Chương 21: Chapter 13: Maro
"It seems…" Reaper began, glancing dispassionately at his shattered scythe "...that I am in need of a new weapon."
He could restore it using Modification but, the weapon had failed him again. This was not the first time it had broken due to circumstances from the battles that the Angel of Death took. It was proving to be a liability in battle now, so the 12 year old no longer had any use for it.
A weapon that couldn't do its job properly, was a weapon better off destroyed.
Well, no matter. It was about time he fully invested himself into making the item he had long ago been interested in crafting.
The Philosopher's Stone.
It was said to be capable of turning metals into gold or silver. It was also known as the elixir of life, due to being able to rejuvenate a person and granting immortality.
No doubt, it would have been one of the most coveted items in existence. Perhaps it would even be more valuable then a Devil Fruits...
Had it existed.
Unfortunately, the alchemical stone did not exist. If it did, the entire balance of the world would have undoubtedly shifted. What the stone was capable of, would cause untold amounts of disaster for whoever had their hands on it.
If the stone existed, who knows what the state of the world would be like? Maybe it was for the best that such a dangerous item was only known as a myth.
Reaper did not care about what was best for everyone. He needed a new weapon and he had long ago decided it would be made from the Philosopher's stone.
Balance be damned, none of that mattered to the Shinigami.
With Modification, it was possible that Reaper could actually create the Philosopher's stone. It's unlikely that it would be an exact replica, but he didn't really care about making a carbon copy. As long as he could create it, it was an automatic success.
Immortality was not something he desired. Staying alive forever did not appeal to him like it may have to other people.
He did not even want the Philosopher's stone for himself. Maybe after he made one for his future weapon, he could make one for his clothing, himself, etc. The possibilities were endless.
Reaper just didn't want it to have immortality properties when applied to himself. Being immortal in a world like this sounded like hell, especially without his lover.
The rejuvenation aspect sounded good for him though. Recovering quickly from injuries, with his already fast regeneration, would be helpful.
He would have definitely made one for Meiko but that wasn't possible anymore.
Reaper stared at his discarded scythe dispassionately before glancing at the broken body of his latest opponent.
He was an unassuming man named Haru but he had a particularly useful Devil Fruit. The Sabi Sabi no mi was the reason that his scythe was currently in an unusable condition at the moment. The man had grabbed it and rusted the blade into nothing.
The battle had not been difficult whatsoever but, learning that the man was immune to his weapon, had forced him to adapt.
His limbs were more then enough and the result was the broken body before him. Seems Haru thought Reaper was a one trick pony and that his sudden immunity to his scythe would have given him the edge. It had made him confident.
How costly.
"Do you have any final wish, Haru?" Reaper suddenly asked his defeated opponent. After Meiko's death, he had taken to asking his opponents if they had any final wishes.
Haru chose to spit a glob near his foot as his answer.
Reaper watched it sail pathetically through the air and land next to him. He looked at the spot for a moment before regarding the man again.
"I suppose not," he commented idly. That was not a surprise, no one had yet to actually have a final wish. Maybe they thought he was lying?
He saw no need to lie, especially to a person who was dying.
With that, Reaper made his way over to the near dead man. He had systematically broken every bone in his body but the job was not done.
It was never done.
Rosan silently reviewed the notes (though he didn't need to due to his near photographic memory) he had made for himself on the White Rose.
He was currently dressed in a loose, long sleeved, silk white shirt that was blank. Some comfortable, equally loose, black sweatpants and a lack of footwear made up his bottom half.
The few strands of his hair, left from his bun, moved in time with the breeze and his ruby red earrings followed suit. His amethyst ring gleamed on his ring finger due to the sunlight as he turned a page and his white pendant remained hidden beneath his shirt.
The user of the Mod Mod no mi was currently reading up on everything he needed to know about the Philosopher's stone and checking off what he could and couldn't do at the moment.
The Philosopher's stone, is said to be created by the alchemical method known as The Magnum Opus. There were various instructions of how to create the mythical stone but, seeing as one didn't exist yet, Rosan was hard pressed to believe any of them actually worked.
Still, he had taken away a few key things that he was sure would be useful.
Alchemy was universally agreed upon to be needed. This is why the stone could never be made because alchemy didn't actually exist.
That's where Modification came in. Alchemy was based on the transformation of matter. It's most used attempts were to turn base metals into gold but, it could be used for other things such as transforming a rock into a bug or making a set of clones from nothing but handcuffs.
Modification was practically alchemy. They were both nothing but transmutation. No, Modification was much better then alchemy. Rosan was confident he could easily modify base metals into gold. If that was the ultimate goal of Alchemy, then Modification had long since surpassed it already.
After all, Rosan could transform into a dragon.
"With Modification, the first hurdle, that has stopped everyone else, has already been completed," Mod spoke and Rosan nodded.
"Yes, this was the most difficult step and we were able to easily surpass it. Everything else should be relatively simple, if not annoying to achieve," Rosan thought to his long time partner.
Mod was proud that her ability was proving to be such a boon to Rosan's goals. Once the redhead had realized that alchemy was just a watered down version of her ability, he had made sure she understood how amazing Modification was.
She was still left flushing at his praise. Despite everything, some things never changed.
Properly filtering everything that was useful to him from the things that were useless, Rosan got up to do what he needed to do. He quickly transformed into Reaper and let his hoodie down for once. He contemplated taking his mask but decided it wasn't necessary.
He had some things he needed to do.
"Aiko. Akemi," A young voice called, causing the two of them to jump in fright.
"I swear to all that is —," Aiko cut herself off with a grumble before she started swearing in earnest.
"Reaper? What's the occasion?" Akemi asked in her sisters stead.
The savior of their island had their hood down, showing off his youthful boyish features and that ever present blank expression.
Aiko and Akemi had to admit, despite the dead expression he wore, Reaper was pretty adorable. He especially had some of the most gorgeous dual eyes they had ever seen.
"Sorry to interrupt," Rosan said softly as he nodded at the two. They finally noticed that he had on a very familiar set of ruby red earrings and realization began to dawn on their face as they recalled the very dead expression on his face.
Oh no.
Akemi held her hands to her mouth as her brown eyes widened in horror. Aiko couldn't blame her because she was sure that she was doing the exact same thing.
"R-Reaper?" Akemi spoke up, prompting the boy to look at her.
"Call me Rosan," he told her bluntly and she flushed at his directness.
"R-right, s-sorry," The gray haired younger sister said, before gathering her wits and preparing to ask her question. "I-is Meiko —,"
"Yes, she is," Rosan suddenly said, causing both of them to back up in surprise.
Did he know what they were going to ask?!
"I knew what you were going to ask," the redhead confirmed and he looked completely unfazed. "I didn't want to hear the question aloud so I answered it beforehand."
The sisters looked worried. It was obvious Rosan cared immensely for the blond haired girl and to hear the news that she was…dead, explained why the boy himself looked so vacant. This was probably his way of coping with the information.
If only they knew.
"I-I'm so sorry…" Akemi said with tears brimming in her eyes as the revelation hit her.
Aiko couldn't say anything. She felt her throat lock up every time she attempted.
Reaper had frequently brought the girl over. Meiko was such a sweet and kind girl and Aiko had loved pointing out just how different, yet compatible the two were. It normally ended with the gray haired woman stewing in anger though because of the Shinigami's quick wit.
Akemi had been slightly jealous at how easily someone could get her savior's attention, but it was impossible to be angry with the compassionate blonde. The two got along very well and she was happy to see a side of Reaper only Meiko could bring out.
And now, just like that, the girl was gone.
"Kami, Rosan," Aiko eventually choked out with tears brimming her eyes. To see the headstrong girl so shaken up, was a sight to see but the news was just too much for even the hardened ruler of Fregate. "I… I can't even begin to imagine — I'm sorry."
"There is no need to apologize."
The lack of emotion in his voice was understandable to the sisters now. Those two were deeply in love with each other. Reaper had been dangerously protective of her as well to the point where Meiko had told them people couldn't even look at her the wrong way.
"That is not why I am here today," he said quietly and they both straightened up.
"R-Right," Aiko said as she tried to focus on what the boy could have wanted. The older sister wiped her eyes and asked the redhead "What did you need?"
"I'm in need of some rare stones of high quality," Rosan said getting straight to the point. "I could go looking for them myself but, seeing as Fregate is a premier trade route in the North Blue, I believe it would be faster and easier if you were to get them for me."
Aiko nodded at that. It was a simple enough request and with Akemi helping her, finding high quality stones would be easy. Rea — Rosan hardly ever asked for anything and the boy did plenty for her. She would do her best to get what he was looking for.
"Sure, that won't be too hard. Just give me a list of what you need and we'll start looking for them right away," Aiko told him confidently.
Rosan's face formed a smile and he managed to make it look a lot more genuine then last time.
"Improvement," Akemi said as she lightly clapped for the redhead.
"Thank you, I took your advice and implemented it," Rosan said as he pulled a paper out of his cloak. Without even looking at it, he handed it over to Aiko who grabbed it out of his small hands.
Looking at the list, she raised a brow at what it had.
"What exactly do you need all these for?" Aiko asked offhandedly, not expecting him to answer her. Reaper was always stingy with information.
"I'm trying to make something that doesn't exist," the boy said, causing her gaze to snap up in surprise.
What? He was sharing information?!
Dear Kami.
"W-Well these shouldn't be too difficult to get, it may take some time but I'm confident we can get what you're looking for," Aiko said a bit dumbly, too surprised to ask for details.
"You can count on me Rosan-kun! I'm much better at these type of things then Aiko-nee," Akemi beamed at the boy, who nodded to them both.
"It will be expensive, I will supply you with the money so that you may —," Rosan began before Aiko cut him off.
"You don't need to pay, I've got this." His gaze almost seemed questioning and so, Aiko continued. "Seriously? After everything you've done for us Rosan, this is the least of my worries. You don't gotta worry about paying, we'll handle this," Aiko said and by the tone of her voice, she wasn't going to take no for an answer.
"If you insist… Thank you," Rosan said, attempting another smile. "When you have managed to get them all…," the 12 year old began as he pulled out a Den Den Mushi and handed it over to them, "...just call me with that," he finished before preparing to leave.
"Alright, will do," Aiko responded.
"If that's all, I'll be going now," Rosan said.
"Wait!" Akemi called, making the child pause. "…Rosan are you okay?" she asked worriedly. He had been like this for so long now and he showed no sign of changing. If this was his way of coping then it was getting increasingly worrying.
Rosan simply stared at her, expression not shifting, and the younger sister felt herself wringing her hands. His gaze was piercing and his mesmerizing eyes locked her into place.
Finally, after what seemed like an eternity, Rosan opened his mouth and said:
"I have not been okay for a long time."
And that was that. The boy vanished without another word.
The two sisters looked at the spot he had been at with clear concern.
"I hope he gets okay soon…" Akemi said with tears welling up in her eyes and Aiko instinctively walked up to hug her.
"Me too Akemi. Me too."
With Aiko and Akemi handling one part of his tedious job, Rosan immediately set out to do the next step of his mission.
"Angel, I'm going out," Rosan told his female clone, who was busy with making sure the ship was headed in the right direction.
She didn't even look up as she asked "What are you off to do?"
"Learning how to blacksmith so I can manipulate heat properly," was all he said, making her pause what she was doing.
"Can I come with you?" She suddenly asked looking up at Rosan who simply tilted his head. "Since you're only learning it to manipulate heat correctly, maybe I can handle the weapons on the ship?" The redhead girl asked hopefully, ignoring the fact that they hardly had weapons.
"Crafting is something I really enjoy and I've already been learning how to be a better shipwright, so I might as well add being a blacksmith to my repertoire as well," she finished, smiling down at her master.
They didn't have many weapons on the ship but Rosan wouldn't mention that. If she wanted to spend time with him, she could have just said it.
"Okay you may come with me," Rosan complied easily enough. "If that's the case, we may as well take the ship then"
Angel nodded excitedly at him. "Demon's been busy learning how to be a doctor so I don't think he'd be very good at manning the ship alone!"
The White Rose was largely self sufficient due to Rosan's non stop tampering and Angel joining him but it still required care.
Without warning, Angel rushed over to where Demon was located, ponytail bobbing, to tell him the new plans. Rosan followed behind her at a much more controlled pace.
By the time he arrived to the ships library, it looked as if Angel had already told Demon everything. Both noticed him the moment he showed up and Angel beamed while Demon looked a bit withdrawn.
"Angel. Demon," Rosan nodded. "I trust Angel has caught you up on what is happening?" he asked the purple haired clone.
"Y-yes —," Demon cleared his throat a bit. "Yes Master, she has informed me," he confirmed and his voice scratched up a bit.
Rosan nodded. "I hope you don't mind seeing me more often. I've been trying to give you space since you can't function properly in my presence, but you will have to put up with it for the time being," Rosan told his clone, who could only blush in embarrassment.
"I-I'm sorry i-it's just your presence is a bit overwhelming for me," Demon admitted in shame.
The redhead stared at his clone for a while, head tilted slightly with his ever present blankness. It was impossible to tell what he was thinking and soon Demon was fidgeting in his seat.
"There is no need to blame yourself for what happened," was all Rosan said before he turned around and walked away from the two.
Demon's eyes widened as he heard that.
The words had been simple and to the point yet, he felt as if a giant weight had been lifted off of his shoulder.
Despite his new resolve, Demon and Rosan had not spoken to each other since Mod had possessed him. It was not his Master's fault either. The purple haired clone had been purposely avoiding him and so, Rosan gave all orders to Angel.
He just couldn't face the one who created him. Even just looking at him filled him with such a large amount of shame that it was repulsive. Angel had tried to talk to him about it but it was one of the few things that he just couldn't listen to his sister about.
To hear it from his Master's mouth though, not Master Mod, but Rosan, it felt so different.
Rosan was the one most affected by this after all. If he told Demon not to blame himself, then he'd be nothing but pathetic if he continued to do so.
Demon looked at his Master's retreating back with an almost reverent gaze. "Master!" He called and the twelve year old paused.
Rosan turned his head around to look at him and Demon found that it was so much easier to look at his creator now.
"T-thank you! I didn't realize how much I needed to hear that," Demon said, bowing as deeply as possible.
"Think nothing of it," Rosan said softly. "Remember what I said all those years ago. Too much fear is debilitating. If I wanted to kill you, you'd have been dead a long time ago so ease your worries," he finished before resuming his walk.
Demon watched his Master leave with a new appreciation.
His Master was different, that much was true but even despite his lack of emotions, there were still core parts of him that made him Rosan.
Angel watched this exchange with a relieved smile on her face. Her younger twin had been trying hard to avoid Master and Rosan saw no point in confronting him about it so he let him be.
She was hoping Rosan would have something to say after taking a look at Demon and she was not disappointed.
Her Master really had a way with words!
"See? You really gotta stop being so dumb Demon," Angel sniffed in a superior manner at her younger brother.
Demon looked as if he wanted to protest, but he held his head and said "Yeah you're right sis… I gotta listen to you more often, huh?"
"Of course you do," the redhead said and she tossed her ponytail haughtily.
Honestly, did she have to do everything around here?
No matter what, hanging out with Rosan was always a treat.
Angel naturally loved spending time with her Master. The two were pretty similar to each other (much more similar than her and Demon) and it was never boring watching their personalities clash.
It was a bit impossible now to have any personalities clashing but that was fine with Angel! As long as she got to spend time with her fellow redhead, she was happy as can be.
Rosan staying on the ship for prolonged amounts of time always made things much more interesting. Simple little things changed with his presence.
For example, what to do when a Sea King wanted to get friendly with the White Rose.
"RAOGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"
Angel watched in awe as the massive dragon roared in victory.
The poor creature didn't stand a chance. It roared in agony as the fire connected and Angel almost winced in sympathy as it was charred instantly.
Normally, when encountering a Sea King, Angel, Demon and Meiko came to a general consensus that it was just best to flee from it. Due to how advanced the White Rose was, it was not difficult whatsoever.
Clearly, Rosan did not share that opinion. The very dead beast was a testament to that.
It hadn't even been a fight.
Rosan had seen the Sea King and told them to pull back from it. Angel had already been preparing to flee so that order was easy to follow.
What she had not been expecting, was for Rosan to leap off the retreating ship and for his dragon to take his spot.
The gigantic dragon was at least 30 meters and Angel looked on in disbelief at the sight of the magnificent creature.
Could Rosan control the size of it?! That seemed to be the case. He was not nearly that large whenever they traveled on his back.
The obsidian dragon flapped its wings and launched itself at terrifying speeds towards the serpentine sea monster.
The Sea King tried to attack but Rosan caught it's skull in between two of his claws and he pulled. She felt her jaw slacken as the dragon easily removed the aquatic serpent from its watery depth and flew higher and higher.
And higher and higher. He effortlessly carried it into the clouds and finally, he stopped.
Rosan dropped the massive Sea King and, as it fell back towards the water, Angel's eyes bugged as an absolutely massive flame connected with it in midair.
The Sea King, now consumed in the draconic fire, couldn't even roar as momentum carried it faster and faster into the deep blue sea.
The resulting splash carried just as much steam as water.
The obsidian Dragon was nowhere to be seen, so that meant Rosan had reverted back into a human and he would be here soon to greet them.
Right on cue, a figure gently (as gentle as dragon wings could be) flapped it's draconic wings as it descended onto the White Rose. Rosan looked none the worse for wear and his blank expression could be confused for boredom.
"Anyone who attacks us, will die," Rosan replied blandly and his tone left no room for doubt. He stated it like he was listing a fact.
Master was scary.
Angel loved it!
His raw might, the power he exhibited, the ease at which it was done. Her Master was incredible!
She idly noticed that she was grinning ear to ear and Rosan pointed it out.
"It's just, I really love watching you fight Master!" She gushed. "So strong! So versatile! You're on your way to becoming a force of nature and I'm loving it!"
"Thank you Angel, your praise is very much welcomed," Rosan nodded his head in thanks and she beamed down at him before pulling him into a bone crushing hug.
He instinctively returned it and the middle triplet cooed.
Little by little, step by step, she would get her old Master back.
As they broke the hug, Rosan said, "While I was up there, I saw our destination in the distance. We should be close to it in an hour or so. I will modify the ship temporarily and transform it into a submarine while the two of us dock."
Angel nodded in excitement before curiosity overtook her. "Master, how will you get the blacksmith to teach us? You're quite popular as Reaper and well not in the good way."
"I'm not asking," was his response. At her questioning glance Rosan decided to elaborate.
"I have a technique for this. After I use it, he will be teaching us."
Rosan told his fellow redhead about the technique and Angel felt a bead of sweat form on her head at what he was telling her.
Master was terrifying.
Nuvema was a standard island in the West Blue with nothing in particular that stood out. There were no pirates subjugating it, no corrupt marines, nothing dangerous.
Except for him.
"It's startling how often we run into one or the other," Mod said with a tinge of amusement.
"It's quite startling the amount of times it has happened, do Marines just join to flex their power instead of doing their job?" Rosan asked, agreeing completely with her.
"How often do you two run into an island like that?" Angel curiously asked. The two talked as if this island wasn't apart of the norm!
"Too often," Mod sighed. "We don't typically care to help them but, sometimes they get an urge to attack us, perhaps out of intimidation, and that never turns out well for them," she told the redheaded clone.
Angel snorted at that. It was funny to know that if you weren't on Master's radar, all you had to do was leave him alone and he wouldn't bother you.
Humans were stupid like that.
At Angel's behest, Rosan had decided to not dress as Reaper this time. When his female clone asked to dress him up, Rosan had given her the go ahead. She just needed to be mindful to hide his key features.
Angel was excited! She had never dressed up Master before! Rosan was quite stylish (something he reluctantly admitted Sachie helped him with) and so the boy scarcely needed help.
While he was like this though, the boy didn't care enough to try with his clothing. He opted to let Master Mod dress him out of disguise, else he'd just wear the same outfit and simply wash it.
Her reasoning for dressing the boy like she did was that they would be in a very hot area.
She blushed as Rosan blandly told her that he could regulate his own temperature. The boy didn't argue with her decision though and he just let it happen.
The 12 year old in question had on a white cardigan on, which reached just a bit past his waist, that was left open to show the black shirt underneath along with his white pendant. He wore knee length baggy pants that tightened at the cuffs and predominantly white sneakers with black on them that were comfortable to wear but not very practical for combat.
To finish off his outfit, he had on a beanie that did a good job at completely covering his hair (though he had to change its style a bit) and a set of shades that completely covered his heterochromatic eyes.
His earrings and ring remained.
Angel thought he was absolutely adorable.
Mod had to agree.
Angel herself, opted to wear a lot of white of course.
She was dressed in a form fitting short sleeved shirt that flared at the ends and the purple eyed clone opted to wear leggings that were black with white streaks. She had on shoes similarly to Rosan that were all white instead.
The girl had initially refused to put a hat on. It would ruin her outfit! She didn't want one but Rosan simply stared at her. She had immediately grumbled in defeat and grabbed a sunhat. Handing it to Rosan, she asked him to turn it white, which he easily did.
She had taken her, at the moment, obnoxiously long hair and tied it into a bun.
"How do I look?" Angel asked Rosan as she did a confident spin.
"I thought you wanted us to avoid attention," Rosan said, much to the confusion of his redheaded clone.
"Huh?" Angel said, stopping to look at her Master. He was looking her up and down and she nervously wondered if she did something wrong.
It had to have been the stupid hat.
"You look good," Rosan said making her instantly blush. "You are going to attract attention looking like that and we are not here to deal with predators."
Angel gaped at his words before flushing and turning to face away from him.
Her Master's words always carried more impact; hearing his praise, was one of the few things that could break through her confident demeanor.
"Stupid Master and his stupid nice praise," she grumbled before walking away, red-faced from her heterochromatic creator. He was too good at making her elated for his own good.
"…?" Rosan tilted his head slightly, but he moved to follow after his clone.
Perhaps he had said something wrong?
"Don't worry Rosan, you didn't say anything wrong," Mod reassured the boy and he nodded his head at that.
It was a girl thing then.
"That's not what I — never mind," Mod said as she immediately gave up. She could explain it sometime in the mindscape but for now, the purple haired woman was fine letting Rosan reach his own conclusions. It wasn't a big deal anyways, Angel just valued his words more than other people.
"…?" Rosan tilted his head again.
How confusing.
Rosan and Angel were currently walking side by side with each other as they headed to their destination. It was dark out now and the two walked at a leisurely pace.
They were in no rush to reach their destination so they took in the sights.
The two had spent the day doing whatever Angel wanted to do while Rosan summoned a bug to track his target.
The taller redhead had taken the offer with glee and had dragged the boy everywhere.
They went shopping for clothes, got supplies for the ship, went shopping for more clothes (this time for Rosan!), and ate at a pretty nice restaurant!
She noticed Rosan watching the chefs the entire time they cooked and was about to question it until she remembered that Meiko had mostly done the cooking on the ship with Rosan helping. With her gone...Rosan did all the cooking now.
Angel and Demon did not require food so the 12 year old didn't want them learning a skill that was only useful for him.
"I need to buy a recipe book," Rosan suddenly said and her eyes gleamed in excitement. It was the first location they were going to that Master himself had suggested!
They had quickly eaten their food (Angel didn't need to eat but it was still nice to do so!) and promptly set off to go buy the book.
True to Rosan's words, they had attracted the attention of quite a bit of people. Angel flushed in embarrassment as she steadfastly ignored Rosan's gaze.
Luckily for them, none had tried to approach the two yet. They would certainly have met their end in some way if they did.
It must have been Master's aura saving them.
"Hey there pretty lady!" A voice said, cutting her musing off and she almost groaned.
Guess it was her fault for tempting fate.
"Not interested," Angel said immediately, not even turning around to face the approaching man. Rosan hadn't even paused in his gait and she had to admire how completely unbothered he was.
He was probably used to this. Reaper had some… fanatical fans and Meiko was seriously attractive as well. How everyone but the girl seemed to notice, Angel would never know.
She laughed softly to herself. That was just Meiko's charm she supposed. Humble until the end.
Since Master had not stopped, Angel saw no reason to and kept pace with the boy.
She thought that was that, until an arm wormed its way over her shoulder causing the redheaded clone to go stiff.
"Hey babe, you don't gotta be so cold," A voice leered into her ear and Angel recoiled in disgust.
Who did this worm think he was to put his hands on her? He would dare put his hands on Angel?!
How dare he.
Nobody was allowed to just touch her. Only Demon, Master Mod, Meiko and Master were exempt from that.
For this insect to put his hands on her body… Angel stepped out of his grasp and turned to face him. She took the time to stamp her disgust and rage and instead looked at the target of her ire.
Rosan had stopped moving.
The best way to describe this man was… average. He had shaggy brown hair, an unkempt beard, was of average height, and a slightly muscular build. He could be seen as attractive in the eyes of people.
Angel was not one of them. This man may as well have been the ugliest person on the planet because at the moment that's all she could regard him as.
"For one," Angel said in a deceptively calm voice. "I'm only 12 years old so you should go take your flirting to someone else who'd be more appreciative of it."
"There's no way you expect me to believe that," the man fired back as he flashed her, what he thought was, a charming grin.
Angel was not charmed.
"How about you come with me and we can discuss your real age over a drink or two?" he asked as he stepped closer to her.
Angel was about to throw caution to the wind and just kill this man. Her fist clenched and she decided she'd just break his neck and call it a day.
"Back away from her, she belongs to me," A quiet voice said, making them both pause.
Angel flushed in happiness at seeing her Master defend her and instantly calmed down. He would handle this then.
Good, she didn't want to get her hands dirty.
"Me and your mom are talking adult stuff kid, so how about you got get yourself a glass of milk and let us talk," he said condescendingly, looking down at Rosan and using his hands to shoo him off.
"Kill him."
That was Master Mod and she did not sound happy.
"Okay," Rosan thought and that was that.
"You two are so scary," Angel said.
"Thank you/Thank you," they said simultaneously and she sweatdropped at the fact that they perceived it as a compliment.
"She's younger then me," Rosan told the man calmly and the only adult there had the audacity to snort.
"You expect me to believe that? Yeah right kiddo, I'm not gonna ask nicely again so let the adults do the talking," he said no longer smiling.
Rosan blankly stared at the man. "No, she's mine."
"So possessive," Angel tried to sound disapproving but she was smiling.
"It's the truth. All of you are mine. Anyone who tries to interfere with that, will pay," Rosan said bluntly.
"Alright, now you're starting to annoy me kid," the brown haired man said, no longer smiling. "Save your kid the trouble before I deal with him, babe."
That was directed towards her. She looked at him like he were infected but he never seemed to notice.
Honestly, how far up his own ass was he? They had both told him her age and she very clearly wasn't interested but he just wasn't getting the message.
Whatever, she was getting tired of this.
"Did Meiko have to go through this? Some people are so sick," Angel frowned at the thought. It explained why Rosan was so protective of her.
"Alright," Angel said aloud, giving everyone pause. "I'm sorry for him. How about we talk this out, in that alley over there, where no one can see us," she told the man and if he had half a brain he would have taken it for the threat it was.
He did not.
His eyes widened in surprise and a lecherous grin made its way onto his face. He coughed a bit before saying "Yea… "talk" let's do that!"
Pig.
"Have fun master," Angel said as she directed him into the dark alleyway.
"Okay," Rosan said obediently as his eyes began glowing behind the shade.
"Disgusting creature," Mod said in disdain and Angel nodded in agreement.
The man never noticed, far too lost in his own degenerate thoughts, until it was too late.
The screams went unheard.
"Is this the place?" Angel asked, curiously inspecting the building. It was a large, 2 story house that was a light brown in color and a slight amount of vegetation surrounding it.
Nothing too jaw dropping. This building was quite unassuming.
Perfect.
"Yes, this is where our target is." Rosan began walking to the back of the large house and Angel followed after him.
After a moment, they stopped and Rosan rested his palm against the wall. His eyes began glowing in the night and he quickly modified a hole into said wall.
As they walked through the hole, her Master uttered "Scan" and after a moment, he pointed upstairs. She nodded in confirmation.
Their target was upstairs then.
"Follow," Rosan commanded and she gasped in surprise. She had been expecting him to just tell her to wait.
"You wanted to come with me," Rosan pointed out and she blushed in embarrassment at being figured out so easily. "Don't be too loud."
With that, they began moving. Angel marveled at just how quietly and quickly Rosan maneuvered around the house. The 12 year old did not make a sound as he quickly made his way over to his target.
Angel was not nearly as skilled as him. She had to move much slower and she was far less confident in her steps. By the time she made it upstairs, Rosan had already made it to the room.
He patiently waited for her to arrive and when she did, he opened his eyes.
"Have you done this before?" Angel asked, looking particularly vexed at how much she struggled compared to him.
Rosan nodded in confirmation. "Yes, the first time I did it was to convince a doctor to help Robin when she was sick. The other times were much less gentle."
She didn't even want to know.
Rosan removed the lock from the door and pushed it open without a noise and Angel once again was impressed at just how efficient he was.
Master took absolutely no chances.
Their target was a tall tanned man with a bald head. He was quite muscular with a full beard and no mustache. He looked to be about 40 years old and he was sound asleep.
This was their target. He was a renowned blacksmith who was notably skilled in what he did. Skilled enough to get Rosan's attention.
How Rosan had heard of him? Angel didn't know but her Master had probably been on this island before as Reaper.
Speaking of Rosan, the boy wasted absolutely no time in closing the distance between them. The redhead was like a ghost and he, without hesitation, placed his hand on the man's head.
Angel watched with bated breath at what he was about to do.
Rosan, eyes glowing brightly, said aloud "Modification: Overhaul."
Nothing happened outwardly but that wasn't the point of the technique. No, Overhaul was much more dangerous.
After using Hijack on Izumi, Rosan had wanted to test the technique more and explore options. That's where he decided to make Overhaul.
Whereas Hijack was Rosan taking someone's body over. With Overhaul he was modifying a person's actual mind. They were complete opposites to each other but Rosan preferred Overhaul.
Hijack allowed him to take a person's body over but if they had a strong enough will, they could forcefully eject the boy.
Unless you knew of Overhaul beforehand, which Rosan would make sure was not happening, it was not possible to know that your mind had been rewired. The new thoughts invading your mind would seem natural as long as the redhead didn't make them too egregious.
If you were sufficiently guarded, it would resist the effects of the technique. If you were weak minded however, then even if you knew Rosan was planning on doing it you would find that, like Izumi, there was nothing you could do about it.
Even if this blacksmith were awake, he would not be able to resist the technique. Sleeping just made it far easier on the boy.
When Angel had heard of the technique, she had gaped at how powerful it was. She had not known her Master was capable of modifying even a person's mind but, then again, he had managed to give both her and Demon an entire personality.
Why was this any different?
It was still utterly terrifying.
After 30 minutes, Rosan was done and he stepped back. The sleeping man had looked slightly uncomfortable but not once did he look like he was about to wake up.
"Are we done?" She asked her Master who looked over at her. She noticed that his eyes were no longer glowing so he had to have been.
"Yes."
"What did you do exactly?" The purple eyed girl asked.
"Hideyoshi will now think that the two of us are his apprentices and as such, he will teach us everything he knows about his craft," Rosan explained to her and she marveled at that.
That was incredible! It was incredibly immoral but neither of them cared about that.
The two departed and made their way back to the White Rose in order to wait for the next day where they would learn what they wanted in earnest. Rosan made sure to give the door a lock again and closed the wall he created so as to not cause suspicion.
"That was fun Master!" Angel gushed in happiness. It was not often that she spent one on one time with her beloved creator.
If he didn't mind she'd like to do it more often.
"I do not mind," Rosan informed her and the female copy of him beamed. "Now, let's go to the ship. I would like to read the contents of the recipe book I bought today."
Rosan grabbed Angel, who yelped at the sudden touch, and activated Save Point.
The two vanished without a trace.
"Rogue! Red! You guys are here bright and early, I like that!" A booming voice greeted Rosan and Angel.
"You are Red," Rosan told Angel after she shot him a confused glance. The girl nodded as she heard that.
"Hideyoshi," Rosan greeted in that ever present blankness. "My sister and I are in your care today," The 12 year old said with a nod of his head.
Angel couldn't hide the smile as Rosan called her his sister. "Don't disappoint us," the clone said, looking the man up and down with a sneer.
What? If they weren't the people she loved, then obviously she didn't like them.
"As rude as ever Red!" Hideyoshi didn't even look remotely bothered by her attitude and he just laughed boisterously.
Angel raised a brow at that. "Master did you —"
"Yes. I am aware of your attitude towards anyone that is not us and so I have adjusted him to be used to it," Rosan interrupted her and she blushed at his bluntness.
"It's okay Angel!" Mod reassured her. "You can be a bit rude but it's a part of your charm and we really don't mind it!"
"Your words are so reassuring Master Mod," Angel said dryly and Mod just laughed at her.
"Right you two —," Hideyoshi began as the blacksmith clasped his hands. "Let's get started! You two are novices right?" He asked and the two nodded, making him laugh again. It was a hearty and deep laugh and Angel was already annoyed by it.
"Alright let's start from the beginning then! First you wanna…"
Angel couldn't resist rolling her eyes. Master was very thorough.
"I must make no mistakes. The same applies to you," His voice rang and Angel immediately straightened up.
"Y-yes, Master!"
She would become an exceptional blacksmith, one that her Master would not be disappointed in.
Despite her dislike of the man, Angel guessed she could pay direct attention to what he was saying.
A good thing about being a clone, was that you could potentially be as good as your creator was, as long as they wanted you to be.
Rosan was not someone who half-assed things and though they weren't as strong, they were as intelligent.
The two absolutely blew through the lessons taught to them by Hideyoshi and Angel had to marvel at how easy it was.
Master was always a fast learner. It was why he was so strong, the boy learned things at a quick pace that was only enhanced by Modification.
Angel learned nearly as quickly! She was in awe at how easily this came to her and she found herself once again appreciating her Master. The two had drained all the information they needed from Hideyoshi in only 1 month.
This was so unfair… She loved it!
The bald blacksmith had also clearly not been expecting them to absorb his information so thoroughly and he was left speechless when he ran out of things to teach them.
Rosan had since moved on from what Angel was interested in and began delving deeper into manipulating the flames. More then once, she saw him subtly shift the temperature with his draconic abilities to achieve different results with what he was doing.
Angel herself, was using her very limited abilities, inherited from Rosan, to reinforce whatever it was she created. Already her weapons, while less quality, were more durable then the ones created by Hideyoshi. Even that wasn't completely true because Rosan could modify whatever she created and make it even better!
She loved her master, he was so resourceful!
The two were done with their lessons and Rosan had taken the liberty of erasing themselves from Hideyoshi's memories.
"Did you learn what you needed to learn?" Angel asked the boy as they relaxed on the White Rose.
"Yes, I learned a lot under him," Rosan said softly and the female clone smiled at him.
She was glad that she had gotten to spend time with Rosan. Despite everything, Angel had still had a lot of fun and she felt like she learned a little bit more about the oldest triplet.
"I had a lot of fun spending time with you!" Angel beamed and Rosan looked at her. After a moment, he flashed a smile that failed miserably to reach his eyes but still made his female clone light up.
"It's good to hear that," Rosan began before looking at his hands. "I would have thought that you'd have enjoyed yourself far less due to my circumstances."
His voice was always so quiet yet she never strained to hear him. Master just had that presence about him. He was the type of person that could make an entire group of people quiet down to hear him instead of having to raise his voice.
Nothing would ever change that.
Angel shook her head sharply. "No, of course not!" She denied vehemently. "I just enjoy being in Master's presence! It's never boring around you and most of the time, I'm on the ship anyways so it's nice to experience something new," she told the listening boy.
Rosan tilted his head and stared blankly at her. "If you want to leave the ship more often, you may ask. I do not mind taking you with me," he told his female counterpart and her eyes widened.
Really? Just like that?
"Y-you mean it? If I want to go somewhere I just have to ask?" Angel's eyes were wide in disbelief.
"It's always been like that," he told her bluntly causing her to flinch. "I have told you and Demon multiple times that I value the both of you and to stop treating me like Kami. You are much better then Demon in that aspect but you still do it as well."
Rosan had stopped looking at his hand to instead look her directly in the eye. His lifeless gaze filled her with tears but she refused to look away. This was her beloved master after all and she would never forgive herself for rejecting him.
"Meiko saw you both as equals, why is it a problem that I do too?" He asked simply and Angel felt her heart stop at those words.
Tears began falling from the purple eyed clone and she rushed Rosan without hesitation. Engulfing the shorter boy in a bone crushing hug, Angel sobbed into his body.
"I'm sorry Master…," Angel apologized. Hearing Meiko's name never failed to make her overflow with emotion. "Since you created us, I've always had this barrier between the two of us that prevented me from seeing things like that," she confessed and she felt Rosan's arms wrap around her.
"Meiko… she always tried to tell us to stop looking at you like that but we never took her words serious! You are our leader and we always viewed you as such. We never stopped to consider that you wouldn't like that very much…" Angel mumbled into his soft hair.
"I am not too fond of being a leader of anything," Rosan admitted making her eyes widen. "I simply live the way I please. It is why I do not want to be a pirate captain. I command you two because I willingly made you both. It is my duty to do so, but please do not remind me of that fact every day."
Angel couldn't help but let out a loud laugh. Master…he was so childish!
He just straight up admitted that he wasn't a fan of having responsibility and she marveled at the fact that he was doing the exact opposite.
The boy had almost single-handedly, with the help of Master Mod, made the inhabitants of the White Rose's livelihood great for the better part of 3 years. Due to Rosan, they didn't have to worry about any sort of resources!
Money, food, supplies, damages, all of it was handled by the redhead staring at her.
It was startling to realize that Rosan was only 12 years old.
"Do not feel sorry," Rosan immediately said before Angel could even speak. "I care about you all, that is why I do not mind all the duties I have had to do. As long as you were comfortable and I was comfortable doing it, it was fine with me."
"If Rosan, at any point, felt like not doing what he did, trust me when I say, he would have immediately stopped doing it," Mod said fondly and Rosan nodded. "He's a boy that knows what he wants, and knows what he doesn't."
Angel felt her eyes soften as she looked at him.
Her Master was one of a kind and he deserved the world. Rosan was an incredible person and it made her all the more upset that he lost what he loved the most.
"I love you, Master," Angel said suddenly, half expecting him to just nod and say thank you.
"I love you too, Angel," Rosan replied, causing her to freeze, before she looked at him with open mouthed disbelief.
What? Was he just saying that? It was no secret that the oldest triplet had access to none of his emotions anymore… so whatever came out of his mouth was generally the truth.
"It is true that I lack my emotions," Rosan began, causing her gaze to snap to him. "But, that does not mean I have forgotten all about them. It is why I can hug you back and say I love you. Before I lost my emotions, that was how I truly felt," he explained simply.
"That is…," Mod sounded a bit choked up as she said that and the female clone couldn't blame her.
Angel felt her heart constrict at his explanation. Tears started rolling down her eyes in spades and she tackled Rosan to the floor.
"M-M-Master!" She sobbed as she clutched him tightly. "Y-y-you're so damn sweet!"
"Thank you," Rosan said and he patted her head gently.
Angel had the best leader ever.
Maybe helping him and his icy heart really was possible? Either way she would try.
Her Master deserved it.
"Remind me again why you need this stuff Rea — Rosan?" Aiko asked as she looked at the short redhead before her.
She had successfully procured all the items Rosan had asked for and to get them at such a high quality, cost a pretty penny that would have had her balking had it been anyone else who asked for it.
Luckily, it was Reaper who did so. She didn't mind doing favors for him because well, despite being a complete asshole, she liked him. Seeing that he was such a squirt only made her more endeared to the boy that had showed up and saved their island.
It also made her slightly more afraid. She shuddered at how strong he would be when he was an adult.
"I am currently in the process of creating a stone that does not exist and I require these," Rosan replied to her truthfully and she looked at him dumbly.
Did she even want to know?
3 years around Reaper had told her that if he did deign to answer, it was going to give her a headache and a hangover.
No, she did not want to know.
"Well whatever the case..." Aiko began, handing over the items to Rosan who accepted them. "...I've got all the items you asked for and Akemi made sure they were the highest of qualities, so you should be good to go."
Rosan nodded at her words. "Thank you, Aiko."
The gray haired woman smiled and waved him off. "Don't sweat it Rosan, this is the least I could do after everything you've done for us," she told him.
Rosan smiled and Aiko had to admit, he was getting quite good at that already! The boy's smile actually looked real now and Aiko was glad he had actually taken her advice.
She had to admit, he was pretty adorable.
Aiko rolled her eyes with a blush and said "Get outta here before I pinch your cheek."
"An odd threat but, one I will listen to," Rosan said and she rolled her eyes again.
The boy got up and with a short wave, he vanished.
Aiko looked at the spot he was at and shook her head.
She was never going to get used to that.
Everything was finally prepared.
It had taken Rosan a while, but he finally had everything he needed to create what he wanted.
The Philosopher's Stone.
After careful planning and amassing his knowledge, the redhead could confidently say he could make a copy of the mythical stone.
Would it be a carbon copy? No. But it would have all that he wanted in it.
There was no set method to creating the Philosopher's Stone so Rosan made his own with what knowledge he did have.
The Philosopher's' stone is created by the alchemical method known as The Magnum Opus. The starting material was something known as the Prime Materia. No one knew what it actually was but it was described in nothing but similes and other nonsense.
All Rosan knew was that it was the base. His goal was to make a weapon solely for him so it was natural what he would use as a base.
"Isn't this a bit much…?" Mod asked in clear worry.
"It's fine, Angel is here to make sure nothing bad happens," Rosan explained and the female clone in question, nodded her head as an affirmative despite looking just as worried as Mod-chan sounded.
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