Chapter 9: Serenity 3

Rosan regarded Aiko as he pocketed his bi-weekly stipend. The young adult looked largely the same though her outfit was no longer the rags she wore when they had first met.

Instead, she wore an all black suit that did a good job at hiding her feminine curves.

"I could say the same to you, Aiko. You and Akemi are normally attached to the hip," he pointed out and the woman snorted in annoyance.

In the past couple months, Fregate Island had boomed in commerce without Arata actively sabotaging them. It had only taken a few weeks for trades to open up again with the

island and Aiko had been kept quite busy as the newly delegated leader of the island, much to the girls protest.

Rosan knew she secretly enjoyed having such authority over the people. He nearly snorted at the thought of the angry woman giving out demands.

At least she was fair.

Like he had predicted, no one (the few people who knew about their deal) had a problem with her being in charge. In fact, because Reaper himself had hand picked her to be the

leader of Fregate, they revered her as if she was the Angel of Death's messenger herself.

They probably thought crossing her would be crossing him, which was true. Aiko was the only person Rosan trusted to not mess things up completely. If anyone tried to undermine

her…

Well, they would have to deal with him.

"We're going through… girl stuff currently and unlike me, she is allowed to make the decision to not be here when you arrive for the money," she glared at his hooded face. It

didn't quite have the desired effect considering she couldn't see anything but she liked to think he was quivering!

Yeah, he definitely was!

"Hm. My apologies, I'll get out of your sight immediately then," he said, purposely not giving her a chance to protest his decision. Without wasting time, he activated Save Point

and disappeared.

Aiko blinked as he vanished before a scowl formed on her face. "That asshole is really good at switching the subject off of himself." With that she got up and headed to where

Akemi was. The girl would be upset at not being able to see her winged savior but she would get over it.

The best word to describe the, Pocket Dimension was alien.

It was an expanse of darkness and yet, Rosan could see perfectly. It felt as if something was there and yet, there was nothing. There was no sound and yet Rosan could hear. Time

flowed but every second felt eternal. Space was seemingly infinite yet he felt as if he had no room. He moved but it felt as if he took no steps.

Everything about the Pocket Dimension was wrong in a way that he couldn't describe. He located the door that would lead to his ship and moved in it's directions. It felt as if he

was making no progress, yet his destination got closer.

Stepping through, Rosan allowed himself some time to catch his breath as the wrongness of the Pocket Dimension vanished. He didn't mind being in there for prolonged periods of

time, but he always felt disoriented when he stepped into reality again.

Pulling back his hoodie and taking off his mask, Rosan stepped out of the room of the ship directly connected to the alternate dimension.

The salty air brushed against his features as the pale glow of the moon disoriented him slightly. Rosan learned quickly that going through his Pocket Dimension while it was day

time, was not worth the migraine he got. Sure he could modify the headache, but he'd rather not deal with it at all.

"The Pocket Dimension is quite unnerving," Mod whispered. She hated when he entered that place and typically cut off their connection whenever he went in there.

Rosan didn't blame her. The redhead had purposely stayed in there for a long period of time so he could get used to the feel of it. Despite that, it was still an uncomfortable

experience for the boy.

It was a miracle Meiko had been able to enter that place more then once. She hated it even more then Mod-chan but her desire to be with him prevailed.

The blonde could be even more stubborn then him sometimes.

When she learned that he forced himself to stay in there for a prolonged period of time, the blonde had demanded to join him. The 12 year old had not released him not even

once.

Not that he minded. He quite liked being close to the blonde.

She was sick though so Rosan forbade her from coming with him. The blue eyed girl tried to protest but he was firm in his decision.

Rosan was reminded that she was in fact Sachie's daughter with the tantrum she had thrown. It was quite the sight to see the blonde throw such a fit and the redhead would have

laughed if it wasn't directed towards him.

Angel was, as normal, manning the helm of the ship. She smiled as she saw him and gave him a bow. He smiled back and waved at her.

"I trust Demon is ensuring Meiko does nothing dumb?" His female clone snorted at his question and shook her head.

"She's quite rebellious when she wants to be. Who knew that girl couldn't take no for an answer?" Angel cackled at how upset Meiko had been when Rosan refused to take her

with him.

"Funny, I knew a person like that… They even look quite similar," Rosan said dryly and they both snorted in amusement.

She was normally so reserved, so to see her throwing a tantrum at being denied was quite a surprise.

Like mother like daughter he supposed. At least she wasn't as violent as Sachie. The blonde would never forgive herself if she hurt him… Not that she could.

"She's tired herself out with all her antics. I think she's just waiting for you so she can sleep," Angel called to his retreating back.

"Duly noted."

Rosan thanked his clone and made his way back to his room.

Ever since first entering his mindscape, Meiko had refused to sleep in Robin's room and instead opted to sleep on his comfy bed. Rosan had offered to modify his former

companions room to her liking but she had denied it instantly.

Robin's old room was now used as a closet for the blonde and his room had become theirs. Rosan didn't see a problem with it, so he accepted it without issue. His bed was big

enough for 2 adults so the two children could sleep on it without issue.

Meiko was incredibly clingy though… not that he minded. Rosan used to be the same way and a small part of him enjoyed finding someone that was equally touchy.

The redhead came across a mentally exhausted Demon and glanced in sympathy at his male clone.

"You doing alright?" Rosan asked his clone and winced at the tired glare he got back. "Right… Not the greatest question to ask. My bad."

"I was this close to tying her up, Master," was all Demon said, before he excused himself. His long haired clone left with haste and didn't look back even once.

Rosan chuckled a bit at his antics and opened the door to his room.

His chuckles died as a pillow immediately collided with his face. The soft bag rolled down his face slowly and landed on the floor with a tiny thud. He glanced, annoyed, at the

perpetrator and was met with an angry, but tired, blue glare.

Red and purple clashed with pupilless blue, as the two stared each other down challengingly.

"You're acting like a child," Rosan pointed out.

"It's almost like I am a child," Meiko retorted sarcastically.

"You know that's not what I meant." He was glaring at her now.

"What could you possibly mean then?" She glared back.

"You're that mad that I didn't bring you with me?" He asked in exasperation.

"Yes I am! I said I wanted to go and you left without me!" She snarled. The girl sounded furious.

"Mei, you're sick!"

"I don't care. I wanted to go!"

Rosan sighed and picked up the pillow. He made his way over to his vexed companion and paused as his ears picked up a sound from the girl.

Was she growling at him?!

Huh. She really was upset with him. Fortunately, Rosan knew just how to appease her.

Cautiously approaching the wild girl, Rosan eventually reached his bed and by proxy, Meiko as well. She was glaring at him with indignant fury and Rosan did the smartest thing

he could think of.

He planted a kiss right on her cheek.

"Yes! We won!" Mod cheered and Rosan wondered just who we was.

Honestly, it was comical how quickly Meiko's expression changed. Her anger melted away immediately and even in the darkness, Rosan could see her glow an interesting shade of

red. She touched the part where he kissed her and her mouth open and closed repeatedly.

"Y-you… w-what… huh?" Meiko stammered as she tried to comprehend what he just did. Rosan was not affectionate…right? (He was very affectionate)

Rosan decided to add the finishing touch. His abnormally sharp fangs were in full show as he flashed a genuine grin. He scarcely smiled like this ever since his capture but being

around Meiko made him feel happier.

It worked like a charm.

Meiko felt her heart pounding as she looked at Rosan's tan face. His eyes were shining and he felt genuinely happy. She felt blessed that he was comfortable enough to be this

open with her.

She was so lucky.

"Y-you big dummy," she grumbled in elation. "Mod-chan and I are dressing you up so let's go to sleep," she demanded, refusing to look at his face any longer. Not waiting for a

response, the girl laid down and waited for him to join.

"Yay!" The thought of dressing Rosan up filled Mod with glee.

Rosan rolled his eyes and decided that it was best if he just let it happen. Clambering on the bed, the redhead hummed as Meiko squeezed him and they both quickly fell asleep to

enter his mindscape.

Meiko loved watching Rosan do even the simplest of things.

Currently, she was watching the boy run through his exercises. The boy had extracted himself from her sleeping grasp and was currently doing his stretches.

How she never managed to wake up as soon as he did, she would never know, especially considering how tightly she held him.

Rosan had a daily routine that he followed to a T. He would wake up, stretch, use the bathroom, grab water for the both of them, and workout. Meiko would normally wake up in

the middle of his workout and she would just lay there, content to watch him.

Meiko learned a few things watching him.

The redhead was way too strong for his age. She knew what he was capable of but watching him casually lift things twice his weight was always a humbling experience.

It was the same with his workouts!

He went through them with minimal effort, hardly breaking a sweat. Meiko would sometimes join him and the girl would be left a panting mess after the whole thing was over,

unlike him.

The boy had an unnatural amount of stamina!

It wasn't all bad though. Rosan would carry her whenever she was too tired to move without complaints and then personally help her drink water.

Still at his age and with his build… Rosan calling himself a monster wasn't a stretch. He had begun using the term in a more positive light so she had no problem agreeing with it

because that's what he was.

Speaking of which…

"Rosan?" She called the boy who was currently in the plank position.

She hated planks.

Rosan grunted in acknowledgment and she took that as her cue to continue. "I wanna do your weekly checkup if that's okay," she told him and got a nod in return.

"Since you're awake, come join me. You need the exercise," Rosan said making her whine.

Why did she have to join him she was a doctor not a fighter!

"Stop complaining and come," he smirked and she begrudgingly made her way over to him.

Rosan sucked.

"Rosy, I forgot to tell you!" Meiko suddenly exclaimed catching the boys attention. They were currently lounging on the deck of the White Rose, next to each other, basking in the

warmth of the sun.

Rosan glanced up from the book he was reading, something about rubies, to regard her. He tilted his head to the side and it caused his hair to cover his eyes slightly. "What is it

Mei?" he asked, eyes glinting in curiosity.

Meiko resisted the urge to squeal at the sight. Instead, she dug around her outfit with a concentrated look. The blonde triumphantly pulled out her prize and handed it over to the

Mod Mod no Mi user.

"Here you go! I found it back in your old home and thought you'd like it!" She beamed at the boy who took the gift. It was the picture she had found of Rosan and Rouge back at

Baterilla. Meiko had removed the glass from it and now it was just the photo of the two.

"…" Rosan scrutinized the picture with an unreadable look in his eyes. He held it almost tenderly, as he instantly recognized the photo. After a moment, he closed his eyes and let

out a deep breath.

"Meiko I — thank you," he eventually said, causing her to smile softly at him. "I'm glad I have this picture now… this way I will never forget how Mama looked."

His voice was barely above a whisper but she heard him all the same.

"I will be sure to cherish this. Now I have to make it up to you."

Meiko waved him off bashfully. "It's nothing Rosan! You two looked so cute together in the photo and I don't think you have any pictures of her so I got you this one!"

"I'm glad you did," Rosan smiled at her and she returned it. "You're a good person. Way too good for me sometimes."

"Sometimes? Rosan isn't your ego getting a little too big," Meiko teased.

"You've been spending too much time with Mod-chan. I need to cut your visiting time," he said bluntly, crossing his arms in annoyance.

"You would never/You would never," They spoke at the same time, causing Rosan to sigh in aggravation.

"See? You two are even speaking in sync! This is getting out of hand!"

Meiko blew a raspberry at him and Mod followed suit. Rosan shook his head fondly at how immature they were and ended the conversation there before a headache started

forming.

He looked at the picture one last time before deciding what to do with it.

The next day, Meiko and Mod cooed over the white pendant that stopped right on his chest with the very same picture, shrunk down to fit better, he had just gotten.

"Mei, I got stabbed."

Her head snapped up as she heard Rosan say what she think she heard. The boy was out of his Reaper persona and was handing off money to Demon.

He had gotten what?!

"You got what?!" The blonde repeated aloud in clear concern.

"Are you okay? I said pretty loud and clear that I got stabbed," Rosan's brow furrowed and he looked at her in equal amounts of concern.

"S-should you really be the one asking that, Rosan?" Meiko asked in a baffled tone as he removed his cloak, showing his toned body off, and the long cut on his torso. It was

shallow, but the cut was long enough that there was still a decent amount of blood being lost.

Meiko snapped to attention after seeing his injury and quickly ushered him off to the medical room. Rosan didn't resist and in no time at all the blonde was patching him up.

"Does it hurt?" Meiko asked prodding the wound and Rosan just shook his head.

"Nah, I've felt worse. I'm very used to pain so this is nothing," was his easy reply. She nodded, still upset that he was injured, and began applying cream to the injury. It wouldn't

need stitches, a cut like this would be gone in no time with the redhead's enhanced body.

The blonde couldn't resist the smile as Rosan let out a relieved sigh and she asked him "I haven't seen you injured in so long Rosan… you're normally really careful. How did you

get this?" She had taken out a gauze and began wrapping it around the cut.

The 10 year old laughed and she groaned, already exasperated. "Well it happened like this," he began and she got comfortable after fully wrapping his waist.

Something told her he had done something very dumb.

"Rosan are you sure this is a good idea?" Mod warily asked the boy.

"I need to test it for combat don't I?" He asked in return.

"Well yes, but shouldn't we give it a test run in a more controlled environment… this is a bit crazy for our first time no?"

The this in question was where Rosan was currently located. That place being the middle of another ship, surrounded by a band of pirates all leering at him in apprehension.

"Of course. If I get the desired results in an environment like this then I'll know it works fine," The 10 year old said confidently.

Mod just shook her head in resignation. She just hoped Rosan didn't get them too hurt. This was bound to be messy.

At least the boy was a prodigy.

Satisfied that Mod-chan wouldn't be saying anything else, Rosan set his plan into motion. He had been practicing a lot but it was always better to test in a real situation.

Currently the boy was Reaper which explained why the pirates had yet to attack him. The Shinigami's reputation was growing explosively and he was becoming increasingly easy

to notice now due to his signature black and white outfit and his obsidian wings.

It didn't take a genius to figure out it was him and these pirates knew that.

"I'm surprised. Normally, this is the part where you all recklessly charge me and die," Reaper remarked conversationally. His voice was, as always, soft and neutral and he

displayed no obvious emotion.

No one had ever seen the mysterious Reaper act any other way. Most people came to the conclusion that the enigmatic figure couldn't actually feel emotion. That had become the

general consensus and it wasn't like Reaper entertained any rumors about himself, so it had practically become a fact.

That's how his reputation had spread so quickly honestly. Rumors started, others caught wind of it, Reaper never commented on them, and they spread like wildfire with no one to

deny if it were true or not.

It was up to them to decide what they chose to believe. At the end of the day, Rosan didn't really care.

As long as his guise was not compromised, they could say whatever they wanted about him.

At least the rumors hadn't given him a bounty yet. It would be annoying if the World Government gave him a wanted poster so soon. Traveling would be more difficult and he

wouldn't be able to turn in bounties of his own.

How fortunate that he was doing their job better then they were. They were hesitant to give a bounty to the person gathering criminals in all 4 of the Blue Seas.

The speed at which he traveled between the Blue Seas, had made them rightfully wary of him. They were intimidated by what he could achieve and it was smart of them.

He was not their allies after all. On the contrary, Rosan despised anything involving the World Government and this was only a means to an end to him.

But at the end of the day, he was a bounty hunter and the Marines benefited heavily from him. They were reluctant to slap a wanted poster onto the Shinigami and that was good

for him.

It also helped that he didn't do anything (as far as they knew) to actually warrant a bounty.

They were still afraid of him though. Everybody was. He had a presence to him, a daunting pressure, to anyone who saw him in person and to everyone who knew of him, it only

solidified those rumors.

Rosan really didn't care. It helped that no one bothered him though.

Sucked that everyone thought he was going to kill them for something as simple as speaking out of term.

He glanced at the pirates. They seemed to be of the same opinion and Rosan was nearly offended. He was going to kill them of course, but not for speaking out of term!

Rosan was polite after all, he had manners.

Well, no matter. This wasn't an important pirate crew. If he remembered correctly, only their captain had a bounty so he didn't have to care about the conditions of these bodies.

Perfect!

"Modification: Auto Mode, Form: Exterminate."

Something washed over him, as he felt all his muscles relax.

Suddenly, they tensed up and in a moment, his signature scythe was in his grasp. The blade gleamed at the prospect of bloodshed.

Rosan himself, had absolutely no control over what was about to happen. The boy was currently in his mindscape, sat next to Mod-chan, watching the test run with glinting eyes.

The purple haired woman just shook her head in defeat. Leave it to Rosan to test a technique like this right here, in the middle of hostile enemies.

At least they knew he could do it.

Auto Mode, in the simplest of terms, was subconscious muscle memory. Rosan gave his body a set of orders and as long as the Mod Mod no Mi user himself was capable of

doing it, his body should in theory be able to replicate it without him needing to be in control.

Which is why he was here on this ship.

He wanted to see how effective Auto Mode was in such a different situation. The last time he had used it was on Fregate Island when he was clearing out Arata's men. When he

had been using it there, he was still partially in control.

Not this time though. This time Rosan and Mod-chan would be taking a step backwards.

The reason Rosan made Auto Mode was simple.

Battles were unpredictable.

Something could happen that could throw the entire flow of the fight out of order and a winning party could find themselves losing at the shock of it. It was impossible to fully

anticipate how a battle would turn out.

In the event something like that were to happen, well the whole tides of a fight could turn if one party was sufficiently distracted.

Rosan would not be that party. Not again.

That's where Auto Mode: Exterminate came in.

It was a variation of his Auto Mode focused solely on battle. There were no distractions because there was nothing to distract. No one was conscious of the details that didn't

pertain to battle.

While like this, nothing would get in the way of him completing his objective. Unless Rosan or Mod forcefully took over, his mission was to win the battle at all costs.

A plentiful amount of enemies could overwhelm not only a person's body, but a person's mind. Thoughts on who to attack, where to dodge, how many you need to worry about...

Such thoughts would lead to mistakes.

It would cause one to hastily make decisions that would best help thin the number of people while conserving power. Such decisions would make a person sloppy, more prone to

error. Such decisions would lead to imminent death or capture.

He would know.

Auto Mode was made to fight multiple opponents without having to worry about the arbitrary details. Efficient targeting, lack of distracting thoughts, precise attacks meant for

maximum damage...

It practically turned him into a robot. The amount of people, as long as they were not overwhelmingly stronger then him, would not be a hindrance. When things got uncertain,

Rosan would fall back to Auto Mode.

It was Rosan's killing machine and right now, he was displaying that in full.

Rosan wanted to be a force of nature, but he treated every battle like a performance. His preferred way of fighting was with nonstop aggression, but he prided himself on how

good he looked doing it. Due to the fact that he had a tendency of showing off, he also preferred to give his opponents a chance to attack.

He was like a maelstrom.

If Rosan was a maelstrom, Auto Mode(AM) was a tsunami.

The killing machine didn't care about any of the things Rosan did in battle. AM went for the most lethal blow in every strike. He did not throw out an attack unless he was sure it

would hit. He would move on to his next target, with no regards for the one he just struck down, because he was sure that they were dead.

Not a single movement was wasted. Every step was calculated, every strike connected, every hit killed.

He was done in a matter of minutes.

Effective… but there was no style. Rosan was not a fan but then again, AM was not meant for that.

AM was not meant to battle like him. He would do the flashy stuff and his exterminator could do whatever it wanted.

Mission completed, AM immediately deactivated, giving control back to Reaper. The masked boy wasn't expecting this and being given control so suddenly, disoriented him heavily.

So caught off guard was he, that Reaper didn't notice the captain charging at him, gleaming blade in hand, until it was too late to fully avoid the blow.

Reaper leapt back but the sword still grazed him. He felt a warm liquid and pursed his lips at the tear in his cloak.

He liked this cloak. He liked this cloak a lot.

The captain, realizing that his sneak attack had been only partially successful, took a step back as the implications of what he had done settled into his core. He had just struck

Reaper, The Angel of Death, after said Angel brutalized his entire crew.

With no effort.

"Honestly, it went smoother then I expected," Mod-chan tried.

Reaper growled.

The captain paled.

"We can just modify the tear away Rosan it's not that — and he's off. Wow Rosan, you can be quite sadistic when you want to be. I didn't even know the human

body could make that noise!"

"What did you learn from this Rosan?" Meiko asked, hands on her hip, as she stared firmly at the redhead.

"Ensure that AM has a built in Scan before it shoehorns me into my body again," Rosan replied easily.

She glared at him.

"…" Rosan pretended not to notice.

She glared harder.

"… Figure out all the issues with my technique before deciding to go into a dangerous environment," he eventually said and she nodded in satisfaction. As long as he knew what he

did was a mistake, she was satisfied.

"You've got him on quite the firm leash Meiko," Mod said cheekily. "Why don't you listen to me like this Rosan?" She asked in indignation and the boy smiled, equally as

cheeky.

"I'm not on a leash and I actually like Meiko," he laughed before grunting at the sudden headache he got.

Rosan hated when she did this to him.

"Brat," Mod grumbled at the boy.

"Ironic," Rosan replied, still holding his head. He was very tempted to revoke her access to his body.

Mod-chan was lucky that he loved her.

"You're ridiculously spoiled," Rosan groaned as the headache vanished as quick as it came. He let out a sigh of relief as it disappeared.

"Ironic."

Both their attention was grabbed as Meiko's laughter rang through the air. At least someone found their exchange funny.

"Shehehehe," the girl laughed genuinely at their antics and Rosan felt his face go slightly red. Her eyes were full of mirth and she smiled happily, as her face glowed red. Her

golden blonde hair shook in time with her amusement as her small body shuddered in glee.

He decided that he quite liked her laugh.

"Whipped."

"There's no way you got this annoying from me."

"You keep fooling yourself into thinking that."

"I am not whipped."

"And I'm not a voice inside your head. We can both lie, you see?"

"..."

"It's okay Rosy, I don't think you're that whipped."

"You are not helping Mei."

"She's just too nice to admit it."

"That's not true Mod-chan! I think he's whipped but he's not that whipped!"

"… Alright, I'll show you whipped."

"Wait Rosy what are you doing — s-stop I'm ticklish! Mod-chan h-help me — shehehehe!"

"… I'm ticklish too unfortunately and I don't want to become Rosan's target. You've made an honorable sacrifice Meiko."

"Traitor!"

"Don't worry Meiko, she's next."

"Wait Rosan we can talk about this!"

"Absolutely not."

"Please Rosy have mercy on me!"

"No, I don't think I will~"

The helpless laughter of the girl rang out through the ship.

Chapter End

The Misadventures of Robin and Rosan – 5

Robin and Rosan are 10 and 6 respectively.

Summary: Rosan gets injured, Robin blames herself.

Robin messed up and Rosan had paid the price because of it.

Because of her incompetence, her favorite person in the world was injured.

Looking at the unconscious boy, made Robin feel utterly worthless in that moment.

He looked so small and vulnerable, his red hair splayed haphazardly over a resting face and his customary grin was gone. Instead, he donned a small, if not slightly pained,

expression on his bronze face.

At least his breathing was steady. She didn't know what she would do if Rosan just… she didn't even want to think about it.

To make matters worse, the boy hadn't even been the one to make a mistake, she had. They had been in a fight together and she had let her guard down, thinking the battle was

over. There were unconscious bodies lying everywhere in wake of their battle, groaning from the duos onslaught.

Rosan had been humming a jaunty tune as he stole everything of value from them. The boy looked a little worse for wear but he was relatively unharmed, which made her

relieved.

The thought of the redhead getting injured by one of these excursions always terrified her but the boy was a natural at fighting, even at his terribly young age.

The girl didn't notice one of the unconscious bodies sneaking up on her before it was too late. With a furious yell, the offender tried to strike down the traitorous Nico Robin.

She turned around in surprise but there wouldn't be enough time to react.

Then Rosan, always so protective of her, shouted out "Robin-nee!" shoved her out of the way and took the slash meant for her. Robin wasted no time sprouting arms all over the

attacker and she broke every single bone in his body.

He did not get back up.

She watched in horror as Rosan's body collapsed like a puppet with its strings cut. The 10 year old rushed over to her younger companion in panic and tears sprung up at the

sight.

Rosan was not moving. A pool of blood was forming under his tiny body.

There was so much blood. A child his size should not be bleeding this much. "R-Rosan?" Robin called, afraid to touch him. In that moment, he looked so small and he was bleeding

a copious amount.

There was no response from the redhead.

The pool of blood grew larger.

No no no no no no! This couldn't be happening. This just couldn't. R-Rosan he…he had saved her life and now he was paying the price.

Just like everyone on Ohara. Just like her mom. Just like Saul.

Yet here she was doing nothing as Rosan laid motionless in a puddle of his own blood. She was worthless. How did it always end up like this? Why was she the one who always

survived? Why couldn't she just be happy —

"Robin now's not the time!" A frantic voice snapped her out of her self destructive thoughts. Robin's eyes went wide at the familiar voice.

"M-Mod-chan?" Robin called hesitantly. Hearing the purple haired woman's voice snapped her out of her daze and filled her with an undeniable relief.

What was she doing? Rosan was bleeding out and she was taking the time to wallow in misery?

She needed to help him immediately because that's what he would do for her! The brunette looked at Rosan's lying body with nothing but determination.

With the others, she couldn't do anything but, she could help save Rosan.

No, she would absolutely save Rosan.

Whatever it took. Robin would keep Rosan safe.

"I'm glad you're better," Mod said softly, relieved that Robin snapped out of it.

"I'm directing everything onto his injury so I just need you to apply pressure to the wound and to bandage him up. In the meantime, please bring him to a safe

area."

Mod was focusing intently on ensuring that Rosan's body prioritized the wound, first and foremost over everything else. With Modification, it was child's play.

No person had access to their body quite like Rosan did with the Devil Fruit, but that didn't stop her from worrying. The wound was deep and he was losing a lot of blood.

Robin nodded and stripped one of the unconscious bodies of their shirt. She used said shirt to wrap it firmly around the wound that covered the middle of his back. She made sure

not to aggravate the injury while tightening the cloth.

Picking the boy up, she placed him firmly on her back and, utilizing the Hana Hana no mi, she summoned an extra set of hands to keep him steady.

Rosan was so light… The boy ate a lot, but...maybe she should spend more of their funds on food.

She began the trip back to the White Rose, little Rosan in tow, and that's what brought her to the current situation. The Hana Hana no mi user was looking at Rosan's sleeping

figure, absentmindedly prodding her food.

She didn't know how long she had been here. Mod-chan had told her to get some food and the black haired girl had initially refused, but the woman had reminded her that Rosan

would be furious if she willingly hurt herself for him and so, she reluctantly went to make something to eat.

Robin sighed and decided to at least finish off the rest of her food.

Mod was right, Rosan would be livid with her if she neglected herself because of him. She quickly polished off her plate of rice and rushed off to place it in the sink.

The Hana Hana no mi user made her way back to the room with a fresh set of bandages and a wet rag. Robin unwrapped his previous set and she gained a relieved expression,

as she looked at the injury. It wasn't nearly as bad as when she had first brought him here.

When she first looked at the gaping injury, she had thrown up and her sobs shook her growing frame.

Mod had spent the better part of an hour soothing the girl all while working on Rosan's body.

Honestly, the Devil Fruit was too good for them sometimes.

Now though, the wound had healed immensely and it looked worse then it actually was due to the dried blood staining it.

The 10 year old diligently wiped the rag across his naked back and gently dabbed at his wound, being careful not to aggravate it. After she had thoroughly cleaned him, she

proceeded to wrap the bandage around him. It was as she was doing this that the boy began to stir.

"Mm." Robin's head snapped up, as she heard the boy utter a noise. Her face morphed into hope as he slowly but surely began to wake up. The redhead shifted his body, and his

bleary eyes were glowing red, a sign of him utilizing Modification. He groaned tiredly and turned so that he wasn't face down on the bed.

"Robin-nee?" The redhead asked, as he took notice of Robin immediately.

Unable to hold herself back, Robin crashed into the boy and wrapped him in a hug. She hugged him for dear life, like he was going to disappear at any moment.

Rosan squeaked in surprise, before rebounding like a champ and returning the hug.

What was going on? His brows furrowed as he felt tears landing on his body. Was Robin-nee okay? What happened?

"I'm sorry I'm sorry I'm sorry," the girl sobbed into him and Rosan's purple eyes went soft.

"Why are you apologizing to me, Robin-nee?" The 6 year old asked her softly and he patted her hair in hopes of calming her down. He was largely successful and eventually, the

girl stopped shaking uncontrollably.

"B-because of me, you got hurt so badly!" She wailed and Rosan decided he didn't like seeing his calm and collected Robin-nee so shaken up. The female devil fruit user was

normally so composed and it balanced out well with his wild personality.

"I-I was so scared Rosan… there was so much blood and you weren't moving a-and I thought I was gonna lose you like I lost everyone else a-and waaa!" Robin's sobs renewed, as

she recalled what happened and she clutched onto Rosan in fear of him disappearing at any given moment.

"W-why would y-you risk your life f-for someone like me…?" Robin whispered and Rosan's eyes narrowed dangerously.

He knew Robin. Like him, she suffered from PTSD due to the events that happened on Ohara. They were both suffering and they dealt with it in their own ways. Rosan accepted

that part of her wholeheartedly because he was the same.

"Robin, look at me."

What Rosan would not accept, was Robin needlessly putting herself down.

He would not accept that at all.

"Don't you dare talk about yourself like that again or you'll make me really mad. You're an incredible person and I won't allow anyone, even yourself, to tell you otherwise."

Rosan's anger was palpable and Robin reeled back in surprise.

"Was I supposed to just stand there and watch you get hit?" Rosan asked her and her eyes widened in guilt. "H-how do you think I would feel if I saw you bleeding out Robin? I

have the luxury of having Mod-chan so I can heal faster than normal… You don't have Mod-chan."

He remembered it perfectly of course. He had finished defeating his last opponent and was looting them for all that they had. He turned towards Robin to cheer at a job well done

and he saw someone charging her, weapon in hand, with intent to kill. So hasty was Rosan, he didn't even reinforce himself before launching Robin out of the way.

All he felt was pain, as the saber struck him and then, he blacked out.

"You could rewind 100 times and I'd do the same thing again and again. No matter what, I'd make sure you stayed safe Robin-nee because… because I can't lose someone again,"

Rosan's anger tapered off and he sounded so tiny, so vulnerable, so tired, so young.

He should not have to worry about life and death at such an age.

"Y-you would go to such lengths for me?" Robin asked in disbelief and… hope? Rosan nodded resolutely and she couldn't help but ask "Why?"

"Because I love you." His answer was short, simple, and in hindsight, quite obvious. Yet, it felt as if he had spoken a thousand words to her. Rosan sounded so sure of what he just

said and though it was easy for him to say… it was so so hard for Robin to believe.

The 10 year old looked stun as she digested his words. Rosan… he loved her? Robin had heard the words before but no one had ever said them to her… Not even her mother.

How could anyone love her? How could anyone love the Devil Child. It was inconceivable. No one should be capable of loving someone like her.

Everyone hated or feared her...

But, here was this boy saying the complete opposite. This wholesome, amazing little boy, telling her that he loved her with all his heart. There was no room for doubt in his tone

so why should she not believe him? Why should she not believe that someone did love her. S-she…she deserved that much right. She deserved to be loved by even one person

right?

Robin looked into Rosan's deep royal purple eyes and recoiled at the look in them.

His gaze was honest, full of so much love and the redhead was directing it towards her and she could tell he truly meant everything he said. The raw emotion he exhibited

threatened to overwhelm her like all the other times and it was just so much.

No one should be able to show her such blatant affection. Especially not someone like Rosan who had his own heavy baggage to carry.

So why?

Since they had met, Rosan had been a shining light in her, otherwise, dark life. The longer they spent with each other, the closer they got and she could confidently say that the

bronze boy was the only person in the world who cared for her. Robin didn't know why Rosan was so amazing to her but without him… she'd still be running, unable to sleep well,

always with one eye open, not trusting anything or anyone around her.

But he granted her the safety she had been craving for so long. Because he loved her.

Of course he loved her. Wasn't it obvious? She would be stupid to realize that he didn't.

Tears welled into her eye as she broke down. Robin didn't realize that she just wanted someone, anyone to say those words and mean it.

For as long as she could remember, Robin had been an outcast. None of the kids wanted to associate with her, her aunt despised her, her mother had abandoned her, and her only

solace was in the Tree of Knowledge and the scholars in there who treated her like an equal.

But she was still only 10. She was a child and children needed some form of affection. Affection that she seldom got.

Yet, here was another child, with his own problems, happily willing to show her the affection she so desperately needed.

It was too much for the scarred girl and she broke down.

"I-I love you too, Rosan," Robin sobbed in happiness as she buried her head into his smaller frame. "I promise Rosan I won't let something like this happen again! I-I'll keep you

safe! I swear! I never wanna feel this sadness again!"

Rosan hugged her with equal fervor. His hold was tight but soothing and Robin felt herself instinctively relaxing in his embrace.

After a moment, she hesitantly looked up just to see those same caring eyes again. She feared that maybe it was all a trick and Rosan's eyes would be replaced by a cruel gaze

replicated by so many others in her life. Just to prove that she had fallen for another trap.

But no, his eyes were still the same. Full of love and care, reserved for her. Nobody ever reserved such emotion for her...

Robin blushed.

Robin was doing a good job at keeping her promise.

She was doing too good of a job.

The girl was afraid to let Rosan out of her sight and as a result, he was being suffocated.

It started off simple enough. Robin had decided promptly, that she would be sleeping in the same room as him and Rosan was ecstatic to hear the news! The older girl slept in his

room often, but she decided that, for the sake of his injury, she'd be a more permanent resident.

They both ignored the fact that Rosan was mostly healed.

The Hana Hana no Mi user also began making the Mod Mod no Mi user more food to eat, which was also great! Rosan burned through a lot of energy due to Modification so he

consumed plenty of food! Robin had said that maybe they were using to low of funds on food (they weren't) and that they should spend a bit more.

She was in charge of stuff like that, so Rosan accepted without complaint.

Besides, he loved food! Who didn't? It tasted really good!

The boy noticed very quickly that Robin was hovering him, clearly afraid at the prospect of potentially losing him and the girl followed him wherever he went. They hadn't even

been doing their infiltration missions because the brunette admitted that she would miss him! That was crazy! He was the one that normally missed her so it threw him for a loop.

Rosan understood what she was going through and he liked the attention so he didn't have an issue with it.

Now though, it was getting a bit ridiculous. Robin wasn't letting him outta her sight and he was beginning to feel the effects. He loved Robin but this… this was too much!

Rosan tried to consult Mod-chan about it, but the purple haired woman laughed at him and said that Robin was acting a lot like him.

Like him?! The audacity! Rosan had promptly stuck his nose up at her and told the Devil Fruit he'd deal with it himself. She laughed even harder at him and the boy decided he

was mad at her!

That didn't last for very long though...

But, he needed to talk to her about this, he couldn't breathe!

Currently, Robin was washing his red locks in the bath and Rosan hummed in bliss at the feeling. He loved getting his hair rubbed and Robin knew all the right spots by heart now.

The boy melted into her grasp and practically turned into a puppy.

...Wait, don't get distracted Rosan!

"Robin-nee, we need to talk," Rosan said, fighting through the bliss to address the girl.

"Hm? What is it Rosan?" The brunette asked cheerfully as she rubbed a specific spot on his head that had him purring. She giggled as the boy acted like putty in her hands.

Rosan snapped out of his reverie and focused on the main topic at hand. "You're becoming a bit much, Robin-nee," he said bluntly, as he leaned his head back to look at her.

Robin raised a brow at him in confusion but she wasn't fooling anyone. Rosan knew how much of a genius the brunette was, so the girl was acting dumb. That meant the female

Devil Fruit user noticed how she was acting…

"Robin-nee, you're suffocating me. You aren't letting me out of your sight and you are kind of overly protective of me," he muttered to her soothingly. "I know why you're doing it

so I really don't mind, but you're going a bit far don't you think…?"

The 10 year old frowned at his words. "I-I'm not that bad!" She protested and went silent at the deadpan glare Rosan shot her.

"Someone accidentally bumped into me and I'm pretty sure you scarred the poor lady when you summoned all those arms on her… We had to leave the island immediately and it

wasn't because of me this time!" Rosan exclaimed to her and she flushed in embarrassment.

"You could have gotten hurt!" She tried reasoning with him but Rosan remained wholly unimpressed. Eventually she held her head in defeat.

"I'm just so scared…" Robin mumbled and Rosan's gaze softened at the tone of her voice. "I'm scared that I'll lose you if I let you out of my sight! I-If I lose you, I don't know

what I'll do, Rosan."

"That day when you got injured, it made me realize that you and Mod-chan are all I have… I was so terrified at the thought of you dying Rosan, I don't know how I'd be able to

continue," the brunette confessed quietly.

Rosan's eyes widened in dread as he heard her admittance and the boy almost chopped her on the head.

Th redhead desperately wanted to tell her that, in the event of something happening to him, she would need to be strong for the both of them but…he would be a hypocrite if he

did tell her that.

The redhead didn't know what he would do if Robin died. Just the mere thought of it, had him shuddering in fear.

No, he could not bear to witness that.

"Robin," Rosan called the downcast girl. "I… I won't die until I become the strongest and when I become the strongest, no one will be able to kill me so you don't have to worry

about that. I promise," Rosan told her with the utmost confidence. He had no intentions of kicking the dust until he became the strongest

"If anything happens to me… you have to try and be strong for the both of us okay Robin? I… I don't want to be the reason you give up, so please keep fighting until we see each

other again because I won't die," he begged the older girl, looking directly in her blue eyes.

Robin couldn't believe what she was hearing from him right now. He wanted her to just move on?! H-how could he expect her to just do that? It wasn't possible, she would be too

devastated!

"It's okay to take time and mourn," Mod spoke up, voice soft and understanding. "What's not okay, is allowing such emotions to weigh you down permanently.

Everyone needs time to mourn but you cannot mourn forever."

Royal purple, with small, nearly invisible pupils, stared into sky blue, with wide dark pupils, and eventually, purple won out.

"Okay, Rosan," Robin conceded with a small sigh. Arguing with the boy was impossible sometimes.

He was right though. Robin would never be able to forgive herself, if she inadvertently blamed Rosan for giving up on life. No matter what the reasoning was. If she disappointed

the boy even further then… well she'd hate herself.

"Awesome Robin-nee, I'm glad we could talk this out!" Rosan smiled wide and Robin was surprised that he hadn't jumped to hug her yet. Bathing or not, the 6 year old had no

clue what boundaries were and Robin had eventually come to accept it.

At least Rosan was not a pervert. She was sure he didn't even know much about things like that. She'd probably have to teach him… that would be fun.

Robin noticed that his eyes were closed despite him looking at her and she stifled a laugh as realization hit her.

"Rosan?" Robin called the 6 year old.

"Yes Robin-nee?" He asked.

"You have soap in your eyes don't you."

"...Yes Robin-nee."

Robin let out a small giggle and fondly said "Oh Rosan, what would you do without me?"

"Drown probably," Mod supplied helpfully.

"Burn the ship down," Robin joined her in the teasing.

"Subjugate an entire island."

"Piss off the entire world with his personality."

"I think he's doing a good job at that already."

"You two are so mean," he said glumly, interrupting their completely unnecessary bashing! They laughed at the youngest ships inhabitant.

The boy shook his head in misery. They were ridiculous! Absolutely ridiculous! The worst kind of ridiculous!

"… Robin it's starting to burn. Please help me."

"Yes of course Rosan. Hold still please."

"It's not funny."

"It's pretty funny."

"I have to agree with Mod-chan it is pretty funny."

"I'm gonna beat the both of you up."

"You would never/You would never."

"… I hate you guys."

Bonus End.

Modification Techniques: Auto Mode(AM)

Modification: Auto Mode – Using Modification on himself, Rosan plants a set of orders into his body to carry out without conscious thought. As long as Rosan can perform the set

of orders, AM can replicate it. Rosan does this, so he can focus on the internal parts of his body such as training during the day inside of his mindscape without negative impact on

his body.

Auto Mode, Form: Exterminate: Rosan plants a set of orders into his body to kill any person labeled an enemy in its vicinity. Unfortunately...it will automatically shut off if it

does not detect anyone. As such, Rosan plans to plant additional orders to Scan the area in intervals and to make sure the battle is absolutely over.

Fun Fact: Rosan wanted AM so that he could multitask his mind and body freely. His original desire as a child was to have the mode so he could spend all the time in the world

with Mod-chan.