Chương 20: Chapter 12: N/A
Rosan was ambitious. He would be the first to tell you that.
His ambitions were not ones a person would normally have because they were lofty. He was probably one of the most ambitious people on the planet and he readily accepted that.
Rosan had a simple goal that required all of that ambition though.
He wanted to become the strongest. The absolute strongest in the world.
Why?
So that he could protect the ones that he loved.
If Rosan became the strongest, people would be less willing to attack the ones who were his. It was simple and yet, to achieve such a goal, would require reaching the very top of the world.
Rosan never wanted to go through the agony of losing someone dear to him again. It had happened too many times for the emotional boy and his heart couldn't take it.
It's why he desired to be the strongest. The stronger he was, the less likely he'd be subject to such an unbearable pain because he'd be able to protect them all no matter what.
Rosan was absolutely confident that he would achieve his goal. It was not a matter of if he could become the strongest. It was a matter of when he would become the strongest.
In due time, he would be standing on the apex of the mountain with no equal and everyone who wronged him would pay the consequences. It was his right as the strongest, to do as he pleased.
Yes. Rosan was ambitious and Rosan watched all that ambition crumble away as Meiko's body collapsed on the floor.
"No… Please no. Not like this," Mod begged quietly as horror and unspeakable pain filled her tone.
The redhead watched in muted horror as blood began pooling under her body.
Not again. Please not again. This couldn't be happening to him again. He couldn't watch another person he loved die. He just couldn't. It would break him in ways he couldn't explain.
Izumi opened her eyes and watched in horror, as her shot missed its mark and hit the wrong person. Tears began welling in her eyes at her mistake and she cursed herself.
S-she had been aiming for Rosan, not Meiko! She was the last person the teal eyed girl wanted to hit! The blonde had never done anything to her! They kidnapped her for no reason and she still forgave the girl.
She had even protected her from Rosan's wrath!
Izumi had never wielded a gun before and yet she tried to take aim with trembling arms and she even had the gall to close her eyes? It was a recipe for disaster!
Just what had she done?
Angel and Demon finally arrived and as they took in the carnage, they saw a sight that made their blood run cold.
Meiko was on the floor and she was bleeding out.
Rapidly.
"No…" they said in unison as horror seeped into their bones. Their eyes had to have been playing tricks on them because there was no way this could be happening.
Rosan snapped out of his dazed terror and immediately made his way over to the fallen Meiko.
No no no no no no no please not her. Anyone but Meiko. Please! ANYONE but her!
T-take him instead! He would gladly take her place if it meant she got to live longer.
Please! Anyone but Meiko. Not his Meiko.
"Meiko, can you hear me?!" Rosan desperately asked as he reached her.
"Rosan...is that you?" She called gently as she moved her head somewhat to face him. Rosan felt his heart shatter at the sheer amount of blood.
This couldn't be happening.
"Modification: Scan," Rosan said urgently and he scanned Meiko's body. He desperately hoped that it was some type of sick joke and that the wound was artificial. There was just a lot of blood but she wouldn't actually be in any type of danger!
What he saw made tears spring into his eyes and despair seep into his bones.
Her liver had been struck.
No.
No no no.
Rosan refused to accept it.
Rosan refused to accept this.
Why? Why did he let his anger get the best of him? Why didn't he just RUN?! Why didn't he take her with him and leave her in this place?
"Rosan," A voice called and a hand rested on his cheek. Meiko knew she didn't have a lot of time so she wanted to say as much as possible.
"Remember what I asked you alright? Please don't kill that girl," was Meiko's first request and Rosan held back a sob at just how kind she was.
"Y-you're dying and the first thing you do is concern yourself with someone else." Rosan would have laughed, if it wasn't the love of his life dying.
Mod didn't bother trying to hold back her sobs.
"C-can you connect us please, Rosan? One last time," Meiko asked and Rosan acquiesced immediately.
"Thank you… it was getting hard to speak," Meiko said with a small laugh through their connection.
"Meiko p-please," Mod sobbed out and it broke the girls heart. "Please don't l-leave us! I'm begging you, anything but this!"
"Angel, Demon, Mod-chan, Rosan… I want to thank you all so much for making my life so amazing. Who knows what I would have been doing without you all," Meiko began and happy tears sprung up in her eyes at all the memories.
"Angel… we started off rocky but I will never blame you for that! I'm so happy we got to be best friends and I cherish all the shenanigans we went through. I'm so glad you got to be true to yourself and that you discovered who you really are!"
Angel fell onto her knees as realization seeped in. "Meiko wait… who am I supposed to go clothes shopping with, w-who else can I gossip endlessly with, y-you're my best friend… I… I-I didn't say you get to l-l-leave s-so why…?" A sob cut Angel off and whatever else she was about to say was lost in the girls sobs.
"I know and I'm sorry," Meiko whispered soothingly.
Angel's sobs only got louder and the female clone curled in on herself.
"Demon I — thank you so much. You were the first one to make me feel included. Ever since we met, you've always had my back and I appreciate that more then you could ever imagine. I'm sorry for all the torment me and Angel put you through but you took it like a champ!" Meiko joked.
"You can prank me as much as you want Meiko j-just please," Demon begged as he watched the girl he had been tasked to protect fade away. "It… i-it's all my fault! I should never have left you alone for even a second." He covered his face with both hands as reality seeped in.
Did he really think leaving her behind was the best course of action?! He should have taken the people out right then and there? Who cares if he caused a scene?!
"None of that, Demon," Meiko chastised. "You've been protecting me for 3 years straight and not once did you make a mistake. You are not to blame and I won't allow you to blame yourself."
Demon let loose a shaky sob as he collapsed on the floor. It was becoming too much for him.
"I'm sorry that I wasn't able to teach you more about medicine but you've inherited Rosan's genius so I'm sure you will be even better then me!" She laughed gently and Demon's sobbing reached even higher levels.
Meiko sighed fondly as she got to her two favorite people in the world. "Mod-chan and Rosan, I love you two more then you could ever imagine and I will never be able to put into words how much I care for you both. You two changed my life. Without the both of you, I would never be the person I am today and I am eternally grateful for that."
"Mod-chan…you are the mother I desperately needed in my life! Since the moment we met, you practically adopted me as one of your own and have showered me in nothing but praise and love. I feel truly spoiled when I'm around you. I'm so glad we got to meet and I love you so much for allowing me to get so close to you!"
"Meiko I'm so sorry… I wish there was something I could b-but I can't and now I'm watching you d-die and it's tearing me apart!" Mod sobbed in pure agony and she wailed her pain to the world.
Meiko was her daughter in all but blood. She loved the little girl so much for everything she had done and Mod would gladly give her the world if she wanted it because she deserved it.
She didn't deserve this.
"Mod-chan please take care of Rosan for us! I know it's selfish of me to ask but please keep the stability together!"
Mod sniffed miserably but this was Meiko asking her to do something and she would never disrespect the fourteen year old. "O-okay Meiko, I-I'll do it for you," she managed to choke out and the purple haired woman was sobbing full force now, unable to say anything else.
To hear the strong Devil Fruit cry so freely, made the tears fall faster from Meiko's eyes.
"Thank you so much Mod-chan, I-I knew I could rely on you," Meiko choked up a bit as she said that and finally, she turned her attention to the last person.
Rosan.
Her beloved Rosan.
It broke her heart seeing the look on his face. Tears were flowing endlessly from his eyes and he looked so hopeless at the situation that she began crying harder. No doubt, the genius was trying to think of some way to save her.
It warmed Meiko's heart to know that this was the person she chose to fall in love with.
"Bear with me Rosan, this is going to be long," Meiko joked and Rosan let loose a heart wrenching sob as he buried his head into her body. He was shuddering and Meiko had never seen him this vulnerable.
The blonde took a deep breath.
This was going to break her…
"Since the moment we met Rosan, we had a special bond. I wasn't so sure before but the more time I spent with you the more I began to understand just what it was. Rosan… I think you're my soulmate and I really do believe we were made for each other!" She exclaimed excitedly.
"Despite everything we've been through, I've never once regretted the decision I made to travel with you and I… I-I'm so glad that you managed to love a girl like me. Someone as special as you falling in love with someone normal like me makes me so happy!"
Meiko could no longer hold it in and she began sobbing in earnest. Rosan joined her and she choked up at the noise. "Thank you so much Rosan. You've changed me in so much ways and I appreciate it so much. We're connected in a way that I would never feel with anyone else and it makes me so relieved that I got to meet such an amazing person like you."
"Meiko…" Rosan whimpered and she was reminded that he was still just a vulnerable child. "You made me realize how harsh I was on myself. You made me break out of my shell and you made me realize there's so much more to live for. I-I'm not ready to lose you, I can't — I won't be able to take it. Y-you said it yourself, we're soulmates so please, please don't go. I need you."
The boys voice was so vulnerable, so raw and so desperate that Meiko felt her heart flutter. She softly caressed Rosan's soft hair as she let the tears run free.
"I know and I'm so sorry that it has to be like this. But please, you have to stay strong Rosan. I believe in you," Meiko begged and she knew Rosan would listen to her because he was her Rosan.
"W-what am I supposed to do without you, Mei…" Rosan sounded so lost and Meiko let out a sob.
"You have to live for the both of us, Rosy, until you can find a new meaning to life. Please, can you promise me that?" Meiko asked and Rosan began crying in earnest as he realized the person he had actually fallen in love with, was about to die in his arms.
"I-I promise," Rosan said aloud and Meiko shot him a beautiful smile.
"Rosan I-I know this is selfish of me to ask but can you —," Rosan didn't even let Meiko finish her sentence as he kissed her. He cupped her cheeks desperately and Meiko held him back as breathing became harder for her.
Rosan didn't care that he could taste blood. This was his Meiko and if that was what she wanted, then that's what she would get.
Eventually, he pulled back, lips red with blood, and stared at Meiko in sorrow and love.
Meiko stared back at him with pure adoration in her eyes.
Gentle electric blue eyes, lacking pupils, stared into shining purple and red eyes. Both were filled with such love for the other that they could not be mistaken as any other person's lover but each other.
"Rosan, I love you," Meiko said softly.
"I love you too, Meiko," Rosan said it back without hesitation and Meiko cupped his cheek one last time before her hand went limp.
Electric blue eyes lost the light in them as Suzuki Meiko, Age 14, died with a smile on her face.
Royal purple and blood red eyes lost the shine in them as a piece of Rosan died with her.
In the mindscape, Mod had to compose herself as she felt something in the mindscape shift. She looked around in grief as the water of the rainforest turned to pure ice, as the leaves froze, and as the wildlife died.
A frozen forest. Mod couldn't say she was surprised that it had changed.
But that wasn't the problem at the moment. The problem, was that there was something happening in another part of Rosan's body. One that she scarcely visited due to the fragility of it.
What was going on with Rosan's body?
She made her way over to where she felt the shift and what she saw, made her eyes widen in surprise.
When had this castle gotten here…?! H-how long had it been here?
Nothing that happened in Rosan's body ever got past her and Mod was alerted to even a minor change.
This was not a minor change.
Wiping her tears as best as she could, Mod quickly deduced that this castle was formed when Rosan was being neutralized with seastone on Daybreak island because that was the only time she had been neutralized.
So, this castle had been here… for 3 years?!
Mod could already take a guess what its purpose was, but she would have to verify with Rosan later.
The castle was largely similar to when it first appeared with one key difference. Whereas before the chains only wrapped thrice around the castle, it was now covered head to toe in steel shackles.
Mod's eyes furrowed in worry as she saw just how tightly wrapped the castle was. She would need to bring this to attention with Rosan immediately.
For now, it could wait. She needed to make sure her user was doing okay.
Mod certainly wasn't.
Rosan idly wondered when he had stopped crying.
In fact, Rosan was wondering why he couldn't feel anything at all. Right now, the redhead couldn't feel even the slightest of emotions.
It was like his breakdown so long ago on Daybreak but not even rage wanted to be his companion this time.
That made sense, he was a terrible companion.
Rosan grabbed Meiko and carried her in a bridal position. He walked over to where Angel and Demon were and gently placed the body in their surprised hands.
"Bring her to the ship and clean her."
They flinched at his tone. There was nothing there. Rosan's eyes lacked the shine they normally did and his face was expressionless.
He looked dead.
"M-Master…?" Angel called hesitantly as tears ran down her face in despair.
"Are y-you feeling alright…?" Demon asked before slapping himself at the dumb question. His heightened state of emotion was doing him no favors at the moment.
Rosan stared at them for a moment, face void of anything, before he said "I gave you an order," and the boy turned around in order to walk back to where he was.
They looked at his retreating form in worry and resignation.
All the years of work had been undone and it left Rosan in an even worse state then before.
The twins reluctantly carried Meiko away to the White Rose.
Izumi watched this all transpire with despair in her terrified eyes.
The blonde had been really loved and to see how destroyed they were by her death, filled her with untold amounts of guilt. She didn't mean to kill her! The girl had been nothing but nice to her and truthfully Izumi had begun to harbor a crush on her! She cursed the people for deciding to kidnap her
Now though, Izumi was scared. Scared about what was going to happen. It quickly dawned on her that she caused this series of events. She had killed Reapers lover. The Reaper that she looked up to, the one who she wanted to thank for what he had done. The one who had just finished slaughtering an entire room of people with minimal effort.
She was scared… She was really scared!
She didn't want to die! She wouldn't have needed to die if Izuki had just let things run its course. Meiko would have guaranteed her survival and the girl was nice enough that she could plead Izuki's case as well.
But instead, she chose to make the worst possible decision. Why did she do that? Why would she ever use the gun?
Rosan had gone deathly calm after Meiko died. One second he had been sobbing uncontrollably, the next, nothing. The only sign that he had felt anything, were the tear streaks still marking his face. There was no more scream of rage, no cries of anguish, no pleading.
Nothing.
Only a cold oppressive feeling seeped into the air, as a pair of lifeless eyes pierced into her core.
At that moment, it felt as if she was looking at death itself and Izumi found that it was getting increasingly harder to breathe. It was absolutely suffocating right now and the girl gripped her own shirt tightly.
Rosan was looking directly at her.
Rosan was looking directly at her.
Izumi felt like she would faint from fear at his expressionless gaze.
"Congratulations," Rosan said and she flinched at his voice. It was devoid of all emotion and it perfectly matched the expression he currently had on his face.
It sounded vacant.
"You did it, you've won. You've defeated me completely."
The praise was empty and Izumi didn't know what was about to happen to her, but it terrified her all the more.
"I hope the consequences of this victory are worth it though, because if you thought things were bad now, I'm going to show you that it can get much worse."
Izumi began shaking uncontrollably as Rosan calmly made his way over to her. Izuki-nii was still unconscious, so it was just her and the monster she created.
She fell on her butt and tried to crawl away but she bumped into a wall and the teary eyed girl regarded him with utter terror.
"Why?" Rosan suddenly asked and she fearfully looked at him in confusion. "Why did you do it? Why didn't you shoot me instead? Meiko was completely harmless to you. She defended you. If she didn't do that, you'd be dead along with the people surrounding me."
Izumi was wondering that too. Why did she do it?
"It... was... an accident. I-I didn't mean too!" Izumi choked out in terror and it was a miracle that she could even speak right now. "I-I was aiming for you b-but my hand was shaking too much and I c-closed my eyes. I-I'm so sorry I never intended for this to happen! I really did like Meiko a-and if I could do something different, I would!" she pleaded, praying and hoping that he accepted it.
He didn't.
"The love of my life...died to an accident?" Rosan asked and Izumi got the sense that his voice should have been tinged with disbelief. Instead, he shook his head and the pressure doubled down on her.
Izumi couldn't breathe. It felt as if she were in an enclosed space and she suffered from claustrophobia. It was so much that she nearly fainted from it.
"Make no mistake Izumi, what I'm about to do you... It will not be an accident."
Rosan knelt down and grabbed her cheek in an almost tender manner. In any other situation, Izumi may have blushed at the attention this attractive boy was directing towards her but right now, as those dual eyes stared into her own teal, all she could feel was doom.
"Meiko was my everything. She was my love, my life and you took that from me. Now, I will return the favor. I'm going to take everything from you and the only thing you'll have left, is me," Rosan promised to her and Izumi tried to beg but the redhead would not be deterred.
"P-please, Rosan! I swear I didn't mean to-"
"You must love your brother very much," Rosan suddenly said, staring right at her unconscious brother. "I wonder if he'll love you the same after this."
Izumi didn't know what he meant by that but she wouldn't do anything to her brother. Not even Reaper could make her hurt him!
"How amusing, you think you have a choice."
Izumi felt her terror spike at those words.
"Modification:…" Rosan said to himself and Izumi's begging increased at the sight of his glowing eyes. What was he planning on doing? W-what was going to happen to her?!
"Please, I'm sorry! You have to believe me! I-I never wanted to do this!"
"...Hijack".
Izumi gasped as she suddenly lost all control of her body. She could still feel everything but, she could no longer move anything!
"W-what is this?" Izumi thought to herself in fear.
"This? This is justice," a soft voice suddenly spoke up in her mind. A very familiar soft voice. Izumi began panicking as she recognized who was speaking to her and the thirteen year old began wondering how he managed to do it.
W-what was Rosan doing in her mind? How was this even possible?! D-Did he have one of the fabled Devil Fruits?!
But she thought the wings would be it!
"Modification: Hijack" was a largely similar technique to Rosan's Link that he so affectionately did with those he loved. The key difference though, was that it was far less…consensual. Rosan wasn't linking anyone together with this move and he certainly wouldn't ever do it to a loved one.
This wasn't a pairing between to friends. He was committing a hostile takeover.
Izumi felt her body stand on it's own and make it's way over to her brother. Her eyes widened in horror as she realized what Rosan meant from his previous statement. If he was the one controlling her body then... then...!
No. No no no no no no.
"Rosan I'm begging you. Anything but this!" Izumi begged as she reached her beloved older brother.
"No," was his harsh, vacant reply. "I want you to feel how I feel, I want you to hurt how I hurt, I want you to hate like I hate. You will never be able to reach my level of agony but, I'll try my best to make it close. I promise."
Izumi was forced to watch in muted horror as her body tied up her older brother to a pillar firmly.
All the while, Rosan watched it all with that damnably empty face of his. He looked almost bored at what was about to take place.
She felt her arm raise and she tried to stop it but she couldn't. The teal eyed girl slapped her brother and he awoke with a startled yelp.
"Huh, w-what," Izuki said in a daze as he looked around in confusion. He laid his eyes on her and said "I-Izumi? What's the matter? Are you alright?" Her brother asked in worry.
"…" Izumi said nothing and she felt her face form into one of remorse.
"Izumi…? Where's Reaper at, did he leave?" The teal eyed man asked as he struggled to move. It was then that he noticed that he was tied up. He struggled a bit and he asked his younger sister to help him get out of them.
Izumi said nothing outwardly but inwardly, she felt her panic spike as the footsteps of Rosan approached.
"Stalling, Izumi-chan?" Rosan asked patiently, as he took her side. He laid a soft hand on her cheek and caressed it like one would do to a lover. It finally hit her just what Rosan was planning on doing and she couldn't believe it.
Her thoughts were only confirmed as the boy pulled a knife out of his cloak and placed it gently in her hand.
"Izumi…?" Izuki asked in fear as he saw her grip the knife and face towards him.
"I-I'm sorry Izuki-nii," words that were not her own spilled out of her mouth and Izumi watched in pure dread as her own body betrayed her. "I-it was either you or me a-and I don't wanna die Izuki! I hope you can forgive me…"
His confusion turned to a look of betrayal and Izumi felt her heart wrench at the look in his eyes.
"That's not true Izumi! Stop playing around!" Izuki's struggles renewed at the utter remorse in her eyes.
"Reaper offered me a position in his crew," Izumi confessed. "He told me that I'd have to prove my worth by getting rid of "baggage" and that after I dealt with you, I could stand by his side."
"If I refused he would have killed the both of us! I-I don't wanna die when I didn't even want to do this Izuki-nii," A choked sob left Izumi's throat as she gripped the knife tightly.
"Reaper, what did you do to her you bastard!" Izuki roared but Rosan didn't even flinch. He merely tilted his head and stared at him with a bored expression.
"I gave her an option," he said. "Die for something she didn't want any part of, or eliminate the one who caused this and join my side. I'm sure you can guess which one she picked," his voice was soft as he regarded the man.
As if wanting to prove his point. Rosan knelt and placed a hand on Izuki. "Modify Target: Sensitivity," he thought to himself and then he got up and walked away from the two of them.
Not even a moment later, Izumi used the knife to slightly mark her brother. The scream of agony he let out would forever be imprinted into her mind and the girl internally teared up at the horror of it all.
"You didn't really think I was going to have you kill him immediately, did you?"
Izumi shook as her body betrayed her. She was at the complete mercy of a demon and this demon was going to make her commit an unforgivable act!
Rosan was going to make Izumi torture her own brother.
"You will never forget this feeling of helplessness, Izumi. You will never forget the feeling of belonging to me. You will never forget the mistake you made crossing me."
"Please R-Rosan please don't m-m-make me do this. Please just kill me!" The teal eyed girl begged pathetically as the complete and utter hopelessness of the situation seeped into her.
She was afraid of death but she would much prefer that over killing her own kin!
"Meiko's last wish was for me to not kill you." Rosan managed to make what would normally be a blessing a complete curse.
"You won't be closing your eyes this time either."
With that, Rosan stopped speaking to her. He would show her not even a shred of mercy. Speaking to her was a form of distraction and he did not want her to have that at all.
No, all her attention would be focused onto the task at hand.
"Rosan… Rosan please!" Izumi sobbed as she placed another cut onto her brother who let out a screech. "I-I can't do this, I can't, I just can't!"
But she received no reply. Rosan was content to watch from a distance as Izumi brutalized her own brother.
"S-sis please," Izuki begged and Izumi wailed at how heartbroken he looked. "It hurts so much…! How could you do this to me?! After everything we've been through, my own sister would do this?"
"No Izuki-nii, I'm being controlled this isn't me," Izumi tried to explain but naturally, those words didn't come out of her body.
"I know and I'm sorry Izuki-nii," her body said instead. "You've always been there for me b-but I'm just so afraid of dying and this was the only way I could make it out."
The words sounded so pathetic to her own ears and that's exactly what Rosan was going for. He didn't want Izuki to die loving his sister.
He wanted him to hate her.
"Y-you would sell out your family just to live and because you're attracted to him?" Izuki asked and the pain on his face was momentarily replaced with raw confusion. "Izumi… that's so pathetic!"
"SO AM I JUST SUPPOSED TO DIE WITH YOU?" Izumi yelled out in frustration, making her brother reel back in shock. "THIS IS YOUR FAULT IZUKI-NII! YOU KIDNAPPED THE GIRL AND YOU BROUGHT REAPER TO US!"
"WE CAN'T ESCAPE FROM HIM! NO ONE EVER HAS IZUKI-NII! SO OWN UP TO THE FACT AND STOP TRYING TO DRAG ME DOWN WITH YOU!"
It was a testament to Rosan's skills because even Izumi would have believed she was the one to say them. The controlled body even began panting from exertion after the outburst.
Izumi realized something at that moment.
Rosan was evil.
"Y-you," Izuki sputtered as he was left reeling at her words. "You selfish whore," he snarled in utter disgust. Izumi let out a broken wail as she saw the raw hatred on her beloved brothers face.
This couldn't be happening. This just couldn't be happening to her. This was a never ending nightmare and all she wanted to do was wake up from it.
Izumi's body's response was to give him another cut that had him devolving into a fresh set of cries. "Call me whatever you want, I am not dying for something that's not my fault," she hissed venomously.
With that, she began hurting him in earnest.
The teal eyed prisoner was forced to watch as she tortured her brother for hours. The torture progressively got worse as time went on. What started as simple small cuts turned into much larger ones and they only got worse.
Izuki had not stopped screaming even once. He couldn't even muster up the energy to glare back and his voice had gone hoarse.
Izumi had practically gone catatonic at what was happening. The girl had been reduced to muttering "no" over and over again at the horrific sight. She had stopped begging the redhead after the first hour. He didn't even reply back to her, content to let her suffer in the noise of her brother's screams.
Rosan watched it all with a stony, almost relaxed expression. His demeanor had not changed even once. There was no satisfaction at what he was doing. He didn't feel the urge to get revenge. He didn't feel anything.
Izumi snapped out of her near catatonic state as she realized what her body was beginning to do.
Izuki began to realize too because he hoarsely begged for mercy that his sister was not going to give.
Izumi held one finger in her grasp.
"Izu please. Please don't do this," Izuki begged hoarsely. His voice was raw and the sheer terror in them, had a fresh wave of tears appear in Izumi's teal eyes.
Izumi of course, ignored him and cut his finger off swiftly. The howl of agony Izuki let out as the worst pain he had ever felt, magnified by Modification, washed over him. The eighteen year old collapsed and his sobbing renewed in earnest.
That was the final straw for Izumi.
"AUGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH," The girl screamed as her mind broke from all of the stress.
This was inhumane. She was being forced to torture her last living relative. The person who raised her. The one who took the burden of being her caretaker.
She was in hell.
It was only an hour after she cut off his first finger that Rosan seemingly grew content with what he saw.
Izuki was broken with a majority of his body parts missing. He was alive but it wouldn't be for much longer.
Rosan chose that moment to release Hijack. He stared knowingly at what was about to happen.
Izumi suddenly felt herself gain control and she gasped at the sensation of being able to move again. The girl was momentarily shocked but she tried to recover as quickly as possible and the teal eyed teen rushed over to her brother with tears in her eyes.
"Izuki-nii, stay with me!" She begged as she put both hands on her brother. She was crying a copious amount of tears as her brother began dying right in front of her. "I'm so sorry, t-that wasn't me! Please believe me!" She tried to explain to her brother.
Izuki couldn't hear her however, he could see her.
Feeling his life quickly fading, Izuki looked up at his younger sister blearily. "Izumi…" he said as he hacked out a large amount of blood.
"Yes Izuki-nii?" Izumi said hopefully as she stared at the damage that she caused.
Izuki stared at her for a long moment and his eyes flashed with hatred one last time. "I wish you were never born," he hissed and he stopped resisting the lull of death.
Just like that, Izuki was no longer apart of the world, his last moments spent in pain and hatred.
Izumi felt her brain short circuit as she repeated her brothers last words over and over again.
"I wish you were never born."
"I wish you were never born."
"I wish you were never born."
The stress of the situation, combined with her brothers harsh final words, proved to be too much for the 13 year old and Izumi threw her head back and let out an earth shattering screech.
"AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH," The girl screamed as her mind broke fully from the stress of it all.
When she finally finished screaming to the heavens, Rosan approached her. He took one look into her empty gaze before speaking.
"Do you understand how it feels now?" The redhead asked softly. "The feeling of loss. The guilt at being the one who did it. The knowledge that the last person you loved died hating you. Tell me how do you feel?"
Rosan tilted his head slightly as her vacant gaze landed on his own vacant ones.
She did not answer.
"Hate me, resent me, despise me. Do whatever you want, but never forget that you are only alive because I willed it. What's left of you belongs to me and don't you ever forget that. We are bonded together by our brokenness, by how empty we are."
"We are bonded because we took everything from each other," Rosan finished softly, blankly. Not once had he displayed any emotion since Meiko passed. He didn't speak out of anger.
He spoke out of truth.
Izumi absorbed his words with a blank expression on her broken visage. Her dull teal eyes stared into his soul and the redhead hummed.
Rosan grabbed her and forced her up. She did not resist. When Rosan raised her shirt, she did not react. When Rosan removed his glove, showing off his sharp glowing claws, she made no indication that she noticed.
When Rosan put that glowing hot claw on her belly she finally took notice.
"A gift, from me," was all he said and he modified her sensitivity.
"This may hurt."
Izuki screeched as Rosan branded her with no remorse. As he brutally marked her skin.
Hurt was an understatement. This was the worst pain Izumi had ever felt in her life. The pain was so great, that it immediately slammed through her broken demeanor and shook her to the core.
It took 10 minutes and in those 10 minutes, Izuki had not once stopped screaming.
Mod watched the entire exchange with horror in her eyes.
Rosan did not react.
They could no longer see.
Finally, Rosan finished and he stepped back to admire his handiwork. Marred onto Izumi's belly was a single rose. Not quite done yet, Rosan put a hand on the quivering girl and modified the color of the entire thing, turning it a solid black, and released her.
The girl collapsed as the after effects of the brutally acquired tattoo caught up to her. She shuddered and convulsed as she began to black out.
The last thing she heard and saw was Rosan looking at her brothers mangled corpse and saying, "You may want to clean that up," before he finally vanished.
Izumi's eyes flashed with the faintest spark of something and she finally lost consciousness.
Rosan delicately grabbed Meiko's unnaturally still body. '
She was donned in a pure white dress and, besides the jewelry Rosan gifted to her, she had nothing else. She still had a smile on her face that slightly stirred Rosan's broken heart.
He held her in a bridal position and promptly vanished into his Pocket Dimension.
Over the years, he had gained an exponential amount of control over his dimension. It was practically his second home now and it was used for a large variety of things.
One of the things he had done, was build a house.
Well castle was a more accurate term.
It was gigantic. The castle was a mixture of black and purple with a pointed roof and it looked as if it had been carved from marble.
Rosan had expended quite a bit of energy modifying and molding the castle to fit his image, but it didn't matter because he did it for Meiko, who had been thrilled to have her very own castle of all things.
"We won't be settling for a while, so I hope this will do for now," Rosan had told her. She had given him an ecstatic kiss as thanks and then laughed at the bashful redhead.
The inside of the castle was modified to be immune to the effects of the pocket dimension and so, Meiko had no problems staying in here.
Rosan made his way into the castle and, still carrying Meiko, walked upstairs to their bedroom.
It was a spacious area with a purple and black king sized bed in the middle of the room. Rosan had allowed Meiko to decorate it as she saw fit and she had chosen a flower theme in response.
There was a black and purple carpet covering the floor with a large rose in the middle, the windows were covered by purple drapes donned with multiple roses and there were various miscellaneous furniture neatly placed.
Rosan ignored all of this and gently placed Meiko on the bed. He stared at her for a long moment before coming to a decision.
He carefully removed the ruby red earrings he had given to her so long ago and clasped them to his own ears. He quickly placed his hair back into its bun so that it would be visible to anyone looking at his face.
Next, he slid the amethyst ring off her slender fingers. He stared long and hard at the gorgeous piece of jewelry.
The ring was meant to be a reminder.
A reminder to marry Meiko once he had finally achieved the strength required to settle down. They had promised Mod-chan at least two children and one was to be named after her in some way. It had made Rosan the happiest he had felt when she readily agreed to the idea with a bright blush on her face.
It was a reminder of the love between the two of them. One that would never be broken.
It was a reminder that didn't matter anymore.
Because he was worthless. Rosan had acquired all this strength and when it came down to it, he couldn't protect the one person in the world who needed his protection the most.
It didn't matter if he became the strongest, if he couldn't even do something as simple as protect his loved ones.
Rosan slid the ring onto his left hands ring finger and modified it so it would easily fit. The stone gleamed slightly and Rosan continued to stare at it with an empty expression.
Let the stone be a new reminder then. A reminder that he was nothing but a failure.
Finally, he placed a palm on Meiko's face. "Modification: Blue Screen," he said activating his technique and the entire room seemed to be encompassed in a blue light. The bright blue light faded though it seemed to still be there.
Using Modification, Rosan had placed the entire area, including Meiko, into stasis. Inside this room, nothing would change or age. It was all exempt from the workings of space.
Let Meiko stay beautiful. Forever. She deserved it.
He could not do anything, but he could at least do this.
"Oh Rosan...," Mod said brokenly and she dragged him into the mindscape.
Rosan did not resist.
Mod-chan was a complete and utter mess. Her perfect hair laid haphazardly on her head and her bronze face was flushed with the aftereffects of crying herself ragged. Her blood red orbs were ringed with even more red and she had tear streaks running down her face. The woman's, normally, impeccable dress was practically thrown over her frame and it looked as much of a mess as everything else.
Like Meiko requested, Mod would try to be strong for everyone. She was failing miserably at the moment, but who could blame her?
She had practically lost her daughter after all.
Rosan, even with his emotional state, instinctively stretched his arms out for the woman. It didn't take long before a figure crashed into him and soon, Mod-chan was sobbing into his frame. The woman's body was trembling uncontrollably and Rosan rubbed her back soothingly.
Despite this though, not once had his demeanor shifted.
Mod took notice of this immediately and it practically confirmed what she had been thinking.
The purple haired woman shakily pushed herself up and tried to compose herself.
"Rosan —," the woman coughed as she hoarsely spoke. She didn't know how long she had been crying for, but it had been too long. "C-could you f-follow me please?"
"Okay," Rosan said obediently and Mod resisted the urge to flinch. Instead, she turned around and began walking with a purpose. Rosan slowly walked behind her in response.
They made their way out of the home in their mindscape and Rosan took stock of the new environment.
"A frozen forest," he said flatly as he observed his surroundings. There was a large amount of snow and ice on the floor now and every single tree had turned a pure white.
Naturally, the coolness of the weather had no effect on Rosan or Mod.
"Yes," Mod confirmed. "It… it t-transformed soon after Meiko…," The woman was cut off as a sob wracked its way through her body.
"Don't force yourself," Rosan said and it was supposed to sound caring but instead, it came off as hollow.
Despite that, Mod nodded at his words.
"I-I wanted to show you something," Mod explained to him and Rosan lightly tilted his head.
"What is it?" he asked.
"...It's best if I show you, then explain," was all she said and Rosan nodded.
That made sense.
They eventually reached their destination and Rosan actually paused as he took notice of the large castle made of what looked to be pure ice. The palace was covered from top to bottom with chains. It looked as if nothing could get in and nothing could get out.
How curious.
"An addition with the new environment?" Rosan asked as he turned towards Mod-chan who standing right next to him. Surprisingly, she shook her head in a no motion.
"No, I suspect this has been here far longer then the frozen forest," Mod said as she looked at the castle with a frown on her pretty face.
Far longer? Mod-chan noticed every single detail that happened to his body and she was always sure to tell him if it was important. If she was only just now telling him about this, either she thought it wasn't important enough, which he doubted, or she didn't notice until now.
Rosan quickly connected the dots.
"You didn't notice earlier because you were under the effects of seastone 3 years ago," Rosan deduced and Mod shot him a look of surprise.
"That's right," she confirmed and Rosan looked back at the castle.
It was safe to assume that Mod-chan only noticed this because of what happened to Meiko. If this castle was here while he was on Daybreak and Mod-chan noticed due to Meiko's death… There was a connection there.
"This castle houses my emotions," Rosan said as it all clicked together. That was the only possible connection.
This castle likely formed the day Rosan realized nobody was coming to save him on Daybreak and he broke down. It finally explained what had caused him to so easily suppress his emotions.
This must have been a much more extreme case however. Whereas before, certain things could elicit a reaction out of the boy (mostly rage), it seemed unlikely for anything to cause Rosan to react now.
Mod-chan must have noticed the castle storing every single one of his emotions in that case. It explained why Rosan currently couldn't feel anything at the moment.
"I tried to entering it, but I can't. Something is keeping me out," Mod said with a nervous gaze.
"I see," Rosan stepped up to the castle and prepared to open the gate.
Nothing happened.
Rosan tried again and was met with the same result.
"It's even rejecting you…?" Mod said in confusion. Did that mean Rosan… didn't want his emotions back?
The redhead gazed at the castle with searching eyes.
"I have a theory," Rosan said as he regarded the gate before him. "This castle was likely created when I made the decision that my emotions would only be a hindrance in my mission to escape. My reaction to Meiko's death was even stronger then back then likely causing this."
Mod could see where he was going. Rosan would run away from his problems until he had no choice but to face them. It was his biggest weakness and one he worked hard to counter. He had been making spades along with Meiko but, h-her d-death had probably set everything back to square one.
"My desire to get my emotions back is likely weaker then Modifications' desire to keep me shielded from them. It makes sense considering I have absolutely no desire at all."
"B-but that's not reasonable!" Mod said in disbelief but he was right. "If it has all your emotions… how will you ever get that desire back?"
"Meiko was able to naturally have me open up to her. It's possible that it has to be natural instead of forceful. Modification is shielding me from them, not holding them hostage. It will have no reason to block them if someone breaks through successfully."
B-but Meiko was his soulmate! How could anything else even reach the level of compatibility the two had?
"You have to live for the both of us, Rosy, until you find a new meaning," Rosan repeated the words Meiko said to him and Mod felt tears worming their way into her eyes again.
"It seems like Meiko's final wish for me was more impactful then we could imagine. If I don't find a new meaning, I will probably be like this forever," the redhead said as he stared back at the castle.
Mod didn't like it, but he was right. Right now, neither of them could open that castle. It was refusing them out of protection and so, they would let it protect.
She prayed that something out there could chip away at Rosan's frozen heart. All Mod needed was a little bit of progress. If there was someone out there, the purple haired woman would support them wholeheartedly.
Everything she did, was for Rosan after all.
"I'm sorry Mod-chan," Rosan suddenly said as he saw the distraught look on her face.
Mod scooped the boy up and hugged him fervorously. "Don't be Rosan. I will never blame you for what happened," she whispered soothingly and the woman buried herself into his smaller frame.
The boy accepted it without any complaint.
It was up to Mod to be strong for the both of them and she would try her best.
As she took another look at the castle though, she felt a shudder of familiarity and her eyes widened nervously.
She hugged Rosan just a bit tighter.
Aiko and Reaper were pretty close. Sure, she made it seem like she was constantly annoyed with the Shinigami but, everyone who knew them and saw their interactions were aware that it was all in good fun.
Mostly.
She would even consider them her friend and maybe they thought the same.
Which is why she knew something was very very wrong with them.
This was her first time seeing him since he had abruptly left 2 weeks ago. Since then, it had been radio silence from the Angel of Death and she would never admit it out loud, but Aiko was worried about them.
Akemi had been a nervous mess the entire time and it was up to Aiko to keep her sister in check.
She had been hoping that he was alright. Reaper had done so much for them in the years of their partnership and because of him, Fregate was more prosperous then it had ever been.
It was a huge relief to see him in her office on the scheduled time to collect his stipend.
"Reaper!" Akemi moved to excitedly greet him, but she stopped as she felt his aura. Aiko felt it too.
Reaper always exuded a low amount of pressure when you were in his presence. It was dark, confident, and slightly overwhelming. Aiko had long since grown used to it and these days, it barely fazed her.
Now though, it was totally different. His aura was still there, but it was completely devoid of anything. It was just there.
Somehow, it was even more unnerving then what he normally exuded.
Was he alright?
"Greetings Akemi. Aiko." Reaper nodded to them and Aiko had to wonder how he managed to pull off sounding even more emotionless. Reaper was always keen on showing as little emotion as possible. It was why people assumed he had no personality.
Aiko knew better. No matter how he acted, the gray haired girl knew that Reaper, deep down, was a pretty playful person.
He had a way of making his neutral tone come off as snarky, sarcastic, and condescending at times and it infuriated her as much as it entertained her!
Right now, he lacked all of this.
Something was wrong. Very wrong.
"Reaper, are you alright?" Akemi asked carefully. Her younger sister had likely detected these changes as well.
"I don't see how that's relevant."
They flinched at his reply and stared warily at him. They were worried for him but, Reaper had always been a person who didn't like to share his information.
They wondered why he was so secretive.
"I got your money right here," Aiko said slowly and she handed it off to him. He accepted it and swiftly put it away. He had no slick remark or anything of the sort to say to her and it only made her more worried.
"Reaper, that day you left abruptly… what happened?" Aiko asked hesitantly as she saw the Shinigami prepare to make his departure.
He never left immediately… this was scary.
"A situation arose. I handled it," was his curt response.
Aiko frowned deeply. He was being incredibly standoffish at the moment and it was throwing her for a loop.
Maybe she could try and goad a reaction out of him? What would get him to mess with her...?
"Could you show us your face, Reaper," Aiko suddenly asked and the figure paused. He was probably thinking of some snarky way to say no to her right now and she'd feel a little better about his situation.
Maybe he was just having a bad day?
"We've known each other long enough," was all he said and he turned to face them.
...What?
This had to be some sort of prank right?
"I-I thought you said to ask in 10 years?!" Aiko stammered in confusion.
"I said that in order to annoy you. I already trusted you when you first asked," he replied bluntly.
With that, he removed his hoodie.
They stared shockingly at his brilliant crimson hair, tied into a bun, before Reaper removed his mask. He had opted to use his black mask today and they gasped at what lay under.
The first thing Aiko noted was that Reaper really was a boy. Though, he was adorable enough that, with a bit of work, he could probably pass off as the opposite gender.
The second thing she noted, was that he was terribly young. She took in his features and deduced that he couldn't be older then 14 yet.
The most notable thing about Reaper by far though, were his beautiful eyes. Not only the fact that they were two different colors, one red and the other purple, but they looked lifeless.
The boy looked dead inside and his entire expression lacked anything!
Akemi gasped in horror and felt tears well up at the expression on the, too young, boys face. No child should ever look at the world like this. The way the boy looked… it was terribly haunting.
He looked as if he had nothing left to live for.
Aiko looked at him with wide eyes as she stared into his soulless eyes.
What the hell happened to him? No one deserved to have such a look in their eyes. Especially not the one who had freed and brought this island to heights they had never seen before.
She couldn't even get upset or triumphant at hearing that he was in fact teasing her. One look into his expressionless gaze, rendered her completely speechless.
"S-so my theory was correct," Aiko tried to say. "You a-are a boy! And a young one at that!"
"Correct," he confirmed. "My name is Rosan, I'm 12 years old. It's important that not much people are aware of my existence due to my rather unique appearance."
Taking another look at what she could see, Aiko and Akemi both nodded in agreement. They didn't know if anyone else in the world even looked like the boy. His tanned skin, coupled with the fact that he had a unique shade of red hair and heterochromatic eyes, would make it damn hard to avoid public eye.
But fuck! He was only 12?! That meant the boy was nine when he liberated Fregate from Arata's hands.
What the hell did they feed this monster growing up?!
He moved his head, jostling his ruby red earrings in the process, and faced Aiko. "It is imperative that you don't tell anyone how I look," without the mask on, his voice was no longer masked and they could hear how young he sounded.
"If you do, I will kill you."
The way it was delivered chilled Aiko to her bones. His tone didn't have even a hint of inflection. It was that same, chilly, tone that he had used since arriving. The way he looked at her only solidified that this meant nothing to him.
He said it like he was discussing the weather.
Rosan was simply warning her of what would happen. He would not enjoy it, he didn't intimidate her, he wasn't trying to force her to keep it a secret. He probably didn't even care if she kept it one or not.
He would just kill her if she did.
That was not a threat. It was a promise.
"Have some faith in me Rea- Rosan," Aiko actually sounded annoyed. "We're partners, of course I wouldn't sell you out."
Akemi nodded her head with empathy. "Your secret is safe with us!"
Rosan nodded and tried to smile. He probably could have fooled someone with it… if it reached his eyes. Instead, it just looked as if he was forcing himself to do the act.
"I believe you two, it's why I showed you my face in the first place."
"You may want to work on your smile," Aiko suggested and Rosan nodded as his face went back to normal.
"I see… Do you have any suggestions?" He asked with a slight tilt of his head that had Akemi squealing.
"Your eyes play a huge part in making a smile believable and well, your eyes are kinda terrifying to look at right now," Aiko said truthfully.
"Understood, I will keep that in mind," Rosan said and he made to exit.
"One last thing Rosan!" Aiko said and he turned around once more.
"Whatever happened… I'm sorry but try not to beat yourself up too much about it," Aiko's eyes looked worriedly at the boy who was at least a decade younger then her.
"Please take care of yourself Rosan," Akemi said. The look in her saviors eyes was one that nearly brought her to tears. He had helped break her out of her own shell after the events with Arata and she couldn't even help him with his own issues.
"...Understood, I will keep that in mind," he eventually said before vanishing from view.
The two let out a breath they didn't know they were holding.
"That was nerve wracking…" Akemi said and she looked a bit downtrodden.
"I wonder what happened to him," Aiko said as she collapsed in her seat. "Let's go Akemi, I need to get a drink."
"For once Aiko-nee, I agree with you."
Master didn't speak to them anymore.
The only time they ever interacted was when he had an order for them. Other than that, he scarcely said a word to them.
It was their fault after all. They had let Meiko out of their sight and she was put right in the middle of battle as a result.
Not only that, Master was stuck protecting her and fighting off people and...they were stuck being useless. By the time they had shown up, the battle was already over and Meiko lay bleeding out on the floor.
Angel took it hard, but not nearly as hard as her younger twin.
Demon had been nearly catatonic. Her purple haired brother had been practically moving on auto-pilot for a while now and she didn't know what to do for him.
How could she make him feel better, when she felt just as shitty!
It was an impossibly hard situation to deal with and normally, Master would have been able to snap them out of their funk. If not him, then Meiko would have easily been able to do it.
She was even better at making them feel better then Rosan was.
But, the Master they knew and loved was no longer here… A part of him had clearly departed with Meiko who was… w-who was —
Angel held her face in the palm of her hands, as tears welled into her eyes. She couldn't help the hiccups and soon she was sobbing in full force.
She didn't know what to do and it was breaking her!
Her brother was in a zombie-like state. Her Master was devoid of feeling. H-her best friend was d-d-dea…
Angel let loose a louder sob then intended and she hastily tried to cover her mouth.
She didn't want anyone to hear her. They all had their own problems to deal with right now and she didn't want to drag them into hers. Attracting attention to herself was just selfish so, the female clone of Rosan cried as quietly as possible.
The redhead went stiff as she heard soft footsteps approaching. She tried to mask what she was doing to the best of her ability and she hesitantly looked up.
Angel went pale.
Standing before her, in all his glory, was her fellow redhead, Rosan himself. He was staring directly at her with that unbearably blank expression of his.
Angel hated it. She wanted her Master back.
"M-Master?" the purple eyed girl called hesitantly. "Is s-something wrong?"
Curse her heightened emotional state. She couldn't even speak properly to her creator.
He continued to stare at her, face never changing, and it made her fidget in place.
Angel could still distinctively remember the wave of rage that had washed over her when she told him of their blunder and it made her shudder. He was so angry and the raw fury in his gaze had completely paralyzed her.
Rosan had entrusted them to protect Meiko and they had failed completely.
"If Master was the one watching over her, this wouldn't have happened because he's actually competent," Angel thought bitterly to herself. They could not even do a simple task.
They were not worthy of the life Rosan had given them.
She would not blame or stop him from destroying her because she deserved it.
The look in his eyes when he had left them had suggested that it was not over, yet, after what happened to Meiko, the boy had done absolutely nothing to them.
No punishment, no speech, no death.
Nothing.
Maybe their punishment was how he barely acknowledged their existence now. It was a fitting one because Angel was practically being tortured at the fact that he barely even looked at her.
Her crying in a room, alone, was proof of that.
"Why do you cry here, alone and in silence?" The shorter boy asked her and she looked at him with shock in her eyes.
"I-I didn't want to cause anyone to w-w-worry," Angel spoke softly and she refused to look at the one who created her in his eyes.
"Crying in a dark corner is cause for plenty worry," her Master replied and she flinched.
Angel chose not to say anything. She hoped that her Master would leave so that he wouldn't see her in such a pathetic state for any longer.
Rosan instead chose to walk closer to his female lookalike.
"Stand up," he commanded and Angel immediately moved to follow his order.
Angel felt wrong looking down at her shorter master and she nervously wrung her hands together.
Imagine her surprise, when the dual eyed boy simply outstretched out his hands for her.
H-he wanted a hug?
"Whenever one of us felt sad, we would hug each other," he began speaking. "Whether it was Mod-chan, Me, or Meiko, a hug never failed to make us feel better," his voice was quiet as he spoke but she heard him perfectly.
"A-and you think I deserve to feel better?" Angel asked hesitantly as her hurt purple eyes stared down at Rosan's impassive face.
"Why shouldn't you?" He asked in return and Angel let out a choked sob. Without hesitation, the girl crashed into Rosan and hugged him for dear life.
Rosan was used to being in this situation multiple times and he instinctively hugged her back.
"I understand that these are difficult times...," Rosan began. "...But there should never be a situation where you feel like you have to hide your pain on our ship."
"I don't hate you for what happened. There is no need for you to hate yourself," was all Rosan said and Angel couldn't handle the flood of emotions anymore.
She let it all out. She must have been crying for an hour straight on Rosan, who just accepted it without a word.
Eventually, Angel released herself from Rosan's with a string of hiccups.
"I'm sorry Master… I got you all wet," Angel sniffed.
"Think nothing of it," Rosan said idly. He took one glance at her and said "You need to take a break and rest. I will handle your duties until you are capable of doing them yourself."
Angel reluctantly nodded. It was not a suggestion so she couldn't really go against him but, handing her duties off to her master was unthinkable for her. To see him so readily offer to do it, despite how he was currently, warmed her up immensely.
She felt a burst of affection for her master.
Even in his current state, he always knew how to make her feel better. It didn't matter how he was, Rosan was still Rosan.
He was the worst off from what happened yet he still went out of his way to try and lighten her trauma.
This was why she was devoted to him. This is why she would so readily die for her master. He cared for them as much as they cared for him.
Angel came to a decision at that point.
"I'll do everything in my power to bring you back to normal Master," she swore to herself.
If he could so effortlessly make her feel better about herself, then the least she could do was help him feel anything.
She would do it or she would die trying.
Rosan stared at the resolve in her eyes blankly.
Demon didn't really know what he had been doing for a while now.
He had been moving and working but…it didn't feel like he was the one doing it. His body was on auto-pilot and the purple haired clone didn't actually pay attention to what was being done.
It had been like this for weeks.
He was content to stay like this forever.
He didn't deserve to dictate his life.
Everything was his fault.
Demon was so damn stupid. Why would he ever leave Meiko alone? It had been his duty for 3 years to keep her safe. Not causing a scene would always come second to prioritizing her safety and he had foolishly done the opposite. Now she had paid the price and so did everyone on the ship.
All because of him.
He should have called Master instantly. Pressure had gotten to the normally gentle version of Rosan's purple haired clone and he had crumbled underneath it.
Angel and Rosan would never have crumbled under that pressure. They'd have known exactly what to do and how to approach it.
Perhaps this was his curse as the youngest. To be utterly worthless until your older siblings could help you solve your problems.
He deserved to bear the title of youngest. He certainly acted like it when push came to shove.
Truthfully, Demon had almost asked Rosan to destroy him but he refrained because of his love for Angel.
Angel… His dear sister was taking this hard and he knew it. She was blaming herself despite it not being her fault whatsoever.
The blame lie solely on him.
Another curse of being the youngest. Your older siblings always added on to their own burdens, with yours.
Demon hated himself.
He was snapped out of his self loathing by the sound of footsteps.
It must have been Angel, Master's footsteps were inaudible a majority of the time. He felt bad for ignoring his sister but, he couldn't burden her anymore with his thoughts. He would just not acknowledge her and eventually she'd leave.
That's what he had been doing for the past few weeks anyways.
"Ignoring me?" A voice that was decidedly not his sister said. Demon felt dread pool in his stomach.
Well, just his luck. It seemed like this was one of the few times where his footsteps were audible.
Demon looked up and came face to face with Rosan himself. The moment they made eye contact he instantly looked away.
He did not deserve to look at his Master's face.
The youngest on the ship was confused to hear a sigh escape his Master's mouth.
"Demon, I am not Rosan."
Huh? If they weren't Rosan then that meant they were…
"M-Master Mod?" He asked hesitantly, still refusing to look at the redhead's face.
"Yes it's me, Demon. You would have known if you could look at my face for more then a split second. I even made sure my footsteps were heard so you could be alerted beforehand," the now identified Mod's voice suddenly shifted from Rosan's to her own.
"M-my apologies Master Mod, I was not aware it was you… I thought it was Angel," he replied truthfully.
Mod let out a small sigh and focused her blood red eyes on Demon's face. "Next time I take control of Rosan's body I will just make him look like me, I'm sure he won't mind."
The woman paused as she digested his words.
"Have you been ignoring your sister?" the woman possessing Rosan's body asked.
Demon didn't say anything, but he hung his head in guilt, practically confirming her thoughts.
"Look at me," Mod demanded and the purple haired clone reluctantly looked up.
He nearly looked away again at the utterly disapproving glance on her face.
"I'm disappointed in you, Demon," Mod chided and he flinched at her tone. "We are all going through hard times right now, for you to go out of your way to make your sister's life more miserable, is completely unacceptable."
She was absolutely correct. Of course she was. Master Mod normally had a tendency of being right.
He was being a terrible brother. Angel, despite having her own problems, had tried hard to help him and he had completely disregarded her which probably caused the overprotective girl to sink further into her sadness.
Man, what was he doing right now? At the very least he could have acknowledged her.
Scratch being a terrible brother, he was the worst brother.
Mod sighed. "You're more similar to Rosan then you may imagine," she said with a shake of her head. "Do you remember what Meiko said to you, Demon?" Mod suddenly asked.
How could he forget? He had been replaying that day in his head every day nonstop.
"Meiko doesn't blame you. If she saw how you were acting right now, she would be furious. You're ignoring your sister, you're in a practically vegetative state, and you are so full of self loathing that it's nauseating," she said bluntly and the words pierced right through him.
"Everyone is trying their best to adhere to Meiko's last wishes. Everyone except for you. Even Rosan, who has lost everything, is doing a better job then you."
Her words were cruel and truthful. Demon and Rosan were similar when it came to having an unnecessary amount of loathing for themselves. Being kind to Rosan never worked unless you were Meiko, so she would take the exact same approach with his purple haired clone.
"I understand you blame yourself. Everyone does, Demon. But do you want to know the difference?" The woman asked quietly and Demon stared at her with his undivided attention.
"The difference is that everyone is trying their best to live for Meiko. Everyone but you."
The words slammed into Demon like a freight train. Master Mod was right. He had noticed Angel returning to a functional state. Master Rosan had never even stopped and he was the one most affected by it.
Master Mod seemed to be doing the most of all!
What was he doing in comparison?
Mod saw that she was making a breakthrough and decided to add some finishing touches.
"Do you know why I'm the one speaking to you and not Rosan?" Mod suddenly asked and the youngest looked at her with a curious gaze. "He's not equipped to speak to you. Rosan has no will to live, Demon. Would it not be hypocritical for him to try and tell you to do so?"
"Despite that though, he chooses to continue solely to find a purpose. All because Meiko asked him too. If he can continue like this, then you can too," she said firmly.
Hearing Master Mod speak about Rosan really put things into perspective for Demon and it made him feel like a major idiot. Of course Master was going through something worse then he was.
The love of his life had died in his arms!
Yet, he kept pushing forward so as to not disappoint her.
It seemed all Demon was trying to do, was disappoint her.
"I… I understand Master Mod," Demon eventually said. "You're right, I was being stupid and selfish. Thank you for making me realize my errors."
She smiled a sad smile and Demon felt a pang at how tired the woman looked.
"Master Mod, I think you should rest some," Demon suggested softly and the woman possessing her wielders body nodded along.
"Another reason I'm possessing Rosan currently is that he's abusing my powers to stay awake without repercussion. I plan on letting this body rest but I had to speak to you first," she explained tiredly.
The purple haired boy nodded in appreciation. "Thank you again Master Mod I really do appreciate your efforts."
Mod hugged the boy and said "Think nothing of it."
After pulling back, she said "Now I must go to sleep if you don't mind. Make sure you apologize to Angel."
With that, Mod directed Rosan's body to his room to get some much needed sleep.
Demon watched this with a slight smile before pushing himself up.
He would support Mod and Rosan in anyway possible. He never wanted to feel the same helpless feeling that he had felt that day. Meiko had been teaching him about medicine because he had requested it and she had been ecstatic to see someone else on the ship interested in it.
The purple haired clone would learn enough about being a doctor to make her proud.
...Right as soon as he could muster up the courage to enter the room and not collapse. As he was now, he would get nothing done and so, he would just remain in the library. But soon, he'd push himself to enter her work quarters.
For now, he needed to go find his twin and apologize to her.
She deserved it.
Mod was exhausted and she didn't mean physically.
She was currently hugging Rosan's sleeping body to herself as she allowed herself a minute to relax. He would not be waking up anytime soon.
The woman let loose a quiet sob.
There was a reason she had spoken to Demon. One was because he needed to snap out of his fun and the other was that she was reaching her limit.
Between making sure nothing happened to Rosan and balancing her very fragile emotions, the woman was finding it hard pressed to handle anything more.
She was so glad Rosan had chosen to speak to Angel on his own accord. The boy's sharp hearing had heard his clone crying to herself and he took it upon himself to help her.
Even like this, Rosan always found the right things to say.
But Mod hated seeing Rosan like this. She despised seeing the cheerful boy turn into a shadow of what he used to be.
What could she do about it though? The boy was right, there was currently no way to get his emotions back without it being disastrous for everyone in the area.
Loathe as she was to admit it, this was for the best. A Rosan with emotions, in his current state would lead to the deaths of many.
Including himself.
Mod hated it so much but it was for the best. She would not lose Rosan.
But, the Devil Fruit had been handling so much, that she wasn't able to properly deal with her own emotions.
Meiko was important to all of them, Mod and Rosan especially, and her value lay much more in what she could do. The teen was the emotional glue to all of them and she understood Rosan better then anyone.
Not even Mod could deal with Rosan the way Meiko did and she had relentlessly teased them both about that small fact.
It made sense though, they were soulmates.
Mod never thought anyone's death besides Rosan would have put her in such a state but here she was, proven so utterly wrong. She loved Meiko as much as she loved Rosan and the woman took it as hard as the boy did.
But she had to be strong. For Meiko. For everyone. Without her, who knows how bad things could possibly get? Rosan had been awake for 3 whole days nonstop and he would have gone even longer if she hadn't put her foot down and demanded he take a break and sleep.
The boy had obediently listened to her. Not a single complaint had escaped his mouth as he immediately surrendered to her requests. He was so compliant now, that it was unnerving to her.
The purple haired woman let out another sob.
I-It was so hard. Everything was so much more difficult now and she was trying her best but, it was overwhelming her. It was even worse that the woman had her own things to deal with.
Now that she was given a little free time, all she could do was cry and let her emotions catch up to her.
"Mod-chan," a voice spoke up beneath her making her freeze. Her sobs instantly stopped and she looked down at the dual eyes of Rosan in her lap.
"R-Rosan? How are you a-awake?" She tried to mask the fact that she was crying but she knew it was for naught.
"I knew you would have tried to do something like this and I didn't want you to deal with it alone," he told her softly and her eyes narrowed in guilt. The woman bit her lip at getting caught but Rosan didn't look angry with her.
Of course he didn't.
"Please use me as you see fit," he said and the child extended his arms for her.
Mod felt tears well into her eyes and the emotional baggage became too much for her. It was like a dam burst and with a sharp wail of distress, the woman crashed into Rosan.
"I'm sorry Mod-chan, for making you feel as if you didn't even have enough time to cry. I've been failing you as a partner and that is unacceptable," his empty voice spoke.
"You don't have to say anything right now, please just relieve yourself. That is all that matters at the moment."
Mod did just that and so she cried and cried into her smaller partner. It was euphoric to let all of it loose and Rosan was just there for her. He gently rubbed her back as she sobbed into his smaller frame.
No matter how he was, no matter what happened to him, he would always be there for Mod-chan. She was his rock and so, he would be hers.
Mod cried until she fell asleep.
Rosan held her all the while.
Rosan stared at Meiko. In his hands, was a photo that she had demanded they take together without even giving him a chance to say no.
Meiko and Rosan were cheek to cheek and though the redhead had pretended to be annoyed, the fond smile on his face, belay how he truly felt.
He had been visiting this place every day just to stare at her resting body.
"Meiko, ever since I lost you, I have found that I don't feel anything at all," he began softly.
"Modification has deemed it necessary to completely suppress my emotions and maybe that's for the best. I have no doubt that if they were active, a lot of people would currently be dead."
Rosan took a step closer and eventually he was sitting right next to her.
"Truthfully, my desire to live has completely vanished. A part of me went with you but yet, I'm still here, alive and breathing."
It should have been him. Not her. Anyone but her. Yet, here he was...
Alive.
And here she was...
Dead.
Rosan idly looked at the ceiling. "You have to live for the both of us Rosy, until you can find a new meaning to life," the redhead repeated.
"Those words are the only thing driving me. For you Mei, I'll find a new meaning. I will try my best to find a reason worth living so that you won't be disappointed in me. That was your final wish for me and I will honor it. Until then, I won't allow myself to die if I can help it."
Rosan got up in preparation to leave. He stared in contemplation at the photo in his hands.
He would need to save this on his person, as a memento. So that even if he were to suffer memory loss, Meiko would be imprinted firmly on his mind.
"A new reason to live…" Rosan said to himself as he looked at his soulmate with his permanently dead gaze. After a moment he vanished from sight, but not before leaving some parting words.
"How unlikely."
Character Sheet: Rosan
Full Name: Portgas D. Rosan
Age: 12
Summary: Found and raised by Portgas D. Rouge as a newborn, Rosan is a young boy devoid of any emotion and lacking a will to live. Not much is known about his origins but, he has the D initial in his name. Previously, his goal was to become the strongest in the world but due to the death of his lover, Suzuki Meiko, all of his drive has vanished. At 12 years old, his only current goal is to fulfill the wish of his deceased love and find a new reason to live.
Devil Fruit: Mod Mod no Mi
Type: Paramecia
Description: Turns Rosan into a computer man. With this Devil Fruit, Rosan is allowed to modify whatever he sees fit. This fruit is currently the reason Rosan is devoid of emotion, due to the boy not being able to handle the overload. It patiently waits for the day that someone can save Rosan.
Appearance: Tan, bronze skin. Outfit changes often but normally he is seen wearing a combination of black and red, black and purple, or red and purple.
Accessories: Ruby red earrings in his ears, Amethyst ring on his left hands ring finger, white pendant that stops right at his chest with a shrunken picture of him and his mother.
Height: 5'2 (157cm)
Hair: Spiky long red hair that's soft to touch. Keeps it in a messy bun that leaves strands hanging and exposes his earrings. Reaches just above his back when he lets it fall freely.
Eyes: His right eye is a royal purple and his left one is a blood red. Both have lost the glow in them and subsequently gives Rosan a rather lifeless appearance.
Likes: N/A
Dislikes: N/A
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