Chapter 10: A Day in the Life of Reaper

Her base was in utter chaos.

Currently, all of her subordinates were in a terrified frenzy and Captain Valerie had to wonder just how one person was capable of invoking such a reaction out of her men.Well, the problem was who that one person just happened to be.After hearing who the sole invader raiding them was, the copper haired captain understood why they were so fearful. Even she tried to hide her fear under a false sense ofbravado. It would do no good to show how shaken up she was by this because she was the Captain."Captain!" Valerie turned her head towards her first mate, Zack, and regarded the panting black haired man with cautious curiosity. She didn't say anything to him, so he took that as a signthat he could continue talking to her."Out there… It's a fucking bloodbath!" Zack looked green as he explained what was happening to the woman in front of him. His black eyes shook in terror as he spoke and itshook her to see him like this."We need to get out of here, our men won't hold out any longer against that monster! They… They're a-all gonna die! We need to run away now, find a spare boat a-and—,"Valerie put a hand up to cut him off and opened her mouth to speak —"Calm down."—And promptly shut it as she realized it was not her who spoke those words. She had been about to say those exact same words but someone had beaten her to the punch.Someone who's voice she did not recognize.Valerie froze as she looked past her first mate.Zack seemed to realize something was amiss and he hesitantly turned around, only to drastically pale as he came face to face with the floating, sole intruder that had completelyupended their base.This was the reason she understood why there was so much fear in her base currently.Reaper, the Angel of Death, assessed the two with what may have been curiosity? It was impossible to tell what the famed Shinigami was thinking, due to their covered body,but their head was slightly tilted.At first glance, Valerie would be hard pressed to find the bounty hunter intimidating, but that's what made them all the more terrifying.They built their reputation solely on what they had done to people like her.They were short, surprisingly so. It was almost like she were looking at a child but no child could do what Reaper was capable of doing.The Angel of Death wore a black cloak that was streaked with white and their voice, what little of it she heard, was soft and gender neutral which was what caused confusion onwhether they were a male or female.Everything about Reaper's demeanor screamed polite, yet cold. Anyone who didn't know of the Shinigami would not be too afraid of them outside of being wary at their perfectlyconcealing outfit.Yet, she was terrified of the figure in front of her because she did know of them.Reaper had a presence to them that anyone near could feel. The obsidian winged angel seemed to emit a foreboding pressure at all time that made her knees weak and it filledher with a hopeless feeling. It was like she knew how this battle was going to turn out already.How casually the short figure was wielding the bloody scythe, that was twice their height, did nothing to calm her. Valerie knew based on Zack's report, that most, if not all, of hermen were dead. Looking at the spotless figure, would have her hard pressed to believe they were the one who did it.She knew better though.Quite possibly the most unsettling thing about Reaper though, was how they acted.They never seemed bothered by the brutality they displayed to their victims. It almost felt like Reaper treated everything they did, as a chore and there was something inherentlywrong with that.The fact that they were here, unfazed, about the people mercilessly slaughtered behind them, at their hands, was what truly solidified the idea that the Angel of Death was notjust a title based on his appearance.Only death itself could commit the acts that Reaper did and be utterly unperturbed by it all."Greetings, Captain Valerie," Reaper said, with a nod of their head. "I trust you have seen what you've wanted to see out of me... Are you finding yourself satisfied?" They askedpolitely. The only noise at the moment was Zack's heavy breathing and Valerie wondered how those massive flapping wings were quieter then her heart ramming in her chest.Nobody knew what gender Reaper was and the hunter didn't seem interested in correcting the mass. There were guesses of course and the general consensus was that theShinigami had no official gender. Some were convinced they were a boy and called them such, others claimed to have evidence that they were a girl and chose to do that instead.No one was 100% and Reaper seemed content to leave it that way.They never got an outward reaction when people called them he or she so it truly left them stumped. The cloak hiding their figure was not helpful either so people just gave upand labeled them gender-less.Didn't stop them from trying to find out though."So you know of me eh, Reaper?" Valerie quickly regained her composure and smiled cockily at the hooded figure. It was best not to let them know how unnerving she found themso playing confident would help her in spades.She lost some of said confidence as they just stared at her without emotion."Naturally. That's why I'm here," they calmly explained to her, like she was a child and the copper haired woman couldn't help but grit her teeth in anger."Captain Valerie of the Valor pirates. Bounty: 5 million beri. Appearance: a muscular woman with copper hair and brass knuckles," Reaper listed off her information neutrally."Please, correct me if I got anything wrong," they requested politely, as if the Shinigami didn't already know everything they said was correct.They were definitely here for her then.That did not bode well for the pirate at all. She masked her slight worry in favor of bravado and said "You seem awfully interested in a woman like me! Maybe if you let us go I'll —""You're not my type," Reaper said bluntly, shutting her down immediately.She flinched at how quickly they answered. "Not your type? Reaper, the monster who people claim has less personality then a corpse, has a type?" She asked in genuine curiosity."No, I don't."This. Smug. Little. Shit.Valerie felt a vein form on her head. This tiny shit was trying to get a rise out of her and it was working. Their tone had not changed once but she just knew he was mocking her.Oh when she got her hands on them they were so dead —"Captain, I-I've seen what they can do… W-w-we can't fight that thing!" Zack reminded her and he was shaking in terror at the prospect of facing this demon.The man was truly traumatized by what he had seen. Reaper could not possibly have been human with what they were capable of doing. Fighting them was not an option. Theyhad already lost.Valerie snapped out of her anger as she remembered just who they were dealing with. Zack was right, fighting them was not an option.Reaper had taken out people who were much stronger then she was and with what was seemingly no effort. This was nothing to the figure with obsidian wings. Fighting the Angelof Death was not an option. They needed to plan an —"Escape route?" Reaper finished her train of thought and she instinctively took a step back in shock as their words pierced into her.This was the second time they had done that."You want to know how I'm doing that?" Dread pooled in her stomach as Reaper seemingly read her mind. "You are doing a far better job then most, but nothing escapes theseeyes," their soft voice rang out, tonelessly."You are afraid."This was not a question, but a statement. "You try to hide it, but I can see it still. The way you avert your eyes, how you are slightly hunched over, you are slightly biting yourlower lip, you have one leg behind the other so you can pivot and run and of course, the shaking. You can never exclude the shaking."Reaper didn't raise or lower their voice. Their tone was forever disinterested. Stance always the same. Most infuriating of all, was how they said everything with the knowledgethat they were right.Reaper pointed everything out as if he were reading the news and the Angel of Death knew they were correct most of the time."Escape me? No one has ever escaped me," Reaper said matter-of-factly. "The moment I choose a target, they are dead and I chose you today. That's it. You may run, but you willnot survive for long. There is no escaping judgment."The Angel of Death brandished their scythe in a two handed grip and held it to the left of themselves. "Death is inevitable. You cannot run from it. You cannot hide from it. Youmay delay it but eventually, it will reach you..."Vanishing from their sight, Reaper appeared in front of Zack and ran their blade through the terrified man's chest. They ripped it out in a spray of blood and the man gurgledpathetically as he collapsed onto the cold floor beneath him. It hurt to breathe. It hurt to think. It hurt to...to...to —"...And I've reached you."Valerie watched in horror as her first mate was eliminated with startling ease. His body began leaking a steady stream of blood and she paled dramatically at the implication thatshe was next. The female captain took a step back in terror as that floating demon turned its attention towards her.There was so much blood yet, none of it reached the Shinigami."It's ironic isn't it?" Reaper began slowly raising their scythe. "It's always the scummiest humans, the ones who would kill a child without blinking, who fear their deaths the most.Do you think about how the people you've killed feel? I do.""You won't have to worry about that fear for much longer though."With that they vanished again only to appear directly in front of her. The two were so close that Valerie could see a single red glowing dot where their eye would be. Theunbearable pressure finally became too much for the copper haired captain and she collapsed on her knees as sheer terror overcame her.She tried to beg for mercy but it was all for naught.Death had no bias."Goodbye, Captain Valerie."Reaper swung the massive scythe down."Ah Reaper! Back so soon?" A friendly voice spoke to Rosan and he nodded at the average looking man across from him, behind the counter."Greetings, Ken," was all he said before tossing a bag towards the man.Ken was a man of average build, who had short cropped black hair and navy blue eyes. He was fair skinned and wore a simple marine uniform. He caught the bag with a practicedease and looked at it curiously."Who's this?" he asked the Angel of Death."Captain Valerie of the Valor pirates."Ken whistled at that. "She was just spotted in North Blue 1 day ago. You found her that quickly and came to the South Blue to turn her bounty in?"He would have been shocked, but he'd been through this with Reaper far too often to let it surprise him anymore."I was in the area and you're the most tolerable bounty collector so naturally, I'd come here," was his reasoning. Ken was one of the few who didn't have a paralyzing fear of himso, to save himself the trouble, all the people he captured just went to Ken.He was not lying when he said he had been in the area. Rosan had not been planning to hunt Valerie down but, Aiko had been raging the entire time about how the muscularfemale pirate had attacked one of the shipments headed to Fregate.This had the added effect of causing Rosan to become annoyed as well. Fregate was his island and an attack that negatively affected them, negatively affected him.Naturally, she had to pay so Rosan told Aiko he'd handle it and began to hunt her down.Needless to say, he had been successful and now the woman's corpse was being passed on to the bounty collector here.His appointed leader and partner of Fregate would be pleased to hear about this.Right, he was going to have to report this to the gray haired woman after getting his money.Ken nodded at his explanation. "Well just lemme verify that this is actually her and we'll give you your money… N-not that we would call you a liar, but rules and regulations andwhat not —""I'm not going to kill you for doing your job," Rosan cut him off, voice still neutral. Ken flushed in embarrassment and rubbed the back of his head sheepishly."Right sorry. Those rumors sure are something and seeing you in the flesh does nothing for my nerves…" he explained and Rosan resisted the urge to sigh.Damn rumors.It took Ken no time at all to verify that it was in fact Valerie in that bag and he came back with a briefcase of beri."You know I'd tell you to keep them alive so that you can get the most amount of beri, but the higher ups want me to give you full price regardless so that's kinda moot," he toldthe hooded figure."Are they still trying to recruit me? I thought I made my disinterest clear."Rosan had 0 intention of aligning himself with the World Government anymore then he had to. He despised them completely and, if not for the fact that he would most certainlydie, he'd have already begun actively attacking them. That could wait until the future, when he was stronger.Then he'd show them hell.But for now, patience. He had learned that waiting until the opportune time, was very rewarding when you got the payoff."Gotta give em props for not quitting," Ken laughed slightly.Rosan nearly snorted before grabbing the briefcase."If that's all, I'll be taking my leave," the boy said calmly before turning around to depart from the location."See ya in like 2 days, Reaper," Ken joked, waving at the retreating back of the Shinigami.They really were quite pleasant to speak too if you got past the fact that it was unnerving to speak to them.Rosan made it out of the building, spread his wings and took off into the sky. He ignored the screams and awed noises of the citizens and quickly vanished from their sight. Oncehe was in the clouds, the 11 year old activated Save Point.Instantly, he was gone."I've dealt with Valerie."Aiko and Akemi jumped with equally surprised yelps as Reaper suddenly appeared before them. Aiko scowled deeply as Akemi smiled brightly at him."I swear to Kami, Reaper," Aiko growled at the pain in her ass. They weren't even in the office! Was he suddenly able to appear anywhere now? That didn't bode well for her! Shejust knew he liked giving her headaches.Rosan smiled underneath his mask in amusement. His use of Save Point had improved massively and it was paying off in dividends.He could now appear within a vicinity to the location he had set. Since his Save Point was the office room inside of Aiko's mansion, he could appear anywhere he wanted inside ofthe building.It was great at pissing Aiko off and Rosan found that he enjoyed messing with the 22 year old.He enjoyed it a lot."Hi Reaper!" Akemi waved happily at him and he nodded in return. It was good to see the younger sister doing so well now. The woman had steadily been improving and now,after 2 years of support from Aiko, the 21 year old was nothing like the withdrawn, scared girl she used to be.Good for her."Valerie is dead," Rosan repeated to the woman who was struggling to catch her breath. Rosan wanted to laugh at how spooked she had gotten but he had appearances to keepup.Reaper was always composed and didn't do pranks... Well, obvious pranks.Even if Aiko firmly thought otherwise, she was the only one who did.Her glare was wiped away in favor of confusion and then disbelief."I complained about her attack literally yesterday!" Aiko exclaimed in shock as she regarded the monster in disguise because that's what he was.A complete monster."I am not one to delay issues… she decided to attack you and so, she had to pay the price," Rosan told the two what he had done and Aiko could only shake her head inexasperation."You're a crazy boy Reaper," Aiko eventually said. Reaper tilted his head, which got a coo out of Akemi, and stared down Fregate's leader."How can you be so sure that I'm a boy?" Reaper asked her getting a snort out of the woman."You kidding me? That blonde cutie is practically attached to the hip with you and well, she doesn't look very old," she pointed out. "Also you're growing taller… Just how old areyou?"If Aiko were anyone else, she'd have been dead. It was vital that Rosan and Reaper remained separate and that extended to age as well.The angry woman, despite how much she complained about him, was incredibly loyal and Rosan knew she wouldn't reveal his information without his consent.She would pay the price with her life if she did, otherwise.Rosan pointedly ignored her question. "Astute observation skills, but that still doesn't answer my question. How can you be so sure I'm a boy?""… I never thought of the possibility that the blonde could swing the other way," Aiko said thoughtfully as she cupped her chin."You never thought of that? Don't you like women?" Rosan asked curiously, getting a massive blush of outrage out of the woman."W-what?!" she exclaimed in shock at being called out so suddenly. Akemi began laughing uncontrollably at her sisters misfortune and the blush on her face.It was too funny watching her interactions with Reaper!"What g-gave you the idea that I like women?!" Aiko asked as she tried and failed to fight the blush off her scowling face."You don't?" was all Rosan asked and she tried to scowl angrily at the unphased Shinigami.Brown stared into endless black. Eventually, black won out and Aiko held her head in defeat."… I like both," she muttered.Akemi couldn't help it anymore and the younger sister fell on the floor with how hard she was laughing."See was that so hard?" He asked in a neutral, yet somehow patronizing, voice. "It's not good to lie to yourself because that breeds discontent."Rosan was smiling mischievously behind his mask. This was going to be fun.Aiko sighed in defeat at being figured out so easily. "… So you're a girl then?" She asked the hooded figure curiously and Reaper simply shrugged. For some reason, she knew shewas not about to like his response."Now why would I answer that?" was all they asked before promptly vanishing from both of their sights.Akemi's laughter reached a startlingly high pitch.Aiko's roar of anger could be heard across the whole island.Rosan removed his mask and took off his hoodie with a small sigh as he finally arrived on his ship —"Portgas D. Rosan."Only to immediately suck the sigh back in, as he heard his entire name be called.Full name? Uh oh. That couldn't be good for him. That meant someone was upset."Looks like you're in trouble Rosan~," Mod's ever useful voice rang out, supplying him info he dearly needed.Normally, Rosan would banter back and forth with his oh so beloved Mod-chan, but the blonde standing across from him, clad in her red and black night robe, smiling serenely,had his full attention.She looked…happy to see him.He was in trouble.13 year old Meiko was currently undergoing the hellish process of puberty in earnest and she was not pleased about it.She stood at 5'4 (162 cm) and her body was starting to fill out as a result of her growth. The blonde had not been happy when she realized she would need to get a new wardrobeto accommodate her growth spurt, but Rosan had just modified her current clothing to fit her. She had been ecstatic to see her favorite robe fitting her again and had gleefullykissed his cheek.He refused to acknowledge how she squealed right after due to his red face.She let her golden blonde hair flow freely and it stopped right below the mid of her back. Those electric blue eyes, that Rosan normally loved staring into, were currently glaring athim in tightly constrained displeasure.Meiko would have been an entire foot taller then him if not for the fact that he had also begun finally growing. At 11 years old, Rosan stood at 4'8 (142 cm). He was still quite a bitshorter then the blonde, but the boy was just glad he was actually growing and he knew he'd only be getting taller from here.Other then that, he looked largely the same but his baby fat was quickly disappearing due to the rigorous training he put himself through. Some of his spiky hair was tied into ashoulder length ponytail while most of it swayed freely.He liked to think he looked good."You're still cute so I agree.""Please stop calling me cute.""But why?" Mod-chan whined like a child. "As long as you still look like this I think I can do it! Puberty could begin hitting you at any moment so my days of callingyou adorable are numbered!""…" The 11 year didn't bother answering her."Greetings, Mei." Playing it cool would do him wonders here. He needed to gauge just how upset Meiko was. "How are you doing toda —,""2 days."Rosan winced as she interrupted what he had been about to say. Meiko never cut him off and for good reason. The blonde respected him too much to do that and the redheaddidn't really like being interrupted.Super pissed then."You've been gone for 2 days, Rosan," the barely maintained smile on her face vanished in favor of a furious scowl."Well technically…""You're about to say something really stupid,""...We're currently still on day 2," he finished right as Mod-chan said that and really, he didn't know what possessed him to say something like that.He was too much of a smart-ass for his own good.By the looks of it, Meiko was wondering the same thing. Her brow shot up to her hair questioningly and she looked at him like he had signed a death wish.In hindsight, Meiko had been having some insane mood swings in light of puberty, so leaving her while she was dealing with said mood swings, was really not the best idea.Well at least he had an answer to this.Quick as a flash, Rosan appeared in front of the taller girl and wrapped her in a hug.Meiko was weak to physical affection, especially from him, and Rosan was using that to his full advantage right now.It was a dirty move but, the redhead had been playing dirty since he was 4! Playing dirty was better then what she could potentially do to him.Meiko tried to resist, but she predictably melted into his grasp. The blonde let out an angry sigh before that melted away too. "No fair Rosy! You can't just do this every time I'mmad at you. One day it's not going to work," she whined as she begrudgingly hugged him back."Kahahaha," Rosan laughed as he stroked her hair, getting a sigh of bliss out of Meiko. "I'm sorry. Something came up that was disrupting Fregate and I decided to deal with itright then. Bringing a decapitated head onto the ship, with you on it, isn't very cool and leaving it in the Pocket Dimension is just a waste so I flew over to South Blue to get itdone,""Okay I get it!," Meiko complained. "I didn't need to hear the part about the head, Rosy. That's gross.""Sorry Mei," he apologized with a small smile on his face. He paused for a moment as he realized something. Glancing around, Rosan asked "Where are Angel and Demon?"Meiko flushed her signature red and mumbled "They're avoiding me right now. I was too upset, I think.""Pfft kahahahaha!" Rosan threw his head back and laughed at the embarrassed girl. "You can be quite scary when you want to be y'know," he told her causing the girl to blusheven harder."Shut up," she mumbled, hugging him tighter.Rosan laughed even harder.As Reaper, he did not only kill pirates and turn them in. That's just what he allowed the public to know about him.What? You didn't seriously expect an unknown figure to not control the type of information released about themselves right? The mass didn't even know what his gender was. Whywould they know anything else about him.Of course he did more then just bounty hunting!Case in point, Reaper was currently floating above the unconscious bodies of the crew that inhabited this ship. Only one was left awake and he was currently staring at Reaper inrecognition."B-but why is Reaper here?!" The man asked in confusion. "None of us have bounties for you to take!""Curiosity," was all Reaper said.Rosan had been flying when he saw their strange ship. Normally he would have ignored it, but there was something peculiar about it that intrigued him enough to begin inspectingit.It was probably the fact that it was a cargo ship without any symbol on it. That was already odd. Most cargo ships had some form of insignia on it that would show some type ofallegiance. This one had nothing on it though and while that wasn't the most uncommon thing, from his vantage point, the crewmates all looked rather suspicious and shady.Naturally, he investigated.The sailors on the ship had not been happy to see him. They had, without any provocation mind you, began attacking him, solidifying his thought process that there wassomething fishy going on. Either they recognized him, or they had some cargo that wasn't supposed to be seen.Could be both honestly.Still rude though.Rosan wasn't aiming to kill yet, so he knocked all but one unconscious. The one who was awake seemed surprised that he had even left anyone alive.Was general opinion of him really this low?! He was almost offended.Eh, whatever."What is on this ship?" Rosan asked the man politely. He didn't look very threatening but Rosan would not let his guard down.The man said nothing but Rosan had been practicing patience for a while now.He politely asked the shaking man another question."Who is it intended for?""Y-you think I'll tell you that?" The man laughed shakily. "You might be scary, but my boss is even scarier," he said confidently."Oh?" So he wouldn't answer him then? Very well. He could work with that."Trust me, I can change your opinion very quickly," Reaper said calmly. Who even answers a question like that? Telling someone to their face that they weren't that scary wouldonly encourage them to prove them wrong.Idiots.He approached the suddenly pensive man and the floating figure placed a gentle hand on his cheek. "Modify: Sensitivity,"he thought to himself and the man flinched under hisgrasp."Now," Reaper began neutrally. "Let's try this again. What is on this ship?"Predictably, the man didn't answer. He seemed set in staying silent and Rosan would have admired the loyalty if it was not born out of total fear.Rosan smiled to himself.He would be compliant very soon.The redhead could have explained what was about to happen to him. Maybe that would have made him answer faster, but he was a bit of a sadist and figured it would be more funhaving the man figure out himself.Besides, lackeys like these guys were way too stubborn for their own good for no real reason. They always needed a bit of force to see things his way and he was very good athaving people see things his way.The screech of pain he let out as Reaper tightened his grip slightly, was music to the Shinigami's ears. His screeching amplified as the Angel of Death decided to use his verysharp nails to dig into his very delicate skin.Modifying someone's sensitivity was so very effective.It didn't take long for the man to begin singing.That was no fun. He hardly ever got past the gripping part when initiating his interrogations.Reaper stared at the broken man, displaying no emotion as usual but internally, Rosan hummed.So this shipment was intended for the Grand Line, for someone named Joker? Rosan had no idea who that was and apparently neither did the one he interrogated.All he knew was that irritating the man, meant you were as good as dead and his reputation was known all around the blackmarket aspect of the world.How interesting."Mod-chan I don't suppose you know who Joker is?""No I don't. I'm sorry I couldn't be of more assistance," Mod apologized and Rosan just waved her off.He didn't expect her to know so her apology was unnecessary.Still, Joker was quite a big deal as far as he knew. The fact that Reaper didn't know of him seemed to surprise his target greatly.So Joker was well known and, based on what was on the ship, it wasn't for anything good. He wondered who they were but he was located in the Grand Line so his interest wasn'tvery high.Rosan would have to keep that name in mind for the future. He doubted the man would be happy with him for ruining one of his shipments.Not that he'd figure out anytime soon.The contents of the ship interested him. There were enough weapons of all types, that Rosan had to wonder what the motive behind having this much was.The redhead doubted that it was anything positive. Maybe he was preparing for a war of some kind? Supplying weapons to one side to exploit them in the future. It was a goodidea to further get a country on your side.Rosan personally, didn't need them. He was likely going to take one of each weapon for future purposes but the rest was quite useless to him.That didn't mean he wouldn't take them though.His draconic nature demanded he take everything so he would. He refused to hoard it though, the 11 year old wasn't one to waste things.He'd probably give it to Aiko as a gift. The lady was resourceful, she'd know what to do with it.Actually, that's exactly what he would do! Seeing the look on the adult's face once she saw the advanced set of weaponry would be really funny to witness.Rosan really liked messing with her.His mind was made up. He would take everything on the ship and store it in his pocket dimension and then hand it over to Aiko.But first… Reaper eyed the assortment of unconscious members and the shaking man.They'd have to be dealt with.Nobody needed to know what Reaper did in his free time after all."I've brought gifts," Reaper said, suddenly appearing in front of the two sisters.Aiko jumped up from where she was sitting and nearly choked on her food. Akemi sympathetically rubbed her older sister's back, as she struggled to catch herself."I...hate…you...so...much," Aiko panted out as she glared at Reaper with pure rage."You have the honor of being the latest to say that. Congratulations," Reaper claimed and he even had the audacity to give her a nod of acknowledgment.Aiko really did hate this bastard."It's good to see you Reaper!" Akemi beamed and Reaper regarded the woman with a small nod. Then, he paused as he got a good look at her.She was in a sheer black nightgown that left nothing to the imagination and her gray ponytail was down freely. Rosan pursed his lips under his mask when he verified that Aikowas also dressed rather… freely."Am I interrupting something?" Was all he asked getting a look of confusion out of the two."Interrupting something…?" Akemi asked in return before she followed Reaper's gloved finger and noticed the issue. Her brain shut off as she noticed her state of dress and thather savior was there to witness it.Rosan watched the range of emotions with amusement under his mask. Confusion, realization, shock, and horror all flashed across the younger, gray haired, sister's face.Akemi let out a shrill squeak and the woman bolted."Aaaaand there she goes," Aiko said, looking as amused as he felt."I apologize for the interruption," Reaper said to the woman who just waved him off."I'm used to your antics besides, this is just our nightwear," Aiko shrugged."You're taking this way better then she is. It's not like your outfit is any better," Reaper pointed out."It's not like you're a pervert," the woman countered. "You have the emotions of a rock; something like this probably doesn't even phase you," she said before pausing incontemplation. "You aren't a pervert right?"Reaper tilted his head and it was strangely adorable to his business partner. "A pervert?" He questioned and the Shinigami paused as if seriously contemplating the question.Knowing Reaper, he probably was."No I am not," he eventually said. "Even if I was a pervert, you are not my type."Aiko paused as she digested that. "You have a type?" The gray haired woman asked, looking at her partner in shock. Reaper, the emotionless machine, had a type? The sameperson who's tone of voice had never changed in the 2 years she knew him? That dude?"No."She really, truly, did hate this smug bastard.There was not a single soul alive who could tell her otherwise that deep down, Reaper was a playful, teasing, asshole. She didn't care if she was the only one who believed it. Thebrown eyed girl was positive no one had to deal with this but her.Aiko tried hard to quell her anger in favor of questioning why Reaper was here. She was tired of him already and he had just shown up."I recently attacked a suspicious ship and they had cargo that was rather useless for me. I thought it would be better in your hands instead of mine," The winged figure explained,getting a nod of understanding out of the woman. What he did in his past time was not something she dwelled on too much because it normally ended with Fregate benefitingfrom it.Reaper dug his gloved hand into his cloak and pulled out a small cube. He indicated that she follow him and so Aiko got up, food forgotten, to do so.Eventually, they reached an empty room in the castle and Reaper threw the cube onto the floor after muttering something.Imagine her surprise when the cube suddenly expanded and instead, it was revealed to be a massive box full of various amounts of weapons.Aiko's jaw dropped as she took in the huge assortment of weaponry and stepped closer to get a better look at them all.Where the hell did he get all of this? Who were these intended for? Did Reaper attack a warship?!"You can do whatever you want with these," Reaper told the shocked woman. "I've already taken what I've wanted and I didn't want the rest to go to waste, so I thought I'd giveit to you."These weapons far outclassed the few Fregate had because Fregate was not a very combat heavy island. If she got these distributed to their security, it could greatly boost theircombat strength. With weapons like these, they wouldn't have to worry as much when someone like Valerie attacked their ships.Oh you bet your ass she was accepting these."Thank you Reaper," Aiko bowed in appreciation. "Sometimes I forget how useful you are. You're so secretive that I can't imagine all the good you do for us.""I'm not that secretive," Reaper commented offhandedly."I don't even know what gender you are or how you look," Aiko said in a deadpan."That's fair," Reaper conceded before pausing in contemplation. "Very well, I'll tell you," He said, getting a wide eyed look from the woman.Was he serious? Was that all it took? No way. She had tried much harder with little results to show for it and now he was just going to up and tell her?"I'm a girl."Bullshit. He was definitely a guy."Prove it," Aiko demanded as she crossed her arms under her bust."I'm hurt that you don't trust your superior," Reaper said neutrally and maybe she would have believed him if he didn't speak in that same damn neutral tone of his. She juststared at the figure with the obsidian wings with a glare on her face and the Angel of Death tilted their head."Fine, I'll show you my face," Reaper said after a moment getting her to gape.He(She?) removed his(her?) mask first and it showed how little she knew of the Shinigami because she wasn't even aware that Reaper had a mask.It was an obsidian black with a white rose on it and she wasn't quite sure what the material of it was. It was quite beautiful, in a simple way and she found that it fit Reaper'sdemeanor. Over the top wasn't his style but he definitely had style.She waited with a bated breath as the Angel of Death put a gloved hand over their hoodie —And shrieked at the skull staring back at her.Rosan fought hard to hold his laughter in. Instead of his normal, 11 year old, tanned face, he had modified it's appearance to that of a human skull.Aiko was subject to the skeletal face instead.It was hilarious."Ask me again in 10 years to see my face and I'll show you. Promise," Reaper said, completely composed as he regarded the underdressed, panting woman. It had given her thefright of her life seeing an actual skull looking back at her and she felt her heart hammering in her chest."Did I... ever… mention… how much… I… hate… you?" Tired brown eyes glared at the re-hooded figure. Partnering with Reaper was not worth the heartache she felt on a dailybasis."You don't mean that," Reaper said in that damnably neutral voice of his. Even giving her the scare of her life never made him crack in his demeanor.Damn monster.Contrary to belief, Rosan enjoyed being Reaper quite a lot.Despite all the restrictions he placed on himself to avoid any relations between Rosan and Reaper, the redhead still had plenty of resources. He thanked the stars that he had aDevil Fruit like Modification. The versatile fruit let him get away with so many things.He just couldn't outwardly utilize Modification. He could still use it internally and if he got really desperate then well, who said he needed to audibly announce when using the fruit?Rosan never got that. Wasn't the element of surprise important? Going around advertising your techniques vocally, seemed kind of dumb unless they already knew what yourability was. Maybe that's why? Because people already knew. At that point, you might as well just show off your naming skills and how flashy you are.He'd probably understand more when he became the strongest but for now, he had to play it smart.No one would be able to tell he was using Modification anyways. Rosan could make it seem like he had any Devil Fruit if he really put his mind to it. It had worked on Docexceedingly well. Why would anyone else be able to tell at a glance? The only way for someone to realize the redhead had Modification would be to know about the fruitbeforehand, or for him to tell them.Yes, there was very low risk to being Reaper and Rosan enjoyed that immensely.What he did not enjoy, were the opponents he fought when he was out hunting.To be blunt, the majority of active bounties in the Blue Seas were weak. None of the people he fought, posed an actual challenge to him or his overwhelming style.He knew why. Most of the people worth their salt, went to the Grand Line and the ones who were too weak, opted to take a more permanent residence in the Blue Seas. Therewere a few strong ones who stayed behind but those people lacked the ambition to challenge him in earnest.They could never defeat him with their little desire. Rosan's ambition to become the strongest was too much for the Blue Sea. Defeat at the hands of these people, was completelyunacceptable. They fought to survive and Rosan fought to win, to grow until none could match him anymore.That was the difference between them.Rosan had contemplated going to the Grand Line, but he had quickly discarded that idea. That sea was a different beast compared to the Blue Seas and the redhead was much tooyoung to go there at the moment. There was also the fact that he didn't feel remotely comfortable leaving Meiko behind to go hunting while the White Rose sailed thetreacherous sea.Actually, he just didn't feel comfortable taking Meiko there period. He would need to get much stronger in the Blue Sea before taking just the two of them into there... And he'dprobably have to recruit some people.Gross.Maybe in the future, when he was older, but for now, it was a definitive no. There was nothing in Paradise for him anyways, besides strong opponents and Rosan wasn't thatdesperate to get stronger. His primary desire to become so strong was so that he could protect the ones he loved. Throwing those loved ones right into the face of danger wascounterproductive.He was young he would take things at his pace.Robin might currently be there though. The redhead had not heard any news about his old companion in any of the Blue Seas.Either the 15 year old was in the Grand Line or she was really good at hiding. It could be either and Rosan wouldn't put it past her to just completely cloak her presence...Rosan idly wondered how she was faring these days. After his talk with Meiko, he realized how unfair he had been to his best friend and the next time they saw each other, hewould properly apologize for his actions.But he digressed, the opponents in the Blue Seas barely qualified as training partners to the ever growing child. Rosan was glad that he could train himself so efficiently withModification because otherwise, he'd be stagnating. His self training was the best form of training he got these days.It didn't help that the people he fought were partially terrified of Reaper. They were already weak, but weak with little to no will either?Give him a break!So yes, being Reaper was fun, but it could be annoying at times.This was not one of those times.Rosan was forced to float up as a set of claws smashed into the ground. He hummed at the attack and his eyes gleamed with excitement under the mask. This looked promising.It was imperative that he not get hit by those claws if the paw shaped crater was any indication.As he hovered above the battlefield, he took the time to assess his opponent.The Wild Animal, Maverick was a pirate captain worth 15,000,000 beris. He was a gigantic, dark, man, who stood close to 7ft tall, and was the source of the new gigantic, pawimprint on the floor. It seemed like the large man was not happy at the state Reaper had left his crew in.Not his fault they were so easy to defeat. The captain should have trained them more, not that it would have changed the outcome.The best way to describe Maverick would be hairy. He had a full head of brown hair that stopped near his chest, a full beard and mustache that connected to each other, hair onhis exposed chest, hairy arms, hairy — you get the point.Maverick was a grizzly man which was fitting, because the man wielded the Kuma Kuma no Mi, Model: Grizzly.Rosan, after learning that information and looking at the man himself, was positive that Zoan Devil Fruits altered their wielders at a molecular level because, there was no way thiswas a coincidence.Perhaps after eating the Zoan, the wielder would begin to steadily adopt traits of the animals they became? This man was too similar to an actual bear and Rosan refused tobelieve that he willingly chose to look this stupid.The Zoan theory held merit; Ragnarok was not a Zoan but Rosan found his own traits altering slightly to match that of the Folklore version of dragons.It was a good thing Rosan was largely similar to a dragon, personality wise. Love of competition, his desire to win, his inability to handle failure well, his extreme confidence, howdemanding he could be…The redhead was glad that he wanted to transform into the mythical creature because they fit each other well.What he didn't enjoy was how much more confident it was making him. Rosan knew what arrogance got you.. The redhead could not afford to die so early due to his increasinghubris.No, he would stamp that arrogance down ruthlessly. As much as he needed to.It was why he was currently flying above the bear man. Rosan was confident he could handle him; he wasn't so arrogant to think that he could go in without a plan though. Onegood swipe from the transformed man could be dangerous to him.Curse his young body…Despite that though, he was excited.Devil Fruit users were rare; Rosan scarcely ran into them and the ones he did, had fruits not even worth mentioning.Mod-chan mentioned that there were far more Devil Fruit users in the Grand Line and that running into a wielder in the Blue Seas was difficult."You've been to the Grand Line?" Rosan asked his partner before thinking about it. Of course she had. Rosan was not her first wielder and he doubted a fruit as coveted as his,would spend much time in the Blue Seas."Most of my time was spent there actually," Mod-chan admitted. "A majority of my time spent in the Blue Seas, is due to you being my wielder."Rosan nodded at that explanation and focused once more on his opponent. Currently, Maverick was raging in his hybrid zoan form. He was closer to 9ft now and he was snarlingup at the Shinigami.Seems like he had really pissed him off.A captain that actually cared about their crew? How rare.When Rosan had slaughtered Maverick's crew members, he was not expecting the man to react in such a violent manner. Most captains cared more about their lives then that oftheir crewmates and they usually tried to flee after seeing what Reaper was capable of.The bear man was genuinely furious though. Rosan hadn't even been able to greet him before the enraged captain transformed and charged him, slamming a paw into the groundwhere he had been standing.Rude.Rosan respected him though. Too show such fury for the sake of his fallen members. He was a man that was no doubt respected by his crew.He must have cared for them a lot.Unfortunately, Rosan did not."Boost x2" Rosan intoned as he activated Modification. Rosan did not know much about bears, but he knew Zoans were quite durable and could dish out a lot of damage. Hehummed as his body pulsed in time with the boost.Playing around with the Captain was not in his best interests so he'd boost himself from the start.Boost was a simple technique that he used before, hence the simple name. Rosan modified and multiplied his base attributes. He opted to multiply only by 2 because it had nonegative affect on his body.In theory he could go higher, but any higher then 2 would put a strain on his body that he could not handle in the long run. It was why he only doubled his power, it didn'tnegatively affect him because of his strong body composition.Normally nothing forced his hand though so it's not like he needed to triple or quadruple his power. If it came to that, he'd probably have to flee. x3 or x4 might kill him.The stronger Rosan's base power was, the better the boost would be so it was no excuse to stop training.The redhead would naturally reach the level his boost currently gave him, so the technique would be even more effective when he used it again.He was already much stronger then the first time he had done this technique (when he was 4 against the pirates!) and when he had used it against Kenzo. This technique was onethat would grow with him. As long as he got stronger, Boost would get stronger too.A technique perfect for him. He intended to become the strongest without boost activated.His ever increasing strength was made evident, when Rosan gripped his scythe and dive bombed towards Maverick at a breakneck speed. The hybrid bear only had a moment tojump back before the masked figure crashed into the spot he had been at.Maverick quickly snapped out of his rage as an even larger crater then the one he caused with formed. Standing in the middle of the crater was the Angel of Death themselves,Reaper."I'm impressed that you were able to dodge that, Maverick-san." Their voice was soft and polite, not belaying any of the maliciousness that came with the action of slaughteringan entire crew."As a rule, I only allow myself to miss once," Reaper spoke conversationally, as if they were not just trying to turn him into paste with that attack. Maverick saw nothing but reddue to just how…nonchalant this monster was acting."You… You just slaughtered my entire crew and y-you're trying to act like you don't care at all?" Maverick seethed in disbelief at the sheer audacity of the black and white cladfigure."I'm sorry?" Reaper tilted their head at him and it only made him more furious. He wasn't being taken serious at all.Reaper acting all prim and proper was just a way to mock the man who just lost his entire crew.Maverick was practically frothing at the mouth at the gall of the person before him. "You show up, kill every single member on my crew, and now you're speaking to me as if yourcompletely unbothered? Cut the bullshit," the dark man snarled in fury, his sharp teeth gleaming."Ah," Reaper said in realization. "I think you're mistaken," the Shinigami supplied helpfully."This is not an act by me. I don't care about your crew, I don't care that they are all dead by my hand and I don't care about what I'm going to do to you," he said coldly makingthe Bear Man step back in shock."As if I'm completely unbothered? You must not understand who I am, Maverick-san.""Pirates, marines, bandits, none of you are exempt from my wrath. The World Government prides themselves on being the bringer of justice. Let me ask you, how can justice becorrupt? How can justice be biased?" Reaper asked the man rhetorically."Justice does not handpick who to deliver judgment unto. No one is exempt from justice. Not even justice is exempt from justice."Maverick looked at the Shinigami, anger forgotten for the moment, in surprise. "So what, you're going to be the justice that this world needs? Is that what you're saying?" Hisvoice was thick with disbelief as he regarded the insane figure in front of him.Reaper tilted his head as he looked at the bear hybrid. "Me? Justice? No. There is no justice in being the Angel of Death. I am not so arrogant to think that I am such a positiveword. I simply kill without bias because death should hold no bias. No one should be exempt from getting killed if their actions deserve death."Reaper began seeping an immense pressure that rooted Maverick to his spot. "I am the force that will cleanse this world; the winds that will tear it all asunder; the fire that willreduce everything to ash; the wave that will drown and consume whatever is in its path.""I am Reaper. Nothing more, nothing less.""You seem to have snapped out of your rage," Reaper commented idly. "I was hoping for that. Now the fight can be more interesting."Maverick had his doubts before, but meeting them in the flesh, he was sure. The figure standing before him, all the rumors about how the Obsidian winged bounty hunter wassomething...more, were true. That's why slaughtering his entire crew didn't even phase them. Killing was just a routinely behavior for them.Reaper was not human.That was the only explanation and, as Maverick stood across from the Angel of Death, he realized that there was a very real possibility he would die here. Reaper would not lethim escape, he was sure of it. It was kill or be killed.Fine by him. He had lost everything in a matter of minutes to the thing in front of him.All he had left was rage fueling him to fight the source.Maverick let loose an animalistic growl as he got on all fours and he began to transform.Rosan watched in curiosity as the man entered his full zoan state. His fur began covering his entire body and his size increased massively as he transitioned into a full grizzly bear.He smiled to himself."You are honestly terrifying Rosan," Mod said seriously."You never have to be afraid of me Mod-chan.""I know, and that is what's terrifying."Rosan snorted as he began spinning his massive scythe. "I normally like to ask before the battle if you have any last words, but something tells me you don't."The redhead liked to give a person the chance to say their final words before the battle began because he wouldn't give them the opportunity when he was about to deal the killingblow.He wouldn't give them any chance to turn the battle around.Maverick snarled and remained silent. His muscles tensed up as he prepared to charge the figure.The only noticeable sign that Reaper was getting prepared, was the twitch of their wings."Well then, let the performance begin."Maverick pounced causing Reaper to move to the left to dodge the blow. A downward swipe of the scythe was barely dodged as bits of fur was trimmed off the bear. The Angel ofDeath blocked the offending paw swipe with his scythe and was tossed back several feet as a result.A simple flex of his wings, was all he needed to catch himself.Shinigami and Bear stared at each other, as they paused for a moment."What's the matter?" Maverick snarled in superiority at forcing the Reaper back. "Surprised to find someone who actually knows how to fight?""Most normally die the moment I begin my onslaught," Reaper replied truthfully. "Devil Fruit users really do offer a more fun experience.""Hm. I'm not impressed by what I'm seeing so far," Maverick taunted, feeling incredibly confident at being able to hold his own. "At this rate, I won't have to worry after all," hesnorted.Reaper shook his head in disappointment at that. "Maverick-san, you of all people should know the saying "Not to poke a sleeping bear."Maverick tried to respond, but he roared in pain as Reaper's scythe suddenly embedded itself firmly into his back. Due to his thick fur and skin, it was not fatal but that didn'tmean it didn't hurt.Reaper must have been surprised by how thick his skin was because Maverick blindly swiped back and claw actually met fabric.Rosan grunted as he flew backwards after getting struck in his midsection. The skin where Maverick struck had clearly been shredded even through the perfectly intact cloak. Hisoutfit was durable, it didn't break easily, due to his modifications, but that didn't mean it protected him from everything.The bear hit hard… Very hard. The masked redhead frowned as he felt the copious amount of blood flowing.Troubling.Rosan modified his cloak to tighten around where he had been struck. Best to apply pressure now and deal with it later. He deliberated numbing himself but decided against it.Pain kept him alert.Rosan had not been expecting the mans skin to be so thick. He was surprised that his scythe had not cut all the way through and the man had taken what little advantage he got,by throwing a wild, unfocused, strike. It was an oversight on Rosan's part and the Zoan captain had benefited from it.Maverick had gotten lucky. Rosan had been sloppy.He would not make that mistake again."I'm directing some focus onto the wound," Mod chimed in. "I'll make sure it doesn't get worse before you see Meiko."He really loved Mod-chan.The masked boy didn't need to reply as he stared at the recovering bear. He was right to be wary of getting struck by the grizzly bear. If Maverick got too many hits in, Rosan'ssmall body would not be able to handle it. His healing factor wouldn't have much to work with if he was dead.He would need to make adjustments.His signature scythe reduced greatly in size to the point where he could easily hold it into one of his small hands.Maverick recovered just in time to see Reaper rocketing towards him with a flap. The bear let out a startled grunt and moved his body enough to only receive a glancing blow fromthe kama.Imagine his surprise, when Reaper pivoted immediately in air and delivered a kick to the side of his head, temporarily stunning him. He was further stunned, when the Angel ofDeath struck his side, successfully this time, with his kama but it failed to pierce his skin.That soon turned into pain as the Shinigami flew above him and stomped on his head again, forcing it to collide with the ground.The black clad figure proceeded to stomp on his skull repeatedly with precise and brutal strikes. Maverick couldn't help let out a howl of agony as the floor beneath him, begancaving from the impact of every single kick.How was the diminutive figure so powerful? Each blow felt crushing and if not for his enhanced durability, his head would be nothing more then a bloody pulp right now. He neededto get out of this and quick.He roared and quickly transformed into his smaller hybrid form. The sudden transformation allowed him to escape and using his more human hands he gripped Reaper's leg,hoisted them up, and bodily slammed them into the ground.Rosan actually gasped, as he felt the wind leave his lungs. He was body slammed violently on the floor once, twice, three times. He was by no means out of the battle, but theblows were strong and if not for his tolerance training with Doc, he'd be . His inexperience fighting a zoan was showing and it was paying dividends for Maverick.Rosan was getting excited.Eyes blazing behind his mask, Rosan transformed his kama into gauntlets and modified his cloak to make it more slick, effectively escaping the hybrid bears grasp. The captainhad not been expecting that, if the way his eyes widened were an indication, and Rosan launched himself backwards with a near silent hiss of pain.His back was going to bruise from that one and his head might need to get checked. But despite that, he was grinning under his mask.This was fun.Nobody was in the area, he could afford to let loose a little.Touching the floor, Rosan uttered "Modify State: Oil,"and watched in satisfaction as the battlefield went from hard stone to a slippery oil.Maverick was shocked to lose his footing all of a sudden and when he looked down, he saw that the floor had changed.What on Earth was happening?First Reaper had begun using more then just their scythe to battle him and now apparently they could change the landscape to their wishes? Maverick had never heard anyonemention this about the infamous Shinigami and he had to come to terms with the fact that this was probably new information.Was Reaper…holding back all this time? Was there even more that they could do?!The possibility filled the bear hybrid with more dread than he would ever admit.He wasn't allowed to fully make sense of what happened though because a covered fist immediately collided with his nose, breaking it. He roared in pain and slipped again, givingReaper clear access to his, suddenly vulnerable, body.The Angel of Death took the offering graciously.Blow after blow rained onto his arms as he tried desperately to guard himself from Reaper's assault. Each hit felt heavier then he ever expected someone of this size to be able todo and not even he, with his increased durability and thick skin, could survive the onslaught for long.He managed to transform into his full bear in hopes of catching Reaper off guard again, but the Shinigami had been expecting it this time. He stopped his attacks immediately andflew up high out of sight.Maverick, now in his full bear form, found that it was even harder to move when every limb was on the oily floor.Was...was this a trap? Had he fallen right into the Shinigami's lap by transforming? Did he force him into a situation where he needed to transform —His eyes rolled to the back of his head and he felt every bone in his body crack as a superhuman force crashed into him from far above, courtesy of Reaper.Not even the oil could protect him from the impact and the captain instantly reverted back into his human form. He no longer had the energy capable of keeping his zoan in tact."Didn't I tell you I would only miss once?" Was all he heard before that signature scythe appeared into view again."It was a good fight, Maverick-san," Reaper's painfully neutral voice was tinged with something that Maverick could barely make out as he faded in and out of consciousness."Thank you for dancing to my tune. I will remember you, even in death."They raised the scythe above their head in that oh so familiar pose. Maverick didn't even see them revert it to its original size."Goodbye, Captain Maverick.""Excited," Maverick dimly thought, as he identified the unknown emotion Reaper had in their tone. "They sounded excited."Excited to land the finishing blow. Excited from the prospect of the battle. Yes, Maverick could finally see.The Angel of Death was not a monster. They were a demon.Reaper swung down.Rosan had temporarily stored Mavericks body in the pocket dimension. He wouldn't fly over to turn his bounty in just yet because he had a more pressing matter.Namely, the injuries placed onto his body courtesy of the now deceased bear man."Rosy you're back — Are you okay?" Meiko said, immediately worried at the slightly strained expression on his face.Pain didn't really bother him. He had gained an incredible pain tolerance due to Doc's training from so long ago.Meiko's late father had dealt far worse damage onto him.This was nothing.Without adrenaline pumping his body though, Rosan was starkly reminded that he didn't get injured very often. If not for the Quality of Life Mod-chan had given him so long ago,the pain might have been unbearable otherwise. Thanks to the changes though, his body did not suffer deterioration from lack of attention.It would always stay at its current peak.Thanks to his Devil Fruit, his body kept sensations firmly in mind and compared to what Doc did, this was nothing.Still hurt though."I'm fine Mei, just gonna need a checkup," Rosan told her. "I got in a fight with someone who had a Zoan Devil Fruit. He got a few good hits on me," he explained.Meiko nodded, worry clear on her face, before ushering him over to the medical room. Rosan followed without complaint, shooting a wave towards Angel and Demon in theprocess, which they returned, and soon he was seated comfortably in front of the blonde."It's not often that you come here for injuries…" Meiko commented idly, as she got what she needed prepared. Rosan flinched as he saw her pull out a needle, but he stamped hisfight or flight urge down immediately.Meiko was the only person in the world he trusted to do these checkups on him. He had a fear of needles that he was working hard to get rid of with Meiko and they were makingdecent progress but only when she was the one to do it.Rosan could not stand hospitals; if not for the blonde in front of him, he'd just let every injury naturally heal."Would you like me to get injured more then?" Rosan asked curiously, tilting his head and flashing her a slight smirk."T-that's not what I meant, Rosy!""Ohhh," Rosan's eyes lit up in realization. "You just want an excuse to see me shirtless!" The 11 year old slapped a fist against his palm at his discovery. "C'mon Mei, you know allyou have to do is ask right?" Rosan's smile was far too smug for her liking.The blonde spluttered helplessly as she turned red. Eventually, she gave up on trying to convince him and grumbled about how she didn't like his teasing one bit.Rosan laughed at her as he removed his cloak. With a flash of Modification, the boy was left in only the baggy black pants he wore underneath and his black and white shirt whichhe soon discarded as well. It was soaked in blood, so he would probably just throw it away.The gasp of horror Meiko let out prompted the Mod Mod no mi user to look down and even he was surprised at the state of his injury.The skin on his midsection looked shredded and there was a copious amount of blood pouring down the large wound. It looked as if he had gotten mauled by a wild animal (whichhe did) and this was after Mod-chan had begun focusing attention onto it.A normal person would have fainted from blood loss by now."A normal person would be dead, Rosan," Mod spoke in a deadpan and Rosan blew a raspberry at the woman which she responded to in kind.The redhead couldn't help but whistle. Maverick hit hard."Rosan, what happened?!" Meiko asked in horror, as she began furiously working on his injury. "And your back is so bruised! What did this to you?! How are you talking so casuallyright now?!""A grizzly bear," the boy said bluntly. He hissed slightly as she dabbed at his wound and Meiko was too focused to apologize.That injury stung more then he'd like to admit.The look Meiko gave him demanded an explanation so Rosan told the 13 year old about his encounter with Maverick. By the time he was done, she had begun the process ofwrapping his midsection up. The bandages wrapped neatly around his slim waist and soon, she was done."Sometimes, I forget just how strong you are Rosy," Meiko told him in wonder as she digested what he told her.Meiko knew about Reaper's budding reputation. Of course she did! She was pretty sure everyone in the Blue Seas who could read knew about him!The Angel of Death was a hot topic everywhere they went! Since his sudden burst into the world, the Shinigami had become popular at a disturbingly quick rate.Even she wasn't sure why.Perhaps humans really were too curious.To them, Reaper might as well have not been human. No one knew anything of the infallible Angel and, even with all the rumors, people hoped that some definitive proof on justwhat the winged figure was dropped.It was probably what kept them so invested in the Angel of Death. The knowledge that they could learn something about them.Meiko snorted at that. Rosan would never entertain them because he wasn't that type of person. What other people wanted or thought, didn't matter to him whatsoever. Hewouldn't give them the satisfaction of knowing anything about Reaper unless he wanted them to know something about his alias.Exposure was one of the biggest things her crush shied away from.That only sparked their curiosity more, however and it made them even more interested!At least most were too afraid to actually approach him and ask themselves. They thought doing so would incite his wrath and result in him killing the offender.Rosan wasn't that cruel! He would just refuse to answer and politely tell them to stop bothering him.Meiko found it kind of funny how much the normal person was terrified of Reaper. Maybe it was a person's natural fear of death that played apart? Considering Rosan did actuallylook like a fallen Angel…it made sense.Still though, looking at the 11 year old, it was really hard to link him to the terrifying mysterious figure. It was exactly what he was going for though so it worked out. Rosan didn'tlook like he was capable of doing the things Reaper was capable of doing.To put it bluntly, Rosan was too adorable (he resented that) for anyone to make that connection.The redheads appearance was one mothers (and herself) would gush over. Even with Reaper's short stature, linking him to a child like Rosan was just not feasible in some people'smind.After all, to them, Reaper was death itself. Why would an 11 year old be so intimate with the concept of life and death?That's why Rosan never bothered to modify his height. It was just not feasible to them that the Reaper could be a child. They would sooner think that he was not human thenbelieve him a child.Let people think he was a concept instead of human. He would not correct them.It was a bit arrogant on his part, but Rosan had picked up the habit of not changing his appearance from Meiko so really, it was her fault.Meiko herself wasn't so sure how she felt about Rosan being Reaper. On one hand, she hated that people needed to die and that Rosan was the one doing it. On the other hand,the people he went after were just not good people so she really couldn't support keeping them alive.She didn't like Rosan being Reaper not one bit, but the boy was stubborn and if she tried to get him to stop, they would just get into an argument that would leave them mad ateach other for probably an hour.What? They couldn't stay mad at each other for long!The blonde found that it was getting easier to deal with over time. Thanks to puberty though, she was getting a lot more… unpleasant."Honestly, it's thanks to Mod-chan," Rosan shrugged, getting a blush of appreciation out of the purple haired woman. "Without her, I wouldn't be nearly as strong as I am rightnow. All of my accomplishments are thanks to her," he said gratefully."Mod-chan is pretty amazing," Meiko agreed with his notion quite readily and she grinned brightly at the thought of the Devil Fruit. "Being able to manage someone like you, for solong, is nothing short of incredible!""Right?" Rosan laughed as she said that. "I'm quite a handful! The fact that Mod-chan can handle me so well, makes her even more special!""W-what are you two doing?!" Mod stammered in embarrassment as they complimented her. "Please stop you two you're embarrassing me…" she complained with aflushed face."Oh?" Mod groaned at the smugness in Rosan's voice. "Mod-chan can't handle a couple of compliments?" He asked, voice oozing in concern."Really?" Meiko asked in faux surprise. "She's so gorgeous though! Someone like her would be getting compliments every second of every day!""You guys, please!" The purple haired woman begged.Rosan was feeling far to mischievous. He grabbed Meiko, who squeaked, and they entered his mindscape within moments. They stood directly in front of a beet red Mod-chan whowas pouting in a displeasing manner at the two."Rosan! You k-know I'm not great at dealing with compliments so why are you teasing me," the oldest person there scolded the youngest. "Roping Meiko into your schemes isunderhanded!"The two children looked at each other for a moment in contemplation. They were far too in tune with each other and with the help of their connection, it was easy to tell what theother was thinking.Somehow, they even managed to keep their motives hidden from Mod herself and it had the Devil Fruit furrowing her purple brows in confusion.How were they doing that? The only thoughts Rosan could hide from her were the ones she didn't want to hear. She even had access to memories of the boy that he didn't knowabout! Of when he was a newborn!How on earth was he masking his intentions from her?Imagine her surprise, when the two children looked at her at the same time, barged into her, making her yelp in shock, and dropped her on her butt. The woman flushed deeply atthe two smaller figures grasping at her.For all her teasing, she was not used to this."I feel like I haven't said this nearly enough but…thank you Mod-chan for everything you've done for me," Rosan said warmly as he hugged her."You're the most amazing partner I could have ever asked for and I'm grateful for having you here to guide me in my difficult times," Rosan whispered into the taller woman as hewas nuzzled her left cheek.Meiko nuzzled her right cheek at the same time. "Mhm! I don't think you understand how much we appreciate you Mod-chan! You're the pillar who makes all of this possible,"Meiko gushed at the Devil Fruit with purple hair."Thank you Mod-chan!" They said at the same time, before planting a kiss on either side of her cheek.The tanned woman began stuttering uncontrollably as her face turned a shade of red that would make Meiko proud. Watching their cool older sister figure cosplay the blonde wasa sight they would cherish for a long time."I-I-I," Mod stammered as she tried to process the sudden influx of emotion. The poor woman's mind was going a mile a minute. "Y-you t-two a-are — oh dear…" she gave up asshe hugged them tight and hid her face inside the mix of blonde and red hair.She loved these two humans so much.Never in Mod's wildest dreams, would she have expected people to care for her to the degree that Meiko and Rosan did. To the Devil Fruit, the idea that someone would love herlike she were human, never once crossed her mind. Her life before Rosan had been one that she didn't want to relive.But here she was, with two people who she could claim to genuinely love with all her heart. She wished Robin was here dearly because she loved the Hana Hana no mi user justas much and the brunette desperately needed some affection that she lost.The thought that she was loved, was so surreal to her that at times, she found herself being overwhelmed by it all. Sometimes, she would sit by herself just to take it all in.Other times, she would cry in relief.Like right now.She let out a choked sob as she hugged two of her most precious people close. Mod never thought that she'd be able to call someone precious but, Rosan had been adamant onproving her wrong since the moment they met.Rosan's mischievous gaze was gone in favor of a fond type love. He had wanted to tease Mod-chan a bit but after entering the mindscape and seeing his older sister/motherfigure, he decided to show his appreciation for the woman instead.Besides, it still counted as teasing!Meiko shared the same sentiment. Because of Mod-chan, she was still alive! The woman had managed to convince Rosan that leaving her to die on Daybreak wasn't what hewanted to do and the boy listened to her.If Mod-chan hadn't been able to assure Rosan that he didn't really want to kill her, well she wasn't sure Rosan himself would decide alone to spare her!The unconditional trust the two had in each other and the fact that they had been amazing enough to include her into the mix, touched her more then she could ever imagine.She would cherish this feeling forever."Rosan. Meiko. I love you two," Mod said as cried into their smaller bodies."We love you too, Mod-chan," they chimed in unison hugging the woman tight.The 3 hugged each other for a long moment and were content to stay like that for a while.That moment was broken up by Rosan saying "Oh," in sudden realization."Oh?" Meiko repeated in confusion."I have to get Maverick's body out of the Pocket Dimension before he stinks up the place," Rosan explained, voice slightly muffled as he was still crushed into Mod's frame. Modgiggled at the feeling of his breath tickling her skin."Ew…" was all Meiko said."Mmm you get used to it," Rosan shrugged."I really don't think you do," Meiko said, voice deadpanned."I have to agree with Meiko," Mod's watery voice came out teasingly. "You just aren't normal," she finished."Being normal is boring," Rosan laughed as he got up and wiped his pants.His Pocket Dimension was quickly becoming a little sanctuary of his and he didn't want a rapidly cooling corpse in there.That would suck.Donning his signature outfit, Rosan finished putting his mask on and pulled up his hoodie. He modified Maverick's body and put it in stasis before placing him in a bag and headingoff to his destination. It would take a few hours but that was if he took his time."Make sure you don't get into any fights Rosan!" Meiko called out to his flying form. "I'm forbidding you until you heal! When you come back we can spend quality time together!""You're so annoying sometimes," Rosan said, rolling his eyes but he was smiling. Meiko and Mod-chan were utterly spoiled and got whatever they wanted from him.He couldn't deny them even if he tried. Rosan let out a sigh.The women in his life sure were a handful.Being the Angel of Death had its perks. He didn't really care about the reputation he garnered and he didn't actually care much about being Reaper but he still enjoyed it.It was fun being Reaper.Chapter EndThe Misadventures of Robin and Rosan – 6Robin and Rosan are 9 and 5 respectively.Sparring sessions!Rosan rolled away frantically as a pair of hands spawned from the ground and tried to grab at him. He lunged forward to avoid a second pair that appeared behind him. Finally, hesomersaulted over a pair of feet that lay right in front of him. It was quite an impressive display of athleticism for someone his age and he'd normally be praising himself.The redhead was not allowed to catch his breath however, as even more hands spawned on him. The boy yelped at the sensation of getting grabbed and they tried to force himinto submission.He really hated fighting Robin.Unfortunately for her, they had already sparred plenty times before (in which she handily kicked his ass) and Rosan was adapting at an incredible rate. In one of those spars, helearned a very key thing.The young devil fruit user bit one of the hands grabbing him and was satisfied to hear a squeal of pain from the girl's, now discovered, hiding spot.The redhead grinned viciously.Rosan looked directly in the direction of where Robin was hiding with a wild look of joy in his eyes.Their spars were typically a game of cat and mouse. Robin couldn't fight him head on and they both knew that. Rosan was too strong for her too handle in a straight up fight andthat meant she needed to play keep away.It's why he typically led the battles while Robin supported him from a distance. It worked out quite well when someone was about to hit the boy only to find themselvesimmobilized and open to a free hit from the deceptively strong child.That's why their sparring session ended up like this. Robin would pepper Rosan from a distance with her Devil Fruit while the boy desperately tried to find her location.The first few times they fought, ended with the Hana Hana no mi user handily winning. Rosan had not been able to handle her onslaught and he could never find her in timebefore being subdued.Rosan was quick to adapt though and he'd finally figured out how to beat her.The Mod Mod no mi user palmed the floor and uttered out "Modify: State,"and watched as the ground was upraised from its original position. The entire landscape changed androse, as a surprised Robin was forcefully ejected from her spot.He learned some key things about Robin in these fights.#1: The limbs Robin formed using her Devil Fruit, were an extension of herself. As such, anything that happened to them, happened to Robin which is why he bit her hand. Heractual hand would feel the sensation as a result. He noticed this when they first met and explored it in detail.#2: Rosan discovered that, in his pursuit of a long range technique, he could modify the terrain to his liking. Something that he was planning to add to his arsenal and abusereligiously.Like right now.The two locked eyes with each other and Rosan grinned like he had won the lottery."Gotcha~," Rosan sang as he crouched.Robin stared with a wide eyed gaze at the younger boy."Boost x2" He grunted eyes glowing red as he activated Modification."Uh oh," Robin said to herself as she saw the red missile shooting at her.This was going to hurt."I'm sorry Robin-nee," Rosan said glumly at the girl with a very black eye.He hadn't meant to hit her that hard and the guilt he felt was greatly consuming him."It's fine, Rosan," Robin said soothingly as she balanced an ice pack over her right eye. It hurt but that was the price of sparring. Still, the boy was too strong for his own good."No it's not!" The boy exclaimed and Robin was surprised to see tears forming in his eyes. "I hurt you a-and I shouldn't have! I just got so excited at the thought that I was finallygonna beat you and this happened…"The normally feisty boy, looked absolutely crushed as he spoke and Robin resisted the urge to squeeze his cheek. He was genuinely upset so her reacting at how cute he was,would probably not do the boy any favors.Right, it was time to be the sensible one…as usual."Rosan, look at me," Robin said soothingly, as she placed the ice pack down to regard her favorite person. "We had a sparring session," she began slowly. "People are bound to gethurt and we need to get stronger anyways so of course it's gonna happen."The boy looked wholly unconvinced by what she said and the brunette sighed.He was so stubborn sometimes."Rosan, I'm not upset with you so you don't have to be upset with yourself," she said firmly grabbing the boy and hugging him. She knew Rosan would try to resist the hug despitewanting to return it, so she left him no room to escape.Honestly, he was so hard on himself at times.Predictably, he squirmed in her hug and tried protesting but the redhead loved physical affection too much and soon he melted in her grasp. Robin cooed at that and pat his headsoftly.Returning the hug, Rosan grumbled about how unfair it all was. Mod-chan and Robin-nee forgave him way too easily when he messed up."You have to take in account your age Rosan," Mod said warmly. "Robin-chan and I understand that you're 6 and a growing boy. You're bound to make mistakesand that's why we aren't so hard on you."Robin nodded in agreement. "She's right Rosan. You're very young and you haven't been taught much about what's right and what's wrong," she explained to the smaller boy."Every experience, is a learning experience and that's why I'm not upset with you," the brunette finished and she had a patient smile on her face. Rosan was a smart child but hewas still a child.Rosan didn't seem quite convinced. "But Robin-nee, you're only 4 years older then me," he pointed out and she nodded."True but, my life on Ohara forced me to mature quickly," Robin rebutted. "You didn't have to take care of yourself since you could walk and talk right?"At Rosan's nod she smiled at the boy somewhat bitterly and said "I envy you for still being so carefree Rosan, it's why I'm not really mad at you. Despite all you've been throughyou can still smile and laugh like the child you are."Rosan nodded in understanding, but he was still frowning. "Don't worry Robin-nee, with me around you don't have to be as mature! Soon, you'll be as happy as me," he finishedconfidently.Robin looked at the boy in wonder and giggled. It was odd how selfish and caring one person could be but then again, Rosan was an enigma.He was right though. Robin had never felt so free before and it was all thanks to traveling with Rosan and Mod-chan. She didn't feel like the Devil Child when she was aroundhim.She felt like Nico Robin, the 9 year old best friend of Rosan.She hugged him just a bit harder and he happily reciprocated it. The boy was so affectionate and it tugged at her heart so much. He hugged her at least a dozen times a day andhe still treated every time like a new one.The redhead was so pure sometimes."I think I'm already as happy as you," she mumbled and he giggled in glee.Rosan just didn't understand how much she appreciated him. The wild boy meant everything to her.Robin was beginning to quickly realize just how perfectly Rosan's Devil Fruit countered hers.If the boy touched her even once with his abilities, the fight was over. Unfortunately, that's exactly what her Devil Fruit relied on and both of them were very aware of that.She was finding it increasingly difficult to defeat the boy now. When she did manage to get a win, it was because she outsmarted him and caught him off guard.It wasn't like he was stupid though. On the contrary, Rosan, despite how he acted (he claimed it was more fun to act this way), was highly intelligent. He had near photographicmemory and he used that to his full advantage.The redhead was a sponge that greedily absorbed knowledge in spades and it was paying off.The boy was a genius and his ability to adapt, combined with having a fruit as versatile as Modification, made him an incredibly formidable opponent.Robin panted in defeat on the floor as the boy got another victory on her."Good fight, Robin-nee!" The boy in question cheered for her, not looking winded whatsoever.That was another thing about Rosan. His physical capabilities were unreasonable. Robin was a very fit girl, she had to be with what she did, but Rosan was something else. Theboy's endless amount of childish energy, stemmed from his unreal stamina.Modification certainly helped the boy out a lot but even without it, Rosan had the potential to be incredibly strong. The Devil Fruit just enhanced what he already had, turning himinto a monster.Robin withheld a snort. Who said Kami didn't have favorites? Rosan had completely won the genetic lottery.It made her wonder just why he was abandoned. Maybe he wasn't ideal for his parents?"It's getting harder for me to beat you Rosan," Robin commented breathlessly and the smug little prick just laughed."Well of course," he said like it was the most obvious thing in the world. "I have to be able to beat everyone if I wanna be the strongest!" He claimed happily.At this rate, his childish, albeit ambitious, claims were starting to sound a lot more believable.Damn geniuses."You're a genius too, you know?" Mod laughed and Robin completely ignored the amused woman.Rosan looked at her in concern and asked "Are you okay? Did I hit anywhere too hard?""I'm fine Rosan, just a little sore," she said, before stretching her muscles. "I just need to take a shower and then I can prepare dinner."Due to them not having a doctor on hand, and being criminals (though Rosan was not), they had to be careful not to injure each other seriously, lest they be incapacitated.They both healed relatively quickly but one of them being injured would be disastrous in the long run. The two worked too well in tandem with each other.They were like a well oiled machine and if one piece went down… well Robin didn't want to imagine what Rosan would do if she suddenly got injured.The boy was chaos incarnate, if she were putting it nicely. In the time spent recovering, Rosan would probably get a bounty in the process."Woohoo!" The boy cheered. "Bath time with Robin-nee!" the boy exclaimed in excitement before he hoisted Robin up, causing her to yelp in surprise, and rushing off to thebathroom with the girl in tow.Robin sighed in exasperation and let herself get carried away. Leave it to Rosan to automatically assert himself into her shower time. Honestly, what was she going to do with thistroublemaker?At least the redhead wasn't a pervert.He was lucky he was adorable.Bonus End!Character Sheet: Reaper (In the perspective of other people)Name: Unknown (Goes by Reaper)Title: The Angel of DeathAge: UnknownGender: UnknownSummary: Reaper is a mysterious figure who has burst into the scene from seemingly nowhere. Not much is known about him but the ease at which he handles bounties, coupledwith his mystifying nature, has made him a hot topic of discussion across the Blue Seas and even a little in the Grand Line.Seemingly apathetic, it is rare to see Reaper lose his cool or break composure. He is surprisingly polite despite his profession and as such, the enigmatic figure is becomingincreasingly popular around the world.Devil Fruit: Unknown. Speculated to be a Zoan type of some sorts. Perhaps a bird variation.General Appearance: Unknown. Covered head to toe with a long black cloak with white streaks, black gloves with white lining on it, and black combat boots. They have a roseon their. Their hoodie does a great job at concealing their features so no one knows what is under there.The most notable feature about Reaper is that they have a set of massive, obsidian feathery, black wings that are almost always being used.Height: Unknown (All that is known is that they are surprisingly short)Hair: UnknownEyes: Reports have indicated that if you look close enough you can see a faint red glow under their hoodie. No one is willing to verify that detail however.Likes: UnknownDislikes: UnknownFun Fact: The Marines have offered Reaper a position into their ranks multiple times. They tried to entice him with an immediate ranking to Lieutenant Commander but the Angelof Demon immediately denied. Currently the offer is at Commodore but Reaper is firm in their decision. They are keeping a close eye on them as a result of the denial.