章 32: Chapter 19: By Any Means
Rosan awoke to the cold floor beneath him, alone.
The teen, not sensing any danger, slowly sat up and glanced around to inspect the area he had been resting in. The room was simple in its design and there was nothing too eye-catching about it besides some thin blankets. There was a commotion in another room and he assumed that it was the bandits that he now lived with.
Memories of his battle with Garp surged and Rosan noted that his anger had completely dissipated.
"I lost," Rosan thought blandly. It wasn't really a close battle either. Garp had not even remotely struggled against the teen and only the guilt of failure, held him back from destroying the redhead instantly.
"That old man is crazy strong. I've never seen anyone stronger than him," Ram commented, frowning at how effortlessly they were defeated. Father wasn't weak by any means, that Garp was just outrageously strong.
"It's only natural, there's a reason we ran from him ten years ago," Mod said tiredly and Rosan focused on his Devil Fruit.
"How is the castle? How are you? You sound tired and some of my emotions seeped through so maybe something changed?"
"I'm doing fine..." Mod smiled in appreciation at his question. "...I didn't notice any visible changes but that anger was unmistakable. Something changed and despite the circumstances that caused it, that's a good sign for us."
"That's good. It's the first time we've managed to elicit a strong reaction," The teen hummed, standing up and making his way towards the door.
He needed to eat something.
"How long have I been asleep?"
"An entire day," Ram replied with a frown. That old man hit really hard. He had managed to knock out Rosan twice in only two punches.
She didn't remember the last time he had been knocked unconscious. She didn't think he had ever been knocked unconscious since creating her.
Rosan agreed with her sentiment of Garp hitting hard. If not for Mod-chan and the Philosopher's stone, he'd probably have a headache, a missing tooth and a broken nose... How fortunate for him that he had none of those.
The sun outside indicated that it was daytime and the teen opened the door to his room, set on finding a meal. He glanced, unimpressed, at the noise the door made and resolved to fix that issue later. The teen was used to being quiet and something like this was rather inconvenient.
Everyone went silent at the door and Rosan glanced around the room, ignoring the gazes of the bandits.
He met the eyes of Dadan and the woman took that as a sign to speak up.
"Alright! Listen here, brat!" The bandit boss began and Rosan tilted his head at her as his form of acknowledgment. "You probably don't know where you are so I'll tell you! This is a den of the Dadan family, mountain bandits that rule Mt. Colubo!"
"I know who you are," Rosan said quietly, cutting her off. "You have a bounty of 7.8 million, right?"
The orange haired woman went a little pale at that quiet threat (was she reading to deep into it?!) but she rebounded admirably.
"W-well, you're gonna have to start working pretty hard now that you're awake and you'll only have one bowl of rice and water a day!" Dadan stammered a bit and Rosan hummed. "Cleaning, laundry, polishing shoes and weapons —"
"Where are Ace and Luffy?" Rosan asked, interrupting the bandit from giving the same speech she gave to the seven year old.
She face-planted at the fact that he ignored her but answered him regardless. "Ace is out, I don't know where that other brat is."
That was the wrong thing to say because Rosan's wandering gaze was now boring into her.
"You don't know where Luffy is?" The teen repeated and Dadan gulped at those unnerving eyes of his.
"H-he's been missing for a day now after he followed Ace," she informed the shorter teen.
Rosan said nothing for a moment and Dadan distinctively remembered what he did against Garp. Dadan was not nearly as strong as the Vice Admiral... If he attacked her, she was as good as dead.
"Alright, I will go find him," the redhead decided. "Also, I'm not doing any of those things you said. I will clean after myself and secure my own food because one bowl of rice is not nearly enough for me," he informed her politely, nodding his head and leaving.
Dadan watched the boy completely disregard everything she said and make his way out of their hideout.
"Hey wait, brat!" She called out in fury. "Don't just decide that on your... own," she tapered off as she stepped out of the building.
Rosan was surveying the destroyed field with a calm eye.
"Your little temper tantrum did this," Dadan grumbled. "You know how long it's gonna take to patch this up?" She asked and the 14 year old looked back at her.
"My apologies, I'll fix this immediately," the redhead said softly and he crouched down to palm the floor.
"What are you doing —" Dadan started, but the floor shaking, cut her off.
"Modification: Repair," Rosan thought to himself, closing his eyes and concentrating. Under his guidance, the field did just that and moved. The battle ground shifted around drastically, latching itself together and Dadan watched in awe, as it seemingly patched itself right up.
Her jaw dropped at the display and she fixed bugged eyes on the bronze boy.
"W-w-wha," she tried to ask but Rosan was already walking off.
"I can't grow back trees, but I can at least repair the field," Rosan told her, without looking at the woman. "I'm off to find Luffy now."
With that, the Mod Mod no mi user disappeared into the forest.
Dadan stared at the spot he had been in for a long moment before she held her head in her hands.
What was it with Garp finding all these monsters? First Ace, then Luffy, and now this Rosan person.
Maybe prison really was better than this.
The forest was large and, thanks to the amount of trees, Rosan couldn't really abuse the fact that he could fly to get a better viewpoint.
Guess he was doing this the old fashioned way and walking around until he found traces. It was a good thing he was used to hunting people that tried to run from him.
The first thing Rosan noticed, was the tree that had been violently ripped from it's spot. Finding the source of where it had originally been, showed that it had been pushed downhill.
"Was Luffy attacked with this?" Mod pondered and she had to wonder who was crazy enough to attack a seven year old with a tree.
Rosan went back to the massive tree and casually lifted it up to look under it. Luffy was made of rubber so blunt force couldn't hurt him but he could have still been trapped under it.
Nothing.
The redhead placed the tree back down with a resounding thud and made his way back to where it got knocked off. He would follow the path ahead of it then.
The teen set off with a calculating gaze, following any footprints that were still present and eventually, he made his way to a shaky bridge.
Underneath the bridge, was a rather deep valley. It was deep enough that if anyone fell, they would almost certainly die from the height.
"Don't tell me he…" Mod said with a bit of horror in her tone. Did Luffy perhaps try to cross the bridge and slip in?
"I wouldn't put it past him," Ram snorted in amusement. "He's lucky he's made out of rubber, perfect fruit for an idiot like him."
Rosan enhanced his vision to look deeper in the valley. He had been around the boy long enough to know that this was a possibility and a very high one too. Actually, knowing Luffy, this was the highest possibility for his future captain.
The teen summoned his draconic wings and floated into the valley. Hopefully Luffy hadn't fallen into the water source. Anywhere else would be fine for the rubber boy, but the water was certain death after all this time. Not to mention that the redhead wouldn't be able to save him if he did.
Rosan's ear twitched as he picked up the sound of screaming and the howling of a pack of wolves.
Mod sighed. "I think we found him," the Devil Fruit said and Rosan took off in the direction until he found his future captain.
"Having fun, Luffy?" Rosan called to the boy desperately trying to escape from the wolves. He looked a complete mess. His shirt was ripped, he had bite and claw marks on his bloody body and he was filthy to boot.
The seven year old's eyes lit up at seeing the sight of Rosan with such massive wings and despite the situation, he squealed, "ROSAN, YOU CAN FLY?! THAT'S SO AWESOME!"
A wolf nearly bit the boy running for his life and he then screamed, "SAVE MEEEE!"
Rosan scooped up the tiny boy easily and proceeded to punt the closest wolf into a wall. The force of the blow was too strong for the canine and it immediately slumped over, unmoving.
Luffy clutched the taller teen like his life depended on it (it did) and Mod cooed at the adorable sight.
Rosan stared at the wary wolves surrounding him and hummed. Animals had good instincts, they knew he was much more of a threat then Luffy.
Were they still planning on attacking him? That was rather foolish.
The boy channeled some of Ragnarok and let loose a low snarl that successfully cowed the hesitant canines. A puff of fire sent them scurrying away and Rosan focused his attention onto the injured and beaten Luffy.
"Wow! Thanks for saving me, Rosan!" Luffy beamed and Rosan nodded in acknowledgment. "Who knows how long I woulda stayed down there if you didn't show up!"
"How did you get down here? Did you slip?" The redhead asked the boy, flexing his wings and ascending back to the top.
"...Yes," Luffy said, pushing his lips out to the side, and Rosan caught the lie so quickly, it made Ram cackle.
"You are a terrible liar," Rosan commented but he didn't push the issue further. If Luffy didn't want to tell him, he wouldn't force it.
Besides, that answer told him everything he needed to know already.
Ace was probably the one who did this.
"How can you be so sure?" Mod asked, despite agreeing with him.
Rosan thought back to the look in his little brother's eyes and how he had mercilessly spit on Luffy's cheek.
"Luffy is a lonely child so he probably tried to make friends with Ace, who's much closer in age with him then I am. Something tells me Ace doesn't want any friends and he attacked Luffy using the tree. It could have been the bandits but they weren't lying to me when they said they didn't know where he was. Also, Luffy's footprints were next to a slightly bigger pair of feet that could only belong to another child," Rosan explained and Mod hummed, impressed.
"Your observation skills have improved dramatically," Mod smiled and Rosan said, "Thank you."
The two reached the top and Rosan placed his captain down gently. The seven year old watched with starry eyes as his crewmates wings vanished back into his body.
"Wow! Rosan, what's your Devil Fruit?" Luffy demanded.
"The Mod Mod no mi. I'm a computer man," the redhead informed Luffy. He thought about linking with the boy, but Rosan was pretty sure the rubber boy didn't think, so it would be counterproductive.
He'd let him in the mindscape one day though.
"I can modify the things around me with a touch and change it into what I desire," Rosan explained and Luffy opened his mouth in awe when he picked up a discarded branch and transformed it into a toy robot.
The seven year old was about to speak up, but his stomach let out an unnaturally loud gurgle and he fell over in hunger.
"Fooooood," Luffy moaned pathetically, causing his scout to look over at him.
The boy was bruised and injured and the only thing on his mind was food? He sure did have his priorities straight... Hunting wouldn't take very long, but it would take too long for Luffy so Rosan would just cook something up for him. He was sure he still had some food left on his ship that was in stasis.
He picked the boy back up and made his way to the hideout. "I'll make you food and then you can tidy up."
Luffy cheered before his stomach gurgled again and he rested his head on Rosan's shoulder.
"He's even more helpless than you were," Mod laughed in joy and Ram joined her.
"I think you just became his babysitter!" The silver haired girl pointed out and Rosan closed his eyes.
"Ah, it appears I have."
Ace still wasn't back and Rosan contemplated searching for him.
The redhead immediately discarded that idea though. If Ace wanted to speak to him, he would speak to him. Rosan would not try and force the boy to talk to him.
He would be patient.
The area around the bandit's home was rather spacious and the White Rose wasn't very large so Rosan could safely summon it here.
The former Angel of Death, pulled his sleek, silver ship out of his pocket and placed it on the floor. He then, with Luffy still in his grasp, watching curiously, stepped a fair distance away.
"Modify: Increase," Rosan said softly and Luffy's eyes bugged in excitement at seeing an actual ship suddenly show up!
His eyes transformed into stars and he screamed out, "AWESOME! ROSAN, IS THIS YOUR SHIP?!"
"Yes, her name is the White Rose."
"She looks amazing!" Luffy exclaimed, before a contemplative expression overtook his features. "We can't use her when we set sail," he decided suddenly and Rosan hummed.
"Why?" He asked, already knowing the answer.
"Because this is your ship, not mine!" Luffy explained simply and Rosan nodded.
"That's fine then," the redhead said. "She was damaged a while ago anyways; It's not a good idea to make her our main ship."
Luffy was right anyways. This was his ship and he would never relinquish ownership of it. Since Rosan wasn't the captain, the 7 year old felt obligated to get his own ship and would refuse to use the White Rose as the main one.
He sure was taking his duty as Captain seriously. Rosan was impressed with his resolve. Luffy probably wouldn't want much help from him in the future if he felt like he could do it and the redhead was fine with that.
Rosan didn't want to help much anyways. He preferred to stay out of people's business and let them figure things out on their own.
"She was damaged?! What happened?!" Luffy asked in surprise.
"I was attacked by an annoying person," the redhead explained, not going into detail about his encounter with the Celestial Dragon, and his captain nodded in understanding.
The noise of the expanding of his ship, attracted the attention of the people inside and soon, the whole Dadan family was outside and gaping at the vessel.
Dadan knew at a glance that the reason the ship was here, was because of the oldest brat she was in charge of.
Somehow, the bandit didn't even think she was in charge of him.
True to her words, on the deck of the ship was Rosan and he was holding the, supposedly, missing Luffy. The missing boy in question looked like he had been in a war with a pack of animals and Dadan hazarded a guess that he probably was.
"WHAT'S GOING ON?! W-WHAT IS THIS?!" Dadan roared in disbelief, causing Rosan to stare at the shell shocked woman.
"A ship."
"NO SHIT!" She exclaimed comically and Rosan tilted his head at her. She forced herself to calm down and asked in a much lower tone, "What is it doing here?"
"I put it here."
She resisted the urge to throttle the teen and calmed her racing heart. "With your Devil Fruit? What exactly is it? You were doing a lot of crazy things against Garp-san," she asked and Rosan hummed.
"That's a good question," he told her, before heading deeper into his ship, Luffy in tow.
"SO ANSWER IT?!" She screeched and the bandits behind her sweatdropped. The redhead did not show back up to answer her question and the leader of the mountain bandits, was left staring at just the ship.
Dadan held her head in defeat and moaned in misery.
Every single one of these brats were problematic monsters. They were going to be the death of her.
A well fed Luffy slept easily on his back, as Rosan reduced the size of the ship again and pocketed it.
He tried waking the boy up to bathe but he was out like a light from his trip in the valley so Rosan let him sleep while he washed his injuries. How he didn't wake up from his action? The redhead would never know but Luffy had already proven to be a complete oddity even by his standards.
They were currently back at the bandit's place and Rosan stared at the ceiling above him. He was about to enter his mindscape to check up on Mod-chan and Ram, but he was alerted to the presence of another person nearing the room.
He had of course noticed the extra bed and it didn't take him long to deduce that this was his little brother's room. It seems he had come back from whatever it was he was doing.
True to his words, Ace opened the door. Luffy was closer to him and he regarded the sleeping boy with a slightly surprised expression (so he did throw him over) before making eye contact with Rosan.
Angry black made contact with lifeless red and purple and Rosan eventually broke the silence.
"Would you like to talk? Outside?" The redhead asked quietly. He hoped his little brother (he had no right to call him that) agreed so that they could figure this out immediately.
Ace stared at his supposed brother with a stone face but on the inside, he was a torrent of emotions.
There were so much questions he wanted to ask the mysterious redhead so he nodded.
Rosan got up without making a noise and made his way to the door. He pushed it open and was satisfied to not hear a noise this time. The redhead deftly avoided all the unconscious bandits and let out a breath at the cool breeze of the night.
Footsteps alerted him to Ace following and Rosan turned to face the much shorter boy. The barking dog was immediately silenced at once glance from the redhead and it scurried away somewhere else.
"I'm sure you have many questions for me; I won't hesitate to answer any of them," Rosan told his younger brother and Ace took a deep breath.
"Who are you?" He began simple.
"My name is Portgas D. Rosan. I'm 14 years old and I'm... your older brother," he introduced himself to the shorter boy.
"Are you… really my brother? We look nothing alike," The 10 year old pointed out hesitantly and Rosan nodded.
"We are not blood related," he informed his younger brother. "Portgas D. Rouge, our mom, found me abandoned in a forest when I was a newborn and she raised me like I were her own blood for four years."
Ace nodded at the explanation. "Portgas D. Rouge…" he tested the name of his birth mother on his lips.
"Yes. She loved the both of us very much even despite the fact that I wasn't her real child," Rosan said, making Ace's eyes go wide.
"She... She loved me?"
"Of course. Mom did everything in her power to make sure you survived and got to live your life," Rosan said softly and Ace felt a strange feeling welling up in his gut at that statement.
"How?" The boy asked quietly and Rosan explained the entire situation of their late mother to him. By the end of the conversation, Ace was regarding his brother with wide, disbelieving eyes.
"She really kept me hidden… for 20 months?!" The 10 year old asked and for once, the blatant anger in his eyes were completely gone.
"A child should not bear the sins of their parents," the redhead began, making Ace step back in shock. "Just because Roger is our father, does not mean our existence should be considered a crime. Mom believed that more than anyone and that's why she sacrificed her life so that you could live yours."
So the redhead even knew who their father was... That made everything he was saying even more believable.
Rosan reached into his shirt and pulled out a pendant. Using Modification, he expanded it to show the picture on it. One day, he'd give Ace his own picture of mom because this one was a little too precious to him.
"This is her. You two look nothing alike but you inherited her freckles," the redhead told his black haired brother.
Ace gazed at the picture like it were made of gold. It was a photo of their mother and, what appeared to be, a much younger Rosan. The redhead was right, they really did look nothing alike! She had pink blonde hair and honey brown eyes compared to his black hair and eye combination!
They were both smiling, though Rosan's was much wider than his mother's calmer one, and they were hugging each other tightly.
They clearly loved each other…
So this was his mother, Portgas D. Rouge. Ace didn't know what to feel right now but he was getting overwhelmed with a foreign emotion. His brother looked much the same, just older. It was startling how much difference expressions could make because the serious, lifeless demeanor of his brother made him look like a completely different person than the beaming child in the picture.
"Why didn't you come with me?" Ace asked seriously and he felt a raw anger surging up. This whole time, this whole fucking time, he had an older brother and he didn't even know about him!
Rosan had been expecting that reaction. Honestly, he expected that to be one of the first questions so it was a surprise that he had valued other questions more.
"There are two reasons," Rosan told his brother. "For one, I have an ability that is very coveted by the World Government. Even if Garp didn't blame me for being Roger's son, I don't know what he would do to me if I revealed my ability."
Ace scowled at that answer. "An ability worth abandoning your own brother?" he growled out and the redhead closed his eyes.
"Please know that not a day has gone by where I haven't felt guilt at what I felt forced to do," Rosan answered quietly, causing Ace to pull back a bit.
"What's this ability anyways?" The 10 year old grumbled and Rosan hummed.
"It's best if I tell you in a more secure location," the 14 year old told him and he got up.
Ace followed suit and the duo walked deeper into the forest.
Rosan looked at an incredibly large tree and nodded his head. This would do fine.
"Do you mind being carried?" He asked his younger brother and Ace thought about it before saying, "Depends."
"Grabbing my hand would probably be the most tolerable way for you," Rosan guessed, holding his hand out for Ace to reluctantly grab.
The freckled boy's jaw dropped, at seeing actual wings sprout from Rosan's back! They were black scaly wings with a red underside and they were huge!
"Hold on tight," Rosan instructed and he took to the skies immediately.
Ace let out a startled yell at suddenly ascending before it turned into excitement.
Flying felt good.
Much to his disappointment, they reached the top of the tree in no time and Rosan let his hand free.
"Flying is one of my favorite things to do," the redhead said softly and Ace could begrudgingly see why.
"Do we really have to be up here for what your going to tell me?"
Rosan hummed and bent down to touch the branch they were on. "Modify," he said simply, watching it expand to be much larger and walling the two off from the floor.
This way, they wouldn't fall off and suffer serious injuries. Rosan was quite sturdy but he wasn't sure about his younger brother.
Ace watched with wide eyes as the branch transformed into a mini tree house.
Coupled with what he had displayed in his fight against the old man, maybe he had a valid reasoning for hiding his Devil Fruit. The amount of things he seemed able to do...
"Closing your eyes, makes the experience much easier to deal with," Rosan suddenly said, locking his dual eyes onto the shorter boy.
Ace glared distrustfully at him before doing so and he tensed, as the heterochromia placed a warm palm on him.
"Modification, Link: Users Rosan, Ace," and Ace grunted at the sudden shift of surroundings. He shivered violently at the extreme drop in temperature and he had to wonder just where the hell they were.
"You reacted the best out of everyone I've done that too," Rosan commented and Ace opened his eyes at hearing him.
"This is my mindscape," the teen began explaining. "It is a mental representation of me as a person and it changes according to my psyche."
Ace raised a brow at the explanation and was finding himself more and more impressed with Rosan's ability.
He looked around at the mindscape and observed the frozen forest with a confused expression.
So this forest… was a representation of how Rosan was? Ace wondered what caused it to be so damn cold.
An orange jacket formed on the boy and instantly warmed him up, ceasing all his current complaints.
"Follow me," Rosan said. "I'll explain my ability as we walk so that you aren't too surprised."
As Rosan explained Modification to his younger brother (he was much more receptive to information then Luffy was), Ace's eyes progressively grew wider and wider in interest.
His Devil Fruit was really cool.
"Thank you," a naturally soft, mature voice called out and Ace startled a bit.
It was a purple haired woman who towered over him, but was a few inches shorter than Rosan. She wore a fancy black and white dress that covered most of her frame and her hair was styled into a hime cut. To finish off, she had a pair of blood red eyes that stared at him knowingly despite the fact that they never met.
Next to her was a tall girl with probably the most unique appearance he had seen yet. She had long silver twintails, that were streaked with purple, and her eyes were a distinct combination of red and purple. She was wearing a black and purple Spanish-style double breasted coat that hid her figure.
She looked at the young boy with a confident, if not slightly unhinged, grin on her face.
Ace looked at the two warily until Rosan said, "Don't worry, they're with me," and the boy forced himself to remain calm.
"So you're Ace!" The purple haired woman hummed. "It's nice to meet you. My name is Mod, and I'm the main reason Rosan left you behind," she said bluntly and Ram looked at her like she was crazy.
"This is Ram, she's Rosan's weapon," Mod said, introducing the slightly taller girl next to her.
Ram said nothing, which was surprising, due to sensing the forming tension. All she offered was a small wave that Ace didn't return.
Rosan eyed Mod for a moment but followed in his weapon's footsteps.
Ace glared at the woman and asked, "Are you the second reason that he mentioned?" but the woman shook her head in a no motion.
"No. The other reason Rosan left you behind, is because he didn't think he deserved to raise you," the woman said frankly and the freckled boy looked towards the teen to confirm.
"...It's true," Rosan said. "I felt that I wasn't worthy of raising you because I blamed you for killing Mom," he admitted and Ace flinched harshly at the revelation.
"It was only for a brief moment," Mod interrupted with a frown. It was important to place that information out there. "Rosan was a four year old boy who had just watched his mother die and you were the most obvious target for him. Even so, he was able to quickly snap out of it, yet the guilt has been gnawing at him for 10 years."
"You don't have to defend me, Mod," Rosan said quietly but the woman shook her head vehemently.
"No! You aren't going to defend yourself and you're saying things in a way that'll definitely make Ace hate you. You blamed him for less than 30 seconds and decided that you were the worst brother in the world because of it for ten years!" The older woman shouted and the redhead didn't respond.
"You watched her die?" Ace asked, feeling a strange sensation that he desperately wanted to be gone.
"Yes, I did," Rosan confirmed and his younger brother looked to the floor. "She didn't tell me she was giving birth so I sent a bug to spy on her. It arrived just in time to see her give us her parting words and die."
Even Ace couldn't blame Rosan for lashing out. He must have been suffering a great deal and the stress caused him to pick the most logical choice (in his grieving eyes). The boy truly did seem like he loved their mother and her death had permanently scarred him.
Maybe it was his fault. If he hadn't existed, Rosan would likely still be with Rouge and he'd get to enjoy his life with the person who raised him.
"Don't do that," Rosan suddenly said, making Ace freeze. "Don't regret the life you've been given. Why do you think you shouldn't exist?"
"...Because I'm Roger's son," Ace said, like it was the most obvious thing in the world.
"Roger…" Rosan actually managed to look displeased. "That man is truly an idiot for the way he ruined our lives. No wonder you've grown up with that look in your eyes. You have probably heard horrible things about him and as such, it affected you."
Ace didn't answer, confirming his thoughts.
"You are not Gol D. Roger," the redhead explained quietly. "Your name is Gol D. Ace, a 10 year old orphan who has done nothing to deserve being hunted by the World Government. The sin's of a father should not pass down to their child and that applies to even you, no matter what anyone else has to say."
"Mom sacrificed her life for you because she loved you. Don't tarnish her final action by questioning your existence. Live your life to the fullest, until you find a reason to live, if you have to."
Ace looked at his brother in awe at his words. He couldn't help but ask, "And what about you? Do you love me?"
Rosan tilted his head and said, "Of course I love you. I wouldn't have been so afraid to meet you if I didn't."
Ace was surprised to feel some tears running down his eyes at the simple declaration. Someone actually… loved him? Someone didn't curse his existence just for being the son of the Pirate King? The only other person who he could legitimately call family, didn't hate him for being the cause of their mother's death?
That… That was a relief.
"I need time to digest this information," Ace suddenly said and Rosan nodded in understanding. It was perfectly fine to be overwhelmed by a revelation like that.
"I'll disappear for a few days so that you can process them alone," the redhead offered and Ace agreed to that.
"I will leave tomorrow then. I'm glad we managed to talk this out without coming to blows... yet," Rosan said softly and Ace couldn't help but snort.
He wouldn't be so sure about that just yet.
"Wait," Mod suddenly said and everyone paused. "Rosan, I'd like to talk to Ace. Alone please," the purple haired woman said and the 14 year old hummed.
"Okay," he agreed easily. "Come Ram, you can have me to yourself while we wait."
The dead silent Ram let out a loud cheer and immediately jumped on Rosan's back. She snuggled closely to him and the redhead turned in the opposite direction to walk off.
Once they were out of sight, Mod sighed and looked at the lone individual there.
Ace was staring at her with distrustful eyes but the purple haired woman didn't care very much.
No, all she cared about was making sure Rosan got better.
"Rosan is not to blame for leaving you," Mod said calmly. "I am. I influenced his decision to leave you behind because of the threat the World Government posed to me and his desire to keep me safe, triumphed everything."
As she spoke to him, it finally hit Ace on just who this person was. "You're the Devil Fruit," he muttered and Mod confirmed it with a nod.
"Yes and I'm the one who told Rosan not to trust the Marines and the death of his mother, only strengthened that already negative mindset. The reason he chose to leave you, was because Garp already had you and he at least wanted to protect me. If I never told him, he'd be with you from the start."
Ace let loose a quiet snarl at the cold tone of the woman. "Why are you telling me this? Are you trying to make me hate you?!"
"If that means Rosan is spared from it, then yes," Mod said without hesitation and Ace flinched in surprise at the speed that she answered.
"Don't misunderstand Ace, I really do love you," the purple haired woman said softly, making the 10 year old gap. "Of course I'd love someone that Rosan loves. But you need to understand that I love Rosan more and I will do anything for him."
"Rosan has been through too much already and he's barely hanging on by a thread right now. You don't seem to understand how valuable you are to him and I don't want you to break him even further," Mod said truthfully and the look in her eyes, made Ace tense.
The freckled boy thought back to that lifeless expression that seemed to permanently be Rosan's face and felt his curiosity spike.
"What happened to him?"
The older woman let out a tired sigh and said, "It's not my place to tell you, but I'm sure he'll answer you if you ask."
"I don't think you'll do something stupid because you are a smart boy. But understand this Ace, if you do in fact say something stupid and it brings Rosan to the point of no return…" Mod began and her crimson eyes began glowing ominously.
"...You'll have me to deal with and you'll understand just how much I care about my child."
"I'll be leaving for a couple of days, Luffy," Rosan told his future captain.
"Okay!" Luffy said, without even asking where. Rosan liked that. Luffy wasn't a nosy person.
The seven year old was looking intently at the area that Ace had departed in and Rosan guessed he was going to follow him again.
"Be careful while I'm gone; Try not to fall into a valley again," the redhead requested and Luffy nodded rapidly.
The rubber boy looked like he was about to take off any second now and Rosan knew for a fact, that he was going to end up in more disastrous situations.
He hoisted the tiny boy up suddenly, palmed his straw hat, and said, "Modification: Save Point."
Job done, he put the child down and said, "Now you can go," and he watched as Luffy rocketed off.
Hopefully Ace would be too deep in thought to harass his captain.
Somehow, he doubted that.
"Where are you going?" Dadan asked gruffly and Rosan looked at the bandit leader.
"Are you worried about me?" He asked and the woman scoffed.
"Of course not! I'm just curious is all."
"I'm going to visit a princess," he said truthfully, calling her out on her bullshit. It was odd though... For some reason, Dadan didn't believe him when he said it.
He tilted his head at that fact. Was it that unbelievable? Maro certainly didn't act like a princess but she at least dressed and looked like one... somewhat.
"I don't think that's the reason why," Mod said in amusement.
"Whatever. Just make sure you get back before Garp catches wind your gone," Dadan said and she began making her way back into the hideout.
"I don't want to even look at that man. If I see him again, I won't be able to resist attacking him," Rosan said truthfully, making his way deeper into the forest.
Dadan looked back at him in disbelief. Did he not remember handily losing that fight? Did he get a few screws knocked loose in the process? Was he seriously hellbent on attacking Garp every single time he saw him?
Crazy damn kids these days.
"You were supposed to visit us three times a week," Angel growled in a barely restrained fury. Creator or not, the pretty redhead was seriously about to attack Rosan for the sheer audacity that he seemed to always exhibit.
"I said that so you could let me go easier," Rosan informed her truthfully, unbothered by her anger. "I'm trying to make it so you three are independent from me and visiting you three times a week, defeats that purpose."
"But I don't wanna be independent from you," the middle triplet whined and Rosan rubbed her hair gently. One day, his clones would appreciate what he was trying to do for them. Right now, they still held him on too high of a pedestal so they wouldn't see it yet, but one day.
"But I do," he said and his fellow redhead grumbled in defeat.
"If Master wants it, I'll do it," she conceded begrudgingly.
"Thank you Angel, I appreciate your cooperation," Rosan said and he hugged her. She melted in his grasp with a happy sigh and Maro looked properly annoyed.
"Why can't you act like this around me?!" The princess grumbled in annoyance.
"Because you aren't Master," Angel said ruthlessly and Maro fell over at her blunt honesty.
"B-but I'm your girlfriend," she whined. Why did she have to fall in love with the rudest of the triplets... Honestly, Demon would have been a much better choice.
"But you're not Master."
"You're so mean to me," Maro said with a rainy cloud over her head and Angel finally decided to throw her a bone.
The tall redhead made her way over to Maro and planted a simple kiss on her cheek and the bluenette was back to normal instantly.
"Alright! So Master, how did it go? Did you find your brother? Does he hate you? Love you? Is he still wearing diapers?"
The female clone sweatdropped at how quickly she rebounded and just sighed in exasperation at the antics of the princess.
"Tell us everything!" Angel demanded eagerly and Rosan nodded in affirmation.
"Where is Demon?" The redhead asked and his clone smiled fondly.
"He's working at the hospital right now with his little helper, Rin," the redhead said softly. Demon had been improving at a massive rate in medicine and now, he was comfortably working as a doctor. Rin didn't like being far from him so he had ended up being a bit of an assistant to the purple haired teen.
"I'll tell him everything when he gets back but I can't wait!" Maro was shaking in excitement as she impatiently waited for Rosan to tell her about what he was up too.
What? He had been gone for a really long time!
Rosan hummed and said, "I'll start from the beginning then."
They all sat comfortably in Maro's massive blue room and Rosan thanked the child, that seemed to be attached to his student, for bringing snacks.
Kanna blushed at the praise, bowed, and fled the room.
"I think she likes you~," Maro teased and Rosan raised a neat red brow.
"I'm pretty sure that applies to you more than me," he responded and the bluenette raised both her blue brows in confusion.
"Huh?" Maro asked dumbly and Angel let out a snort.
"I still can't believe you let that little thief stay in the castle. Should have just let me deal with her," the redhead scoffed and Maro put a soothing hand on her shoulder.
"Now, now, none of that, Angel… Kanna is working hard to prove her worth and she's doing a great job! She already avoids you like the plague because of how scary you are! Isn't that good enough?" The princess asked patiently, hoping that her girlfriend could see reason.
"No."
Maro sweatdropped and just let the topic drop. She looked at Rosan and just beckoned for him to tell his tale.
Angel was honestly too much sometimes!
"I made a... friend," Rosan began bluntly and they froze in astonishment at that. "And he made me join his pirate crew."
…
"Huh?" Maro asked dumbly and Angel was right there with her.
"I'm afraid I need you to elaborate, Master…" Angel requested slowly and the redhead simply nodded.
He told the two about how he had just wanted to gather information on the town and met the hyperactive Luffy in the process. He mentioned how the child reminded him a bit of his younger self and that the seven year old had forced Rosan to become his friend.
The two girls stared, dumbfounded, at the story and it took them a moment to process it.
"Luffy was it? He actually managed to convince you to become a pirate?" Maro asked.
"He didn't give me much of a choice and Mod-chan likes him, so I agreed."
"Master Mod is personally interested in him?" Angel asked in awe. "That means he can benefit you in some way, right?!"
"Yes. He's a unique child," Rosan answered truthfully.
"We have to meet him soon! Once we stabilize Celadon more, we're definitely visiting," Maro exclaimed and Angel nodded in agreement.
"Now what about Ace?" The redhead asked and Maro leaned forward eagerly.
"I found him and we spoke. He's the reason I'm here actually. If you don't mind I would like to stay for a couple of days."
Angel cheered excitedly and crashed into Rosan. "Of course Master! You can sleep in our room and we can talk about everything and you can watch me work and I can dress you up again! I love dressing you up!"
"Am I actually the princess here?" Maro asked, but Angel completely ignored her. The Dokkaebi would have sighed, but she was grinning too.
Master was staying for a bit with them! She would have whooped in joy but she had appearances to keep up as the princess! Decorum and all of that stuff that Angel brutally taught her...
"What brought this on? Did the meeting with him go bad?" Maro asked, suddenly seriously and Rosan shook his head.
"It went… far better than I imagined but that might be because of the shock factor of the situation," the Mod Mod no mi user admitted and they beamed.
"Ace... is an angry child. I do not regret avoiding that Marine because that man cannot be trusted, but I regret not finding a way to take my little brother with me," the redhead told them, closing his eyes. There was no possible way he would have been able to get Ace out of Garp's grasp and escape without getting caught... the man had shown that he could fly and there was no doubt he'd be able to catch up to the redhead.
"That bad?" Maro asked and Rosan nodded.
"I attacked Garp out of anger," was all he said and they the two froze at the revelation.
The idea that Rosan attacked a monster like Garp was only secondary to the knowledge that he actually felt something.
"T-true genuine anger?" Angel stammered in hope.
"Yes, Rosan was actually upset to the point where he discarded all pretenses and attacked Garp with Modification," Mod told them softly. Despite the risk of doing so, the Devil Fruit was happy that he had done it! It meant that he was being completely irrational and irrationality, was based purely on emotion.
They gaped at Rosan, who simply nodded. "It was a short burst and the anger has since dissipated but it has promising implications."
Angel couldn't prevent the tears from welling up at that. "S-So it's not impossible! Master can still be helped!" She shakily said and the teen sagged in relief.
Even if it was anger, it was something. Even if it was gone now, it had been there!
The girl could cry right now.
"Now we have to meet Ace!" Maro exclaimed giddily. She was rubbing a soothing hand on Angel's shoulder and the princess also felt a well of relief surging through her.
"Not yet, I don't want to overwhelm him," Rosan said. "Besides, the reason I'm here is because I want him to gather his thoughts without any sort of bias. If he hates me, I will understand if he wants me gone. If he doesn't, then I will do what I can to mend our broken relationship."
"You're putting a lot of effort into this, Master," Maro smiled.
"I hope it's worth it," Angel beamed and Rosan nodded in agreement.
"…" Mod hummed and Ram looked at her in curiosity, but said nothing.
"I'll stay here for a week, then I'll be gone again. If you need me for anything, let me know," Rosan informed them softly.
"Nope! You are not working! Your gonna spend time with us and that's that," Angel said, leaving no room for argument and Maro laughed.
"You've done a lot already! We got some stuff from Aiko recently and we've already set up trade routes with some interested islands. They are really curious about how we manage to produce such healthy crops so quickly!" The princess bragged with a puffed up chest.
Celadon was already well on its way of making its name known!
"I'm impressed. You are making full use of every single one of your abilities as a Dokkaebi," Rosan commented and she blushed at the praise.
"But I have no one to fight right now! We have to spar during your stay here," Maro decided.
"When was the last time you bought yourself clothes? We have to go shopping!" Angel demanded. "I know why you haven't showed up, but I still don't like it so you have to make it up to me!"
"Okay," Rosan conceded without complaint and Angel grumbled.
Stupid Master and his stupid compliance.
"You threatened Ace, right?" Rosan said calmly, staring at his caretaker of 10 years.
Ram's mouth opened in an O and Mod stared at Rosan with a neutral gaze.
The 3 were currently in the mindscape, relaxing in the lounge area, on the long, black and red, couches. Ram was resting her head on Rosan's lap as the teen idly rubbed her hair.
She wisely chose to stay silent. Maybe she'd go find something else to do if it got bad... There was no way she was gonna interfere with this.
"Threaten? No," Mod replied, equally calm. "I just informed him of the situation without needlessly dragging your name through the dirt like someone I know." There was a small bite in her tone as she said that final part and the silver haired teen began to squirm uncomfortably.
"So you shifted the blame off of me and onto yourself, then you threatened him."
Mod raised a delicate purple brow. "You sound very sure that I threatened him."
"Of course. I know you better than anyone else, Mod-chan," Rosan chided her gently, boring his gaze into her and successfully making her fidget. "I understand that you are overprotective of me and that, in my current state, anything that could possibly have a negative effect on me, will be dealt with by you. Am I wrong?"
The Devil Fruit stared at the taller (she missed the days when he was shorter than her) teen and let loose a tired sigh.
"I do not regret what I've done," Mod said and Ram contemplated fleeing from the situation.
Sometimes, it was a blessing that Father had no emotions.
"He is 10," Rosan informed his longest companion. "He has every right in the world to feel disdain for me and you shouldn't try to influence that."
"I disagree," the Devil Fruit replied stubbornly. "You tried very hard to portray yourself in a negative life when telling Ace what happened. It seems like you are actively trying to influence him into hating you."
"…" Rosan did not respond and Mod took that as a sign to continue.
"You told Ace that you blamed him for Rouge's death, yet you omitted the fact that it was for a split second. Do you think he would have known how short it was, without me intervening and mentioning it?" The woman accused and she frowned heavily at her charge.
"I thought we were past this self destructive phase of yours, Rosan," she finished sadly.
"I'm sorry," Rosan said suddenly, making her pause in surprise. She had expected him to fight back more strongly... "You're just worried for me and it's only been amplified because of my change," the redhead pointed out and she nodded in agreement.
"You're willing to do anything to protect me, even if it means throwing your morals away and I appreciate that. But, I'm not a fragile piece of glass, Mod-chan."
The woman froze in shock at his words and she began to rapidly shake her head at his quiet declaration. She... she wasn't trying to imply that at all!
"Ace hating me will hurt but I doubt it will cause me to fall even further then where I'm currently at. My mental fortitude is pretty strong and I've prepared for this outcome for 10 years."
"I-I know that! It's just...I'm so scared Rosan," she admitted in a soft whisper. "Every day I think about what happened to Meiko and how much it changed you and every day I think to myself, "how is Rosan going to recover from something like this?" and it makes me so scared to think that maybe it will never come!"
"You and Meiko were made for each other. To lose your other half is something not many people can recover from a-and I'm afraid that there's a chance it can happen to you too! I'm not worried about you falling further, I'm worried about you never recovering."
Tears began welling up in her eyes and she bowed her head. "I miss it Rosan. I miss your emotions, I miss your smile, your care, your anger, your chaotic nature. I miss all of and I won't accept anyone potentially slowing down what little progress we've made. Even Ace."
"It's not often your this up front and honest with me," Rosan commented and she couldn't resist smiling despite the tears.
"It's cause your growing up now," she said playfully and Ram giggled.
Rosan got up (Ram nearly protested) and made his way over to Mod. He wrapped the woman in his arms and whispered, "I'm lucky to have you, Mod-chan. The extent that your willing to go for me, makes me feel truly blessed and I love you all the more for it."
"I know," Mod mumbled, burying her face in his chest. The plus side of his growth spurt, was that Rosan was a very comfortable person to rest against now.
"You are the most important person in the world to me. You're my best friend, my mother, my sister, my partner for life... You have done everything for me since I was 4," Rosan replied truthfully and she couldn't keep the large smile off her face at his declaration. "I will do anything to make you happy and if that means clawing through this world to get my emotions back, I'll do it. Just for you because you deserve it."
Her tears began falling and she desperately clutched the person she cared for most. This was why she loved him so much! His number one priority, had always been her since they met and it had not changed over the years. It was natural that he had become her number one priority.
"Group hug!" Ram cheered and she dove onto the two. She was hoping to knock them over, but Rosan deftly caught her and included her into the mix.
"Whether you eventually unlock your emotions again, or you stay like this, you'll always have my unconditional loyalty," Ram exclaimed without any hesitation and Mod laughed.
"I don't care how you end up Rosan. I'll love you all the same, but I just want you to be happy," the Devil Fruit whispered warmly and her wielder clutched the two tighter.
"That's why I endure, to see if there is such thing as happiness for me now," Rosan murmured and the 3 just held each other.
Even if he couldn't find it, at least he still had people who cared for him.
The week had passed by quickly and like always, his 3 old shipmates were there to see him off.
"Don't disappear for longer than a month this time," Angel snarled but the fact that she was buried in Rosan's body, made it impossible to take her serious.
Just don't tell her that...
"I'll try to balance visiting you guys and making you grow away from me," Rosan promised. "You three are already making good progress. You have other things to focus on that distracts you from the fact that I am not here."
"Stop trying to use logic on me!" Angel harrumphed and Demon snorted.
"I still have a hard time believing the story you told us. I wish I could have heard it in person," he hummed. He had been busy working at the hospital and applying what he had learned from his studies. It was working out extremely well for him and he was already near the top of the staff.
"Blame Maro," Angel said without hesitation and the girl gaped at being outed so quickly.
"S-Snitch!" She barked and the redhead stuck out her tongue childishly. Maro returned it in kind and soon, the two began bickering with each other.
"I apologize for not delaying, but I'm happy that you are finding so much success as a Doctor, Demon," Rosan said truthfully and Demon blushed bashfully.
"I-I'm just trying my best to honor Meiko's memories," he muttered with a soft smile on his face.
"She'd be proud of you and a little jealous that you caught up to her skills so quickly," Rosan remarked and the 2 clones laughed at the truthful statement.
Maro smiled a forlorn smile. She would have loved to meet Meiko in person. All 3 of the triplets thought very highly of her. Angel didn't compliment anyone (besides Rosan) as much as she complimented the late lover of their Master.
She must have been an amazing person.
"Alright, alright!" Angel said with a shaky smile. "We'll let you go before it gets bad and I try to forcefully keep you here!"
"Thank you, Angel," Rosan nodded and he waved at the three before vanishing.
Rosan's method of going to Dawn Island, was to teleport to Luffy's straw hat that he recently placed a Save Point on.
That was not a good idea.
Luffy was incredibly reckless.
Mod let out a deep sigh of regret at the sight of the child almost being consumed by crocodiles.
Rosan glanced at his soaked pants, from being knee deep in the water, and hummed.
"This is unexpected. I suppose it's a good thing that I'm taller now or else this would be rather troublesome."
If more than half of his body had been submerged, he'd be pretty weakened and it would be a lot harder to escape from the crocodiles. Since the water only reached his knees, he was fine.
Luffy didn't look very fine though.
The boy was desperately trying to avoid getting chomped by the crocodiles and Ram was laughing hysterically at the sight. The silver haired weapon was rolling on the floor at the hilarity of it all and she was desperately clutching her stomach.
"Perhaps I made a mistake," Mod said and the teen began laughing harder.
"Your the one that was interested in him Auntie! No regrets now," she cackled.
"Do you need help, Luffy?" Rosan called and the boy looked at his scout with such pathetic eyes, Ram lost her breath.
Rosan transformed his weapon into a katana and made his way to the crocodiles.
"Crocodiles are edible, right?" the redhead asked and Mod nodded.
"Yes, they are."
"Then we will eat this tonight. I hope it's not too difficult to cook," the teen decided and he dashed into them without hesitation.
10 minutes later. Rosan stepped on Luffy's inflated belly to push out all the water he had managed to drink. The corpses of the crocodiles, were lying some ways away and the redhead contemplated on just how he'd cook them.
"Being rubber sure has given your body some... freedom," he commented slowly and his captain's response was to spit out another glob of water.
"At least you've never had any accidents with drowning," Mod said tiredly.
"If I fell in the water while traveling with Robin, she wouldn't be able to get me and I'd die. It was trying times back then when I was that clumsy," Rosan said truthfully, thinking back to it.
He had way too many near falls when he traveled with the Devil Child and she had told him to stop raising her blood pressure. After they separated, and he was imprisoned, the boy had gained far more control over his formerly clumsy body with training and he managed to more easily evade situations like that.
Luffy was probably always going to have this problem.
It's a good thing he ate Mod's fruit before he ever cared about the ocean.
"Did you try and follow Ace today again?" Rosan asked the recovered child.
"N-no!" Luffy lied and Rosan tilted his head.
"You don't want me to interfere?" he asked instead and the rubber boy nodded rapidly, thankful that he didn't need to lie anymore.
The boy was a terrible liar anyways.
"I want Ace to be my friend!" The seven year old said determinedly. "I don't want to rely on you for everything so no helping! I can do it!"
Rosan could respect that. He wasn't keen on being a babysitter anyways. If Luffy wanted to do it by himself, the redhead wouldn't stop him. His captain was someone who wouldn't hesitate to ask for help if he truly couldn't do it himself, but if he could, then he would and that was a mindset that he could appreciate.
"Okay, I won't follow you two, have fun and try not to die," Rosan said calmly and Luffy cheered.
With Luffy chasing Ace, that would leave him plenty of free time and he didn't know what to do with it.
Rosan had not been training as intensely as when he was younger because he simply lacked the drive to do so. He didn't think that was changing anytime soon. Besides, his priorities had changed over the year. Being the strongest was a far off dream at the moment.
Seems he could actually visit Maro and co more. They would be happy to hear that.
He would naturally still limit his visits though.
Rosan glanced at the bandit's hideout.
He had been at the rich capital today to glean some info on it and now, he was making his way back to their home. The redhead was purposely avoiding Ace, in case the boy wanted some more time alone, and that meant he didn't see Luffy either.
He contemplated searching for the seven year old but discarded the thought. His struggle against Ace was building character along with his strength and Rosan wouldn't impede that.
With that, he entered the building — only to immediately pause at the speech of the, obviously drunk, bandits.
"He's a demon child!" That was Dadan currently yelling. "We can't control him and if the government finds us, we're all as good as dead!"
"Ace is uncontrollable! If he dies, he dies," the bandit leader slurred.
"Not this again," Magra sighed.
"What about his brother? You really think he'll accept that?" Dogra said worriedly.
"That redhead? He's even more of a monster than Ace is! I doubt anything here can kill him but if by some miracle he does die, we'll be lucky."
"Is that so?" Rosan said softly and every single one of them froze in unison, terror welling up in their bodies at that familiar, quiet voice.
The redhead entered the room and stared down the bandit leader with searching eyes.
"I'd like to make one thing clear," Rosan began and they started trembling. "I do not care what people have to say about me, much less bandits whose lives are already ruined. I've been called much worse things in my life and it has never affected me," he informed them, voice a near whisper but they could hear him perfectly.
"But the fact that you speak so cruelly about Ace, while he lives with you, is unacceptable. This is surely not the first time either and I'm sure he's picked up some of your words."
A daunting pressure slammed into them and they found that it was getting alot more difficult to breathe.
"The mind of a child is impressionable. "Should I be alive? Am I a demon? A monster? Would I be better off dead?" If told something many times, they will have no choice but to begin believing those doubts," Rosan's voice was almost inaudible and he took a step forward the terrified bandits.
"That is unacceptable," his voice echoed in the room.
Dadan tried to speak up but she was unable too. The worst thing about this entire ordeal, was that Rosan's tone had not shifted even once. He spoke in that same vacant cadence of his and it made the situation all the more unsettling.
"If Ace grew up hearing what you were saying, that would explain some of what I need to know," he said and the pressure relented. More and more, he was realizing the mistake he had made leaving his little brother in the care of these people... Sadly, hindsight was 20/20 and there was nothing he could do to change the past.
"Let this be a warning, if I ever catch you bad mouthing my 10 year old brother in that way again, I'm going to show you what an actual demon is and you'll find that you much prefer the way someone like Ace acts..."
"...Okay?" Rosan finished gently.
"O-Okay," Dadan stammered, sobered up and terrified.
Rosan nodded and turned away to leave.
"I'm surprised you didn't kill them," Mod commented with a raised brow.
"Yea! Normally, you wouldn't even give them a warning!" Ram was also confused. Father had quite low tolerance for people that offended him so to see them still breathing, came as a surprise to her.
"There is no point. I would gain nothing from it besides Garp hunting me down," Rosan informed them.
He stepped out of the room, only to make eye contact with Ace himself.
The 10 year old was looking at him with wide eyes and it was clear he had been listening in.
Rosan had not been intending for that.
The redhead pointed outside questioningly and after a moment of deliberation, Ace nodded.
The two walked out and Rosan asked "Do you want to go to the tree again?"
Ace enjoyed flying so he agreed faster this time (just a little). Rosan's large, scaly wings sprouted from his back and the son of Roger reached out his hand for the tall teen to grab.
"What type of wings are these?" Ace asked curiously as they flew to the location.
"Dragon wings," Rosan answered immediately.
"!" Ace reeled in shock. "You can transform into a dragon?!"
"Yes I can. It's a technique I'm very proud of. It took me far too long to learn how to do it."
Ace wanted to see it but he wouldn't say that out loud.
"I can show you one day, if you'd like," Rosan offered and his younger brother nodded his head in agreement.
"Do all children love dragons?" Mod asked, looking utterly unimpressed. She liked how Rosan's dragon looked but she was not nearly as awe inspired as everyone else seemed to be. She was more so inspired by how bullheaded he had been in trying to achieve the technique. It had taken him 5 years after all!
"Dragon's are pretty awesome!" Ram said cheerfully, just as smitten with the flying lizard as everyone else.
"I don't understand…"
"It's because you're old, Auntie!"
…
"I-I didn't mean it like that," Ram tried but it was too late for her.
"How could you have possibly meant it?" Mod asked calmly, with a firm grip on the silver haired girl's cheek.
"I'm sowwy," Ram's distorted voice came out and she desperately tried to pry Mod's soft hands away.
Why the hell was Auntie so strong?! W-what was she eating?!
"Are you calling me fat now?!"
"Noooo, where did you even get that from?!" Ram was justifiably terrified for her life.
Rosan expertly ignored the two. The two brothers landed on top of the tree and the redhead placed Ace down easily enough. He repeated the same process as last time and soon, the two were sitting in a mini tree house.
The redhead sat down, content to let Ace steer this conversation and he began humming a tune that Meiko loved to listen to.
Ace himself, was deep in thought. He had been thinking hard about what he thought of his older brother in the time that he was gone.
He didn't think he hated him, but he surely did resent him. It was impossible not to, he was supposed to have an older brother to watch out for him and instead, he got nothing but vicious words growing up about how the son of Roger was better off being killed.
"I've got some more questions for you," Ace decided.
"Okay," Rosan replied easily enough.
"What were you doing these past 10 years?" he wondered.
"Sailing the seas mostly. I rarely stayed on an island for long," Rosan informed him.
"By yourself?"
Rosan shook his head no. "I've always had at least one companion with me. At first it was because I was only 4 and could not reliably take care of myself but around 9, it was simply because I needed more hands."
"So you've been sailing the sea for 10 years," Ace muttered.
"Yes. If not for Mod-chan, I'd probably be dead who knows how many times," the redhead told him truthfully.
Mod-chan… Ace remembered her words clear as day. The protective gleam in her eyes as she talked about her charge, the ease at which she threatened him…
Ace had to wonder what caused her to go to such lengths for his older brother. The woman admitted that despite loving him (wasn't that a shock) she wouldn't hesitate to hurt him if he hurt Rosan.
The 10 year old refused to fear anybody though. She wouldn't cow him from speaking his mind. Nobody could.
But first…
"Why are you so serious all the time? It doesn't feel like you have any emotions and it's a little hard to believe that your sincere in trying to make it up to me," Ace said bluntly.
"A good observation," Rosan praised blandly. "You're right, my emotions are locked away at the moment and show no signs of coming back to me. I assure you that one of my biggest regrets that I have never let go of, is not being able to bring you with me in some way."
Locked away. So something caused this to happen to him.
"What happened? Was it Mom?" Ace asked softly and Rosan's dual gaze locked onto him. It almost felt like he wasn't going to answer the question, but his brother had said he would answer without hesitation.
"Mom played a big part, but she was not the decisive factor," the redhead sighed and he looked at his ring. Ace did not miss that motion and he regarded the fancy, oddly familiar (it reminded him of something but he wasn't sure what), ring curiously.
The 10 year old didn't miss how Rosan wore so much expensive jewelry. The redhead had dangling ruby red earrings in both ears, a white pendant, and that silver and amethyst ring.
Coupled with his various outfits, Ace thought his brother was just some rich kid but it was clear that he was wrong.
The pendant was one of his last connections with Mom. Ace wondered what the ring and earrings signified.
"To be frank, the reason my emotions are locked away is because the love of my life, died in my arms," Rosan told him and Ace felt the world freeze around him at what the redhead just said.
That… that was not what he had been expecting to hear. No, that was definitely not what he had been expecting to hear.
"W-what?!" The 10 year old stammered in shock. Did his brother really just say that? The love of his life… died in his arms?
What the fuck?!
Mod closed her eyes as the pain of the memory washed over her. She resisted the urge to burst out crying and Ram immediately pulled the woman close to her, whispering words of reassurance all the while.
"The cause for my emotions disappearing, happened because my lover, Meiko, died in my arms," Rosan repeated softly and Ace began shaking his head rapidly.
"Wait! I didn't think it was that bad… You don't... you don't have to continue," he told him. This was clearly not something easy to talk about and Ace was out of his depth with the topic. He didn't mean to bring up bad memories when asking the redhead that question.
"Rosan has been through too much already and he's barely hanging on by a thread right now. You don't seem to understand how valuable you are to him and I don't want you to break him even further," Mod's words reverberated in his head and Ace suddenly found that she had not been joking.
"Are you sure?" Rosan asked and Ace nodded without hesitation.
"...Sorry for making you think about that," the freckled boy mumbled. He wasn't used to apologizing but he felt it was necessary here.
"You didn't know," the 14 year old dismissed immediately. "There's a lot of things you don't know about me."
That sounded ominous.
"That's my fault though. I should have sought you out sooner and as an apology, and a show of trust, I'll tell you one of my biggest secrets," Rosan said and Ace raised a brow at that.
"You have a secret bigger than Modification?" The 10 year old wondered.
"I suppose you can say that," Rosan hummed. "I am Reaper, the Angel of Death."
…
….
"WHAT?!" Ace's jaw dropped at the revelation and his eyes bugged comically.
Was his older brother… really that Reaper? The infamous bounty hunter turned criminal?! Everyone talked about that guy so even someone like Ace, who didn't pay much attention to the outside world, knew who they were! Granted, he didn't know much but he knew that they were a pretty big deal!
You're saying this was them?! He found that a little hard to believe!
"Yes, you are one of the few people to know that so please keep it a secret," Rosan requested.
"But your wings are scaly and I heard that Reaper's wings are feathery, like a bird," Ace pointed out. It was the one constant people talked about when mentioning the Shinigami. Those black wings of theirs.
"Angel, actually," Rosan said and a magnificent pair of wings burst out of his back. They were pitch black and feathery and something about them looked like more than just bird wings. Even in the dark of the night, they seemed to absorb the light around them and Ace had the strange urge to touch them.
"I never said a dragon is the only thing I can transform into."
Ace eyed his brother in a new light.
So the redhead was the elusive criminal, Reaper. That explained the dangerous air around them and how they had been able to fight Garp for a moment.
That… was kinda cool.
Ace sighed before cocking his fist back and punching Rosan right in the nose. The redhead's head was flung back by the impact but he accepted it without complaint and didn't bother wiping the blood that had begun leaking from it.
He deserved that. Honestly, Ace was well within his rights to hurt him even more and he wouldn't stop him.
"I don't hate you. I resent you," the freckled boy eventually said. Punching him like that, felt good.
"No matter what your reasoning is, you still abandoned me for 10 years. We're supposed to be brothers, but I didn't even know you existed until recently."
Rosan stayed silent, sensing that Ace wanted to get this off his chest.
"The only reason I don't hate you, is because you look like you've had your own problems over the years," Ace said truthfully. "I wouldn't even want to look at you if you weren't like this and I'd hate you as much as I hate Roger."
Mod frowned at his words.
"I don't really consider you my older brother so don't try to act like you are. I've been taking care of myself for this long and I definitely don't need your help anymore so you don't have to watch out for me," he grunted and he was sure the woman who had threatened him last time, was glaring now.
Eh, he didn't care. She could fuck off. He was going to speak his mind and no one could tell him otherwise.
"Do you want me to leave? Permanently?" Rosan questioned and Ace was tempted to say yes but despite his words, this was still family. His older brother was trying to make an effort and though the freckled boy was angry with him, he wouldn't push him away needlessly.
Mom loved them both equally after all and he owed his mother for how great of a woman she was.
"No, just… don't interfere with my life if I don't want you to," Ace grumbled and that was probably as good as Rosan was going to get.
"I understand," the redhead said and Ace was surprised to see a nearly invisible smile on his face. "Thank you for giving me the chance to redeem myself; I will take your words serious."
"Do whatever you want," Ace grunted, tired of this conversation and tired in general. "I won't go easy on you just because you're my brother."
Rosan nodded before saying, "Don't tell Luffy I am Reaper, by the way. That boy can't keep a secret for his life."
Ace's eye twitched in annoyance at the mention of the seven year old and he said, "I got no reason to talk to that kid anyways. Why would you even tell me that?"
"Luffy is a spoiled kid. He seems to always get what he wants," was all Rosan said.
Three months.
Luffy had been chasing after Ace for three months.
Rosan felt his respect slightly rise for the seven year old. He was very stubborn and tenacious and the boy had spent every single day chasing after his freckled brother.
The redhead did nothing to aid Luffy, as per request and just remained at Dadan's home. While the straw hat boy was chasing Ace, Rosan would go hunt, visit the capital, or go visit Makino.
He made sure not to mention what Luffy was up to when he was visiting the bartender.
Rosan had not done anything out of turn since his encounter with the bandits and this had the added effect of making the people around him relax. Makino especially seemed quite fond of him now and he wasn't very sure why. Maybe she was bored and had no one to talk to until him.
His lack of interference meant he hung around the bandit family more and he learned many things about them.
For one, Dadan actually did care about the kids so he was wrong about that (he could admit that). She was just way too embarrassed to show it. Her concern for Luffy had been obvious to spot and she was upset that Rosan was not making sure he was alright.
"He's a growing boy," was Rosan's response. "He also doesn't want me to help, so I won't help."
She grumbled and dropped the topic, understanding quickly how stubborn Luffy was. She had tried to get him to stop many times and had received the same answer every time.
It made her more tolerable, to know that she did exhibit concern for those two. The woman just happened to be abrasive in personality.
Ram was enjoying Luffy's journeys immensely. She had laughed herself to tears, at the sight of the seven year old's face after a beehive fell on him.
Rosan himself had to actually go retrieve the boy after a particularly strong breeze actually blew his tiny body away. Even Mod found that moment particularly funny.
The bandits begged to differ, if the way they screeched was an indication.
Dawn Island was unlike any other island he had seen in the East Blue. It was dangerous for the ill equipped and seemed more likely to be an island in the other oceans. like the North Blue. Rosan remembered Luffy mentioning Garp throwing him in the jungle alone.
The old man certainly had a few screws loose. The rubber boy hadn't even had his Devil Fruit, which had done an impressive job (on Mod's level) of keeping him alive, when Garp threw him out there.
But, after three months, it seemed like Luffy had finally made it to the other side of the forest.
Good. Rosan would rather not travel with someone incompetent. It meant he'd have to involve himself far more than he felt comfortable doing at the moment. The redhead did not want to attract attention onto Luffy's future crew before they were strong enough to deal with it.
While that should have been the end of that, things never seemed to go normal when the straw hat boy was involved.
The day had started off normal enough. Rosan had decided he would go visit Makino today because there was nothing better for him to do and he helped her out in the bar sometimes when he was free.
The woman seemed to appreciate his visits and being able to talk to someone close to age in her (despite the five year difference) and Rosan figured he would fall further in her good graces by doing said visits.
The teen, after Makino asked, was currently handing out beverages to all types of patrons. It was easy to do and she normally had him give the alcohol to the more… aggressive patrons.
With his tall, muscular, stature and empty gaze, they normally kept their complaints and hands to themselves. Well... some of them at least.
There was a large influx in woman who frequented the bar, that Makino had no qualms using him against.
"I wouldn't mind staying here all day, if you're the one giving me my drinks," a husky voice purred close to him and Rosan was forced to restrain Mod from taking his body over.
"Thank you," Rosan replied politely and the drunk woman swooned. "You flatter me. I don't think I'm deserving of such compliments."
That was the wrong thing to say. The woman looked like she was about to jump him.
"Hey handsome! Another drink here please!" another woman's voice called and Ram sweatdropped at the fury on Mod's face.
"Okay," Rosan nodded, going to Makino to pick the order up.
"You're really popular with them," the green haired woman teased and the 14 year old glanced at her.
"You're stating information that you already know. Otherwise, you wouldn't be using my services so liberally," the redhead responded, expertly balancing a large amount of mugs on the tray.
The young adult's only response was to laugh and wave him off. "You offered!"
"No I didn't."
"I don't like this woman anymore," Mod growled. To think she had defended her! Now she was using Rosan's looks for her own gains. How underhanded of her!
"It's fine, Mod-chan," Rosan soothed and he approached the table that had called him earlier.
The woman, a blonde this time, shot him a flirtatious smile and directly placed a tip in his pockets.
They sure did tip well.
Today, he was wearing a silk, long sleeved purple shirt that had a red rose on the chest area with baggy beige pants that reached his purple sneakers.
It seemed to have a positive effect on the people.
"Father, have you ever thought of getting a tattoo?" Ram asked suddenly.
"Not since I was alot younger. My skin is mostly hidden so it has never come to thought? Why? Would you like me to get one?" He asked and his weapon nodded rapidly.
"Why the sudden interest in tattoos?" Mod asked curiously.
"Maro and I were talking about them! She was considering getting one and I thought Father would look great with a tattoo on his arm!"
"I have no complaints," the purple haired woman hummed in approval.
"Then I will get one. You can decide what it is and if Mod agrees, I'll get it," Rosan decided and the silver haired teen cheered ecstatically.
She was going to make it awesome because her father was awesome!
"Do you dye your hair by any chance? It looks amazing!" one woman gushed, beckoning him to sit down.
Rosan glanced over at Makino, ignoring the furious glares of the few men there, and she nodded with a teasing smile on her face.
He was hoping she said no.
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