Chapter 32: Brothers 3

No, Nico Robin didn't need to ally with any of his agents if it was strength she needed because she was strong.

There was a key detail he was missing. A detail that caused the Unluckies to so boldly betray him with no regrets at all.

A detail that had informed them of Cipher Pol…

Nico Robin and Mr. 3 had another ally. One who was potentially a larger threat then himself.

Well, that mattered little. He dared anyone to try and fight him in his domain of the desert.

Now, it was time to meet his remaining agents face to face. Nico Robin may not have been here but Utopia would proceed.

Sabo should have probably accepted Rosan's offer to go with him, Ace and Robin but he figured getting more information from the princess (wasn't that a shock to see Princess Vivi traveling with pirates) on the situation in Alabasta would be better.

"Do you plan on helping?" Vivi asked hopefully, handing him a robe that would withstand the scorching desert heat. If the Chief of Staff was here to help, that would make things much easier!

"If I'm needed," he answered truthfully.

To be honest, he was surprised that Dragon even wanted him to assist a government affiliated country like Alabasta but it was probably more so to do with reuniting with his family and masking it behind a mission.

"You don't gotta do anything, Sabo!" Luffy beamed, invading Sabo's personal space for the millionth time. "You can see how strong I got over the years! You can tell Ace that I made the Gomu Gomu no mi useful!"

Luffy was… hyper and carefree.

Emphasis on the hyper.

Sabo was carefree too, much to the annoyance of his allies so he liked that about the rubber boy. But, he dialed it up to 100 and Sabo was the direct target for it, considering the pirate hadn't seen him in ten years.

They were currently traveling through the desert to a place called Yuba and Luffy took it upon himself to talk to Sabo the entire time, completely forgetting that he had amnesia multiple times.

Most of the time, he couldn't even muster up a response because he didn't know what the rubber boy was talking about but that never deterred the rubber boy who could have a conversation on his own!

He couldn't keep the thankful expression off his face, much to the amusement of the Straw Hats, as the scout showed back up with extra company, successfully managing to distract Luffy.

"It's soooo hot," Maro complained, tugging her short, but regal, kimono.

"What? Can't handle a bit of heat?" Ace retorted smugly, looking wholly unbothered by the scorching desert heat.

"The spoiled queen can't adapt I guess," Rosan shrugged, looking just as unbothered despite his long sleeved clothing that should absolutely make him suffer the most.

"Kami you two cheaters are so fucking annoying," the queen snarled.

Rosan was constantly modified to be immune to changes in weather and Ace was literally made of fire! How was she supposed to be immune to the heat?!

"You're so easy to rile up," Angel sighed fondly.

"It's no wonder they do it so often," Demon chided.

Maro glared jealously at them as well. She was the only one in the group bothered by the desert heat and it was seriously annoying!

The queen squinted her eyes and a large grin split her face as she heard, "MARO!"

"LUFFY!" She squealed, rocketing and colliding with the other missile.

The Straw Hats sweatdropped at the impact and how neither seemed affected by the force of it.

"I missed you!" Maro beamed, squeezing the rubber boy affectionately.

"I missed you too, Maro!" The rubber boy beamed, glancing at Demon and Angel and dragging the two into the hug as well with his rubbery appendages. "Angel! Demon!"

"Luffy!" Angel gushed, squeezing his cheek cheerfully. "How's our little 35 million pirate doing!"

"I hope you and Master haven't caused your crew too much stress," Demon sighed, patting his head.

"You should have seen the party we threw when your bounty was revealed! Let's shoot for 1 billion next!" Maro cheered.

"Yeah!" Luffy agreed, nodding eagerly

.

"Master! Don't just let him build such a lead!" Angel barked, rounding on Rosan with a glare. "You should get 2 billion!"

"That's a bit much, don't you think?" Rosan hummed.

"I don't care!" She scowled.

"You heard the lady," Ace teased. "Can't go around being the oldest with the lowest bounty can you?"

"You guys know that I would rather not go making a fuss in the world yet, but you still do this," Rosan sighed in annoyance. "I didn't bring you guys here to talk about my lack of bounty. I wanted you to meet our crew."

His family was too much sometimes. Always so demanding.

"Oh!" Maro gasped in realization, glancing over at the Straw Hats. "Where are our manners?!"

Facing them fully, the queen of Celadon smiled brightly at them all and waved. "It's nice to meet you all! I'm Maro and I'm the queen of Celadon as well as Master Rosan's student!"

The Straw Hats blinked at that. "YOU'RE HIS STUDENT?!" They barked in confusion. They thought she was just married to his sister!

Much like Rosan said, Queen Maro was stunningly beautiful, with shoulder length azure blue hair donned with white streaks and wide orange eyes that stared at them all with compassion.

She was donned in a simple black kimono that showed off her curvy and strong figure, most notably the long fair legs.

Maro blinked at their confusion. "D-Does he not talk about me?" She stammered, shooting him a betrayed look. "BUT YOU SAID I WAS HOT?!"

"I never said that and you are allied with the World Government, Maro," Rosan grunted, flicking her on her forehead and getting a whine out of her. "Just bringing you here is a risk. I don't want anyone to associate you with us."

"I hate when you use logic on me," Maro scowled, glaring at him.

"So you really are that Queen Maro?!" Vivi asked in shock, eyes going wide. "The same Queen who rules Celadon?! You managed to increase the prestige of that island so much! It's astonishing how quickly you rose to fame!"

She was Rosan's student?!

"That's me~," Maro sang cheerfully, waving at the bluenette. "You're the princess of Alabasta, right? I'm glad someone recognizes me! Oh! But don't tell anyone that Master and I are allies… I could get in a lot of trouble!"

They sweatdropped at that. Everyone related to Rosan and Luffy had their own eccentrics it seemed.

"I don't think you have to worry about that, Maro," Demon smiled, grabbing their eyes and causing their mouths to open at the… softer looking Rosan, to be blunt. "After all, Princess Vivi is traveling with a group of pirates. It would be bad for her if she revealed how she knew that information."

Softer Rosan was the best way to put it... He looked like a dolled up version of the redhead with inverted hair and eyes, a small smile on his pretty face as he soaked the attention. He lacked the spikes Rosan did and he looked softer around the edges as well.

To top it off, the purple haired man wore a purple yukata that covered most of his bronze skin, giving him quite the regal and wise air.

"What a pretty person," they thought.

Despite looking like Rosan, they were finding it hard to believe that the two were related because of just how much kinder he looked.

"Dumbass. You think Master would have risked our position that easily?" Angel scoffed at her wife.

The surprised Straw Hats, only grew more shocked at seeing another Rosan, except it was a woman!

She was not as… blessed as Rosan's female transformation but she was just as gorgeous and much less wild, despite the haughty demeanor she exuded that would fit oddly well on the woman they saw the other day.

It was like looking at an inverted Demon. They looked just like twins (their features were far more similar to each other then Rosan) but where his hair was purple, hers was red and where his eyes were red, hers were purple.

Despite that, they were just as pretty as each other.

The woman's sense of style seemed more align to Rosan's as well, considering she was wearing white leather pants, a white crop top and a red bomber jacket.

"These are Angel and Demon," Rosan introduced, pointing at the twins. "They're my younger twin siblings and my clones. Demon's a doctor and Angel's a blacksmith."

"Angel's also my super hot and gorgeous wife!" Maro beamed, grabbing the slightly taller woman and hugging her gleefully.

Angel blushed scarlet at her words and returned the hug, kissing her on the cheek happily and getting a pleased grin out of the queen. "O-Oh you!"

Sanji could no longer resist staring at the two stunning beauties and soon, he was kneeling in front of the duo with two roses, offering them up to the both of them.

"It's truly rare that I get to see beauties such as you two —"

"NO WAY! SANJI?!" Maro gaped, making the chef jump in surprise and glance up wildly.

She was looking at him with clear recognition in her eyes and he was suddenly reminded that this was Grim.

"Oh right... I was distracted by her beauty," he thought to himself.

"Is that really you?! You've grown so much and you're a little pervert too, flirting with me and my wife right in front of each other!" The queen awed, forcing the blonde up to get a good look at him.

She moved his head back and forth, doting on him like a gushing mother and Sanji would have heart eyes at being pampered by such a beauty, if not for his embarrassment at why she was doing this.

"You guys know each other?" Zoro asked in amusement, watching Sanji's mortification with a large grin.

He remembered Rosan recognizing the chef's name when they first met and it seemed like Maro knew him too.

The other Straw Hats were also confused. Normally, Sanji should be on the moon at being the attention of such a beautiful woman but right now, he was frozen in his spot and looked like he wanted to disappear on the spot.

"Master and I met him a long time ago!" Maro exclaimed in joy. The two had shared a quick glance after she recognized him and he nodded his head, letting her know that Sanji knew his identity as Reaper.

"He was such a small and cute little thing and now look at him! I can't believe you guys managed to find each other again! Small world huh?"

The chef laughed nervously. "Y-Yeah... I just wanted to thank you."

"Thank me?! But I barely did anything! Aren't you just the cutest! How old are you now?" She asked eagerly, patting his head excitedly.

"1-19," he stammered, praying to anyone that she didn't go into detail about how they met.

She hummed at that, orange eyes glinting manically.

So Grim really was totally insane. He got that vibe from her for the few minutes that they met.

"Look at you! Thinking you're old enough to be smoking cigarettes! Those are bad for you, you know?! Have you stopped crying so much?! You could fill a whole room with your tears," Maro prodded, grabbing his cheek with one hand and squeezing curiously.

In her eyes, he may as well have been 8 again and Sanji blanched in horror at the realization.

"Please stop talking about the past!" Sanji begged. He knew that based on their short meeting, Grim was definitively the more outgoing of the two but he didn't realize just how bad she was in person.

This was one of the few times someone so beautiful was touching him and he couldn't even be happy about it! He wasn't expecting Reaper's right hand to be so gorgeous but he couldn't even soak it in because he wanted to crawl into a hole and die at her antics!

Zoro's eyes gleamed viciously at the visible embarrassment on Sanji's face.

This sounded too good to be true.

"I've never seen a girl do this to Sanji," Nami mused, glancing at the eccentric queen with an impressed gaze.

"I was about to stomp him to the ground but luckily for him, Maro recognized the perv," Angel sniffed, crossing her arms petulantly under her chest before gazing at the crew.

She shot them a short wave and said, "Hi all of you! I'm Angel and like mentioned before, I'm Master's younger sister and Maro's "super hot and gorgeous" wife."

"Rosan mentioned that you like to craft," Usopp said warily, stepping up slowly to the kinda scary girl.

Angel flashed a cocky grin and pat her impressive abs. "I'm pretty damn good at it too! Bet you didn't expect someone like me to be into such physical labor, eh? What type of gizmos do you make?"

Usopp puffed up at that, wanting to show off to a fellow craftsmen. "The great captain Usopp can make anything! I've been crafting since I was only three years old!"

The redhead shot the liar an unimpressed glare. "Lie to me again and I'm going to crush your nose small, dumbass. Now, tell me what you can really do and maybe we can trade ideas!"

The sniper whittled instantly at that and nodded hastily. "S-Scary…" he whispered.

This was definitely Rosan's sister.

Demon watched the exchange in amusement, before he felt something tentatively touch his yukata, causing him to glance down.

"U-Um… Did you say you were a doctor?" Chopper blurted out, clearly interested despite his hesitance. "I'm one too! My name's Chopper!"

"Oh, you can talk and you sound so intelligent!" He gasped, bending down slightly to regard him. "It's nice to meet you, Chopper. I'm Demon and I'd love to exchange information with you! Did you eat a Devil Fruit?"

Chopper nodded, surprised that he was being treated so normally. "I did! The Hito Hito no mi!"

Maro abruptly stopped pinching Sanji's cheek and her gaze snapped towards the voice that said that.

"YOU ATE THE HITO HITO NO MI?!" She gaped, vanishing and appearing right in front of a frightened Chopper, hoisting the tiny guy up with a manic gleam in her eyes.

"Y-Yes?" He said in confusion, blushing at the awed look in her eyes.

"Wow! So we're like Devil Fruit siblings now! From now on, you can call me Maro-nee!" Maro gushed happily, hugging the adorable little guy into her bust, much to Angel's outrage. "I also ate the Hito Hito no mi! Mine is Model: Dokkaebi!"

Chopper's eyes widened at that. "Really?!" He gasped in clear fascination.

She also had the Hito Hito no mi?! He wondered what a variation of his Devil Fruit would be like!

Would the rumble balls work on her? So many questions! Ah, it was so interesting to think about!

Maro nodded in excitement, placing him down and stepping back with a glimmer in her eyes.

The Straw Hats were all watching in interest after Maro's exclamation and she flashed them a peace sign.

Chopper couldn't stop the terrified screech that escaped him as a massive green monster suddenly loomed over him and he instantly jumped behind Rosan, failing to hide himself in the process.

The Straw Hats fared no better, letting out surprised yelps at the 8ft tall green goblin wearing the same kimono that Maro had on.

Muscular, terrifying and otherworldly in appearance, Maro's Dokkaebi was a sight to behold and looked much more developed then when she was younger.

Everything about her transformation had enhanced with age, which had the benefit of making her naturally stronger and all the more terrifying.

She lamented the fact that her Dokkaebi went through more puberty then she did all the time.

Usopp was shaking at the glowing orange that were Maro's iris-less sclera and he inched behind an equally quivering Nami.

"T-They're all monsters," he whispered.

The sniper let out a yelp of pain at the harsh grip on his nose and he stared into the menacing purple of Angel.

"Don't call my wife a scary monster! She's a gorgeous queen!" The woman snarled, threatening to yank off his appendage with her wild hand movements.

"Sowwy," Usopp moaned in pain. He didn't even say scary, she just added that! Angel was the most terrifying one in the group!

"Aww you don't gotta defend me! It's embarrassing," the giant Dokkaebi swooned, hugging the much shorter redhead and nuzzling her cheek gleefully.

Angel beamed and nuzzled her back, utterly unbothered by the terrifying visage of the Dokkaebi.

Sabo was impressed. "So the queen of Celadon is your student? I think I heard mention of her forcefully claiming the throne in one of my meetings…"

He normally rarely listened to those meetings, preferring to doze off, but the one about Celadon was rather interesting, considering the current Queen was an usurper of an island that had been on the Revolutionaries radar.

Despite forcefully claiming the throne, it seemed like Queen Maro had no interest in subjugating her citizens and Dragon himself claimed that the island was in good hands, so there was no need to bother it.

Who woulda thought that he and Queen Maro had some sort of connection?

The three leaders of Celadon froze at the unfamiliar voice, turning towards it and being reminded of the main reason why they had chosen to show up.

"Sabo…?" Maro whispered in surprise, looking at him with wide eyes and transforming back into her human form from the shock.

"So you really are alive," Demon whispered, tears brimming in his eyes at seeing actual proof in front of him.

This was... How could they process this? They thought he was dead for 10 years...

Sabo saw the redhead rush him with a wide gaze and resigned himself to being tackled again, not even grunting at the impact.

"Y-You," Angel scowled with tears in her eyes, crushing him to the best of her ability and glaring up at him. "After 10 years, you just show up again?! We all cried so much for you a-and we really thought you were dead!"

Sabo opened his mouth to say something but Angel wouldn't let him.

"Why? Why couldn't you just have accepted Master's help?! He was about to go kill that Celestial Dragon because we thought you died and I had to stop him from getting us all killed, Sabo… and now you have amnesia and all my anger is just so misplaced and I feel terrible for even ranting because you're so genuinely confused," Angel sobbed, clutching him desperately as her tears over spilled.

Angel's words had caused all the chatter to die down and, looking at his supposed family, he saw that they were all subdued in nature.

"...I'm sorry," Sabo said softly, feeling horrible.

Even without his memories, it seems like his body just couldn't forget these people and it was making a different type of pain wrack his body.

They must have been really important to him...

"I never minded that my memories were gone," he admitted. "After all, they must have been really terrible if I risked my life to get away from my home."

That irrational fear to stay as far away from Goa as possible had dominated him for a long time until he got used to the Revolutionaries. By then, he stopped dwelling on that small part that was curious about his life before and focused on the life he had now.

"I didn't know I had so much people who cared for me… who'd miss me. It never occurred to me that I had a loving family who thought I was dead and the worst part is… I still can't remember."

Sabo removed one hand from the crying woman's back to touch his scar. "I won't lie to you guys. I'm happy. I'm happy to be a revolutionary and I get to help people from the corruption of this world. I won't stop doing this because this has become my life..."

While Ace and Rosan had measured, masked, expressions, the others were far easier to read with the way they slumped over at his admittance. Tears brimmed in Maro's eyes and her lip began wobbling in defeat.

"But."

They perked up in interest.

"I want you guys to be apart of my current life and that can't happen while I still don't remember you all," Sabo grinned, returning the hug tenderly and patting the crying redhead.

"I don't know how, but I'll try to gain the memories I lost… I think... No. I know I'd regret not remembering you guys!"

Maro's lips began wobbling even harder than before and the Queen leapt onto the blonde, joining the fully sobbing Angel, both overwhelmed by his heartfelt words.

Luffy was quick to join. It was as if the Straw Hat captain went out of his way to make the blonde collapse, causing the four to drop to the floor.

Demon wiped his eyes of tears and smiled determinedly. "If you'll let me, I can run a diagnosis on you and see if there's anything we can do to help you regain your memories," he offered.

Sabo let out a deep gasp from nearly dying of suffocation and turned towards the purple haired doctor to the best of his ability. "Sure! I had some a long time ago but I wasn't interested in delving deeper into it so it was just the bare minimum."

"Can I help?" Chopper asked surprisingly. The little reindeer was visibly nervous but the touching scene had evoked all his passion as a doctor.

"I'd love that," Demon smiled kindly. "I wouldn't mind exchanging knowledge with you, I'm sure there's things we can teach each other!"

The reindeer jumped in excitement and nodded eagerly.

"Demon and Chopper are both awesome! You're gonna get better Sabo!" Luffy cheered ecstatically.

"There's no way he's gonna get better if you two keep choking him out like this!" Angel roared to the two idiots practically strangling the blonde.

Maro stuck her tongue out childishly. "It's been 10 years so let me enjoy this! Besides, you're no better! If he dies here, it's all three of our faults!"

"WHAT? YOU'D PIN THE BLAME ON ME?! WHAT TYPE OF WIFE ARE YOU?"

"THE ONE WHO KNOWS HER RIGHTS! I CAN'T TAKE THE FALL FOR YOU!"

"YOU CAN AND YOU WILL!"

Sabo wheezed at the increasingly tight grips. "I'd really rather not die like this so if you all could just —"

"SHUT UP, SABO!" They both barked.

"O-Okay," he wheezed.

Luffy laughed happily, pleased at all the chaos around him.

The Straw Hats finally realized exactly why Rosan and Luffy were the way they were. Their whole family line was crazy so it was expected of them to also be just as crazy.

"Rosan is responsible for making nearly all of them this crazy and Luffy's been this way since before he met our dear scout," Robin informed them, making them collapse on the floor.

S-Somehow it didn't surprise them that they were stuck with the two craziest.

Ace and Rosan watched all of this with small smiles of their own.

"Is that relief I feel?" Rosan asked quietly.

Ace raked a hand through his hair. "Yeah… I'm just glad he's here with us and willing to reconnect."

"We… we let our childish spat get in the way but this time, things will be different. I know you blame yourself but I was even more at fault."

The freckled man shook his head at that. "We were both being stupid and I took advantage of your guilt and lack of emotions. Things would have been really different if I could just get my own head out of my ass."

"Mom would probably have hit us both for being so dumb, don't you think?"

Ace barked out a laugh at that. "She definitely would but she'd also tell us not to let this opportunity slip by."

Rosan smiled wryly and held out his hand. "You aren't wrong about that. No more regrets, remember?"

Ace returned the smile and high fived his brother easily. "I'm honestly surprised you still follow those words."

His older brother simply snorted and sprouted Ragnarok's tail, dragging the three idiots off of Sabo with the reptilian appendage.

"Stop trying to kill Sabo. We just got him back."

"FUCK YOU, MASTER!" Maro roared. She had definitely not let out a girly squeal at the scaly appendage wrapping around her waist.

"You've been married to Angel for how long and you still want to do such things to me?" Rosan retorted calmly.

Maro was about to retort, but froze at the chilly air right next to her.

"Really, Maro? My brother?" Angel asked calmly, smiling serenely as she cupped her wife's body shamelessly.

The crew gaped at her actions, blushing scarlet at the redhead's actions.

The Queen squeaked. I-In public?! How bold!

"You don't seem to understand, honey. You are mine. These are my lips, my boobs, my ass. Your body is mine. Not even Master can have them!" Angel growled.

"Y-Yes dear!" Maro saluted hastily. She ignored the fact that she was being groped in broad daylight and glared at Rosan.

Damn him... He knew just what to say to trigger and turn Angel against her... he abused the fact that her wife was possessive to full degree.

Oh just wait until she got him and Robin together. Then she'd be able to give him a taste of his own medicine!

"What dangerous things are going through your head right now and why does it involve me and Robin?" Rosan wondered.

Robin looked over at that, raising a curious brow at suddenly being called.

Everyone aware of Ram's plan froze. "Ah just thinking about how cute you guys look with matching outfits!" Maro said.

She contemplated going into detail but Rosan would catch her lie immediately.

"Matching? I suppose we are..." Rosan muttered, glancing down at his predominantly black and purple outfit.

Robin was also wearing the exact same colors and smiled at that. "I guess we instinctively just started wearing the same thing... maybe I should add red to my wardrobe."

The redhead nodded in approval. "I already bought some red for you. You'd look great."

The Devil Child raised a brow in confusion. "I haven't seen a single article of red clothing?"

He shrugged. "You made me put everything away and the closet I gave you is massive and filled to the brim. Of course you don't know..." He grunted.

"...Touche. Okay, I'd like to see what red outfits you picked out..." she responded back.

Rosan nodded, fully taking his attention off the queen.

Maro let out a sigh of relief. She wasn't a bad liar by any means (Master made sure she could tell a good lie) but he did not teach her how to lie to him.

He also seemed to have a supernatural sense when it came to reading a person. That's why she made up a truth on the spot.

A tap on her shoulder, brought her attention to the orange haired girl smiling coyly at her.

"Whatever you have planned for those two, I'm in," Nami whispered.

Maro grinned eagerly, shaking her hand. "You must be Nami. Master and Kaori told me about you! Oh wait… you don't mind that Kaori is on my island, right? Please say you don't... I kinda really like her being my soldier."

Nami was a bit surprised to hear that but the woman had just vanished. "I don't mind, really! Kaori isn't a bad person and she… treated me normally. If she has any lingering regrets, tell her that I forgive her."

Her and the female fishman didn't have a single negative interaction that she could remember. In the first few years, it's because Kaori just didn't care about anything but her father but later, the woman actually began to like the navigator.

Maro appraised the girl with wide eyes. "You are so mature and rational and I'm so sorry for the headache Master and Luffy must give you all the time."

Nami waved her apology off. "You get used to Luffy at least… Rosan gives me more headaches then I care to remember. Now what exactly is your plan? I need all the details so that I can assist while you aren't here!"

Maro's grin was blinding. "I think this is the start of a beautiful friendship. Alright, follow me… Master's hearing is way too good. ACE COME HERE REAL QUICK!"

The commander, who had been conversing with Sabo, glanced up in curiosity.

"WHY?"

"FIRE TECHNIQUE IDEAS!"

"WHAT THE HELL COULD YOU POSSIBLY TEACH ME?!"

"WHAT THE FUCK DID YOU JUST SAY? YOU DUMB LITTLE WHITEBEARD BRAT, DON'T GET A BIG HEAD! YOU WANNA FIGHT?!"

"BRING IT ON! I OWE YOU AND ROSAN AN ASS KICKING FOR ALL THOSE YEARS I LOST!"

"LET'S GO RIGHT NOW!"

Nami sweatdropped but smiled cheerfully at the queen.

Honestly, Rosan and Luffy's entire family was so interesting!

"Is this really necessary?" Sabo asked with a sweatdrop.

He was learning some very interesting things about his family.

One thing he was learning right now, was that they were unnaturally competitive.

"Of course. I've knocked Rosan off the throne, now it's time to figure out who's the undisputed #1," Ace grinned, stretching in anticipation.

Rosan snorted. "Keep my seat warm for me. I'll take it back sooner or later."

Ace and Sabo stood parallel of each other on the battlefield erected by the Computer Man.

The Logia snorted. "Yeah, I'll keep it warm indefinitely. You ain't catching up to me!"

"I'm glad you genuinely believe that... it's gonna be all the better when I rip it from you," Rosan retorted, standing in the middle of the two.

"Why are they all so competitive," Sabo thought with a sweatdrop.

Despite thinking that, the blonde couldn't help the excited thrum pulsing through his body at proving that he was #1 in terms of strength.

Guess he was just as competitive as they were...

"Still use the pipe, eh?" Ace grinned, lighting up in preparation.

"From what I heard, I was the best at it already so maybe its a good thing you go rid of yours," Sabo grinned back, clenching his weapon tightly and tossing his hat aside.

"Begin," Rosan muttered, vanishing to sit next to his family in the seats he erected.

Ace wasted no time. The freckled man grinned and rushed forward while saying, "I haven't needed that pipe for years!"

Sabo's eyes widened for a split second before the man held up his weapon and clashed with the fiery fist.

"Didn't expect a Logia to start off with close combat, huh?" the commander asked cockily, igniting the fire on his arms to spread even further.

The revolutionary leapt back to avoid the flames licking his skin and narrowed his eyes as the whole field erupted in flames.

"He knows I can sense him, so this is just to give him more of an advantage by cutting off where I can run..."

That... was smarter then he would have given Ace credit for.

Well, he wouldn't let the pirate dictate the fight all the way.

Sabo calmly pinpointed Ace's location and rocketed forward, swinging his metal pipe with expert precision.

Ace applied armament to his arm and blocked the attack, eyes going wide at the power behind.

"His armament is a bit better then mine," the Logia thought with a slight grimace.

Using his free arm, Ace formed a concentrated orb of flames and held it between him and Sabo.

"Flame Orb."

The revolutionary leapt back before the deceptively massive explosion captured him.

The moment his feet hit the floor, the ground erupted.

"Flame Geyser!"

Sabo grunted as he was launched into the air by the pillar of flame and he gazed at his brother just in time to see Ace cocking a fist at him.

"Fire Fist!"

"He's fighting way smarter then he normally does... looks like our spars really helped out," Maro grinned, eyes proud.

"Overwhelming and manipulating the terrain? He really took a page out of your book, Rosan," Robin observed with an impressed gaze.

Rosan couldn't keep the smile off his face as he made the same observation. "I knew he was a tsundere. The moment he ate that Devil Fruit, he was probably thinking of ways to use it like we use ours."

Impressive. He was proud.

Sabo gripped his pipe tightly as a massive fiery fist approached him and with a huff, he dispersed the wave of fire with a mighty swing.

Everyone's mouth opened, as the swing of his pipe summoned a gust of wind strong enough to put out some of the flames.

Then, the blonde landed on the floor and rocketed forward at immense speeds.

He reached Ace immediately and swung his pipe with one hand to the side of his head.

As expected, Ace blocked the attack with his enforced arm but Sabo's eyes sharpened with a gleam.

Ace's eyes widened, as Sabo lashed out with his fingers and gripped the pirate with crushing force before delivering a brutal kick to his gut.

He doubled over but still Sabo did not release him.

Clutching his brother, the revolutionary hoisted him up and body slammed him on his back.

Ace grunted in pain and before Sabo could repeat the process, he ignited his entire body in flames, forcing the blonde to release him.

Not stopping there, the fire roared as it expanded and momentarily blinded Sabo.

That was all Ace needed.

The construct of fire dashed forward and tackled Sabo to the ground, making sure not to burn him.

He wrestled his brother down and used his flames to form makeshift handcuffs.

"Sabo is properly restrained, that's game," Rosan announced, calling the match.

Ace grinned at that and banished his flames, before holding out a hand for Sabo to grab.

The revolutionary looked a little shocked at the results until a wry smile formed on his face and he grabbed the hand.

"If that fight kept going I would have won," Sabo told him.

Ace snorted. "You keep telling yourself that."

"Next time it'll be different..." The blonde assured, competitive glare on his face.

The pirate's cocky grin widened. "Maybe in a few years all of you will catch up to me but until then, I'll be enjoying #1."

They heard a snort and regarded their older brother who said, "You guys are real confident. Don't be too sad when you suddenly lose your #1 and 2 spot."

The middle brothers grinned eagerly. "All of us being close to each other, just makes our fights real fun!" Ace exclaimed.

Sabo nodded along. "I've suddenly gained a lot of motivation to get way stronger so it might take you all a while to catch up."

"I doubt it," Rosan responded.

"Yeah! We're gonna get way stronger then you two!" Luffy exclaimed, bounding up to the three with a wide grin.

Maro scoffed and crossed her arms. "It'll be real embarrassing when the only one not travelling the Grand Line becomes the strongest. Don't be upset when yours truly takes another throne!"

"It was so easy to rope Sabo into their competitiveness," Demon muttered, shaking his head in disbelief.

Angel's eyes gleamed in excitement. "Imagine a free for all between the five of them and their all close to strength? Wouldn't that be so fun to watch?!" She asked, shaking in her seat at the thought.

Everyone began thinking about an all out brawl between the 5 monsters and couldn't help but shudder.

"We would probably have to watch it on a different island," Robin suggested with a tiny laugh.

They all nodded sagely.

There was no way they wanted to be remotely close to that.

"You're leaving already?" Angel frowned sadly.

"Yeah, I stayed long enough but I have to continue the search for Blackbeard," Ace smiled apologetically, hugging his older sister to make her feel better.

"I wish the circumstances were better but at least we got to see you," she sighed, returning the hug.

Luffy didn't look put off by that at all. "Ace has his own journey! We'll see him again," he explained like it were common sense.

The freckled man nodded and affectionately pat the rubber boy.

"I'm gonna miss you," Maro sighed, joining the group hug and squeezing the freckled man affectionately. "Make sure you visit us sooner then 3 years, you dick!"

"You bet. No promises on how soon but since Rosan's in the Grand Line, it should be much easier," he assured.

"A Devil Fruit and narcolepsy… I'm surprised you're even still alive," Demon sighed, finishing off the hug with his presence. "Have the attacks slowed down any?"

He nodded sheepishly. "They still come but they aren't as frequent as they used to be and I did nearly die one time. Caught an attack and fell straight in the water."

The doctor snorted. "Fire Fist Ace… 2nd Commander of the Whitebeard Pirates, dying to a narcolepsy attack. I don't think Master and Maro would ever let you live that down."

"That's why I survived!" Ace laughed easily, facing his brothers.

The freckled man dug into his pockets and pulled out two pieces of paper.

"Luffy, Sabo. Can you hold onto these for me?"

The two perked up at being mentioned and easily caught the pieces of paper Ace handed them.

"A piece of paper?" Luffy asked, puzzled.

"A Vivre Card? You want me to hold onto yours?" Sabo asked in surprise.

Rosan raised a brow and asked, "What is that?"

"I don't know the full details, but a friend made it with my fingernails," Ace explained. "It lets you guys know if I'm doing well and you can even find me. Watch."

Ace turned into fire and instantly dashed off into a random direction.

Sabo beckoned for them all to look at the Vivre Card and their eyes widened as it began inching towards the same direction the commander had disappeared into.

"Useful," Rosan remarked in interest, watching Ace reappear in front of them. "Do you know how to make one?"

Unfortunately, Ace shook his head no. "I don't know the process. My new friend at the time just asked for my fingernail and gave me a huge piece of paper afterwords."

The redhead hummed and nodded his head, not too put off by that fact.

It was a slower Save Point but his usage of the technique wasn't infinite. This could be a good way to keep tabs on people without using up a slot and considering he could fly, it would just take some a little longer.

"I know someone who can," Sabo interjected. "I can have some made for you guys and give them over when we meet up again."

His eyes glinted in interest at that and Rosan nodded. "That would be ideal. I want a Vivre Card for a lot of people if you don't mind... Including you."

The Revolutionary nodded with a small grin.

"Do you need anything before you go?" Angel fussed like a concerned mother as she smoothed out Ace's hair that got a little scuffed from his fight with Sabo. "Food? Money? Ship repairs? The talk?"

Ace flushed and scowled. "I don't need the talk, Angel. You already did a fantastic job explaining it to me when I wasn't ready!"

His older sister stepped back in shock.

"But I turned 18!" She exclaimed with wide eyes, not understanding what she did wrong.

"I'M THE ONE WHO WAS SUPPOSED TO BE 18!" He roared, pinching her cheek and shaking her head rapidly.

"O-Oh, right," she mumbled, whining at the sensation of being pinched.

Everyone sweatdropped.

"I'll give you some food really quick. I just finished harvesting a bunch of new fruits," Maro chimed, patting the depressed Angel's head soothingly.

"Let me inspect your current meds to see if they are good enough," Demon interjected as well.

"Sure, sure!" Ace laughed, allowing them to fuss.

The Straw Hats watched in awe.

"So this is what it's like to have such reliable people in high places," Nami gaped.

They were all so incredibly useful! W-What the hell was this?!

"This feels like cheating," Zoro muttered in agreement.

"How did we get stuck with these two?" Usopp lamented.

...

A silence washed over the field that made everyone stop.

All the non straw hats, barring Sabo, paused in disbelief, turning towards the pirate crew lamenting with brows raised to the roof.

"Luffy I can get, but you're upset that you're stuck with Master?" Angel gaped, scratching her head in confusion.

"I would literally kill to have Master stay on Celadon you lucky bastards," Maro pouted.

"He's the most useful out of all us of… I get he's an ass but just what is he doing to you guys?" Demon couldn't help but wonder.

"Honestly, Luffy's lucky he got first dibs on him. I wouldn't have any complaints about having him join my crew," Ace snorted.

Their redheaded oldest brother was unmatched when it came to sheer versatility. If anyone knew the full scope of what he could do, people would be chomping at the bits to coerce him to their side.

Rosan shrugged at their praise, smirking slightly. "I'm flattered but I don't spoil my crew as much as I spoiled you all so they don't know just how useful I am. Their growth is important so I try not to interfere with it. It builds character."

The Straw Hats blinked at that.

"THAT'S WHY YOU DON'T DO ANYTHING?!"

He tilted his head. "Wasn't it obvious? Of course if I think you're in danger of dying, I'll interfere."

"IT WASN'T OBVIOUS AT ALL!" They roared in disbelief. They just thought he was a dick!

"He did that to me too... but he also spoiled me at the same time, then I got strong and he stopped torturing me and only spoiled me!" Maro beamed.

Luffy nodded rapidly. "Me too!"

"He's sick!" They cried. He only tortured them!

Rosan hummed. "I mostly didn't interfere in the East Blue because they were all weak and well within your capabilities but don't worry, I won't allow you guys to die yet."

Ace laughed at the look of relief on their faces. "Rosan's a dick but he's only cruel to his enemies. We've done a pretty good job taming him over the years so he's much better than when he was 14 or younger."

Young Rosan was a demon. It was a good thing he was not currently like that. No emotions he maybe, they definitely still managed to tame and make him more tolerable.

"Don't speak about me like I'm some type of animal," Rosan scoffed.

"Mother, pet, teacher, brother… Rosan the extraordinaire does it all!" Maro teased.

A grip on her right cheek, ceased all laughter from her and Rosan calmly said, "Should we resume our training from when we first started? Perhaps I've been too lax with you all."

The queen went white and desperately began shaking her head. "No Master! I'm sowwy, Master!"

They all began laughing at the woman's plight and eventually, Rosan let her go, patting her on the head to calm down her grumbling.

"C'mon Ace, I'll take you to your raft," Rosan offered. "We'll be right back."

After shooting Robin a glance, to which she rolled her eyes at, the trio flew off to Striker.

"BYE ACE, TAKE CARE!" Luffy shouted, waving eagerly. "Next time I see you, I'm gonna kick your ass!"

"I'D LIKE TO SEE YOU TRY WEAK LITTLE BROTHER!" Ace shouted back.

The trio vanished and they watched them go with a fond smile.

"You remember all the methods of training your haki, right?" Ace questioned, already knowing the answer.

Rosan's memory was damn near perfect and anything he possibly forgot, Mod remembered... or they just watched it.

It's how Ace was able to learn so much about his mother... He really loved that woman and to see himself how stout she was in keeping him alive, made him reevaluate many of his previous thoughts.

"Of course. I'll be sure to start training immediately with Robin and Luffy," Rosan nodded.

"Based on what Maro said and what I saw… I'm not too sure I want you to train me," Robin teased with a shake of her head.

"He's brutally efficient," Ace laughed.

It was harsh at the time, but it had bore fruit and the commander had been more than strong enough to steamroll most of the ocean.

"No pain, no gain. Blame Mod-chan, she was a slave driver," Rosan said.

"Y-You're the one who asked me to train you!" Mod gawked at his audacity. "Don't you dare try and blame your sadism on me!"

"My apologies, mother," Rosan replied, causing the woman to blush in embarrassment. She always got like this when they called her mother.

"Y-You…"

Ace laughed at the interactions. "I missed this, y'know? Being out on the sea and becoming a pirate was great but there were some nights where I really wanted to see you all again."

"If you accepted my Save Point, that wouldn't have been a problem," Rosan countered.

"You aren't apart of my crew! I don't need it," he snorted stubbornly.

"I know, I know… Just be careful alright? Focus everything onto defeating Teach, you can trust me with Sabo… I won't mess up again," Rosan said softly.

Ace sobered up at that, expression turning serious at his brother's tone. "You know I trust you but that does put me more at ease. After I wrap up this business, I'll try and visit you guys again and maybe then I'll let you place a Save Point on me."

Rosan landed right in front of Striker and shot his brother a wry smile. "I'll hold you to that and Angel will actually hold you down."

He snorted at that. "That means you'll have haki by then, eh? Aren't you a bit too cocky for your own good?"

"He's Rosan, of course he is," Robin supplied helpfully.

"Hmph," Rosan said, not deigning to acknowledge them and causing the two to snort.

The commander then turned to Robin, much to her surprise, and bowed to the taller woman.

"This is a bit much but, please continue to take care of my older brother, Robin," Ace requested.

She was Rosan's best friend and the catalyst to many moments in his life. Robin shaped Rosan in many ways and it was why the redhead loved her so much.

The only person who affected Rosan on the level of Robin, had been Meiko so their whole family held the woman in high regards.

"I'm glad you're not as stubborn as I am and you two made up quickly. You're good for each other and it puts me at ease knowing someone as reliable as you, will keep this guilt ridden idiot in check," he said truthfully, rubbing the back of his hair with a small grin.

Robin flushed at the sincerity in his tone, not expecting it, and delivered a short bow herself. "I'll do my best. I love Rosan and all I want is for him to gain what he's lost."

She then gazed at him with a small smile. "You don't give yourself enough credit, Ace so I want to thank you for forgiving him and allowing us all to make progress. If you never did that, Rosan would be a very different person. Take care of yourself, Ace."

The woman smiled warmly at him and Ace could see why everyone wanted them together now.

She had his firm approval.

"I'm not enjoying being insulted so frequently lately," Rosan muttered with a shake of his head. "Once I learn haki, I'll have to start enforcing my older brother privileges in earnest."

"I'd like to see you try," Ace grinned challengingly.

The two stared at each other for a long moment before it was broken up by twin smiles from the two and they exchanged a brotherly hug.

"Teach that traitor a lesson and then introduce us to your crew. I'd like to meet and thank Whitebeard for taking such good care of you," Rosan muttered.

"I want you all to meet Pops as well. I may or may not have talked about you guys a lot so he knows who you are," Ace replied, breaking the hug off so that he could depart.

Rosan sighed. "I would say I'm annoyed, but far too many people already have their eyes on me. You know I met and fought Hawk Eye Mihawk in the East Blue and he gained a personal interest in Ram and I?"

Ace and Robin's eyes shot open at that.

"You fought who?!" Robin hissed in disbelief. The World's Strongest swordsman?! What?!

Ace whistled. "I bet you were trying to stay low too and it failed," the commander cackled at his brother's plight.

"I don't know what I did wrong," Rosan sighed once more. "Why are so many important people interested in me? Can't I just be the humble scout in peace?"

His freckled brother snorted. "You're actually walking around calling yourself that? I thought it was a joke!"

"We need to talk later about that Mihawk fight you just mentioned," Robin said, crossing her arms with an even stare.

"...Why does it sound like I'm in trouble? You were going to see it eventually and a lot of things happened in my life," Rosan muttered.

Robin's gaze remained even.

"...Fine," he eventually said.

Ace threw his head back and laughed. His brother was so whipped and he didn't even realize!

To be fair, he was whipped by their whole family. Rosan was just as much of a mom as Mod was.

"I'm so glad to see how much you've grown, Ace. It makes me so proud," Mod smiled brightly.

He had stopped being so angry long ago but there was always a certain… loss in his eyes. It was a look bred from years of being told he shouldn't be alive and even after all the years being surrounded by love, there were times where it would randomly surge.

But now it was nowhere to be seen, replaced by genuine happiness and a charming confidence.

Ace had grown so much in the three years he had sailed and it made her so proud.

"I'm glad you're proud, Mod. We may have started off on the wrong foot, but I really do love you like a mother," Ace replied sincerely.

Mod turned scarlet at his admittance because Ace never said that before. "I-I... you do...?! T-That, that makes me so happy!" She sobbed.

The woman was so happy and embarrassed right now... she abruptly cut the connection and fled to go celebrate in peace.

"Father will be stronger than you next time we meet!" Ram barked in annoyance, smiling despite it.

"I'm looking forward to it. I want us to have a fight, no holds barred as close to each other in strength as possible," Ace laughed as he easily landed on the raft.

"Love you," Rosan said, waving bye to his brother.

Ace flushed at his older brother's bluntness. "Stop being so embarrassing, Rosan!"

…

…

…

"Love you too," he mumbled, igniting his lower half and setting off.

Ugh, Rosan was the worst.

Robin giggled at Ace's embarrassment and joined in the farewell. "I hope to see you again, Ace!"

"You too Robin!" The pirate making distance yelled.

"You never mentioned a girl in your life… I hope you aren't hiding her from us. You shouldn't be ashamed of your family," Rosan advised.

"IF I HAD A GIRLFRIEND, I'D HAVE EVERY REASON TO KEEP HER AWAY FROM YOU ALL!" Ace roared in fury, speeding up his ship and vanishing from their sight.

Angel alone would have been too much… Meeting all of them would have been nothing but disaster for Ace.

Honestly, his family was embarrassing at the best of times.

Damn it, he missed them already. He needed to find Teach and get rid of him quick, then he'd report it to Whitebeard and go meet up with them again.

When did he become such a family guy? Well, he couldn't say he hated it.

"He seemed eager to go," Rosan commented idly.

"You never struck me as the type to embarrass your younger siblings but now that I think about it, you 100% are," Robin replied, smiling at the thought.

The redhead shrugged. "Ace makes it too easy. It's impossible to embarrass Luffy so he gets all of it until I'm around the twins and Maro."

Robin giggled at that. "You're still as much of a menace as ever."

"That's good because right now we can begin being menaces to Sir Crocodile himself," Rosan hummed, eyes glowing in preparation.

It was about time now for him to completely annihilate the organization known as Baroque Works.

Ideally, he'd get Mr. 1, 2 and Miss Doublefinger but those were all secondary to his goal of making the Warlord submit.

Would he send Crocodile to Maro? No, too risky. The sandman would be Rosan's personal servant by the end of this trip.

"I still can't believe you're going to try and recruit Crocodile himself," Robin sighed fondly. He was genuinely insane.

"Once we defeat him, it will be easy. I have ways of forcing obedience that don't involve using Overhaul. Can't expect everyone to have a weak will."

Rosan grabbed the woman and his eyes began glowing. "Let's head back to the crew, it's about time we commence our plans."

Crocodile puffed out a smoke as he stared down his remaining agents.

Each one looked remarkably shocked at seeing who exactly was their boss.

They were clearly not expecting him to be Mr. 0 and it didn't look faked so that meant these agents were likely still on his side.

"Things have gone a bit awry but that doesn't matter. We've spent years sending Alabasta to its ruins so now, lets reap our benefits," Crocodile drawled.

He wasn't sure what Nico Robin's plan was but if she did deign to come back, he'd show her what it meant to cross him.

But that would wait.

For now…

"It's about time we finally commence our plans."

Memory Viewing With Robin and Rosan - 2

Continued!

Robin frowned deeply at the redhead, as she continued to watch his memories.

She wasn't just displeased with him. No, she was displeased with every single one of them barring Demon.

They must have sensed her displeasure because no one said a word to her and for the moment, that was fine.

But she would be having a word with them.

Their treatment of Maro... it was completely unfair to the girl. It did not matter if she was better now, dragging her into such a toxic environment right after taking her out of one was unacceptable.

Maro was a human, not some toy to discard if they proved useless.

Soon after recruiting the tiny girl, Rosan wasted no time vanishing with her and bringing her on the ship where they met Angel first.

It was natural for the female redhead to treat her with hostility but it was Rosan's job to nip that in the bud immediately. Unfortunately, because of his disposition, he didn't feel the need to lay a heavier hand and poor Maro wouldn't have possibly been able to defend herself.

The little child couldn't even speak properly... it was like taking a baby and throwing them in the lion's den. All she could do was flail about helplessly as Angel tore into her.

Thankfully, Rosan finally did intervene when it looked like Angel was going to go too far and the female twin was at least rational enough to realize she had stepped far out of line.

Angel should have honestly been the biggest obstacle when it came to Maro's livelihood on that ship but no.

She wasn't even close to the biggest problem because right after realizing she was being a prick, the redheaded twin managed to make some amends with Maro and took it upon herself to teach the orphan.

No. The biggest problem on the ship was Rosan himself.

To be completely blunt, little Rosan wasn't fit to be anyone's teacher in his current state, especially someone as vulnerable and compassionate as Maro.

But no, instead of realizing that their ideals were just not compatible enough, Rosan forced it to be.

Robin watched in horror as Rosan traumatized Maro without a care in the world.

He... He tried to force the child to kill someone because she was too kind?! Then when she couldn't do it... he ruthlessly murdered them directly in front of her?

"You are my weapon yet, you have a set of values that contradict my own. That is unacceptable. As you are now, I have no use for you."

"Discard your current values because they are not my own. You fight for me, you live for me, you kill for me. This is what it means to be my weapon. You exist for my sake. You are Grim, the right hand of Reaper."

Robin couldn't believe it.

"This is unacceptable," she said finally, standing up so that she could regard all three of them. "You guys have no idea how disappointed I am in all of you right now."

While Rosan held her gaze, Mod and Ram immediately averted their own.

"Do you think anyone deserves what you all have done to Maro so far?" Robin asked with a frown on her face. "It doesn't matter if it worked, you took an orphan who didn't even have a name and traumatized her! The only person who went out of their way to make that poor girl feel accommodated was Demon!"

"Taking that girl and shoving her into such a toxic environment... you should be thankful that Maro is so exceptional! That was completely irresponsible of you," she finished, directing a stern look at the three.

What they did to her... it was inhumane. The fact that Maro still ended up the way she did, spoke volumes to her character and Robin felt her respect for the queen only increasing.

Mod and Ram shrunk into themselves at her accusing stare and Rosan sighed.

"I... I know more then anyone else, what I did to Maro. I realized how terribly I treated her the moment I began to care for her," Rosan admitted. "I thought just because she was a blank slate, I could fill her with whatever I wanted. I ignored her wants because like I said, she was a weapon for me. Even her name signified that."

"I didn't need a kind weapon. I didn't want someone to take advantage of that kindness and kill another thing that belonged to me..."

The redhead frowned. "But as I spent more time with her... As I taught her even basic things that she didn't have the luxury of knowing, I realized that Maro wasn't my weapon. Maro was my student who shouldn't have gone through what I made her go through."

Robin's heavy gaze lessened. "Did you apologize to her?"

Rosan nodded. "I did. Even now, I'm trying to make it up to her in anyway I can..."

So that's why he was always thinking of ways to help Maro.

The redhead raked a hand through his hair. "I hate what I did to Maro, Angel and Demon. I really do. I let such a toxic environment fester for far too long and I realized too late that this wasn't the right way to do things. That's why we don't travel with each other anymore."

Her frown vanished fully at the remorse in his tone and she put a hand on his shoulder. "I'm glad you realized that you made a mistake. I don't have all the details yet, but it looks like it turned out for the best."

He nodded. "I tried to salvage it to the best of my ability and I'm glad it worked. Let's continue... after this I do start treating her better."

Robin nodded and sat back down to focus on the screen.

True to Rosan's word, he did start treating her better... by giving the girl a Mythical Zoan.

After assuring her teacher that she wouldn't let him down anymore, the orphan had requested that Rosan give her a Devil Fruit and he had given her one of the best to help her along the way.

A Mythical Zoan that even Robin didn't have much info on...

From there, the redhead took it upon himself to make sure Maro wouldn't be going in blind with mastering her Devil Fruit.

Despite not being well suited on the emotional aspect of being someone's teacher, Rosan was fantastic when it came to the technical side.

"You really are effective," Robin commented, watching as Maro got stronger at an incredible rate.

It took no time at all for Rosan to feel confident taking her with him on missions and when they went on the first one...

It was amusingly disastrous.

Rosan and Maro had no synergy with each other.

Robin couldn't stop the giggle at seeing the both of them get in the way of each other nonstop.

The Dokkaebi was convinced that she was the main aggressor and acted accordingly...

Unfortunately, Rosan had been the main aggressor in all his fights for as long as he could remember. It was an oversight on his part for not making that clear.

"Get out of my way, Master!" Maro barked with a growl, as her giant body smashed once more into Rosan by accident.

"There are dozens of enemies, how are you constantly picking my target?" Rosan intoned emotionlessly.

"You're doing it on purpose!" she snarled, dashing off to smash the head of another poor victim who could only watch the slaughter with confused and helpless gazes.

Despite their complete lack of teamwork, the two still completely overwhelmed their meager opposition.

"Man our teamwork was terrible," Ram complained, scratching her head in awe at how bad it was.

"I didn't imagine you two had such horrible synergy," Robin giggled, watching as Maro argued with the calm Rosan.

"You're the one with the versatile Devil Fruit! Take a backseat and let me be the aggressor," Maro barked.

"I'm far stronger then you. Why would I support someone weaker then me?"

"YOU'VE BEEN FIGHTING WAY LONGER, CAN'T I ENJOY MYSELF?!"

Robin sweatdropped at Rosan. "You really didn't want to concede to your own student? What is wrong with you?"

Mod sighed sadly and said, "I couldn't tell you."

"We worked it out... I realized I was being unreasonable so we made adjustments," Rosan muttered.

And adjust he did. The redhead postponed missions for 2 week straight, just so he and Maro could learn the importance of actually having good teamwork.

"You're so used to me supporting you that you thought Maro would just slot right in," Robin laughed, watching the two slowly but surely understand how the other worked.

"It was a different kind of challenge... but not one I disliked," Rosan admitted. "We eventually settled on balancing our aggression and reacting with each other but I can turn fully supportive in battle if I need to."

She smiled at that. It was a different kind of growth for Rosan.

Robin watched as they tried to implement the new fighting style... to little success but slowly, they began to get more and more comfortable with each other. The more they fought with each other, the more they began to realize each other's habits and the more they began to anticipate what the other was going to do.

She watched with a proud smile as their clunky teamwork, shifted into something more and more seamless... and in the process she watched as Rosan's perception of Maro began to change.

The more comfortable they got, the more Rosan taught her, the less the redhead saw her as a weapon and the more he saw her as a human.

Soon, Grim and Reaper began to actually look like a terrifying duo who could bounce off each other's style with startling ease.. and Rosan began to care for Maro.

Robin could see exactly when he realized what he did to her was too harsh. He began to spoil her more and give her random gifts. He listened to her requests without ever saying no and gave her far more break days.

He began to encourage her to begin thinking for herself and allowed the girl to hang around Angel, Demon, Aiko and Akemi far more then himself.

Robin was proud to see that Rosan was trying to make amends in his own way. He didn't even realize that the more he tried to make up for what he did, the more he began to care for Maro.

"You really did realize your mistakes," Robin commented, as the two effortlessly finished yet another mission.

Maro looked much healthier, mentally and physically and the little teen no longer shrunk into herself when she thought she was failing Rosan in some way. She carried herself with confidence because Rosan had been instilling it into her for a few months now.

Rosan nodded as he watched the memory. Any moment now and she was going to recommend they raid Germa.

"I tried to make it up to her in any way I knew how... but I knew that there was no taking back what I had done. In order to truly make amends, I needed to make Maro realize that I am not #1 in her life."

Robin nodded in approval as she idly watched Maro suggest actually raiding the Germa kingdom. "You salvaged a bad situation well... hold your head up, Rosan. Remember, you only found Maro when you were 12 and you were still so young when you realized the error you made."

He hummed. "I think that was more on Maro then me... If I never have a child, I can be content with how she ended up."

Robin couldn't stop the shock at hearing that statement and looked at Rosan with wide eyes. "If you ever tell Maro that, she might burst into tears for a few days."

"It's my trump card for embarrassing her," Rosan admitted with a wry smile.

Ram's eyes gleamed as she saw an opportunity. "Father, you want kids?"

Robin raised a brow at that and glanced curiously at the redhead.

He tilted his head to the side. "Yes. I wanted at least 4 children. 2 boys, 2 girls."

Rosan had always wanted a big family. It must have been the desires of being a lonely child. Two kids could still be lonely if it came down to it and if there were three, one could potentially feel isolated.

But 4? They could form a group and not grow tired of the other... most likely.

Meiko had wanted 6. Both Rosan and Mod had gawked at her admittance.

"Four little Rosan's running around... I shudder at the thought of them being exactly like you," Robin said with slightly horrified eyes.

Four cute little gremlins causing ludicrous amounts of chaos with a father like Rosan to encourage them... what a terrifying thought.

Rosan rolled his eyes. "You'd love them."

"Of course she will!" Ram thought with a wild eye. They'd be hers after all.

"What about you, Mother?" The ring asked.

Robin blinked and pointed at herself. "Me? I've always wanted at least 1 but I wouldn't be opposed to more," she replied truthfully. "It would need to be after I finish my journey though... I have no interest in abandoning my child or taking them with me on such a dangerous trip."

Rosan blinked in return. "I'm the exact same way... I wonder how old we'll be when we achieve our goals..."

The Devil Child shrugged and smiled jokingly. "If we get too old, we can just have children. Though... four might be a bit much," she informed him jokingly.

Mod and Ram's eyes bugged out of their skulls at her words.

Rosan let out a small snort at her joke. "And here I was thinking you were fine being the lame auntie. Are you that attracted to me?" He asked with a raised brow.

Robin snorted in return. "Don't flatter yourself. This is more for my sake because I'm sure anyone I show even a hint of interest in, is going to be killed and or scared away by you."

The redhead nodded slowly, a thoughtful expression on his face. "Okay, four kids then and we have to name the first one after Mod in some way... Any ideas?"

"None. We'll have about 9 months to decide," Robin shrugged.

"Better then 20."

Thud.

The two stopped joking with each other and glanced over at the unconscious Ram. The ring had a happy smile on her face and Mod was urgently fanning it.

"Ram?" They called in confusion.

Mod's wide red eyes gazed up at them and she urgently said, "I-It's okay! Ram just never thought she was going to have siblings and even though you were joking, the idea made her very happy!"

She herself nearly had a heart attack at hearing the two discuss their plans and the fact that Rosan remembered one of his children needed to be named after her, sent her over the moon.

The two moved over at once to regard the ring.

"Big sis Ram, teaching all her lil siblings how to be awesome~," the sleeping ring sighed happily.

"...She wants siblings?" Rosan muttered.

"Maybe we should have them then," Robin couldn't help but joke once more.

Rosan hummed. "...How's Modest or Modesty for our first born? Then on our second we can decide who it gets named after based on gender."

"Sounds good to me," she replied with a short nod, smoothing out Ram's hair.

Thud.

The two paused in disbelief, as Mod fell unconscious next, smile on her features.

"...Maybe she's still tired after tending to me for so long," Rosan muttered, hoisting Ram up after a quick glance at his best friend.

Robin gently lifted Mod up. "We can continue next time then... though, sleeping right before seeing what happens with Germa is quite a cliffhanger."

Rosan snorted. "You read a lot, you get used to it."

Mod sighed happily in her sleep. "Little Modesty following Auntie Mod around everywhere~."