Chapter 21: Resentment 2

"I assumed you didn't need my help either and look where that got us," Rosan countered, indicating all the flames surrounding the group. Even now, they were barely avoiding getting licked and the immense heat had them all sweating.

Everyone actually gaped at the snide words coming out the teen's mouth. They hadn't expected him to talk back. He hardly ever talked back!

"I let you do things your way and it turned into a massive disaster. Now, we do things my way and my way doesn't need you to be here," the redhead finished. Rosan didn't need Ace to win this fight

Ace actually looked like he was about to come to blows with his older brother, if the way he tensed up meant anything. "Stay. Out. Of. It," the freckled boy warned one last time. He clenched his pipe tightly and glared darkly at the redhead. He'd take him and Bluejam out if he had to.

"…" Rosan glanced at him with those dead eyes, contemplating his demands before nodding his head.

"Okay," he agreed and he vanished from their sight.

Ace thought that was the end of it, but a presence suddenly appeared behind him and before he could whirl around, a gentle but firm hand rested on his back, preventing him from moving.

"You can talk to me later when there's not a fire surrounding us, sucking the oxygen out of you," Rosan's cold voice echoed.

"Modification: Rest Mode," the redhead thought to himself and Ace felt the lull of sleep calling.

He tried to resist and would have succeeded, but Rosan was merciless and the long duration spent in the fire, had already sapped him of his energy. Ace shot the teen a deep final glare before passing out from the technique.

This wasn't over. Not by a long shot.

"He's going to be very upset."

"Good. That means he's alive."

"Will you be alright?" Dadan asked worriedly, as Rosan handed the sleeping Ace to her. "The fire is spreading everywhere and you might get caught in it!"

The redhead didn't even look at her. "Thank you for your concern, but flames these cold, will never burn me," he informed her and then he shooed them away.

After a moment's hesitation, they left, but not before shooting more worried looks back at the fourteen year old.

"Don't think you can run, Bluejam," Rosan whispered to the terrified captain. "You didn't let my brothers escape, so I'm not about to let you."

"Then we'll die here, together!" Bluejam roared. "We'll both die in these flames tonight! I don't care anymore if I die but I'm taking you with me for ruining EVERY FUCKING THING!"

"How delusional." The redhead shook his head and his dead gaze landed on the captain.

"Someone like you could never kill me. Now come and die. Join me for your last performance; I will make sure to kill you before these flames do."

The two stared at each other. One the perfect picture of calm and the other, a hysterical insanity.

"A sword and a gun," Rosan mused. "Very well, I will fight you with the same weapons. I do think the sword is a bit boring though, maybe you should consider getting a more unique weapon."

"Stop fucking with me," Bluejam snarled. This boy was talking to him like he were discussing the weather and that irritated him beyond belief. He was captain Bluejam, some snot nosed brat had no right to be underestimating him!

"I don't really think I'm "fucking" with you," Rosan said idly and his ring transformed into a long silver and purple katana, that made Bluejam's eyes widen in surprise.

"I think I'm executing you."

The teen dashed forward and clashed blades with the much taller man and they remained like that for only a moment, until Rosan started overpowering him.

Bluejam's eyes widened at the sight of the shorter teen effortlessly pushing him back and he hastily broke contact to make distance.

"How old are you, boy?" The man asked hesitantly. There was no way he was a child like his reports suggested.

"Fourteen," Rosan replied, transforming his katana into a gun and shooting a hole through the hand reaching for a gun. "You can't distract me, Bluejam. You have my undivided attention. I know some people in a bar that would love that honor."

The captain howled and grabbed his injured hand. He looked down at the wound and nearly threw up at the gruesome injury. "W-what are you brat?! How are you able to do that? Do you have a Devil Fruit?!"

"Now why would I waste my breath answering a dead man's questions?" Rosan wondered.

Bluejam saw red. Combined with the lack of oxygen, suffocating heat from the flames and the agonizing pain of getting a hole put through your hand, it was natural that the pirate captain fully lost it.

The insane captain let out an unhinged roar and sprinted at the redhead, ignoring all the signs that he would almost certainly not win against the monster staring lazily at him.

"Driven insane by a request that you so foolishly believed would be granted to you," Rosan hummed. "Did you really think someone like you could become a noble? Well, I don't blame you, you sure do have the face of one."

"SHUT THE FUCK UP YOU LITTLE SHIT!" Bluejam roared.

"We should trash talk more often," Ram grinned giddily. Bluejam didn't even look human right now with all the veins and soot riddling his face!

"You're a bad influence on everyone you interact with, Ram," Mod chastised fondly. Leave it to her to make fun of a dying man.

"But isn't it more fun this way?!" She cackled in joy, enjoying watching her father's treatment of this waste of space.

Rosan effortlessly sidestepped the man's wild attack and stuck out one foot to trip him. The man collapsed and groaned in agony due to the blistering heat of the floor. He couldn't breathe. Everytime he inhaled, his lungs burned hot.

"Are you finding it hard to breathe? Is thinking becoming more difficult? Is your vision becoming spotty? Do you want some water?" The redhead asked quietly and it finally occurred to Bluejam that this brat before him was torturing him.

"Is it too hot? Are you thinking to yourself "I need to hurry up and kill this brat so that I can escape from this fire?" I bet your also wondering why it isn't affecting me, right?"

Rosan exposed his sharp fangs and let loose a massive burst of flames from his mouth, that made Bluejam collapse in surprise. H-Had he just let out a breath of fire?! He... He couldn't kill this monster! There was no way! If he kept attacking... he would just die!

"You didn't think flames like this, could really affect a dragon, right?" Rosan snarled and the captain finally began begging for his life.

"You won't die to the flames that you created, but you'll certainly be dying to some flames. It's fitting don't you think?"

Rosan began slowly walking towards Bluejam, who desperately tried to crawl away from the demonic sociopath in human flesh.

"Wait wait! I didn't mean to mess with your brothers and I don't want the money anymore! I promise!" Bluejam begged. It only increased in frequency as the flames began to lick his skin from the close proximity.

"I don't believe in promises anymore," Rosan uttered and the area around him began getting hotter and hotter.

"Do you have any last wish?" The redhead asked kindly, shifting from that guttural growl to his neutral, human, tone. It was jarring to see how quickly he could switch between the two and only added more to his inhuman air.

"P-please let me live!" Bluejam requested and Rosan actually paused in his steps.

The redhead tilted his head and said, "Okay."

Bluejam let out a gasp of disbelief. Was he seriously going to just let him live?! All because it was his final wish? Just who was this guy?!

"You can live on in my memories, despite how disappointing you were, Bluejam. Trust me when I say, I will never forget you," Rosan acquiesced and his flames roared to life.

Bluejam's eyes bugged in terror and the man looked for anyway to escape.

There was none.

"Goodbye, Bluejam."

"Annihilation," Rosan growled and a massive wave of fire formed from his mouth.

"WAIT PLEASE LET ME LI — AGHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"

The flames moved and Bluejam's screams were drowned out by the fire.

"I TOLD YOU NOT TO GET IN MY WAY!"

Rosan grabbed the pipe out of midair and stared evenly at his seething brother, not budging an inch.

Ace looked pissed. There was a dark look in his eyes and he was gritting his teeth so hard, that they began to creak.

Injured little Luffy, was staring at his two older brothers with a worried look at the exchange.

The redhead had just gotten to the bandit's hideout after dealing with Bluejam and his, now awake, younger brother decided to graciously greet him.

"You need to know when to step down from a battle," Rosan suggested quietly. "Some things are more important then winning a fight."

"Shut up," Ace snarled. "I never run away from a fight and you got in my way when I told you to stay out of it!"

Rosan hummed. "I did stay out of it, Ace and look what that got us. I let you run things and now Sabo is with the parents he hate, Luffy is seriously injured and you both were about to die in a fire. If I continued to stay out of it, who knows what would have happened."

Ace let out a savage growl. "I had it under control until you butt in when I didn't want you to. I told you stop trying to act like I need an older brother but you don't listen!"

"You think this is me trying to act like an older brother?" Rosan asked in disbelief and he actually began to feel something from his brothers stupidity.

Annoyance.

"You put Luffy's life at risk, Ace. He is my captain and he could have died because of how stubborn you chose to be. All of this is happening because of your stupid pride," the redhead said and his eyes were narrowed slightly.

"It's fine to not want my help, but dragging our younger brothers into it, is where I draw the line."

Ace was seeing red and he wildly swung at the teen again, but Rosan had enough. He grabbed his younger brother out of midair and pinned him onto the floor viciously, knocking the wind out of him.

"Guys! Please!" Dogra begged but Rosan glared at him and the rare sight, made him yelp and fall backwards in fear. He had never realized how intimidating the redhead's gaze could be.

Satisfied that he wouldn't interfere again, the redhead focused back on his freckled brother and fixed him with that same glare.

Ace was stunned to see actual anger on Rosan's face and stopped struggling as much in wake of his surprise.

"One pull," Rosan said lowly. "With just one pull, I would have resolved all of this. Gray Terminal would not have burned, Luffy would be fine and Sabo would be here."

"But you chose to make it difficult on purpose. Do you want to know why?" The redhead asked and he didn't even give his little brother a chance to speak.

"Because you still resent me."

Ace's eyes narrowed and he growled. "I already said I don't resent you —"

"I do not like liars," Rosan interrupted coldly. "Fine then. I'll spell it out for you."

"Rosan don't you think this can be settled another way?" Mod asked nervously.

"No."

His answer was short and to the point and Mod knew he wouldn't be changing it.

"All of this could have been avoided if you had just called me, but you refused my help until the very end," Rosan repeated and Ace glared at him. "Do you know why? Because the thought of me helping you out, fills you with disgust. The thought that the brother who abandoned you to at birth, is here helping you, is sickening. That is called resentment, Ace."

"Like I said," Ace snarled lowly. "I don't resent you. I didn't want you to get in my way and you did just that. Because of you, I had to back down from a fight. I never back down from a fight."

Rosan's eyes narrowed at that line of thought. "Thinking like that is going to get you killed, you little idiot," he growled. Fighting to the end wasn't the end all be all. Ace's reckless style of thinking was bound to get him in trouble eventually.

He learned first hand that some battles were not worth finishing until everyone was safe.

"Maybe I wouldn't have had to think like that if you taught me earlier in my life," he snarked violently before his eyes widened.

There was a pregnant pause as everyone registered the words until Rosan broke it.

The fourteen year old closed his eyes and said, "Throwing one of my biggest regrets back into my face is low, Ace. Nobody knows how much I messed up more than I do but I didn't think you'd stoop to that to win an argument."

The teen abruptly got up and released the ten year old from his grasp. "Some things are more important than finishing a fight. Keeping the ones you love safe, should always be a higher priority," he whispered knowingly before shaking his head.

"Never mind, I'll be leaving for a few days."

Ace couldn't even say anything as Rosan vanished from his view but in that brief moment, his older brother had sounded sad.

It made the freckled boy feel guiltier than he could imagine.

"That was mean, Ace," Luffy said bluntly and the boy sighed.

"Shut up, Luffy."

Sabo couldn't stay here any longer. Every moment spent here, felt like he was becoming less of himself.

His parents wanted him to live for them and not himself simply because they birthed him. They didn't care about what he wanted or what his goals were, Sabo was worthless unless he did what they wanted.

That was no way to live.

"Ace... Luffy… I know that fire didn't kill you two," Sabo sighed to himself. There was no way the fire killed them, Rosan would make sure that the two made it out alive.

Rosan… he so badly wanted to take up the teens offer so that he could be with the three again but the constant harassment (he knew it would be coming) against the redhead, would make him react in a way that was not favorable for anyone.

He did not want Rosan to go on a murder spree. Terrible they may be, the nobles didn't deserve to die and that's what his brother would eventually do.

Besides, his eldest brother already had too much on his plate right now and Sabo didn't want to add even more. He didn't want to restrict his freedom, when that was one of the few things he still had, by keeping him rooted to this island. He had friends like Maro, Angel, Demon and Makino and he deserved to visit them...

"So what will you do? It's obvious you won't remain here. Where do you plan on escaping?"

The teen had seen through him like a book. Sabo was going to leave the Goa Kingdom because he would never be free if he stayed here.

The nobles were rotten to the core and they sickened him to a nauseating degree.

He wouldn't be Sabo if he remained here so he needed to escape.

The blonde thought about asking Rosan for help but the teen had done enough already and as a captain, he needed to be able to do this on his own and not overly rely on another captains crewmate.

It was a little early but he had no choice.

Sabo would escape this island and become a pirate.

"Master… you look a little gloomy," Maro commented, blue hair bobbing as she looked him up and down. They were sat in the Princess' office and she was using this as a great opportunity to avoid looking at her paperwork (she hated paperwork).

Angel hummed as she cut another strand of Rosan's hair. It was getting past his shoulder and she decided to trim it down for him.

This had the added effect of allowing her to see him with his hair down. She liked when his hair was down.

"Maro's right, you seem a bit upset," Demon agreed. It was hard to tell but he had become super observing of his Master and all his tendencies. He was skillful enough to tell that Rosan was currently feeling something and the doctor in him was a little worried.

He had promptly showed up, without warning, and they had immediately jumped him in happiness but after a day of allowing him to brood in peace, they decided that something was up with him.

"Ah yes, I am a bit upset," Rosan admitted easily enough. "I got into an argument with Ace and he made me feel annoyed."

Their eyes widened at that and so, Rosan told them everything. They listened with varying expressions and nodded along with everything he said.

"All of this sounds like you could have easily resolved it," Maro pointed out with a slight frown. "Is Ace really that stubborn?"

"It's not only Ace, Master is incredibly stubborn too," Angel chastised and she momentarily stopped trimming his hair to place her hands on her hips. "Ace is in the wrong for endangering all of their lives but you should have put up with his anger and just stopped it before it could become problematic! These are your brothers Master, not little playthings to prove your point!"

Maro squeaked at the tone Angel took with Master. "W-when did you get so attached to those kids?!"

Demon's brow was raised in surprise. "You like other people? Since when? What did I miss while you were still there?"

Even if they were Master's brothers, that wouldn't have given them that much of a free pass with his antagonistic sister. They must have really left a good impression on her.

Rosan moved his head to stare back at Angel and she flinched as his gaze bore into her. So maybe she shouldn't have snapped on him like that... ugh, she knew being separated from him for so long wasn't a good idea. Now she was reprimanding him!

"You're right," he admitted softly and she froze in surprise. "I unknowingly treated them not as brothers but as subjects to prove a point too. I'm not used to all of this."

Their eyes softened at his honesty and Angel sighed. "You both need to apologize to each other but you two are way too stubborn. Though, I'm glad you retained at least some part of your personality traits."

The redhead finished cutting the oldest triplets hair and was satisfied to see it back to it's shoulder length level. She tied it the back half of it into a bun, leaving his front spikes free and sighed sadly at the sight.

"Alright! Let's go apologize!" Angel declared suddenly. "I'm coming with you to make this right!"

"Alright, I need to visit Sabo soon anyways and make sure he's okay," Rosan agreed.

"I won't be able to come this time," Demon said apologetically. He liked the kids but his job as a doctor took a lot of his attention. He was due to go in soon and just wanted to spend time with Master before he did.

"There's no need to apologize. I'm proud of you," Rosan smiled softly and the younger twin blushed in happiness.

"Aww I'd love to come but I'm busy dealing with this," Maro whined and she glared at the cursed papers.

She was too young for this! She needed an assistant to do this for her or else she'd go insane!

"Next time," Rosan reassured, patting her on the head.

"I don't see you doing paperwork ever," Maro grumbled in indignation. Sure there was nothing that he needed to do paperwork for, but he didn't even do it around Aiko!

"Because I don't want to do paperwork," Rosan said blandly. "If you don't want to do it, hire an assistant. It's what I would do after verifying they are trustworthy."

Maro glanced at her teacher in disbelief at his words. "You wouldn't just do it on your own? What…?"

"Of course not," the redhead replied. "I don't need such responsibilities, even if I were royalty."

Then Rosan paused. "Oh speaking of which, Mod-chan told me that my biological mother is a queen so I have royal blood."

…

"Huh?" Maro asked intelligently. What the hell did he just say?

"W-wait, what?!" Angel stammered in shock at the casual bombshell. Did he just say what she thought he said?

"You're a prince?!" Demon gaped in disbelief. Why would he just tell them that so casually? This seemed really important!

"Yes," Mod said calmly.

"I'm dating an actual princess?!" Maro squeaked, looking at Angel in fear. She wasn't worthy! She was only a queen by name! She didn't have royal blood flowing through her veins.

"Is that all your thinking about?" Ram wondered in amusement.

"You were dating an actual princess before you knew that information," Angel sneered in a superior manner.

"Yeah, because I'm a queen! Look at you riding my coattails!" Maro smirked smugly.

"Smug little shit," the redhead growled.

"Ironic!" Maro barked.

As the two began to inevitably devolve into an argument, Demon, being the only normal person, instead asked Rosan to elaborate on the information he just told them.

The redhead nodded and told them about what Mod had informed him and they momentarily remained silent to digest the information.

"If I ever meet your birth mom, I might assault her," Maro said lowly, eyes glowing orange momentarily.

"She would abandon you as a newborn? That's inhumane... bless Rouge for being able to find you because you would have died otherwise," Demon muttered. That was disgusting behavior, newborns needed their mothers and she had left him behind without a second thought... Rosan really could have died if he hadn't been found so quickly.

"You say I might look like her?" Angel frowned. "That sucks. I don't want to look like her."

"You don't look like her, you look like me," Rosan said simply, instantly making her feel better. "I don't care about her so you three shouldn't either."

"Fine," Maro grumbled. "I'm still gonna hit her though. It shouldn't be difficult to tell who your mother is."

"She is not my mother," Rosan told her truthfully. "The bond we have is nonexistent and so you should not hate her on my behalf."

"That's rather mature of you, Master," Angel smiled and Rosan hummed.

"Make no mistake, this is just what I'm saying because we have never met. It's easy to say something when you aren't actually in the scenario but things may change if I ever meet her personally."

"It's good that you are keeping an open mind on this. That way, you won't be caught off guard in case you do get angry," Mod praised.

Her little boy was growing up way too fast for her!

"You're too cool, Master," Maro sighed fondly and then she waved them off. "You two go while I deal with this nonsense. I'm coming to visit next time, though," the bluenette finished, glaring at the paper.

Angel laughed at the look and planted a gentle kiss on her cheek. "You'll be fine, I'm seriously proud of you for taking this so seriously," she told the younger teen and Maro turned beet red.

"Ah, stop embarrassing me!" The goblin girl beamed, completely contradicting her words. "Go! Get outta here!" She demanded.

"Okay okay!" Angel agreed and she grabbed onto Rosan with an amused expression on her face. The redheads waved at her and they promptly vanished.

Maro grumbled to herself and Demon patted himself off as he stood, so that he could go to work.

"KANNA!" She suddenly screamed and the footsteps approached quickly.

It was a good thing Kanna was never far from her!

"Yes Princess?" The black haired girl called. Ever since her talk with Rosan, she had gotten much more comfortable around the castle and as a result, much more confident in herself.

Maro had no clue how Rosan did it so easily. She was honestly jealous.

"I want you to look into potential candidates for a secretary position. I'm sick and tired of doing all this paperwork and it's getting in the way of my training." Maro definitely didn't whine saying that.

"What about me?" Kanna blinked in confusion. It seemed like an obvious choice to her, considering how much she hovered Maro.

"You want to?!" Maro replied in surprise. Kanna did a lot for her so she was surprised the girl was offering to do this too.

"I think she's a good choice," Demon nodded, patting the small girl on the head. She nodded enthusiastically with a bright smile.

"Princess Angel has been teaching me a lot recently! I can filter the type of things you get so you don't have to do too much!" She beamed with a rosy blush on her face that Maro immediately picked up on.

"Hey wait a minute… d-do you have a crush on Angel?!" Maro asked in shock, looking at her assistant. "Back off! She's mine!"

Demon sighed fondly. Maro was as much of a social idiot as Master had been. Those two were way too similar for their own good.

Kanna waved her hands frantically and said, "N-no! It's the same thing I feel for you! I thought it was a crush but it's just admiration! I promise!"

"Oh, okay!" The bluenette accepted the explanation easily and Kanna sagged in relief.

Princess Maro was rather possessive of Angel and she for one, did not want to get on the Dokkaebi's bad side.

"Wait… you have a crush on me?!" Maro suddenly asked in disbelief. She didn't even realize! She fully thought that Kanna liked Rosan!

Kanna moaned miserably.

Angel was right, Maro really was an idiot.

"Alright you two!" Angel declared, glaring harshly at her stubborn brothers. The teen was all business right now and she would not let either of them escape, lest they face her wrath.

Luffy was standing right next to the clone and he grinned eagerly at the reluctant look in Ace's eyes.

Rosan, as usual, looked completely unfazed by the events and his emotions had long tapered off. As such, he was the first to take initiative.

"I'm sorry," the redhead suddenly said, making Ace snap his head towards the teen in shock.

"I treated you two like an experiment and I was trying to prove a point. But, that's not what brothers should do," Rosan said quietly. "I will not apologize for helping you against Bluejam though. I don't doubt your ability and I'm sure you would have defeated him but the fire was too much of a problem at that point and I didn't need you to needlessly injure yourself."

Ace almost protested but a firm glare from Angel, silenced it and instead he began to digest the information.

Eventually, the freckled boy sighed and conceded. "I'm sorry too," Ace grumbled so lowly, they strained to hear him.

"I thought I got over what you did, but I didn't and it put us all in danger because of it. I ran with the excuse that having you help, was too much and it turned into this…" he admitted reluctantly. It was incredibly stupid of him and in the future, he would try to not do that.

"And that's okay," Rosan informed him. "I understand your need for growth and having me help with everything, will only negatively harm you in the long run but it's okay to ask for help."

Luffy nodded happily along with Rosan and Angel had a smile on her face. She had expected that to go way worse but these two were surprisingly self aware.

The bandit's, sans Dogra, watched all this with a relieved look. If Ace and Rosan were mad at each other and it came to blows, no one would be able to stop the two.

Only Sabo had a chance of calming them both down.

"Why don't you ever run from a fight?" Rosan asked curiously and Ace sighed.

"I can't help getting fired up sometimes and I'm always afraid that if I run, I'll leave something important behind," he admitted.

Mama had said that same thing about Roger one day.

It figured that he was like the late Pirate King in many things. Ace and Mom, besides the freckles, were almost nothing alike.

Based on the look on Dadan's face, he was right that Ace had gotten it from Roger because there was no way Garp knew anything about his mother.

Rosan nearly let out a sigh. He wouldn't be telling Ace how similar to Roger he was. That would only serve to infuriate the ten year old when they seemed to finally be making progress.

"I understand why you feel that way. I would never run if it potentially meant I would put my loved ones in danger," Rosan responded.

"So... do you two forgive each other?" Angel asked tentatively. This was far easier than she expected.

Rosan and Ace nodded in unison and she grinned.

"Perfect! That means I don't have to get violent," the teen beamed.

"You'd hit me?" Rosan asked curiously. Angel would never put her hands on him before so for her to so boldly say that, was surprising to him.

"If I have to!" His fellow redhead nodded without hesitation, not even seeming to realize what she was saying.

Seems it was a good idea that he made them stay with Maro. His clones were already growing independent from him and that pleased him.

"Good, we all need someone like you to keep our heads on straight," Rosan praised and Angel blushed beet red at it.

"Oh you!" She gushed, jumping into Rosan's arms from happiness.

Luffy cheered at the outcome and he joined the pile.

Ace thought they were overreacting and let out a strangled yelp as a rubbery arm dragged him into the pile.

Luffy's laughter turned into a scream as Ace punched him right on the skull.

"Oh Dogra!" Luffy called happily. He was currently having two beetles fight each other as the diminutive man approached. "Where were you today?!"

"Are you alright?" Rosan asked calmly, looking at the man intently. He and Angel (who didn't want to leave yet) were watching over the seven year old as they chatted about anything.

The bandit looked like he had seen a ghost and he was nervously sweating.

"I-it's uh... best if I tell you all at once," Dogra told him and he promptly made his way into the house.

Rosan and Angel shared a glance before following after the man. Luffy quickly made his way too and soon the only one outside was the dog.

"W-what?! Sabo's…"

"STOP LYING YOU BASTARD!" Ace roared, tackling Dogra onto the ground. The boy was poised to strike him and had cocked his fist back. "Don't even joke about something like that!"

Angel had a look of horror on her face at the news and when she chanced a glance at her Master, she went pale.

"I'm not lying or joking about it! It was so sudden!" Dogra choked out in fear. "I could barely believe what I saw! I thought I was dreaming!"

"Shut up! Sabo went back to his family's home!" Ace growled. "How could he be at sea?!"

"Where do you plan on escaping?"

"That's right! He went home!" Luffy agreed loudly.

"A hoodlum like me can understands how he feels! People don't wanna always go back home!" Dogra exclaimed and he shoved Ace off of him.

"It's obvious you won't remain here."

"If he was really happy, he wouldn't go out to sea…! He wouldn't go out to sea by himself with a black flag on his ship!" Dogra screamed and the tears began falling from his eyes.

Luffy teared up immediately as the realization hit him hard. "Sabo… H-he wasn't happy!" The boy sobbed in agony.

"Why?! Why didn't we go there to take him back?!" Ace said in a near whisper before rage overtook his features.

"Where is the bastard who killed Sabo?! I'm gonna kill him!" Ace roared, shaking Dogra back and forth.

"K-Kill the Celestial Dragon?! That's not possible…!" Dogra choked out.

"I'll make him pay!" Ace declared and he was off but Dadan immediately tackled him to the floor.

"Stop, you little shit!" Dadan growled and she harshly slammed the boy into the wood.

"Get outta my way!" Ace grunted, struggling against her grip.

"How can you be so confident even though you're not that strong?!" The bandit leader scowled harshly and she slammed him into the wood again to prove her point.

"What can you do?! They'll kill you! You'll die and people will forget you by tomorrow! Sabo was killed by this country! This world! What can you do about it?!"

"You're father changed the world with his death! When you become a man that important, then you can do whatever you want!"

She jostled the ten year old back and forth and Angel was about to step in, to stop her from further injuring her younger brother.

"A Celestial... Dragon. Again?" A voice whispered but everyone heard it as if it had been screamed. The older twin froze in fear, as she hesitantly looked over at her master again.

Rosan's face was unbearably blank at the moment and it portrayed nothing at all. It was the same face he almost permanently had adopted for the last two years so it was impossible to tell what he was thinking.

Ace and Angel suddenly remembered the reasoning Rosan gave them on the bounty of Reaper.

The teen suddenly moved to the front of the door and left without warning.

"Oh fuck…," Angel whispered, as she realized what he was about to do. Based on the look in all the other inhabitants eyes, they probably had a clue too.

"L-Let me deal with Master," Angel hastily told them. "I'll talk him down from doing something that will get this entire island destroyed!"

They could only stare with wide eyes, as the tall redhead followed after her older brother.

Dadan hoped Angel could talk to him because she didn't dream of being able to stop the teen.

"Tie this fool up," the bandit leader ordered and she tossed Ace to the other bandits.

Ace struggled but there was too much and soon he was tied to the tree, reduced to only helplessly flailing his legs.

Luffy meanwhile, cried and cried.

"SABOOO!" He sobbed.

"Rosan."

"Mod-chan."

"Please reconsider what you're about to do."

"But isn't this all I can do? This is what I'm best at so this is what I should do."

"..."

"Eventually, Rosan but not now. You need to remember that a Celestial Dragon has already died in the Blue Seas. There's a very solid chance that they are now being guarded by legitimate threats that are strong enough to deal with Reaper. You will put everything at risk and Sabo wouldn't want that. That's why he chose not to come back with you."

"I shouldn't have given him an option."

"You know giving him an option was the right thing to do. Don't ever blame yourself for giving someone the freedom of choice."

"…"

Rosan stopped walking at her words and that gave him enough time to hear a rapid set of steps behind him.

"Master, please wait!" Angel called and she crashed into his back. His clone wrapped her arms around him and held him for dear life.

"You don't have to do this, Master," the redhead whispered into his hair. "I understand why you want to do it. I wouldn't normally stop you but you have so much to lose if you attempt to kill that Celestial Dragon."

"This isn't the middle of the ocean like the last one. If he dies here, this island will cease to exist," Angel murmured and she felt hot tears forming at the thought that Sabo was really gone.

"I… I know it hurts but we can't throw away what we still have left," she reassured the older teen and Rosan let loose a deep breath.

"Angel… I don't feel anything," Rosan said, finally glancing at the haughty clone.

She froze at the revelation and hesitantly looked up at him. His face, as always, was set in that neutral expression of his.

"I thought I cared for Sabo but news of his death, filled me with nothing. I'm not sad or angry and that's why I can still be reasoned with."

"If I can't even mourn for my little brother, the least I can do is avenge him. But, I can't even do that yet because I stand to lose even more without gaining anything."

Ah. This was the worst. Every time it felt like they were making progress, reality reared its ugly head.

"You do care for him, Master."

Angel wouldn't let that bring her down though.

"I saw the way you interacted with him, with all of them. You care for our little brothers and I refuse to accept anything else!" She exclaimed with angry tears now. Because of his lack of emotions, he couldn't see things the way others did, so his judgement couldn't be too reliable. Her older brother didn't have a high opinion of himself so of course he wouldn't be able to see it!

"It's true. You visited Sabo when he was alone and he cherished your company. If you really think you didn't care for him, then you deserve actor of the year," Mod said softly.

"So then, why don't I feel anything?" Rosan asked with a tilted head.

"I think… the castle is making an effort to especially make sure the negative emotions don't seep through," Mod said. It was also very possible that the virus could somewhat manipulate what emotions seeped through and for whatever reason, they chose not to let out negativity.

Just what was their plan?

"That... makes sense," Rosan hummed, picking up what Mod meant, and he finally relaxed his muscles. "Thank you Angel and Mod. I can always rely on you all," he said softly and he turned to face his clone.

"Of course Rosan," Mod said softly, smiling sadly.

"Anything for you, Master," Angel whispered and Rosan looked into her purple eyes.

He scooped her into a hug and said, "Let it all out, I'm here for you."

Rosan stroked her ponytail and Angel let loose a shaky sob into the crook of his neck, as the tears finally flowed freely.

She really did like Sabo...

"I know," he soothed and the two remained there, in the dark of the night. Even if he could feel nothing, he would still be here as emotional support.

For all of them.

"Boss! You won't believe this but we got a letter from Sabo!"

Ace's eyes widened at that. "Give it to me! I won't go to the town and it's for us, right?"

He had been tied up all night to a tree but this was a message from Sabo and he had to read it.

"Ace, Luffy, I hope you guys weren't hurt too bad in the fire. I'm worried about you guys but Rosan told me he would save you all so I know you two are safe."

Ace began walking through the forest, a torrent of emotions running through his body, as he read the last link to his blonde brother.

"I'm sorry to say it, guys, but when you get this letter, I'll already be out on the sea. Things led to things and I decided to set out to sea before you. My destination will be anywhere but here."

Ace paused for a moment to tear his gaze away from the paper, steadfastly holding back his tears, before diving back in.

"I'm gonna become stronger and become a pirate! The four of us have to become the freest pirates ever so one day, let's meet up again somewhere."

"Somewhere on the wide open sea! Definitely, someday!"

Ace made it to the area where they had declared their dreams all those months ago. The expansive, beautiful sea gazed back at him and he stood there.

"By the way, Ace, which of us do you think is the bigger brother? I know Rosan is the oldest but between us two, who do you think?"

It was definitely the freckled boy but Sabo would have argued with him about it, even despite knowing that Ace was born on January 1st.

"It's weird, but our brotherhood is my treasure. Luffy is still a weak crybaby and Rosan still needs a lot of help but, they're our brothers so please take care of them!"

Tears welled up in Ace's eyes, as the harsh reality of what happened finally caught up to him.

"One pull. With just one pull, I would have resolved all of this. Gray Terminal would not have burned, Luffy would be fine and Sabo would be here."

It was his fault.

"SABOOOOO!" Ace threw his head back and sobbed to the world. He didn't know how long he cried for but it must have been hours.

Rosan watched from the top of a tree, as his little brother cried.

"Won't you speak to him?"

"No. Ace loathes the sight of crying so if he were to get caught in the act, he would close himself off and let it build up. He needs this."

"He truly is your brother."

"...I just hope his reluctance to accept help will wear off when he grows older."

"Only time will tell."

Rosan sat next to a Luffy who was lying face down in the grass. The seven year old had been crying nonstop and the redhead just offered his presence.

His future captain had been rather unresponsive as of late.

Angel was with Makino, talking to the nineteen year old to distract herself from the pain and he told her to call him immediately if she needed support.

The sound of footsteps alerted the redhead and he glanced back to make eye contact with his freckled brother.

Ace held his gaze for a moment before looking at Luffy in annoyance. He blew a breath on his fist and punched the boy right on his head.

Besides grabbing his hat, the child made no move to react and the ten year old let out a sigh.

"Rosan, you said you moved all the treasure in the forest, right?" Ace asked the redhead, who nodded in confirmation.

"That's right, I did it just to be safe and it seems like it payed off," the redhead replied. He had stored it in his Pocket Dimension so it would be simple to get. "One moment, I can go retrieve it —"

"Don't bother. I don't care about the savings anymore," the freckled boy cut him off. "That was the pirate savings I was gonna share with Sabo but Sabo didn't need it, so I'll let it go and leave it to you."

"Are you sure? I don't need it, I have more than enough treasure already and it's for your pirate funds," Rosan pointed out and Ace snorted.

"If you didn't get it, it'd be gone and I'd have nothing anyways," the boy stated with a shrug.

"...Alright, I'll hold onto it," the redhead responded eventually. He would just sneak some of it on Ace's ship when the boy set sail and the freckled boy would have to get over it.

"A-Ace… R-Rosan… I...," Luffy finally spoke up and the two brothers regarded him with curiosity.

"...I wanna become stronger! More, and more… More and more, more and more," the child constantly chanted.

"I wanna become even stronger! Then, I can protect anything or anyone! I don't have to lose anybody!" He sobbed and Mod's eyes softened.

It was the same goal as Rosan's...

"I beg you! Ace, Rosan please don't die!" The small child requested.

"Oh Luffy…" Mod sighed sadly. He really was so similar to Rosan in so many ways.

"Cut it out! Worry about yourself first! You're way weaker than me!" Ace roared, hitting Luffy again.

"I know how it feels, Luffy," Rosan spoke up and the teen looked out at the sea. "It's a terrible feeling, to feel powerless but all you can do is keep moving forward. One step at a time, until you can achieve your goal."

Mod smiled sadly at his words and she sent him a burst of love.

Ace stared at his older brother in respect before looking back at Luffy. "Listen carefully, Luffy! I'll never die!"

The words slammed into the little boy and he slowly moved himself up into a sitting position. "Uh-huh!" He choked out, hiding his face desperately with his straw hat.

"Sabo told me to take care of the two of you too," Ace said and Rosan tilted his head at that.

"Take care of me?" Rosan questioned and he pointed at himself before shrugging. "I'm in your care."

"S-shut up!" Ace barked in embarrassment, before clearing his throat. "You two… I promise that I'll never die! How can I leave a wimpy little brother and a robot older brother like you two behind?"

"Too many people care for me and I know they'd be destroyed if I died," Rosan said softly. "You have nothing to worry about because I will live for as long as it takes."

Luffy sniffed and nodded even harder.

"I'm not smart so I don't quite know what killed Sabo but Rosan has a clue, right?" Ace asked.

"The corrupt system of this world," Rosan answered immediately. "A system that allows utterly unfit animals to rule this world."

"I can see now why you killed the Celestial Dragon," Ace growled. He had been about to do the same thing after all. "People like them, are opposed to freedom and Sabo died before he knew freedom."

"We exchanged that same cup of sake and we're alive! So listen, Luffy, Rosan. We have to live without leaving any regrets!"

"Right," Rosan said immediately. "Anymore regrets," he internally corrected.

"Uh-huh!" Luffy agreed.

"We gotta go out to sea someday… and live as we like. Freer than anyone else and that means we'll make enemies everywhere."

"Uh-huh!"

"I have many enemies already," Rosan hummed. Those were Reaper's enemies though and well, Reaper was basically dead to the world now.

"That means we get to make new enemies!" Ram cheered excitedly.

"Never change, Ram, never change," Mod sighed fondly.

"Let's go out to sea when we're 17!" Ace declared and Luffy nodded without hesitation.

"I turn 17 in three years," Rosan pointed out and Ace waved him off.

"Your apart of Luffy's crew so you leave when Luffy turns 17," he said.

The redhead nodded. So he'd be 24 when they set sail.

"Oh no…" Mod said in worry. 24 was more than enough time for those grabby woman to get their hands on her little Rosan.

B-but she wouldn't dissuade him when he was of age. He was a growing boy and… hormones would affect him even despite the castle, so she couldn't just interfere with that… no matter how badly she wanted too.

"What is that miserable look on your face, Auntie Mod?" Ram cackled and it really spoke on the girl's behalf that, despite knowing how this was going to end, she still chose to poke the woman.

"Ram… come here for a second please," Mod said in an unnaturally calm voice and the teen froze in terror.

"I think that's a bad idea so I'm just gonna go this way," she declared but after Rosan, Mod had absolute control of the mindscape.

"No, I don't think you are," she smiled gently, appearing right in front of her and pinching her cheeks.

"F-Father! Save me from this monster!" Ram begged.

"M-Monster?!"

Rosan closed his eyes and expertly ignored Ram's plea for help.

There was no way he was getting dragged into this.

"Angel? Are you alright?!" Maro asked in concern at the gloomy look in her girlfriend's purple eyes. "H-have you been crying?! Master what happened?!" The princess demanded.

Master or not, if he hurt Angel, he'd be in a world of pain!

"I'm happy that you'd so boldly threaten me for her sake but I did nothing," Rosan informed her quietly and Angel nodded in agreement.

"Master was being my emotional support," she whispered and the computer teen rubbed her back soothingly.

"What's wrong?" Demon asked in concern and Rosan told them everything, after Angel gave him the go ahead.

The horror in their eyes as he finished his tale told him everything he needed to know. Tears had already sprung up in Angel's eyes again and she collapsed in a worried Maro's arms.

"A… A World Noble just… struck his ship down…?" Demon asked in dazed confusion.

"If he's anything like the one I met, he probably struck his ship for daring to cross paths with him," Rosan informed them slowly.

"That's… bullshit!" Maro snarled and her skin began turning green from the anger she felt. Hot, angry tears formed in her eyes, at the revelation that Sabo was dead and the only thing stopping her from raging, was the emotional girl in her arms.

"I will get my revenge, eventually," Rosan said quietly.

"I'll help," the Goblin Princess growled. She would get back at those World Nobles at all costs no matter what.

"Don't jeopardize what you have, I wouldn't want the World Government to converge on this island. You'd be sitting ducks," Rosan gently chided his student.

Maro frowned but he was right. If she made an enemy of the World Government, this island would be in grave danger and it wasn't like Germa. She couldn't just move it as she pleased.

"They just won't know I'm their enemy then," the princess grinned viciously. "In fact, I'll let them think we're allies!"

"Oh?" Rosan raised a brow at the bluenette.

"It'll be the best infiltration mission you've ever seen!" Maro beamed. "Buuuut, it might take a while to bear fruit."

Rosan was impressed with his student. "That's going to be quite dangerous but it could be immensely useful if it works out. It may also mean contact between the two of us will limit when I become a pirate."

"Maybe but that won't stop me from visiting you! Life is full of risks and I love you too much to limit our visits more than they already are!" The Dokkaebi grinned.

"What exactly are you planning on doing?" Demon asked warily, already having a clue.

"Isn't it obvious?! We're gonna become bigger and bigger and we'll get so great that the World Government will have no choice but to want to ally with us," Maro let loose a sharp smile at that.

"Then we'll accept and that will be their biggest mistake because Master is my most important ally!" The Goblin Princess declared. It was genius!

"Be careful," Rosan whispered. "I wouldn't forgive myself if something bad happened to you so approach this cautiously and give away no clues."

"Your my precious student and I won't accept you dying on my behalf."

Maro, after carefully placing Angel to the side, glomped Rosan immediately. "S-stop embarrassing me Master! Your gonna make me super happy and then I won't let you leave!"

"My apologies," Rosan apologized and Angel's eyes flared to life.

"Don't make Master apologize for no reason, Maro!" Angel reprimanded, grabbing the girl by her ear and making her whine.

"S-stop embarrassing me in front of Master! I have an image to upkeep now!"

"Master has seen you at your lowest! Your image was ruined since you were 11!"

"Oh yeah?! You don't seem to think that!"

"I can show you exactly what I think!"

Rosan watched the two bicker, with a tilt of his head.

"You know, they only really get like this when it involves you," Demon told him in amusement. "Those two are normally in sync with each other."

"I wonder why I have this affect on people?" Rosan stated calmly, content to just watch them.

There was no way he was getting dragged into this.

"Hey, Mei."

Rosan stared at her body with an expressionless face. She was as beautiful as ever and she looked the exact same as any other day.

The redhead visited her every single day without fail but recently he hadn't been able to, due to news of Sabo's death. Whatever he did that day, he would tell her while speaking his mind on whatever else he was thinking of.

"One of my little brothers, Sabo, died due to the Celestial Dragons," Rosan began and he sat on the bed next to her. The fourteen year old (they were the same age now) grabbed a strand of her lustrous blonde hair and idly stroked it.

"I could have saved him… but he didn't want to burden me any further and requested that he do it on his own. Maybe I should have ignored him and just helped him set sail."

"But it was ultimately his choice and I won't take choices away from someone I… care about," the teen spoke. Angel was right, he did care about his blonde brother. He would be stupid to not acknowledge that.

"Ace cried, Luffy cried, even Angel cried… but I didn't and I thought because of that, I didn't care for Sabo. But Angel and Mod-chan helped me realize that I do care. I'm learning to rely on all of them more and more when it comes to things like this."

Mod sent him a burst of affection to show her support.

"I won't lie, It's hard to accept others as emotional support when you were the best I could ask for, but I'm slowly progressing and I think you'd be a little happy."

The redhead sighed softly and dropped the strand of hair. He removed his earrings and just stared at them with a vacant expression.

"Ace wants us to live as we like, with no regrets and I think you'd want that too so that's what I'm going to do. I think… I think I'll regret living a life without my emotions so until I find them, I won't die. I'm sure you'd be happy to hear that."

He placed the ruby red earrings back on and stood up. "I'm going now, Mei. I want to keep living for the both of us so, please continue to support me."

"Even if the whole world turned against you, Meiko would always be on your side," Mod assured him.

"Mother loved… No. Mother loves you and nothing will ever change that!" Ram agreed.

"Yes, no matter what our love is one that can never be broken," Rosan said softly. "That includes you two as well. I love you both and want to thank you for remaining by my side."

"We love you too, Rosan," Mod's voice came out in quiet elation. The woman was overjoyed that he had said it on his own accord. "You couldn't get rid of me even if you tried! We're together until the end."

"Yeah! We're not as shitty as your birth mother. We will never abandon you, Father!" Ram beamed and Rosan hummed at their truthful words.

Yes, they also had their own bond that couldn't be broken.

Eventually, he smiled and said —

"I'm glad to hear that."

Raisa(Rosan's mother's name) means Rose in Yiddish

Iris (Rosan's mother's surname) are purple-blue flowers that symbolize Power and Majesty.

Bonus

"I didn't expect to ever receive another call from you, Monkey D. Dragon," a majestic voice said. It was a deep and feminine voice that commanded respect from all, despite how soft spoken they were. "I trust you are using a means to avoid this call from being traced? I would rather not have to explain myself to the World Government."

"Hello to you too, Raisa," the leader of the revolutionaries replied. "No need to worry, I have a White Den Den Mushi."

"What are you calling me for? I thought I made it clear that I no longer wish to have any ties with your army. It's only our former friendship that has prevented me from hanging up," Iris D. Raisa muttered lowly. She was currently sat on her throne, idly reading some paperwork before balling that specific one up and throwing it away.

Raisa was a gorgeous, tall woman, standing at an impressive 6'2 with smooth and lustrous blood red hair, that flowed down her bronze back in waves. Her features were youthful and sharp, enhancing her beauty and belying her true age of 32. She wore a slim royal purple gown, that hugged her curves and her heels were currently lying somewhere in the room, due to not having to go anywhere. A silver crown with purple markings, lie on the table she was currently reading documents on.

"I'm aware. I'm just curious about something and felt it was urgent enough to consult you," Dragon said. He was currently on the Wind Granma, sitting in his own personal quarters as he talked to his former ally.

"Oh? Curious enough where you'd call me?" Raisa raised a neat red brow at that and hummed in curiosity, tilting her head and resting it on a free fist.

"Of course. After all, you never told me you had a son that you abandoned. That's unlike the girl who wanted nothing more than to have and raise her own child."

She froze for a moment and pursed her plump lips. The only way to tell she was annoyed, was that her brows had slightly furrowed but otherwise, her face remained painfully neutral.

"You are in the South Blue and you chose to call me? Why not just visit if this is what you wanted to discuss? I'm not so cold that I'd turn you away. I just wouldn't let you step on my island."

Now it was Dragon's turn to raise a brow. Not only was she dodging the accusation, she automatically assumed that he was in the South Blue.

"I haven't been in the South Blue nor have I encountered your son there," he replied calmly, watching the Den Den Mushi's reaction.

"That's not possible. The person you encountered is not my son then," Raisa said simply, inspecting her red nails in boredom. "If that's all you wanted to discuss, I'm going to hang up."

"He looks exactly like you. The only difference is that the part of his hair that is not in a bun, is spiky, he has heterochromia and his eyes don't have any glow in them at all."

"If this is your idea of a joke Dragon, you'll find that I'm very unamused by it," the queen said coldly. "My son did not have heterochromia and his eyes should almost certainly be glowing. No one in my lineage has ever had eyes that don't glow."

"So I'm assuming your son's name isn't Rosan, then?" Dragon asked knowingly, grinning at the call.

Raisa's glowing purple eyes, actually widened in shock. The beautiful, royal purple orbs, were fixed directly on the Den Den Mushi.

How did he know his...

"But... But how? You shouldn't... If you haven't been to the South Blue... there's no way you should..."

Not only did he have heterochromia, his eyes had no glow in them? But that wasn't possible. What had happened to him?

"Where did you see him?" The queen demanded, voice measured despite the racing thoughts. Dozens of scenarios ran through her head but she banished them all. There was no point in thinking of what could have happened when she could just find out herself.

"I won't be telling you that. Something tells me he doesn't think too highly of you and you did abandon him after all," Dragon replied, expecting that to be the end of the conversation. Rosan had told him that he wasn't fond of parents abandoning their children and it didn't take a genius to see that he had likely been abandoned by his own.

Besides, he did tell the redhead to consider him an ally and he looked like someone who wished to be hidden. Just revealing his location to anyone, could be detrimental to him.

Raisa's response was to hang up the call in annoyance. The revolutionary leader was getting on her nerves and wasn't going to answer any inquiries she had so there was no point in continuing the conversation.

The queen stood up, paperwork forgotten, and let out a sigh as her bare feet hit the cold floor. She stepped onto her balcony and was subjected to the night sky.

"Iris D. Rosan, to think you managed to survive," she muttered to herself. It didn't make any sense... if he was truly alive, he should be fourteen right now. How on Earth had he managed to get out of the South Blue?

What was even more eye catching, were the details about his eyes. It was not possible that they completely stopped glowing and Raisa had taken a good long look at him when he was just born. Of his crying face when he somehow realized she was going to leave him behind.

Rosan had two glowing purple orbs, just like her. He had physically inherited nearly everything from her and gained nearly nothing from his—

It wasn't adding up, she would need to check herself if Dragon had been truthful. He wasn't the type to joke around with something like this, but they had not talked in a long time.

If her son's eyes had truly stopped glowing, then something disastrous had happened to him. The glow in their eyes was attached directly to their emotions and Rosan's eyes had shone unnaturally bright. Brighter than anyone in their lineage...

If he ended up like that man... she'd really regret not killing him when she had the chance. Unfortunately, Raisa didn't think a child should pay for the crimes of their parents and she hadn't gone through nine months of misery, just to kill her child right then and there.

Two scaly wings burst from the redhead's body and combined with her arms, before the Queen took off into the night sky, heading to the place where she had abandoned her only child.