Chapter 27: The Price of Freedom 2

Sanji found it a little rude that there were no seats for him and Luffy when dinner time came around but he could roll with that. It's not like there was much you could do when there were no seats available.

He could also roll with the fact that his fellow workers were acting strange. They were normally strange and he was used to seeing them act in such a way so it was no big deal.

All thoughts about rolling with anything flew out the window, as Patty slammed a plate full of the soup that he prepared this morning. Soup that he was very confident was some of his best work yet (not enough to feed to Reaper but still! It was very good).

To make matters worse, not a single chef disagreed with Patty's sentiment that his dish tasted awful. All of them had thrown their dishes to the floor in disgust and the final nail in the coffin was Zeff following suit and doing the same thing.

What the hell had gotten into them?! Had Krieg done lasting damage to their skulls?

"How is this soup different from yours?! Tell me!" Sanji demanded, jostling Zeff by his collar.

"From my soup?" Zeff sneered.

To the surprise of everyone there, the owner actually punched Sanji to the floor. He never punched anyone, content to kick them. A chef's hands were most important when it came to cooking and Sanji and Zeff took that very seriously.

"Don't flatter yourself, little eggplant. You'll never be able to cook like me! I've cooked on all the oceans of the world!"

Sanji held his cheek with a scowl and hesitantly stood up, before bolting from the room with a "Damn it!"

The door slammed harshly from his exit and Luffy took a sip of the soup.

"Huh? This soup is really good!"

"We know," Zeff said and every other chef nodded in agreement. "Every single chef here acknowledges Sanji's cooking but he won't listen unless we do something like this."

"Hey kid, you were saying you needed a chef for your crew, right? Will you take that little eggplant with you?" The owner asked the rubber boy. "One of his dreams is in the Grand Line and the other is to cook a meal for someone who probably won't show up here."

Sanji listened to this all with a look of surprise. The old man knew he wanted to cook a meal for Reaper? He never spoke to him about it so how did he know...? Was he really that obvious?

Those jerks… they pretended to hate his cooking so that they could chase him off? What the hell was wrong with them…

"No way!" Luffy said, taking a bite out of his food and smiling happily at the taste.

Everyone dropped in surprise at his refusal and even Zeff's eyes went wide in confusion.

"Why? You need a chef right? Is he not good enough for you?"

Luffy shrugged. "He's good enough and I do want him to come with me. But he needs to decide that on his own! He wants to continue working here as a cook so he can't come with me."

Zeff rubbed his long mustache in contemplation. "That makes sense, but who knows if that twisted brat will ever agree…"

"He won't cuz he's an idiot through and through!"

Sanji let out a puff of smoke and looked to the sky.

Maybe…

His musing was cut short at the sound of a fast approaching figure and screaming. Sanji could only watch with wide eyes, as a Panda-Shark burst through the water with a man in its mouth and crashed into him.

"WHAT WAS THAT?"

"A FISHMAN?"

"Yosaku?!" Luffy called in confusion. Was he secretly a panda this entire time? THAT WAS SO COOL!

After getting the bounty hunter situated, Yosaku explained the situation to Luffy.

Based on the general direction of where the ship was headed, Nami was going to a very dangerous location and they desperately needed Luffy's help.

The captain nodded before a thought occurred to him. "Wait, where's Rosan? He doesn't need my help!"

His redheaded brother would interfere if he had to and there was no way his strength wasn't enough. Why did they need Luffy so badly when his scout was right there?

"Eh?" Yosaku blinked, glancing around in confusion. "Rosan's not with you...? The last time we saw him, was when he got attacked by Mihawk…"

Luffy blinked in confusion. He sent Rosan off after Mihawk caused that huge water explosion! He even remembered his brother saying, "I'm off to find Nami now," so where was he—

An uncharacteristic look of horror crossed the rubber boy's features and he held his head with both hands.

"AHHHH! OH NO! ROSAN'S GONNA KILL NAMI!" The rubber boy screeched, causing everyone to jump in surprise at the volume.

"WHAT?!" Sanji roared. That beautiful angel? Reaper was gonna kill her?! Why?! WHY WOULD HE DO THAT?!

"We have to go! Rosan hates traitors!" Luffy panicked, already getting ready to leave the restaurant without a second thought.

If he killed their navigator, Luffy was gonna be so mad at him. She was the only one he wanted so his brother better not! Ahhhh a boat wouldn't be fast enough! Maybe he should—

"B-But how did he pass us when he was with you?!" Yosaku asked in confusion, interrupting the rubber boy's musing. They hadn't seen another boat or anything!

"Rosan can fly! He's really, really, really fast!" Luffy replied without hesitation, forgetting the fact that Rosan would surely plunge his head in the ocean if he found out that his little brother was revealing information about him.

"WHAT?!" The crowd roared in surprise. He could fly?! He didn't do that even once against Mihawk!

You were telling them that redhead could do even more?! What the fuck?!

As Luffy rushed past Sanji, the chef came to a decision.

"Wait!" Sanji said and the panicking rubber boy paused for a moment. "Take me with you. We both have foolish dreams so I'll follow you on your journey to become King of Pirates."

He also needed to make sure that orange haired angel didn't die to the corrupted angel that happened to be his hero.

Despite being alarmed just a few seconds ago, Luffy broke out into a wide grin and began cheering. "HOORAY!"

Yosaku and Luffy began dancing at the news and Sanji couldn't help but smile himself.

"So that's how it is, sorry for causing you all trouble," the sous chef said.

His old coworkers tried to act tough, but that went out the window at being told that Sanji had heard everything.

"Didn't realize you wanted me gone so bad, shitty geezer."

"Yeah, that's right. I don't like kids in the first place. Not a day goes by that I don't regret saving your worthless life," Zeff commented gruffly.

Sanji sneered at the head chef. "Oh yeah? Fine then. Enjoy the rest of your life, damn geezer."

After Sanji finished packing (and reminiscing), he finally exited the restaurant and slowly but surely made his way over to his new captain.

He didn't even have to look behind him, as Patty and Carne burst from wherever they were hiding to deliver revenge on him. Without any hesitation, he dodged their wild blows and took them out with one kick each.

"They never stood a chance…" the chefs mused fondly.

He didn't glance at a single chef, as he walked past them. He didn't need to say goodbye to them. They already understood.

"Sanji," a voice called and the blonde froze.

"Don't catch cold," Zeff smiled.

It was as if all the waterworks Sanji stubbornly held back, broke through at those words.

"CHEF ZEFF!" Sanji roared with tears in his eyes. The blonde turned around and kneeled until his head hit the floor.

"THANK YOU FOR EVERYTHING YOU'VE DONE FOR ME! I'LL NEVER FORGET YOU… FOR THE REST OF MY LIFE!"

Luffy smiled fondly as everyone's resistances broke and the other chefs began crying in tandem.

"I'M GONNA MISS YOU, YOU ASSHOLE!" Patty sobbed.

"I'LL MISS YOU TOO!" Carne weeped.

"WE'RE ALL GONNA MISS YOU!"

Zeff tried to wipe the tears out of his eyes and failed, before saying with a smile, "You sentimental fools! Men should part without words!"

He was going to miss his foolish son.

"I'LL SEE YOU ALL AGAIN!" Sanji promised, waving his arms and the boat began to sail away.

Zeff stared fondly at him. As long as he had the drive to follow through with his dream, he'd find all the things he was looking for.

"Big Bro… why do you have that spear on your back?" A teary eyed Yosaku asked. The departing scene was so touching! He had no choice but to cry!

Luffy glanced back at the spear he had stolen from Krieg. "I'm gonna give this to Rosan!" He replied cheerfully. His brother was the weapon's expert, not him. He'd know what to do with it.

Sanji was starkly reminded of the scout of his new pirate crew. The scout who he was 100% sure was the Angel of Death who randomly chose to save him all those years ago simply because he had the resolve to keep his dream.

He had so much questions for him… And he wanted to show the man how much he had grown too.

"Luffy, could you tell me more about Rosan?" Sanji asked suddenly. "How did you two meet?"

"Rosan was my first friend!" Luffy beamed fondly at the memory. "He's nice but also really mean and he's really good at a lot of things, but he can be too serious but he's not too serious anymore. He's my third nicest brother!"

Ace was the meanest, Demon was the nicest followed by Sabo.

"B-BROTHER?!" Sanji gawked. Is that why he chose to follow the rubber boy? They were brothers?! Reaper had family?!

Ugh, Luffy explaining stuff was way too confusing for him. He could already feel the headache forming.

He'd just wait and ask the one who saved him all those years ago.

Rosan sneezed quietly and immediately scanned his own body, tilting his head at the fact that there seemed to be nothing wrong with him.

Huh, weird. What was it that they used to say about sneezing... Someone was talking about him?

"Do you actually believe that?" Mod questioned.

"No way! Father gets talked about all the time and he hardly ever sneezes!" Ram disagreed.

Rosan shrugged. Perhaps there was something in the air.

"That might have been the quietest sneeze I've ever heard," Nami commented idly, watching the redhead with a curious gaze. He was currently repairing a bloodied silver shirt of his and she winced sympathetically.

That stain was going to be hard to get rid of. What happened? He was wearing that shirt just today!

"I am not fond of being unnecessarily loud," the redhead replied before glancing back at their navigator.

"So after all this is over, you'll be joining us again?" He asked curiously. The navigator did say she hated pirates but the bond she formed with the straw hats seemed quite real.

"If… If you guys allow me," Nami admitted quietly. "I really like you guys and have never had more fun traveling with a group of people. It... It feels like I found a new home."

Rosan hummed at her statement. He was the least lenient, followed by Zoro but if he vouched for Nami, the swordsman would forgive her.

Zoro trusted both him and Luffy.

"Are you sure you don't want me to eliminate Arlong and his crew?"

It would be easy and Nami would be free to join them afterwards without having to pay the man that money. Rosan refused to offer her the rest of the money because quite frankly, he wanted to eliminate the crew regardless and knowing Arlong, he'd find a way to continue to subjugate their navigator regardless of if she payed him or not.

It was up to her to pull the trigger but Rosan wouldn't give her the easy way out. She needed to understand that it was fine to trust others strength.

"No!" Nami denied strongly, a look of fear momentarily passing her features. "Please, I don't want to see you guys get hurt… Please just let me finish my deal with him."

She was scared for him. How touching. Nami really thought Arlong could kill him. He wondered how much of that was her fear of the man and how much was her doubt in his ability.

Didn't he tell them? No bounty in the East Blue could defeat him and a crew of Fishman was no different.

Maybe Rosan would show her a little of what he was capable of. Her fear was genuine and it showed that she actually cared for them so maybe... maybe he'd put some trust in her.

"Remember when you asked me what my Devil Fruit was?" Rosan asked Nami out of the blue. "I'll tell you about it, follow me."

The navigator's eyes went wide and she stared at the back of the bronze man in disbelief. H-He trusted her enough to tell her? Even after what she did? Seriously...?

That... That was so damn sweet!

"You're going to have her meet me?" Mod asked in surprise. She didn't have a problem with it. On the contrary, she believed that Rosan should have introduced all of his crewmates to her by now and was overjoyed that he chose to do this on his own accord.

His overprotectiveness of her was getting in the way of his ability to form genuine bonds quicker.

"Yes. She's trustworthy."

They made their way to a comfortable location and Rosan made sure his bird was keeping an eye on the surrounding area in case something happened and he needed to wake up quickly.

"You might want to get comfortable," Rosan advised the girl behind him. He sat on a bed (those hammocks were way too uncomfortable) and patted the seat next to him.

Nami raised a brow at the tall redhead and couldn't help her quip. "Not very subtle of you, Rosan. I thought I wasn't your type?"

"Don't flatter yourself. Way too many people are attracted to me for me to be flustered by your teasing," the redhead replied blandly. "You're pretty but I'm not interested. Now sit."

She felt a tick mark forming like it always did when they traded barbs with each other. "I could say the same thing to you!" Nami growled, taking a seat next to the annoying redhead and crossing her arms in contempt.

"Whatever helps you sleep better at night. If lying makes you happy, I won't dissuade you from it."

"For a guy with no emotions, you sure are arrogant."

"There are key differences that separate arrogance and confidence."

Rosan grabbed the girl's hand and said, "Modification, Link: Nami – Rosan."

Nami was ready to fire back a reply but she shut her eyes instead at the sudden dizziness and promptly fell asleep.

When she opened her eyes, Nami was greeted to a lot of ice and snow and the temperature drop slammed into her without remorse.

Before she could complain about the weather, an orange jacket materialized itself over her body and alerted her to another, much warmer, presence.

"W-Where are we?" Nami asked Rosan in confusion, instinctively getting closer to him due to his comforting warmth. He was woefully underdressed right now but it didn't seem to bother him one bit...

Honestly, what a monster.

"My mindscape. It's a mental representation of my psyche and we're currently asleep in the real world while we're here."

So that explained why it was so cold… This was basically how Rosan's mental state looked—

"WHAT DID YOU JUST SAY?!" Nami's eyes bugged in disbelief, following after the 24 year old in confusion.

"Where are you confused? I explained perfectly," Rosan stated calmly. "I brought you to my mindscape with my Devil Fruit."

"Y-Your Devil Fruit? Mindscape?" Nami stammered in confusion. Just what was going on right now? Who was Portgas D. Rosan?!

"That's right," A feminine voice called out and Nami's gaze snapped towards the source.

Long purple hair draped a gorgeous bronze face and striking red eyes gazed warmly at her, filling Nami with a feeling akin to that of a mother's warmth. Despite appearing to be near her and Rosan in age, there was a wisdom behind her that gave her an older aura.

"FATHER!" A voice cheered and a silver figured leapt at the redhead without any hesitation, startling Nami. The woman crashed into the unmoving Rosan and began rubbing her cheek on his own.

"Ram, you do this every time I enter the mindscape. Don't you ever get tired of it?" Rosan asked softly, rubbing her back and getting a purr out of the woman.

"Nope!" She beamed shamelessly.

This one was tall and just as gorgeous with silver hair, that was streaked in purple, and the strangest set of purple and red eyes she'd seen yet. Despite looking near the same age as them all, she had a rather childish aura about her that made Nami think she was the youngest one of the three.

Her attention was grabbed by the purple haired woman who could probably pass off as Rosan's younger sister, tapping her shoulder gently.

"It's nice to finally meet you in person, Nami." The purple haired woman expertly ignored the hyperactive girl, in favor of introducing herself to Nami. "I'm Modification, but you can call me Mod. I'm Rosan's Devil Fruit."

The navigator's eyes went wide at her introduction. "You're his devil fruit?!"

How did that work? This super pretty lady was Rosan's ability? Did Luffy also have a person like that...? Bah, this was so weird to think about...

"She's also my sister/mother," Rosan interjected, getting a bright blush out of the crimson eyed woman. "This is Ram, the amethyst ring you see me wear constantly."

"Sup," Ram waved with one hand, still clinging onto Rosan without a care in the world. She idly began messing with his bun while poking his cheek and he accepted it all with that same neutral expression of his.

It was actually quite the funny sight and Nami dearly wanted to tease him if not for her confusion.

She came to a startling realization gazing at the three. Just how much did she know about the Devil Fruit user standing before her? As she was escorted to their hot pink home, to conversate with the trio, she learned alot about the mysterious Rosan and realized she knew almost nothing.

"So all three of you inhabit Rosan's body?" Nami asked incredulously. That was crazy! She wouldn't be sure how she felt if she no longer had any privacy whatsoever, especially if two of the three inhabitants were the opposite gender to her.

"That's right. I've been here since Rosan was four and Ram has been here since he was twelve," Mod explained and the orange haired girl's eyes widened in realization.

"You're the reason he was able to fight pirates at only four years old!" Nami exclaimed. That was insane! How strong was she to be able to have a four year old beat up grown men!

Learning about Modification, put it into perspective why Rosan wanted to trust her first before divulging into his fruit.

"You're a lot smarter then our other dear crew," Mod sighed happily. It felt good to not have to explain every little detail to someone and for them to notice key things on their own. Rosan was very quick on the uptake of things but Luffy... not so much.

Nami smiled happily and found herself enjoying the company of another female companion.

Ram didn't seem very interested in her and outright claimed that she only really cared about her Father (Rosan had not elaborated much on why she called him that) and Mod. But despite the clear insanity (that was pretty similar to the Rosan they met on Usopp's island) she was quite pleasant… as long as Rosan was keeping her satisfied.

Mod on the other hand, was a joy to be around. She was intelligent, kind and didn't have a snide remark ready for literally everything she said like someone she knew.

It was hard to miss how close her and Rosan were. They seemed to be able to communicate on eye contact alone, never moved far from each other and even finished each other's train of thoughts!

It was honestly pretty adorable. If they didn't claim to be mother and son, Nami would have thought they were a couple. They looked fairly similar but they had a lot of differences!

"Mod-chan and I have been through everything together. She's provided me the love of a mother that I desperately needed," Rosan said softly, idly pulling the shorter woman into a tender hug and stroking her purple hair.

Despite their ups and downs, she was still his Mod-chan and that wouldn't change.

"Ever since he was four, we've had each other's back," Mod sighed fondly, sinking into his embrace with a pleased smile. "I love this boy more than I love myself honestly; I'll do anything for him and vice versa."

Nami watched the mother and son duo with soft eyes and a slight smile. There was a tinge of bitterness there but she wasn't going to ever blame them for something they had nothing to do with.

"I understand why you wanted to keep your fruit a secret now… I'm glad you trust me despite everything!" Nami couldn't help but say.

"Consider it an apology for trying to choke you out," Rosan muttered and Ram chuckled at the memory. "Trust me when I say, we'll get you out of this situation. You're our navigator after all."

The navigator felt tears welling in her eyes at his statement and she nodded resolutely. "I almost have enough so soon I'll be free. Stay low and don't attract attention, please."

"That's impossible with my appearance," Rosan hummed and Nami saw Mod scowl deeply. She honestly didn't think the motherly woman was capable of making such a face and she almost snorted as she realized this must have been one of the reasons the redhead rejected every advance on his person.

"Stupid damn woman always wanting to put their hands on you. Why can't they just leave my little boy alone?" she growled.

"I can't believe you're still so mad that Father's hot, Auntie," Ram cackled. "I thought the numerous amount of flings he's had would have hardened you by noOW!"

The silver haired woman couldn't even finish her sentence due to the fact that Mod was mauling her cheeks with those perfectly manicured nails.

"Owww, please Auntie, I'm sowwy!" The ring whined, trying and failing to escape. "T-This is abuse! Father, help me! You can't let her get away with this! She's letting the power get to her head!"

"If Rosan stops me then he'll have to pay the price too! When it comes to discipline, I am Queen!"

"YOU'RE A TYRANT!"

"I'M A WHAT?!"

Rosan effortlessly ignored the two, closing his eyes to lie back and Nami began laughing in earnest.

They were all so interesting! She really liked them!

"So this is your island?"

Nami nodded in trepidation, worry on her face as she gazed at the redhead. "Remember, no attracting attention."

"You only told me a dozen times," Rosan countered quietly, patting her head in reassurance and getting it slapped away in the process. "You know, I've already fought and defeated a fishman before."

Nami's eyes snapped towards him at the revelation. "Y-You have?!"

"Yeah, when I was 9, I fought a fishman named Kenzo in a tournament and I killed him. The fight would have probably gone differently if there was water, but now I'm much older so even with a source water it would be easy."

Nami changed her mind, Rosan was seriously a monster. To hear that he killed a fishman at only 9 years old, filled her with a boundless curiosity and terror at his strength.

Could he… could he actually defeat all the fishman here? Surely that was not possible…

No, it couldn't be. She wouldn't put him in any unnecessary danger. She didn't want to be wrong in her assumption and lose another person as a result...

Also that Fishman's name… it sounded familiar… Where had Nami heard it before?

"Where do you want me to go?"

"Right there." Nami instructed him that her village was nearest to Arlong Park and to look for a house with a tangerine garden near it. Afterwards, he should tell the woman there that he was with the navigator and to house him for a bit until this whole thing was situated...

Not that Nami knew how to situate it. Maybe when she went on her final trip to get the money, she'd convince them to come with her in secret...

Rosan hummed in affirmation and his draconic wings burst from his back, arcing out in a terrifying display.

"What type of wings are those?" Nami asked right before he flew off. Those were what he used to effortlessly catch up to her ship and they looked quite intimidating.

"Dragon wings," Rosan replied before shooting off with a short wave. "Be careful. My bird is watching you in case things go south. Usopp and Zoro should be here soon as well."

With that, he was gone into the clouds.

Nami blinked in awe.

"He can transform into a dragon?!"

It didn't take long for the redhead to find the house surrounded by tangerines and he landed in front of the entrance without making a noise.

Not wasting any time, he banished his wings and tapped lightly on the door, waiting patiently for the person inside to answer.

It didn't take very long and soon he was face to face with, who he presumed to be, Nami's sister.

She was a pretty young woman that was a little shorter than Mod-chan, with light blue hair and eyes, and tanned skin lighter then his own. She was tattooed across her right arm and chest, and wore a beige sleeveless shirt, blue trousers and purple sandals.

"Greetings, are you Nojiko?" Rosan greeted politely, inclining his head in the process.

Nojiko looked at the taller figure with a measured, if not confused, expression. "Who's asking?" She replied slowly, gauging the taller figure before her with appraising eyes.

She had never seen this man before and Nojiko knew just about everyone on the island. One with this appearance would never slip her mind so that meant he somehow managed to dock without catching the attention of the fishman.

Was he allied with them?

The stranger was much taller than her, with bronze skin and a handsome face. He had a head of brilliant, spiky, blood red hair, tied into a messy bun that left the spikes in the front of his head free.

He would have had some of the most gorgeous eyes she'd ever seen, if they weren't so lifeless in appearance. It felt like she were being drawn into the deep abyss, staring into the heterochromatic, red and purple gaze. The woman couldn't help but shudder and avert her gaze so that she could continue to inspect the rest of the man and get rid of that feeling.

He wore a plain long sleeved black shirt that had a red rose covering the entirety of the middle, black pants, and black sneakers…

He really liked the color black huh?

"You shouldn't stare so hard. People will get the wrong idea about us. We just met after all," the stranger advised calmly.

She narrowed her eyes at him. Was this supposed to be some sort of prank? A setup by the Fishman? Who the hell was this?

"I asked a question," Nojiko bit out, eyeing the wealthy looking adult with caution. There was no way this guy would make it on the island without being inspected by the Fishman if they weren't allies...

"I'm Rosan, it's nice to meet you. I'm one of Nami's friends and she sent me here while she handled her business," he replied kindly, even choosing to nod his head.

Nami's friend...?

Nojiko was pretty sure that her little sister just scammed this guy but she would play along with her sister's request for now. Was she planning on sending him to the fishman to die?

That seemed a bit too harsh for her little sister so maybe she was missing something. Maybe she'd just house him until she figured this all out... it was a bit too confusing so she'd continue to interrogate him.

"What did Nami tell you?" Nojiko asked curiously, allowing him inside.

She sighed internally. At least this guy was very easy on the eyes. It would make keeping watch of him much more pleasant.

Rosan inspected the quaint home for a bit before turning towards the bluenette. "That she was apart of Arlong's crew," he said blandly.

The blue haired woman froze completely at that. She didn't expect him to know that information… She honestly didn't think Nami would have divulged anything truthful to the redhead.

"If you know that, then why are you here?" The woman asked warily, sitting down at a table and beckoning him to do the same. "You aren't thinking about fighting the Fishman, right? Don't touch the fishman if you value your life."

Not only would he die, he'd jeopardize everything Nami ever did.

At this point, Rosan was sure that if he had emotions, he would have gone and killed Arlong by now because his personality couldn't handle so many weaklings worrying for him due to such a weak enemy that they thought was strong.

He'd have made an example of the pirate to drive it into their skulls that he wasn't anything like them.

Fortunately for them, he had no emotions.

Well, Nami had explicitly told him not to ever mention the deal she had struck up with Arlong so Rosan wouldn't do that...

"She's apart of my crew," he replied evenly.

He wasn't surprised to see her get even more defensive. Good, perhaps she'd divulge more information to attempt to "sway" him into not doing anything stupid.

"Is that all you know about her?" Nojiko asked. This man could potentially mess up years of work if he did something stupid.

She saw now why Nami sent him her way. If left to his own devices, he'd cause chaos.

"Do you know why she follows that man?"

Rosan hummed and said, "I don't know the full scope, but it doesn't seem like she willingly follows him."

The tattooed girl sighed. Of course he didn't. "Then I'll tell you…"

And tell him she did.

Rosan listened with a neutral expression as Nojiko told him about Nami's past. How she had been orphaned in a war torn country, with nothing but death surrounding her. How a Marine named Bellemere (wasn't that a shock) had found both her and Nojiko in the wreckage and raised them with care. How they were poor but loved each other.

Their lives had hiccups but they were happy...

Until Arlong came.

The fishman showed up unannounced and declared the island as his territory. Not only that, he demanded that all adults pay him 100 thousand beri while all children pay 50 thousand.

Rosan felt a spike of rage from Mod-chan after hearing that Nojiko and Nami had been forced to watch Bellemere take a bullet to the skull. The woman only had enough to to either pay for herself, or the two children and she had chosen the children, heedless of the fact that Arlong didn't know of their existence.

The willingness to do anything and everything to make sure your children survived. The true love of a mother…

Rosan was reminded of his own. It said something that he heard more good things about adoptive parents over biological ones.

"Then, Arlong kidnapped her and forced her to draw maps for him after striking up a deal," Nojiko ended, with a forlorn expression. Thinking about that day always filled her with pain and she chanced a glance at the redhead before her...

"Do you understand now? Please leave this island and just leave it alone," the woman requested softly.

She froze at what she saw.

Rosan didn't have a hint of sympathy on his features. His face was set in that same neutral expression that it had been in since she met him and he tilted his head at her in some sort of mockery of curiosity.

D-Didn't he claim to be Nami's friend? After that tale… Didn't he feel anything at all? Who... Who was this guy? What was wrong with him?

"I watched my adoptive mother die too, you know," Rosan admitted softly, gazing at her coolly. "I was four when it happened. Child birth after holding the baby for too long."

"Despite that, I still found the courage to keep fighting even if I wanted to give up. Just like you and your sister. We're not so different are we? Both our adoptive mothers died, protecting what they loved."

Nojiko's eyes went wide at what he was saying. "Y-You went through something similar too? I had no idea that you knew how it feels to lose a—"

"Can I ask you a question? Since you actually know about Nami's deal with Arlong?" Rosan asked suddenly, interrupting her sentence.

His heterochromatic gaze locked onto her own and rooted Nojiko in her spot. Those crystals that were a mockery of eyes, prevented her from thinking of anything to say and she suddenly felt a lump in her throat.

"Do you think Arlong is an honest man?"

She blinked in confusion and the redhead pressed on.

"Do you think a man making a consistent amount of money, would give up that consistency for… one instance of money? That doesn't make much sense to me."

Let's say that Arlong was Rosan and Nami was Aiko. He would never accept 100 million beri from the leader of Fregate, if it meant she wouldn't be giving him more money and he couldn't use her skills anymore. In the long run, it was a net loss in money and a loss in a valuable partnership.

For someone attempting to conquer the East Blue, what would Arlong ever gain from accepting the money and allowing a skilled navigator to be free? If Rosan were in the pirates shoes, he'd make sure Nami remained on his side for the foreseeable future.

It was pure stupidity to let someone so skilled go. Rosan would never make a deal like Arlong did because he was inherently honest and something like that, would be something he never planned on keeping the promise of. He wasn't an idiot that threw away talent.

Nojiko quickly caught on to what he was implying and she narrowed her eyes threateningly.

"Arlong made a promise to her. He said he'd rather slit open his belly, then break a promise so he can't be lying."

Rosan wondered if this was them being naive, or having nothing else to hope for. Perhaps it was a mixture of both?

He had seen far too much to expect anything positive out of this situation. At the end of the day, pirates were some of the worst human beings on the planets and being a crew of fishman would not change that fact. In fact, it could be even worse considering how much most hated humans.

"Is that what you truly think? You think Nami will get all the money, give it to him and Arlong will leave you alone peacefully? Does he sound like that type of person, Nojiko?" The redhead asked softly.

Nojiko didn't reply, but the apprehensive expression on her face, told Rosan everything he needed to know.

Nami was sat in an isolated area, watching the Fishman party due to her arrival after so long. She held a cup of sake but chose not to down it. Instead, she allowed herself to get lost in her own thoughts.

All the Straw Hats were coming for her, not just Rosan, and they'd be here soon.

Was there any way that she could keep them safe without alerting Arlong to her true thoughts? There was no way Luffy would ever remain quiet... he'd get himself killed!

Rosan's little blue bird chirped innocently next to her and Nami couldn't help but awe at how realistic it looked. It would be impossible to differentiate it from an actual bird and it was a testament to the scouts sheer prowess with Modification.

"Since when do animals like you?" An amused voice asked, causing the thief to look up in surprise. The bird chirped and flew off to keep up appearances and the two watched it go.

"Oh... Kaori! How have you been…? You sound a little subdued!" Nami teased the towering woman standing before her.

Kaori was probably the most tolerable fishman Nami had met, which wasn't saying much but at least the woman never bothered her and made sure they didn't do anything terrible to her. She very clearly wasn't all that close to the Arlong Pirates and didn't treat the humans as bad as them when she was actually on the island (she tended to leave a lot).

She was nearly 7 ft in height, with light blue skin, black eyes, a head of dark green hair and a lithe, muscular figure. The tall fishman had retractable spikes across her strong body that she often kept hidden so as to catch opponents off guard.

Kaori wore a simple, all black gi and geta combo and her back was revealed to show off her sun pirate tattoo. She did not have an Arlong Pirate tattoo on her body and was content to keep it that way.

She was one of the officers and the only female fishman of the Arlong Pirates, which was a testament to her strength.

Nami didn't like any of the Fishman, but Kaori wasn't malicious like the others so that made her more bearable. When the navigator first joined, the 29 year old prevented Arlong from injuring her many times and she could begrudgingly admit that she appreciated it.

"She's a kid Arlong and isn't she apart of your crew now? You shouldn't be hurting your crew members," Kaori scowled, crossing her arms.

Arlong simply threw his head back and laughed. "You're a kid too, Kaori! And you should be worrying about more important things besides my cartographer."

The then 21 year old held her ground though, glaring fearlessly up at Arlong. "This isn't what Tiger-sama wanted. I don't really give a damn what you do but abusing your own allies is low."

The child Nami watched in fear as the smile was immediately wiped off his face and replaced with a deep scowl but surprisingly, Arlong stomped off.

"Fisher Tiger is dead, Kaori. You'd do best to remember why he died or you'll end up like him," Arlong warned, not sparing them a glance anymore.

"I don't know why I chose to come here, I miss Jinbei," Kaori sighed, before turning towards the younger girl. "Nami was it? It's in your best interest to not irritate Arlong, he's a dumbass with a foul temper and even though you're a kid, that won't stop him."

There was a look of disgust on the young adult's face as she said that and she shook her head. "The moment I find out what happened to my father I'm outta here to find Jinbe. I'm sure he'll like to hear what Arlong's been up to," she muttered, leaving the shocked girl alone so that she could swim to the North Blue for information.

Nami simply clutched her arm and ran to her room in this prison.

Kaori was largely indifferent towards humans but treated them respectfully unless given the order otherwise. Over the years, seeing as Nami was the only other girl in the crew, the lone female had gotten closer to her (Nami didn't trust any of them so she only pretended) so they talked quite a bit when the fishman was actually here.

"Subdued…? Yeah you could say that," Kaori shrugged with a slightly uncomfortable expression on her face. "Between you and me… I had a dream about my father and it threw me off guard because it's been years since I last had one…"

Nami nodded understandingly. According to her, Kaori had been a slave to a cruel master, along with her mother and father and it was their own personal hell (part of her sneered at that due to the fact that they were doing their best to give others that had nothing to do with them hell too).

One day, their owner had left with her dad to some type of fighting tournament and they had not shown back up for months. After a while, the mother and daughter chose to escape to Fishman Island and Kaori ended up begging a fishman to join their crew (the Sun Pirates) for her own reasons. After her constant insistence, they reluctantly accepted and trained the former slave until she could defend herself.

Kaori ended up taking after her father, who had been a puffer fishman and had trained herself until she was more than strong enough to fend for herself, all while following the philosophy of her first captain and his first mate.

How she ended up joining Arlong's crew? Nami would never know. According to the woman, she had been trained by a fishman named Jinbe and was just a hired gun for the Arlong Pirates, which was why she didn't have their tattoo.

"Are you feeling alright?" Nami asked and Kaori nodded.

"It was just a dream but… I feel like it was kind of a sign, you know? Maybe I'll finally find out what happened to him after all these years," the woman sighed, gulping down an insane amount of sake and grabbing another bottle after downing the first in one go.

Nami cupped her chin at that. Something was bugging her... What was her dad's name again…? Ken something.

Right! It was—

It was…

"Yeah, when I was 9, I fought a fishman named Kenzo and I killed him," the voice of her very very headache inducing crewmate rang through her mind.

Right then and there, in Nami's mind, Rosan solidified himself as the most annoying person she ever met because his actions from fucking years ago were managing to give her headaches right now.

If Kaori ever met Rosan and found out he was the one who killed her father…

Well there was no way it was going to end well for anyone. Kaori was one of the strongest people here and for good reason too...

At least the bird flew off instead of listening in on the conversation... Maybe the two would never encounter each other?

Yeah right. Nami already knew that with her luck, those two would meet by the end of the day and Rosan would absolutely ruin everything.

Rosan followed a contemplating Nojiko with a tilted head. She had been deep in thought this entire time so he mostly let her be and conversed with Mod about their course of action when things went south.

"Wouldn't it be smarter for you to just leave me in your home?" He asked curiously. Having him follow her like this, could potentially allow a fishman to see him and if that happened, it would go against what Nami wanted.

"I'm not leaving someone like you alone. It's better if I can just keep an eye on you," she replied back, shooting him a warning glance in the process.

He raised a neat red brow at her. "What gave you the notion that I was reckless? I haven't done anything to warrant such a label."

"Woman's intuition."

Mod giggled at that. It seems some people were just naturally good judge of characters. Rosan wasn't as reckless as he had been when he was a child, but you could see shades of it every once in a while.

It was most apparent when he was in a fight and injured. Nothing short of fully incapacitating him would stop the redhead from finishing a fight and he'd weather the pain of broken bones if he had to.

Rosan hummed but didn't deign to reply.

"Do you… Do you really think Arlong is lying?" Nojiko asked suddenly.

The redhead knew she was going to ask him a question like that eventually. He planted the seeds of doubt in her head and it sounded far too logical to completely disregard. She could be in denial all she wanted but when someone started making sense, they had no choice but to doubt even a little.

Naturally she would seek out more answers. Whether it was to disregard him completely and live in her own fantasy, or finally realize that everything they were fighting for was doomed to be hopeless.

"I've met many pirates in my life," Rosan started.

He had been encountering pirates since the tender age of 4. The good, the bad, the merciful, the scum... The redhead hunted all types of them and learned many things in that time.

He could confidently say Arlong was apart of the group that were complete scum. He never felt any type of pity for the pirates he hunted, no matter how "good" they were but killing someone like Arlong would have filled him with a dark joy.

"Arlong's goal is to conquer the entire East Blue. You guys are giving him the money to do that. 100 million beri is not enough to conquer an entire ocean," Rosan said quietly.

"So he'll… he'll betray Nami?"

"Most likely. I've seen what Nami is capable of. She is the most talented navigators I've met. Arlong will not let her go."

Nojiko hated how much of a pessimist he was. She hated how he was drowning any of their hopes with that tone. She hated how no emotion went into his analysis. Just cold hard logic.

She hated how likely his outcome was.

"So what are we supposed to do?!" She couldn't help but snarl at the bleak redhead. It didn't matter how much sense he was making, they were living in a literal hell! No one was going to save them and Nami was their only hope!

"I wonder," Rosan replied vaguely. He refused to give such naive people the answer. It was the same reason he didn't give Nami the rest of the money.

If people just took the time to think logically for a second, they'd have a much easier time accepting things such as help.

The two paused at the sound of screaming and Nojiko looked in the direction of the source.

"That was near Gosa, a town that Arlong destroyed after one person failed to pay tribute…" Nojiko frowned and she headed in the direction. "Come on, I'm not letting you out of my sight."

"Don't tell me what to do," Rosan replied. He knew that scream, it only belonged to one coward.

The redhead quickly overtook Nojiko, much to her surprise and it didn't take him very long to find Usopp running with a fishman right on his heel.

"Usopp," Rosan greeted.

The sniper's eyes lit up in elation.

"ROSAN!" He cheered, leaping to hug the redhead and face planting with the floor due to him moving out of the way.

Dick...

"I see you're doing well, come with me," the Mod Mod no mi user muttered, glancing around a bit.

Where was Zoro? Surely Usopp didn't abandon the incredibly injured swordsman, right?

"There you are!" the large blue fishman called and Usopp yelped in fear. He was quickly gaining on them due to the liar pausing and the sniper thought about what to do.

He quickly came to a decision.

"Rosan, deal with this please!" The sniper yelled, pushing the redhead into the arms of the fishman and running a safe distance away.

The fishman blinked before shrugging and tightening his grip on the redhead to ensure he didn't escape. After he dealt with this one, he'd resume his chase of the long nosed human.

Rosan hummed at the feeling of being grabbed onto and stared evenly at Usopp, expression utterly unbothered. "You understand that after I free myself, you're gonna wish you let the fishman capture you, right?"

"I've never met such a coward," Mod sighed. Maybe Rosan was right to keep secrets from this one. Quite frankly, Usopp was worryingly untrustworthy.

Nojiko went stiff at the sight of a large blue fishman holding onto the person she was supposed to make sure didn't get into any trouble. He literally vanished from her sight for a brief fucking second and he was already in a predicament?!

She furiously grabbed a charging child and hid the both of them behind a building. If the fishman caught sight of her, they'd be in a lot of trouble with Arlong and no explanation would be good enough for him. These two would just have to die unfortunately which was honestly good for her because the redhead WAS A FUCKING IDIOT.

"Ha! Got you now!" the person holding Rosan laughed. "After I deal with you, I'll get your little friend right there."

"Is that so?" The redhead replied conversationally. The man's grip on him was quite steely, a testament to the fact that a fishman was 10x stronger than the average human.

Unfortunately for him, Rosan was far from average.

"Word of advice Fishman-san, you should really work on your grip," he advised.

Rosan effortlessly broke out of the fishman's steely grasp, much to everyone's shock, and back handed him on the cheek, sending him flying into one of the flipped over buildings and forming spiderweb cracks on it once crashed.

"After I'm done with him, you're next," the scout promised to Usopp, who could only squeal in fear.

The redhead vanished from his spot, only to appear in front of the floored fishman and began repeatedly stomping on his skull.

"Ugh— AHHHHH!" The fishman under him began screaming, but he didn't stop even after hearing something crack and only the panicked yells of Nojiko, gave him pause.

"WAIT, WHAT THE FUCK ARE YOU DOING?!" She screeched, looking at the pool of blood forming under the pirate with horror. The fishman wasn't moving right now, undoubtedly killed by Rosan's brutal assault and she absentmindedly covered the sole child's eyes.

Did he just not remember how she said not to touch the fishman? WHAT WAS WRONG WITH HIM? WHY WAS HE LIKE THIS?! IN ONLY ONE MINUTE, HE MANAGED TO CAUSE THIS MUCH TROUBLE?

"Getting rid of witnesses, I'm not supposed to be touching the fishman but this one touched me first," Rosan replied. The only way to break out of his grasp would be to use violence and at that point, he would have already broken his rule so killing it was.

Something just occurred to him though, he should send some fishman over to Hiroshi so he could clone them... If Maro and Aiko had fishman at their beck and call... that would be useful. Water battles would be easy for them...

Maybe he'd capture their officers to get even better bodies too... Yes, he'd do that. Now he had an actual reason to engage with the Fishman.

"Y-You," Nojiko muttered with dilated eyes, shaking in horror at how unbothered he looked.

She should have just left him in the house. The insane redhead was even worse than she thought! "Do you have any idea what you just did?!"

"What do you mean?" Rosan asked, grabbing the dead Fishman and sending him off to his Pocket Dimension. He vanished before their very eyes and the redhead glanced back at them.

"We were just taking a stroll and are now on the way back to your place, right?" He asked softly.

Their eyes bugged in surprise and Nojiko repeatedly opened and closed her mouth before grabbing her head. She couldn't fucking believe it. Not even a full day and she was fed up with this asshole.

Usopp had no clue what Rosan just did, but watching him effortlessly kill a scary fishman made him all the more scary.

"Don't think I forgot about you, Usopp."

The sniper whimpered in fear.

"Tell me what you're thinking?" Nojiko hissed, getting in his personal space and jamming a finger against his hard chest, ignoring the pain at doing so. She had told him one thing. Just ONE thing and he disregarded it completely!

"That fishman briefly saw you," Rosan replied, looking down at her and pushing her hand out of the way.

She froze. "W-What? He did?"

"If I let him go, he would have reported that Nami's sister was colluding with some unknown people. What would have happened to you and your village?" He asked rhetorically.

"Mhm!" A bruised and battered Usopp agreed, despite not knowing Rosan was thinking that at all. It kind of hurt to even think right now... his scout was kind of really a dick.

Wait, this was Nami's SISTER?

The three were situated in Nojiko's home, after she had given a verbal lashing to some boy that was on a suicide mission, and she was now directing her ire towards the one who caused it.

"You attacked him… because of me?" The blue haired woman asked, staring strangely at the redhead. She didn't think he had seen her but she did briefly show herself before realizing they were being chased by a fishman.

"It'll only be a matter of time before they realize one of their own is missing. We should cut ties for now," the redhead replied. "I'll take sole blame for eliminating him and attract their attention. Usopp, where is Zoro?"

The long nose that Rosan took his time assaulting, began whistling and looked away from the redhead, sweat beginning to form on his features.

"Usopp."

"He's at Arlong Park… he got captured… I tried defending him but he told me to go on!" The sniper exclaimed.

"You let a near death Zoro get captured?" The redhead asked simply and Usopp thought he was about to receive another beating, if the way he was cowering meant anything.

Rosan closed his eyes for a moment, connecting to his bird. He had it relay its info to him and hummed.

"I'll go get him."

"Wait!" Nojiko said, worried for his well being. "Arlong is a completely different beast then the guy you just killed! You'll die out there."

"You're worried about me suddenly? Weren't you just upset?" Rosan tilted his head at that. "You don't have to be. I won't die."

Nami's sister opened her mouth to deny his claims, before shutting it. "Just... Just be careful," she pleaded.

Weak people worried too much. Rosan would be fine.

Besides, Arlong wasn't even in his base. The man and his officers were headed somewhere so the place wasn't bustling with activity.

Perfect for him, he wasn't allowed to hurt the fishman after all.

Zoro was gonna kill Usopp when he got his hands on him. The stupid coward didn't even bother freeing him from his ropes, leaving him at the mercy of the damn Fishman.

Well, at least he had learned some things (and was still alive).

Nami, despite all those words, was just pretending to be a witch. The moment he threw himself in the water, she had rushed to save him despite claiming to be a traitor two seconds earlier.

Not only that, after locking him in a cage, she chose to free him and told him to go find Rosan.

He didn't even know the redhead was here! That was good news. He had strong backup now.

"Oh, you're alive and it seems like you had some fun too."

Speak of the devil… Zoro grinned at the sight of the redhead landing gently in front of him. "Oh, Rosan! What's up?"

The redhead surveyed the area and noted the countless unconscious fishman there. "Nothing much. Heard you were in trouble so I came to pick you up. You ready?"

The swordsman stretched and winced a bit at his wounds before standing up. "Yeah I'm good to go!"

Before the two could leave, they heard a commotion and were greeted to the sight of an octopus fishman reeling himself up with a fishing rod.

"Having fun over there?" Rosan greeted, already preparing to silence him.

"W-Who are you two?!" The man asked. "Me? I'm Hatchan!" He said, introducing himself without being asked.

"Nice to meet you Hatchan," the redhead waved, getting a happy one in return.

"Are you two guests of Arlong? He's at Cocoyashi Village right now, so I can take you guys there!" The stupid fishman told them. These humans were pretty nice unlike the other ones!

Zoro raised a brow but shrugged. "Sure. Since he's not here, we might as well."

"Alright! Get in!" the octopus said, pointing one of his hands at the Octopus Pot.

"This guy is really special!" Ram grinned.

"It's kind of endearing in a way," Mod sighed.

"I'd feel bad for killing someone so stupid," Rosan muttered.

The redhead side eyed Zoro and nodded, letting the glow from Ram fade and the two jumped inside the pot.

The redhead would play along with what he wanted.

He wasn't supposed to hurt the Fishman anyways.

It didn't take Hatchan long to escort the duo to Cocoyashi and Rosan waved goodbye to the friendly Fishman.

"Thank you for the help," he said.

"Bye you two!" Hatchan waved, disappearing back into the water.

"What a strange guy," Zoro snickered.

"He's very stupid," Rosan nodded.

The redhead paused, as his bird suddenly sent him an influx of information and the bronze man sighed in annoyance.

"I'll catch up with you later, Zoro. Seems I have some more stuff to do at Arlong's Park," Rosan muttered. "Look for a blue haired girl named Nojiko. She has tattoos."

"What happened?" Zoro asked, nodding and storing the information away.

"Usopp got captured. I'm going to free him," Rosan replied. His wings burst from his back and he turned towards the direction he just came from. "I'll make sure he doesn't die."

With that, he spread his wings and Zoro watched him fly off.

"I wonder if I can use my swords to fly..." Zoro mused, cupping his chin before shrugging and walking off.

Rosan hummed. He would need to divert the suspicion of the Fishman off of Nami else they might think her a traitor.

He knew just what to do.

"Things are getting exciting!" Ram beamed.

"They sure are running you ragged. Without Luffy here, seems like you're picking up all the slack!" Mod grinned teasingly. Rosan probably didn't appreciate intervening so much but if he truly didn't like it, then he wouldn't do it.

Perhaps he did like his crewmates? Even a little?

Rosan sighed. It was annoying but he didn't need his crewmates to die just yet. Luffy got attached too easily to people and if any of them died, he wouldn't forgive himself.

Even… that Usopp.

"You need to talk to him. I understand that if you had emotions you'd probably hate him but he's a friend now!"

"He's a liar and a coward, two things I hate. It will take me a long time to warm up to him," Rosan replied.

"At least try."

"What do you think I'm doing?"

Mod didn't know. He was keeping more and more of his thoughts to himself these days... She sighed and said nothing, allowing him to continue his course.

The man made it to Arlong Park just in time to see Nami confronting and battling Usopp.

The sniper had actually done something useful and threw up a smokescreen which did a good job clouding everything. Rosan took that opportunity to dive in unseen and banished his wings in the process.

He appeared right in front of their errant navigator and regarded her coolly.

Nami gasped in surprise at the sudden appearance of Rosan. W-What was he doing here? She had told him to stay with Nojiko! Was he just disregarding everything now?

She knew he was like Luffy!

She was just about to stab herself while shoving Usopp to pretend like she had done it to the liar, when their scout showed up literally out of nowhere.

Was he actually a ghost?

"I'm going to take suspicion off of you," the redhead whispered suddenly. "Follow my lead."

Her eyes widened but she nodded minutely and let him do his thing. The fishman were casting doubt on her so this actually worked out perfectly.

As the smoke cleared, Arlong grunted in confusion at the sight of one of his officers, pawing at the hands of a human redhead who had not been here before.

Who the fuck was this?

He had Nami in a one handed chokehold and his head was tilted to the side, staring coldly into her eyes.

"Really Nami…" He began with a soft tut, unbothered by her clawing his hand. "First I free Zoro, now you want to get Usopp too? You really are driving that betrayal in deep so maybe I should just kill you here."

Nami tried to speak but she could only grasp weakly at his hand and her raspy cough snapped the Fishman out of their daze.

"NAMI!" Kaori yelled, immediately charging their unknown assailant with a fist raised and forcing him to drop their navigator so he could dodge. He grasped Usopp as he leapt a distance away and eyed the Fishman with a blank gaze.

"Who the hell do you think you are, human?" Arlong said lowly, voice tinged with rage. "You must have a death wish, coming here by yourself and attacking our cartographer."

This human freed Zoro, assisted him in destroying his brothers, made them cast suspicion on Nami and then tried to kill her in front of them?!

He was fucking dead the moment Arlong got his hands on him. Such cocky humans didn't deserve to live long.

"Nami, are you alright?" Kaori asked in concern. The orange haired girl was gripping her neck and coughing harshly.

She focused a piercing glare onto the cause and got ready to turn him into paste. She didn't know what this guys deal was but it wouldn't matter soon enough.

"I'm fine, Kaori," Nami answered instinctively, shooting her a thankful look.

"Kaori?" Rosan suddenly said and the navigator froze in true terror, horror making its way on her face. "You said your name is Kaori?"

There was actually no fucking way. Nami refused to believe that the redhead would go out of his way to make this situation worse then it already was. If he recognized that name (HOW DID HE RECOGNIZE THAT NAME?!), it was undoubtedly only because of one reason.

If he revealed how he knew it… Nami dreaded just thinking about it.

"What of it? Who's asking, asshole?" The fishman snarled.

Who did this guy think he was? This asshole just tried to kill Nami in front of them all and was acting completely nonchalant about it. Now he was trying to strike up a conversation with her?

Arlong wouldn't be able to get his hands on this guy before she lost control.

Rosan sized her up for a bit and seemingly came to a decision right there. He ignored Nami's pleading gaze and focused all his attention on the female fishman.

"You truly are a sadistic person sometimes."

"I did say I would tell his family a fake fate instead of the one I gave him."

"Are you two talking about a fight that happened before I existed?! Rude!"

"Kenzo sends his regards. He died with honor 15 years ago and in his last moments, he regretted not being able to see you grow up to become a beautiful woman," Rosan said quietly, making sure she heard every single word.

Kaori's eyes widened to epic proportions at that, body freezing in disbelief as his sentence washed over her.

She felt like she was floating right now at the words of this incredibly random person. A bead of sweat began dropping from her head and her heart started slamming into her chest as she processed what he just said. How… How did he know the name of her father?! I-It had been 15 years since he had vanished along with their slave master so how did this young looking human know him?

"W-what? What did you just s-say?" She stammered in confusion, standing up to stare directly at the merciless Rosan.

"...It was a good fight, probably the best I had that night," the redhead replied, empty eyes locking onto the fishman without an ounce of sympathy in them. "It's such a shame only one of us could make it out alive. He really did love you and Masumi."

H-Her mother too? He knew the name of her mother...? W-Who was this?!

"How... How do you know those names? Why do you know me...? HOW DO YOU KNOW MY FATHER'S NAME?!" Kaori shrieked, taking a shaky step forward.

"Isn't it obvious?" Rosan asked. "I was there when he died of course. Even after he accepted his death, the only thing he could think of, was the safety of you two. The love of a father is a rare thing. How sad that you haven't experienced it for so long."

Nami swore she was going to kill Rosan after all of this was over.

Bonus

The life that they lived... it was that of a roller coaster.

One that they wanted to get off immediately.

Because of just one person, their life was turned upside down for the worst. Because of one person their life could never go back to what it used to be.

All because of one person...

Life used to be so good, so pleasant for them but at the drop of a hat, things that were normal, quickly changed and it was nearly impossible to adjust to because they were completely blindsided by it.

But they did adjust because that was all they could do. They were driven by spite and vitriol and they would be heard eventually, whether anyone liked it or not. Whether the world approved or not.

They would get what rightfully belonged to them back...

Staring at the sleeping figure, they gently ran a hand through their hair and grinned psychotically, reminded that there was still one thing worth caring for. Visions of red and purple appeared in their mind, as they covered the person from the extreme cold with a blanket and gently kissed their forehead.

...And they'd make everything right again...

By any means necessary.