บท 3: Chapter 3: Determination
Mama would always comfort him whenever he cried.
Whenever he hurt himself, whenever he was sad, even if he was throwing a tantrum, Mama would always know the perfect way to make him feel better. "Big boys don't cry, my little Rose," She would say as she soothingly, wiping away his tears as she hugged him close to her. She always knew how to make him feel better. Whether it was cooking his favorite meal, or singing to him with her voice that he loved so much, she would always cheer him up.
Rosan missed her so much.
Mod could only stare sadly at the boy. She wished she could have done more, but this was completely out of her comfort zone. The Devil Fruit had no idea what to do for the child and it was destroying her.
Rosan had cried himself to sleep in their mindscape and not once had he left Mod's caring arms. Mod had taken a page out of Rouge's book and hummed softly to him while stroking his soft hair in reassurance.
Eventually, after what felt like hours, the little boy had exhausted himself completely and slept soundly in her grasp.
Placing him on the mattress inside their mindscapes home, Mod parted his hair slightly and rested a hand on his forehead. Using Modification, The purple haired woman shut down Rosan's mind temporarily, ensuring that he would have a peaceful rest.
He deserved that much at least.
The Devil Fruit sighed softly to herself and made sure everything in the outside world was as it was supposed to be. She had made the interior of the dinghy soft enough so that Rosan would be comfortable sleeping, so there was no concern there and the weather was rather tranquil. It didn't look like it would be changing anytime soon.
Mod was thankful that Rosan had allowed her so much freedom to do what she wanted. She would make sure that nothing bad happened while he rested.
Everything was in order now and nothing seemed out of place. Mod sighed for the umpteenth time and she sat next to Rosan's sleeping body. Idly stroking his soft hair, she allowed herself a moment of rest to gather her thoughts.
Honestly, this was such a mess. This had definitely not been apart of her plans. It was never her intentions to endanger Rosan so soon but plans never worked out the way you wanted them too. Still, this was too awry for even the Devil Fruit.
She had wanted to wait much longer before inevitably setting sail with little Rosan. The boy was only 4 years old after all! He had no business sailing the ocean at such a young age. Luckily, he had her. Mod couldn't imagine what would potentially happen to the child if he hadn't eaten her fruit and still decided to sail on his own, due to his dislike of the World Government. It filled her with such dread that she refused to pursue those thoughts.
She had wanted Rosan to get a much more firm grasp on his newly acquired abilities but, the world was merciless and now they had to adapt to the new circumstances.
No matter, she would do everything she could to make sure no harm came his way.
Glancing sadly at the sleeping boys tear-streaked face, she softly wiped those tears away. Right now, he needed her more then anything. To so willingly give up the bond with his brother just for her safety, filled her with a pleasant feeling that made her all the more guilty.
She was all he had right now. Because he was suffering so much, she had to be strong for the both of them.
It was strange, Mod had never spoken to Rouge yet, the pain she felt at her death was almost strangling. Despite not knowing her personally, it certainly didn't feel that way.
Mod had access to all of Rosan's memories after all. Even the ones Rosan didn't personally remember, Mod knew of. All his feelings of Rouge had been emitted to her and, as a result, she felt everything he felt.
It was horrible, truth be told. She had never felt anything like this before and all she wanted to do was hug Rosan and cry herself to sleep too.
Rosan was the first person to open himself up completely to her. The Devil Fruit was just as new to these powerful emotions as Rosan was. It was overwhelming.
In a way, she had also lost her mother.
But, Mod couldn't let that stop her. The difference between her and Rosan, was that she was older.
She had experience. The Devil Fruit had seen many people die. Rosan had never dealt with death and the first death he had ever witnessed, was that of his mother. That was absolutely horrible and she could feel how much it was tearing at the boy.
Rosan was a naive 4 year old who had known happiness all his life. He didn't have the capabilities to bounce back from this alone. He would try, because he wanted to protect her, but it wouldn't be enough. It was up to her now to raise Rosan in Rouge's stead.
She would try and live up to the late mothers standards. No matter what, she would make sure Rosan was safe to do what he wanted. It was her job to support him and she prioritized that job above all else. She would help him. She would guide him.
No matter what.
Rosan awoke to the glare of the sun.
The air tasted of salt and a cool winter breeze brushed against his skin. Unaffected by it all, Rosan blearily opened his eyes to an unfamiliar environment. His body felt heavy and the boy was more exhausted then he'd ever been. Normally, he was energetic even when he first woke up. Mama liked to call him an unstoppable ball of energy while tiredly glaring at him with her mug of coffee.
Sitting up to shrug off the sluggishness, Rosan blinked before the full events of yesterday ruthlessly came rushing back to him. Frantically, the redhead sat up, desperately hoping that it was all just a really bad dream, that he would be home and he could tell Mama about the really scary dream. But, all that greeted him, was the surrounding ocean and the distant squealing of seagulls.
Of course it wasn't a dream...Mama was gone and he was never gonna see her again. Tears started streaming down the 4 year old's face as he recalled the events of last night and he let out an anguished sob. He wasn't ready to say goodbye to his Mama. How could he ever be? She had always been there for him as a constant presence that he felt safe with and without her, he felt truly lost.
He couldn't even honor her last wish. Rosan had willingly left Ace, his newborn baby brother, behind with that Marine. A terrible gnawing feeling filled him as he recalled the previous day. He didn't want to admit it. He really didn't but, for a moment, he had truly hated Ace for taking away his mother. He fully blamed his baby brother who was not even an hour year old yet, at the time, for killing Mama.
The soul crushing realization that he had thought that of his younger brother, filled him with such a sense of self loathing that Rosan felt ill. His first hour as an older brother and he failed miserably. Mama wanted him to shower Ace in all the love she wouldn't be able too and he did the complete opposite. He was the worst.
No, he didn't deserve to take care of Ace. Ace would be better off without a brother who couldn't even stand him. No matter how short it had been, no matter how much he regretted it, it didn't change the fact that Rosan felt those feelings and that was unacceptable. He would pursue him when they were both older and explain himself no matter what, he owed him an apology at the very least for being such a terrible older brother.
It was what he deserved.
He just hoped that Ace could grow into the man Mama wanted him to be. Rosan wasn't sure he'd be able to live up to her wishes. He felt absolutely terrible. The boy grabbed a mirror from his bag and enlarged it to get a look at himself. Deep bags under red rimmed eyes, dry tear streaks, hair splayed messily over his head...He looked as awful as he felt. No. Scratch that. He would never look as awful as he currently felt.
He was a complete mess.
Rosan could feel it deep inside of himself. A boiling sensation was forming in his core and whenever he focused on it...bad thoughts happened. The boy couldn't identify what it was but it didn't make him feel good at all. It filled him with such bitterness that he just wanted to go back to sleep and forget about it all.
Why? Why did he have to lose his Mama? What had he done to deserve this? Before, he had blamed Ace but, Ace didn't ask to be born and Mama loved his little brother just as much as she loved him. It would never be Ace's fault and Rosan felt even worse knowing that he had tried to put the blame on him.
The blame lied on two people. The Marines…and Papa. Papa had dragged the Marines into their business. Gol D. Roger knew how notorious he was and anywhere he went, the World Government would be watching him. He shouldn't have been so obvious when he came to Baterilla. Yet, the Pirate King had waltzed into his home without a care in the world, wooed his mother, got her pregnant, left without guaranteeing her safety, and died while simultaneously having all the Marines converge onto his home. He left Rouge to the Marines by himself like a complete idiot.
His stupidity had gotten Mama killed. If Roger had not been dead, Rosan would have loved to make him think he was.
Rosan glared darkly at the floor of the ship. Because of him, the Marines had spent 10 entire months scouring their home and killing every baby they could get their hands on. All in hopes of ending the late Pirate Kings lineage.
The Marines… how disgusting of them. Killing someone for the sins of their parents, was horrible and downright evil. Why did Ace have to be punished for what Roger did?! Did that mean if they knew Rosan was their child, he would be punished too? Why? He hadn't done anything, he didn't deserve to die because Roger decided to cause havoc onto the world. None of them did. Not him. Not Ace. Not...not Mama. How could they ruin the lives of family with no remorse?
Rosan hadn't done anything to be treated like this. He was only 4! So why was his existence a crime? No, why did they get to decide that his existence was a crime before he had given them a reason? Who were they to play Kami?
At that moment, Rosan swore to himself. The marines would pay, the ones in charge, the grunts, even that old man who took Ace.
All of them would pay.
Papa- no. Roger was dead, so all the blame lied solely on them. They killed his mother. They took his Mama away from him. His sweet, caring Mama that he loved more then anything. The one who had always been there for him. The one who he'd never be able to see again. They had taken her.
That was unforgivable.
"Rosan, please calm down. This isn't like you," A voice spoke up soothingly, managing to shock Rosan out of his dark brooding.
The redhead's eyes widened in realization. That was right, he couldn't actively go to war with them right now. He had to protect Mod-chan. She was his friend and she was all he had left and Rosan clung to that detail like it was a lifeline.
Rosan still had Mod-chan.
He still had her.
He wouldn't...couldn't lose her.
Slowly, his rage subsided and the Mod Mod no Mi user was able to temporarily force his sadness down. Mod-chan was right, he needed to calm down or else he'd do something costly.
Wiping his tears away, anguish made way for determination and Rosan straightened up.
He couldn't be sad yet. Not when Mod-chan still needed him. He needed to get as strong as possible to protect them both or else something disastrous could happen. If...if he lost Mod-chan too, he didn't know what he would do.
Rosan would become strong, the strongest. After he was the strongest...after he was capable enough of protecting Mod-chan and himself, he would seek out Ace and try to explain himself to his baby brother.
He didn't care if Ace hated him because Rosan deserved to be despised by his younger brother. After all, Ace's older brother had willingly chosen to leave him behind moments after he was born. He didn't deserve forgiveness from the baby but, he would make sure Ace knew the truth at least.
The boy deserved that.
"Mod-chan, we needa become strong at all costs. I'm okay now so I need you to help me as much as possible, okay?" The boy sounded firm as he addressed his body's resident.
Mod frowned at Rosan's hypocrisy. Not long ago, the 4 year old had blown up on his mother for doing the exact same thing to him, that he was attempting to do to her. It was even worse because Mod knew, being inside of the boy, exactly how he felt.
How could he get upset at Rouge for hiding her pain away from him, then proceed to do the same to her?
Like mother like son she supposed.
"Rosan. please don't lie to me ever again," Mod said kindly, but firmly. "You can trust me with your problems, I promise." There was absolutely no way the child, especially one as young as Rosan, was okay this soon. It just was not feasible. She admired him for trying to put up a tough front for the both of them, but it wasn't healthy what he was doing.
Rosan frowned slightly and said, "I know I can trust you Mod-chan, I'm sorry. It's just...I have to be okay."
"The seagull guys aren't gonna wait for us to grow up. If they learn that I have one of their most prized devil fruits, they will chase us to the end of the world." Fierce with determination, Rosan continued by saying "We need to be strong enough so that they can't take us Mod-chan. We have to be. If I l-lose you too then I...I don't know what I'll do."
Mod wanted, so badly, to disagree with him. He shouldn't have to shoulder such a burden at his age. This was something he should have worried about when he reached adulthood, after spending more time with her and maturing, not while he was 4!
For the first time since he obtained her abilities, Mod regretted the fact that Rosan ate her fruit. He wasn't ready but he felt forced to be, all because of her. She wanted to disagree with what he was saying but, she couldn't because he was right. They would be hunted down relentlessly and, if Rosan wasn't ready, they would take him with no issue.
All because of her.
Rosan was quick to notice her own self loathing and shutdown that line of thought. "Mod-chan..." He began seriously, "It's not your fault! Even though I'm not Mama's real child, I'm still the son of the Pirate King and they would want to hurt me anyways! Me having you is just a bonus for em now. Don't you dare try and blame yourself or I'll get mad!" he finished with a scowl forming on his face.
"If anything, I'd be in even more trouble if I didn't have you when they did come for me so, thanks for givin me such a big advantage, Mod-chan!" Rosan beamed at her, showing a tiny glimpse of that happy go lucky boy.
Mod was in pleasant disbelief. She was feeling rather flushed at Rosan's sincere compliment of her and tried desperately to compose herself due to the unfamiliar, but not unpleasant, sensation.
She failed miserably.
Face still rosy, she instead decided to divert attention from herself. "You know that you are adopted? How? Your mother never told you," Mod pointed out with a raised brow.
Rosan response was quick, easy and it showed that the boy knew for a while. "I look nothin like mama and I've seen pictures of pap- Roger. My hair color isn't the same as either of theirs and it's not dyed either! Mama told me Roger was my Papa as well and I know she didn't love anyone else. So I figured mama didn't give birth to me," he explained to a wide eyed Mod.
"That doesn't matter to me though!" Rosan exclaimed simply with a small smile on his face. "She raised me like my Mama, loved me like she was my Mama and took care of me like she's my Mama so, she's my one and only Mama," the 4 year old finished. Despite the situation, even just talking about Rouge, was enough to put a smile on the boys face.
Mod had known Rosan was smarter then he acted, but, despite having access to everything about him, she hadn't realized just how intelligent the boy actually was but it made a lot of sense. Her user was quick on the uptake of things and he was rather talented. "So you don't resent Rouge for not telling you the truth?" she asked hesitantly.
"Nope, why would I? Mama is my Mama and I love her. She could never have told me and I wouldn't care because in my eyes she's my only parent. Roger is only my Papa because she said so and I don't even know my real parents!"
Mod couldn't help but marvel at his response. She agreed with him completely and, to see that he didn't hold a shred of resentment towards her, was inspiring to the Devil Fruit. "That's a very mature outlook Rosan. It makes me feel at ease with the idea of helping you become even stronger."
Eyes widening in excitement, the 4 year old said "So that means —,"
"Yes, I will use my past knowledge to help you to the best of my ability," Mod informed him, smiling as she felt Rosan's happiness spike. "You're right Rosan. We do need to get stronger and, as much as I hate the idea of putting you through this, it needs to be done for your sake."
Rosan nodded rapidly in agreement. He was happy that Mod-chan was capable of seeing reason and he loved that she respected him enough to listen to him, despite the fact that he was 4 years old.
"But," Mod said seriously, grabbing the boys attention once again. "Promise me this, Rosan. Promise me that you won't let your anger rule you like it did before. I hate seeing such a kind boy like you acting so dark. It saddens me immensely so please, smile for me again?"
Rosan was rather hesitant to make another promise. The last promise he made with Mama (who was the one who told him the importance of the vows!) was left fresh in his mind and a wave of resentment washed over him. The boy flinched at the feeling and ruthlessly stamped it away.
His last one may not have gone well, but this was Mod-chan! She was so sincere in her request that he had to listen to it! It made Rosan blush that someone was able to compliment him so earnestly so the boy wanted to live up to her expectations. It's not like the feeling in his pit felt good anyways. Even his Mama was falling victim to it and that just wouldn't do!
He much preferred being happy anyways so this was an easy promise to fulfill. The last vestiges of Rosan's inner rage vanished completely (for now) and the cheerful boy tentatively came out again.
Mod-chan was right he couldn't let himself fall victim to his anger. If he did, bad things might happen to them both!
"Alright Mod-chan!" Rosan began cheerfully getting a happy grin out of the woman. "I promise!"
Going with that monster of a marine, Rosan thought offhandedly, was probably a better option then training with this slave driver.
Mod-chan was also a monster.
Relentless, efficient, and, above all else, ruthless, Mod worked Rosan to the core in their mindscape. Filling his 4 year old head with all sorts of knowledge, to the point he got dizzy, Mod made true on her word to train him. Not a day went by where the redhead was not learning something new and he practically felt his brain growing.
The worst thing about it, was the apologetic smile she had on her pretty face the entire time.
Rosan blessed his near eidetic memory else, he feared his brain might explode. One of the first things she had taught him, was learning and understanding the structure and build of a ship along with, the correct materials and how they were made.
"Ships are the primary form of travel in this world and you will be traveling on one for a majority of our time together. Knowing how to manage one will be necessary and a boon in the future." Were her strict words.
She then proceeded to make sure he learned everything that she knew about ships. It was clear Mod had experience with him from the amount that he learned. She refused to give him a break at all either, stating that his body was already resting in the real world.
"Still a growing boy my ass," Rosan grumbled remembering her words.
"Language," her voice said kindly and Rosan squeaked as he heard that. The redhead hastily apologized causing Mod to giggle.
Training was separated into 3 parts; knowledge building, physical training, and ability training.
Knowledge building, as its named suggested, was where Mod-chan took the time to build up his knowledge on various topics. She would drag him into their mindscape and promptly drill him with information. Rosan, in turn, soaked up all information taught to him like a sponge. He rarely stayed on a single topic for more then a day due to how quickly he grasped what she spoke of. Mod-chan had been immensely impressed by his penchant for learning and Rosan beamed happily at her praise.
He still hated it though. It was easily his least favorite of the three.
Physical training involved building up muscle. Though Mod-chan refused to make him do anything too extensive.
"You're too young," she said firmly and refused to listen to his reasoning. Rosan only received a deadpan glance as he tried to argue against her and that was the end of that. So, he had been relegated to doing stretches and relatively easy exercises that were made difficult by his young, tiny body.
Rosan could only sulk at how easily she dismissed him.
Mod-chan was mean.
Ability training was where Rosan trained with the Mod Mod no Mi. This was easily his favorite part of training! Mod-chan and him would sit and practice Modification together. Mod-chan wanted him to start small and typically, he would modify what he learned at that moment. It was like homework!
On his first day for example, he had made Mod-chan a miniature boat to show that he understood what she taught him! The purple haired woman had been proud of him and showered him in head pats, which always reduced the boy to putty. He also enjoyed brainstorming other things he could do, mostly for combat. His biggest goal was to transform into a dragon but, Mod-chan had explicitly stated that he would not be doing that yet and he begrudgingly agreed.
The 4 year old would still be reading up on dragons though. She hadn't said it was impossible so that meant he could do it and if he could do it, then he would do it! Mod-chan just sighed in fond exasperation and allowed him to do as he pleased. She wasn't even sure if he could do that but she wouldn't tell the boy otherwise. It was good to give him a short term goal that he could focus on. Maybe he would prove her wrong, his thinking was already proving to be more versatile then hers in regards to what her fruit could do.
She had always been rather rigid but the redheads creative mind, was already helping her see things in a way she hadn't seen them before. It was fascinating to see how the mind of a 4 year old worked with her fruit.
Mod's training was very effective and Rosan was making progress in spades.
But now, he was bored. Training was nearly done and, to stave off his boredom, he was finishing his stretches. Letting out a grunt of exertion, Rosan stood up from the floor and the boy let out a relieved sigh as he stretched his back, to release the tension. The 4 year old let out a happy groan at the cracking noise.
Plopping himself down again, Rosan sat cross legged as he contemplated what to do. They had been sailing for 3 weeks now and Rosan had seen nothing but water, seagulls, fish, and more water. He was bored and he wanted something to do.
The redhead had his toys that he had stored in his bag but... Rosan had tried playing with them once and immediately burst into tears. The memories were far too much for his still raw mind.
He hadn't touched them since.
Rosan was thankful he had thought to bring food and spare clothes. If not for his ingenuity, he probably wouldn't have even been able to take everything. He had nearly emptied his room out, shrunk everything, and stored all of it in his newly created Space Bag (it was an awesome name! Rosan didn't have to be told twice).
Honestly, Rosan didn't even know how he had thought of the Space Bag… he just wanted to be able to store all his things in there and he guessed Modification listened to him!
What an awesome ability!
But nothing in his Space Bag was able to sufficiently distract him. Mod-chan wouldn't let him train all day either so he couldn't even distract himself with that.
"Ne, Mod-chan?"
"What is it, Rosan?" She replied immediately.
"I'm bored." Was his simple reply and Mod let out a suffering sigh.
She half expected as much.
"Fine. What do you have planned Rosan?" Rosan grinned, sharp canines on full display. Mod-chan would normally talk him down with a resounding no, but she was finally seeing things his way!
Truthfully, Mod just wanted to avoid the headache this route was going to take. Rosan's plans were rather...eccentric.
Adopting a thinking pose, Rosan rubbed his chin in contemplation.
Despite Mod-chan practically giving him free reigns to decide, there was still a lot of ocean and no island in sight. Not only that, part of the reason why he was so bored out on sea was because his little boat didn't allow him much freedom of movement at all.
Looking down at the Dinghy, Rosan suddenly had a marvelous idea.
Grinning widely, The wielder of Modification said "Mod-chan! Let's steal a ship!"
Mod blinked.
That…wasn't what she was expecting. He wanted...to steal a ship? What even gave him that idea in the first place? She thought he was going to ask for more ideas of what to do with Modification not…this.
The Devil Fruit asked as much and in response, the child simply stated "Well you said I can't do too much training cuz of the size of this ship and I can't have any sorta fun on a boat this small sooo…lets just get a new one! We'll be killing two stones with one bird!"
"Two birds with one stone, Rosan," she corrected.
"...My version sounds better," he decided stubbornly.
Mod's purple hair bobbed in time with the shake of her head as a startling realization hit her.
Rosan was insane. That was the conclusion she finally reached. She had her doubts before because he was only 4, but now, she knew that he was undeniably unhinged and age had nothing to do with it.
When Mod had asked him what he had planned, Rosan's idea to steal a ship was definitely not on the forefront of her mind. Even worse...his reasoning was solid. It wasn't the best — she could have just made the Dinghy larger — but she was sure that Rosan would have refused because the purple eyed boy seemed dead set on stealing a ship.
Sighing —she had been doing that a lot— in defeat Mod-chan asked him "Just how do you plan on stealing a ship?"
Rosan smiled triumphantly and said "Well we have to find one first and I know just how!" Seriously, it was insane just how smart he was! He had already planned for this! Great job Rosan! Really, amazing job!
His Devil Fruit just stared at the boy shamelessly praising himself. It wasn't even worth acknowledging sometimes.
"Stealing a ship implies that you want to fight Rosan," Mod pointed out. "Need I remind you that you are 4 years old? Do you plan on fighting adults, who are most likely pirates, right now?"
Rosan could practically feel her judgmental stare and she no doubt had her hands on her hips. Sweating just a little at his guardian, Rosan responded frantically in a way that would no doubt sway her. "Well I wasn't planning on fighting a strong group of people I promise!" The boy exclaimed.
He continued in hopes of further convincing her. "I have you Mod-chan! You'll keep me safe, I know it! You can guide me and I'll be extra careful! If I mess up you'll save me!"
Damn it, the manipulative brat knew just what to say to tug at her judgment. Blushing at his praise, Mod-chan cursed Rosan for being so aware. "F-fine, it's a bit early to be running combat exercises but, with your natural capabilities, I'm confident it won't be too difficult."
Rosan cheered in excitement and he barely restrained himself from jumping around (he might fall in the water!). Alright! Convincing Mod-chan was the hard part. The woman was incredibly protective of him but Rosan loved her for that! Next came...another hard part…
There were more hard parts then he had anticipated.
Glancing hesitantly at the bag, Rosan steeled himself as he gathered his courage. He was being ridiculous! Mama had always told him big boys don't cry and damn it, he was a big boy.
Rosan shook away his apprehension and expanded the small bag into something sizable enough to comfortably fit his hand into. Rummaging around a bit, The child let out a victorious shout as he found what he was looking for.
Pulling out the object, Rosan took in its appearance with a triumphant smile.
Looking at the toy, a bird to be exact, Rosan banished away any negative thoughts he suddenly had and got to work.
Mama had gotten him this toy Blue Jay a few months ago. Her reasoning had been that animals enjoyed being around him and vice versa so she got it for him. Rosan loved it even without the reasoning, she gave it to him after all.
It was a simple wooden design. As its name suggested it was dominantly blue color with a white underbelly and a moderate amount of black dashed around its body. It was about 25 cm and fit easily into his tiny palms.
Nodding to himself at the object, it would be just perfect, Rosan quickly got to work. Rosan said "Modify: State," followed by, "Modification, Vision Pair: User Rosan".
Rosan was far more prepared this time around as the formerly wooden bird turned mechanical and began sharing vision with him. Rosan let the bird go and watched as it experimentally tested its new body.
It unsteadily flew for a few seconds, not unlike a baby bird, before getting the hang of it and dashing around in excitement. Rosan watched with just a bit of envy. He would be able to fly freely like that eventually. The blue jay, coming from Rosan, understood its assignment immediately and took off in a flash.
Rosan plopped himself down and the boy began shaking in anticipation. Remembering what Mod-chan said about hiding their identity, Rosan began looking for a new outfit to wear. He fully planned on using Modification so that meant he had to disguise himself!
With that, Rosan got to work.
In a rather short amount of time, the Blue Jay had found a ship. They must have been closer to an island then they had initially thought. Maybe that knowledge would have stopped Rosan from thinking of such a wild plan.
Who are we kidding? The boy just wanted an excuse to do something insane.
It went unnoticed by the occupants of the ship as it scouted out the, soon to be, opponents of its master.
They were a pirate crew albeit, what seemed to be a newly formed one. They had a basic jolly roger on their flag; there was a standard skull with crossbones though, one of the bones was replaced with a basic saber. The ship itself was not very impressive being a standard caravel with a simple design but for someone of Rosan's size it would be perfect, if not a bit large.
As for the members of the crew, they seemed to all be out and about on the main deck. 6 men lounged about on the ship, laughing about something the bird could not pick up. None seemed to be equipped with anything dangerous, though two of them held weapons. One had a dagger and the other a short sword. Narrowing its vision a bit, it confirmed that none of them had visible guns.
Chirping happily at the information gathered, he (Rosan had just assigned it a gender) preened as he accepted Rosan's bountiful praises. It began flying back to meet up with the boy currently sailing over to its location.
Rosan was shuddering in excitement and he had a wild grin on his face. He was about to engage in actual combat with people! The redhead was looking so forward to this!
Remembering all of what Mod-chan told him, Rosan knew he had this in the bag. He would not underestimate them either, Mod-chan told him underestimating the opponent was a great way to get seriously injured, or die, and dying would suck so Rosan would be alert at all times.
As he mentally commanded the Dinghy to set sail in the direction of the ship, Rosan took the time to look at his new guise.
After some advice from Mod-chan, Rosan had opted to dress in a long black cloak. It fully covered his figure, stopping at just above his feet. He had even modified the hoodie so that it could better coat his face in darkness; Rosan's face would be nearly impossible to see!
Taking even more measures, in case someone had managed to take his hoodie off (Mod was very efficient), Rosan had even placed a mask on! Contrasting his, mostly black outfit, it was a white mask that covered his entire face. The only notable design was the black rose that curved onto one side.
Under the cloak was a shirt that was the same white, with black markings, as his mask and long black pants that were both easy to move in and comfortable! To finish it off, he wore black combat boots. Despite it being unlikely that anyone would see these Mod insisted that he wear it so he did.
Rosan looked down at himself and hummed in content. He liked it a lot! It could use a bit more color (he sighed despondently at the lack of red) but he was going for efficiency, not style and it helped that he looked cool as hell regardless.
Nodding in satisfaction, Rosan held out his hand and pet the mechanical bird that landed on it. It tweeted in happiness at his gentle touch and Rosan smiled at a job well done. "Just one last thing from you okay?" Rosan said softly, grabbing the birds attention. "I want you to fly above me be on the lookout for any sneak attacks and make sure ya let me know." It sang in affirmation and Rosan watched as it flew off again but not before giving him an affectionate pinch on the cheek.
The ship came into view and Rosan started shaking.
He was so excited!
Wanting to avoid getting spotted, Rosan looked down at the Dinghy. "Modify, Color: Camo." Smiling in success as the ship vanished from sight, Rosan quickly applied it to himself as well and waited with a bated breath as he finally approached the unaware passengers. Just one last thing to do and he would be fully ready.
"Modify; Speed, Power: x2." Rosan discovered the he could multiply his base physical stats and, though it wasn't much for a 4 year old, having double his normal strength would help tremendously. Multiplying his strength by 2 would be insanely useful!
Man he was getting so good with Modification!
He had a plan already too! He would take advantage of his surprise attack by taking out the two with weapons as quickly as possible, then he'd wing it and fight the others! Though he wasn't underestimating them, they looked new, weak, and they were currently slacking. It would be perfect!
"...What a fantastic plan Rosan…," Mod said in a deadpan but Rosan did not notice.
"I know!" was all he said.
"…," Mod sweatdropped at the boy cheering at his simple plan. He was unbelievable, honestly.
Nico Robin wasn't sure why she had thought traveling with this crew was a good idea.
They were a hardy bunch of upstarts who had thought it would be smart to use her impressively high bounty to gain notoriety. Idiots, all of them. They wouldn't last a month. Such hubris wouldn't be good for her safety. They probably thought going to Grand Line as they were now was a great idea.
They were definitely not going to last long.
The Marines had quickly been getting the gain on her so, in an act of desperation, she had agreed to travel with them for the moment. It wouldn't be long, just enough for her to escape the Marine's vision, then she'd slip out and disappear, leaving them to get destroyed on their own.
The brunette doubted she'd be staying with them much longer though. They were bound to get annihilated, then captured, before she could even ditch them and she wouldn't be here to go out with them. It was either that, or they would try and turn her in to cash in on her bounty. Leaving them was the most inevitable choice. It always was.
Though, it seemed it would be done sooner rather then later.
Since Ohara had…been destroyed by the World Government, Robin rarely had a moment to rest. She always had to sleep with one eye open and it was impossible to trust anybody due to the fact that, given the opportunity, they would turn her in without a second thought.
Having a bounty of 79,000,000 Beri tended to do that to people.
But, she would enjoy a moment of respite with this crew before she left. They were nothing special and the 8 year old was confident that, down the line, they wouldn't be able to stop her from leaving.
Currently, all the current members, barring her, were lounging on the main deck and she had opted to stay in one of the rooms. She was lying down reading a book about the geography of the South Blue as the nonsensical chatter outside devolved into panicked yells.
Wait.
Panicked yells?
Robin paused as she heard their captain frantically attempt give out orders. By the sounds of things, they were being attacked. But by what?
Had her cover already been blown by the marines? This was really bad. No one on the crew had a bounty yet so that could only mean they were here for her. Robin bit her lip in a small amount of worry. She had no clue how close to an island she was, they had just left one but there was no way she could swim there because...obvious reasons. She could try and look for a spare Dinghy but she doubted they had one.
She was trapped.
The Devil Fruit user would probably have to fight her way out if it got bad. She hoped that it wasn't a large platoon and that her crew was at least somewhat useful at thinning them. She cursed to herself, this is why she hated joining people who didn't stay in one place.
Activating the Hana Hana no mi, Robin watched what was unfolding through the eye ball she just created and the 8 year old set out to find a location to hide in.
For now, she would hide and hope they didn't find her. If push came to shove, she would have to fight her way out. Depending on who they sent, and how much there was, it was possible she could get away.
In the meantime, it would be a good idea to assess the threat level outside.
A Little Earlier
Rosan smiled smugly to himself.
Camouflaging himself and, his lil boat, was turning out to be quite the boon! The crew he was about to attack didn't see him coming at all!
As he approached the ship, The 4 year old ran through what he was going to do again. It was simple enough; target the people with weapons, incapacitate them, beat em all up, win, new ship!
It was full proof!
If things didn't work out then well, Rosan had Mod-chan to bail him out! He was practically invincible right now!
"Stay focused Rosan," Mod's voice came out and Rosan nodded in subdued excitement. Contrary to belief, he was actually pretty focused right now! The boy really wanted to fight them and he didn't want to make any mistakes.
The boy finally reached the ship and his grin got even wider. It was showtime!
As quietly as possible, so as to not be detected, Rosan modified the surface of his gloved hands, giving it a sticky feature, and slowly but surely begun climbing the exterior of the ship. He couldn't disappoint Mod-chan on his very first plan! Getting caught before he could even begin would definitely make her more resistant to ideas like this in the future!
Grasping the rails, Rosan pulled himself up and disabled the sticky feature of his glove as he sat on the rail. He had seen it from his robo birds vision but, seeing it up close and in person was a much different experience then from a bird's-eye view.
There were 6 people and only 2 of them had visible weapons. Rosan knew this already of course but it did a good job at keeping him focused on the task at hand. They were lounging about and no one had noticed him.
Good. That meant his camouflage was holding up nicely and doing its intended job. Unless they knew he was there, or they had some insane observation skills, it would be hard to notice him.
Well, no more basking in his own glory for now (regrettably), it was time to get started.
Jumping off the railing quietly and crouching slightly, Rosan let loose an inaudible exhale and blasted himself forward. The boy practically flew at one of the weapon wielding pirates —A dirty blond haired man casually flipping a dagger— and, in a moments notice, Rosan, who was still not visible to them, reached the man, and delivered a momentum heavy flying kick to his solar plexus.
The mans eyes widened in shock as he bent over but, before he could even let out another breath, Rosan firmly grasped his hair and kneed him in the nose 3 times with a crack causing blood to gush out and staining the floor beneath him. The older mans eyed rolled to the back of his skull and he collapsed onto the ships deck with a thud.
Rosan didn't feel remotely winded and he grinned eagerly. The hooded boy pocketed his dagger then, without any hesitation, modified the man's weight and threw him overboard.
The remaining members could only watch with confused gazes, as Haruto crouched over with a gushing nose accompanied by a cracking noise, and summarily faint. That confusion turned into panic when something picked him up, as if he were a baby, and tossed him overboard into the unforgiving ocean.
Capitalizing on their shock, Rosan rocketed off again to the next person.
His target this time, was the other man wielding a weapon. This one was even more bland then the first one and held a short sword instead of a dagger. He had short brown hair, that wouldn't be easy to grab onto, and had a long sleeved shirt to complement the cold weather.
Rosan soared towards his next target and chose that moment to remove his camouflage, showing the entire crew the mini black clad figure.
Kaoru, the brown haired man, looked on in fear as he recognized he was the rocketing strangers target. He held up his weapon, a short sword, to defend himself but his slight hesitation cost him.
Latching onto his outstretched arm, Rosan used his much smaller frame in order to push himself up to the mans face. In the process, Kaoru stumbled a bit and, like a shark in the water, the child capitalized on it.
Rosan used his enhanced strength to push Kaoru onto the floor and he began pummeling the poor mans face with vicious strikes. No part of his face was safe but, in particular, his nose was victim to his brutal onslaught the most.
Mod-chan had told him it was always a good idea to target the nose of someone because of his small, lighter frame. The nose was a rather weak structure and was quite susceptible to damage so it was a good idea to target it in a fight.
Rosan took full advantage of that.
The man flailed as Rosan ruthlessly punched the hell out of him. Right before he succumbed to his injuries, he managed to nick Rosan's side with short sword due to the flailing which caused the boy to grunt and increase the ferocity of the blows.
He soon fell unconscious from the figures aggression and Rosan repeated the same process he had done with the other man. The splash of the water was rather satisfying to hear.
The 4 year old winced at the injury he received on his side. It wasn't fatal —due to being a wild and unfocused strike— but, on the 4 year old, it still hurt a fair bit.
It wasn't enough to take him outta the fight though! He wouldn't be here if a small injury was all it took to render him useless!
Rosan mockingly dusted his hands together after he finished tossing the man overboard. He would have maybe felt bad, but his Mama had told him most pirates were bad people and wouldn't hesitate to hurt him (Pap- Roger was the exception of course). He couldn't care less what happened to them after tossing them overboard.
That was for them to figure out because the crew didn't matter to him at all.
Mod was a bit shocked at how ruthless he was. Though, she found that it didn't surprise her as much she thought it would. Rosan was a boy who only cared about the people he liked after all. Nobody else mattered to the, rather selfish, boy. Some random individuals would hardly bother the boy and Mod was completely okay with that. It's not like they mattered to her either.
Only Rosan mattered to the Devil Fruit.
She had to praise him where praise was due. He had executed the first two parts of his plan near flawlessly. He didn't have to drop the camouflage, but Rosan was a total showoff and so it didn't surprise her. The purple haired woman had been a bit worried when he got nicked by the blade but it didn't seem to bother him enough to stop so she wasn't panicking.
Mod focused a bit of her abilities onto the wounds location, so as to speed up the recovery process, just to be safe though.
Still, Mod turned her chin up a bit in pride at how well Rosan was doing. The boy was naturally talented but she had still taught him well.
Rosan turned to the 4 other members in order to assess their reaction to what he had just done. It was natural that they would display a small bit of fear towards the figure who had easily he dismantled two of their members.
The redhead wanted to capitalize on their fear.
Fear made them sloppy and that made it easier for Rosan to do as he pleased. It would be bad to give them a moment to compose themselves. If he did, they might use their numbers advantage on him and that would mean he'd have to use more… visible Modification techniques.
He would need to keep the pressure onto them.
Not giving them a moment to breathe, Rosan crouched. The 4 year old began sprinting forward to maintain his advantage. The man, who looked to be the captain, was frantically giving out orders.
Rosan smiled to himself. They were slow on the uptake of orders, it was definitely a newer crew.
Learning this info, made the masked boy quickly change up his strategy. Rosan swiftly pivoted to the right, facing the one who seemed quickest to take his orders, and charged after him.
This was so exciting!
"What the fuck is that thing." Daichi, the captain of the recently created Saber pirates, watched in disbelief as a seemingly invisible force took out Haruto and, after revealing itself to be a black clad figure, Kaoru within moments. That disbelief quickly turned into fear as both the unconscious bodies got thrown overboard.
Just what exactly was happening right now? Were they…under attack...by a ghost?!
They weren't even a known crew yet! Why on earth were they being attacked? Daichi had only recently created this crew after gathering the courage to act out on Gold Roger's final words. He had formed it with a ragtag group of individuals who all had the dream of earning riches beyond their dreams.
They weren't sure how achievable their goal was and they had their doubts but the recruitment of "The Devil Child" Nico Robin had been a huge boost to their spirits.
Fat lotta good that was doing them.
Now they were getting absolutely demolished by some black clad creature, that didn't even reach 4 ft, and the only person with a bounty in the crew was nowhere to be seen at the moment.
If she were here this fight would be far too easy. She had sunk 6 battleships after all. This would have been a peace of cake for her!
This creature, it knew exactly what it was doing as well. The moment he tried to give out orders the creature had turned its attention to Ken, his closest friend and first mate, and immediately engaged him in combat.
Ken, being his longest friend, was naturally the one that was quickest to react to his orders, and that...thing picked up on it instantly.
Well it didn't matter! All pirates had ordeals and this just happened to be the first ordeal of the Saber Pirates! It was time to show what they could do.
"It's just one person and, their so tiny, this should be a piece of cake," He thought with faux confidence that was quickly wavering at seeing how the things exchange with his first mate was going.
Maybe his confidence was unwarranted at the moment...
Robin wasn't really sure what to think right now.
The 8 year old knew that her "crew" was weak but, this was kind of insane. They were about to get utterly thrashed, she could tell from the way the first two crew members were dealt with.
She contemplated helping them but quickly dismissed the idea. Whoever that was attacking them, surely had a devil fruit of some kind and the fellow Devil Fruit user was not keen on matching them up with each other.
Maybe they had one that could turn them invisible? Robin wasn't confident in her chances of taking him on and she, truthfully, really didn't care what happened to this crew. The Hana Hana no mi user had found a suitable hiding spot and she was hesitant to leave just to potentially throw her life away. She just hoped that after they were finished, they would leave. It didn't seem like he was after her in particular.
If he were apart of Cipher Pol, the crew wouldn't have needed to be thrown over the ship… there would be no chance of them waking up.
That begged the question though, just what was he here for?
Until she found out she felt it was best if that thing didn't know she was there. Yes, she would stay here and hope for the best.
Silently, she watched as he suddenly changed directions and approach Ken, the first mate, with zero hesitation.
Rosan was having so much fun! Who knew beating the hell out of people could fill him with such glee!
The redhead knew this was a good idea! Sure, the cut hurt but he was used to a bit of pain. Heh. Who said being clumsy was a bad thing?
Who was he kidding, it sucked and it had given him a good amount of injuries in his 4 years of living. Normally, when the boy hurt himself, he would have Mama to help him with the injurie —
Shaking his head to rid himself of such thoughts, Rosan instead focused on the opponent in front of him. This one reacted the easiest to the orders of the Captain, so Rosan would take him out first.
Charging him with his enhanced speed, Rosan ducked under the pirates grabbing arms by sliding between his legs. Pushing himself up into a handstand, he twisted his body and delivered a swift kick to the back of the mans knee. The mans cried out in pain as he was forcefully pushed down onto one leg but Rosan wasn't finished with him just yet.
Rosan flipped himself up from his handstand, grabbed the back of the mans shirt and yanked. Using the sudden momentum, Rosan launched himself upwards, putting himself above the man, while simultaneously forcing his opponent to lean back from the pull.
Ken's eyes rolled to the back of his skull as his face was met with two black boots that slammed harshly into him. He was knocked into sweet oblivion as his head brutally bounced off the deck. Stepping off of the man's face, Rosan watched as the other two finally gathered their wits and surrounded him.
2 on 1? How unfair!
Rosan grinned excitedly.
For them at least.
He jumped over one of the 2 who had dove for him. Before he could pull himself up, Rosan was already descending onto him. Landing softly on his back, Rosan paused for one second, before jumping up high and slamming down onto the poor mans back once, twice, three times before stopping.
"Ouch," Mod said offhandedly and Rosan nearly snorted aloud. He settled for a mental one instead.
The man spit out a glob of saliva as a very audible crack came from his back. He was instantly knocked unconscious from the pain and his head lolled on the floor. Rosan wiped his foot on the mans very broken back and looked over at the second to last crewmate. This one looked to be the most afraid of him so Rosan had decided to leave him for last.
Judging by how he looked currently, that was a good idea! This guy didn't even wanna fight him anymore. He was backing away rapidly with tears running down his eyes.
Clearly this isn't what he had signed up for.
Rosan narrowed his eyes slightly and shook his head in disappointment. He felt kind of bad that he had reduced the man to this state but, another part felt rather disgusted that the pirate was crying so freely. Mama had always said big boys don't cry and this man looked above 20. How could he feel no shame for what he was currently doing?
Gross.
Someone's mother didn't give him the memo.
A smaller, unnoticeable part felt a vindictive glee at the effect he could have on people.
Well he wasn't gonna get anything fun out of this man. Best to put him out of his misery then.
Lame.
Running up to the man, currently crawling away, Rosan ignored his pleas and silenced him by chopping him in the throat. The pirate gagged and Rosan spun, getting behind the man, so he could punch him in the back of his head twice with crushing force. He fell over unceremoniously, knocked blissfully unconscious.
"Well, that was pretty easy", Rosan thought, blinking at how quickly they had fallen. It had a view exciting moments but it would have been pretty boring, if Rosan didn't enjoy beating them up so much! Fighting was really fun.
Mod-chan really was a great teacher! He had only sustained one cut from that entire fight. She was amazing! Incredible! Fantastic!
"Oh enough of that…," Mod bashfully told him, her face progressively reddening the more words he said. The Devil Fruit was not used to being complemented so heavily and as such, she had no good way of defending herself from them.
Rosan grinned at the purple haired woman before dusting himself off.
Right then, that only left the captain for him dispose of. He wondered what the man was going to do now that his whole crew was gone. He didn't look any stronger then the others so Rosan wasn't really expecting much.
The cocking of a gun shut off that train of thought rather quickly.
Sometimes, Rosan wished he didn't have to open his mouth and so brazenly tempt fate.
Mod-chan shared the same sentiment.
"T-turn around, you freak!" The, now pistol wielding, captain demanded.
Turning around slowly, Rosan rolled his eyes as Mod-chan smugly said "I told you Rosan, always be prepared for anything."
"Weird time to be smug about somethin like this Mod-chan. I could get shot ya know?" Was his exasperated reply. The sheer smugness Mod-chan radiated didn't vanish at all. If anything, it magnified.
She was taking after him far too well and Rosan wasn't sure if he should be happy or worried about that.
Who was he kidding, acting like him was always a win. He was him after all!
Wait —right he was being held at gunpoint— he needed to focus.
The man had gained a new wind of confidence at the advantageous position he was in. "Bet you weren't expecting this huh you bastard!" He boasted in victory.
"Take off your hoodie, now! I wanna know who was bold enough to attack the Saber Pirates," He demanded with false bravado. After a moments pause, he looked around the ship and yelled "ROBIN, where the hell are you?!"
Silence was the only thing that greeted him and he looked visibly irritated at being ignored. No matter, he'd deal with her later. He didn't have any illusions at being able to beat the girl with an insane bounty but to just abandon them was unbefitting of a Saber Pirate.
"Why is he talking to me?" Rosan wondered curiously. "Surely, he should just shoot me and be done with it right?"
"Some people have gigantic egos and would much rather talk then get the job done. Don't be like that, Rosan," Mod said with a shake of of her head.
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