cheek, had been enough to assuage her.
That just left Angel to help with the construction of their hideout.
The brothers decided on making a hideout after Garp decided to discipline them with "training" which was really just him beating the three boys down.
"There's a whole area where we can get them!" Sabo beamed and Angel hummed in contemplation.
"If you mean the Grey Terminal… I'm not going there." The redhead recoiled in disgust at the thought of that place. It smelled terrible and there was a lot of creeps there who kept leering at her.
Maro had almost put someone in the grave when they attempted to get grabby with the two.
"R-right," Sabo said, remembering the man's head embedded in a wall very well.
Maro hadn't even transformed to deliver that blow…
"Master you and I can refine this layout that Sabo drew while they go collecting," Angel hummed and Rosan handed her a pencil.
"Yes! We're gonna make the best hideout ever!" Luffy cheered excitedly.
"We need traps too," Ace grinned.
"Lethal?" Angel asked curiously and they sweatdropped.
"N-no. They don't need to be lethal."
"Kay," she chimed and began jotting on the piece of paper. Rosan, knowing his brothers well, would occasionally input some info that had her quickly editing her plans.
Angel was dressed in a white tee that exposed her midriff and some comfortable black sweatpants. It was the most carefree they had ever seen her dress so far!
"You're actually pretty toned," Ace praised, looking at the tall clone up and down. He hadn't expected the dainty clone to have a fit figure but then again, he hadn't expected her to be interested in carpenting either.
"I'm just stealing Master's hard work," Angel dismissed, looking at her own frame. She wasn't as fit as Rosan or Maro but she still had the look of someone that regularly kept up their hard work.
"Rosan's hard work?" Sabo asked curiously.
"Angel's appearance is based on how I would look as a girl," Rosan said softly and Luffy looked at the oldest brother.
"You're a girl?" He asked dumbly and Angel snorted.
"Are you sure about having Luffy be your captain, Master? I think Sabo is a safer choice," the clone said dryly and Sabo beamed happily at the fact that he was seen as the best choice by Angel too.
"I'm a boy, Luffy but when I'm helping Angel out, I turn myself into a girl to make it accurate to her needs," he said slowly and he was sure the seven year old didn't fully get it but at least he got an idea.
"You'll see it eventually. Since I'm still a growing boy, I have to actively change Angel and Demon as well so my female form will make an appearance," he said and the three nodded in curiosity.
"Now go get us the materials!" Angel demanded, still jotting sketches on the paper. She wasn't planning on making anything advanced, but she did want it to be comfortable and durable.
The three saluted and they took off in excitement.
"I've never seen you so excited to help someone that isn't Demon, Maro or me," Rosan remarked and Angel glanced at him in confusion.
"Well if they're your little brothers, then that means their basically mine! What type of older sister would I be if I didn't help my little brothers out?" she scoffed and Rosan simply stared at her for a moment.
"U-unless you think otherwise. I-I mean I am just a clone of you a-and I'm not the one who drank the sake with them…" Angel mumbled in embarrassment.
Rosan simply patted her on the head in a reassuring manner.
"Stop being silly, Angel," Mod soothed. Honestly, she had no idea why they had such random bursts of being intimidated by Rosan. He only wanted their best interests.
"I've called you my little sister on multiple occasions, why are you suddenly having doubts? You are my sister," Rosan stated, leaving no room for argument.
Angel teared up a bit at that and smiled brilliantly.
"Of course, silly me!" She beamed and the haughty teen tried to wipe her eyes.
"Alright, enough of that let's get started! Get everything ready for me!"
"Okay."
What would have normally taken them two weeks to build their hideout, only took one with Angel assisting the boys.
The clone didn't want to interfere too much with their vision so she kept it simple and just instructed them on the proper way to do things, with a little physical assistance here and there (mostly when it was Luffy doing something). With her help, what would have been a shoddy hideout turned out to be something much more comfortable and stable!
Their new base sat high in the tree, nestled comfortably in one of the branches, and it was large enough to house a good amount of people. It was made of wood and on the inside was the large bed that the four used at Dadan's.
On the very top of the tree, a flag said ASLR and Angel couldn't resist smiling at how childish it was.
It had been a long time since their former leader had deigned to act childish and she was glad that the kids were forcing him to do so. He deserved to be the kid he actually was every once in a while.
"Thank you, Angel," Rosan told his clone softly and he grabbed her into a hug. She flushed happily and returned it, only to yelp, as two tiny figures and a reluctant Ace, crashed into her too.
"Thanks, Angel!" The three chorused and the 14 year old's face turned as red as her hair.
"I-It's nothing," she stammered in embarrassment. "That's what big sisters are for!"
"Big sister?" Luffy tilted his head, before nodding rapidly. "Oh yeah! You're Rosan's sister so you're our sister!"
"That's true!" Sabo laughed and Ace nodded along with the two.
Ah, Angel didn't think she'd ever like other humans but these three had managed to prove her wrong.
"I see why you're so fond of them now, Master," the girl mumbled and Rosan pat her head.
"They are all pretty unique aren't they?" He hummed before they broke off the hug.
"Let me take you back to Celadon. Maro probably misses you terribly and knowing her, she's about to push Demon to his limits," Rosan said and Angel cackled.
"Good! Rebellious little squirt has been out of control lately! I swear its the attention he's been getting from all our citizens…" the redhead paused and a look of horror crossed her face.
"Does... Does he have a girlfriend?!" The middle triplet gasped. Was she the one telling Demon to disrespect his twin like this?! Oh when Angel got her hands on that broad, she was so dead, regardless of what her adorable little brother had to say!
"I doubt it. Demon is focused on his career and doesn't have time for that," Rosan replied but she wasn't listening anymore.
"I need to interrogate him! Take me back!" Angel demanded. "Bye you three! I'll have Master bring you all to Celadon one day and I can show you around!" The clone waved before dragging a compliant Rosan away.
"You don't have to drag me... I can just teleport us you know?" Rosan informed her.
"Then hurry up! I've got to tell Demon he's better than whatever he's dating!"
"But he isn't dating anyone."
The three brothers watched as Angel ignored everything Rosan said and they vanished from sight.
"We should check to make sure Angel didn't make those traps lethal," Sabo mused.
"She wouldn't do that… I think," Ace replied.
"Angel definitely would!" Luffy laughed and the two sighed at that.
Yes, yes she would.
Rosan was at the Party Bar again, helping out the sole bartender there and giving the aggressive patrons their orders.
"Angel and Maro left? I liked talking to them," Makino sighed sadly.
The 19 year old really was lonely. She had been spending a lot of time with the couple and the three seemed to get along fine.
"Maro has her duties to attend too and she doesn't like being too far from Angel," Rosan said softly and he took a bite out of his pasta. "Next time they visit, I will be sure to tell you."
"Thank you!" The green haired woman smiled in appreciation. "But I didn't know you had a student, or that she was a princess!"
There was a lot she didn't know about him. He didn't talk about himself very much, content to let her lead the conversations.
"She was my student first," Rosan informed her. "But, she was too attached too me and it was getting unhealthy. A situation arose where I could make her a princess, so I took it."
"You made her a princess…?" Makino blinked at that. The teen before her was becoming more and more mysterious as the days went by. His life was shrouded in darkness and she didn't think anyone knew much about it besides Angel and Demon.
She was reminded of the conversation he had with Garp and the woman bit her lip sadly.
"Rosan… Was everything you said to Garp-san… Was that true?" She asked hesitantly and his empty gaze looked up to land on her. There was no shine or emotion at all in Rosan's gaze and it felt wrong. Now that she knew some of what he had gone through, she wanted nothing more for those uncanny eyes of his to have something.
"Of course. I would never make something like that up."
"N-No I didn't mean it like that!" She waved her hands in a placating manner despite knowing he wasn't actually upset. "I just… I can't believe some of the things that happened to you because t-that's so sad."
Her voice turned shaky at the memory. When Rosan was just four, he had been forced to watch his mother die? The thought made Makino want to throw up and she was beginning to understand why the redhead always seemed so lifeless.
That night when she had made it home, she had cried herself to sleep because of the altercation between Garp and Rosan. The redhead had lost so much in such a short span and to come back and realize none of it was worth it...
Well, she would be angry too.
"It's been ten years, I appreciate the concern but you don't need to be upset on my behalf," Rosan dismissed and he took another bite of his food.
She wanted to protest but she felt her throat lock up and just dropped it.
They remained silent for a couple of minutes and Makino was the one to break it again.
"You're not a failure," she said suddenly.
"Hm?" Rosan tilted his head and he regarded her with those hauntingly beautiful eyes.
"You called yourself a failure when you spoke to Garp-san but... I don't think you're a failure. I think you tried to do what was best for everyone and it didn't work out," she said firmly and Rosan stared at her.
"Makino, with all due respect," the teen whispered and his dual eyes locked her firmly in place. "You don't know anything about me to decide that on your own. I appreciate your words but to my ears, they sound hollow and hold no value at all to me."
She flinched at the harshness of his words but she knew that he was just speaking his mind. He didn't actually mean anything rude by it.
"Even so… I know enough!" She said. "You came here just to make amends with your little brother and it's working! You got angry on his behalf and you made Garp of all people apologize! I've never seen him do that!"
"You might have failed before, but that doesn't make you a failure, Rosan. I don't think a failure would be able to do the things that you can!" She encouraged and the 14 year old stared at her.
"Thank you," he eventually said and he closed his eyes. "You've given me a lot to think about."
"She's right Rosan… You're anything but a failure," Mod said quietly.
"You can never be a failure because you made me!" Ram agreed solemnly.
"…" Rosan said nothing because there was nothing he could say that would change their minds.
He let his anger get the best of him and because of it, Meiko died. If he had been even a little more rational, he would have prioritized getting her out of there and then dealt with all the enemies.
But he didn't. In his anger, he sought to satisfy himself immediately.
Because he was selfish. That cost him. He always talked about how his emotions got in the way of things and time and time again, he let them interfere regardless.
Makino didn't know what she was talking about because she didn't know anything about him. She didn't know who Portgas D. Rosan really was so how could she ever decide what he was?
His allies could say whatever they wanted but that wouldn't change the truth of the matter. Twice now, he had to watch someone he loved died and it was because of his own incompetence. His goal had been to keep his loved ones safe and he couldn't do it.
Of course he couldn't do it.
He was a failure.
"You wanted to talk to me, Mod-chan?" Rosan asked quietly. It was currently just the usual three inhabitants of his mindscape, due to his Devil Fruit wanting to discuss something with him.
She was trying to hide how nervous she looked but Rosan and Ram could see right through her. The redhead had shot his weapon a look to see if she knew anything but she simply shook her head no, just as lost as he was.
So they were both in the dark...
"Y-Yes I wanted to t-talk —" she coughed a bit to gather herself and let loose a deep sigh. "Rosan... as you probably realized, I haven't been very... active lately," Mod began nervously. He wasn't used to seeing his long time partner so shaken up so whatever she wanted to talk to him about, it must have been urgent.
"Well, I was actually... looking into the castle," she explained quietly, not making eye contact with either of the teens there. "Do you remember the burst of anger you felt when confronting Garp a few weeks ago?" Mod asked softly.
Rosan simply nodded, choosing not to say anything and only making her more anxious as a result.
Ram was much more merciful. "Auntie...? Are you alright? I've never seen you so shaken up before and it's making me nervous. It's like you've seen a ghost!"
Mod forced herself to calm down and smiled slightly at Ram, assuring her that she was fine. She looked back at Rosan again and sighed wearily. There was no way to sugar coat this...
"There are two versions of me," she told them bluntly, choosing to rip the band-aid right off instead of skirting around it.
Ram's jaw dropped at the revelation. W-What the hell did her Auntie just say?! When she said two versions... did she mean Father? Surely that's what she meant, right?!
"Two versions of you? Like an alter ego?" Rosan questioned with a raised brow. "How is that possible? I've known you since I was four and you've never even once indicated that you have another —"
The redhead paused and Mod's dread only grew as he seemingly came to a realization. His piercing gaze landed on her and he simply said, "Explain."
She wondered what revelation he had come to but he likely wouldn't tell her until she finished explaining herself.
"Alter ego used to be accurate... but things have changed. It requires me to tell you more about my past," Mod explained wearily. There was a reason she didn't like talking about her past with her son... it wasn't something she was proud of and she was much too happy with Rosan to ever think about the life she had without him.
Ram and Rosan both nodded, allowing her to continue unimpeded.
She let out a deep sigh.
Sometimes she was thankful that Rosan had no emotions. If he did, he'd be rightfully furious with her.
"Last time, I told you all how I was given a will of my own due to Vegapunk's tampering with my Devil Fruit. He combined me with some sort of A.I to make up for the fact that the blank zoan had no consciousness."
They nodded, remembering well what she was talking about.
"What I failed to mention was that the A.I had... a virus connected to it," Mod explained gravely. "I don't know if it was intentional on his part, but that virus is my alter ego. They are... nothing like me at all."
The silence after her statement was deafening. Not even Ram had anything to say and she opted to look at her aunt with a wide eyed gaze.
"So this virus is what's been killing all your previous wielders," Rosan concluded intelligently. Mod had admitted herself that she had no emotions before meeting him. But somehow, she was capable of deciding whether her wielders were worthy or not? He had not pressured her because it was her place to tell him but he always knew something was odd about it.
"Yes, that's right," Mod nodded, seeing no point in hiding it anymore. "I... didn't want the virus to get their hands on you because I wanted you to survive at all costs, so when I was making the mindscape, I forcefully separated the two of us and sealed them away."
"It failed," Rosan pointed out and the purple haired woman frowned.
"Being the majority of the Devil Fruit, I'm stronger than they are by a fair margin. I don't know how they managed to escape..."
The redhead simply hummed. "How did they kill your previous wielders?"
Mod shuddered a bit. "They... the virus begins to poison your mind with insidious thoughts. They make it seem natural but eventually, it gets more and more bold. Then, when you are at your most vulnerable, they whisper sweet nothings to you so that you may give up to them and then wreak havoc with your controlled body, heedless of the damage your body is taking in the process."
The redhead digested that information and it confirmed some of his hunches. "This virus... they were never sealed in the first place. You were fooled," he explained to her bluntly. He wasn't sure how Mod-chan never noticed but it was possible that the virus knew how to avoid her. They were the same person after all.
The woman's eyes went wide at that. "I was... fooled? But how are you so sure?" What did Rosan notice that she didn't? She wasn't privy to every single one of his thought processes because that was just too intrusive, even for her.
"I could be wrong, but I'm sure that I've been dealing with those same insidious thoughts since I was four," Rosan told her and her heart dropped to her stomach. "It was seemingly natural at first considering my circumstances... but when I got captured, I'm assuming this virus got more bold due to you not being there to detect them."
When he was on Daybreak, those insidious thoughts grew more and more rampant. Some of it was natural but that's what made the virus all the more dangerous. They had snuck in their own influence into the natural thoughts and he had been none the wiser. In fact, it was probably the virus that had directed his ire towards Robin in the first place. It had taken that one small piece of doubt he had towards his best friend and, knowing how much he loved her, used it as the forefront of his hatred.
That was unforgivable. When the redhead found this virus, they would pay. Using Robin against him proved that they would never be an ally, because that meant they knew how much he had cared about her.
Mod felt her heart breaking at the revelation that her virus had always been free. Had it been waiting for the perfect opportunity to corrupt Rosan? Daybreak was the greatest chance they would have due to the purple haired woman being incapacitated so why didn't they?
The Devil Fruit had never resisted the impulses of the virus but when it came to Rosan, she would absolutely make sure they never took over.
Unless... maybe their goal wasn't to kill Rosan? They may have been restrained by the seastone... but Mod could see no logical reason why the virus had opted to go inside of the castle.
"It needs my emotions to successfully take me over," he concluded, interrupting her thought process. "You've never found it? Where is it?"
Mod closed her eyes and her feature turned weary. "It's... it's in the castle. I'm sure of it," she replied quietly. When Rosan had let loose that burst of anger against Garp, she had felt them. She couldn't mistake that destructive familiarity.
"That's... problematic," Rosan hummed. "Why did you take so long to tell me about this? If you had informed me of your alter ego before the castle formed, I could have told you about those insidious thoughts much sooner. They've been plaguing me since Mom died."
"You had too much on your plate already," Mod immediately replied. "The virus... they're not someone I ever wanted you to meet. I was hoping to find a solution to them without ever dragging you into it."
"But look where that got you," Rosan reprimanded her and she flinched guiltily. "They've been hiding this whole time and they snuck into the castle when it formed. Now if I want my emotions, I'll have no choice but to confront them. When that time comes, I wonder what you'll do because I already know what I'm going to do."
Ram froze in disbelief. "...Father? W-What are you implying?" Surely he wasn't... surely he wasn't doubting Auntie, right? She had never seen him doubt her. Not even once! Those two were always on the same wavelength so this was absurd!
"Mod-chan, would you so willingly get rid of your alter ego if it meant saving me? Would you let me get rid of them if those were my intentions?" Rosan asked curiously, never once taking his eyes off of his surrogate mother.
Mod froze completely at that accusing question, not expecting Rosan of all people to doubt her. It hurt so much more than she expected it too, despite knowing this was a possibility. "I... I would never betray you, Rosan. You are my life a-and I just didn't want to add more to your already full—"
"Answer the question, Mod-chan," Rosan interrupted coldly. "Would you let me get rid of them? Can you say with confidence, that you wouldn't interfere if I tried to eradicate the virus? Because that's what I'm going to do."
"Eradicate...?" Mod whispered in surprise. Rosan had already written the virus off as a lost cause...?
"You chose to seal the virus away instead of completely getting rid of them, despite knowing the threat they pose to me. Why is that?"
Nobody knew his Devil Fruit better than he did, not even this virus. But he was sure that the virus knew one thing.
Mod-chan couldn't get rid of them. Not because she was weak, but because they were connected to each other. It was very likely, that the woman who raised him, cared for the virus.
Rosan knew she loved him, that was never in doubt. But would Mod-chan get in the way of him trying to eliminate this virus? If she did... then not even he could tell you what would happen.
"I... I don't know," she confessed guiltily. She truly didn't know the answer to that question.
No matter the situation, she would always choose Rosan, but would she allow him to kill someone who had been with her for as long as she could remember?
"Then let me ask another question," Rosan said softly. "Will you deal with them?"
The woman blinked in shock and he pressed on.
"Will you handle the virus? Even without my interference? Can I trust that you have this handled despite past mistakes?"
Rosan never once questioned his trust in her. Mod had always had his unconditional trust, so to hear that question, brought her to tears.
But she deserved this doubt. She hid crucial information from him after all.
Mod hardened herself and nodded strongly. "I will. You don't have to worry. I'll deal with the virus and you deal with getting your emotions back. Once that castle opens, we'll deal with both the issues inside of it."
The virus was undoubtedly a threat to her son. But... it was clearly not trying to kill Rosan. When the time came to confront them, Mod would try and glean it's motives before coming to a decision. If she let the redhead deal with it, he'd do everything in his power to destroy her. He was already near her in strength and in the upcoming years, he'd surpass her with adulthood.
Her alter ego would stand no chance... Mod needed to be the one to deal with it and not involve Rosan.
Dual eyes stared into blood red for a long while before Rosan stood up and approached her. He looked down at her and Mod was starkly reminded that he was beginning to tower over her now. They stared at each other for a long time and even though the purple haired woman had gotten used to his empty gaze so long ago, it felt like the first few days she had seen him like this again.
The heavy tension was broken, as Rosan pulled her into a hug and said, "Okay. I trust you."
She felt herself sag in relief and tears resurged at that simple statement. The woman clutched him as tight as possible and buried her face into the crook of his neck.
Ram let out a breath that she didn't know she'd been holding. If an argument ever genuinely broke out between the two, the silver haired teen wasn't sure what she'd be able to do. It was impossible to pick sides but if it ever truly got to that point, she'd have no choice but to side with her Father.
Unknown to the both of them, Rosan stared down at Mod with an unreadable look in his eyes. It was impossible to tell what he was thinking behind that lifeless gaze, but he never once took his eyes off his longest partner. Eventually, he hummed and she looked up.
Mod-chan smiled determinedly at him and the redhead formed a smile too.
Misadventures of Robin and Rosan - 13
Robin and Rosan are 10 and 6 respectively
Robin and Rosan navigate to the North Blue!
Robin, Rosan and Mod were currently in the boy's mindscape discussing their next course of action.
Namely, what sea they should relocate too.
Rosan was tucked neatly in Mod's lap, content to let the two girls mostly dictate the conversation. He sighed in bliss at the feeling of his Devil Fruit idly rubbing his head and snuggled even deeper into her.
"What brought this on, Mod-chan?" Robin asked curiously, wanting to understand the adult's motives. "It won't be easy to travel between the Blue Seas, you know?" She pointed out. It was actually exceedingly difficult unless you had special connections.
The purple haired woman nodded. "Normally, we'd have to go through the Reverse Mountain or the Calm Belt. I'd like to go to one through the Calm Belt because Reverse Mountain can be potentially lethal with only you two."
"The Calm Belt has no wind currents and it's a feeding ground for Sea Kings though," Robin mused. There was a reason that method was hardly ever used, it was almost certain death.
"But the White Rose doesn't need wind!" Rosan chimed and Robin's eyes went wide in realization.
That's right… Rosan's (Their!) ship was mostly powered by Modification so it didn't need wind!
"Are we faster than Sea Kings though?" the brunette asked hesitantly and Rosan hummed in contemplation.
"I can speed us up with Modification! The more power I put into it, the faster we'll go! I just need you to tell me where to go."
The brunette nodded, it was reckless but she was used to his antics by now and they had been running amok in the South Blue for quite a while.
"Alright, I'll do some research then and we can get a compass too," Robin hummed. "But what Sea are we going too? I absolutely refuse to take you or myself to the Grand Line right now and the West Blue is also out of the question."
"Yeah even I know the Grand Line is a bad idea right now!" Rosan replied with a sad smile on his face and his companions sweatdropped at the look on his face.
The boy sure was eager to go the Grand Line one day in order to get stronger.
Robin said they needed to wait until they were adults and Mod wholeheartedly agreed with her, so adulthood it was.
"Let's go to the North Blue," Rosan said, after a moment and they both raised a brow at him.
"Is that because it's hailed as the strongest of the Blue Seas?" Mod asked suspiciously, causing the boy to shake his head rapidly.
"I didn't even know that! Now we definitely have to go!" he beamed and they both sighed at their careless mistake. Sometimes, it was impossible to tell what was going on in Rosan's head.
"Why North Blue then?" Robin asked in curiosity. She personally wanted to go to the East Blue because that was known as the weakest sea and it would give them a lot of liberties.
"Garp, the Marine that took Ace, goes there a lot and I really don't want him to find you or me," Rosan said seriously and her eyes widened in understanding.
If the Marine found Rosan, then he'd find her by extension and the both of them would be separated due to her high bounty. Considering that Rosan didn't have a bounty, they'd either arrest him for colluding with her or Garp would take him and only she'd be arrested. Either way, it would end up with them being separated.
She was touched that the redhead wanted to keep her as safe as possible.
"That's smart of you, Rosan!" The 10 year old praised and Rosan grinned happily.
"Alright, let's go to the North Blue!"
The two children had prepared everything they needed for their voyage.
They actually had quite a lot of money thanks to their escapades and so they had been able to stock up on a lot!
With Robin and Mod's guidance, Rosan would use Modification to power the White Rose through the Calm Belt. By doing that, he would circumvent the issue of there being no wind and it would be as if a normal ship were sailing through the normal ocean.
That problem was now eliminated and that left the next one.
Sea Kings and not just any Sea Kings, but some of the largest ones in the world!
The Calm Belt was where especially huge Sea Kings nested and that was why you could not just paddle past it. It was almost certain death if they caught you and seeing as both her and Rosan were Devil Fruit users…
They would need some more insurance.
"Rosan, I need you to modify the ship and give it a propeller," Robin instructed the shorter boy. "We need as much speed as we can get and we can't be sure if Modification will be enough."
The redhead had nodded eagerly and immediately went to go steal a book on how to best make one. Once he finished, he bragged about how he couldn't show it to her yet because it was super amazing!
"He told me not to tell you," Mod sighed apologetically and Robin giggled, used to his antics. He was always trying to surprise her with whatever it was he learned and more often then not, it was crazy but she had grown rather fond of it.
She sighed at how quickly he had picked up the trick and muttered something about geniuses.
"But Robin-nee, you're a genius too!" Rosan exclaimed with a confused gaze. "You can read those Poneglyphs with no effort when no one else can! That's incredible!"
She flushed at his praise and mumbled out a thank you.
Robin had once asked Rosan if he wanted her to teach him how to read Poneglyphs. She was sure the boy was smart enough to learn it but he had steadfastly refused her offer.
"No way! That's your special gift and I don't wanna take your special gift from you," he grinned and she smiled at his thoughtfulness.
Truthfully, she wouldn't have had a problem passing on the knowledge to her favorite person but he was stubborn like that.
Robin's gift was her gift and Rosan didn't want to take it from her.
The offer was always on the table though but she doubted Rosan would ever accept it.
She was happy that he considered her talents so special!
But she digressed, the two were sailing at a moderate pace towards the Calm Belt now and Robin couldn't fight the stab of worry.
What? One of them had to be rightfully paranoid! Rosan didn't even look remotely afraid at the prospect of being Sea King lunch and he was humming a jaunty tune. She couldn't help but laugh as he began dancing terribly in place.
Good singer he may be, the boy definitely couldn't dance but that didn't bother him at all! His carefree spirit was infectious and she instinctively felt herself calming down.
For once, the sails were doing their job and the wind moved it steadily through the blue ocean. Rosan was glancing at the endless ocean with an excited look in his eyes.
He wasn't powering the ship at the moment because they wanted the redhead to conserve his energy. The 6 year old may have had way too much stamina for his own good but they'd need to approach this as carefully as possible.
When they finally arrived, they didn't even realize at first until the ship abruptly stopped.
Robin paused as she verified that there was no wind blowing at all and this time, it wasn't a fluke.
"Rosan, I'm furling the sails now," Robin said urgently, summoning a multitude of hands to do just that. "On my mark, I want you to go!"
"Kay!" Rosan chirped, grinning eagerly and his eyes began to glow brighter, doing their best to try and mimic the sun.
The Devil Child worked at record speeds and the moment she finished, she said, "Go!"
The White Rose blasted forward as Rosan focused Modification into it and it was just in time too, as a Sea King burst out of the water near them.
It was massive.
The blue creature looked vaguely serpentine with large bulging eyes and a massive maw of teeth.
Rosan whistled.
"It's huge!" The boy awed, as it looked at their retreating ship in confusion. "I think you could fit 500 Rosan's in its mouth!"
"500 is too low, you're a tiny kid," Robin mused much to the child's outrage.
"I'm 6! Just you wait, you big bully! I'm gonna be taller than you," the boy growled, puffing his cheeks adorably.
"Maybe one day," Mod giggled.
Rosan grumbled and Robin was so glad that he was her travel partner. The boy was casually assuaging her concerns by not even regarding the Sea King that was trying to eat them.
It really helped cool her own nerves, how unfazed the child was.
All of that flew out the window, as Rosan let out a terribly large shriek.
"AHHHHHHHHHHHH!" The tiny boy screamed.
Oh no…
"W-w-w-why are there WATER versions?!" Rosan screeched in terror and the ship began moving faster in response to his sudden fears.
Why?
Because a giant Sea King, that looked very much like a lizard, was eyeing the two lazily.
"Now you're worried?" Robin asked with disbelief at the insane child. She had nearly forgotten that the boy was deathly terrified of overly large lizards. Why? She would actually never know, considering it was the strangest thing to be afraid of and that he wanted to turn into a dragon but that was just Rosan. A walking, talking, overly excited, enigma.
"YES!" He screamed and he yelped, at the sight of the lizard getting closer to them. "ARE WE GOING THE RIGHT WAY? PLEASE SAY YES!" He begged because there was no way he was stopping for even a second.
"We are!" Robin confirmed and as the Sea Kings (there were at least 5 chasing them right now!) got closer, the White Rose suddenly shifted and rocketed forwards.
Robin gaped at the sight of the propeller shooting them forward like it were a cannon instead.
Was this Rosan's secret?! He made a juiced up propeller instead of a normal one? The blast was so powerful, that it sent the ship airborne for a few seconds!
They sailed through the sky before landing with a massive splash and the ship was off again.
There were still some Sea Kings chasing them but thankfully, the lizard one was gone and Rosan let out a sigh of relief.
"Finally lost it," he murmured and she sweatdropped at the fact that he was only avoiding that one.
"Rosan I didn't realize you made the propeller so strong," Robin said slowly and he beamed.
"I know! It's awesome right?!"
She opened her mouth, before shutting it. It... was useful. But she couldn't say that out loud because Rosan would try and do something this dumb again. You had to wisely compliment the redhead or else he would make you regret it.
"Please run it by me next time?" The 10 year old requested instead and Rosan nodded rapidly.
"Kay!" He grinned before looking out at Sea again. He didn't even look bothered by the sight of the other gargantuan Sea Kings and instead sighed wistfully.
"When I turn into a Dragon, we won't have to run from them anymore," Rosan said to her and Robin smiled at his confidence.
"I look forward to it."
"Yeah, just you wait! I'm gonna come back here and burn them all! ESPECIALLY that lizard."
"You can barely look at the lizard, how do you expect to be able to aim at it?"
"...My flames will just be big enough to burn the entire Calm Belt!"
"You really believe that don't you?!"
"He does."
"What?! You guys don't believe me?! Have some more faith in me!"
"No."
"No."
"I don't deserve this treatment…"
They needed to utilize their propeller at least 3 more times to safely escape from the Sea Kings and because there were no lizards, Rosan laughed all the while. The rush of wind was doing wonders for his adrenaline.
"Is this it?" Rosan asked as he suddenly felt wind again. His messy hair moved in time with the breeze and Robin contemplated cutting the boy's hair down to it's shoulder length again. She much preferred when the spikes stopped at his shoulders and right now they were just above his mid back.
"Yes, we're in the North Blue now," Robin smiled in relief. Now that it was over, she had to admit that it was pretty fun.
"Awesome! We did it!" Rosan cackled. "We can go to any sea like this now. Like the Grand Lin —."
"No."
"No."
"Eh, it was worth a shot," he shrugged, completely unbothered by the double refusal. He was expecting it but they hadn't even let him finish his sentence... They were so rude sometimes.
"We can stay in the North Blue for a while. I don't think my heart can handle another journey like that for a good bit," Robin told her best friend and he nodded.
"Wait. Robin-nee, how did you get into the South Blue?" Rosan questioned with his head tilted. She told him that she was from the West Blue... Born on Ohara.
"I dyed my hair and put contacts in my eyes, then I snuck onto an important ship that was being escorted by the Marines until we made stop at one of the islands to restock and I slipped away. It was risky but I figured it would be worth it, if I made it to the South Blue where little to no people would suspect me," Robin answered. It had been going pretty smoothly but somehow, Rosan brought even more attention onto her with his escapades.
The boy deserved her bounty more than she did!
Rosan frowned and unexpectedly grabbed her into a hug. "Well, no more sneaking around and putting yourself in super danger! You have me now and I'll keep you safe!"
She smiled a true smile at the boy and readily returned the hug.
"Of course, Rosan! What would I do without you?"
"Nothin cuz I'm the best!"
"Of course you are!"
"YOU MADE THAT SOUND LIKE AN INSULT!" Rosan roared and his two female companions simply laughed at him.
He held his head and sulked.
He got no respect around here.
Height Chart!
Angel, Rosan, and Demon – 5'11 (180 cm)
Mod – 5'8 (172 cm)
Maro and Ram – 5'9 (175 cm) (Maro is slightly taller than Ram)
Luffy – 2'11 (91 cm)
Ace – 3'4 (103 cm)
Sabo – 3'3 (100 cm)
Garp – 9'5 (287 cm)
Makino – 5'5 (166 cm)
Dadan – 7'3 (221 cm)
Estado de energía semanal
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